Hello lovelies! I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter of the story. I'm sorry that this one took a little longer to get up here, but I was without internet for a few weeks. Also, I'm not a pro at writing accents, but I will try my best to do them. Please just fill in the blanks. Thanks guys!
Anyway, enjoy!
"Oi, what are ya standin' around like that for?" Aster yells from across the clearing. I shake my head, trying to clear the fuzziness that's still clogging up parts of my brain. What was that all about? I don't think I've ever seen a spirit with powers like that before, but it could be possible I guess. It was like she was drawing me in... But why? "Why do ya look like ya just seen a ghost?" Aster asks after I don't respond to his earlier question. He's moved across the clearing to stand beside me. Looking at him carefully I begin to tell him everything that I had just witnessed. Maybe he'll know who and what that thing was.
"She sang to ya? Never heard of anythin' like that before." He comments, eyeing me skeptically.
"It was more than just singing Aster. I felt like I was being hypnotized or something." I say, trying my best to convince him but it's obvious that he's starting to tune me out. He's already grabbed an egg and paint brush out of that pouch he likes to wear. I cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot. "You don't believe me do you?"
"Well... It's just that there's a lot of spirits, and ya don't exactly spend a lot of yer time socializing, ya know? So maybe ya just didn't recognize them or somethin'." I scoff at that response. Of all the things to say, he always decides to choose the ones that will insult me. Every. Single. Time. Not only that, but he just shrugged off the weird encounter I just had. I run a hand through my hair and continue to steam. This guy really knows how to get on my nerves!
"You are absolutely insufferable, you know that! I just told you about something creepy that happened not even ten minutes ago, and you think that I'm just imagining it? Hello, the last time that I checked there weren't any spirits going around trying to mind control other spirits!" I complain loudly. He looks up from his egg, obviously annoyed with me.
"Okay, okay. I believe ya, now will ya calm down? We have job to do here Sheila." I can tell he's just trying to humor me. He probably can't wait to be finished with me and run back down the rabbit hole. That alone would normally be enough to make me blow a fuse, but I decide to give up for now. Even if I wanted to push the issue further, there is absolutely nothing I can say that will change his mind. So I let it go. For now at least.
"Fine." I snap. "Let's just get this over with." Aster nods and puts away his precious egg. We walk into the middle of the clearing together, and I wait for him to do his part. He wastes no time getting to work. He pulls the springs influence out of a few select parts of the field, and I feel my own magic begin to flow through me. I breath deeply and let it flow outwards, infusing it with the environment. We'll start small for today and meet back up again in a day or so. If we move things too quickly then it could throw off the balance of the seasons. So we're done within twenty minutes or so after starting.
Aster doesn't bother to stay and chat after we've finished. He stays just long enough to set up when we're going to be meeting up next before he darts off back to the warren. I really don't mind as I would rather be alone right now anyway. I just want some time by myself to think about what a bizarre day it's turned out to be so far. However, I sure as hell don't want to be in this meadow any longer. Just thinking about that girl in the shadows of the tree line is starting to give e goosebumps. Standing so close to where it happened doesn't exactly help that fact either. So, without a glance around, I raise my core temperature and get carried away by the summer breeze.
*A few Days Later*
Okay, now things are really starting to get weird. In the past few days I've noticed that a lot of places around the world have been having shorter days than normal. The temperature has also been dropping steadily. These are all places that I've already worked my summer magic into, so this shouldn't be happening at all. When I noticed the first town, I didn't think anything of it. As I told you earlier, we've been working out a few kinks in the system ever since Pitch fell. But when I counted at least twelve different cities in all parts of the world that were having this problem, I was tipped off that something was indeed wrong.
Naturally, I assume that Akiko has just been playing tricks again. She sometimes likes to mess with the balance of things when she's bored, but I didn't think she would do it when everyone's already scrambling to get everything back on track. Then again, this is Akiko. The same spirit that thought it would be funny to try and bring fall to the Warren. She didn't get far as she was caught by one of Aster's giant Stone Egg things. Words can't even begin to accurately describe the extent of Aster's anger. I shudder just thinking about it.
Anyway, that's why I'm on my way to one of Akiko's favorite hang-outs to see if I can find her. Amsterdam. Akiko made this her home base back in the early 1900's. I think she likes it because it's just far enough away from most other spirits that she can hide out for a few days if needed. Like when she pulls a particularly bad prank on some poor unsuspecting victim. Most of the other spirits don't bother tracking her all the way back here, so it's become a safe place for her. But I'm not like the other spirits. If Akiko is indeed pulling some stupid prank that's messing up the season, then I'm going to find her.
As I soar over the streets of Amsterdam, I watch out for any signs of the prankster fall spirit. Below me, people are walking around with their families and dogs. Most of them are wearing summer clothing to help stay cool. This is a sign that Akiko hasn't pranked her own home city. One might stop to think that she would have started here and then carried onto other places. But Knowing Akiko, she probably did this only to throw people off her track. I can safely assume that she doesn't want to risk angering Aster again with this type of prank. He still hasn't calmed all the way down from her last trick.
I circle over the entire city a few times just to make sure that she isn't flying around, before I head straight to her favorite spot. It's actually a bridge above one of the many canals that run through the city. Boats are docked along either side of the canal, and trees line the pathways leading up to the bridge. The bridge itself is pretty simple. It has a simply designed iron railing on both sides, and a red brick base. There's also two planting pots filled with colorful flowers in full bloom resting on the stone walkway. It is a lovely little spot to be honest. I land quietly on the bridge, paying no mind to the people walking past.
There's a small ledge under one side of the bridge that Akiko will use to hide when she's up to something. Just in case people do actually try to chase her down. So I carefully peer over the railing, hoping to catch even a small glimpse of the autumn spirit. However, I can't see under the bridge all that well because it's too wide. I sigh to myself. I don't want to try and fly onto the ledge. It's a pretty low bridge, and I might accidently fly into the water. That's just not a risk that I'm willing to take today.
So I decide that I'll just have to do this the hard way. Without thinking too much about it, I grab onto the railing and swing one leg over the side. Once my foot is firmly in place, I swing the other leg over. Then I take a deep breath to steady any nerves I have, and grip the railing with tight fists. I crouch down a bit before I let on of my legs fall off the side of the bridge. Then the other. They hang loosely over the rippling water below, swaying ever so slightly.
Meanwhile, my hands are still gripping onto the iron bars in front of me. I feel my arm muscles begin to strain a bit from supporting my body weight, and suddenly I wonder if this was a good idea. Oh well, too late to turn back now. I slowly inch my hands lower and lower on the rails until I reach the bottom of them. Finally, I can see underneath the bridge. The ledge is decorated with a few items that Akiko has found over the years. Some of it was given to her by other spirits. I don't see any sign of the autumn spirit herself, but I figure it can hurt to get a closer look at the stuff she has down here. Maybe there's some clues or something.
Thankfully, I chose to climb down on the side closet to the ledge. So it's pretty easy to get there from here. All I have to do is start swinging my legs back and forth and just let go of the railing at the right time. With luck I won't skid off the stone ledge and into the water. As I begin swinging my legs, I feel my arms growing weaker and weaker. I bite my bottom lip and begin putting more energy into swinging. After a few more kicks I deem it the right time to let go.
I'm propelled forward onto the ledge. I automatically braced myself for a hard landing, which is one of the better decisions I've made. My knees hit the concrete first, closely followed by my right hand and left shoulder. Waves of pain and shock rattle through my bones upon impact, and my breath is knocked from my lungs. I crumple to the ground and stay there until the pain subsides enough for me to start breathing normally again. After a few minutes I sit up on the back of my calves without putting too much weight on my right arm. I look myself over.
I have pretty deep scratches on both my knees from scrapping the concrete, but I think I'll be okay in that department. However, my arm is in worse shape. It's still throbbing with pain from my elbow to my wrist. I use my left hand to gently squeeze my forearm and instantly regretted. A fresh surge of pain stings it's way up my arm. I nearly cry out from it, but I'm able to restrain myself. I decide against messing with it more. I'll have to go visit Aster to get it looked at.
Normally I'd be heading to North's place to get it checked out. But since I can't be in cold climates, and he lives in one of the coldest climates in the world, I settle with going to Aster for help. He usually doesn't mind too much, and he's actually pretty good and patching me up. He's had a lot of practice with it over the years. I had a lot of injuries when I was first learning how to fly... It actually got to the point to where Aster gave me a special flower that acted as a way for me to summon a tunnel.
He said that he was tired of always having to track me down when I got hurt. This way I could just come to him. I felt a little stupid when he first explained the reasoning behind it, but I took it none-the-less. I stopped complaining about it when I realized how nice it was to have a way to not only get help, but help from a guardian. Even if it was one who could irritate me to no end. I actually haven't used the thing in a few decades. I never bothered going to see him about small scrapes and bruises. He would just give me an annoyed look and tell me to bugger off.
However, before I summon up a tunnel, I want to check the area for proof that Akiko is indeed behind this. Then I can relax a little and track her down later. I stand up and ignore my legs when they shake a little. I quickly walk a few steps over to the few items laying around. I look at each one of them carefully before moving onto the next. I spend the next ten minutes or so looking at the things Akiko's collected. Nothing here reveals that she is in anyway responsible for what's going on. I sigh to myself. It figures. I guess I'll just have to ask around for her until she pops up. Maybe Aster has seen her around.
A/N There ya have it. I hope that you guys have enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see ya around. Stay awesome!