A LEAP OF FAITH

Chapter 5: A new face.

Mugi woke up to the sound of rustling in the bushes. He looked around drowsily until he saw a blur in the distance. Sugar must've heard it too, because she was awake.

"Sugar, did you hear that?" Mugi mumbled.

She gave a soft nod and stood up. "Might be an animal, I'm gonna go check. You wanna come?" She turned to Mugi.

He shrugged, "I suppose so." He stood up and went with her to check around the area.

They heard the sound of footsteps, "Someone's definitely here," she whispered, cautiously looking around.

They noticed footsteps in the dirt, Sugar crouched down. "I guess it isn't an animal..." she furrowed her brows.

"Wonderful." Mugi sighed heavily, straightening out his back.

"ANYONE OUT THERE?" Sugar cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. No answer.

They heard the running of footsteps; the mystery person must've heard her.

"They're coming from this way, come along," Mugi whispered and ran in the direction of where the footsteps were coming from.

She nodded and followed him, "What if it's someone dangerous, Mugi?" She asked.

"If they're dangerous, they wouldn't be running away," Mugi mumbled.

"I guess you're right." Sugar shrugged and looked ahead of her.

They were wandering farther and farther away from the site where they slept. But the footsteps were getting closer. The two saw the figure, they were right ahead of them. Sugar grabbed the back of the person's shirt, holding them in place.

"What were you doing around our sleeping bags?" She interrogated.

The person jolted away from her and turned around. He was tall, just a bit shorter than Sugar. He had a subtle pear-shaped body and dark blue skin. His hair was straight at the top, but fluffed out at the bottom, it came down to his shoulders. It was a coral-ish, pink color. He had bright yellow eyes, though, one of his eyes had an actual pupil, the other having just a line, like a snake's eye. He was wearing a large wizard-like hat atop his head. As for clothing, he was wearing a corset around his waist, under it being a basic button up shirt. His sleeves were slightly puffy and had ruffles around his wrists. One of his pant legs was rolled up, revealing bandaging around his leg. His other pant leg was normal, a bit baggy. He was wearing basic, black boots that gave him about an inch of extra height.
"Oh, hello." He smiled sheepishly, his eyes darting every which way.

"Answer my question." Sugar narrowed her eyes.

The boy sighed heavily, his arms dropping down to his sides. "I was just walking around the woods, nothing to be concerned about, really." He shrugged. He had a calming, soft voice, similar to Mugi's, but higher pitched and a British accent.

"You look oddly familiar," Sugar stepped closer to the boy, inspecting him. "What's your name?" She raised a brow.

"Ari," he said flatly.

"Aren't you the kid from the posters in SpringBrook Village?" She asked.

Ari's eyes widened in the slightest, he smiled sheepishly. "SpringBrook Village? I'm afraid I've never heard of anything like that..." he said softly.

Sugar nodded slowly, not really believing him.

"Either way, I've gotten lost, and I really have nowhere else to go. Do you mind letting me come along with you...?" He swayed his arms back and forth before holding his hands in front of him.