Chapter 2 - Company

Ignis felt bewildered. There had been no mention of wings in any of the tests conducted. All the reports had come back with just normal stuff.
"We're like fairies or something!" He heard Prompto say. Could they truly be something out of a classic fantasy book? Had you asked him ten minutes ago, he would've said that this was ridiculous. He could have written this off as a hallucination, but everyone seemed to see them. Not only that, but he could feel them. He could move them.

He really wanted coffee. Unfortunately they couldn't stop here. They needed to find a place where they could stay.
"Boys, we need to make camp somewhere." He said to the others.
"Oh! Can't we camp here? We have water, food and a great view!" Prompto exclaimed and gestured around. Ignis glanced around. He supposed that was true and it might be wise staying close to their point of entry. He couldn't see anything he deemed dangerous either.
"Alright. Our equipment should be... Ah, there it is. Gladio, set up the tent. Cor, survey the area. Prompto, we need a campfire for tonight." Ignis sighed as they others got to work. Time to do this.

"So how exactly will we report?" Prompto asked, popping another grape into his mouth. The group was currently sat down in their new camp. Ignis had brought out something light for them to snack on. He'd also discovered that the water of the lake was as clean as it could possibly get. It was amazing, really.
"Either by writing it and sending it through an opening made between our worlds, or by temporarily bringing one of us back to them." Ignis answered Prompto as he took a sip of coffee. Sweet sweet coffee. He'd needed that. It was hard getting used to the wings. Prompto's wings were smaller than the others. They were a light green colour with darker green dotted here and there. Gladio's wings were big and in different shades of red. Cor's wings were also fairly big, but unlike Gladio's they were a silvery gray. Ignis' own wings were a light blue colour. It was hard to ignore the whole thing. He wasn't looking forward to sleeping tonight.

Ignis, Gladio and Prompto walked together through a forest of giant mushrooms. At least Ignis thought they had to be giant. It couldn't be that they themselves were small since everything else was of normal size. They had left Cor back at the camp, not wanting to leave their stuff unsupervised. Prompto had mentioned earlier that it was strange that they hadn't seen a single animal. Gladio had replied with the fact that they could hear birds, and Prompto had countered him by asking if he'd actually seen one. Unfortunately the answer had been no. It really was strange. They should've at least come across some form of life by now, so why hadn't they? Ignis made a mental note to report this when they were given the chance. The giant mushroom and the lack of animals weren't the only thing that was odd. Ignis couldn't help but feel watched from time to time, like someone was following them. Yet, every time he turned around to check; all he could see was blue glittering particles slowly floating downwards. It was very strange. After turning around for the umpteenth time, he decided it was enough and that they should head back. They'd seen the giant mushroom forest. Now they'd better go and check so nothing had happened to Cor while they were gone.

They arrived back at the camp and it was just as peaceful as when they had left it. Cor looked up from a book when they came back.
"Back so soon? It's only been about three hours." He said and stretched. Ignis knew they probably should've looked around more, but he felt uneasy.
"Yes, but I thought we should come check up on you." He replied calmly. Maybe he was just paranoid? No use in worrying the others over nothing.
"Seen any animals while we were gone?" Prompto asked and plopped down beside Cor.
"No. Still nothing. Ah, I guess there's fish." Cor replied, putting the book to the side.
"That means we can catch an easy dinner." Gladio said and went to grab his fishing gear. Ignis simply watched them. Were they not aware of this... uneasy feeling? Maybe it was just him. Could it be lack of sleep? He'd go to bed early tonight and get plenty of rest. That way he could wake up and hopefully be as relaxed as the other three. Though he already doubted that it would work. The rest of the day was spent gathering resources and planning their next move. Ignis cooked food for them all and then they went to bed.

It was in the middle of the night that Ignis found that his paranoia had been justified. It had been easier than he thought to fall asleep with wings. It hadn't been as uncomfortable as one might think. Unfortunately he didn't get to stay asleep for very long. He woke up to the sound of pots clanking together. He sat up and glanced over at his companions. He found Cor looking back at him. So he wasn't the only one who heard this? The two of them sat in silence, listening. They could hear Gladio's light snoring and Prompto's breathing, but that wasn't the only thing they heard. Someone or something was also looking through their stuff. Was it an animal? Would be strange if it was. They hadn't seen any animals at all. Then again, this was another world. Did they even have the same kind of animals as they did? Cor nodded towards the tent's opening. Ignis nodded and they quietly moved forward and peeked outside. They could see the silhouette of another person with wings. Ignis blinked and the person was gone. He and Cor quickly left the tent and looked around. All they could see was their stuff and some blue glittering particles softly falling to the ground. It was the same as before.
"We're not alone it seems."

Morning came and the group looked through their stuff. Nothing seemed to be missing. The only one upset was Prompto. He'd found his camera on the ground.
"Do you think it's another guy from the project?" Gladio asked as he put the contents of a bag back into said bag.
"That doesn't make any sense. They can only send four at a time as far as I'm aware of. Besides, why would another person from the same project sneak around?" Ignis asked as he checked his cooking equipment. Everything seemed to be fine. Nothing was dented.
"Fair." Gladio replied and dumped the bag to the side.
"So someone or something else is spying on us?" Prompto asked as he checked the contents of his camera.
"That appears to be it."

They had decided to split into pairs. Cor and Prompto would defend the base. Ignis and Gladio would explore and gather more resources. They passed the mushroom forest this time and came to an actual forest. Small balls of light hung in the air.
"Hey." Gladio held out an arm to stop Ignis and pointed to their left. Ignis glanced over and had take a second to make sure he didn't imagine things. A deer? A white deer was standing a few feet away. It didn't seem all that bothered about their presence and instead continued to eat.
"Should we-" Gladio began, but Ignis gently hit his shoulder.
"Don't you dare. This is the only animal except fish we've seen. We're not that desperate for food." Gladio just shrugged. They watched the deer for a little longer and continued their walk.

"So… how exactly are we going to uncover said secrets of our world by exploring this almost empty one?" Gladio asked after a little bit. They had gathered some firewood and berries and were currently on their way back to camp.
"That's not-"
"It's what I was told we were doing." Gladio interrupted. They fell silent and didn't talk for the rest of the way back to camp. Ignis hadn't thought of this. His excitement about having discovered the existence of other worlds had overshadowed everything else. Why did the board green-light the project in the first place? Ignis was sure that their goals weren't the same as the one he had. His goal came from his need of knowledge. The board? Not so much.

The two of them entered the camp together and Prompto immediately ran up to them.
"Guys! You have to see this!" He grabbed their hands and started pulling them along.
"Hold the fort, Cor!" Gladio yelled. Cor simply lifted a hand and waved them off. Prompto pulled the two men along and after a while Ignis noticed that the leaves on the trees were starting to take on a pink tint. He watched in wonder as the trees grew more and more pink and eventually bore fruit. The trio stopped and looked around.
"This is..." Ignis began, but Gladio was the one to finish the sentence.
"A candy forest?!" Indeed. There were bushes and trees in all kinds of colours and candy was growing from every part of them.
"This looks like a child's dream." Ignis mumbled.
"It's delicious too. You can even eat the leaves." Prompto beamed.
"You tried it?! What if it hadn't been edible? You should be more careful!" Ignis was shocked. Who would just start eating things from a suspicious place like this? Had Prompto never heard of Hansel and Gretel?

As they explored they found gummy rabbits jumping around. Butterflies made out of cotton candy fluttered around the mint flowers. Prompto explained that he'd found the place after having told Cor he'd just take a few pictures. Apparently it had started when he'd seen a pink tree in the distance. Ignis glanced around. He had the feeling of being watched again. The mysterious stranger had to be close, but yet again he couldn't see or hear them. A toffee snake made its way past them and disappeared into a licorice bush. Ignis felt weirded out and asked the other two to return to camp with him. They agreed, but that didn't stop Prompto from picking some candy on the way.

That night Ignis found it hard to fall asleep. It almost felt like he had something important to take care of, but he didn't know what. He quietly left the tent and wandered away from the camp. He wasn't sure where he was going, but the mushroom forest they'd explored on the first day soon disappeared behind him. He entered the forest with the mysterious lights and stopped. Why did he come here? Ignis wasn't sure. It just felt right. A sound caught his attention and he looked over to the bushes. The deer from before met his gaze. It walked past him; so close he could touch it if he wanted to. It soon stopped and looked at him before it began walking again. It was almost like it wanted him to follow it. Ignis glanced back towards the forest entrance and followed the deer.

What he found was not what he had expected. The deer took him to another giant lake, but that was not what caught his attention. No. The deer calmly walked over and pressed its forehead into a palm. The palm belonged to a young man with dark hair. He was dressed in all black and his back was decorated by a large pair of royal blue wings. He was sitting on top of a rock, with his feet dipped into the water. Ignis almost forgot how to breathe when the man finally looked at him. His dark hair fell in front of his eyes, but Ignis could still see them. The were piercing blue and staring straight into his own. This was the mysterious stranger that they'd caught a glimpse of. The only question now was; is he a friend or a foe?

Sorry it took so gosh darn long! I've been struggling financially. My health (both physical and mental) hasn't been the best either. This chapter wouldn't exist if my friends hadn't given encouragement. So they're the ones who should have all the thanks. Excuse any mistakes I made. I have a tendency to write when I'm tired. Thank you M and K for reading through it when I asked.