The wind echoed our footsteps as we made our way back to Juno's house to reconvene with Aubrey and Mike. I was trying my best to avoid thinking about what had just happened. It was certainly for the better that we focused on the job at hand, but with the whispers of the wind vocalising either side of us, I couldn't help but remember how it had seemingly helped me. I thought of Juno's stories, and old pagan myths I'd heard in passing. Despite not being like anything I'd read about before, the power of seemingly entirely unconscious natural beings seemed more prevalent than ever since I learnt magic. Juno was right, the most important way to understand everything that was happening was to tune in with nature itself, no matter how embarrassing it sounded on paper.
The walk back - though I suppose it was more of a stilted jog as various branches blocked the path - was far more pleasant than it should have been. The shadows spinning in circles beside every tree bough and under each root seemed to stay in their homes, and the dull light of the clouded moon provided just enough sight to feel comfortable, though perhaps not quite as much as would be ideal. The wind was cool but not unpleasant, and seemed to blow with a calmness that gently carried us closer to our destination.
I looked over at Juno, slightly tilting my head up to see their face. Neither of us exchanged a word throughout the journey, instead choosing to tune into the quiet cacophony around us - small bugs skittering, leaves falling, even our own footsteps blended into the song. Before long we made it back to Juno's, Aubrey and Mike sitting on the front porch looking incredibly confused and running entirely on adrenaline. They were bickering about something - we were a little too far away to hear - and in the stifled moonlight, Mike almost seemed to glow with divine radiance, as though the celestial body itself had chosen him. I felt my cheeks turn slightly red.
"Uh... hi," I called out, raising my hand in a small wave. They both turned sharply to look at us. Within an instant, Aubrey had sprinted over, wrapping her arms around me in a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.
"Me too," I responded jokingly, but I couldn't find the right inflection to stop it from sounding despondent. "So... um, are you planning on letting go any time soon?"
"Just a little longer," she said, smiling into my shirt. Something tugged at my heart, a rugged and sharp pain that seemed wholly uncomfortable, yet not at all negative. It was warm.
Eventually she pulled away, smiling up at me despite the ever present tears lining her eyes. Mike waved at me from behind her enthusiastically, as he walked over and looked me in the eyes. He then held out his hand.
"A handshake. For old time sake."
He winked, and at least 40 butterflies began to make a racket in my stomach. I smiled warmly, pushing down the fluttering that was probably just nerves for the upcoming battle, and took his hand.
"So, are we ready to go yet?"
In the dull glow of the night, Juno's tall figure had an ethereal presence surrounding it, and they looked wiser and more mature than all of us, which I supposed they were. It felt weird to think that, not too long ago, I had been at this very house for the first time and they had hated me. Now me, them and two other friends were working together to save our town from whatever carnage Corvus would bring down upon it. I looked around. I had three friends. Three real friends, who cared for me just as much as I cared for them. Three real friends who I would go as far as to call family. Would they agree? I supposed they all already had friends, so the experience wasn't as novel to them as it was to me. Still, quality of time always exceeds quantity, and though we hadn't been friends for long we certainly had been through enough together. And now, we were going through one final challenge.
I looked over to Juno. "What's our plan?"
Aubrey and Mike followed in the act until all our eyes rested on them. They looked stoic, but I could still identify that glimmer of fear behind their eyes. Juno took a deep breath.
