Special shout out to: So. In. Her. Own. Head. and Wheeler 1 for reviewing!
Thank you for the love and support!
~Autum
Deviant Art account: AutumDragonflame
They had been traveling no more than 5 minutes when the trees began to thin out noticeably. The trees were still thick, but not quite as thick as they were. Jet didn't notice this at first, but he became gradually more aware of it as they went. Briefly he wondered if this could be the beginnings of another test. After a moment, he discarded that idea. After all, what kind of test starts with thinning trees? Jet decided that he would keep his observation to himself for the moment. Why make Sophie worry about something that could be nothing at all.
Jet continued to keep an eye on the spacing of the trees, however, he was beginning to notice a few other subtle changes. For instance the amount of grassy areas was slowly increasing. Little signs like this that meant the forest was coming to an end. He mentally thanked his countless days in the forests surrounding Burgess for teaching him how to spot these signs.
Jet's thoughts drifted back to better days in the quiet little town. He had always loved the forests, they were always siren and tranquil, with an all-around air of peace. He knew every kind of tree that there was in that forest, and He loved to take Seneca out in the woods and teach her about, well, nature in general. He knew all the hiding places, hollows, and climbing trees. He knew all the best swimming holes and the best ice-skating spots. He had been exploring those woods way before Seneca was even born. When she came along, she was his first priority. He would do anything for her. Whenever He could, He would take her with him into the woods, and he could tell, she loved it almost as much as he did.
Jet's thoughts of home, and the old days faded away as something up ahead caught his eye. He turned his head and leaned over to see better out the windshield. What he had seen out of the corner of his eye was none other than sunlight! And not the kind that sifted through the leaves. It was pure, unhindered, sunlight. The kind you only get when you're in the open.
"Is that-?" He started, leaning forward.
"Sunlight? Yes!" Sophie finished.
"Horay!" Seneca shouted gleefully.
Not a minute later they emerged from the woods. The buggy went a few yards and sided to a stop. They were now in a huge clearing with trees every so often. Sometimes these trees were in groups, and sometimes they were singular, but there was one tree that stood out. It was an abnormally huge tree that was big enough to be a house. Jet made a mental note of this and turned to the other trees.
Upon further inspection, He found that each tree had a very unique shape. This unique shape was a result of the abnormal shape of the houses in them. Each tree in the clearing was adorned with a house. These houses were fairly concealed by foliage, but if you looked at them close enough you could pick out the abnormal shape of the walls and roof.
"Amazing," Jet whispered to himself in awe.
"Wow!" Seneca exclaimed looking around her.
"Mhm, ditto," Sophie said slowly taking in the scene.
Some of the adults of the village were walking towards them, others walking towards the large tree that Jet had seen earlier, and the ones who had been inside at the time of their arrival where coming out of their houses. The children where another matter entirely. They were running all over the place. Some were running around making sure everyone knew about the new arrivals, others were running in front of the adults on their way to the huge tree, and the largest group was running toward the buggy. Some of the children stopped and turned around at the call of one of the adults. Others just slowed to a slow walk to let the adults catch up.
Jet, Sophie, and Seneca stayed in the dune-buggy, but rolled down all the windows. Seneca was bouncing up and down in her seat. She wanted to get out and go meet everybody, play with the kids, and see everything there was to see, but Jet kept her in the buggy.
Eventually, the villagers reached them in a massive crowd and began, all at once, to ask them questions.
"What are your na-?"
"Where do you come fr-?"
"Would you like something to ea-?"
Sophie stepped out of the buggy and tried to answer their questions.
"I'm Sophie, this is Jet and Seneca. We're from Burgess Pennsylvania. No, we had lunch a while ago."
Jet took Seneca into his arms and stepped out of the buggy to try and help Sophie answer questions, but was immediately attacked with his own torrent of questions. Between that and Seneca's squirming, he had his hands full.
Suddenly a clear voice rang out from behind the crowd.
"Where are your manners? We haven't even properly welcomed our guests!"
The crowd backed up and dispersed a little to let the speaker through.
"My apologies," He said, "Welcome to Santoff Claussen!"
The man was tall. He had a long beard, well below his belt. He wore an outfit somewhat similar to the typical wizards outfit in most fairytales. He had long robes and a pointed hat with a wide brim. He also had a wooden staff with a barely noticeable crack in the middle. All of these things however, were observations that Jet made a little latter. The thing he saw first was the man's warm and welcoming smile. Jet saw all the other things, but took no notice of them. Overwhelmed as he was at the moment, he could only notice so much. He saw many new things, but not even close to all of them were noted as well as he would have liked.
"My name is Ombric Shalazar. Who might you be?" The man, Ombric, asked.
As Jet was still trying to contain Seneca, Sophie took this question.
"My name is Sophie, this is Jet, and this is his little sister Seneca," Sophie said smiling and gesturing to Jet and Seneca. Much to Jet's relief, Seneca stopped squirming at the sound of her name. She grinned waved enthusiastically at Ombric. He smiled and waved back, then he turned his attention back to Sophie.
"I'm sure you have had a long journey. Would you like something to eat?"
"Yes please. If you wouldn't mind." Seneca replied.
"It's no problem at all. Follow me." He said and gestured for them to follow him.
The traveling trio followed Ombric through the crowd of shamefaced onlookers, and across the clearing to the large tree that Jet had noticed. Now that he was closer to it, He saw that the tree was big enough to fit a house in. That thought had just crossed his mind when he noticed that there was, in fact, a door in it. Jet watched completely in awe as Ombric took the doorknob and twisted it. He glanced back at them with a sparkle in his eye before he pushed the door open and led them inside.
Jet stepped in to the tree. He looked around him, his eyes filled with wonder. He was not surprised, but in awe. He had guessed that there would be a living space in the tree from its size and the door on the front, but this was amazing! He couldn't believe his eyes! He had stepped into a tree, and there, surrounding him was a house! Well, the inside of one anyway. Jet slowly released Seneca as he took in his surroundings in more detail. There were several large rooms, and a spiraling staircase leading up to what he assumed were higher levels. It was all too magical to believe! Well, okay, that last bit wasn't quite true. Jet had been surrounded by magic his whole life. But still, not quite this much.
Ombric had seated himself at a massive wooden dining table, and Sophie had done the same.
"Perhaps," he said, "It is time you told me what has brought you here."
"Of course," Sophie replied understandingly, "We came looking for your village because we need a place to stay."
"You are always welcome in Santoff Clausen, but wouldn't it have been simpler for you to find a place to stay in the outside world?" Ombric asked.
"It would, if these were normal circumstances." Sophie answered. "You see, we are looking for a place of safety. A haven of sorts."
"I see," Ombric said thoughtfully. "If I may, what exactly are you seeking safety from?"
"It's a long story," Sophie warned.
"I have plenty of time for it."
"Good, because I'm going to have to start from the beginning. It all started about 19 years ago, when the Guardians defeated the Nightmare King. . ."
When Sophie had finished her tail, Ombric sat back to think. He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a few minutes. He could feel Sophie's worried gaze on him, but he ignored it.
"This is a little too much for me to handle alone," the man stated. "But I can take you to a place where it will be much safer for you."
"Really? I don't want to trouble you, but if you could take us somewhere safe-" Sophie was cut off by Ombric.
"Of course I will take you child. If I can help someone, then I am happy to do it."
"Thank you so much Ombric! I can't thank you enough!"
"Don't mention it. Where are the children? If the situation is as bad as you say, we best be going as soon as possible."
"I'll go look for them while you pack some things for the trip," Sophie offered.
"Nonsense! The trip can be taken in one day, so I will help you look," Ombric replied
Sophie and Ombric found the two children in the next room over. They were sitting on a comfortable looking sofa couch, Seneca fast asleep in Jet's arms. The boy put a finger to his lips, the international term for "be quiet". Sophie nodded, and a hushed voice, told him that they would be going soon. Jet nodded, and gently put his free arm beneath his sister's legs. Then he stood up with her sleeping in his arms.
Ombric called some me from the village to get the traveler's things, and they all proceeded to the entrance of what looked to be an elaborate set of tunnels.
What met Jet's eyes was the most amazing thing yet. He had heard of subways before, but they were designed specially for running underground. This was a steam engine, not a subway train! You could tell that this had belonged to someone who loved eggs, it was made up of mostly egg shaped parts. It was incredible. As they walked along the side of the train, he just stared at it. The magnificence of the train was immeasurable. In a word, the sight was breathtaking.
"The Easter Bunny gave these to me a long time ago. He preferred to run through the tunnels than ride through them," Ombric said as they entered the tunnel system.
"That makes sense I guess," he said.
"What does?" the older man asked amused by the boy's reaction and attempt at understanding.
"The train, it's apparent that it's largely based on eggs. So it would make sense that it belonged to the Easter Bunny. Eggs are kind of 'his thing'," Jet stated as if it was obvious.
"I see," Ombric said eyeing the boy with interest. "Well, if you could kindly board the train, we will be off."
Jet stepped up into in to the train's passenger car and sat down across from where Sophie was already sitting down. Seneca squirmed in his arms, and woke up. Her eyes fluttered open as she stretched, waking up her small body. She looked up at him, then all around them.
"Where are we Jet?" she asked excitedly.
"We're on a train Sen. We're going somewhere even safer than Santoff Clausen," he smiled down at her as she climbed off of his lap.
"Where are we going?!" she asked bouncing up and down.
"I don't know yet. That makes it more fun though, don't you think?" The boy grinned at her.
"Yeah!" she yelled running in circles.
Suddenly the train lurched forward, throwing Seneca off balance. She started to fall backwards. Sophie saw her falling and reached out to catch her, but she was just a fraction to slow and Seneca continued to fall. Sophie thought she was going to crash painfully into the floor, but she stopped just before she made contact.
"Be careful Seneca," Jet said pulling her up.
"Nice catch Jet!" Sophie praised. "I thought she was going to fall."
"Not if I can help it," he smiled down at the little blond girl standing beside him.
"You two are so cute!" Sophie giggled as Seneca ran off to explore. "I mean, you seem like an unfeeling boulder, but for Seneca-" she trailed.
"You really think I'm a boulder?" Jet asked raising an eyebrow.
"Metaphorically, yes. You are always so shut up inside, you never even smile unless you're with her."
"That's not entirely true. I smile with you," He chuckled. "It's just, everyone else seems like a waste of time. High school relationships always fade, whether in five years or twenty. Friends always fade, family is forever. You and Seneca are my family, I don't need anyone else."
"Fair enough, but what about when Seneca starts dating? Or, heaven forbid, gets married?" Sophie asked.
"Our relationship will still stand. When and if Seneca gets married, I will still be there for her. I will be there through every heartbreak and fight, I'll be there for her until the very end."
"Promise brother?" a little voice asked from over his shoulder.
"Promise," Jet replied.
Seneca didn't understand all of it yet, but she liked the sound of him being with her until the end.
Jet sat, once again, looking out the window. Jetlag had gotten to both of his traveling partners. Sophie was asleep on the bench seat across from him and Seneca, who was curled up in his lap, snoring softly.
He sat, just thinking. Thinking about his mother, about why he was here, about his sister, about his past, and his life ahead. He thought about loneliness, about pain, about scars, internal and external, and about the unknowns in his life. He sat thinking about the things people think about when they are alone. He sat and thought, and watched the tunnel walls as the train ate up the miles. He had so many unanswered questions, so many fears, so much uncertainty.
Seneca stirred in his lap, and his mind was brought back to the present. He quickly traded his distant expression for a warm smile, but he wasn't quick enough.
"Jet, what's wrong?" she asked sweetly.
"Nothing Sen, everything's fine," he reassured.
"Okay, if you say so." She yawned.
"Go back to sleep Seneca, I'll wake you when we get there," he said. Then he began to sing.
"Hush now - my sister, close your eyes and sleep.
Waltzing the waves.
Diving the deep.
Stars are shining bright.
The wind is on the rise.
Whispering words, of long lost lullabies.
Oh won't you come with me?
Where the moon is made of gold.
And in the morning sun,
We'll be sailing.
Oh won't you come with me?
Where the ocean meets the sky.
And as the clouds roll by,
We'll sing the song of the sea.
I had a dream last night
And heard the sweetest sound
I saw a great white light
and dancers in the round
Castles in the sand
Cradles in the trees
Don't cry, I will see you by and by
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
Rolling
Rolling
Rolling
Rolling
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing free
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea"
As Jet finished the lullaby, a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Hope you enjoyed it! The song was the Song of the Sea Lullaby from The Song of the Sea. I've never seen the movie personally, but I love the song. I did exchange story or storeen for sister at the beginning, so it's not exactly the same.
All of the characters, places, and songs belong to their respective owners!