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Chapter 2:
“Out of the Wall”
Sora dreamt she was falling.
The dream again. The one that begins with me falling from the clouds. I’m falling from my world and into one I’ve never been.
Sora stopped falling.
And then I stop. I open my eyes.
She had been caught by a strange boy. His timber wolf gray hair flared up like spikes at the top and some of his hair hung loosely from his head and reached his shoulders.
It’s him. He saved me.
“Please don’t be frightened.” The boy spoke. “It’s very rare that someone actually falls outside the wall.”
And then it happens.
All around her, a lush green forests springs up out of no where. She could only stare in wonder. “This forest just shot up out of no where.”
“Please don’t go. I could really use your help.” The boy said to her.
“Of course I’ll help! But how? What do you want me to do?”
There was the sounds of movement from behind. Sora spun around. Through the trees, shadowy figures were moving about. It made her nervous to look at them. “A magical being...” they hissed. “We must have her!”
Sora was taken aback when she saw the figures reaching for her. She was confused when she saw the mysterious boy jump in front of her, coming to her aid. “Don’t worry...” he said. He looked back at her. She got a clear view of his kind amber eyes. “I’ll protect you.”
“Heno.”
And then I wake up.
Sora opened her large sapphire eyes suddenly. She looked around her quiet room. Her gaze went to the window. It was a new day. That meant it was time to get up. Sora sat up in her bed. Her tired stare changed to one of determination. “I’m sick of this dream. There’s no way it’s going to happen on it’s own. I’m going outside the wall today!”
The class was lined up along a curved road that went along the edge of the mountain. There was forest all along the mountain’s edge. The entire class was dressed in outside wear with their back packs, ready to begin their lesson.
“Students,” began Mr. Kinosho, “this is the actual Tsuki wall; where it ends and where it begins.” He gestured to the edge of the mountain that looked unto the clear blue sky. “You can’t actually see it, but you can feel its presence.”
Sora stood in the back of the class between Haruna and Hirumi. They were all paying close attention to their teacher as he spoke. Sora raised her hand. “Mr. Kinosho!” she called.
“Yes, Miss Atsumishi?”
“About the Outlands. Exactly how big are they?” She asked.
“That’s a good question. The Outlands actually are the entire world outside of the wall. Whereas our town is only as big as this small mountain, the Outlands are basically the entire world. It’s covered in forests and rough terrain making it very hard to find ones way around.”
Sora lowered her hand as she took her teacher’s words into thought. Hirumi looked at her with worry. She leaned close and whispered to Sora, “You can’t seriously be thinking about going out there.”
“Why not?” Sora asked her. “These dreams are getting annoying. And since they’re telling me my future, I can’t continue to ignore them.”
“That’s right, rag doll. Let Sora do what she thinks is best.” Haruna told Hirumi. Hirumi glared at Haruna with a small sense of fear in her eyes.
“I’ll give you each some time to explore the area. Report back to me in twenty minutes.” Mr. Kinosho told the class. They all shouted in understanding. The students began to spread out along the grassy mountain’s edge.
Sora immediately made her way to the very edge. She peered looked out into the blue sky. She inhale the air through his nose and exhaled through her mouth with a smile. As soon as she began to take a step forward, Hirumi rushed up and snatched her by the arm. “Please Sora! Don’t go!” Hirumi cried.
“Hirumi!” Sora quickly looked at her. She took her by the hand and gently tried to pry her off. “Don’t worry, Hirumi. I’ll be fine.”
Hirumi quickly shook her head at her as tears began to form in her eyes. “No you won’t! This’ll all end badly!”
“What do you mean by that?” Sora blinked.
Haruna walked up beside Sora and pushed Hirumi off of Sora’s arm. “Take it easy, you big baby!”
Hirumi glared at Haruna. She looked at Sora in a pleading way. “Please, Sora. Please don’t go.”
Sora began to sympathize with Hirumi. She gave her a reassuring smile. “I have to. That guy is out there waiting for me. He needs my help.”
Haruna grabbed Sora by the shoulder and spun her around to face her. “Ignore her Sora. Just go, already.”
“But she’s worried,” Sora told Haruna. “If you guys want to come too, then I’m sure you–“
Haruna felt a vein pop. She pulled back her long leg. “Just...” She swung her leg, “GO!” She shouted as she kicked Sora in the back.
Sora screamed as she completely lost her balance. She stumbled forward over the edge of the mountain. At that edge, there was a ripple when she made contact with an invisible wall.It continued to ripple as she passed through it. When she was outside of the invisible wall, Sora felt an unfamiliar feeling overcome her.
She opened her eyes and stared ahead. She gasped happily when she caught sight of many green trees less than a mile below her that stretched as far as the eye could see. “Wow...This is an excellent view of the outlands.” Sora looked back and up at Haruna and Hirumi who were still standing within the wall. “Hey, Haruna! Hirumi! You guys should see this!”
Hirumi had an uneasy feeling. When she looked up, she saw a large, monestrous looking bird flying their way. She gasped. “Sora! Look out for that Hornet!”
Sora quickly whirled around. “What Hornet!?” She looked up and saw the bird flying at her. She screamed as it swooped down at her and tried to grab her with it’s large talons. As she leaned away from them, she lost her balance and went falling from her place on the mountain. She let out a loud scream as she began to plummet to the ground.
“SORA!” Hirumi shouted in alarm. She quickly turned and looked at the smirking Haruna. “How could you do that to her, Haruna!?” Haruna stopped smirking and glared at her.
“You have a problem with it, then snitch on me.” She dared Hirumi.
“Mr. Kino–“ Hirumi began. She shrieked when Haruna snatched her by her orange oversized T-shirt and pulled her towards her.
“Listen you lil’ ragga muffin, if you tell anyone what happened to Sora, I will do away with you as well. Besides, this’ll do her some good. She needs to get out more.”
Hirumi felt tears of anger running down her freckle covered cheeks. “You’re such a witch!”she shouted at Haruna.
Haruna grinned sinisterly.“Not yet I’m not.”
Sora continued to fall and she continued to scream. She came to a point where the mountain began to slope. Seeing as to how she fell head first, her head hit a rock on the mountain’s side. She shouted with anger and pain. Her body flipped in the air. She saw the mountain and its rocks were within her reach. With both of her hands, she attempted to grab the rocks. But she ended up grabbing dirt and it didn’t stop her from falling. Finally, she came to the ledge of the mountain which was easy for her to grab.
“Ah! Help!” She shouted.
Sora cringed as she strained to continue holding onto the ledge. She felt herself slipping.
Maybe I should try! Maybe if I call for his help, I’ll have a better chance of living! I’ll do it! What choice to I have!
“HENO! HELP ME!”
In the woods, something was stirring and wondering about aimlessly. “Huh?” came a young male voice. “Someone call me?”
“HENO! HELP ME, PLEASE!”
Sora felt herself slipping. Something gray dashed along the side of the mountain and headed straight for her. Sora couldn’t hold on much longer. She screamed as her hands fell from the ledge. “Got cha’!” Someone shouted as they snatched her up in mid-air.
The one who had caught her landed on the ground. Sora opened her eyes and smiled in releif.
He actually saved me! So cool!
Sora’s blue eyes shifted up as she tried to see the face of her savior. Her eyes dilated in disbelif. “Erk?”
The one who had saved her was an tall and gray anthromorphic wolf wearing red and black. His amber eyes were friendly and he smiled down at her. His timber wolf gray hair flared up at the top, but the rest of his hair hung from his head and reached his shoulders. “You okay?” He asked her.
Monster! Monster! Monster!
The wolf blinked as Sora began to slowly open her mouth. “Uh oh. Please don’t scream.”
Sora’s mouth opened wide and she screamed to high heaven right in the wolf boy’s large ears. “Let go of me you demon wolf creature!” she shouted at him as she began beating on him in an attempt to make him drop her.
“Hey! Ah!” He exclaimed as Sora’s elbow hit him in the nose. “I’m no demon! I’m Heno! The one you called for help! OW!” When Sora hit him again, he dropped her right away.
Sora fell into the grass. She looked up at him. “You’re Heno?” She wondered aloud as he rubbed his face where she had hit him. Heno? He’s cute though...Sora began to think about the boy she had seen in her dreams. She rose to her feet and stared the wolf boy in the face. When he pulled his hands away, he blinked at her in confusion. Hm. Well their eyes are the same...But... “No way are you Heno! Heno isn’t covered in fur.” She told him.
The wolf boy blinked as he pondered what she was saying. “Oh. I see.” He said. He grinned showing his white and sharp wolf fangs. “Well, will this please you then?”
The air began to gather around the boy. Sora stepped back, eyes wide as she watched him change before her very eyes.
Standing before her was a boy who was completely furless besides his light gray hair. He looked at Sora with his friendly amber eyes. “There. Better?” He asked her.
“Yes...” Sora nodded slowly. She fell forward suddenly.
“Hold on a minute!” the boy lunged forward and caught her before she hit the floor. When he rolled her over, he saw that she had lost consciousness. “She just fainted. That’s good,” he said with relief... He looked at her sleeping face. He blinked as he took notice to something. “Hm? She looks so familiar to me.”
“Who are you?” I repeat myself with annoyance. I hate having to repeat myself.
Through the nothingness, a mysteries oak wood nightstand appeared. Engraved in its surface is a golden crescent moon. I stand and wonder as I watch this strange woman look to the chest. One of its drawers began opening entirely on its own. I felt myself jump slightly.
A bright light hovers from the drawn and over to the woman who had her hands out, reaching for it. I blink when the light suddenly disperses and a red crystal in a bizarre shape appears in the woman’s hands. What is that? I wonder most apathetically.
“Glass torch…” the woman spoke.
“That’s a torch?” I ask. “Are you kidding me?”
The woman takes in a deep breath. I’m taken aback as I watch her chest expand. Then, she exhaled. Her breath blew over the top of the crystal and out of nowhere, a great burst of fire shoots at me! I scream.
“WHO ARE YOU!?”
“I’m Heno.” Said the gray haired boy standing at a mirror, adjusting a pair of large, thin-rimmed glasses on his face. “But we’ve already established that. So who are you?”
Sora blinked in confusion. She looked around. She was lying on an unfamiliar couch. She rolled onto her side and sat up. She looked around. She was in a small house and it didn’t seem at all to be hers. When she looked down, she saw there wasn’t even any flooring. Just grass. Other than that minor detail, it was an acceptable living place. Not for her, of course.
“Wow!” Heno exclaimed as he whirled around and face Sora. His amber eyes were enlarged by the glasses. “You look exactly like her now! The resemblance is uncanny!”
Sora blinked at him. “Who are you…” Sora suddenly noticed something. Her eye twitched in agitation. “Those are my glasses!” she growled.
“Hm?” Heno said, obliviously. He whirled around again and looked out of the corner of his eyes. “No. I don’t think they are.”
“They so are!” Sora shouted. “Hand ‘em over!” She thrust her hand forward, waiting for him to give her what was obviously hers.
Heno glanced down at her open palm. He smiled wide, showing his wolf like fangs. He slapped her hand. “FIVE!”
Sora felt a vein pop. “What are you? Some kind of idiot?”
“I’ve been told that.” Heno grinned.
Sora felt her blood beginning to boil. She slowly began to approach the boy, but he only slowly stepped further back. Sora looked down and noticed there was a coffee table between them. She then glared back up at him. Grinning like a moron. “One last chance: hand over my glasses.”
“Nyah!” He stuck his tongue out at her.
That set her off. “Give ‘em here!” She leaped over the table at him. Heno began twirling around like a ballerina, right out of Sora’s line of fire. Sora tripped over the coffee table and went head first into the wall.
Heno saw her hit the wall and slide to the floor with a red face. He laughed at her. Sora pushed herself up from the floor. With an angry stare, she looked up at the cackling boy. He grinned and started rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “You’re not very graceful for a girl, are you?”
“I’ll give you grace you idiot!” She immediately shot from the ground and went at him again. Every time Sora attempted to grab him, Heno would prance playfully out of her reach.
“You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me!” He taunted her like a child.
“Quite playing games, you jerk!”
Heno danced his way behind a tall woman as she walked into the room who bore a large resemblance to him. Sora jumped back when she saw her. Heno stuck his tongue out at her again and waved his hands at her. The woman stared at the boy confused. “Heno, what is all this commotion?”
Heno snickered. “Sorry mom. I was just playing with my new friend, Miss No-Name.”
“Miss No-name?” Sora repeated, eye twitching in irritation.
Heno’s mother glanced away from her son. Her eyes fell on Sora. They widened. She faced Sora entirely. “Sakura?”
Sora blinked. She looked up at Heno’s mother and put on a polite smile. “Sakura is my middle name, ma’am. My name is Sora Atsumishi. Pleased to meet you.” Sora bowed her head.
The woman’s face changed to a friendly one rather than surprised. “Oh. I’m sorry. You just look…Nothing. I’m Aeris. Heno’s mother.”
“Are you?” Sora asked. She glanced at Heno. He was still lurking behind his mother. She arched an irritated eyebrow and looked back up at Aeris. “No offense ma’am, but I’m not seeing the relation.”
Aeris blinked for a second. She then let out a loud laugh. “Really?! There’s a surprise. People always tell me that I have to be where he gets his spontaneity from. Then again…” Aeris grew a little serious. She stared down at Sora. “You’re a magical one, correct?”
“You can tell?” Sora asked with a confused look. She began to check her clothes and examine herself. “What gave it away?”
“Oh, it’s just a natural talent of every outlander. We can sense magic when it’s active in a person.” Aeris explained. She turned around and faced Heno. He smiled innocently at her. Aeris shook her head and put a hand to his shoulder. “Good luck with that thing of yours, alright?” Heno nodded in response. She glanced back at Sora and gave her a small wave. “It was nice meeting you.”
Sora watched Aeris begin to walk away. She called after her, “Same here!” Heno walked over to her and handed her her glasses. As she took them from him, she asked, “So you Outlanders can sense magic whenever it’s around?”
Heno nodded with a big grin, like a child. But then his grin faded to a blank stare and he shook his head.
Sora felt herself growing irritated all over again. “Which is it, you doofus?!”
Heno grinned again. He took his finger and flicked her on the nose. Sora shrieked and jumped back. “Girly doesn’t listen!” He sang. “We can sense magic in people, that’s it! My mom told you that! Who’s an idiot now?”
Sora’s eyebrow with twitching furious. She scoffed and stepped away from him. I wonder if this guy is actually this dumb or if it’s an act. He sure is fooling me if it is! Sora noticed her bright green book bag perched on a shelf, her face brightened and she walked over to it. Heno didn’t notice her. He was too busy prancing around and singing, “Girly doesn’t listen! Girly doesn’t listen!”
Heno stopped dancing when he caught sight of Sora putting on her book bag, prepared to leave. “Eh? Hey! Where are you going?” He asked in a sense of panic.
Sora turned her head and looked at him. She blinked and replied simply with, “Oh. I’m going home.”
“You can’t go now! It’s dangerous out there!”
Sora rolled her eyes and turned to the door. “Like I haven’t heard that before.”
“I won’t let you go!” Heno growled and lunged for her.
Sora was taken by surprise when she saw him. Her surprise immediately faded into exasperation. When she looked down, she saw that Heno was doing nothing more than merely clinging to her ankle and looking up at her with big puppy dog eyes. Sora sighed with exasperation. “What’re you doing?”
“Please don’t go,” He whimpered like a dog. “I could really use your help!”
Sora’s eyes widened in curiosity. That’s what he said in the dream. Sora kicked him off of her ankle. She shot back and sat up with his legs folded under him. Sora faced him with her hands on her hips. “Why would I want to help you? You’re an Outlander.”
“Ah! But an Outlander that saved your life!” He corrected her. He began shuffling his shoulders back and forth, playfully. “If you promise to help me, I’ll take you home.”
Sora gave him a skeptic look. I know there had to have been more purpose to my dream that this. Can I really trust him? She thought. “You mean it? You’ll take me home?”
“Yeah! Yeah! I promise!” Heno said and nodded quickly. “It’s not hard to trust me. I’m offended that you would think all Outlanders are power hungry monsters. I mean, Diegous wasn’t.”
Sora’s eyes widened at the mentioning of that name. Diegous? What would he know about him?
She wondered. “Fine,” she replied. “What could you possibly need me for?”