Submission (#6568) Approved

The neverending night of Silveil had never bothered Mercury much. The twinkling stars of the night sky were the first things he could remember, and the silent paths of the forest so many others called eerie and unsettling held a comfort to him. He loved the way they would wrap around him, winding and glowing. To him it was the same as the warmth of an old blanket. His tiny companion’s squeal of dismay reminded him that his well trodden paths held danger for those who didn’t recognize the dangers lurking beyond them.

He smiled in amusement, raising a brow as he turned back to the tiny beanling who had snagged his satchel on a protruding branch.

“Need a paw?”

Holst sighed and nodded and he tugged on the strap of his bag.

“Please! I swear these woods have a mind to hold me here!”

Mercury giggled as he held the branch in place for his traveling companion. He tilted his head and helped him nudge his tiny satchel off the branch. It finally came loose, and Mercury let the wayward branch snap back into place as his companion flitted closer to his ear. He shook his head as he started back along the path. 

“I told you, as long as you stay on the path, you’ll be just fine! The woods themselves won’t do anything to you!”

The tiny bean huffed, tightening the strap on his bag and adjusting his goggles atop his head.

“That’s easy for you to say! These woods are just as alive as you and I. We don’t know what kind of spirits may live in these trees and mushrooms. What if they aren’t as friendly to elseworlders as you are, hmm?”

Mercury hummed in reply, trotting a bit slower. Glowing spores drifted along the sides of the path as they passed, a mesmerizing sight. Holst was right; the woods were alive in their own way, and he certainly respected them as such. He had heard of too many other elnin who had not been so kind and met unfortunate consequences in their deep and dark depths. He paused at a fork in the path before turning down a different, less traveled trail.

“You know, you might just be on to something Holst. It can’t hurt for you to leave a gift. We’ll make a little detour, there’s this little shrine nearby that I’ve been to before. You have anything in that satchel to leave?”

The beanling let out a thoughtful hum, resting on mercury’s back as they opened their pack.

“Let’s see . . . I have the letters we’re delivering. Obviously we can’t leave that.”

Mercury grinned and nodded. 

“Obviously, who would want that stuff anyways? Booooring!”

Holst swatted his ear lightly, shaking his head. Mercury laughed, prancing down the path.

“What, they are and you know it!  They’re always super boring, like ‘Dear whoever, I am doing boring stuff everyday like I always do. Write me back!’. And then you have to write and stuff. Who would want to do that?!” 

Holst sighed and shook his head as he continued to dig.

“You’ll understand how precious those kinds of letters are when you’re older”

Mercury crinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out.

“I hope not, I don’t wanna be boring when I grow up.”

They continued on in silence for a while, Holst looking through his pack and Mercury scouring the path ahead. 

Holst finally pulled out an object, frowning as he examined it.

“Would a cookie suffice as an offering?”

Mercury didn’t look up from his scouring.

“Are you kidding me? That’s perfect! Who wouldn’t want a cookie?”

Holst nodded, sliding off his back and flitting alongside the kittom. 

“Certainly no one I know. What are you going to offer?”

Mercury glanced up at the bean, then noticed a familiar glow behind him. He grinned, bounding over to his prize.

“This! You don’t see them very much. It’s the perfect gift.”

He gently plucked the stem of a beautiful glowing blossom, carrying it delicately in his mouth. Holst nodded in approval, and the two made their way down the path in comfortable silence.

Unfortunately, their comfort came to a halt as Mercury finally rounded the corner to the small clearing in which the shrine resided. The flower fell from his mouth as he gasped. Holst ran in to his ear, letting out a tiny ‘oof!’. 

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Mercury shook his head in disbelief before cautiously entering the clearing.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Again?”

He walked around what was once a perfectly intact shrine, now reduced to a pile of almost unrecognizable rubble.

“What? What do you mean again? Did you do something?”

Mercury huffed, frowning.

“Hey, it wasn’t me this time! This is- well I mean, I guess it was. Ugh. This was supposed to be the shrine we were gonna leave our gifts at! And now here it is, all broken and stuff.”

The bean blinked, looking between mercury and the pile of rocks.
“And this happened to you before?”

“Yeah, but just this one time. It was kinda weird. I’ve heard from other nin that it can happen sometimes.” 

He poked a rock with his foot before retrieving the flower and laying it on top of the pile. The benaling flitted around the mess, before shivering and returning to rest on Mercury’s head.

“I don’t like that at all. Feels like a bad omen.”

Mercury frowned, then turned and began trotting back the way they came. His shadow flickered a bit as they left.

“Yeah, I guess. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to find another shrine on our way, right? I mean, we’ve got suuuuper important stuff to deliver and all.” 

Holst let out another long suffering sigh.

“Yes, very important.”