Sinatus

✨Chapter Six✨

           "We'll keep walking with you for a couple of minutes." Hanna looked at Lily over her shoulder. "But then Hugo and I will have to go back. Just so you know, there's a small stream you'll have to walk across tomorrow, but make sure the current isn't too strong first. And don't freak out if you see any magical creatures--I'm pretty sure you will, especially farther up the mountain."

         "Magical creatures?" Lily brightened. "What kind of magical creatures?"

          "Things like nymphs, unicorns maybe." Hanna grinned. "There's also some cool birds, stuff like that."

          "Werewolves?" Lily asked uncertainly. 

          "Not around here, no." Hanna promised while Hugo shook his head mutely from in front of her. 

          "Okay," Lily nodded. She kept following Hanna and Hugo up the path, her feet starting to complain. After a while, they stopped and Hanna shook Lily's hand.

          "We have to go now," she explained, pointing at herself and Hugo. "Nice meeting you, though."

           "Bye," Lily told her, turning to shake Hugo's hand. "Thank you so much."

          "No problem!" Hanna smiled. 

           "Good luck," Hugo added. Lily smiled and turned to keep walking, putting one unwilling foot in front of the other, again and again and again, until an invisible hand painted the sky above her with strokes of purples, pinks, blues and reds. The sun shimmered against the sky as it began it's descent, and Lily crawled into a small space between three trees on the side of the path, and pulled out her sleeping bag and something to eat.

            The next morning, when Lily's eyes fluttered open, she found a small, humanoid face peering into her own. She let out a startled yelp, scrambling into a sitting position. The small creature that had been looking at her spread small, black, moth-like wings and fluttered into the air. 

            "Uh...hi?" Lily said, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

             "Hello," What Lily assumed was a sort of fairy sniffed disdainfully and pushed a shock of long black hair over her shoulder with a deathly pale hand. "What are you doing sleeping under my tree, human?"

            "Oh," Lily stuttered. "Sorry, I didn't know. I--"

            "Well, now you do," the fairy quipped. "Get out."

            "Rude," Lily muttered to herself quietly as she stuffed her sleeping bag back into her bag. 

            "I heard youuu," sing-songed the fairy, baring sharp little teeth.

            "Goodbye!" Lily gave a forced half-smile and marched back onto the path, rolling her eyes at the obnoxious creature.

            "Good riddance, human!" the fairy cackled and flew off. Lily stomped quickly down the path, before remembering that her feet would probably feel tired by noon and that she should save her energy. Her legs were a bit tired too, anyway. But then again, she didn't want to waste time. Lily sighed and kept going at a reasonable pace; not too fast, but not at a snails pace, either. Lily was partly very excited that she had just seen a undoubtedly magical creature, but on the other hand, she was quite disgruntled it had been so rude. Oh, well, she thought to herself. I bet the all next creatures I meet will be nicer.

           She was pretty wrong. But that story should not yet be told. 

           So Lily kept hiking along the path, however unwilling her body was. Still, she was relieved when she reached a small sort of village that consisted of about ten buildings. She realized they were all homes, except for one, a mess hall with beds in the second story for hikers. Lily, glad about her timing, headed into the collection of rag-tag wooden buildings. She stepped into the building and up to the second story, immediately catching sight of the table right in front of the door. There was a wooden box with a small slot in it. Someone had fastened a paper to it that read: Pay Box. (One sliver coin per night)

            Lily tossed a coin into the box and passed the table. She sat down on a sheet-less bed pulled the belongings she would need out of her bag. Heading outside, she sat down on a bench in the shade of a tree and watched a couple people walking around the village. Most of them were old, but she spotted a little boy as well, and after a while she was approached by a girl who looked to be in her early teenage years. 

            "Who are you?" she asked tonelessly, scrutinizing Lily with owlish eyes.

            "My name's Lily," Lily told her. "Uh, who are you?"

            "I'm Kylie." she raised her eyebrows and looked down at Lily with an air of superiority. "What are you doing here?"

            Lily frowned. "I'm only passing through--isn't that building there for hik--"

            "Yeah, yeah," Kylie waved a hand dismissively. "But why are you coming through here?"

           "Oh," Lily said. "Um, to get up Mount Orion. I'm going to face the Testamenti."

          "Why?" Kylie snorted. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

          Lily's frown deepened. "How would you know the challenges are deadly? And even if they were, what makes you think I wouldn't survive?"

         "You're a little kid. A Sinatus. You don't stand a chance." 

         "Well, I think I do," Lily commented brusquely as she got to her feet. "I have no idea what your problem is, and I nor do I care because I'm leaving now. Have a nice life." 

          As Lily walked away, Kylie snorted and turned on her heel as well. Lily wondered why she was meeting so many rude people today. Maybe it just wasn't her day. Oh well. 

         She spent the rest of that day with Sam's stuffed chicken, which she had named Sammy in honor of her friend. Sammy didn't quite keep up the most interesting conversations,  but Lily made do, of course. The next morning, she packed her things carefully into her rucksack and closed it tightly, remembering what Hanna had told her about finding a stream she'd have to cross. Lily stepped out in the pleasant morning, inhaled the scent of wood for a long moment, and then she stepped back onto the path and continued on her way up to the wizards and witches.