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hexalianrebel-blackfeathers · 3 months ago

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The Maize (Ch. 1)

Panda’s Notes: I don't really do Tickletober(s) like I should, but I hope this is serviceable enough. Happy Spooky Month. >w<

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“Your mom sounded really mad…”

Yakov blinked back to reality as a kicked can crossed into his path. He kicked it back toward the source of the comment. “Yeah, well…” He shrugged, brushing deep black hair out of his face. “Is nothing new. Were you noticed leaving?”

Turlough nearly snorted, shaking his head. “Bud, I could have left my room on fire this morning, and they probably wouldn't have noticed, if they were even home. What about you, Bel?”

Bel—well, ‘Belphegor’ as he’d preferred—had been tearing his uniform skirt into wide strips when Turlough called, and he tied one of the wider ones around his head as he smirked, tucking long red curls back with the fabric. “Left half my closet in mom’s kitchen, soaked in oil, all ablaze.” He said, firm and confident.

Neither of his friends seemed impressed; mostly because he wouldn’t look at them as he said it, and he pouted as he kicked the can down the asphalt. “Left my clothes in the kitchen, at least.”

Yakov hummed, tapping his chin. “I still think ‘Belphegor’ is bit much. Too edgy for little puppy boy.”

“If you ‘little puppy boy’ me in front of my dad, I’ll kill you.” The taller boys laughed at his attempt on Yakov’s accent.

“Wait, for free?” Yakov asked in a playful sort of tone, and the others laughed a bit harder as Bel shook his head and leaned to shove his backpack softly.

Yakov rolled his eyes a little, chuckling. “Do not promise paradise you are not willing to provide, friend.”

The can’s clatter seemed to echo as Bel and Turlough stopped. Yakov flinched as they both looked over at him.

“Dude, are you okay? Like, actually?” Turlough asked gently, which was never a good sign.

Yakov shrunk back slightly, trying to laugh. “I am just making jokes. It’s funny.”

Turlough crossed his arms. “I will turn this car around.”

Yeah right, they’d been walking for almost five hours. But…Yakov fidgeted with one of the straps on his bag.

“Okay…I will be. Okay, I mean. W-When we get there, I think.”

“I bet you’re right.” Bel leaned on his arm for a moment. “My dad will love you guys.”

Turlough framed them between his hands. “Aw, this is nice. Actually, it reminds me! Guess what I snatched from my brothers’ room~!” He suddenly squirmed out of the straps on his bag, setting it down just long enough to rummage through the top pocket. Within a minute, his hands returned with a cell phone in a special case, apparently meant to be held a certain way.

“Whoa, seriously? You stole one of their cell phones?!” Bel asked while Turlough was putting his bag back on. “Maybe you are hardcore.”

“Make sure tracking is off…” Yakov murmured warily.

Turlough laughed triumphantly for a moment. “Well, yes and no. He only bought this one for its camera. I don’t even think this thing was on our phone service.” He glanced up as Yakov seemed to prickle. “But, yes, I did still make sure all the tracking bits were turned off. We’re fine.”

He grinned toothily, holding up the phone and leaning back between his friends to snap a quick picture before starting to walk again. “Downside, though, we’ll have to wait for internet before we can actually save these.”

“We’re that far out already?” Bel spotted the can again and jogged to punt it forward, knocking it into the grass. “We’re making great time!”

Yakov shook his head. “Is just dead zone.” He went to fetch the can out of the grass as he pointed to carved up trees that they were plenty familiar with. “Means we’re near… This way.” He waved to his friends as he ran deeper into the trees.

“I just said we were making good time!” Bel griped with half a laugh, starting to run through the grass with Turlough close behind.

“Wait up!” Turlough called out. He and Bel trudged slightly as the narrow grass path angled into a steep hill, the trees giving way to nothing but grass and wildflowers as they climbed higher. Yakov had stopped beneath a large tree that grew at a precarious angle near the top of the hill, its thick roots spidering out in all directions to keep it anchored. As Turlough and Bel entered its shadow, they welcomed its familiar, if unnatural, warmth.

“Oh, yeah… The Hearth Tree…” Turlough murmured a bit sadly, taking a second to photograph the tree and his friend underneath it.

Yakov had shed his bag, resting the palms of his hands and the side of his face against the tree bark. He nearly flinched at the rumble he felt in his chest; he’d almost forgotten the feeling of his own purr, especially in this form.

“We won’t be seeing it again for a while, probably.” Bel sighed, dropping his bag with Yakov’s and stretching his shoulders.

“I hope it stays warm for the while. I will miss it, like friend.” Yakov sank slowly into the warm grass, stretching out and rolling over to see the sun between the leaves.

“We shouldn’t rest for too long.” Turlough sighed while he and Bel sat down beside Yakov, shaking a spray bottle in one hand before spritzing its contents under the collar of his sweater. “But I’ll miss it too.”

They passed a tall water bottle between each other as they started to get up, and Turlough pulled out the camera again. Photos caught the three of them under the tree together and the midday sunlight dancing through the leaves; and, finally, a photo of three sets of claw marks, side by side in the bark, with each of them placing the hand they’d used to make them the year prior underneath.

Bel huffed a bit after the picture was taken. “I wish we could have one with my claws again.”

Yakov nudged his shoulder. “We will come back. Will be a better time.” He smirked a bit before shedding his sneakers. He flexed his toes as he pressed his foot to the tree, hooking his claws into the bark and scaling the tree in barely two long strides. He leaned over as he reached an intersection of branches, grabbing the edge of a small hidden satchel with his teeth. He turned his head, letting the bag fall into Bel’s waiting hands while he grabbed a long ribbon that had been caught in the bark.

“I’ll never get tired of watching you do that.” Turlough smiled when Yakov finally jumped down, and the taller boy sat to put his shoes back on with the ribbon still in his teeth.

“I completely forgot we left these here!” Bel had opened the bag, pulling out three small stuffed animals on keychains wearing matching orange shirts. “I was looking all over for this for weeks.”

Turlough plucked the penguin out of the group, finding a zipper on his bag to clip it. “Good call, Yakov. No one left behind.” He laughed softly.

Yakov chuckled, taking the ribbon in one hand while Bel passed him the small black cat in the other. “Could never leave Chak-Chak. I only wanted to keep him safe from Mother.” He stared into the cat’s shiny eyes as he clipped it onto his bag, turning his attention to the ribbon in his hand. Half of it was embroidered with a certain rune in the center; a signature that Yakov was more than ready to never see again. He took hold of the ribbon, claws hooking through the material, and ripped the rune right down the middle.

Yakov felt the tiniest snap somewhere within himself; tears welled up in his eyes. The wind suddenly picked up, shifting wildly in a different direction; it felt like a sign. One end of the ribbon was snatched from his weakened hand, and he almost laughed as he watched the wind carry it Gods-know-where. He barely heard his friends calling him in slight panic until he was grabbed by his jacket just at the edge of the cliff.

“Freedom…” He murmured as the ribbon seemed to disappear, and the others sighed with relief.

“Yeah, you’re free, bud…” Turlough smiled, patting his arm. He blinked as he finally looked out over the cliff. “Whoa…”

Bel and Turlough stood in awe for a moment, and when Yakov refocused, he saw what they were staring at: a massive field of cornstalks filled up the farmland below, with the stalks closest to the road—and likely the entire perimeter—linked together by woven husks and rope to make a sort of fence that led to a tall archway made in a similar craft.

After grabbing their packs and struggling to slide carefully down the dirt slope just under the cliff, they quickly crossed the silent road and walked curiously beside the cornfield.

“It hasn’t been that long since we came to the Hearth Tree, has it?” Bel asked, tucking his wolf keychain into his jacket pocket. “Like, a few weeks? This field was completely empty. No one could have grown this that fast.”

Yakov let one hand drag along the leaves on the cornstalks. “Mm… Could do. Plants, easy magic.”

“This much though? That’d still take forever! Or, like, a whole class-worth of mages.”

“Could be illusion. Dead leaves and paper with glamour magics.”

There was a sharp rustle in front of them as Turlough pulled a stalk down to wrench the ear of corn free, and he hardly bothered with the husk before sinking his teeth straight through the cob and snapping a chunk off.

“Tastes pretty good for an illusion.” He snickered, smirking back at them as he chewed.

“…You did not just do that.” Bel asked in shock, staring as he did it again. “That doesn’t hurt?”

“I eat bones, Belphie.” Turlough blinked as both of them balked. “I keep telling you guys: Shark Teeth. You guys could do it too, I bet.”

“Ah…” Yakov poked at his sharpened canines with one finger before tapping his chin. “Nyet. Not so easy.”

“You know I can’t…” Bel pouted, and Turlough just shrugged.

“Full moon’s next week, yeah? We can take some with us; have you try it then.” He waved them closer as they started to pass the arch they had seen. There was a wide gap in the cornstalks, along with some things covered by big tarps.

“Oh, it’s supposed to be a maze!” Bel seemed to light up excitedly.

“Puppy boy…” Yakov teased, earning a light shove.

“‘Hearthlight Festival Maze’…” Turlough read out, having lifted the closest tarp to the entrance. Underneath was a tall wooden sandwich board sign with smaller plaques screwed on to shows the names of sponsors, entertainment, and food trucks.

“The Herschel Walker Foundation?” Bel noted the first mentioned sponsor. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“They're the ones who just finished that new part of the community center.” Turlough said as he let the tarp fall back into place. “I heard my dad talking about getting a job there. I think they just do a lot of helping and charity stuff.”

“And your dad wants to do that?” Bel snorted, and Turlough scoffed too. “This is so unfair though… The Hearthlight Festival never had a corn maze before.”

Yakov tipped his head while Turlough took a few more pictures. “We are here now, yes? Is likely simple puzzle.”

“Hell yeah!” Turlough called. “You said Ertonfield is a big city, right? We probably won’t get to see a farm again for a while, let alone one with a maze set up.”

“W-Well…” Bel stammered as if he wasn’t the one who wanted to go in. “Yeah, okay, but only for, like, an hour. Maybe. We really should get back to walking s--”

He was cut off by Yakov pulling his wrist. “Belphegor does not give orders with wagging tail.”

Turlough pushed against his backpack, peering over his shoulder. “Yeah, you want to be all tough; get tough!”

The trio walked together into the maze, and they were lost before they made the first turn.

#a panda writes a thing #the power of laughter

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