Author's Notes
Nothing to say, on with the story! Thomas is starting.
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Thoma's POV
It had been almost a week since Sarah and my escapade to the lake, but this is the first time I had noticed a change. Not even between us, actually. The only person who seemed to have changed was Valory. We all noticed that she was getting much less sleep, and she was behaving very differently around me. She lost all her
self-confidence, then became shy, reserved. And she avoided Sarah altogether.
Lila warned us that this might become a problem. "She's never been like this. I mean, there have been some instances, but she's never changed so much and so drastically. And her insomnia isn't helping either, since it's going to start attracting phantoms."
Phantoms were undead flying creatures that resembled manta rays. They had been a serious issue when I first met Sarah. "What can we do to help?" Lila turned towards Sarah, who had asked the question. "I'm not sure. She hasn't talked to me much, and she probably won't get over this until it's caused some serious damage, mostly to herself. She hasn't even been eating breakfast."
That was true, no mater what plate Sarah placed in front of her, Valory would not eat her breakfast. I sent Val and Jack to go gather metals in the caves so the rest of us could have this conversation. Simon spoke up. "This has happened before?" Lila nodded. "Not too many times, but enough for me to see a pattern. It's usually over some guy, or when she fails an important test or something."
Something clicked, then Sarah and I exchanged a look. She turned to Lila. "Umm... do you know where she was when Thomas and I went for a walk?" Lila frowned. "I'm not sure. I think she went out as well, a few minutes later, to 'explore the forest'." I grimaced, and Sarah's poker face cracked, revealing a frightened expression. Simon spoke again, turning to face me. "I think I know why..."
Eba was confused, trying to look at everyone at the same time. "Wait, what's going on?" Lila sighed. "Valory has had a... well, not a crush, an emphatuation with Thomas. And we have a theory that she followed them when he took a walk with Sarah. I don't want to know, but maybe something happened between them that made Valory feel... bad? Like, abandoned, sort of. Ignored."
Eba nodded. "So... now she feels terrible, won't talk to Sarah, or eat, or sleep. And she's shy." Lila nodded. Simon broke in. "How do we fix it?" Lila looked defeated. "I don't know. It had never gone past a couple of days, but it's been five since the... incident, I guess." Everyone looked glum. "I could talk to her." Everyone turned to look at me. "I don't thinks that's a good idea. You might hurt her. On accident."
Lila's words stung, but of course, she was right. Sarah held my hand, something she had never done before. "What if I talk to her? Try to settle things?" Lila looked doubtful, but Simon spoke first. "Well, as long as you catch her off-guard, and she has no weapons, it should be fine. Right?" Lila hesitated a moment longer before nodding. "But I'm warning you, if she gets worse I swear to the lords that I'll gut you myself."
These words were odd, coming from our normally level-headed cave spider, but Sarah only nodded, her poker face back on. "I promise no harm will be done."
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Sarah's POV
I was waiting outside the house when Val and Jack returned, a cobweb sack of ores on both their backs. Jack said hello, while Valory swerved away sharply. I looked on as she deposited her batch at the storage shed, then slowly walked up to her. Our eyes met for a second, and I saw hatred, anguish and fear in hers. Mine showed no emotion.
"Hey, Val." She looked at the floor and mumbled a hello. "I wanted to talk with you for a moment. Is that okay?" She looked at me, her anger evident. Then her gaze moved a little to the right, past me. I heard the door open, and I knew who had walked out. Thomas. She looked at me again, her eyes no longer full of poison.
"Alright." She guided me to a clearing in the woods, where Thomas and Eba had done some logging. We sat down, cross-legged and her eyes turned cold again. Her voice, however, remained even and neutral. "What is it?" I sighed, and got straight to the point.
"I want to help you. We all know what's been troubling you, Val. I'm sorry." Her lips tightened, and her eyes became colder, and sharp. "Really? What would that be, Sarah?" "Everyone knows you had a crush on Thomas, except maybe Thomas himself." She flinched just a little, barely enough to tell me that my suspicions had been correct. I kept going.
"You followed us the day he and I took a walk. You saw everything, didn't you?" She looked conflicted, angry while obviously ashamed and sad. "Yes." She replied in a small, soft voice. "I did. I... don't know why. I just wanted it... to be me. To be the one he wanted to have with him."
I dropped my tough girl façade. "I know. But he didn't want me, he wanted to help me. And to make sure I didn't kill Jack. I was the one that started the kiss. It's my fault." Her sullen eyes turned to me slowly. "Your fault. Yes, true." Her voice became uneven, and she spoke in a weird, incomplete manner. "Why? Should be me. Hate you. Love him. Why?"
She stood up, and left me at the clearing. I rushed behind her, trying to catch her attention. It seemed that my words had made something inside her snap. After a moment, she started walking towards the woods past the house. Lila was waiting. When she realized that Valory wasn't responding, she turned to me with angry, maroon-colored eyes.
"What did you tell her? What did you do?" I stopped. "I told her what happened, and she just bolted." The sun was setting, and we both knew she wouldn't make it on her own like this. "I told you not to hurt her!" I took a step back. "I didn't hurt her! She up and left!" Simon peeked his head out of the house. "What happened?" Lila turned to him.
"Sarah fucked it up and now Valory won't speak!" He looked around. "Where is she?" I pointed to the forest. "She wandered over there, as if in a trance." Lila grabbed Simon's arm and walked in the direction I was pointing. "Come on, creep. Let's go get my sister." He made a few attempts to get away, all of them unsuccessful. Before I could follow them, Lila turned around.
"You're staying here." I was shocked. "But I want to help-" she interrupted me before I could finish. "You've helped plenty. Go snuggle up to Thomas or something." And with that, she dragged Simon to wherever Valory had gone.
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Simon's POV
Lila half-dragged me for more than half the trip before my brain caught up to me and I started walking at the same pace. She was absolutely furious, but at least it wasn't because of me. Sarah is going to die...
We found Valory a couple hours later, in a clearing bathed in moonlight. There was a small tulip in the center. Val was just standing there, not doing anything. Before we could go up to talk with her, she moved, taking two steps, then drawing back. Two steps, draw back. She kept this up for a few moments, actually.
Lila held us both back, and we watched Val from behind a tree. She was moving gracefully now, gliding over the grass in a weird fashion. "It's the... she's performing the Moonlit Dance..." I had no idea what this was. "Right." She answered my unspoken questions as we both stared at Valory with awe.
"It's our clan's most sacred ritual. All spiders are supposed to learn it by heart. But neither one of us had ever been able to do it." She seemed as entranced as I was. Valory swung and swayed, with an air of magnificence, twirling and gliding along the ground.
I noticed we weren't the only ones to be caught by her performance. There were at least twelve phantoms circling lazily above. One by one, in tune with Valory's moves, the swooped down and landed at the edges of the trees surrounding the clearing, chirping as they went.
Lila continued her explanation when I pointed them out. "The dance is supposed to attract them. So the performer can tame one. The only phantom left will have chosen her, if she does the dance right." Then to herself, "that's why she hasn't been sleeping... they are attracted to insomnia..."
We watched in silence as the moon lit up her features, as she turned and turned, every step she took. More and more phantoms started to leave, and when she stopped, there was only one left. Average size, significant features are double pupils, cracked tail scale, slightly lighter coloring.
She kneeled in the clearings, tears running down her face. The critter chirped, and flew upwards, only to dive down again, in front of Valory this time. She extended her arm, and the phantom hopped on it. With a steady voice, she spoke to the monster. "You shall be Nightshade, as there is poison within your beauty."
It chirped, and snuggled up to her. Valory stood up, and turned to face us. She caught us completely off-guard, and we stood up awkwardly. "Hi guys. Come on, let's go home." Nightshade still on her outstretched forearm, she walked past us towards the house.
After a brief and disbelieving moment of hesitation, we followed her.
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Sarah's POV
The next morning was very weird. Valory had gone to sleep without a word, and the phantom on her arm flew into the skies as she entered. It was very awkward, but luckily nothing happened. When we woke up, Valory had been making breakfast, which was my job. Apparently she had gone hunting.
Even if it was good mutton, I was still scared and numb. I showed no signs of this, however. Valory had somehow reverted to her old, air headed state. She no longer was mad at me, and she didn't Moon over Thomas either. When I spoke to her about it, she smiled. "I finally accomplished something I'm proud of. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
The whole thing was very weird. What's more, the phantom from last night returned, and in broad daylight! Valory had taken it into the storage shed, and had come out with it on her forearm like an eagle.
"Guys, say hello to Nightshade." We were all very confused, but mumbled hi nonetheless. Jack opened his dumb mouth to ask a question. "How is Nightshade not burning up?" Valory's smile didn't waver. "I made her a light layer of armor so she doesn't get hurt by the sunlight." Simon nodded, and spoke. But what about her eyes? The sun could turn her blind if she stays out too long. If you want, I can make her some goggles like mine so that doesn't happen."
She nodded eagerly, and they both left to work on the designs. Thomas walked up to me with discomfort in his eyes. "Hey. You alright?" I nodded, poker face still there. He sighed. "Come with me, will you?" He extended his hand, and after some time, I took it within mine. It felt warm, and soft.
We wandered into the forest for a while before he spoke. Our hands never separated. "Please, talk to me. I want to know what you're thinking of." I dropped my poker face and stared at him with sad, tired eyes. "I'm numb. I don't know what to feel. This was so sudden, so... I don't know. I'm tired." I got closer and rested my head on his chest.
He hugged me tightly. "I know, me too. What can I do to help?" I smiled in spite of the weird feeling in my heart. "You can't help everyone, Thomas. There are some things you can't do." He answered, and I could hear his own smile on his voice.
"Try me." He pulled my head back and stared into my eyes. I saw something weird in his. They were a beautiful shade of hazel, but there was something else. A small sliver of gold around his irises. Before I could voice this, he moved his hands so one cupped my cheek and the other held me by the waist.
I lost my train of thought as he pulled me closer, and I closed my eyes. His soft, warm lips melted any worries I had. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer still, getting as close as possible, never wanting to break free. We stayed like that for only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Just us, sharing our love.
If it wasn't for Jack, we would never have let go.
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More Author's Notes
So! We learned that Valory is a bit weird, she has a pet Phantom, Thomas and Sarah seem serious, and that Jack interrupted something important.
Was this any good? I drive myself to write this story based mostly off of the support from a friend and the amount of views this story gets. So, thank you for sparing some time to at least look at it.
Anywho, Have a good day! :)
~ LeMafiaKreb