The Hidden Meadow

“Uhm, Jackal?” Misty calls, placing their teacup down on the counter that they’re leaning against, their tail wrapping around their leg.

“Yeah? What’s the matter?” Jackal turns towards her friend who looks really fidgety right about now.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes but… I’ve been having dreams… lately.”

“Dreams? Were they sexy dreams? Were they about us?” She asks, grinning mischievously.

“Wh- no! N-no they weren’t like that!” Misty huffs, their cheeks puffing up as they turned red and they looked away, ears twitching slightly as they caught Jackal’s laughs.

“I think my dream was a memory about where I came from.”

“Yeah? Do you remember anything from it?”

“Yes. I remember flowers and clouds and bright light shining everywhere.”

“You mean like some of the caverns we have here?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Well, maybe we could go check before we head back to where that shimmering circle was found? We do have to stop by someone’s house on the way there anyway.”

“Really? Who?”

“An apparent know-it-all about the occult.”

After Jackal and Misty made a few stops at a few of the caverns and came up empty, they stopped at a house somewhere on the outskirts of Burrowgatory mostly surrounded by a garden with a shrine in the middle of the yard.

Jackal whispered, “Nice house.” She says, making her way over to the door and knocking on it then ringing the doorbell.

It didn’t take long for someone to come to the door, “Good afternoon.”

“Mimic?! You’re the know-it-all occult bun?” 

“I don’t know everything about it but I know a few things. Why? Did you need something?” She asks, tilting her head curiously.

“Yeah. Misty and I are heading out to investigate that shimmering circle me and Fatima found and were wondering if you could help us.”

“Okay but who’s Misty and what do you expect to find out about the circle?”

“This is Misty. They’re a friend of mine.” Jackal says, gently ushering them forward.

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Misty greeted, waving.

“As for what we’re expecting to find, I don’t know. I just want to help Misty get their memory back.”

“And you think the circle’s gonna help?”

“Probably. We hope so anyway.”

Mimic looked between the two for a moment and tilted her head, before nodding firmly.

“Alright. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but I’ll try my best.”

The trio reach the clearing and a soft groan catches their ears, 

“Owww my head.” Misty whimpers softly.

“Hey are you alright?” Jackal asked, frowning deeply as she held Misty up.

“I… think so. But I-I remember… wings. Wings that engulfed me but I-”

“Wings? Like bird wings?” Mimic tilted her head then dug into her pocket and pulled out the one Fatima gave her.

“Do you remember if the wings had feathers like this?” 

“I… I think- so?” Misty whimpers again and holds their head, looking rather pale.

Jackal frowns deeply then looks up, a light catching her eye.

“Hey Mimic, look.”

Mimic turned towards the circle and tilted her head, the spirit motes ducking behind her shoulders as it shimmered and shone, the feather beginning to pulse with light; watching as Misty made their way over, collapsing onto their knees as tears welled in their eyes.

“Hey! Are you alright?! What the hell is going on?!” Jackal exclaimed, concern evident in her voice.

“I-I’m alright. I just… I remember now.” They say, reaching out for the feather.

Taking the feather in hand, Misty wipes their eyes then stands.

“My name… is Dove. And I remember… remember why I’m here. I came to find the truth and I have!” They exclaim, a bright light engulfing them as a halo appears around their head, snow white bunny ears appearing on their head.

“I finally know the truth, Melangel!” They proudly exclaim, thrusting the feather in the air, a sudden burst of light appearing and engulfing everyone.

As the blinding light dissipates, Jackal, Mimic, and Misty, find themselves in a completely different place.

“Where-- are we?” Jackal asks, covering her mouth as she heaves, her eyes closed tight before she cracks them open, catching Mimic in the corner of her eye, purple eyes wide and mouth agape, as they frantically dart around her surroundings.

She quickly looks down and notices that she’s sitting on ground that looks very green, with lots of white flowers spread across it.

She then stops and looks up before quickly shielding her eyes from the blinding light, quickly taking in her surroundings and seeing even more clouds.

Mimic quickly scrambles to her feet, almost stumbling back as Jackal runs over and holds her steady.

“Hey hey, what’s wrong? You’re freaking out.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no…” She chants, eyes darting around her as she trembles.

“We…we shouldn’t be here. This place… this place is wrong. This place is wrong! We have to go home. We gotta go back…” She says, voice trembling as she wraps her arms around herself.

Jackal stares at her concerned, moving to stand in front of her as she gently cups her face.

“Wait, hold on, breathe. What do you mean this place is wrong?”

“Can’t you feel it?! It just… feels wrong! I… I’m gonna be sick. I wanna go back home!” She exclaimed, the spirit motes wrapping around her neck like a scarf.

Jackal looks around, “I get that you want to go home but, I don’t think that’s an option right now. Hell, I’m not even sure how we got here…”

Mimic whines and buries herself into Jackal as she trembles, taking deep, quick breaths.

Dove was taking in their surroundings, a deep frown of concern gracing their lips when they heard screaming behind them and saw the way Mimic was acting; quickly rushing over.

“What’s the matter? Is she alright?” 

Jackal glances at Dove and shakes her head before turning back to Mimic.

“I don’t think so. She just started freaking out. Saying this place felt wrong. I feel it too but I’m not freaking as much as she is.”

Dove looked around, moving to wrap her arms around the both of them.

“Let’s get her to that cottage over there. Maybe once she gets inside she’ll be able to relax.”

Before Dove could even move towards the direction of the cottage, “Dove!” A voice rang out around them, before a pair of arms appeared and scooped them up, a fierce wind seeming to push Jackal away.

“Hey! Put them down!”

“I’ve been worried sick about you! Where have you been all this time?!”

“Hey! I said put them down!” Jackal yelled, glaring daggers at… whatever the hell she was looking at.

“It’s alright Jackal! I’m okay! I know them!” Dove exclaimed, wiggling out of their embrace and stepping back, glaring at the figure before them as they clutched the feather.

Dove took a deep breath, steeling their nerves, “I was looking for the truth, Melangel.”

“The truth? What so-called truth are you talking about and why were you down there of all places?” Melangel asks, looking past them at Jackal and Mimic, who was hiding behind the black envy succubun.

A scowl formed across the figure's face before it changed into a look of utter disgust.

“Who in the heavens is this? How did this demonic riff-raff get here?” The figure asks, stepping forward threateningly.

Jackal glares, stepping in front of Mimic as she bawled her fists, getting into a defensive stance, the spirit motes whispering loudly and shooting straight up, moving beside Jackal; trying to make themselves look bigger, the static look on their faces seeming to contort into something that looked grisly. 

Or at least, they hoped the looks on their faces looked grisly.

Dove quickly stepped in front of them and held their arms out in an attempt to shield them.

“They’re not riff-raff. They’re my friends! I met them in Burrowgatory!”

Melangel stared at Dove in horror, eyes wide before moving closer and looking them over.

“Are you alright?! What in the heavens were you doing down there?! Did those degenerates do anything to you!?” They asked, reaching out to Dove.

“We didn’t do anything to M-to Dove except help them try to regain their memories!” Jackal exclaimed.

“We-we were nothing but kind to them! We just wanted to help, that's all!” Mimic added.

Dove slapped Melangel’s hand away and shook their head.

“They’re not degenerates either! They’re the kindest people I’ve ever met! Burrowgatory isn’t as awful as you make it seem! Sure they’re more uhm… open with that they like and want but that’s not a bad thing! I think that’s what makes Burrowgatory unique!” Dove turns towards Mimic and Jackal.

Melangel shakes their head, “Dove, do you hear yourself? What did they do to you to make you believe that forcing people to do something against their will makes them nice people?”

“That’s not true! We don’t force anyone to do anything against their will! We ask them what they want to do and if they’re okay with it before we even decide to do it!” Mimic exclaimed, stepping from around Jackal and standing beside her, a glare upon her face.

“Nonsense, you obviously brainwashed them.”

Dove shook their head, “Stop it! They didn’t brainwash me! If it weren’t for them then, I would never have regained my memories! And because of them, I’ve decided to stay in Burrowgatory where I belong!”