Snippet #1407665

Ulva moved swiftly out of the way as she watched Rea break out into a run, flipping in mid-air over Thatcher and landing surprisingly on her hands a few feet from him, smiling at them all upside down. This caused Ulva to laugh cheerfully, “Whoa! That was awesome!” It was very impressing, and this further fit with Ulva’s guess that maybe this woman was a gymnast. She had to be, no one else could be so graceful and flexible. Once Rea was back on her feet and standing up, Ulva clapped like an audience member would upon witnessing a cool trick. “Bravo!” She crossed her arms over the small of her waist, swaying on the balls of her feet back and forth as she stood waiting to adventure. Her eyes landed on Mr. Thatcher who seemed more relaxed in this space than any of them. It was a part of his home after all, he would be calm, they would be over-stimulated. He began to speak about how these three structures were the oldest buildings on the property, if not in the world. Ulva wasn’t surprised by this. For one she was admittedly gullible and was quick to trust what others said, but on top of that she had seen her fair share of rock structures. It was clear that these three around her had been through many centuries of wear and deterioration, but the surreal thing was that they were stable as Tom mentioned. Maybe should could climb them later...

She paced her way closer to where Rea was standing, yet Ulva’s eyes were looking anywhere but in this space. Her icy blues jumped from tree to tree, watching as the wind danced through the leaves. The noise of the nature around was hypnotic almost, as if it was alive and reaching out to her with invisible hands, wanting her to come into the trees, away from the clearing on the hill. Maybe she was letting the whole Ruins mystery get to her head, maybe she was just imagining these things, but she felt what she felt.. Even these rock structures seemed to hum, her fingers did feel a reverberation when she had let go moments earlier. She wasn’t one to believe in genuine magic, or mystical workings of that nature, but a part of her was questioning these assumptions... what was happening around her made no rational sense. Ulva, usually the talkative one, was now finding herself more silent, allowing her ears to take charge more so than her mouth.

Rea had now took off down the slope of the hill into a shaded part of the woods. Ulva looked over at Demetrius, wondering what he was going to do. The fact that he was in a nice suit made her chuckle slightly, covering her mouth with her hand so that he wouldn’t see since she meant no harm. She was glad she didn’t have any formal wear to be tempted with. “Demetrius, I’m going to head in the same direction as Rea, see if she has found anything exciting. Feel free to follow,” she offered, waving softly at the two men of such different ages and then making her way down the same path Rea had took, though at a slower pace. Running would have been refreshing, a brisk wind of air able to cool the heat she was now engulfed in, but she preferred the quiet, passive steps. The could hear what seemed to be everything, as if her senses were enhancing 10 fold. Birds chirping from miles away made a melody that stirred loudly in her heart. The slow pace could also have been due to sheer awe she was still consumed in. If she stopped focusing on even the simplest of steps, she was bound to trip and fall on her face. The clearing’s edge was met by the growth of old foliage, the feeling of the forest being alive even more present now that she was further in the Ruins. She paused before going all in, letting her right hand press against the large trunk of a tree for support. There was a faint thumping, like a heartbeat, that she swore she felt under the bark. She ripped her hand away from the trunk, maybe it was just her own heartbeat she was hearing. She dared to put her hand back on the trunk but decided not to, her breaths shorter now in angst, excitement, and confusion.

“Rea?” she called out, but she couldn’t see where this woman had gone. Looking upwards never crossed her mind or she would have seen Rea climbing the tree. Instead, Ulva continued to walk gently forward, each step landing on a bed of leaves and twigs. She skimmed her eyes from left and right, trying to notice any sign of human movement, any sign of Rea’s long hair flickering in pockets of sunlight. But the space was empty, well.. except for... what was that? Ulva squinted her eyes, a flash of light close to the ground flickering in the far distance but soon disappearing. Subconsciously or not, Ulva felt the dire need to figure out what she had just seen. Could it have been one of the twins? A young child possibly? It was short and fast, so it couldn’t have been an adult. Why would a kid wander alone out here? Was it even human?

“There it is again!” she whispered as if someone was listening to her, eyes catching the mysterious figure weaving in and out of thick bush and overgrown grass. She turned to look over her shoulder to see if Rea or Demetrius was there but she was alone. She began to distrust her eyes, rubbing them with the back of her hands to clear her vision. Maybe whatever it was was just reflecting light from the beams of sun shining through the canopy’s top.. It could be an animal most definitely, maybe fireflies are following it? Maybe a dear? A rustle to her left made her whip her head to that direction, legs tightening as a reflex.

“Not funny, guys... can’t we just walk around as a group?” she called out louder, hoping one of the others would jump from a bush and clear up her suspicions. But no one answered and it was around this time that she saw something 20 or so feet away reappear, though she wasn’t clear what it was. Crouched low to the forest floor, it didn’t seem all quite there, as if it was translucent, reflections of the lush green glimmering through this apparition. Ulva moved forward slowly, passing by the old stone ruins and walls that was to her right, the same building Rea was in without Ulva’s knowledge. She continued passed these walls, trying to get closer to his..animal, if that was even what it was. Normally she was hesitant but something urged her on. Yet the further she walked deeper into the forest, the further the creature seemed to be farther away. She picked up her pace now, leg stretching to reach what her eyes believed she saw. She had to know, had to reach it.

Her thoughts seemed consumed by this curiosity out of her control now, even forgetting about waiting up for the others or trying to find them. And the deeper she got, the faster she began to run, feet meshing in a rhythmic melody with the ground, arms staying close to her sides as she dodged hanging groves and branches. Her breath was heavy, heart racing from the jog as well as her nerves. What am I doing, she asked herself but kept running. She could see the creature but now it was running as well. Ulva’s eyes narrowed, determined by some force that was unlike her own. Calling her. It was getting closer now, she could hear it through the leaves. A wall of heavy vines in front of her caused Ulva to break her run, but she wasn’t fast enough to completely stop, finding herself bursting through the wall of greenery- tumbling to the floor, she rolled for a few feet before she completely stopped. A small groan erupted from her throat, eyes tightly shut as she could smell dirt up close and personal in her nostrils, face planting into the ground. She wasn’t sure what came over her but she was beginning to return to herself again. “That was so... dumb,” she said aloud, twitching her fingers to make sure every part of her was functioning. When she opened her eyes, she found herself at the feet of what looked to be.. a gazebo? Of course, it was very aged and had moss growing around the top of it. The stone looked more of smooth plaster, with ceramic vases circling the pillars. (This is what Ulva is seeing, but without the blue flames or white ghost). “Oh my,” she whispered, pushing herself first to her knees, and then struggling to get back up on her two feet. In the center of the old structure was the creature. It was a wolf, its fur as green as the lush surroundings. Yellow dots of light shimmered around its body, as well making intricate designs on its face and body. Ulva was near speechless, never seeing such a creature before. It was like a spirit, and she could see partially through it to the other side, but at the same time it looked like a real wolf, its tail swaying in the wind behind him. The thing that stood out to Ulva the most was its white eyes. Why wasn’t it running from her? Did it mean to lead her.. here?

She tried to catch her breath, smoothing her hair back and rubbing her forehead to wipe some of the dirt away. Her cream sweater now dawned grass stains. The natural heat from the area wasn’t helping her. The creature gazed at her intently, silent and poised. Her mind was screaming at her to turn and run back, find the others, get out of here.. but her body moved forward towards the animal, beckoning her. She pushed herself up onto the platform of the gazebo, now about three feet off the forest floor. Only 5 feet separated the two. Ulva got down to her knees to be on a closer level. Her body ached from the run and fall, and any normal person would see a red danger flag that maybe it wasn’t alright to be so close to a wolf... but Ulva was oddly feeling safe, as if this was right. “What are you?” she whispered, but there was no response, the creature continuing to stare at her with those beady white eyes, as if reading her, judging her, choosing her.