The trees emitted from within a stream of leaves. The leaves themselves were dyed either a dull red or green.

He flew in this myriad of underwhelming fall colours.

He danced as freely as his condition allowed him.

His good feet caught a nearby stone and he fell back, falling into the heap of leaves accumulated on the floor.

“Will you stop?”

She whispered in a hushed voice, seating somewhat uncomfortably on the forest floor.

“But it’s b-beautiful here.”

Her head jerked up and her eyes met his. They were clouded with what she had recently went through.

“Shut up.”

“S-sorry.”

Their voices came out in whispers. His mock happiness has long faded, leaving the three of them there. There, in the forest, raw, vulnerable, naked. No, they weren’t naked physically, their clothes still hung onto their skin, but their minds were. Anything and everything penetrated their minds, made them jump, make them cower. Disturbance ran high in the air

His cemented feet moved once again, but this time there was no dancing.

He moved in great big steps.

“How do you even move with that injury?”

He looked down at his leg, at the lacerated piece of meat.

“I-it’s only a c-cut.”

Lindsey was opened her lips to say something but closed her mouth just as promptly as she opened it.

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

Suddenly, Eleanor’s hand shot up.

A cave.

Its dark mouth opened wide, as if inviting them inside.

And inside they went.

The cave was not the long, deep, winding sort. It was short and ended abruptly. The stones all the way back of the cave jutted out in a sort of twisted way, as if jaws of an unknown entity had came down upon them, sealing them in the darkness forever. Lindsey hated that.

A kick,

And a pebble flew off the ground.

It connected with the stone wall and went off with a click.

“I wish Avan was alive.”

The party of three stopped and all eyes focused on Eleanor.

She said again, in the same quiet voice that always seemed so distant from her personality.

“I miss him.”

The soles of the white shoe that Lindsey wore barely moved from the mud when Eleanor said again:

“I miss him.

We all miss him.

You do too.

Don’t just walk away.”

The sole of her shoe stayed stuck on the forest floor.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Lindsey’s voice was but a whimper.

“What can we even do?”

Her entire head was turned towards Eleanor now.

“You expect me to just accept two of my classmates just died?

You tell me that the lusus naturae was the one who killed Avan and expect me to be calm?

You expect me to-”

And in a mad rush for calm and serene, Lindsey wiped her eyes and flexed her face muscles.

“To-”

And in another fit of anger, of desperation, of everything wrong that had happened, she knelt down and started crying.

Her back was soon being rubbed by Castasia’s hand.

“Go away.”

Her voice carried hurt, carried spite, as if her anger and frustration alone could engulf everyone and anyone her words travelled to.

Castasia, however, did not flinch.

“W-what we said was t-true.”

“Shut up.”

“Avan stabbed the lusus naturae in the heart, and it died, right in front of my eyes.”

“Just-

Just stop.”

“W-when I woke u-up, it was gone, and A-avan was..”

“Dead.”

Lindsey’s eyes widened under the veil of her crouched body.

Suddenly, something in Eleanor cracked. It was an anger, the irrational sort. Maybe it was something as simple as the heat of the jungle and irritation, or frustration at their current state, but she suddenly felt a surge of dissatisfaction in her. A big, snowballing hatred for Lindsey came tumbling down her mouth:

“Did you even cry for Alice?”

Eleanor’s third voice broke through the melancholic converse between the two classmates.

“Shut up!”

Lindsey finally looked Eleanor in the eye:

“Why d’ya even care about who I cry for?”

“To see if you care about anyone or not!

To see if you’re not just some conceited, self-centered bastard!”

The once quiet voice quickly builds up vocal momentum.

“What’s your problem?”

Lindsey is standing up now, her hands balled into fists.

“I don’t have have one. If I do, it’s you.”

A hand went up and grazed Eleanor’s cheek.

“I don’t need you acting all broken up on the inside when all you care about is yourself!”

“And who are you to say that?

I hate you!”

And with that, the two girls pounced onto each other, and a flurry of hair-pulling and weak punches enthused.

Somewhere in the middle of the confusion, Castasia’s hand reached out and separated the two raging entities.

Both girls glanced devilishly at Castasia.

“Let me go.”

“N-no.”

A scratch and a startled Castasia allowed Lindsey to wiggle out of his grip.

“I don’t need anyone caring for me.”

With that, Lindsey walked out from the cave, stifling, rubbing her eyes hurt.

Eleanor opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Her foot stepped forward but halted.

“I should go console her, shouldn’t I?

I said something stupid.”

Castasia shook his head:

“Al-llow her to have s-some time to herself.”

Eleanor looked to the ground and mumbled an ok.

“Besides,”

Castasia was staring directly at Eleanor in the eye.

“Lindsey said she hated you.”

Darkness was prevalent in his eyes. It played the role of a black hole, swallowing, eradicating any trace of goodwill, until all that is left is the blank slate of black. Capable of doing anything without remorse.

“Say, would Lindsey like me better if I made you disappear?”

Eleanor took a step back into the cave, and another:

“What are you talking about?”

“LIndsey said she hated you, you know.

I don’t think she would mind if you went away.”

Eleanor fumbled back, and fell on the ground.

And Castasia went forward-