𝕳𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖘𝖘 - (Ranboo)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔

Some time later, the girls had long since travelled away from Business Bay. They found themselves in an expanse of land with an unsettling amount of no settlements. Usually, they'd run across at least a village every three or four days, but it had been around a fortnight since anyone was seen. It was beginning to worry Venus; and Hertha, who was beginning to pick up survival cues. It wasn't bad scenery however, the landscape was full of trees, odd trees with tall, black trunks and wide, racing green leaves. There were larger mushrooms which outgrew them, towering over everything as though they were the warden towers of the forest. It was peculiar and unique.

Venus especially enjoyed it; with the many flowers which grew in the shaded free space, she'd point them out in excitement, seeing alliums and tulips growing naturally. Hertha nearly forgot about her love for flowers, it was a memory which reminded her of when she was younger and obsessed with being with her mother.

They saw all sorts of colours, the standard greens, blacks, reds, browns and whites. But Hertha could enjoy the random bursts of flowers donating livelihood to the woods. There were azures, mauves, crimsons and even turmeric yellows freckling the floor and waving at the girls with their little leaves.

It was the beauty without humanity in the way. The girls knew that if they came where there were people, it would be cleaner, flat land with no trees and more monocultures in the eye's reach. Hertha was learning to appreciate more of what she saw, how people were different; cultures dying; rebirth; lifestyle choices; economics; a place with humanity; a place without humanity.

Venus picked up a flower, it had large, plush petals and was orange in colour. Orange was Venus's favourite colour, so Hertha wasn't surprised by the taller woman's choice of flower. As the girl looked closer at the flower in her hand, she gasped. There were gems forming off of the filaments, in place of the anther. The first thing Hertha thought was, "how does it reproduce?" She asked as she thought it. Venus shrugged and laughed lightly, admiring the topaz-shaded gems within the flower.

They wandered some more, still finding nothing. It had gotten to a point where Hertha wanted to turn around and leave the woods, but she decided otherwise when she saw that behind her was the exact same as what was ahead of her. There wasn't a point trying to get lost, she'll eventually find a way out going one way or another. For a while, it was just trees, flowers and mushrooms. Nothing more, nothing less - until Hertha fell. She fell with a scream into a hole by a tree, hurting herself when landing.

When she looked around, she saw... beauty.

That was all she could describe it as: beauty.

A dark cave, only ripped through by cracks in the roof allowing the sun to seep through in fractured rays - also letting the rustle of leaves waft in like the smell of a home-cooked meal. Somewhere below, there was a stream filling the opening with the sound of running water. But Hertha hadn't even acknowledged the glowing, sparkling ores and gems. They looked like fairy lights, pulsing with their own magic and bringing colourful life to the cave. Calming lapis and glistening bismuths, there were the average spinels and funnily enough, chrysoprase. Hertha was always fond of shiny things, but the cave was a whole new level. She had never seen pure, uncut gemstones and (in the case of a bismuth) metals. She had never really been in many unexplored caves. It brought tears to her eyes as Venus ran up to her, from where Hertha could see a crack of light. An opening. She dusted herself off and looked at Venus, who became distracted with the scenery and going as far as to hop over the edge.

Though Hertha wouldn't have recommended doing as such; she found herself following after the girl after hearing her awed gasp, and when Hertha dropped down, she wasn't sure whether she liked the upper level over the bottom. The roof (where Hertha originally sat with Venus above) was infested with vines carrying berries which shone brightly. There was clay dividing pools of clean, fresh water, only connected by small gaps creating tiny waterfalls. Then they saw movement, and Hertha never so excitedly kicked off her boots and rushed into the water, feeling her legs get wet with the cold. She stood in one of the pools and yelped with giggles when something brushed against her; fish. And a strange animal she had never seen before, smooth skin and in extravagant colours, it looked similar to a discoloured sea plant Hertha saw in the books. They had black beady eyes and no teeth, they looked like they were always smiling, they also had a fluttery tail.