Golden Glade we climb and they descend

@Forsythia <333

Beyond the forest of hazy sunlight, past the bog sprawling out from the treeline, Foxglove found a pretty spring-kissed forest. The trees here were thin, with many branches splayed broadly; she could almost imagine them filled out, all broad and round. But for now the branches stood stark, peppered with bright green buds and baby leaves drooping with long strands. A closer look revealed that the strands, almost hair-like, ended in tiny green bulbs.

Foxglove took a bloom, seeds and leaves and all, delicately into her mouth. She tore it away, chewing thoughtfully. It wasn't amazing — but a decent snack, she supposed.

at one year of age, she was no better than any youthful spindling of spring branch. gold weave and thin, moving with the winds of time. she was not rooted as tree or brush might be. she moved where called.

something untangled that golden weave of a young woman. a familiar perfume, a unique cologne. the scent called forth memory as it called forth flesh. spirit moved by the blood it knew.

you should not eat what you do not know, out came the words with soft spoken confidence. gained from time away, from things seen and things experienced.

Fox startled at the sound of a voice, too familiar to be anything but out of place in these foreign woods. She glanced up, already expecting to see her sister — and stopped short, surprised again to see her older, the new sharpness to her gaze that spoke of seeing much more of the world than she had when last they'd seen one another. For a moment Foxglove wondered if Petal — no, Forsythia — saw the same in her own face.

Then her startled expression broke into sunshine and smiles, light streaming between the clouds. I'm not dead yet! She countered, all but running to meet Forsythia where she stood. How did you find me? Did you follow me? Is Dahlia with you? Or - Foxglove was breathless. Oh, it's so good to see you.

and those spindly spider leg arms wanted to hold, to know there was health in the body before her. in her eyes they would always be those windswept children. lost to the wilds and surviving as only they knew how.

it had led them to other places, other things.

some things forsythia could not leave behind. the lessons learned in childhood seemed to be that.

i could not let you be alone. cooed as she reached to kiss a cheek. it is concern that fuels the thought but only love is in her words. are you? alone, that is.

Foxglove hesitated over the question, flushing from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. All that they'd said prior was immediately forgotten, even the momentary warmth of knowing that her sister had followed her. Because —

Well, she began, eyes darting around in search of something to settle on. Anything but Forsythia. There's this - this dumb boy. I dunno. He's real stupid. I say hi and he gets so scared he runs away, then I try to eat him instead and he doesn't flinch! She huffed.

I dunno why he hangs around. He's kinda cute, but like, soooo dumb, Foxglove sighed. But there's just something about him... She trailed into silence for a moment before her ears went flat. I wish he was less - less - stupid!

a boy.

she thought of any faces she had found handsome before. some recalled brought warmth to her cheeks but did not reach eyes. none of them had ever been dumb. she wanted to tell fox that she could do better than that, than a dumb boy.

why not a smart one? or a kind one? or one that might now how to survive and provide if ever there was a day forsythia couldn’t trail after her sibling?

all of it was too much to say but there was that distant, thoughtful look on her face. the one that had come the first time she’d seen her mother’s wounded neck. the look that now she wore whenever it came to family affairs.

dumb boys had it easier than children of sun and survival.

give him time. was her uttered wisdom now. another kiss to fox’s cheek before she swept aside to examine a rather unbecoming tangle of new vines. boys are always dumb longer than girls.

she hoped it might make fox laugh, that it might make things good between her and this boy.

have you kissed him?

Kissed him! Foxglove gagged a little, only half exaggerating her disgust. I'm not mom, she rolled her eyes, though there was affection in her tone even so. It was their mother's lot in life to always go chasing after kisses from her own stupid man, and Foxglove had seen enough of where that led to know she would never be the same.

She had better things to do.

I don't have time, Foxglove huffed with no small amount of self-importance. I wanna see all the places around here! All of it! Mama was always tellin' stories about it. She never noticed when she slipped back into their girlhood name for her mother in these moments.

I dunno which direction the valley is, though, she sighed, glancing around as if she might see it from here. The valley. That was where their mother had lived, and near to where they'd been born. Maybe that stupid boy knows... Fox was mumbling now, half to herself.