Green Spring [2021]

Mata stirred as the sunlight shone on her face.  Flicking her ear in irritation, she nuzzled into the body next to her to hide from the offending brightness, but the concentrated warmth of the sun’s light pouring in through the window was uncomfortable enough to rouse her from her sleep.  She lifted her head, grumbling, and let out a big yawn before observing her surroundings.  Multiple tails, pairs of legs, and arms were strewn about the black blanket of the bed around her, and when she tried to lift her right arm she realized it was pinned under Will’s body.  Gently, she tugged it out from under him, taking care not to disturb or wake him.  The same had to be done for her left arm, and when she thought she was free, she tried to slip away only to realize that her tail was also pinned under Haseo.  She gave an exasperated sigh and tugged the long stream of fluff free, and then crawled off of the bed.

The three of them had been up late into the morning hours for Haseo’s gaming stream, and at some point after it had ended, the friends passed out in a pile on the streamer’s bed while talking about the events that had taken place.  She was still tired, it had only been a few hours since they all fell asleep, but she couldn’t linger around any longer.  If Haseo’s calendar was accurate, and it always was because of his meticulous schedule, today was the day Mata had planned to return back to the world of Scarfoxes, her true home and place of origin.  It was spring now, and if she were in time, she might be able to catch a glimpse of the Lord of Mini passing through the Hidden Garden and blessing the area with his magic.  The thought excited her; it would be amazing if she were able to take a photo or two of the event, and truthfully speaking, spending so much time in front of a screen the night before had her head buzzing so she wanted to take a break away from it all and relax in the comfort of nature.

She retrieved her cell phone from her hoodie pocket and checked the time, relieved to find that it was still early.  If she left now, she could make a quick stop back at her own place to grab her camera and some extra film, enough for an entire day’s worth of taking photos.  As she was just about to exit Haseo’s apartment, a voice called out and startled her.

“Leaving already?”  Will was standing, half slumped and still half-asleep, against the door frame leading to the bedroom.  Mata hissed at him and put a finger up to her mouth, shushing the other Scarfox so that Haseo wouldn’t wake up.  Will’s ears pulled back and he whispered a quiet apology.  “You’re going home?” He whispered.

Mata nodded, but then shook her head.  “I’m going back to the realm,” she whispered back.  “I want to visit the Hidden Garden and see if I can catch the Mini Lord using his magic,” she hesitated, “and my head hurts from all of the gaming last night.”

Will looked intrigued at that, his black and gold ears perking up.  “That sounds like fun,” he whispered excitedly.  “Can… Can I come too?”

Mata tilted her head.  “But aren’t you supposed to stream again with Haseo?”

Will shrugged.  “He’ll be fine without me.  Besides, I’d like a break too.”

A shadow loomed behind Will then, four arms reaching out to stretch and a rumbling growl filled the otherwise quiet space.  “What are you two whispering about at eight in the morning?”

Mata gave Will a sharp look, chiding him as if he’d been the one to wake Haseo with his initial question, but Will looked unfazed.  “It’s spring back home in the realm.  Mata wants to go back and spend some time there.  You know, detach.  Take a break.  Some of us can’t sit in front of the computer 24/7.”  He smirked, turning to face the taller Scarfox behind him.

Haseo’s lack of face always made reading his emotions difficult for her, but if Mata could hazard a guess, she’d have said that Haseo probably would have been irritated at that.  However, if that were the case, he was good at hiding it.  He shrugged off Will’s remark and slipped his lower hands into his hoodie pockets, the other two coming to rest on the top of his head.

“Back to the Scarfox realm, huh?”  He pondered for a fleeting moment.  “Well, maybe someday, but I can’t today.  You two have fun, though.”  As he turned to walk away, he hesitated and regarded Mata.  “Show me the photos when you get back.  Haven’t been ‘home’ in years, would love to see if anything’s changed.”

Mata laughed.  “When do I NOT show you my photos?”

Haseo waved her off and disappeared back into his room, presumably to go back to sleep for a few more hours before his next stream, leaving Will and Mata in silence once more.  She looked at him, an unspoken question of whether or not to leave, and he nodded.  Quietly, they slipped out of the apartment and, after Will had made sure the door was locked behind them, exited the building.  Their journey to Mata’s house led them down several streets and Will was able to observe a lot of early morning sights that he’d never seen before.  As he looked around, he noticed that Mata seemed familiar with some of the people they passed.

“Are you… always awake this early?” He wondered out loud.

“I try to be,” she replied casually.  “I don’t really like the harshness of the morning sun, but sometimes, depending on the weather, I get really nice photos around this time of day.”

The stop at her residence was brief; just as Will was getting acquainted with her home, Mata was ready to go; Her favorite camera hung around her neck and various bags and pouches slung over her shoulders.

“Is all of that really necessary?  Kinda bulky, isn’t it?”  To Will, taking a photo was as easy as pointing his cell phone at someone and pushing the button on the screen with nothing extra needed.  Mata, on the other hand, looked offended.

“You better believe it’s necessary!” Mata’s threads bristled.  “Good photos don’t take themselves, Will.  You gotta have the right equipment if you want the picture to turn out the right way.  And don’t even think about comparing your lousy, grainy phone pics to my professional photography.  You gotta have the right setup, the right lenses, the right lighting, the right-”

Will zoned out at that point, regretting that he’d asked.  Mata had a tendency to be… Passionate about her hobbies, and while Will had nothing against that, a lot of times he simply didn’t understand a majority of what Mata was saying during her rants.  After a few seconds, he tuned back in, but she was still going.

“-and there’s a reason my work is featured in magazines, you know.  I don’t run a photography business because I just point my cell phone at any old thing-”

“Okay, okay!  I get it, I’m sorry!”  He raised his hands in surrender, making a mental note to himself to NEVER ask that ever again.

Mata pouted, her ears pulled back, but gave up almost immediately after.  “Right, well, let’s go.”

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The two Scarfoxes sat in the grass of the Hidden Garden, feeling tranquil in the fresh air.  Here, there were no screens, no power lines, just the peaceful ambience of nature and the occasional breeze that caressed their faces.  Mata was right, it really did feel good to take a break and get away from it all.  Will flopped backwards, sprawling out in the grass and gazing up at the sky.  It didn’t look any different from the sky back in the other world, but it felt different, somehow.  His friend also turned her gaze skyward and inhaled deeply, mimicking Will and laying down in the grass too.

They stayed there, content to laze in the fresh grass until some time in the afternoon before Mata sat up and eyed Will, whom she realized had dozed off.  Taking her camera in her hands and adjusting the settings, she pointed the lens at the sleeping fox and pressed the shutter button.  Will’s ear twitched at the quick “snap” sound of the photo being taken, but he didn’t wake up.  He looked comfortable, so she decided to let him nap.  Mata, however, had an itch to explore so she stood up and brushed the grass off of herself, looking around to see what she could take photos of.  Not far from her current spot was a small pond and some colorful bushes.  Her usual black and white photography wouldn’t do this scenery justice, so she set her second camera and accompanying pouches down next to Will and then wandered over to the pond’s edge, peering down into the water.  She reached out and lightly poked one of the lily pads, and then gently pressed a fingertip to the water’s surface, drawing her finger around and watching the ripples spread out.  She smiled, and suddenly a thought crossed her mind.

Gently picking some flowers from the nearby bushes, she crept back to the sleeping Scarfox, a wicked grin spreading across her face.  Careful not to wake Will in the process, she decorated him with the flowers she picked, moved her equipment bags aside, and proceeded to take several photos of him from different angles.  Haseo wanted pictures, afterall, so she was going to have some fun with her photo shoot.  The repeated snaps of the camera shutter eventually woke the dozing fox and he pushed himself up, flowers falling down into his lap.  He picked one up and examined it.

“Where did these come from?”  He turned his attention to Mata, who was crouched down beside him with her fingers laced together, chin resting on her hands and a wide grin on her face.  Oh.  He understood.  “Having fun?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded and cheerfully replied, “tons!”

Will stood up and shook the remaining flowers off of himself, earning a disapproving sound from Mata.  Nonetheless, he seemed more alert and keen to explore now so Mata decided not to squander the opportunity.  Gathering up the bags and splitting their weight between them, the two Scarfoxes headed deeper into the Hidden Garden to look around.  As they did, Mata hung back and let Will wander ahead, occasionally taking a candid snapshot of him as he explored the garden.  Like most people that Mata had photographed, Will’s natural behavior made a better subject for photographing.  She often found that people tried too hard when they were aware of the camera, and while the final result did look nice, it always felt so forced and unnatural.  While she herself had been back and forth to the Scarfox realm frequently, it was evident that this was Will’s first time back since his birth, and his enchantment with his surroundings was quite charming.

The two spent the day exploring the garden, and after a while, Mata had given Will her second camera to teach him how to take proper photos and let him experiment with things.  After several hours of wandering around, they found themselves back at their starting point and decided to stop for a break to rest their feet.  They hadn’t seen any sign of the Lord of Mini yet, but Mata wasn’t about to give up.  During their rest, the nearby bushes rustled, drawing their attention.  They glanced at each other and then jumped to their feet, grabbing their stuff and running into the bushes after whatever was nearby.  When the shadow they were chasing dove into a set of bushes and appeared to stay put, the two crept up to the rustling flora, attention high.  After what felt like an eternity of suspense, a small critter came charging out of the bushes towards Mata.  She yelped and fell back as the small critter ran by her, Will following on the critter’s tail.  It wasn’t the Lord of Mini, but it was still something neither of them had seen before and Will couldn’t resist.

When Mata was back on her feet, she also fell into pursuit, the two foxes chasing the small critter through the grass.  They were nimble, but the critter’s small stature and speed made it agile enough to evade them at every turn.  They collapsed in the grass to catch their breath and found themselves under a dark shadow.

“What are you two doing?”  Haseo sounded amused.

“Oh, look.  City boy came to blow the stink off of himself after all,” Mata teased.  “What about the livestream?”

Haseo shrugged.  “Had to reschedule.  Technical difficulties.”  He sat down with them in the grass, looking around at the surrounding environment.  “Doesn’t seem like much has changed, after all.  Still nice to look at, though.  And the fresh air smells good.”

The critter reappeared a distance away from them, eyeing them warily.  Haseo’s eyes focused on it.  “No, what?  You’re telling me THIS little thing is what’s got you two run ragged?”  He laughed.

“Laugh all you want, dude, it’s quick as heck,” Will grumbled, glaring at it.

“And I’m sure you two’d be quicker too if you weren’t dragging all that heavy equipment around,” Haseo countered, gesturing to the pouches and bags weighing the other two down.  Mata opened her mouth to protest but Haseo cut her off.  “Well, if you’re gonna catch it, you need a plan.”

The three huddled together, devising a plan to catch the creature for photographing.  Once a strategy had been agreed upon, everyone took their positions and the chase began anew.  With Will on one side and Mata on the other, the creature bolted into the bushes again, but was instantly snatched up by Haseo after he teleported in front of it too close for it to change its course.  Holding the fiercely wriggling creature with all four hands, Haseo urged Mata to take pictures quickly and then set the creature free to dash off into the thicket.  With that dealt with, the trio went back to wandering around, since Haseo now wanted to see the sights as well.  When the three came across a clover patch, Haseo stopped walking, gazing out into the clover patch curiously.

“Think there’s any four leaf clovers in there?”

“Dunno, let’s find out!”  Mata carefully stepped into the clover leafs, crouching down and looking them over.

Haseo and Will followed suit, spreading out to cover more ground.  They searched and searched, but none of them had had any success thus far.  They were about to give up when Will let out a triumphant yell.

“I think I found one!”

Mata and Haseo rushed over to him and crouched down, inspecting the clover stem between his fingers.  Sure enough, it was a four leaf clover.  Will grinned happily, feeling accomplished.  He was about to pluck it from the clover patch when Haseo stopped him.

“No, leave it be.”

Mata crouched down and took a photo of the clover, framed by Will’s black and gold fingers.  “This will be good enough.  It’s proof we found it, and it allows another fox to find it too.”

Will considered it, and decided to follow their advice.  Brushing his thumb over it, he gazed at the four leaf clover and let the image engrave itself into his mind before letting go of it.  Satisfied with their finding, the trio headed back to the field.  They stayed in the Hidden Garden for the rest of the day, finding themselves in increasingly good spirits and eventually even feeling a bit giddy.  The three lay in the grass, laughing and carrying on with each other, enjoying the spring foliage and not even caring what time it was anymore.  It was late into the night when they returned to the other world and parted ways.

As Mata lay on her bed, looking over the photos on her camera from the day’s trip, she felt content and refreshed.  Spring was her favorite season because of the rejuvenation and the fresh greenery after the dreary winter, and she planned to enjoy as much of it as she could while before the clutches of summer took over.  She may not have achieved her goal of photographing the Lord of Mini like she’d hoped to in the end, but she had to admit that still had a blast with her friends in the Hidden Garden and looked forward to revisiting in the near future, hoping that they could all go together from the start next time.  It’s not that the city didn’t have its own charms and finer points, but a break from the concrete jungle here and there never hurt.