Otherside Tour

Chapter 13 : Cave of Butterflies

Bamburai and Bamberly woke up finally refreshed, which was a nice change of pace, especially after going through the acid trip that was the contaminated airport building near them. They packed up their things and went on their way, crossing by a small forest. It was dotted with blue flowers of varying shapes and sizes, and the path had glowing, light blue fungi scattered about.

They treated it more as a stroll than anything, taking it as an opportunity to simply be with each other. They walked through the floral and fungal pathway, holding hands and just smiling at each other, happy to simply be together.

As they walked, they spotted a singular butterfly; it glowed a bright neon blue, accompanied with black lining. It fluttered throughout the grove, seemingly without a path. Bamberly, intrigued, tried to catch it; though her efforts were in vain as she faceplanted on the grassy floor.

"Oof-"

"Oh, you..."

Soon enough, there were a few other glowing blue butterflies floating about. Bamburai and Bamberly, both equally intrigued, followed their pathing, leading to a lone cavern glimmering with shining blue crystals, butterflies crowding around it. Both the wings of the butterflies and the crystals reflected on the green grassy ground.

The couple stepped in, the interior only being lit up by the crystals and butterflies perched on the walls and ceiling. There was a small, foot-level body of water under them; as soon as they stepped in it, many of the butterflies just went flying around. The two made their way further, and eventually they stopped inside a big area filled with massive crystals glowing a deep cobalt blue alongside the butterflies, both sitting on a big rock speckled with small blue gemstones.

The hundreds of shiny butterflies fluttered about, as if they were little lights swimming in a sea of darkness. The cave was illuminated by nothing but the blue glow of the crystals and all the life inside the cave.

Bamburai and Bamberly watched in awe as the butterflies brushed past the small ivies of glowing blue flowers in the cave, dancing around without any rhyme or reason. It was almost hypnotic.

A small butterfly landed on Bamberly's face, illuminating her face in a tender cobalt blue.

"Oh-!"

Bamburai took a closer look, chuckling a little.

"Eheheheh, look at'cha!"

Bamberly leaned back a little, surprised by the encounter. Eventually, the butterfly fluttered away, but she was still left quite surprised.

"Heh, seems like it liked you. Or perhaps it saw you as a little bed."

"Heheh..."

Looking at the swarm of cobalt butterflies, Bamburai got an idea.

"Say, Berly, why don't we try to catch 'em?"

Bamberly's face lit up with joy. She then immediately sprinted and tried to catch a butterfly, but failed and tripped, splashing into the wide puddle beneath them.

"Aww, you..."

They both pulled out a branch and a plastic bag from their bags, and tied the bags to the sticks; in short, they made handmade nets.

The couple started running out and about, attempting to catch the cobalt blue insects. They hopped and skipped around, the water around them splashing and rippling. It was one of those moments where they could appreciate their company in one way or another, just catching butterflies together...

After many, many more attempts, Bamberly had finally catched one.

"Lookie here!"

Bamberly showed off her net, emanating a soft blue glow from a butterfly.

"I caught a butterfly!"

Bamburai gently handled the net, seeing the small insect inside of the bag.

"Huh, never knew you had a knack for catching bugs."

"Whaddya know, they make for good inspiration!"

Bamburai and Bamberly both chuckled a bit, then freed the little insect as it rejoined its cobalt swarm.

"Say, how about a game of tag? I'm up for running around a little bit more!"

"Sounds fun. I'm in!"

Bamburai and Bamberly then started running around the gleaming cobalt cave, chasing each other through the swarm of butterflies and shining crystals and natura of the place. It was a moment of joy, something reminiscent of the days before the war.

"Tag, you're it!"

"Awww, nooo!"

They ran around for as long as they liked, just playing a simple, heartfelt game of tag, which lasted for at least half a hour, laughing and cheering as they both took the turns to become 'it'. After tiring themselves out, they decided to just settle near a rock and cuddle.