The Perceptions Of An Observer: A Short Story Collection

VI. The Shadow

They didn't talk about The Fallen Star.

If you were to ask any of them about him, they'd either pretend not to hear you or they'd tell you he left.

If you were to ask any of them if they missed him, they'd either pretend not to hear you or they'd tell you they didn't.

And maybe some of them truly didn't miss him, but The Shadow knew for certain that he did.

It was a painful day, the day The Fallen Star left. He never wanted to break his heart, never wanted him to walk away without a glance back.

That's what happens when you're pushed to the edge of everything you can handle from people you trusted to the point of falling out of love with them and falling away, The Shadow believed.

He never wanted to hurt The Fallen Star, and both of them knew that. They tried to stay in each other's lives, tried to stay as a means of support for each other.

But even that fell apart. They fell apart. They stopped talking, stopped thinking about each other, everything just stopped.

And with that, everything began to hurt just a little bit more than it already did.

He missed The Fallen Star. He loved The Fallen Star.

But he was gone, far gone.

And he wanted him back, but couldn't reach him no matter how hard he tried.

He just didn't know how to break the barrier between past and future to bring him back.

He'd be the first to admit that he didn't know all that much about his old friend's new life, but he knew two things for certain.

The first was that The Fallen Star now rolled with The Puppet Master and his clique.

And the second was that he hated The Puppet Master.

But he still wanted a way to know how The Fallen Star was. He needed to know if his old friend was doing okay, if he was still holding on, because he could tell from the times they found each other in passing that The Fallen Star was fading away with each day, dancing with the edge of life and death.

Even if they were no longer close, he needed him to stay alive and didn't know how to save him. All he knew is that he couldn't save him on his own.

He was feeling nothing but hopelessness, a pain deep within his heart over not being able to save The Fallen Star from himself.

But right as the hopelessness turned into a suffocating blanket, The Shadow gained a blessing in the form of The Hawk.

He had known The Hawk nearly his whole life, and while they had never been particularly close, there was a mutual respect between the pair.

He also knew that The Hawk has multiple ins with The Puppet Master's clique, and therefore had a connection to The Fallen Star.

And so, the mutual respect The Hawk and The Shadow had with each other would have to be upgraded into an alliance, one on the basis of protecting The Fallen Star from the harm he could and would inevitably bring himself from his own hands.

Luckily for him, The Hawk understood the concerns and the situation of The Shadow almost immediately, as it took no hesitation at all for him to become a discreet guardian angel of sorts, watching The Fallen Star's every move whenever he could, a watchful eye when The Shadow could not provide one.

Through this, it didn't take long for The Shadow to see The Hawk as an ally, someone who could and would do what he could to protect his old friend.

As time went on, The Shadow was able to find more integral parts of The Puppet Master's world, more integral parts with the ability to reach his old friend and keep a watchful eye on him as The Shadow could no longer do so.

The Flame, The Archer, The Sunflower, and The Lion, fierce souls with fiery passion, aligned themselves with The Shadow without so much as a second thought, ready to serve as guardians of The Fallen Star under his rule.

The Shark, already one known for a protective instinct, acted as a reassurance for The Shadow, not as much of a protector as he

had his own charges to save the lives of, but his presence was a lifesaver.

The Lake's boy acted in a similar manner, acting as a reassurance with the usage of his observations. Not much of a fighter, but a safety net on the sidelines.

Even The Scorpion stepped up where he could, as he did feel a sort of connection to The Fallen Star and had the advantages of understanding the innermost workings of The Puppet Master's clique.

With his newfound army of sorts, The Shadow felt a reassurance that maybe he could connect with his old friend again after all.

But almost as quickly as this army formed, it fell apart.

The Lion all but fell out with The Fallen Star. While he did take a similar role to The Lake's boy, he still didn't have that old bond with The Fallen Star anymore.

And forget about The Shark, who fell off completely.

The Scorpion, while remaining close with The Fallen Star to the best of his abilities, was called away to a battle that raged closer to him and had to abandon ship for a different cause.

And The Archer, always unpredictable, was soon to be unfindable, although prophecy did predict that he still found himself in a close allegiance with The Fallen Star. He just didn't want to face The Shadow, proving his allegiances and loyalties to be as fickle and fleeting as they were known to be.

But thankfully, The Flame and The Sunflower, they stayed by the sides of both The Shadow and The Fallen Star. They kept their loyalty and their allegiances and they did what they could to bring a sense of closure to The Shadow and a sense of security to The Fallen Star.

And they eventually, after a long road of ups and downs, managed to bring The Shadow and The Fallen Star back together.

The way they returned to each other wasn't seamless. It wasn't nearly as perfect as who they were to each other before they left each other behind. It wasn't an easy reunion and it wasn't a replication of who they once were.

They weren't back as they were, but they were back and they were building up trust between each other again. They were slowly rebuilding the bridge that burned between them, and they were slowly bringing each other back to life.

It wasn't perfect, but it was something.

And maybe one day, there would be a series of new somethings to bring the world that The Shadow and The Fallen Star once inhabited back to the way it was.