[Hana] The Heavenly Meadow

Hana saw it, but she wasn’t sure why anyone else had brought it up.

A tail on a bun that she had never seen before–wait, no, scratch that, there was one creature that had a similar little bundle: her Rabebe, Turnip. The difference was that Misty’s tail was bushier, like someone ran a comb through it to fluff it up. It was weird (like the whole research with the birds thing), and that didn’t even include their ears, which had a shape that, again, Hana had never seen before. And there was also the matter of them not having horns, but that was the first thing they saw, and Hana eventually learned not to stare.

For sure, Misty was no ordinary bun. Hana figured that it also explained her rather meek personality to vices, though she was receptive of Jackal’s brash behavior. She thought back to what they discovered in Mercy’s office, about those dozens of baby buns that disappeared with no explanation save for the shiny feather they now had in their possession. There was a bit of a debate on what to do, since Jackal was concerned that getting Misty’s memory back seemed to be hurting them, but ultimately they decided they should connect two and two together: namely, return them to the mysterious circle with the feather.

Hana had no idea what to expect, but her gut sense was telling her things could get crazy real fast. On the day the trio decided to head back where they first found Misty, the weather and atmosphere felt particularly foreboding. Hana would once again think about bringing up Misty’s tail and ears to Jackal, but the envy bun was too focused on helping the mysterious Succubun trudge through the snow covered sidewalk. Everything was way too quiet, as if everyone unanimously decided that tonight’s weather was simply too nippy for merriment, or it was just a good day for a hot coco indoors. Hana sure wished she was one of those buns instead of being out here. She certainly felt like she deserved a nice warm drink after all of this was over.

Eventually, they make it back to where everything began, and, well…things glowed. Misty, who turned out to be Dove, also kind of glowed. Also, she had a circle on her head in place of horns. Hana was about to think that oh shit things are getting crazy when things got even crazier, because next thing she knew, everything was glowing and her eyesight was blinded. She could feel her body being pulled somewhere, Murmur knew where, and then it felt like her consciousness briefly dipped.

Then reemerged.

Hana groaned loudly, experiencing a heaviness that she had never felt before (there was a lot of this going on when it came to Dove, it seemed). This was completely different from getting woken up and not wanting to leave the bed; instead, her body felt achingly stiff and restless, like it wanted to jump out of itself. Her fingers were enveloped by blades of soft grass, which again felt similar and yet different from what she was familiar with back at home. When she opened her eyes, she was sure about one thing:

They were certainly not in Burrowgatory anymore.

“Jackal?”

The envy bun let out a painful grunt before pushing herself up, massaging her pulsing temple with a free hand. “Ugh, Hana, what…”

They turned their eyes to the sight before them, leaving them speechless. It was a meadow, but unlike any meadow Burrowgatory could make, because when they looked to the ceiling, well, there was none. The stalactites that Hana only realized were a comforting sight to her were nowhere to be seen, replaced with a light blue hue that seemed to stretch infinitely. White, fluffy clouds floated lazily above them, and the starry bun realized then that they also made up the “ground” they were sitting on, for she could see that it was finite–in other words, there was a real danger of falling.

Falling where? Who knows? All Hana knew was that she didn’t want to count on it leading her back home.

“What is this place?” Jackal finally managed to say, “And where’s Mis–Dove?” her tone became alarmed then, finding the energy to push herself up and find that her feet were on steady grounding.

“They must be here somewhere. They were the one who brought us here.” or maybe it was whoever the feather belonged to, and Hana was more fearful about who that could be. They were the ones who stole the buns all those years ago, weren’t they? Everywhere she looked seemed to be cloud hills, grass, and little white flowers that drank the light like nectar. It dawned on her that the light here was much brighter than even the warmest months in Burrowgatory. It was almost like it could burn her if she stayed too long, but for now it was just heat that she was trying to get used to, coming from the cold winter winds just moments before.

Jackal noticed that Hana was struggling to get up so she offered a hand, to which the starry bun took gratefully. It was the envy bun who spotted a little structure sitting on the horizon, which appeared to be a cottage made of wood and other materials. It was certainly not far in terms of distance, but every step the pair took felt like there was lead tied to their ankles. Hana thought that they could get used to this place, but the feeling that pricked her skin all over still remained. Somehow, the clouds and the meadow and the bright light did not welcome them.

“I guess…this is where Dove came from?” Hana muttered.

“More like where she was taken to.” Jackal replied, voice low. There were no other beings in sight, nothing that looked like kidnapped Succubuns or creatures with wings and organic feathers. Despite this, they acted as if they were being watched, even if there didn’t seem to be many places to hide. Where were all the trees? Were they too heavy for the cloud lands to handle?

Finally, they made it to the cottage, and there stood the bun that started it all and seemed to be in the center of everything. Jackal managed to find the energy to break into an awkward, limped run towards Dove, and even if the bun was shorter, she steadied the envy bun with a relieved expression. Hana found it a little ironic that now it was both of them that were struggling to move, and Dove seemed to be standing straighter. 

They were happy to see that they were alright, if not rather disoriented about where they were. The mysterious Succubun was about to say more, but then a voice rang out, reminiscent of a bell toll that sent shockwaves that rumbled. It was hard to tell whether it boomed directly in their heads or what, but the owner of the voice soon made itself apparent.

It was basically what Hana was worried about, only worse.

The books that Hana and Jackal used to research on birds had nothing about a doll-like being with multiple wings and a large spiky circle behind their head. They looked nothing like a bird and there was something frighteningly uncanny about them, most particularly how Hana couldn’t tell where their limbs started and their gown ended. It was molded into one, clearly indicating that whoever or whatever this was, they were nothing like Dove, and so nothing like them, either. After all, they had the power to travel to Burrowgatory and wherever here was at will, and their wings certainly matched the iridescent glow of the feather they found. 

Said bun had to move away from Jackal since the being moved to them, arms open for an embrace. Dove used their arms to shove them away, making sure to keep a protective arm up in an attempt to keep themselves in between the Succubuns and the frightful being. They called themselves Melangel, and their gaze switched between Hana, Jackal, and Dove. Notably, they were looking at the Succubuns with clear disgust; the scowl on their face weirdly looking out of place from their calm and doting demeanor whenever they talked with Dove. 

“Dove can handle herself on this, right?” Hana whispered as the two exchanged words, something about knowing the truth and defending the buns they had met in Burrowgatory.

“I’m ready to get my knuckles on that fucker’s face if that’s what you mean.” Jackal snarled, though it was clear that neither of them were in any shape to fight if it came down to that.

“Well, I guess I can throw my weight at her. To hold her down and stuff while you punch her.”

“I can work with that.”

But of course, Hana was still nervous, trembling as she had no idea what was going to happen next and how they were going to get back. Oh, she really got herself into some deep trouble now, she thought. How was she going to pay her debt back to Angora now?!