[Gift] Pass it Along--Scarfox-1676: Vanilla--YLP

As Vanilla reclined against the tree, enjoying the cool night air and the sounds of all the little bugs and the world around, she felt relaxed. She focused on each sense in turn. The smell of the air and how crisp it was, carrying the fresh smell of new growth. The feel of the bark pressed against her back, rough and craggy, but not unpleasant. She spread her fingers idly through the grass, enjoying the way it tickled to valleys between her fingers. She could taste the air against her teeth, cool and dark, and the sounds of crickets and cicadas filling the air with a cacophony so loud she allowed it to drown out her thoughts, til nothing was left but the heavy, weighty feeling in her limbs that precipitated sleep.

Where am I? She wondered, taking in everything around her. She appeared to be in a field of flowers, but they all towered over her head, faces turned towards the bright moon and swaying gently. In an attempt to gain a better vantage point she climbed one of them, balancing precariously, and holding tight to the petals when she reached the top. AS far as she could see there were flowers. But a little ways off, she could see a tendril of smoke rising. Hopefully someone else. Ideally who knew a little more about where they were. She made her way back down the flower stalk, then set off in the direction of the smoke. Before long she came upon a little campfire, with a creature that tickled at the edges of her memory stoking the logs.

“Hello there,” he said like he was expecting the company, “take a seat, tea’ll be ready in just a moment.”

A flash of memory hit her like a brick to the head. A human. But that was impossible. Wasn’t it? Humans and scarfoxes live in different worlds. She sat down nonetheless, a bit stupefied by what she was seeing.

“Thank you… Do you know where we are?” he pressed a cup of tea into her hands as she spoke, “thank you…”

“Know where we are? Of course not. No one knows where this place is. It's a place where we find each other,” he sipped his own tea thoughtfully, “it’s nowhere I guess, mmm, but also kinda everywhere? I dunno. I'm not a philosopher.”

He cast her a grin and despite her misgivings she felt a lot more at ease than she had before. They talked for a while, about life and fear and love and luck, but as the fire slowly died down her new friend began to pack up his little campsite, consisting mostly of tucking away the kettle and cups he’d used to make tea.

“I'm sorry, but I must be going. My time here is almost up. I think. It's hard to tell, but the fire dying is a sure sign I’d better get going,” he hefted his backpack onto his shoulder, and as if he knew what she was thinking before she could voice it he added, “don't worry though. There’s nothing to be scared of here. You’ll find your way back soon enough.”

“Will we meet again?” she asked before he could disappear into the thick forest of flowers that surrounded them.

He reached into his pocket and pressed something into her hand, “with a little luck, anything is possible.”

She looked down to see what he’d handed her, a four leaf clover encased in glass, perfectly preserved, with a little hole in the top, perfect for looping a bit of string through. By the time she looked up again, he was gone.

When she awoke, the sun was up, and the edges of her dream lapped at the edges of her memory, like waves receding from the shore. Flowers, she could remember flowers, and something else, but she couldn't, couldn't quite place what it was. She tried to remember, it felt important, but the harder she tried, the quicker it vanished, like sand between her fingers. She went to push herself to her feet, but felt something hard and smooth under her hand. She lifted it up to see what it was. A four leaf clover, perfectly preserved in glass.

Oh. She remembered. A friend.