“i’m not going,” a black rosetted tom hissed. his amber eyes were filled with some sort of strong emotion.
his chocolate companion next to him flicked her long tail. “scared,
hickory?”
hickory simply growled and turned away.
“alright, stay at camp if you want, scaredy-cat,” the brown molly mewed teasingly. “we’re going to go to caelestis mountain to explore. without you, just to be clear.” she smirked and something sparked in her mischievous lime green eyes.
hickory just flicked his ear in annoyance and continued to brood in the corner of the cave.
a long-furred tortoiseshell next to the brown she-cat gave her a disapproving look with her mismatched crimson and pale blue gaze. “weasel, stop. it’s his choice if he doesn’t want to come. you’re not helping, just provoking him.”
“fine,” weasel sighed, a mutinous glint in her eyes. “laurel, are we ready? got our supplies?” the tortie called to her paler companion who was waiting at the entrance of the cave.
laurel nodded, holding up their supply of herbs. “all ready to go, belladonna.”
“great!” belladonna enthusiastically mewed. the phoenix on her shoulder squawked in alarm at the black and red tortie’s sudden movement, flapping around her for a while before settling down, perching on her shoulder once again.
“wait here, guys. i’m going to talk to hickory.” belladonna meowed softly, gesturing for them to wait for her at the cave mouth. she gave a stern look
to weasel and padded up to her fellow wanderer.
“hey. hickory, are you sure you don’t want to come?” she said softly and gently, putting her fluffy tail on the rosetted tom’s shoulder to reassure him.
hickory turned his head and met his friend’s gaze. “i’m sure,” he sighed. “I’ve got bad memories of that place,” he muttered, so softly so only belladonna could hear him. she gave him a sympathetic look. “well, see you later, then.”
“guys, we’re ready! let’s go!”
—————————
the trio of wanderers had set off, padding along the northern path. they could see the outline of the mountain in the distance. looking up at the ether, laurel scanned the skies for any sign of change. “everything seems fine.” the fawn-cream torbie meowed, gesturing with a paw towards the endless expanse of ever-shifting sky.
“how far away is the mountain?” weasel groaned, grabbing a nearby herb off a bush to add to their supply. belladonna squinted and scanned the yonder in front of them. “seems like….it’ll take us a few days to get there. not counting how it’ll take almost two whole days to climb it. i’ve heard that the view from the summit is worth it, however.”
“that’s a whole week!” weasel growled, stamping her foot and making a paw mark in the soil. laurel, who was behind her, stepped beside her and put her tail over her shoulder.
“hey now, at least we aren’t taking the southern trail. that would take us two weeks to reach the mountain.” weasel nodded in agreement. “i guess this is the shortest route.” she sighed. “anyway. it’s getting late. we’d better camp here for the night, look at the shifting ether. the moon is out.” laurel pointed out, glancing up at the stars flowing like liquid through the sky up above them.
—————————
“woah. look…” belladonna gasped in awe, suddenly stopping. the other two wanderers padded to stand beside her to see what she was gaping at.
there.
the cosmogyral ruins. the origin of these ruins were a mystery, yet they were forever whirling round the ether and the universe. nobody truly knows how, but it is an enchanting sight to catch them.
unlike belladonna and weasel, captivated while watching the beautiful sight of the ruins whirling through the ether elegantly, laurel glanced anxiously up at the ether once more. “guys, we should get moving. it’s almost noon. that’s when the ruins appear, at noon and at dusk.”
“shouldn’t we have our lunch first?” weasel inquired, tilting her head in confusion at laurel.
“it’s fine. we had a heavy breakfast,” belladonna replied. “besides, you know the lands, you can’t get too captivated while watching sights like these…remember what happened to alder?” the tortie trailed off, saying that last sentence in sadness.
laurel and weasel glanced at the ground, sadness in their eyes. “alright, let’s keep going. I don’t want to lose any of you.” belladonna meowed briskly and sternly.
the trio continued padding on, marveling at the flora they saw along the way. “we should be nearing the paracosm soon. I need you all to stay close to me. absolutely do. not. touch or come into contact with anything there. you never know what mania can do to you.”
laurel and weasel nodded anxiously. belladonna glanced back at the others. it seemed that weasel’s usually reckless and sassy demeanour had been quiet throughout this journey. besides, she had been awfully quiet, and there hadn’t been a single sassy remark from her since they last camped out before seeing the cosmogyral ruins.
it’s good she’s being more cautious. the journey to caelestis mountain is a long one, and a dangerous one indeed.—————————
the trio padded along the northern trail in silence until belladonna’ eye caught the unmistakeable shifting mass that was known as mania’s paracosm. it was located in a nearby crater, and it was thought to be largest one in the land of fallen dreams.
“look. can you see it?” belladonna whispered, gesturing with her tail.
from a distance, the trio could see neon colours, fluctuating seemingly in a random pattern. the wanderers decided to watch it for a short while, and each of them swore they saw something different from one another by the end of it.
“oh. it’s almost dusk.” laurel sighed. “it doesn’t seem like we’ve gotten any nearer to the mountain..”
weasel comforted her. “it’s alright. every day we’ll move closer to our destination. besides, so what if it takes a little longer than planned?”
belladonna was watching the duo and she smiled.
“come on, guys. let’s camp. what harm will it do? besides, let’s watch the ether and the stars change. I’ve heard it’s beautiful, and the view from the mountain will be even better.”
as the wanderers watched the beautiful sight of the ether shifting from a small hill near the northern trail, it gave them all a sense of relief. whatever tomorrow would bring, they would be ready for it.
—————————
“good morning, everyone!” belladonna yawned. “ready to set off again? oh, but let’s eat breakfast first.”
“let’s go! to caelestis mountain!”
“to the tallest mountain in the dreamlands!”
“to get the best view of the ether!”
“hooray! now, what are we waiting for? let’s go!”
and so the trio set off as the sunne started to rise and the night began to fade, replaced by the new morning light of dawn.
