Star Child

Chapter II: Hocus Pocus

Whipping around, Nicolas was alarmed that he couldn’t find the source of the voice. A shifting in the branches of the trees created a sense of paranoia in the back of Nicolas’ head.

“Hey, up here, up here, do I need to call?” The voice was melodically raspy; it also spoke in iambic pentameter couplets, though Nicolas didn’t necessarily notice. Looking up, in the shadows of the tall branches Nicolas saw a shadowy creature leaning on the wood. At first, Nicolas couldn’t see the creature well enough to distinguish its features, but as it slowly approached, Noah contained his breathing.

Standing not taller than about three feet, the furry creature looked like some sort of cross between a goat, a rabbit, and a human. With hooves on its lower legs, it swung its legs and stroked its beard, staring at Nicolas behind small, round spectacles.

“Who are you?” Was the first thing that Nicolas could whisper after getting over the fact that he was talking to a faerie. The creature sighed and vanished in a dark puff of smoke, which shifted closer to Nicolas, who couldn’t find the will to move as the cloud approached. Stopping right in front of him, the cloud began to form and materialize, condensing into the creature once again. Standing on its hooves, the creature lifted his furred face in order to observe Nicolas better. After a moment of cumbersome staring, the creature began to speak;

“I am the Phooka, by name of Warren,” Its inquisitive voice murmured. “And you, a human, a beast born foreign?” The creature’s genuine curiosity persuaded him, through some sort of pathos, to tell the creature his name.

“I’m Nicolas Tsukino,” he replied solemnly before quickly adding “and I’m lost.” The Phooka only nodded and hummed to himself. After a few moments, the creature sublimated back into a cloud and faded back up into the trees. After the deposition, he stared down at Nicolas and adjusted his spectacles.

“The human, Nicolas, is lost you say? Then I, Warren, will help him find his way.” The Phooka leapt up and span around in the middle of the trees. “Before you were going into the ring, where the fairies all laugh, and dance, and sing. But if you were to progress mistaken, the fairy-folk would’ve had you taken. So, human, now you should seek the guidance, of and for your resolution perchance, from the son of witches, find what you seek, to continue on to the journey’s peak.” At this, the creature simultaneously twisted around and transformed into a large crow, flying up into the depths of the ocean of trees.

“What the fuck,” Nicolas whispered incredulously at the tree tops as he watched the creature fly away. His view then shifted to the ground, where he found that there was indeed a line of small, non-moving mushrooms that circumference an area a few feet away. Just as he was about to walk away, Nicolas felt something land lightly upon his head; a small black feather. The feather tapped his earmuffs a few times and began to glow, slowly maneuvering its way off of Nicolas’ head and beckoning him to continue through the forest.

The rhetoric technique worked, and Nicolas began to follow.

***

The woods were cool as Nicolas’ stomach began to ache; he realized too late that he probably should’ve eaten something before leaving. The feather floated lazily through the air, leading Nicolas. Trying to ignore the growling in his stomach, Nicolas watched the feather float intently, almost as if there was some sentience to the floating fluff.

Eventually, a structure came into distance, and the feather seemed to beckon Nicolas there. Upon getting closer, Nicolas observed that the structure was shaped like an octagonal prism and appeared to be some sort of cross between a mausoleum and Greek Architecture.

The feather finally stopped once they reached a close enough proximity to the building, floating silently as if resting on some sort of invisible structure. Swaying silently, the trees formed a dark canopy over the mausoleum, creating an eerie vibe to the area.