Memories (Lilith x Reader) *DISCONTINUED*

The Fog (Child Y/N)

You wake up feeling weird, like you had a bad dream, but you can't remember anything about last night's sleep. Checking the clock on your bedside table, you see that you're almost late to meet up with your best friends on all of the isles: Eda and Lily Clawthorne! You always walk to the bus together, even though Eda is two years younger than you and Lily and goes to different classes once you guys get to school. Mother comes in and drags you out of bed, practically hysterical at the thought of you being late for school. She berates you for oversleeping, then sends you out to the bus without even giving you a chance to have breakfast. You're a little sad about that, but you know Mother must have your best interests at heart, right? Because adults know everything, or at least a lot more than silly kids like you. You nod a little at Mother's words as you repeat them to yourself, jogging to the bus so you don't miss it.

You must not have jogged fast enough, though, because just as you arrive the bus pulls away. You try desperately to flag it down, jumping up and down and waving your arms in the air until you're out of breath, but the bus driver doesn't even glance your way. Dejected, you sit down on the sidewalk to cool down before beginning the grueling and scary walk through Bonesborough and its forest that leads to Hexside. Going alone through the big city frightens you, but you're even more frightened of disappointing Mother. With that thought in mind, you stand up and prepare to walk, gripping your backpack in an attempt to calm down. It doesn't work, and you burst into tears before sitting back down on the pavement.

Just then, you hear two sets of footsteps approaching you as well as familiar voices chatting away. Eda and Lily walk up to the bus stop and you look up at them with teary eyes.

"I missed the bus" you manage to get out before bursting into tears once more. Lily hugs you to help calm you down, and Eda grins at you with her mischievous smile. Holding up a staff she had been somehow hiding behind her back, Eda presents it as a solution to get all three of you to school on time. You're hesitant at first, but Eda promises it'll be fine, and even Lily seems okay with it. Sniffling and rubbing your nose, you climb onto the staff behind Lily and Eda. Lily grips the neck tight and calls for the staff to fly. Miraculously, it rises off the ground and before you know it you're headed off to Hexside.

Unfortunately for you, Eda, and Lily, staffs are much harder to control than it seems when you see adults flying them. The staff is bucking and spinning out of control while the three of you cling on for dear life, Lily desperately trying to wrest it back under control. But despite her best efforts, the staff gets the best of you all and crashes somewhere in the forest between Bonesborough and Hexside. The palisman seems more spooked than the three of you and flies away before you can get it under control once more.

With the three of you stranded in a dark and spooky part of the forest, you almost burst into tears again. However, you know that to get out and get to school, you have to stay calm. A few tears still leak out of your eyes, but you keep yourself as collected as you can. Being only eight, you don't know much magic so you can't really use that to help you out. You, Lily, and Eda hold a council to try and brainstorm ideas, but the best you can come up with is "walk in the general direction of Hexside". It's not horrible, but it's also not the best situation since by the time you get there you will have missed at least half the school day. Eda doesn't seem too bothered by this fact, but both you and Lily agree that it would be unacceptable. Still, with no better way to get there, the three of you begin the grueling walk through the forest

Wind howls and twigs snap as you continue on your journey, trying to figure out if you're even going in the right direction. Suddenly, your surroundings change and you find yourself in a thick fog. You can't even see your hand in front of your face, and you grasp at nothing trying to find Lily and Eda. Calling for them proves fruitless until finally you hear someone else yelling out. Lily. Faintly in the distance you hear her screaming for help, and you run to the sound of her voice. After a little bit of pushing through trees and bushes, you emerge scraped and bruised to find Lily curled up in a ball crying. She has scrapes all over, with one especially bad one across her face. You immediately give her a hug and try to comfort her, eventually attempting to use the verbal spell she and Eda had used before.

"With this spell declared, let the pain be shared," you say, and soon after you feel more scrapes added to your body and a stinging pain on your face. But Lily stops crying, and that's all that matters. She slowly stands up, hugging you back and thanking you for helping her. She explains that a monster came and attacked her when she couldn't see, and disappeared into the fog before she had a chance to fight back. You feel an overwhelming rage towards whatever creature would dare to hurt your best friend, but try to focus. You need to find Eda and get to school before anyone knows something bad happens to the three of you.

With Lily helping, finding Eda is much easier. The two of your voices are louder together, and soon enough you hear Eda calling back to you. Unfortunately, she sounds quite distressed. Eda is screaming for you and Lily, and upon hearing the urgency in her voice you run as fast as you can to her side. The two of you get there just in time, barreling right into Eda and knocking her out of the way of a claw. Your momentum pushes you forward, and you end up tumbling down a small hill. You, Eda, and Lily all land in a heap, all over each other. You take a little bit of time untangling yourselves, and unfortunately that causes you to lose your lead. Crunching sounds can be heard nearing you, getting closer every second. Thanks to the fog, you hadn't yet gotten a good look at the creature, but from the sounds it's making as it races towards you it sounds large and scary. The three of you are frozen in fear even though you should be running.

The monster yells as it bursts into sight, holding itself tall for you to admire. It was green and about six feet tall, with void black eyes and sharp claws. Its mouth opens wide as it screams again, showing off rows of sharp teeth with one or two oversized fangs. It tries its hardest to look intimidating, but none of you actually seem impressed.

"From the sounds, I thought he'd be taller," Eda says, smirking and measuring with her hand. You smile, knowing what's coming. As you've seen in the past, Eda and Lily are a duo to behold when it comes to tearing down people's self-esteem. Thankfully they're too nice most of the time to use this ability.

"Or at least bigger. Look at those skinny arms," Lily continues, and you can see the monster get visibly confused and uncomfortable. The three of you take this opportunity to finish the monster off, forming a circle and holding hands to generate your shared magic. With the same intention in the front of your minds, the conjoined hands act as a spell circle that generates a cage around the monster. In surprise, the monster yelps like a dog and you all laugh before turning away.

Around fifteen minutes later, the fog clears and you find yourselves in a pretty familiar part of the forest. You all realize at the exact same time that these are the section of woods behind Hexside. In excitement, you all run to the front to go to class, before realizing that you've missed the first two periods and everyone will be mad at you. The second you step through the doors, the three of you are crowded with concerned and angry parents and teachers, and even the principal. You are all thoroughly questioned and scolded before being allowed back into classes for the rest of the day.

By the time you get home, you've essentially forgotten the events of the morning. At least, until you see Mother's face as you walk in the front door. Then you know you're in for a world of punishment.

"You know," Mother starts, "you put on a pretty convincing act back there. All scraped and bruised, most people would have bought that little story of yours. But me? I know how kids are. They put on their little acts and people believe them because the kids are cute, or innocent. Tell me, Y/N, where were you really this morning?" You jolt at the question, having told the truth back in the office. You consider arguing your point, but you know you'll never win, so you just say what Mother wants to hear to avoid further punishment.

"I was ditching," you sigh, hating that you have to lie just so Mother can hear what she wants to hear. You're sure she has a reason, but it still annoys you a little. Expecting the normal punishment and lecture, you start to tune Mother out, but you're in for a shock when you hear her mention Lily and Eda. You blink a few times to bring yourself back to reality, and just as you do you hear Mother expand on her point about your two best friends. Mortified, you hear Mother say that your punishment will be more than just grounding. Not only are you grounded, but you are not allowed to hang out with or even talk to the Clawthorne sisters for two weeks. You sigh again while holding back tears, and head upstairs to do homework and eventually fall asleep.