moss · object world · middle ring · secret friendship · guilty · cunning · loyal · heterochromia · suburban setting · bestial friend
The fence rises like a scar against the bruised twilight sky, its chain-links weaving a net of sharp shadows across the dewy grass. Beneath the watchful gaze of the Outer Ring's twin moons, fireflies trace slow, glowing arcs between the wires. Their light winks off the silver keychain perched on Moss's head as she grunts, hauling herself up one straining hand after the other. Her backpack, heavy with a carefully wrapped sandwich, bumps against her spine with each pull. She drops to the other side with a quiet thud, brushing moss and dirt from the sleeves of her vibrant yellow-orange jacket. Ahead, the forest is a solid wall of whispering pine and deepening shadow. "Kael?" Her call is swallowed by the wind. She settles onto the well-worn log, takes a small, nervous bite of her own sandwich…