Pynk [ONC 2020 Shortlist]

Chapter Five - Lie

"Felicity! Wake up! Come on, the day's disappearing!"

Gradually, Felicity dragged her eyes open, blinking slowly in the harsh light of the lamps. "But it's so early," she croaked. For once, she'd managed to sleep without any dreams of darkness and blood, and she was eager to return to the calm void.

"No, it's really late!" the voice protested, shattering her wishes. "Besides, any time the sun is in the sky is precious. I want to have fun with my new best friend!" The last few words came out as an impatient whine, but the sweet, gentle undertone was what pulled at Felicity's heartstrings. With a heavy sigh, she lifted her head fully and pushed upwards. The soft warmth of her borrowed rug fell away.

"Alright, Kyra. But I'm only getting up for you." Shaking out her fur, Felicity squinted, the sunshine-filled room still coming into focus. The bright pink wolf in the middle didn't exactly help matters.

"Hooray!" Prancing in a circle, Kyra performed what seemed like a victory dance. "Mak wants to meet up with us again today. I think he liked you yesterday." The glimmer in her eye suggested that she was very, very happy that they got along. Felicity nodded, her own eyes sparkling. She did like the kind Earthwylf. He was a perfect choice for her friend.

However, she didn't appreciate how fast Kyra was moving. The pink blur was already outside, her tail endlessly twirling, before Felicity had exhausted the dark spots that flashed across her vision. "Ok, slow down," she said with a laugh. "Give me a minute."

She got nearly ten seconds. Then she was being shoved out of the house and into the full glare of the sun's rays. "I don't want Mak to wait too long," Kyra protested in reasoning. Felicity responded with a short statement emphasising the value of patience. Her fellow Glitterwylf chose not to hear it.

Being out in the fresh air quickly woke Felicity up however, and soon she was skipping alongside her friend. If she could ignore the fact that every glint of bright sunshine seemed to morph itself into the shape of a large diamond, then she could forget all about the previous night's events.

No thievery happened last night. No deafening alarm. No party.

She just went to sleep, then woke up to go out with her friend. Nothing more, nothing less. It was all completely normal.

Maybe if she told herself with confidence, she'd be able to tell anyone who came looking, too.

"Why are you so tired, anyway?" Kyra asked. Felicity forced her expression to stay neutral. "You went to bed before it was even dark last night."

Maybe I didn't stay there long. But she shook away the persistent truth, and instead replied with, "Ever have those nights where you're just so excited about everything that you can't sleep?" It felt like a Kyra-approved answer.

Her friend twirled in mid-air. "All the time." And the lie was successfully finished.

They spoke of other things. How beautiful the market had been, what Felicity thought of Mak - which she answered honestly, delighting Kyra - and even a little about where she was from. She didn't go into too much detail. Though talking with her new neighbour was so easy; Kyra showed little interest in the war, or why she moved, or any of the painful subjects. Instead, they discussed architecture, and climate, and wildlife. Easy things. Enjoyable things.

They were just turning a corner into the Leaf District, with Kyra excitedly questioning her about the huge forests of the north, when the words suddenly cut off. Her gaze snapped to somewhere over Felicity's shoulder, her paws freezing in place. The spark faded from her eyes.

"What is it?" Felicity asked, subconsciously dropping to a whisper. When her friend didn't answer, she slowly turned around, searching for something unusual.