~The Rotten Branch~

Chapter 03: Unraveling Mysteries

~Naoko~

"Wandering into the woods with my greatest friends,"Gloria states in a sing-song tone.

She pulls out a hairbrush from... somewhere, and begins to comb through her bedhead-like hair. Gloria takes great pride her hair. She is usually seen combing it out, like she is right now. In our classes, she will be fiddling with it, or trying to figure out a new way to braid it back.

Once done combing through it, she brushes it behind her shoulder. With this, she turns to us, and waves to us to catch up. A stupid grin sits on her face, that turned a bit rough when looking at me. She obviously is enjoying our stroll. Maybe a bit too much.

Right now, the time is still quite early. Pink, orange, gold, and red hues fill the skies. Fluffy clouds dart around here and there. They make little hills, and valleys. There is no wonder on why our ancestors claimed the skies to be Heaven itself.

As the sun continues its rise up, the sky turns more red. Just then, Gloria stares back at me, with an even more harsh look. Why was she being so rough? Her personality can easily change from ecstatic, to loathing and rage.

There were often rumors in our group, old rumors at that, but still rumors. They held tales of Gloria holding a special hate that derived from jealousy. However, we use this as a joke now in our group.

This, too, must be a joke.

"I wonder if we will find any dead bodies," She blurts suddenly.

Cameron's eyes go wide with concern, and filled with worry. He has always seemed like an older brother to Gloria. He is always there to pick her up when she falls, and will always take her side.

He shakes his head quickly. "No dead bodies."

She scowls, and rolls her eyes, "I was only kidding! Stop taking everything so personally," Gloria taps him on the nose, and then goes off running again. Cameron is left watching her; he barely moves an inch.

As Gloria darted ahead, her words lingered in the air, leaving a chill down my spine. Despite her attempt to pass it off as a joke, there was something unsettling about her remark. It was as if she was trying to get a reaction, to stir up the tension that still simmered beneath the surface of our group.

Cameron's concern was evident in his eyes, a reflection of the protective instinct that had always been a part of his nature. He may have been like an older brother to Gloria, but even he couldn't deny the unease that her words had stirred within him.

As Gloria disappeared into the trees, I exchanged a worried glance with Kyanite, silently acknowledging the unease that we both felt. It was as if the forest itself had taken on a darker, more ominous tone, echoing Gloria's unsettling words.

But despite the lingering sense of unease, we pressed on, following Gloria deeper into the heart of the forest. With each step, the shadows seemed to grow longer, the trees closing in around us.

Around us, the forest hummed with life, the rustle of leaves and the chirping of birds creating a symphony of sound that filled the air. Shafts of golden sunlight pierced through the canopy above, dappling the forest floor in patches of light and shadow.

"She really is a lunatic," Jacan sighs. The sounds of Gloria's feet hitting the forest floor, pushing down the vegetation to the rough floor. Each step, picking up her feet, and then trampling down on the greenery below, with absolutely no knowledge on what harm she was doing.

"Not a lunatic," Cameron states, in his simplistic way, "Just different. I like different."

Her and Cameron balance each other out, if balance is even a good term to be used to describe the difference in their personalities. He has a simple way of talking, as if too many words would drain him. He is similar to the trunk of a tree; stable, loyal, relaxed, and reliable.