Once upon a time, there was a realm filled with magic, myths, and fantasy. In that realm lived princes and princesses, knights and mythical beasts, fairies and mermaids, wizards, and witches. They all lived fairly happily in this realm together...
...
Slowly, groups of teens and young adults ranging from 17 to 24 years old, started arriving at a small clearing in the woods. It was a wide dirt clearing with tall white pine, oak, and northern hardwood trees surrounding it. There were about 8 logs set up in a circle with a spot in the center for where a fire pit could go but for now, it was empty. Everyone started to take a seat or stand around waiting for the meeting to start.
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The first to arrive was the girl Aria had run into a few days prior, Lyla. She had brown curly hair and didn't spend much time in town. Most of Lyla's time was spent in the woods or at the playground. She heard about this meeting through whispers that floated around. When she arrived she kept her distance from the group, she stayed in the tree line and climbed up one of the trees, wanting to stay out of sight for as long as she could.
After walking around the town's streets, Harper made her way to the spot in the woods with another girl she had run into. The girl had dirty blonde, almost brown hair, and wore a dainty flower crown. "Sorry Summer, I thought people would be here by now. Maybe we went to the wrong spot." Harper said to the girl. Not seeing anybody else around, she called out to see if anyone was close. "Hey! Anybody here?" She said, not noticing Lyla in the tree.
Luna followed not too far behind Harper and Summer with a girl named Cara. She had found her working at the 'Lucky Pearls' Bubble Tea shop in town. Work was slow, and Cara was curious about what Luna was talking about in her shop, so she closed early to join her. She had long black hair and was wearing a white dress with a black jacket covered with gold flowers all over it. Cara didn't seem to fit into the aesthetic of the woods, but that didn't matter.
Unlike the others, Luna, on the other hand, did see Lyla in the tree. "Lyla! You gonna come down from that tree or what?" Said Luna looking up at the girl in the tree. Lyla narrowed her eyes and ignored Luna. Luna rolled her eyes, "Lyla! I brought cookies for you!" She said as she pulled out a ziplock bag with chocolate chip cookies in it, in hopes of getting her down from the tree.
Lyla kept her head up, ignoring the girls as she looked down the path, seeing more people were arriving. "I'm not here, pretend I'm like a ghost." She said as she wriggled her way around to the other side of the tree.
Cara couldn't help but chuckle at Lyla. "I wish I had an imagination like that... or better yet, the will to climb a tree like that."
A few more people came down the path and joined the group. This group included a girl with glasses and straight deep brown hair named Grace, Rowan, Jamie, and Elle, a younger girl with straight sun-bleached brown hair. Rowan found Grace in the library, while Jamie found Elle at the park. As the group began to gather, the chit-chat began to grow. Luna did her best to keep the group focused, however, that was hard when the person who wanted to hold the meeting hadn't arrived yet.
Shortly, Aria arrived on her bike carrying a bag filled with a camera, a water bottle, her notebook, a few seashells, and the gemstone. "Hi," She said out of breath. "Sorry... I'm... Late..." She paused, breathing heavily. "Hold on... gimme a second to catch my breath," She said as she rested her hands on her knees. "Whew." She stood back up straight and walked into the middle of the semi-circle everyone had collected in, "Alright,"
