Elements of Emotion

Chapter 9: Fish Out of Water

Caelian woke for a second time, his eyes fluttering open as he let out a groan. Not recognizing where he was, he groggily sat up. It took him a few moments before realizing he was inside of a tent. Was he back at the denizen's camp, then?

The memory of what happened to Gaia hit him like a rock. He touched his chest, feeling a dull pain in his heart. He took a deep breath, quickly wiping away the tears that had formed. He'd have to try and not think about it. Gaia was fine, and she had given him a task. He'd fulfill it, no matter what.

"Oh! Birdie is awake!"

Caelian heard Evelyn's voice come from the tent's entrance. He looked over just in time to see her excitedly enter. He saw Damien peek inside of the tent, but they remained outside.

"Is Birdie feeling okay?" Evelyn asked as she crouched down next to him. "He fall over suddenly so Damien carry him back to where other spirits are."

"I'm... fine, I guess," he mumbled. "My head hurts."

"Hmm, Evelyn will get Birdie some water, wait here, yes!"

As Evelyn bounced out of the tent, Damien took their turn entering. They stood with their hands in their coat pockets.

"You gonna be okay after all that?" They asked. "Didn't really expect the emotional trauma to make you pass out."

"I don't really think it was that," Caelian said as he rubbed his head, remembering the Dreamer's words. He decided it was probably better he didn't mention his trip to the realm of permanent dreams. Evelyn returned, carrying a wooden cup filled with water. Damien took a step back so that she had enough room to crouch down and hand it to Caelian. He hesitantly took it.

"Anyway, the denizens all seem pretty confused as to what's going on, you might want to explain what happened," Damien said.

"I don't care about them," Caelian said flatly as he took a sip of water.

Evelyn frowned, "But they all seem worried about Birdie..."

"I doubt that," he said.

"Regardless, it's your job as the disciple to take care of them, right?" Damien said, causing Caelian to pause mid-drink. "The acid has started to disappear and the forest got its color back. I think at the very least you should explain what happened to Gaia."

"... Yeah, fine," Caelian grumbled as he set the cup down on the ground next to him. He shakily stood up, shooing Evelyn away as she tried to help him stand.

"I didn't mean right now—" Damien said as they reached out to try and help Caelian regain his balance, but Caelian quickly waved them away as well.

"I'm fine," he muttered, before quickly walking out of the tent, only to stop as soon as he stepped outside. There was a lot for him to take in at once.

The first thing he noticed was the crowd gathered around the tent that were all now staring at him. The second thing he noticed was the gentle breeze that ruffled his hair, causing him to look upwards, squinting his eyes against the sun. What Damien had said was true. While the damage the acid had caused still remained, the trees had regained their emerald green leaves. Looking down at the ground around him, he noticed that flowers had begun to blossom as well.

Damien and Evelyn exited out of the tent behind him as someone from the crowd stepped forward, "Caelian, what did you do?" They asked.

A chorus of voices rose up around him,

"Is the Goddess okay?"

"How did you get rid of the acid?"

"What happened to Garson?!"