The Beginning: PART 5

MID-DAY
I've been walking for a few hours now. The land finally changed into a lush dense forest. "Looks like Eggman hasn't gotten this far yet," I said to myself. Taking in my surroundings, I felt at peace. It was so quiet and calming. No sounds of machines or innocent cries. And the sky was actually blue! Not it's normal grey hue like in Lavender.

All of a sudden I hear,"GGGRRRR!" I froze in place. I looked around slowly and I heard it again. "Wait a second." I felt my stomach and it growled. I chuckled. "Guess I'm not as calm as I think I am! Looks like it may be time for lunch though." I took a seat at the foot of a large tree. Soon I was eating one of my mother's lovely sandwiches. "Man I am sure going to miss them,"  I said sadly. "But I need to do this. For me." I finished eating my sandwich and after a few minutes I continued on my way.

EVENING
It was starting to get dark outside. I could see the sun slowly sink over the tree tops. I pulled out the map and examined it. By the looks of it, there should be a small town up ahead, where I planned to rest for the night. Hopefully the townsfolk would be welcoming. After about 15 minutes, I could see lights up ahead. I ran until I came to some cool tree houses. Their wooden structures fit just perfectly in with the limbs of the trees. Ladders and bridges connected them together. People were either up on them or on the ground conversing.

"Hello there."
I turned around and a small red fox girl stood before me.
"Oh hello! I didn't even see you there," I replied. "I'm Rachel."
She said," Hi Rachel! I'm Holly."
"You wouldn't happen by any chance know anyone willing to take me in for the night?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure I do! In fact I'm sure my brother would be happy to let you stay at our house," she said full of excitement.
She grabbed my hand and lead me up various ladders and ropes. Holly chattered along the way. We finally reached a decent looking tree house. She ran in and I followed suit.

The interior seemed to be like the outside, wooden. But it had some comfy looking furniture. Holly dragged over, who I assumed to be her brother. I tried not to stare as he shook my hand. He was very handsome. His dark purple eyes stood out against his emerald colored fur. And with his maroon hair, he reminded me of Christmas.
"Hello there," he said in a smooth voice. " My name is Cannon."
Even his voice was nice! " Hi there Cannon," I replied trying not to blush. "I'm Rachel."
He smiled and I blushed even more. "Pleasure to meet you Rachel." He looks at Holly.
"My sister said that you were needing a place to stay for the night. Am I right?
I said, "Yes, if it's no problem."
"Of course it's not a problem. Although you may have to share a bed with Holly."
"That's fine with me! I like Rachel. She's very nice!" replied the cute fox.

9:00 p.m
"Wow," said Cannon looking at the clock. "It looks like it's passed your bedtime Holly."
"But I'm not tired," whined Holly. But as she did this, she feigned a yawn.
"Come on," he said as he scooped her up. He carried her to her room and tucked her in.

I sat on the comfy rug staring at the fire pit, watching the flames dance. Cannon came out of her room and shut the door silently behind him. He came back and sat down next to me.
"You know I don't quite understand how you can have a fire in a tree. It's not very safe at least," I told him.
He laughed. "Don't worry! We coat our homes with fire-resistance spray. It works pretty good. And we always make sure to have a bucket of water nearby just in case," He said as he pointed to a bucket nearby.
We sat there chatting for a bit.
"It's really sweet how you take care of your sister," I said.
"Thank you. It's the least I can do while my mom is away. She takes a trip every month to the big city, Mobotropolis, to get supplies for people."
Some more chatting.
"So where are you heading to? We don't usually get a lot of visitors here," Cannon asked me.
I replied, "I'm on a little quest to South Mobious."
"That's pretty far south," he said. "May I ask why you're heading down there?"
I thought about telling him the truth, but afraid of him thinking I was crazy I said, "Just to say I've been there mostly."
Cannon didn't really seem to believe me, but he didn't say anything otherwise.

It got quiet pretty quick. Neither of us were talking.
"Perhaps I should head on to bed. I got a big day ahead of me tomorrow," I said getting up.
"I probably should too," Cannon replied. "See you in the morning."
Being carefully not to make a sound, I climbed in bed with Holly. She didn't seem to stir. I pulled the sheets over me and my mind raced through the events of today. Eventually Holly's even breathing lured me to sleep where my dreams awaited me.