Word count: 1268 words
The senshi's heels sank into the moist loam, making travel a laborious venture. The floodwaters had receded those weeks after, but in their wake remained the muddy, sweet-smell of rich, fertile soil. Cadmus would've enjoyed this if he didn't feel that that with one misstep, his asteroid would swallow him whole, never to be seen again.
At least I wouldn't have worry about homework anymore, he thought, flailing arms to keep his balance.
From the settlement where he had taken shelter from the rain during his previous visit, Cadmus had covered double the ground he had expected to. There was nothing notable to pique his interest during his travels, so the first hour or so he was there was full of dull walking. Unfortunately, he soon slowed to a snail's pace when he came upon what appeared to be stretches of farmland. The only way forward was through, so Cadmus tried to trudge across the mud, but his attempts were easier said than done.
Finding relief at a strip of grass that split one patch of farmland from another, Cadmus toed his way onto it, and looked with a grimace down at his boots. Mud was caked thickly all the way up to the shin, finalizing Cadmus's choice never to try that again. Instead, he followed the grass, and segued from the fields back into the forests. There, he was greeted with just how rich and diverse the asteroid's environment actually was.
Mixed with the trees no different than those found on Earth, Cadmus came across tendrils and vines akin to tentacles swaying down from the canopies. Their navy and electric blue hues sharply contrasted with the verdant aura of the asteroid, and when the senshi touched a hand to one of the suction cup-like indentations, found his glove stained black. There were fronds as large as truck tires among the undergrowth, mushrooms that flashed red when brushed against, moss that shriveled up when overshadowed, and bushes that seemed to giggle. However, Cadmus's favorite seemed to be the meadow of orange and red blooms that wailed as he walked through them. The tinnitus in his ears didn't fade for a good twenty minutes.
Eventually, the teen's travels took him back to the languid emptiness he had become familiar with. Sometimes he would chance upon a plant that would pique his interest, but when it appeared hellbent on either driving Cadmus away or killing him, he quickly lost it. However, when he felt that nostalgic tug in his bosom—the one that overcame him anytime he was nearing a memory—the boy veered off path and rushed off into the forest thicket. Unlike the others that took him deep into the outcrops of the asteroid, this was a relatively quick find, as the tug stopped just short of a dried-up, circular bog.
Cadmus seemed to gasp at the sight of it, and knew instantly what this area was. "It was here," he said, striding forward into the fog of the memory. "This is where it all began."
The vision was dim; seemingly at the hour between dawn and the first rays of morning. Muffled chortles followed by sharp shushes could be heard, but the two sources weren't visible through the impermeable thickness of the fog. It rolled and undulated like waves before Cadmus's vision, frustrating his desire to see what was happening. Instead, all he could hear was an exchange of hushed voices, one most certainly of his past self, Laius.
"Chrysippus, shut it! If you're any louder, you're gonna scare them off!"
"Y-you shut it! I bet they're not even here yet!"
"They are! If you stop making so much noise, you'd hear them!"
"Fine, fine, I'll listen!"
Chrysippus and Laius fell silent, and were for so long, Cadmus felt spooked by the uncertainty of what would happen next. It was only from a light slosh, like water being stirred in a pot, that alerted his senses.
"Did you hear that?" Chrysippus whispered, the soft rustle of grass sounding as if the boy were moving closer. "There's definitely one there!"
"Yea, I heard it!" Laius replied, shuffling after his friend.
The fog seemed to slightly part, and the barest hint of red caught in Cadmus's periphery. The senshi shot after it, and upon nearing the bog, was given some clarity to the situation. Chrysippus and Laius were knelt to their haunches by the bog's banks a few feet ahead of Cadmus, observing the silhouette of a quadruped wading through the waters with lithe, graceful steps. Barely a ripple was made with each step, but as the creature's hooves brushed the soil beneath, cranberries bobbed up to the surface and were lapped up into its thin, straw-like mouth.
The two boys stared in awe at the creature, before elbowing each other back and forth with some urgency. Chrysippus was the one to cut this exchange short, furrowing a brow at his companion.
"You said you'd do it this year," he said. "I did it last year, and the year before. It's just a bogdeer, it isn't gonna eat your face or anything! You just gotta scare it off, this isn't a test of bravery for nothing!"
"But... b-but they're revered! What if the cosmos smite me if I, I dunno, scare it to death or something?"
"Oh, shut it, dummy! That's not gonna happen! You just gotta tug its tail, so just"—Chrysippus flattened his palms on Laius's back and pushed—"go!"
He stumbled forward, feet splashing on the water's edge. Both boys froze in place when the bogdeer's ears flitted up to the sound, but they relaxed when it bent its head back down to the surface of the water. Laius glanced at Chrysippus twice over his shoulder in uncertainty, but upon catching his friend's glower, swallowed thickly and continued.
Cadmus followed behind his past self, surprised by Laius's nimbleness; he was as silent as the bogdeer and leaving a trail of floating cranberries in his wake. Eventually, he managed to make it behind the creature, but was hesitant in the following step to grab its tail. He seemed to stare dazed as the creature breathed deeply and shook dew from its body, and it was only from a terse, "Just do it!" from Chrysippus did Laius reluctantly reach his hand out.
The boy's fingertip barely brushed against the bogdeer's tail before an alien sensation swept over him. Suddenly, Laius's gaze looked far away as a swell of power burst forth from his chest—illuminating the symbol of Cadmus on his forehead. That power then radiated to his outstretched arm, and then a spray of cranberries erupted from his palm and straight into the bogdeer's derriere. The creature yelped in fright and raced off from the bog back into the forest, and in tandem, Laius became aware of himself again and screamed as he lost control of his arm. Holding tightly onto his wrist with his other hand, he stumbled in circles as cranberries continued to geyser forth and rain down into the bog. The boy only regained control when he fell backwards into the cold waters, ceasing the cranberry torrent in the process.
When it appeared safe again, Chrysippus didn't cease another second to check on his friend. "Laius!" he cried, wading into the bog beside him. "Laius, are you all right?! What in the cosmos just happened?!"
Pushing himself up to sitting, Laius shook the water from his ears before glancing down into his hand. "I-I don't know," he said, looking up worriedly to Chrysippus. "I really don't know, b-but we gotta tell Lycus what happened."
