Darkness. Water gently babbling against the pebbles of the shore, the occasional scrape as his bubble knocked the bank. How long had it been? His throat was scratchy and his body ached from how tightly he'd been holding himself. Some time ago his voice had cracked and he was reduced to quiet whimpers. It was hard to tell if it was fear or if he was starting to shiver from the cool water and the creeping chill of the grey sky but his body trembled violently. The sky blue bubble bobbed and shook with the force of his movements, spinning and lurching from side to side in an unnatural way. The shield itself looked scratched and oddly dull as if it had seen a battle. It flickered and rippled until suddenly-<br/><br/>Crack.<br/><br/>A small fine line raced it's way up the sphere, branching and growing into a jagged web. Milo sucked in a startled breath as the harsh sounds of crackling glasses filled the small space. Before he had time to act, the shield shattered with a large crash and the boy found himself tumbling through the water. His body was just heavy enough to sink halfway while being dragged by the current. The water was painfully cold, the icy water biting at him mercilessly as he floated along. Milo uncurled and scrambled towards one side of the stream before collapsing amongst the pebbles of the shore. He wanted to curl up again, but the rocks were too cold. Slowly, the boy stood up and made his way toward the dirt and patches of grass that grew a few feet away.<br/><br/>For the moment, Milo's mind was empty. Everything felt dreamlike as his eyes swept across the landscape. It was a forest, dark and ancient. A thick haze had settled and obscured the fine details of the dark forest, only revealing the massiveness of the dark twisted trees lined up before him. The trees stretched upward endlessly to the point that Milo stumbled backward trying to trace one up to its top. The sound of him thudding into the dirt died immediately, the ominous hum of the forest forbidding any interruption to its sporadic chorus of whispers. A little sapling sat a few feet away, tucked beneath several much larger trees. It was different from the others, sad but not wilted or dark. There was no way it could survive to get a woody stem when surrounded by all these trees. After getting back up, Milo cautiously made his way towards the sapling. He looked it over quizzically before noticing a small ray of light touching a few of the leaves. A ray of light. Not like any he'd ever seen before. He put his hand over the beam and felt the warm inviting but foreign feeling of the sun for the first time. Vota had told him about this feeling; about how the sky was bright blue like his eyes and the sun touched everything with this comfortable warmth. She said it was as if the goddesses themselves were enveloping their creations in a loving hug. Milo had wondered if the goddesses had gotten tired of loving.<br/><br/>Without thinking, the boy pressed his fingers into the hard earth around the little plant. His hand plunged into the soil to uproot the poor thing.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry about this, miss plant," his small voice was scratchy and quiet "It's only for a little while, and then we'll put you in a nicer spot,"<br/><br/>Carefully holding the plant in both hands, he wandered toward the source of the light. The light he didn't know he'd wanted to feel. It only took him a few minutes before he'd stumbled into a clearing. The haze disappeared entirely, and the cold of the dark forest fell away. It felt like a different world entirely. Milo sat, starstruck by the vibrant greens and soft golds and browns, the way the grass danced and rippled with each warm breeze, the countless small saplings sharing in this haven, a massive tree sitting in the center peacefully watching, and an old man fondly speaking to each plant. He spoke with a soft caring tone, like Vota when she was telling him a story before bed. He let out a sound, something between a chuckle and a sob.  His vision clouded and he laid back, gazing up at the light streaming in through the leaves and listening to the sound of the man's voice for while before wiping his eyes and getting to his feet. He hadn't forgotten his main goal. He turned to the spot where he'd been sitting and scooped a handful of dirt out before placing the sad thing in the new hole and covering up its base. The plant already seemed much happier. With that done, Milo made his way toward the man. Not too close, of course. He could be dangerous, but he seemed like he cared about these little leaves with stems, so maybe he'd want to see the new one.<br/><br/>The boy opened his mouth to speak. Instead, his mouth opened and closed slowly and wordlessly as the boy openly gawked. He was trying his best to speak but his body refused every request. He took in a deep breath and gathered himself before finally letting out a small.<br/><br/>"h-"<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> "Hello?" </span>a hushed voice rung out. Startled, Milo curled on instinct. A little trembling rock among the plants.