Submission (#6570) Approved

Mercury groaned as the first rays of morning light hit his sleepy eyelids. He curled up closer, putting his paws over his face. Holst squawked and wiggled, now trapped in the balled up kittom. The little bean wormed his way to the surface, flopping on top of Mercury’s side. They sighed and rubbed their eye as they got used to the light.

The morning was quiet and breezy, with the birds just beginning to feed, and the grass still covered in delicate sparkling dewdrops. The remains of the fire sat in front of their makeshift tent, not an ember remaining. But the sight reminded Holst of the strange aurora the two had witnessed last night. They leaned over, gently tugging on Mercury’s ear fluff in an effort to wake him up. They were eventually rewarded when the kittom sighed and stretched out, blinking in the dawn.

The two got up slowly, mindlessly munching on their breakfast of travel biscuits. Holst eventually broke the silence as they began to break camp.

“Which direction is the port?”

“Huh? Why?”

“The port. Last night, we planned to visit the port at morning to inquire about a shrine.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. It’s back that way.”

Mercury nodded over his shoulder as he set about rolling up the tarp. Holst hummed in acknowledgment as he coiled the rope. 

“Is that where the veil was? The strange aurora in the sky?”

Mercury paused, seeming to truly wake up.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah it was. I wonder if it’s still there?”

The bean shrugged as they slung their satchel full of letters over their shoulder.

“I suppose we shall find out.”

Mercury smiled and nodded as he pulled his knapsack tight.

“Yeah, guess so! I kind of hope it is! I wonder if it’s like walking through a mist? That would be really cool!”

The two set off slowly across the meadow, enjoying the scent of fresh dew and the sight of butterflies gently drifting from flower to flower. As they rounded the copse of trees, they were once again greeted by the sight of a glittering, shifting array of blues, greens and purples. Holst tilted his head.

“You know, it’s strange  that it hasn’t moved much. I believe most aurora are some kind of solar phenomena.”

“A pheno-what now?”

“A- a sort of happening caused by something natural, but unusual. But the way this is staying in one place, that is. . . strange.” 

Holst stopped, hovering nervously amongst the tall grass.

“Too strange.”

Mercury rolled his eyes as he trotted forwards.
“Oh come on, you think lots of things here are strange! Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s bad! And anyways, I saw one before and nothing bad happened!”

Holst frowned, watching his companion move along without them. They swore Mercury’s shadow twisted into a teasing grin. They shook their head and it was back to normal in a moment. It must have been a trick of the mottled morning light. Cautiously they drifted after the confident kittom.

“Well, if you’re quite certain.”

Mercury smiled as they confidently walked through the veil. 

“I am! Now let’s get your nerves settled and find a shrine! I’m sure you’ll feel better after.”

The two happily traversed the fields back towards port when Mercury started to notice all the signs of a port. Instead of morning dew, the air started to carry the unmistakable scent of saltwater, and the breeze began to kick up. The sounds of waves began to find his ears, and he closed his eyes briefly to enjoy the sensation of the sea as they went along. 

Suddenly, Holst squawked and tugged at his ear. Mercury’s eyes flew open as he realized his paw didn’t hit the ground where it should have. He hopped backwards clumsily, his tiny companion attempting to keep him from falling. He then realized it wasn’t Holst at all, but his pomu, Caduceus, who had been following behind him the whole time.

“What in Eyre?!”

Where there should have been a rolling Bellmorill field in front of him, Mercury found a sudden drop into what was undeniably the ocean! He planted his feet wide as he stared down into the rolling tides. Looking out beyond that, he saw giant roots plunging into the waves, leading to an even larger tree.

“This is- how did we get to Ealei?!”

He glanced at Caduceus, as if they had an answer. His pomu shrugged, releasing Mercury’s ear as they looked out at the ocean. He glanced around in confusion, turning in a full circle looking for Holst only to find that the little beanling was nowhere in sight.

“We didn’t pass by anything like this yesterday on our way from port, did we? No, Ealei shouldn’t be anywhere near here at all.”

Mercury simply nodded as he mused  to himself, kitten and pomu stared at the sea in front of them. He could feel his hackles rising as Caduceus buried into the fluff of Mercury’s tail. He spoke after a moment.

“We need to go back. This is very wrong.”

He took one last look at the giant roots and sea as the two quickly navigated back the way they came. To both of their relief, they quickly found the veil once more and crossed back through its strange, and now very ominous, boundary.

Mercury was immediately greeted by the dismayed cry of his tiny traveling companion. 

“I told you that was a bad idea! One second you where here, and then poof, vanished into thin air!! We need to locate a shrine, quickly! You’re cursed and so is this trip!”

Mercury nodded, no longer amused by his companion’s seeming paranoia. 

“Definitely.”