a closed starter for @stellifrous <3
TIME HAS PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ANTEROS. THE MORTALS KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO ──── CRADLE THEIR HEARTS IN YOUR HANDS [...] AND RAGE.
she dreams of 𝖇utterflies that night : of tapestries of burnt amber and smoldering obsidian, of a kaleidoscope of iridescence, and of a field of sunlit petals. in the warm glow of the sun, no harsh or cold tones were anywhere to be found painting the strands of her hair. instead, lily is found amongst the butterflies, following the twin black threads of their antennas with her wide eyes as they flutter into a murmuration. she knows this is a dream, it can only be a dream, and yet she feels every brush of the grass against her bare feet as she treads forward ──── following their given trail.
they swirl & twirl & unfurl to unveil an ever—changing figure.
“ it’s been a while, hasn’t it? oh, look at you lily! ” the voice is 𝓓issonant, its coo was something she had to try and not wince at. “ come closer, dearest. it’s so hard to see you when you’re so far. come now, i don’t bite. ”
the figure continues to change. it’s a whiplash of images, difficult to discern and even harder to follow. lily’s foot steps forward without a single hesitation.
the words compel her.
it called her by name, little whispers in her ears. its warm fingers pulled at her limbs, beckoning her to crawl ──── to fulfill whatever the voice wanted. those papilionoidea continue to fly, circling the figure’s face. their hand finally fall onto her shoulders, and lily is overwhelmed with a sense of ℒove, putty in that tender touch.
“ i haven’t much time, so listen well, dearest. ” belatedly, she thinks, oh… it’s mom. dazed in her own dream, lily tries hard to focus on the discordant voices becoming harmonious. “ you must find him. he’s gone 𝓜ad. zeus has forbade me to see him, a punishment for stealing his new nymph, i’m sure —— ah, off—track. but you need to do this, i’ve already bribed apollo to bring me a quest to give. now wake, lily, do me proud. ”
the press of soft lips ’pon her crown is a stark difference to the violent way she’s pulled out of sleep. papilionoidea wings bat against her visage, forcing pearly whites to bite down & eyes to squeeze shut. ( if you blink, you’ll miss! ) and just like that, the ground ’neath her feet give way to the unhinged maws of bottomless darkness.
she falls & falls & falls & falls & ────
“ oh gods … ” lily groans, body half—sprawled from bunk to pink fuzzy carpet. “ what just … ? i didn’t even get to catch a butterfly … ” she kicks off her blankets, fully committing to the floor when she sees lace—trimmed fabric hanging off the edge of the bed and yanks it down with her. soft, brown optics studied the embroidery and already, her mind’s spinning to try and decipher the cursive letters.
the little 𝓓ove will work in two
to find the maze that leaves hearts askew,
with storm in hand, don’t waste your breath,
𝒜venger’s truth will seal your ────
the last word evades her, the silken fabric pulled out her hands. “ oh, this is so cute!! i’ll trade you my ribbon for this, i know you’ve been eyeing it. ” corina giggles, body laid across her own bed with the strange handkerchief in hand. she waves it, almost taunting. ugh. why’d she have to be such an early bird? “ there’s hand stitching in this too! where’d you even get this? ”
vigor ʳᵉignites her sleep addled muscles, bringing lily to her feet as she shrieked and pulled the silk back. “ you can’t just take my stuff like that! we’ve talked about this, ’rina!! ”
“ you said next time we’d trade! ”
“ well, i didn’t agree ──── !! ”
“ girls. it’s too early for this nonsense, ” drew grumbles loud enough to cut in, pulling the soft pillow over her face. “ give back that stupid scrap and shut the fuck up. go back to sleep or get out. ”
the handkerchief is kept tucked away in her pocket. out of 𝓼ight & out of mind. it stays with her the entire day, up until the sun’s peak worries her skin with UV rays and as always, her presence is found next to summer at the pavilion.
“ okay, so let’s say you get like a really weird dream and then you wake up with something you’ve never owned before with words stitched into it and it rhymes? ” she asked, words spilling faster than she can take it back or rethink another way to ask. lily digs it out of her pocket, slamming it onto the table.
( she doesn’t tell summer that the sewn in vermillion strand was tampered with, that she pulled the last two lines out. )
“ it’s gotta be a quest, right? ” she continued, looking for affirmation. “ and it even calls for two!! i don’t trust anyone half as much as i do you, so … what do you think? you'll come with me, won't you? i—i'll handle everything else, i just need someone to have my back. ”