1 Invitation and Farewell

Roy skipped the gym habitually.

Despite being on the slim side, he couldn't be considered fit. One would forgive him for approaching the bottom of his endurance after running a mere quarter mile under optimal conditions. One would find him faultless for the panting, the stream of half-uttered curses, and the metric ton of sweat he produced racing through the Black Hills Forest in the dead of night under a bone-chilling downpour. Carrying Maribelle on his back didn't help.

This was no hellish training routine, but the coming of hell itself. The howling sky echoed in his ribs and the sinking earth sent tremors up his legs.

Lightning punched the ground, forcing a muffled shriek from Maribelle. Roy was glad she had her face buried in his neck, the second of clear vision didn't inspire much confidence.

The quakes had yet to topple any trees on the path ahead, but the sheer cliff yawning between them and stable land was much more than a stone's throw away and showed no signs of halting its growth.

Were he alone, he might have given up, there was no way to be sure that the ground above wouldn't decide to check out of reality as soon as he made it. He'd rather suffer one thousand cruel deaths before he ever imperiled his sister, however.

So, even as Roy's muscles screamed for rest and each gasp of cold air stabbed his lungs, he continued. When he stumbled on slick patches of grass, he took the fall with his knees and ignored the gut-wrenching pain. When Maribelle squeezed his neck, he squeezed her ankles; he wouldn't be able to find the words to comfort her if he had the breath to utter them.

Touch was the only form of communication they had under this cacophony of broken heavens and pattering feet. It made Roy feel like an animal, or perhaps something less.

Onwards, past the low branch striking his arm. Onwards, through the icy pool of mud that dragged at his calves. Onwards, through the strain of his body tearing itself apart.

By the time they reached the cliff it was several feet taller than him. Other than the occasional root and embedded rock the packed dirt was entirely smooth. The wound cut into the forest was much too orderly to be attributed to a natural disaster; it was as if someone or something wanted to throw this specific piece of the world into the abyss.

Roy had no chance of climbing up, but he wasn't concerned for himself.

He let Maribelle down as gently as he could manage and took a low stance. For a few painful moments, they faced each other. Another flash revealed Maribelle's round face, marred by tears and rain.

The ground didn't care for her hesitation, any more time spent like this only reduced her chances of making it out.

"Climb on!" Roy said between wheezing breaths.

"Y- You'll be behind me, right?"

Roy all but hoisted her up in lieu of an answer. By the grace of God, she cooperated, using him as a platform for her wobbling legs. The wet mess of twigs and mud clinging to Maribelle's shoes bled into Roy's shoulders.

With much scrabbling and a push from below, Maribelle clambered up.

"Find Mom and Dad!" He shouted after her.

Watching Maibelle stumble her way to the top loosened a cord inside him. What happened next didn't matter all that much, his blood was safe.

"Roy…" Maribelle dangled her shoelace of all things over the edge. "Hurry."

Roy shook his head. "You know that won't work." Even if he could reach that high and the shoelace managed to hold his weight, Maribelle couldn't. He'd only pull her back down.

"You have to try!"

That adorable streak of naive tenacity was what Roy loved the most about her. She'd make effort after effort at getting her way. Whenever Dad got called in early for work she tried to fake being sick or even blockade the door with toys so he "couldn't" leave. It reminded him of a time when he believed he could carve great deeds out of life if he just tried hard enough.

For her, Roy grasped at the wall, making a show of pulling himself a few inches from the ground. But there was no purchase to be found, he fell with only a handful of soil for his trouble.

"See, Mari? I'm sorry. Just find Mom and Dad, okay?"

Maribelle wailed through hiccuping breaths. "No! Don't leave me, please don't leave me!"

For what felt like hours, Maribelle refused to move. She broke his heart with a barrage of "I love yous" and apologies for every little mischief she'd visited upon him as the spoiled youngest child.

The roaring and tremors grew until they overpowered Maribelle's voice, but she kept going. He pressed his back against the wall, eyes locked on what little he could see of Maribelle. As awful as things were, he found himself loosing an ugly whuff of a chuckle.

Roy's entire life was a tale of failing by a little bit at every critical moment. If he were a bit more talented, he'd have that scholarship, if he were a bit more diligent, he'd have been able to make something of himself without it. Existence was a cruel joke, and the punchline always saw him staring inadequacy in the face.

But not this time. Maribelle was safe. She was safe because of him. Whatever curse that had him snagged by the hair lost its grip when it mattered the most.

Quiet.

Sunlight seared Roy's eyes. Gone was the wall and rain, the land beneath his feet didn't so much as shudder, though he could still feel vibrations in his bones.

He teetered, stumbling back into dry grass that reached his thighs. Slowly, he turned to behold a meadow brimming with deep patches of yellow and violet flowers. They curled in many directions, some even shot forward to chomp down on low flying insects.

A few more cautious steps were all he had in him. Roy collapsed, staring between the bizarre expanse in front of him and the transplanted forest behind. He shouted for his sister.

No response. Good. If she wasn't on this side, she was safe. Maribelle was smart, and the campsite wasn't far from where they left each other, she'd make it back. She had to.

A dragonfly the size of Roy's palm hummed circles above his head, it clutched a blue gemstone shaped like a tear in its legs.

It released the gem, and though Roy crawled back to avoid getting clocked in the head, the thing shot towards him, burrowing into his pocket. the warmth it gave off would have been pleasant if the situation wasn't so weird. A soft click. Then his phone chimed.

The dragonfly was at eye-level now, watching.

"You want me to answer that?"

The dragonfly bobbed.

Well, it hadn't hurt him yet, and Roy had no idea what was going on. He wasn't even sure if he was still alive or sane.

The gem stuck itself to the underside of his phone like a decal. The moment he freed it from his pocket, a mottled wing sprung forth.

It chimed again. Without his prompting, the screen flared to life.

{You've been invited to [Goddess Lumera]'s chat group!}