A Haunted School, Hidden Deep in the Woods

     “I’ve been training up really hard! Maybe one day I can be a top battledomer!” Smiled Jorlan, a Chocolate Meerca. Swing his arms around as if pretending he held a sword in his paws.

     “Yeah right, some pets have been training up for years! I’ve been reading a lot of Booktastic Books and I plan to get a trophy!” said Balthor, a Thornberry Chia. “Books are much easier to get into than the Battledome!”

     “What no! Do you know how difficult it is to get some of those books? I doubt you would even be able to find them all. The battledome is much easier!” And so went their discussions, never giving any ground as to which of their hobbies was better than the other. Meandering along the path, as the light dipped lower in the sky, heading back home after a long day.

     They soon arrived home and parted ways, promising to meet up again tomorrow. Jorlan bounced inside and said hello to his family, his little sister playing on the floor with an Usuki. “Hey Mayleen, any new adventures for those Usukis?” Jorlan asked his sister, a Candy Poogle.

     “Well it turns out that the Summer Fun Usuki is a bit tired of the beach now. I may have to get her to try some winter activities with Alpine Adventurer Usuki.” Mayleen told Jorlan without even looking up at him. Jorlan chuckled to himself, his sister was always so engrossed in her Usuki collections and games, but it was nice to see. She always had tons of stories and he was glad she had a hobby of her own. One day she hoped to make it to Neopia Central for Usuki Con, but she was still a bit too young for it.

     The two siblings conversed a bit more, before being called in to dinner. They talked with their parents about their days, and had a wonderful family dinner. But soon enough it was time for bed for the two of them and they climbed the stairs to their bedrooms. Getting ready and brushing their teeth before climbing under the covers.

     Balthor similarly was having a nice night at home. He had recently picked up a new Booktastic Book, Memoirs of a Darigan General. He was really glad that the books were branching out with some different topics! Especially now that the stories had more than just Grundos in them. That was getting really boring at this point. This one was all about Lord Kass and was a real page turner. He kept reading late into the night, as the shadows got deeper and darker all around him. This was something that always seemed to spook some pets when they first moved to the Haunted Woods, but Balthor was used to it by now. Finally, after getting to a good stopping point, he put his bookmark in the page, and rolled over into bed to get some rest. Thinking about all the adventures that he and Jorlan would have tomorrow.

     ***

     All through the night the other denizens on the Haunted Woods roamed. There were still so many mysteries hidden in the woods, secrets waiting to be uncovered. The darkness doing more to reveal what was hidden than to actually hide it. For only at night were the woods truly alive. Secluded away, far from everywhere else and the more developed sections of the woods was an old, dilapidated building. Stomping sounds coming from inside, chains rattling as something moved through the building. Whisps of ghostly lights flickering behind the windows. No one had entered in years, and yet there was still activity in the building. Forgotten by time and misfortune, the building was slowly being claimed again by the woods. But for the time being, here it sat, lost deep in the woods where no one would ever find it again.

     ***

     Jorlan woke up to a rainy day and dreaded getting out of bed. Of course he had promised Balthor they would still meet up. But he really did not want to be getting all wet and soaked today. Maybe they could find something to do indoors instead. Slowly Jorlan rose and got about his morning routine. He just had a simple omelet and got dressed, ready for whatever the day would bring. While all of this was going on, Balthor was also getting ready. He too was worried about the rain, but still wanted to meet up. He tried packing a bag with a few activities that they could do, but wasn’t too hopeful with how hard the rain was coming down now. It splattered against the windows and he could hear the wind whipping through the trees. Finally, the two of them ready in their own homes, made the trek out into the storm to see one another. Jorlan not even noticing that Mayleen had tagged along a few paces behind him. The rain too heavy for him to notice what was going on except right in front of him.

     The two friends made their way down the rain soaked and muddy path to their usual meet up spot. There was an old gazebo in the woods that they had come across one day and used it for their base of operations. Every now and then some other pets would be there too, and they would all play together. No one had any idea why it had been build, and even their parents said they didn’t know what the gazebo was for. Maybe it had once been a center of town and had fallen out of use? But either way, it gained new life as the children began to use it again. It was spacious and provided relief from the elements. Made out of wood carved from some of the haunted trees, like everything else in the Haunted Woods, it seemed to creak and make ominous noises in the wind. But to long-time residents, this was just a normal part of life here.

     Balthor trudged through the trail and arrived at the gazebo. Taking off his coat and shaking the last of the water off, he looked around. He was surprised there were already a few other pets here brave enough to venture outside on a day like today. Mylith, the Starry Mynci, was here with her two friends, Bylorn and Halton. Bylorn was a Plushie Hissi, and Halton a Sponge Kiko. Halton seemed to be a bit waterlogged and was squeezing out the rain into a puddle in the corner of the gazebo. The other two were chuckling at his antics.

     “You know, we didn’t have to come outside on a rainy day like today! I would have been totally fine staying nice and dry inside. I still don’t know why you had to call me over just to get soaked,” Halton chastised his friends. He then looked up and noticed Balthor, “Oh Balthor! I didn’t know you were coming out today either. Is Jorlan with you?”

     “Not yet! He probably is being slow as usual and extra cautious not to get lost making his way here. We promised to meet up, although I couldn’t have imagined the rain was going to be this bad today! What are all of you doing here?” Balthor responded back.

     Mylith perked up and responded, “We planned to try out these arts and crafts. This old book I found said that it was the perfect charm for a rainy day, so I figured today would be the day for giving it a try! I’m not really sure what the charm is meant to do; that part was a bit faded, but it seemed like it would be a neat thing to attempt.”

     Balthor seemed sceptical. There was only so much he could trust old and mysterious books. As much as he liked reading, some of those dusty tomes could be just the ramblings of pets who had gotten lost in the woods. He never really cared to read any of those. But if it was something to do, why not make use of this dreadful day? So he walked over to the group and sat down to discuss it while he waited for Jorlan.

     The small group of friends sat around as Mylith read from the book and explained what needed to be done. They all would be making a paper charm that would be used to cement their friendship. Balthor now seemed a bit more sceptical as he had been pulled into this group, but regardless, he did know all of these pets, and they would play together a lot, so it wasn’t as if they weren’t already friends. During this explanation, though, the group heard something sloshing through the woods and getting closer to the gazebo. They all stopped and listened, unsure of who or what it might be.

To be continued…