Autumn Isle: Prologue

Autumn Isle

Prologue

It was a beautiful day on Autumn Isle, the wind was calm and the trees were all clothed in hues of crimson, gold and topaz. The whole island was covered in a fresh, autumn shade of foliage and it basked in the suns early morning glow. Our story begins in Mapleglaze Woods, a small area to the South-West of the Isle, in which a small village lies.

Midi, the Faretia was eagerly staring out across at his village. He and his family, along with all the residents of the village lived in small, wooden house that were attached to the tall trees. He clambered down the tree, falling halfway down and landing into a pile of colourful autumn leaves. He was shorter than most of the children his age and quite a bit shyer. Like most creatures in the forest he was coloured in shades of tangerine, red and yellow to match in with their autumn surrounding all year long and he had small wings and a crest upon his head, as all Faretia's did.
"Midi? Are you going out?" His mum, a larger Faretia called, stepping onto the oaken balcony of their house.
"Yes, mum."
"With your friends?"
"...Yes!" Midi shouted back and with that, he set of and out of the village and into the denser wood that lay beyond.

He stared hard at the soft ground as he walked and let out a small, lamented sigh. He wished someone could be along side him, chatting merrily and playing in the overgrowth but there was no one to go with. The village children had formed a type of team and always resided together, always leaving Midi out. Midi wished and wished as best as he could that there was someone like him, someone he could have fun with too. He pondered this for a long time as he trekked through the forest, deep in thought.

The day slid past slowly and soon the sun was high above the Isle, for it was noon. It was only Midi's hunger that made him suddenly stop thinking. He had been, without knowing, walking for hours and then a terrible thought suddenly dawned on Midi.
"...I'm lost! I'm sure I'd only been walking for a short while, but I'm not even in Mapleglaze Woods anymore!" He didn't know the way back, as all the thickly grown trees appeared the same to him. He spun around on the spot, a pang of fear in his heart. Where was he? Would his mum be worried? How would he find his way back?

Midi sat down on a hollow log and tried to think his way back. He'd been walking in a straight line as far as he knew. Surely if he just tried to walk in a straight line back...but Midi had forgotten which direction he had came from. He began to feel scared and very, very alone. There was no one to comfort him or tell him he'd be fine. He wished, more than ever he'd gone with someone else. He was always losing his way, being clumsy...in desperation he decided he carry on walking the way he thought he had possibly come from.

"I'm still lost!" He shouted in exasperation, annoyed at how he'd not been keeping track of his walk. There was endless thin trees, hills and foliage and it seemed there was no difference from one place to another. Midi suddenly spotted a wooden sign, faded with age. He ran over to it, in hope it might give directions. However, as he came closer to it he found the writing was illegible and he could only make out a few roughly carved letters. "...ub...r... C...se" Midi stopped to think the letters though. "Of course! Auburn Copse!" His shoulders drooped. "But...thats miles away from Mapleglaze Woods! I still have no clue how to get back! Is ANYBODY THERE?" He cried, hoping that someone might hear his feeble calls.
"HELLO?" Called back a sharp, muffled voice. "HELLO?" Midi almost leapt for joy. There was someone just beyond the hill he stood upon, someone could help him and point him in the right direction!

He sprinted at full speed towards the voice and found it became clearer and clearer. The little Faretia fell over several times, but managed to stay focused on finding he source of the voice. He found himself atop a high, grassy hill, overlooking a narrow passage of trees. And there, tangled up in a thick net was a tall, cat-like creature who looked no older than Midi, though was obviously uncomfortable in such a tight net. His elaborately coloured ears, neck and tail stood out even from afar and his body was a fluffy, chestnut brown. He sat with a small hazel satchel beside him.

"Hello!" The creature said, it's mouth spreading out in a cheeky grin. It was only then Midi noticed now many scratches and scars it had all over its face, most probably from trying to escape its ropey prison. Midi stood, almost in a trance as he looked at the animal.
"Um...Hello?" It said again, wondering if Midi was perhaps deaf.
"Oh, sorry!" Midi mumbled. "Were you shouting out?"
"I sure was. I've been tangled in this net for a while and it's not very comfy, I can tell you. Seems like a dangerous place this, with booby traps everywhere!"
"It's not a trap, it's a net people use to catch falling fruit from trees!" Midi said, trying to hide the smirk on his face.
"Well, considering it's for fruit this net is as hard as rock! What's your name by the way?" The cat-like creature asked, jumping straight to the point.

"Midi-I'm from Mapleglaze Woods, but I got lost and hoped I could find someone who would help me. And yours?"
"Cho-did you say Mapleglaze Forest, Midi? That's where I'm heading! I'm going to be living there from now on."
"That's great!" Midi smiled, pleased. Maybe he play with Cho, maybe they could even be friends!
"Now, I don't mean to cut the conversation short, but can you help me out here?" Cho said.
"Of course!" Midi called, taking a step back before leaping over the hill and flying into the air, hovering with his small, jeweled wings. He hadn't flown for ages and was enjoying himself. Now it was Cho's turn to stare and wonder.
"If you can fly, then why couldn't you just fly over the forest and find your way back?"
"I can't fly for very long," Midi panted. "Hang on!' He landed delicately on the top of Cho's net.

He undid the knot slowly and carefully.
"Now, be careful," Cho began, "We don't want to fall straight into the-" But Midi had already undone the net and they were falling to the ground below, along with several pieces of fruit that had also got caught in the net. Midi shut his eyes tightly, hoping for the best but he never felt the sharp thud of falling to the ground. He opened his eyes.
"-quicksand...!" Cho sighed. They were both up to their neck in a thick, paste like sand that glued them in position. Midi panicked at once.
"We're sinking! We're sinking!" He screamed, thrashing about in the sand, only making himself in a better grip of the sand.
"Don't move or it'll suck you in faster!" Cho advised.
"Then what do we do?" Midi gasped, as he felt himself sinking lower. Cho looked around quickly. There was nothing that could lift them out the sand-they had no kind of rope-an idea suddenly flashed into Cho's mind. He hoisted the ropey net out of the sand and with a great deal of effort he held it above him in the air and threw one end towards the grassy bank just beyond their reach. It annoying simply slid off and Cho grabbed it back, within seconds trying to lasso a branch of a short tree. This time he succeeded and pulling it firmly to make sure it would support their weight, he grabbed Midi's arm and dragged them both out of the sand. They were flung onto the bank, gasping for air and each of them was covered from neck to toe in hard, peeling sand.
"It'll come off." Cho smiled shakily, steadily standing up. Midi was still dazed. He climbed to his feet and could not help feeling the utmost respect and awe for Cho.
"Y-you saved us!" Midi cried, still shaky on his feet.
"Any time!" Cho smiled, a warm, friendly smile that Midi thought he would remember for as long as he lived.

"Now, will you show me the way to Mapleglaze Woods?" Cho asked. Midi nodded, then remembered that he too didn't know the way back.
"Oh...I don't-" But he had noticed someone a few meters away-it was Heath, a kind, humble creature who owned a restaurant in Mapleglaze Woods.
"Heath!" Midi called at once. "Can you take us back to Mapleglaze Woods?" Heath turned and smiled at them.
"Of course-just follow me and we'll be there in no time." As Midi and Cho followed him, Cho nudged Midi.
"So...I was wondering-that was pretty fun back there wasn't it?"
"Fun? It was scary too-but exhilarating!" Midi said honestly.
"Well, it would be a shame to forget it ever happened-why don't we become explorers? Adventures? Together-we could do this kind of thing every day!"
Midi's eyes shined like stars. Cho-someone who though he had only just met, Midi respected more than most people-had asked him to be his friend! He wouldn't be alone anymore, he and Cho could explore the vast world of Autumn Isle.
"There's nothing I'd rather do more!" Midi laughed. 


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;n; Sorry this is terrible-I'm more terrible at writing than I am at drawing *n*

Autumn Isle, art, story (c) Me