Chapter Twenty-Eight

For a moment Cierra was convinced she was back in the Skogkatt's world; the grass was green, the sky lit up by a white sun. The only difference were the trees, their bark was laced with green moss, and the bit of grass Cierra was on was clearly a well-worn trail that led deeper into the forest.

As if to make the trail even more obvious, thorny vines wrapped around the first four feet of the tree trunks and connected to the following trunks like a sort of nature friendly fence. On the vines grew red-orange blooms in various stages of opening. The largest flower so far was about the size of her head, petals stretched out yet somehow still layering across each other to create a blossom thicker than any Cierra had seen before. The smell emanating from them reminded her of a combination of hawthorn and grapefruit. It was odd at first, but now Cierra found that it had a calming quality to it, and she was surprised that over time, her shoulders relaxed and even Cid was stretching his paws out.

The forest itself was quiet, something that bothered Cierra at first, but now she found it reassuring. It meant there was nothing around that was going to attack them, and if there was at least she would be able to hear it coming. Cid seemed inclined to agree, as he sniffed at the air and swaggered along the path in front of her, tail lazing behind him.

Having fallen asleep looking for the mystery person and their entourage, Cierra was relieved to be in a place so straight forward. Most likely whoever she was looking for along this trail and if she kept pushing forward, they would run into them eventually.

It was better than being in an open world, where she might choose to go left, but the people she was looking for were to the right. Briefly, she wondered if Goldie had set this up or them; it was a smart choice either way.

But then, Cierra realized, they had to know she was on the way. How was that possible? Had they been able to track and follow her like she had stalked the morpher? How could they do that without her or Cid noticing? She wasn't sure she liked where that line of thinking led her.

The path twisted down a slope, and the sun, which had been so bright just moments before, was slowly blotted out during her descent. The leaves were a deep verdant, each one growing out six triangle points easily the size of Cierra's hand, and the canopy was soon only allowing dapples of sunlight through.

The scent of the flowers were slowly becoming suffocating as the nature around them became denser and more closely packed and wind seemed to no longer reach them. Where there had been room for the two of them to nearly walk side by side, now Cierra was forced to follow Cid and move with caution or else her hands would be pricked by the vines.

Just when she thought the forest itself was going to close in on them, it opened up into a clearing. They had almost entered the clearing when Cierra heard voices.

"Cid," She whispered, motioning him with her hand for him to stop moving.

"Do we even know if she's going to come tonight?" The voice cracked like a young boys.

"Well, we're going to wait and find out," A young woman answered, sternly.

"It's almost been a week," the boy protested, "Getting a divine object was too hard, we both know Goldie's idea was too hard. Why don't we just find her ourselves?"

"No," the woman answered, "We'll wait here, just like we promised."

"How is she going to find us anyway," the boy complained, "It's not like she knows this place."

With that Cierra gave Cid a shove forward so they could both emerge.

In the distance three people sat on the ground, around them was a faint glow Cierra had never seen before; as she got closer, she saw the group was comprised of a boy Cierra guessed was maybe thirteen or fourteen years old, a young woman in her early twenties, and a young man around her own age.

The woman noticed her first, standing up.

"Well look who it is," She said, giving the young boy a look that screamed 'I told you so,' "We were starting to worry that getting a divine object was an impossible task."

The woman before her was lean, but strong with muscles Cierra could trace down her arms and legs. Her shoulders were wide, reminding Cierra of her father, and they were emphasized by the woman's sleeveless shirt and cut off jean shorts. Everything about the simple cotton material and the short shorts, made it clear the woman freedom of movement. It was obvious from how skin tone and facial features that she was Asian, and Cierra immediately found herself wanting to know more about the stranger.

Cierra raised her bracelet in response, showing the four gold beads first.

"It wasn't an easy task, but I have four and a half of Freya's tears," Cierra said, "and a literal ton of questions."

As the group moved closer, Cid took his position poised in front of Cierra's legs, watching them.

"Four and a half?" The woman asked, making to rush over but stopping when Cid bared his teeth.

"Cool cat," the boy said, smiling at Cid, "Can I pet him?"

If the woman was stern and in charge, then the boy was her opposite. His lopsided grin, ginger hair, and splattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose gave him the look of a mischievous free spirit. He was every bit the definition of lanky, and a few years and growth spurts away from handsome.

Cierra knelt and scratched Cid behind the ears, "I think they seem ok," she said reassuringly. Turning back to the boy, she said "You can pet him if he lets you."

With that Cid sat, alert, watching the three strangers.

"I'll wait," the boy said after taking a moment to think about it.

"You said you have," the woman paused for a moment, "Four and a half of Freya's tears?" She waited for Cierra to nod before pressing on, "How do you get 'half' of a divine artifact?" She asked, emphasizing the 'half'.

Cierra put her bracelet arm behind her wrist. "I'll tell you that once we get to know each other a bit more." Cierra kept her voice stern, despite wanting to tell them everything and ask them questions, "I worked too hard for these for you to keep stringing me along like this."

"She has a backbone, Nora," the man around Cierra's age joked, "Finally someone you can't push around all the time."

Something about the man's deeper voice and demeanor seemed familiar to Cierra. He was tall and dark like her uncle, hair braided back with a lightning bolt fade going down each side.

"Hans?" She asked, doubtful.

The guy looked at her, head tilted, eyebrows knitting together, "Do I know you?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah," Cierra was taken aback, she had expected all of these people to live in some other part of the world, "You mowed my grandparent's lawn up 'til a few weeks ago."

"Mr. and Mrs. Xi?" He asked, shaking his head, "I'd heard it was a small world, but this small? Insane."

"Wait," Nora interrupted, "You two know each other," She turned to Hans, "And you never noticed she was a lightbulb?"

Cierra wasn't sure how she felt about being called a lightbulb, but she let it go, curious to hear Han's answer.

"We never really met," Hans said glancing at Cierra, "I only mowed their lawn, I never stayed over for dinner or anything."

"That's true," Cierra said, thinking back, "I've only seen him once, while we were pulling into my grandparent's driveway and he was leaving." She didn't think he had glowed then, but she wasn't sure.

Still something about him felt like she had met Hans before.

"Were you," She paused, biting her lip, "Were you the tiger in the Skogkatt's world?"

Hans looked at the ground and then back at her, nodding.

"Yeah, we never really met until the day that Menace guy showed up."

"You!" Cierra shouted, on accident, "You almost killed me!" She stalked forward, staring him in the face. Cid followed, growling.

"Whoa, whoa," He put his hands up, "I just didn't know what you were! What if you were a bad guy? And then that Menace dude showed up…" His voice trailed off.

"You jumped on me way before Menace came into the picture." Cierra accused, causing Nora and the boy's eyebrows to jump up.

"You did what—"

"Wow, man—"

Nora and the boy said in unison.

"Calm down," Hans said, "It's not like you're all thinking—"

"Calm down?" Cierra asked, getting angry, "Why would I calm down? You. Almost. Killed. Me."