Misted Deceit

Friends Together and Friends Apart

Forrest sat in a numb silence for the days that followed.  Solar slept, or at least pretended to, most of the time, giving his friend space, realizing how hard Orchid's betrayal was on him.

However, on the fourth day, a flurry of activities sent the company into chaos.  Both cages lay forgotten as even their drivers participated in the going-ons.  Finally, word reached their ears that Potawasset, princess of the hydras, had arrived and would be escorting them to Water Falls, which was only a day away.

"What?  We're really that close?" Forrest suddenly burst out, "How long were we in that Terminator?"

Solar looked up from where he lay, "No idea; a week, maybe more.  Didn't seem like it, though.  No sense of time or even whether you're moving or not."

Forrest snorted.

"Hey, I've heard that the capitol is completely submerged.  We'll drown before we even get there," Solar said, "All the better for us."

"Autumn told us something similar, but I'm not sure how much I actually believe her now.  Still, I doubt they'd bring us to a place where we'd die before we met the king and queen, though I'm not sure about after."

Solar gave a hint of a grin.

"So, ah, I've been noticing something lately..." Forrest ventured cautiously,  "You and Zanzi aren't really the best of friends."

"You could say that again," Solar sighed, "I honestly don't understand her.  I've done nothing to make her mad.  I mean, we used to be friends, but then one day, that all changed."

"Maybe you did something unintentionally that hurt her feelings or something.  I've done that before."

"I don't know, Forrest.  In this problem, I'm lost."

"Have you ever tried talking to her about it?  That normally helps."

"Not for this.  Believe me, I've tried.  And I'll just say, I've never come out of those unscathed."

"Oh.  Well, that's...extreme?"

"Tell me about it.  Can you even imagine what it was like to be stuck in that thing with her?  I think I was even more scared than Mossy!"

The rest of the day passed uneventfully.  Forrest was bored beyond measure; he couldn't see anything past the canvas cover.  Growling in annoyance, he started pacing.  After listening to Solar, he began to better understand his conflict with Zanzi.  Solar had done something that caused her to hate him; what it was, however, was something Forrest would have to ask Zanzi.  And while Solar was a little more unsocial than everyone else, he didn't seem like the type that would go around hurting his friends.  But with the way Zanzi treated him, Forrest worried that it would not be an easy fix.

He wished he had Orchid to talk to.  However, he no longer had any sort of opportunity, thanks to her.  What she had done had really cut deep.  She had been there beside him and helped him in his recovery.  So much for that, he thought sadly as he curled up to sleep.

Thoughts and memories of Orchid, however, continued to plague him.  There was no way he could escape them, no matter how much he wanted to.