Whenever Our World Falls

Chapter 3

The Second Feather

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Rain drizzled down onto the barren floor, lights flashing as a thunderstorm seemed to come by. The two awoke, un-startled, yawning and stretching out before shaking themselves off and starting to follow the feathers. Their fur grew wet and damp as time went on, but they didn't mind.

As it grew darker and the rain started pouring down, they kept on, continuing down the trail.

Something was off though.

There didn't seem to be any monsters or anything big–, it just seemed like any other forest; just darker...

"Something's going on here..." Zephyr let out a huff, his ears drooping as silence bellowed over the muddied grounds.

    "Clearly, but what could it be? Maybe it's just us," Wreath replied, sniffing around, trying to catch whatever scent he could find.

"There's never that possibility...the crickets aren't even chirping..." The brunette whined worryingly letting his tail rising slightly as he grew anxious.

His mind panicked,  leaving himself weary as he began seeing little figures running about. He thought it was just him at first, but Wreath seemed to notice them too. Zephyr eyed around cautiously as time went on, his mind jumping onto different concerns as they moved along.

"You saw that right...?"

    "Yea...maybe they're just rats or raccoons," Wreath suggested, clearing it off his mind for the meantime.

"I guess...."

The brunette shook his head, yea, that was it. There was nothing to worry about.

He kept his eyes on the ground as he walked, hearing distant giggles and laughter. Fear started to build up, but he kept ignoring it. Nothing was coming to get him, he was okay.

Thoughts lingered through his mind, racing and only seeming to scare himself more until thunder seemed to strike. He jolted, looking up at the dark sky. It almost seemed to blend into the forest, leaving his vision blocked out and hazy.

    "It's just thunder, no need to worry."

"Y-yea...okay.."

    His pace quickened up a bit as he padded along with the muddied dirt, every thunderbolt crashing and leaving him with a wash of fear. His mind couldn't stop himself from thinking that something was about to happen, and he wondered why. 

Visions seemed to slip in his mind, startling him until he heard an even loud thunderbolt hit the ground.  His eyes landed upfront. Watching as his brother paused, growing groggy before he collapsed, going limp on the floor. 

Zephyr's eyes lingered over his brother's body, staring into his eyes that seemed to hold onto life. His gaze turned to Zephyr as he took one last smile before he stopped breathing. 

A dark substance spewed from his body; he was wounded. He felt his heart stop as his eyes widened. Tears poured from his eyes–, but it was barely noticeable due to the fact that the rain made it seem like nothing. His heart throbbed as he nudged him, hoping he'd get back up.

"H-hey...Wreath...this isn't funny anymore...get up, c'mon- we don't know what's out there..."

His eyes lingered over his brother's body as Wreath's eyes rolled to the back of his head, life leaving his system from a singular bullet lodged in his spine. 

"Wreath...?"

He eyed the thick liquid as it stained the floor, leaving trails and puddles of it until the water consumed it all. Zephyr's mouth kept agape, looking down at him. He had no words... He didn't know what to say...

Was he really dead...?

...

..

.

Thunder.

It brought him back to reality as another gunshot struck the ground, leaving a bead of metal behind. He jumped, looking towards where it came from. Fear struck his heart as he scrambled forward, chasing down down the feather's bright path.

Gunshots bolted through the air as bullets crashed against the floor. His claws dug into the ground as he caught his breath, breathing hard and heavily as the rain tried blurring his line of sight.

Zephyr struggled to keep away from the bullets as he ran off–, skimming through bushes and his paws carried him as far as they could.

The figures returned, growing bigger than they were before. 

Standing 8 feet tall and slouching heavily as their bulging white eyes stared him down. Their smiles grew-, and even seemed to peel just over their eyes as they began chasing him.

Deep breaths.

Heart racing,

Feet burning and staggering as they leaped over the puddles and muddied grounds. He locked his eyes forward, as the rain seemed to start slowing down, turning into a drizzle as the light began to grow. He felt his heart squeeze as he grew closer, and closer until the light consumed him. 

All was gone but the forest and his thoughts.

Zephyr paused as the feathers vanished, seeping out of reality as he stood heavily over the soil.

The brunette gazed down at the floor, eyes locked onto the rocks that hid in it.

Air slipped into his system, slowly burning them as he did so. They left Zephyr, with an uncomfortable feeling as he turned into his human form, collapsing onto the cold and wet floor. 

He shut his eyes–, leaving the pain in his heart to spill like a waterfall. 

The grieving was all you could hear for what felt like hours, until Zephyr laid there, staring at the grass like it held no meaning to him.

He got on his feet, cleaning his hands in a nearby puddle and searching for any kind of food before eating, sitting on a log and staring at the ground. Life to him felt unamusing, boring and bland. If he had no one to share it's fun with...then what was the point?

What was the meaning of it?

Zephyr shifted his gaze towards the raven that seemed to gaze at him, and he glowered, "I don't wanna play your stupid game anymore, go away!" He snapped, throwing a stick at it, leaving it to caw as it flew off.

Seconds later, the raven returned, dropping it's feather anyway.

Although the brunette found no point in continuing on, he gazed at the stream of yellow feathers. He bit his lip, disputing with himself for a while before finishing up and following the trail.

What was the harm in continuing the journey his brother started for him...?