Mix Matched

2

Running, she was running through a forest. The wind was hitting her face so hard it felt like a slightly bigger gust could pick her right off her feet. Her lungs were burning and her eyes were filling quickly with tears. Suddenly, everything stopped. The wind stopped blowing and her lungs stopped screaming at her. She slowed to a stop too. Everything had gone mysteriously still. Even the loud birds stopped singing. The sun was setting in such a way that the shadows crept forward. In front of her was a faint light. A small red glow like her magic. She walked towards it and-

Emma bolted up in a cold sweat, trying to remember her dream. She started hyperventilating... Sharp breaths seemed to stab her throat and lungs as she gulped them. Emma tried to calm herself down. She needed to think. She needed to feel. She needed to continue looking forward, ahead to what she needed to do to get back.

When her breaths had calmed enough, she stood up. Emma was hungry. She had no doubt that she had Fantasy Dreamed again. She cursed herself. Now she was lost, hungry, thirsty, and had no idea on how to get back to Sprinkles. She missed her little dragon.

Focusing again on the tasks at hand, Emma started looking for mushrooms. The right ones could fill her stomach and help regenerate her magic. After a long search, Emma found the fungus and started to eat. The mushroom itself was disgusting, but it had a good texture.

'At least I have food now,' she thought as she nibbled the mushroom as she continued walking in a random direction. Picking off berries selectively as she passed the bushes, she tried to look on the bright side of things. That was something she was not so good at, Sprinkles, however, was the master of optimism.

"At least you're not dead!" She half whispered to herself, "Nothing seemed to find you... and looking at the placement of the sun, you only slept a few hours!" She glanced up to the sun shining up high in the sky, it must not be any later than 12:00.

"Well, either you only slept a few hours or a couple days."

Emma shuddered at that thought, her home sickness getting worse. Tears filled her eyes as she walked with a small stream of water.

Soon emotion overwhelmed her and she fell to the ground, sobbing. The sound of the bubbly stream soothed her almost as soon as she started breaking down. Remembering a spell that she'd learned not long before she ventured into the wood and got kidnaped she looked down at the water and managed to get control of herself and set to work.

She felt the energy of the world around her like it was her own, and she gathered it up, like collecting flowers in a meadow. When she had enough magical energy, Emma willed it to the stream as she chanted, "ƨbnɘiɿʇ γm ɘm woʜƧ .ƨbnɘiɿʇ γm ɘm woʜƧ .ƨbnɘiɿʇ γm ɘm woʜƧ."

The stream's current shifted as if it was Emma had blown through a straw at it like she used to do when she was little, and when the ripples faded, Emma gasped. What she saw in the stream wasn't Sprinkles, Tallesay, Storm, or anyone she knew! It was the figure of someone with amber hair, wings, and strange eyes. Emma couldn't move. Who was this winged figure? Why had Emma felt like she'd seen her before? As soon as the figure had come, it was gone.

The water shifted back into its normal flow, The red magic mist covering Emma's hands faded to nothing. Her eyes that glowed red when she used her magic faded back to a baby blue. She kneeled there, speechless. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. It took her a few moments before she cleared her throat and looked around. Her spell didn't work, 'It had worked before, why didn't it work now?'

In order not to have another breakdown or fall back asleep, she splashed her face with the ice cold water and stood up. With her new-found energy she strutted down the river's path trying not to let her mind wander too far.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v

Evening came sooner than Emma would have thought, but it was difficult to keep track of time in a forest, when only the sun or moon aided her, and soon she made camp at the base of a very large tree. She was determined to get a fire going before she fell asleep again. Grabbing a handful of berries that she'd collected along the way, she began to eat as she looked for enough sticks to start a fire.

'Strange... Where are all the twigs?' she thought after she had collected a large handful of sticks, 'I'll just break some off the sticks I've already got.' Not letting her mind think about it too hard.

Starting the fire was easy for Emma, keeping it lit was the hard part for her. She hated the smoke that burnt her eyes and nose as it blew towards her, but she did her best to ignore it. Soon, Emma was beginning to feel rather comfortable as she found the best place to sit. Letting the berries and mushrooms that she'd collected roast over the fire for a sec before tossing it in her mouth. She was on her 15 berry when she heard something behind her. It sounded like footsteps.

Fight, Flight, or Freeze. Those are the natural instincts of someone when something frightens them. When something potentially dangerous was walking behind her, all Emma could do was freeze. Her muscles were sore from walking and running all day, her mind was exhausted from the workouts of using her powers. Her stomach was angry with her for only eating a few berries and some mushrooms and her throat was scratchy from the little water she consumed.

Emma was in no place to struggle or to run. At least her head was in the right mind to work that out or she might have been in a worse pickle than she was in already. She scrunched up against the large stump and waited. She could feel her heart beating fast and could hear her own breathing. The seconds seemed like hours as she didn't move an inch or make a single noise. The feeling of her heart and the stifled breaths that she took seemed more like a give away than a hide-away. Slowly she turned her head and looked at where she heard the sound. All she saw were trees growing smaller in the distance. Emma turned back to her fire and shook herself. Maybe she'd imagined the sound. Above her a figure flew away into the night.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok so we might be a little bit addicted to writing this story now....

I wouldn't be surprised if I updated it again today lol

Have a super fantastic day/night!