Adofai

In one of the countless tangles of the Foxfire Bramble, an Imperial hatchling watched as her parents argued intensely but still silently.
“As long as he is here, she can’t stay, who knows what he’ll do to her!?” Said her Imperial mother in a loud whisper. Her Tundra father stayed calm and patient, he seemed used to her mother’s panics such as these.
“You said you were working towards forgiving him,” the Tundra pointed out.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to trust him! Especially with a child!” The Imperial let out a frustrated sigh, “I was caught in his chains for so long, and it still feels awful even after all this time. I do not want her or anyone else to have to go through his torture.”
“You say that every time,” the Tundra said.
“Figures this is when your memory actually serves you well,” the Imperial responded with a snort, “but I’ve made up my mind. For her own good, she has to leave.” Her father sighed and gave a mournful look at the her before he left. Her mother then turned to look at her. “Listen, young one: you’re too young to understand this, but it is too dangerous for you to stay here. You have to leave this place and never come back. I do this not because I don’t care about you, I do care about you, and this is the best way to keep you safe. Now go, ok? Go!”
The hatchling looked up at her mother, too scared to speak.
“Leave!” Her mother shouted before bringing her claws down towards the hatchling. Terrified, she darted out of the way and scampered off, not minding the thorns that tore at her from every angle. She ran and ran. She kept running even after she realized she had no idea at all of where she would go.

---

She walked through the tangles of the Foxfire Bramble much slower now. How long had it been? Weeks? Months? She couldn’t tell thanks to the oppressive thorny roots and vines obscuring the sky. Was this far enough away? She didn’t know that either, she had no sense of direction or orientation thanks to every portion of the bramble looking the same as the next. That was, until she saw a dim light piercing the darkness. It wasn’t enough to illuminate its surroundings, but enough to be visible. Unsure of what to do, she remembered what little image she had of her father, and the calmness he maintained. Choosing to use this same calmness, she approached the light. As she did, it quickly became three lights. One of orange, one of sky blue, and one of deep blue. The lights seemed to be concentrated in strange orbs that were orbiting each other.
“How strange,” she muttered to herself. The orbs seemed to have heard her somehow, as the suddenly stopped orbiting each other and came over to her. As they did, she couldn’t help but notice the way in which they approached her. The orbs seemed to bounce over each other in perfect timing and sequence. The phenomenon baffled her. She watched as the three orbs seemed to bounce around her, before suddenly placing themselves in front of her, looking as if they yearned to move ahead of her.
“You… you want me to follow you?” She asked, a bit embarrassed that she was talking to random objects. The orbs spun around each other quickly, and soon headed off in front her. She hesitated. Where would these orbs take her? To safety? To danger? She remembered her father’s calmness again and made up her mind. Filled with calm trust, she began to follow them.