Dressed in Feathers | K.TH FF

3: The River of Colors

Not feeling any sort of crash, I peeked an eye open. Ahead of me, aside from the mysterious figure, were gorgeous streams of green and blue lights in the sky, lighting the wintery area. My eyes sparkled and glistened in awe.

So... beautiful...

The figure flew us up to them. The next thing I knew, we were right on top of them. At the top of the colorful lights was a rowboat. I looked at it in confusion.

(From here, I would recommend you play the Osirois Music orchestral cover of "Waterfall" provided at the top for scenic vibes.)

The figure put me in the boat gently, then sat across from me and took the oar, pushing it into the green stream of light to row us forward. The lights illuminated everything with a green tint, allowing me to see the figure better and with more detail. Although, there wasn't much more detail to be had. I could only see their feather cloak and eyes better and that was about it.

"W-Whaaat is going ooon???" I looked around, confused and scared. "Where are we??"

The figure didn't answer me.

"Where are we going??"

Still nothing.

"Who are you??"

Silence.

"What do you want with me??"

Dead, cold silence.

"Can you even hear me???"

The quiet, mysterious figure nodded their head.

Finally, a response. "Are you listening to me???"

No answer. Again.

"Are you mute or something??"

The figure kept silently staring at me, their neutral eyes leaving me unsettled.

"Why won't you answer me??"

Still nothing.

Not taking any more of it, I stood up in the boat and attempted to jump out, but the figure grabbed me and tried to pull me away from the edge as I struggled in their firm arms. "Let go of me!"

They didn't listen. As expected.

I fought their hold, eventually slipping out and jumping off, falling to the snowy peaks below me.

I started to glow green and blue and the mountains weren't getting bigger anymore.

What is going on?!?

The mountains grew smaller, and then I was put back onto the boat in front of the figure. My glowing faded away. The black figure shook their index finger at me, silently telling me I wasn't allowed to do that.

I went to make another jump for it, but I glowed again and was put back onto my seat before I could leap over the edge. The figure had their hand held out to me, then put it down, shaking their head at me to stop.

"Okay, so you can use the Force... What are you??"

Silence.

"What do you want with me??"

The dark figure tilted its head to the side like a dog. It might have been in confusion, but the bone crow mask made them look more intimidating and menacing than confused.

"Sooo... What? I'm supposed to trust you now?"

The figure slowly nodded.

"That's going to be pretty difficult if you refuse to communicate with me."

The figure said nothing.

"What is this area? Where are we?"

Still nothing.

"Who or what are you?"

Silence.

"Won't you at least say SOMETHING?"

The cloaked figure kept staring at me. It was getting creepy. As if it wasn't creepy already.

"Forget it. If you won't answer me, I'll stop talking and asking questions."

There was even more silence.

We sat there in the boat, silent. We kept staring at one another. I grew to familiarize myself with their sharp, dark eyes behind their mask. Their silence became more inviting than menacing. The black feathers in their cloak gently swished in the winter breeze, but neither of us were shivering.

Strange how I wasn't shivering in the freezing air. I couldn't even tell if it was freezing or not.

Reflecting back on their actions when I tried to leave the boat, I couldn't tell if they were protecting me or keeping me prisoner. What if it was both? Was that even possible?

I began looking down at the stream of lights, resting my chin on my crossed arms that were on the edge of the boat. Gazing at the river of illumination, I wondered what it felt like if I touched it. I tried to resist the urge to try but ended up giving up, letting my curiosity take over.

I extend my arm from the boat, reaching down to the light. The black figure suddenly took my wrist and led it away carefully.

"I just wanted to touch the light."

The figure and I gazed at each other for a few seconds, then they slowly let go. I hunched over the edge of the boat, trying to reach far enough to touch the green and blue light but far enough to not fall off. Once I was sure my fingers touched the light, I didn't seem to feel anything. I waved my hand in it, but nothing seemed to wisp.

I withdrew my arm and sat in the boat properly, still gazing down at the lights. "Huh. Interesting. It doesn't feel like anything—just air."

Drawing my eyes back to the dark and mysterious person, their silent eyes were loud with thought and curious kindness. Somehow, I had the feeling that they didn't want to hurt me. It seemed like they just wanted to ensure my safety. I was uncertain why I got that feeling, just the way the figure was gazing at me looked more friendly rather than threatening. I couldn't figure out why.

"Do you do this often?" I tried to strike up some sort of conversation. They kept staring, as always. "Is there a reason behind your bird theme?"

Silence.

"Why do you wear that mask?"

No answer.

"Are you hideously scarred?"

Nothing.

"Is it to hide your identity?"

The figure made absolutely no sounds at all.

"Or are you the one in hiding?"

Their staring was their only response.

"Who are you really under that mask?"

I slowly reached my hand out to the mysterious figure's mask, but they didn't do anything to stop me. My fingers gripped the beak. No resistance was given. I carefully lifted it up, revealing their face to myself. Once their hood fell off their head and the crow mask was fully removed, I froze.