RoseI rolled over in the bed, reaching out my arm towards Orion, but he wasn’t there. My hand searched farther but to no avail. I pried my eyes open, sleepily looking through my eyelashes. He really wasn’t there.I crawled to the edge of the bed, rubbing my eyes. The bathroom door was open, but no light.“Orion?” I called out to the empty room. There was no response. My legs swung over the edge, and I pulled his shirt from the day before over my head. Leather and cardamon wrapped around my body, but it wasn’t as good as the real thing.Yawning, I made my way across the room towards the door. I wasn’t awake enough for this. Slowly I made my way down the hall towards his office. The walk felt so much longer than average. I lazily knocked on the door and slightly pushed the door open a crack, completely dark. I went ahead and opened the door thoroughly before walking into the center of the room, leaning up against his desk. Ugh, where was he?“Instea

RoseI drifted to sleep with the familiar scent of leather and cardamon slowly began to dissipate, leaving me alone. My eyelids were heavy, like they were weighted. Eventually, the weight disappeared, allowing me to rapidly blink. I roughly rubbed my eyes until they let me focus. I was no longer in my bed, I was no longer with Orion, I was no longer in Black Moon...Where was I?My eyes frantically glanced around; I was in an empty field with a fog blanket covering the ground. I hesitantly took a few steps forward; the fog felt eerily familiar. All of a sudden, a sprout broke through the ground beside me and began to rapidly grow. Before my eyes, it turned into a sapling and then a mature tree. Another tree grew before my eyes and then another. Before I knew it, I was in a thick forest with underbrush breaking through the ground, snaking up between my toes and tickling my ankles.I knew I wasn’t in the ethereal realm, at least. I recognized most of the trees and

Matt “Happy birthday, kid.” Hodges greeted me when I plopped down at the kitchen table. Hodges slid a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage at me. “Thanks.” I nodded before poking at my breakfast. “Come on, I made sure they didn’t have any shells in the eggs this time,” Hodges muttered before taking a swig of his steaming cup of coffee. “I appreciate it, Hodges. Really, thanks.” I scooped a fork full of eggs into my mouth. No salt, no pepper, and a little bit of eggshell. Poor guy couldn’t cook to save his life. “You gonna go wander around and see if you catch a whiff of anything?” Hodges cocked his eyebrow and gave me a slimy grin. His tone was that of a creepy middle-aged man. He was harmless, but at that moment, he even gave me the heebie-jeebies. “Yeah, I’ll take a lap.” Silence settled over us; I quickly shoved his attempt at cooking down my throat. The faster I ate it, the faster I wouldn’t have to taste it again. Once I cl

RoseIt was a warm sticky afternoon as I sat on Brigid’s little front porch with Brigid. She sat in a rocking chair, gently rocking with her eyes shut. I sat on a wooden swing, lazily pumping my legs back and forth. I couldn’t wait for autumn to come and vanquish the humidity.“Hey, Brigid?” I broke the silence. It had been about a week since my dream about the witch, but I hadn’t been able to make my way back to the ethereal realm to see Selene.“Yes, little Luna?” Brigid continued to rock with her eyes shut.“When you watched over Luna Leto,” Brigid’s eyes popped open as Leto’s name escaped my lips. “Did she ever tell you how she was able to go to see Selene? Selene told me that I showed up before she thought I would, but I never knew what she meant.”“Hmmm,” She stroked her chin as she mentally unboxed her memories of her time with Leto. “One time when I asked her about it. She said the darkness was the key. Is that helpful?”“I wonder if

Unknown The forest was noiseless tonight as if nature and all of the animals knew a predator lurked in the shadows.  Quickly I darted through the night, each step with a purpose.  Must not be caught.  No noise. Not a single twig or leaf snapping would be tolerated. I silently jumped from branch to branch in the canopy.  I wasn’t like everyone else, the height did not put me at a disadvantage.  It was a second home to me.  I wasn’t scared of the branches, my feet knew where to step, when to leap, and where to land.  I was just a deadly breeze in the moonlight. My pace slowed as my eyes scoured the limbs in the trees near me.  The perfect perch was my goal, where I was hidden in the shadows, but able to monitor the forest floor.  There it was, approximately two hundred f