Days quickly passed by as Alta observed the forest. She was used to watching the same spot for hours without end, but at least now the landscape was beautiful and entertaining. Slowly but surely, she was able to recognize more and more species of different birds flying on top of the Evergreen.
It was a shame that her duty was on the night, as it difficulted to see even with her enhanced eyes, and most birds were sleeping by that time. The best time for sightseeing was the beginning of her shift in the evening.
Though birds weren’t the only thing Alta observed. Sometimes, bugs would crawl up or fly to the top of the tree watchtower. The little creatures worked differently than most moving creatures, but after eating a bunch, the chimera noticed how efficient the bugs were. If she wanted full efficiency, taking the approach of the little creatures was the best one. But maybe slight modifications were required as being that small was detrimental for a hunt.
Alta also discovered that she could shift into any organic creature. She had intuited it was possible but had never had the time to try it. And it wasn’t that useful. Yes, she could grow leaves and fruits from her body, but that wouldn’t help on a hunt. And making fruits for others wasn’t a viable option as she would lose her valuable biomass. The bark of the trees was a useful defensive tool, nonetheless.
Icasondra had come to visit her every day since she started with her sentinel duty, but the frail fairy didn’t stay until long like the first day. Unlike the Blossomflame fairy, the Moonlight needed to eat and sleep.
“That reminds me... Icasondra hasn’t come today.” Alta talked to herself; a thing she was doing more as of late. In the prison, she had barely done that, mainly as a way to preserve as much energy and biomass as possible, she kept her thoughts to herself.
It was already past midnight and the three sisters, Nux, Shatel, and Ori illuminated the forest with their myriad lights, but the fairy hadn’t made an apparition yet. For some reason, that worried Alta. She had come for multiple days to visit her, yet today she didn’t come.
“Maybe she got bored?” The chimera thought. “But how? She doesn’t do much. Actually, how do fairies pass the time? I should have asked that.”
Even after living in the village for more days than she could count with the fingers in her hands, the chimera lacked a lot of answers, but the problem was that she didn’t even know the questions, to begin with.
For more than she meditated, no answers would come to her, so Alta let that be and just looked into the Evergreen for abnormalities.
There were none.
And even if there were, it was impossible to see them. The chimera had shifted her eyes and ears, trying to make them the most possibly sensitive within reason, but she was high in the sky at night looking over a sea of green. No enhanced senses would help her. Even her wings outshined the three moons.
“Giving a Blossomflame this job wasn’t the most sensible choice.” She fluttered her wings in boredom. “A bright fire in a sea of darkness...”
The night went by as she continued peering into the horizon, no answers came to her.
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Icasondra was stressed.
She always was this time of the year. Or more accurately, when it was A time of the year. For it was time for her to do her only job, and she couldn’t allow herself to fail.
The nights had begun becoming warmer and warmer, slowly but surely announcing the arrival of the Midsommar. And because it was a celebration really important to the fae, especially the Rootweaver fairies, it meant they enjoyed celebrating the event in the village.
And the responsibility of the whole organization of the event fell in the hands of a single fairy, Icasondra.
“What I’m going to do? What I’m going to do?” The fairy presented a curious show, walking back and forth in circles with her own feet. She was so stressed, that she had forgotten to even fly.
“Doing what?” A voice questioned.
“What?” Icasondra’s face snapped to the origin of the voice to find the Blossomflame fairy. “Alta! What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be working?”
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“It’s already morning.” She stated, pointing at the skylight where the sun shone through.
“Morning?” The Moonlight fairy shouted in desperation. “I haven’t slept at all, ah~ What I’m going to do!”
“Do what?” Alta reiterated.
“The Midsommar festival!” She extended her arms into the air with frustration. “Oh, sorry. You don’t know what Midsommar is.” The chimera swayed her head. “Midsommar is the half-point of the year, so fairies in the village gather together to celebrate it. It’s a really popular celebration between the Rootweavers because on that day nature becomes stronger, and they are basically plant fairies.”
“I see.” The Blossomflame nodded. “So, what’s the problem? Didn’t Flrynwydl say that you are the one who organizes the festivities? You must have done this before, haven’t you?”
“Well... I have but...” The Moonlight looked at her feet, the fingers twitching nervously.
“But... what?” Alta inquired.
“Em... it’s stressful...” Icasondra responded in an almost inaudible whisper, even to herself.
“What’s stress?” The chimera asked having understood the fairy perfectly.
“Eep!” Icasondra’s visage invertedly turned red at having her mussitations being heard. “It’s a bad feeling that makes you feel awful, tired, sick, and without the will to do anything and leave it all behind... to curb yourself into a ball and forget the outside world, ignored it until the problems have either disappeared or you do... Or so I have heard!” She added with a forced smile, trying to dissipate the darkness in her eyes.
“Then why do you do it then?” Alta asked, sitting on the mattress on the floor. The bed sheets were perfectly placed as if they had had no use.
“Do what?” The fairy said nervously.
“The organization.” The chimera responded. “If you truly feel like you described, then why bother doing it?”
“Y-you, you can’t be,” serious... The last word died before reaching Icasondra’s lips. But she didn’t need to look at Alta to know that she was, indeed, talking seriously. “Even if I wanted, which I do not... This is my responsibility in the village. You’ve heard Flrynwydl when she gave you the job. She doesn’t want freeloaders in this village. And this is the only thing I have. Otherwise... otherwise I’m nothing.”
“That’s not true.” The Blossomflame said.
No. Stated.
“There’s a lot of things you do, like teaching me or cooking for me. You also have that exploration thing.”
“But that doesn’t help the village as a whole. All fairies should do that!” Icasondra ran to the nearest window, gripping the corners with strength. “If I don’t do that, I won’t be like them... I will be a leech, not a fairy! I’ll... I’ll disappoint Flrynwydl...”
“I doubt that.” Alta stood up and slowly walked toward the window, with no hurry nor tension on her step. Perfect passivity. “I think that when Flrynwydl said that about the freeloaders she was joking.”
“What?” Icasondra turned to look at the faux fairy. She could feel her face spasm with rage and sadness.
“I think she cares too much about the fairies, especially you, to push them around.” She explained, her eyes fixated on the village beyond the window. “She was being truthful about wanting me to be at the watchtower though. I don’t know if she truly fears an attack or if she wants to have me controlled and watched, but I’m not there because the dryad is worried about lazy fairies.”
“You knew?” The words escaped Icasondra’s mouth as did the tears from her eyes. “Were you aware the whole time about the intent of Flrynwydl?”
“Of course.” She stated. “It’s easier for me to read hunters than prey.” Her voice brimmed with pride.
“Then you do not know anything about me! I’m just a prey!” Icasondra’s face instantly palled as she said those words. Why did I say that?
The fairy expected a strike, a swift execution to take her out of her nightmare, to be back in control of her life when she wouldn’t have to worry about a simple event, but even after a few seconds, nothing came.
“Hmm...” Alta pondered. “I’m worse at reading prey, but that doesn't mean I’m not able to do so. I’m a prey myself currently, or at least shifted into one. The chimera inside knows how Flrynwydl thinks, but the fairy outside knows how you think.”
Icasondra looked directly at the chimera’s eyes, and she saw a shine in the green irises, behind the vertical pupils. It shone red like fire.
“And,” Alta continued, “I think that Flrynwydl would totally understand if you do not organize this event. I’m not fully aware why, but the first time we met her she gave you time to relax, advising you to rest. Yet you haven’t done that.” The Blossomflame fairy looked at the tidy bed. “It would seem that you didn’t even sleep today. Maybe I should tell the dryad myself that you are not in conditions to organize anything.”
“No!” Before Alta could turn, Icasondra latched into her locking her into an embrace and impeding her to move. “Don’t tell this to her!”
“This reaction shows me that I should do otherwise.” She said with an eerie lacking emotion, yet that same absence was oddly comfortable.
“Please, don’t.” The Moonlight fairy dove her head into the Blossomflame’s breasts, which in a manner were hers. “I can do this. Please, let me do this. I know I can do it. I have done this before. I need to do this!”
Even though Icasondra’s eyes were closed and buried in Alta’s chest, she could feel her warm eyes locking into her. She looked up. The eyes didn’t judge her. Icasondra didn’t know if the chimera was capable of judgment in the first place.
“Please...” The plead escaped her lips, her mouth faltering as her face trembled.
“Understood,” Alta answered with a familiar nod. Then she grabbed Icasondra by the chin. “But I don’t want you to see like this again, do you understand?”
“Uh...” The fairy didn’t know if to feel comforted or scared by the chimera’s actions. But in the end, she gave up. “Understood.”
This time it wasn’t Alta who was imitating Icasondra, but the opposite.