《The Firefly Diary》Chapter 16: In Fog

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Nightmare Lhyna reappeared on the moon. She searched for her subjects, Blhu and Rhed. The moon's barren surface left nary a hiding spot. She found both easily, feasting on various plants growing on the moon.

Most of the time, plants couldn't survive in harsh atmospheres, except moonplants. A special breed Lhyna made to pretty up the land. If she ever needed it stylish.

Rhed got to her feet as she saw the goddess. The white moon wolf gave her a grin, acknowledging her.

Rhed said, "Blhu and I stood, waiting for you. We understand your other self trapped us. Can you release us back?"

Lhyna said, "Don't make too many demands too quickly. I need you to go to the planet of Vytyl, and go to Canida. You are to find Vanos, and you are to take back the goblet of the winds."

"Where are you going?" Blhu asked. Lhyna paused, not knowing herself. Lantorn obtained the mirror, only a gem remained.

"I'll be spying on a little friend to know what happened to my last treasure, then the final part kicks in. We're going on to the eclipse, got it?"

Rhed said, "We can help you out when it comes to dealing with the little friend. Rather that than get killed in Canida."

Vytyl's reputation dwindled. Of the two planets, Vytyl housed the harshest criminals. A hard world full of hard people, compared to Voto, a happy paradise land. That was an exaggeration. It was easy to die in either land. Vytyl took most flak anyway. Voto shrugged it off. Lhyna understood she'd have to do better convincing.

"How about you come with, and take Mosor, and then I'll send one of my other friends over to take care of Vanos?" She'd try to call Lantorn later. "Anyway, we're going down and descending. I'll find the location, then you will all attack."

Rhed and Blhu nodded. "Got it." Rhed stood by Lhyna's side as she glowed. Blhu took Rhed's hand and they waited.

The teleportation completed and they rocketed down into the atmosphere of Voto. They landed with ease, and Lhyna said, "First, I think we need to deal with Mosor's family. Take all of them out. This will be easy."

***

Mosor wandered the dark street alone now.

She fell asleep, and because of Lhyna's spell, knew this land was of nightmarish descent. The previous time, day, afforded her no rest. Vanos disappeared, and no one knew what happened to him.

Sneaking suspicions? Captured by others, looking for treasures. In dreams she feared walking into a boogeyman. In reality, she feared a boogeyman ran into Vanos.

Her sleep station, once known as a bed, had piling of graphs. All scribbled on as she detected a lead the police couldn't find as they couldn't be let in on the secret she had.

Pure collapse of her senses initiated this pattern of sleep. Her late night maunderings destroyed her attention span and she conceded to rest. Still, a conditional surrender, and thoughts returned to function.

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Assessing the situation, Mosor scanned the derelict, rusted buildings. One dark blue building, in the sea of grey, stood out. Mosor approached, instinctually prepared to knock, before forcing entry. Simply pulled on the doorknob.

No building, as it revealed itself a cardboard cutout. She found a flight of marble steps leading down into a pit of fog.

"Guess we're doing this," she said. "I have a lot of time to kill. And if I've been thinking, time to think more, right?" The brain went into its hardest working mode during sleep.

She sauntered down the steps, and fog seeped around her. Only three feet in radius allowed vision. Mosor took no care in her steps. No matter, because she'd feel no pain. She fell onto dirt.

The surface of the dirt, moist and wet, cushioned each step's impact. No voices, no senses, anything. Only the slight feeling of a cotton from the fog. More like cotton from her actual mattress, right? No feeling, no anything.

It was peaceful in a way. Stimulus abandoned her, and she could enter a near meditative trance of thinking. What happened to Vanos? Would he turn up later?

"Maybe it's time I get back at them. Maybe it's time to be proactive again." She felt the fog turn into pure water. A lot of it concentrated on her face and she woke up.

Mosor panicked while water dripped down her head. It wasn't hard, a leaky ceiling permitted a few drops. Thunderstorms rampaged outside, increasing her concern for Vanos. He could be cold, scared, and in that.

Wysdom's area knew plenty of weather, and the thunderstorms forced any resident to stay inside or else suffer. The rain drops could be considered worse than drops. Instead the appropriate term was raining fruits from the watering tree sometimes. It felt like the rain stabbed down onto somebody.

Mosor went downstairs, got a bucket, and placed it on top of the mattress. Usually she slept either on the couch, or on the floor. Dires, unlike other species, slept more naturally. Who needed a cushion to fall asleep?

It did provide comfort, and she took a turn on the mattress. It was the other upstairs bedroom, the master bedroom.

Water drops dripped into the bucket, and she stared out the window. Winds carried the raindrops, whisking them to assail certain parts. Streets once dirt transformed to mud. A thousand clouds formed a gray wool of wet over the town.

Town of Sunnyvilla got it's name for it's lack of rain. Most of the rainstorm drove around Sunnyvilla. Wind patterns, or other atmospheric phenomena.

Mosor wondered why it had to be raining today, of all days. "We need to be out collecting the other treasures." Did they have enough treasures? They kept them safe as they could. Not as safe as they should.

A vault wouldn't keep safe a treasure, for who wouldn't guess that? Their own home could be ransacked any moment.

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Unless they buried them in unmarked spots, and guessed where they were hidden. That wouldn't work either.

The goal was to make sure nobody had access to the two treasures, even each other. It was a risk. That's why Mosor privately hid the orb without sibling approval. It rested underneath the floorboards.

Mosor felt a grip of panic. She went downstairs. Maybe time to risk a look? In case anything happened.

She got to the bottom floor, and went into the kitchen. Grabbed a crowbar. Walked out. She fit it underneath the right floorboard, and lifted it up.

A shadow swooped from out the floorboard. Mosor collapsed to her side and watched as a pure white Lhyna formed beside her.

"Thank you for telling me the location. I exist in two places at once, you know." Lhyna gave her a quick wink and disappeared.

"What did that mean?" Mosor asked. She realized what was going on. "I'm still in a dream, aren't I?"

She burst out the front door. Waking up in a dream required killing your dreamself. Harsh, and definitely not applicable to any other situation.

"I'm going to have to jump off something high, then I'll wake up before I hit the ground," Mosor decided as rain pelted her. This rain felt cold.

"I am actually asleep, right?" Mosor asked. She still felt sensation and the clouds came down as fog to her. "Then this is a vivid dream."

Mosor tried conjuring up a deep pit with her mind, and it wouldn't come to reality. She glanced up at the house, and climbed up the side of it. Thankfully, a ladder was still situated because she put one up.

"Okay, good thing I'm not afraid of heights." She ran across the slippery roof, and fell down. Then she bonked her head and got the worst headache she ever did. Apparently, this vivid dream came with pain.

*

Mosor wasn't sure about her next idea. Her fang had a string wrapped around it, and the string connected to a door. A classic idea.

Did anyone actually take a tooth out this way? Momentary hesitation filled her as she figured this could break her tooth. That was the point. Remember Mosor, it was only a dream. A dream with pain.

Mosor kicked the door shut with her back legs and the string yanked her tooth out. A small cavern formed in her gums where the tooth once was. A sharp pain filled her maw and she fell to the ground.

No, not awake yet. "What do I have to do? Cut my head off?" she asked. Then again, that would be a guaranteed way to wake up, right?

What tools did she have for cutting off heads? This experiment felt more and more ridiculous. She heard of stories of someone being trapped in infinite time loops, and they decided to do more and more stupid stuff knowing that if they died, they'd come back anyway.

Mosor realized that's what she'd become now. She was the plot of a stupid story. She was a comedy character, which was tragic.

It would sell quickly. Mosor, the dumb wolf who kept killing herself to escape an infinite loop. It'd probably have a catchier title, like, "Infinite Loop". She'd regard the title later. She had to wake up.

"Maybe if somebody on the outside tried waking me up this would be way easier," she said. "Inflicting extreme pain isn't working. Dying didn't work. Could always try cognitive sleep therapy."

That was nerd talk for talking to herself. Mosor sat on the ground, and said, "Now Mosor, what are you afraid of?"

Stupid as it felt, her vines returned. Pure pink, and they glowed loudly as she talked to herself.

"I'm afraid that Vanos might be in danger. I'm afraid of Arber or someone having taken him. I'm afraid we'll lose the war."

Mosor asked herself, "Do you think you could win this war? When you'll have to live forever, protecting these treasures."

Mosor said, "Yes, I think we could win. I know we have to. There's no telling what will happen once this game is lost. I'm collecting each treasure I can."

Mosor asked herself, "Will you become a god by the end of this?" She bit her lip, and didn't know the response for that.

Would Mosor achieve godhood? She could take that sword. Vanos could take the sword. Anyone could take the sword. The enticement filled her core and her soul. "I think I might. If I can I think, I'd take the chance of becoming a goddess. For the family. For myself, I think."

Mosor felt the vines glowing and they glowed bright pink enough they flashed her awake, on the couch.

"How can I tell if this is a dream or not?" Pain usually indicated. A quick pinch should. It wouldn't work this time around.

She took her time down the steps, got out the crowbar, and opened up the floorboards. The treasure remained, for now, safely. "Got to stop Lhyna, and tell Kyofi and Ahmond." She went upstairs, only to see a violat and a crimson.

"We ran into your brother, and now we've met you," Rhed said as she stared her down. Her vines glowed torquise, countering the pink of Mosor's.

Mosor turned back, and the door opened. In walked Arber. "Don't think you're getting away anytime soon, got that?"

"Kyofi, Ahmond!" Mosor shouted. The three grinned, and Mosor understood then all her family had disappeared, not only Vanos.

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