The Star Weaver

The Glittering Cloak

The village was in chaos. Screams broke out from every corner of the crowded street. People pushed and shoved, kicking out their feet and elbowing others out of the way. They swarmed forward, hollering for help, trying to find their loved ones and demanding answers. It was like a stream of refugees leaving the scene of a violent battle. Though in reality, they were surging towards the town square where the council had asked that everyone attend a meeting meant to reassure the villagers that they were safe, despite the night's events.

Orion yelped as someone elbowed him in the stomach in an attempt to push past him. It was a young woman carrying a baby in trembling arms. As he saw the fear marked in her eyes, he knew for certain that this was a problem that the council wouldn't be able to fix. Battle, anger, feuds, those were small issues, solved with a tiny bit of logic and helpful understanding, but fear had a life of its own. It could consume a person in moments, draining them of their rationality and ability to make decisions, leaving behind only a frightened animal trapped under the paws of a predator. Even the slightest sight of danger could set them off and cause a panic. One frightened person was bad enough, but hundreds, he shuddered at the thought.

"Orion?" Orion looked up, seeing his mother rushing towards him, clutching his younger sister in her arms, the little girl's blonde curls bouncing up as she ran. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you since we left this morning. Your father is up with the other councilmen...it's not going well." She paused for a breath of air, finally looking to Orion's right with an expression of surprise. " Where is Asteria? I thought you were going to go and get her from her house."

Frowning, Orion allowed his mother to take his arm and guide him through the panicked crowd. "She wasn't home. She's probably here somewhere." He looked around, his eyes scanning for Asteria's telltale green butterfly clip that she always wore in the back of her hair and often forgot was there. There was no sign of her, but the crowd was thick and always moving. She had probably been swept away towards the town square.

He had been worried about her all night, between the sounds of ripping fabric, the stars falling from the sky, that horrid singing, and the loud overwhelming crashing sounds, he was sure that she had to be scared out of her mind. Once, when the darkness had reached its peak, he swore he had heard her screaming, but then another crash had sounded, and he hadn't been sure. He knew he had probably imagined it, but still, he was unable to shake the worry from the back of his mind, a feeling that had only gotten stronger when he stepped out of his house, only to almost fall into a deep crater in the road that hadn't been there the day before. He shuddered to think what had caused it and wondered if it was still somewhere within Cassiopeia's borders. Even his father, who knew a great deal about many things, hadn't known what to make of the large pit, which still had melted bits of cobblestone falling off around the edges, and exuded a strange heat that had smelled oddly like pine.

His mother's brows turned down. "Y-you don't think she went off into the forest...do you? There are days when she doesn't come back in, even when night falls."

Orion shook his head, dodging out of the way as a man with angry eyes surged past him, swinging his arms out as if to shove him out of the way. "I saw her yesterday, in the afternoon. I walked her home." He wanted to believe that she wasn't in the forest, but he knew how Asteria could be. There were times when she would come home for only a couple of hours, only to wander back into the depths of the forest soon after. There was a high chance that she had gone home, gathered more materials, and set out once again. He hoped desperately that that wasn't the case, but he had a bad feeling that wedged its way into his mind and refused to leave. A feeling that grew stronger at the doubtful look in his mother's eyes. He let out a soft sigh. "I'll go look for her."

He knew all of Asteria's usual spots, and though she would sometimes wander far, far away, she never did so in the dark. If she had truly gone back into the forest, he would certainly find her in one of those areas. Hopefully, though, they would be empty, and he would return to the village to find that she had indeed been swept up in the crowd, and was just as confused about his whereabouts as he was of hers.