never follow a firefly into the forest

Gilgamesh

Come this way.

Buzzing. Buzzing. Buzzing. More buzzing. All he could hear was buzzing. It rang in his ears, through his body, deep into his core. Buzz, buzz, buzz. He couldn't escape the fervent buzzing noise. When did this even begin? He could have sworn that Autumn was a pleasant time for the land of Boreas. Now as the leaves fell and snow scattered across the land, it had brought with it a malevolent thing. Initially, he hadn't questioned it. Distracted by new friends and quandaries of spiritualness, the depth that which this terror brought came out of nowhere, buzz. Having followed Modesty up to the mountain peaks with voices on their tails and Daphne through the forest with that thing they'd killed, he had been able to avoid the buzzing. It had started small at first, quiet and ignorable, but now all he could hear was buzz, buzz, buzz. Was it just buzzing? Was there something else? A whisper maybe? No. Couldn't be. Bugs don't talk. Did they? He didn't know. Couldn't tell.

Follow us.

Buzzing. More buzzing as he tried to keep his ears flat and his eyes half-closed. Blind to the world around him, Gil followed the fireflies without a second thought. They were everywhere and nowhere at the same god damn time. Every time he blinked, more would show up, buzz. When his eyes closed, he would still see them, sitting there, lingering behind his lids, taunting him. How dare they pester him so much? What had he done to them? Lest he forgets, buzz, the time he decided to antagonize them at the lake. Or the time he licked the mushroom in the cave. Were the mushrooms related? They did glow now, had been for some time. He pretended not to notice for the most part.

This way.

The changes, buzz, in Boreas, were indeed frightening, but Gil, buzz, wasn't easily frightened. He was a hardened warrior that knew no fear. He would take on the toughest opponent that ever approached. Buzz. Even as the days drew long and the sun refused to rise, he ignored it. He played it off like nothing, buzz, was happening. As stars streaked across the sky like fingers dragging paint across a canvas, he ignored it. The moon that hung low along the horizon now, staking claim to the sky, was huge, larger than he'd ever seen in his short lifespan so far. How could, buzz, anyone explain that?

That way.

Were they in his ears, buzz, now? But his ears were flat on his head. There was no way for them to get inside of them, right? The incessant buzzing made him draw away from the one wolf he'd grown close to. Gil wouldn't admit it, but he was worried that he would be aggressive toward her. Didn't want that, now did he? Buzz. So he left to an unknown destination. Anywhere that would be buzz away from her. Gritting his teeth, tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, he hadn't a clue where he was. His trek had been long, days long, but with the night sky scarring the world as he knew it, he couldn't tell time anymore. Did wolves even keep track of time? Buzz.

Keep going.

Scents of ocean and salt permeated his nose that he wished he could keep closed. What if they could go up into his nostrils? Buzz. No, no, that wasn't possible. Where was he? How did he get here? Were those crystals on those rocks? Hanging in the trees? Buzz. No, couldn't be that either. What was this place? Confused, his yellow eyes snapped open wider now as he tried to get his body to stop moving. His entire being was tense, every muscle rigid as he fought continuing on this dangerous, buzz path to nowhere. How in the world did he end up here? Was this Auster? When did he cross the bridge?

Not much farther.

Looking around, everything was, buzz, different here. When the land wasn't strife with conundrums, buzz, this place might have been pretty. A clearing widened out in front of him as the trees grew around in a wall of protection. Protection? No, that wasn't it. Mushrooms hidden under the brush emanated a soft glow as the crystals on rocks and tree bark pulsed gently. Ugh, crystals. That memory wasn't a fond one. Buzz. His scarred forearm still twinkled in the dusk as the crystal had somehow magically fallen off after procuring randomly in his wound. What had that bear even been? Was it even a bear at all? What had even made the crystal grow in the first place? Was it the bear's, buzz, magic? Did bears have magic? Or was it Daphne's salve she'd put on him? Was she a witch? Gil knew those existed, but he hadn't gotten that sort of vibe from her. Shouldn't trust witches.

Keep going.

Buzz, buzz, buzz. The buzzing was incessant now as the bluish fireflies danced in front of him. Where were they taking him? Did they want him to go somewhere? Anywhere? Why to Auster? Why this grove? The grass felt itchy under his paws as a chilling ocean breeze ruffled his scarred coat. Who was that? Buzz. Someone was there? Whipping his head to the right, he thought, buzz, he had seen someone peeking from behind a tree. When were these horrid creatures going to stop making this noise? Were they making any noise? Gil couldn't tell anymore.

Don't stop now.

Entranced by the two floating, buzz, dots spaced quite suspiciously and evenly apart as if a pair of eyes were watching him from around the tree trunk, a generous shiver rolled down his spine. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" His voice bellowed a booming noise that finally broke his silence. Suddenly, the fireflies scattered, if only for a moment, and the buzzing finally stopped. If only for a moment. A heavy sigh rattles from his chest as he lowered his head toward his ankles. With his tail tucked between his legs, Gil had never felt so defeated before. Why were these fireflies doing this?

Let us show you.

He looked up to the sky before finally opening his eyes to what they, buzz, wanted. "What are you trying to show me?" Gil asks, his voice shaking as his whole body quivered. It was cold, buzz, but not cold enough for him to feel this way. Protected by the grove, it should have been warm here. Glancing around at each individual firefly, his eyes squinted as if trying to really look at them. Buzz. One paw step closer, they would scatter, just out of his reach. "SHOW ME!" He bellowed again, frustrated and crazed by whatever these things were. Floating, dancing, buzzing around him they continued, always just out of reach as if they were trying to get him to see something. He couldn't figure it out. What was it?

Buzz: 1,156

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never follow a firefly into the forest

Gilgamesh