The Butterfly Effect

A fan fiction by Tarashima

Chapter 4 – All of a sudden it will turn from the gormandizing lifestyle…

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Luna and Rosie ran in hurry to the hole. The boys had only giving them the short story, but it was enough for them to hear and realize that this was serious.

"How typical of Mirja to get in trouble every time she's about to do anything" Rosie said irritated.

"Now now, Rose, you know that it isn't her fault" Luna replied.

"And whose is it then?" Rosie asked

Luna didn't answer that question. Instead, she felt rather sorry about her clumsy niece and wondered if I was okay.

When they got to the hole, Ender gave them a single nod.

"Has she really fallen through this hole?" Rosie asked skeptically.

"Indeed she has" Ender answered fractious, "Don't you smell her scent?"

"Well, what shall we do?" Luna asked worried.

"The only thing we can do, wait till the morning and then examine the hole. If she didn't answer the boys when they called for her, then she's not down there, or not alive"

Luna didn't like the way Ender talked so cold about his daughter but she knew her brother better than that. She knew that he was worried sick, and didn't want to wait till the morning. But he was more of a logical kind than an emotional, and even it looked cold-hearted, there were no other options left.

"Poor Mirja, I hope she's okay" Luna said with teary eyes.

"And if she's not, I'm gonna kill her for making us other worried sick over her!" Rosie said angrily but the shiver on the voice revealed her worries for her younger sister.

Ender didn't say anything. Not even to his nieces Maggie and Mimi when they at the return asked if they'd found me.

With a face that was stiffed in a mix of anger and concerns, he spent the whole night watching the star-filled sky, alone with thoughts that only he could tell.

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I woke up the next morning by almost falling of the branch. Panicky I grabbed hold onto the branch with both hands, and when I was sure not to fall, I sighed in relief. Then, I stretched myself and yawned. The branch had indeed been very uncomfortable, my back wasn't that pleased about the nights sleep.

I looked around, it was way lighter now. Early dawn if I'd to guess, it wasn't easy to decide the time of day down here when you couldn't see the sun.

Carefully I climbed down the tree and stopped just above the branch were Buck was sleeping. Now I took the chance to study this weasel more properly, I'd most of the time yesterday had my eyes on his back.

He slept with his mouth lightly open and in the same position I'd last seen him yesterday. Maybe it was just the morning light that was teasing with me, but I thought he was rather beautiful. And he looked slightly different now when I'd come to know him a little bit more, but I wasn't sure of what exactly in his features that had changed.

I climbed down, silently so I wouldn't awoke him. On the ground, I once again stretched; it felt nice to be in motion again. On my toes, I walked down to the lake and was just about to wash my face and take a sip or two when something black fell down on both sides of my head. A single thread of fear passed through me but then I realized it was just my own hair, lost from the damaged rope during my uncommon sleep. It fell over my shoulders, soft and silky, in such a strange unusual way, so I looked down on the mirror-blank lake and studied my face. And it struck me that I looked much prettier than before. My face was naturally framed within my hair and its darkness gave me a little mysterious look. Carefully I ran my fingers through it. This couldn't be me. Maybe Buck was right, maybe my insecurities didn't actually have solid ground to stand on.

And then a thought took form in my head. Maybe it was because of the lack of compliments in my life that made me let the thought grab hold in the back of my mind, letting its roots dig deep:

Did Buck think I was pretty?

Hell no, what was I thinking? Just because he didn't found my eyes ugly, I couldn't presume that he would think the same way about my hair.

"Good morning" I heard beside of me, and it made me squeak in scared surprise. I turned my face and looked straight into a blue eye and a laughing mouth.

"Better start working on the nerves, aye?" Buck said, then formed his hands into a bowl and began to drink from the lake. I turned away shyly, and washed my face with harsh, almost as if I wanted to wash away the nervousness. I shook my head hard to get rid of all the water and drops flew everywhere around me. Buck laughed as he put up an arm as protection. I didn't know what to fell, but my best guess would be irritated.

I turned my head and met his eyes. Buck looked at me carefully. Then, his smile grew a bit bigger.

"Ya look much better that way" he said and then walked off to the tree to fetch his knife. But I did hardly notice it. Maybe he didn't know it or could guess it, but I'd never in my entire life received a compliment for my appearance. Not a single one, not even from my family. And now, I had obtained two in just a day, from another weasel, and a male! Okay, he was a weasel with apparently no capacity of normal thinking, but for the moment I didn't care about that.

The silly happiness that now filled me made me smile out of control and I had to turn away my head so I wouldn't reveal it to Buck.

Soon we began our walk again, and after a while, the environment changed into fields of grass and small bushes. Here, tiny dinosaurs were jumping around. They seemed to be predators but they didn't care for us at all. And I'm not sure if I would have noticed it anyway.

The compliment I had received from Buck was still running through my mind like a happy orphan that just been adopted by the parents of his or hers dreams, and I could hardly stop the silly smile in my face. Lucky for me, Buck did never turned around and saw it.

The hours went by, and the landscape shifted into a jungle-like again. Yet now the trees were much bigger, creating a natural roof that didn't let the light slip through the leaves. Gigantic flowers grew here and there amongst the trees and the ground was covered in dead leaves and lianas.

"Welcome to the Jungle of Lost Souls" Buck said in a dramatic voice.

"Why do they call it that? Do you really lose your soul in here?" I asked slightly frightened.

"No, it's just sound cool to say" Buck answered in a cheery way.

His answer made me moan in annoyance. Once again I was about to ask when he'd lost his mind when I suddenly flew up in the air with something strapped onto my left leg. I screamed, but more in surprise then in fear. 'Cause there wasn't a giant perilous dinosaur that'd caught me this time, it was a liana strapped into a giant butterfly flying, and it hadn't notice me.

"Mirja!" Buck yelled after me as I helpless dangled after the insect as we flew through the trees.

"Help me!" I yelled but wasn't sure how that was supposed to happen. The butterfly itself wasn't a threat, but it did flew in a highly speed and the liana was real tightly strapped onto my leg. I had to be totally focused on which way the insect flew, or else I would have crushed into the trees or the flowers we were passing.

But after a while, the butterfly landed on a giant red flower, and I took it as chance of get myself free. With harsh effort with both hands and teeth, I was finally free of the liana and landed on the ground with my back first. Fortunately, the ground was so high-covered in leaves it softened my fall.

I ran away from the butterfly just to make sure I wouldn't get stuck again. When I was out of range of it, I slowed down and stopped. It was then I realized I didn't have a clue of where I was. All the trees and flowers around looked the same, and I couldn't see any sign of the trail anywhere. The flight had also messed up my picture of the time and I couldn't say from which direction I'd come from.

"Buck!" I yelled and listened, but no matter how hard I pricked up my ears, I couldn't hear a responding.

"Buck!" I yelled a lot louder, yet still without an answer.

"BUCK!" I yelled with all my strength and pricked my ears till their limits. Still there was no answer.

Now, I started to panic. I had survived pretty well in this world of dinosaurs, but it wasn't thanks to me. What would I do without Buck?

I tried to look through the trees, but couldn't see more then 30 yards in all directions. And if Buck would have been within my sight, he would have answered. Or would he?

What if he'd regret his decision of bringing me back home, just because he didn't found me as nothing but a weenie? That he didn't found it worth all the effort?

Tears started to search their from behind my eyelids, but I angrily blinked them away. Buck wasn't that kind of person, he'd showed me that he was kind-hearted and only enjoyed the trip of risking his life on a daily routine, especially when it came to matter of others.

No, he was only too far away to hear me. And he would for sure not find me for a while, so why not wait and then try to yell after him again?

So I sat down by a large tree beside me and waited.

End of chapter 4

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