April: friends and bonds

Sacred’s delicate frame glided across the water surface. Her fog rippled outward with each step, and a trail of glowing lotus leaves swept from her head. Inky fish dipped and swam around her feet, sometimes plunging into the water.

The sky was clear today on the lake. A few birds sounded above her, but mostly she found solitude this far offshore from the forest. It had been many months since she’d last seen an esk or human. The animals gave her plenty of company, but she didn’t usually go this long in isolation.

Of course she could leave and go find a familiar face, but her inexplicable intuition led her forward. And perhaps, as she always hoped, she’d find Seventh.

She hadn’t seen it in years. Sometimes she put more effort into finding the mysterious Wanderer, but lately she had been content to drift more casually. Perhaps soon she would try again to question others and try to discern a pattern. Her efforts to calm the entity were inconclusive, but that meant nothing to her. She was drawn to its angst, and knew it would always occupy a portion of her thoughts.

A light drizzle began, and she looked up to the sky questioningly. It had been clear just moments before, but now the rain came down heavier. It had a familiar quality, and it peaked her memory. It wasn’t sleet though, and she didn’t feel that distinct sense of dread, so it couldn’t be Seventh… Yutian!

Across the lake she watched Wuxi and Yutian trotting across the water. She marveled at how often she seemed to run into the pair, despite always meeting in a new location and time. The world held so many mysteries.

“Sacred, a pleasure as always!” Wuxi announced.

“Same to you both! What brings you to the Cretaceous Era?” She tended to feel livelier and less stoic in their presence, even now.

“We’ve learned of a rare bird in this epoch, it’s extinct in our time and I intend to see one,” Yutian explained. Sacred nodded, a fine reason for their journey.

They caught up on their most recent wanderings. Sacred described the young bear that she had saved from a trap, and Wuxi and Yutian regaled her with stories of their own. Finally Wuxi asked:

“So, have you transformed me yet?”

Sacred shook her head, no. A low, buzzing anxiety formed in her mind when she thought about the transformation. He had given her some idea of what to expect, but it didn’t calm her nerves. His gentle shade of blue along with Yutian’s equally calm hue were familiar to her now, and she disliked running into them while their forms were red and distressed.

Wuxi looked a little saddened to hear her no, and she knew it was because she had yet to form the memories of their travels together after his transformation.

“And have you performed mine?” She asked back.

Wuxi’s eyes grinned, “No, you don’t exist from my perspective either.”

Sacred’s fur ruffled in amusement at the strangeness. Underneath though, Wuxi and Yutian could read her anxiety.

“Don’t fret, I know my transformation worries you, but someday it will all be in the past,” Wuxi said, paradoxically calming her when talking about his own wounds.

“Well, since we can’t change the past, let’s find joy in the present,” Yutian suggested. “Sacred, come help us find our bird. Let’s have a little adventure.”

The enchantment in her lotus brightened in delight and she accepted their offer. The three esk made their way to the shoreline, eager for a bit of uncomplicated leisure.