Chapter Text
"Swann, dear! Did you pack that box yet?! I want that closet mostly clear before you go out!" Swann's mother called out from down the hall.
"Ughhh, yes mom! I'm on it!" Swann replied, groaning as she sat up in bed.
Pumpkin briefly eyed her from his favorite sunlit spot on her trunk before curling back up in a ball to continue his nap.
"You don't wanna help, Fluffbutt? That's okay, wouldn't want to disturb your third nap," Swann dryly remarked as she stood up from her bed and stretched.
This Summer had been pretty uneventful so far, but Swann's memoirs were coming along quite nicely, at least she figured.
She made a mental note to check yesterday's footage before hitting the trails.
Swann reluctantly approached the closest and opened it. She groaned as she started to parse through the various items on the hangers.
"When's the last time I even wore one of these dresses?" She thought to herself as she started plucking them off the rod with the hangers still attached and neatly folded them into the box beside her bed.
Towards the back of the closest behind where the dresses were were some old jackets and coats.
"Geez-o, I forgot I even had these."
Swann grabbed them by the armful and stuffed them into the large garbage bag that her mom left her for donations.
"Goodbye, uglies. Hopefully you'll keep someone else warm!"
The sweaters were next. Since it was still the Summer, they all could get packed away. Swann quickly parsed through them, packing about half with the dresses, and disposing the rest via the donation bag.
With that, the easy part was done. The rest was a mostly a mix of stuff Swann still wore on a daily basis: tee shirts, various jeans and corduroy pants, boots, etc.
Swann groaned and started sorting through it, making sure to only leave what she thought she needed for the last few weeks before the move.
...
After an hour, the closest was now sufficiently minimized, and the donation bag decently full.
She had whined and complained about packing the closet, but it honestly now felt like a weight off Swann's shoulders.
She sighed as she taped the box closed.
Swann approached her desk and took a look at her Summer project for school, which she'd also been procrastinating.
She'd chosen to do it on the various people who'd gone missing in Velvet Cove over the years, and it was quite a long and suspicious list for such a small town.
Swann flipped through the dossiers she'd compiled: David Serling, businessman, father of two, missing since 1954. Jacob Merlow, the miner, missing since 1898. Deborah Johnston, local shop owner, missing since 1941.
And then there was the saddest one, at least in Swann's opinion:
Kathryn Mikaelsen, age 16, youngest daughter of the Mikaelsen family, the owners of Velvet Cove's prized hunting ranch.
Missing since August 20th, 1968.
She had also been diagnosed with terminal Leukemia that year, so most people just assumed she was dead rather than missing. They didn't tend to count her among the missing.
Swann, however, wanted to believe that it wasn't just a coincidence that a Ranch employee named Corey Litchfield also went missing around the same time, possibly even the same day.
She would go down that rabbit hole later.
Now, however, it was time to review yesterday's footage.
Swann turned on the television, pressed rewind on her camcorder, and hit play.
There wasn't a lot of footage to go through. It had gotten overcast early yesterday, and Swann had to leave to make sure she was home before it downpoured.
Prior to that, she had managed to capture a pair of squirrels on tape in a scandalous act, which made her giggle.
From there, there were some lovely shots of some blue jays that had greeted her on a low branch.
After that, there was the little chipmunk that darted away from her across the hiking path. Swann was happy she had just managed to capture the adorable creature, even for a split second.
The final shots mostly contained ravens, which there were a lot of yesterday, and Swann hoped it wasn't an omen.
She had initially thought all of her footage was clear when she shot it yesterday, but the images on the television now were coming through oddly-distorted.
She smacked the camcorder in frustration, but it didn't have an effect. She hit pause and double-checked the connections, but the wires were fully plugged in.
Swann took a look at the television while it was paused, and suddenly froze.
"What...what is that?!" Swann thought out loud.
The image was still greatly distorted, but what looked like a silhouetted person was noticeably visible in the background in front of the tree line.
Swann hadn't seen any people on the trails at all yesterday due to the forecast.
So, what the hell was that?!
Swann was now slightly scared, but now also even more determined to hit the trails today.
Maybe this was a ghost of one of the missing people! And, if so, she could now get her homework done and film for her memoir at the same time.
Two birds, one stone.
Swann unplugged her camcorder and started packing her backpack.
...
[Rec.]
"And here we see a pair of lovely cardinals in their natural habitat!" Swann enthusiastically narrated as she zoomed in on the pair of red birds.
"When it comes to cardinals, the prettier ones are the males. Which is so the opposite of humans. Boys are so gross!" Swann giggled at herself, and panned away from the pair over to the shoreline of the pond.
A local duck was now in her sights.
"This duck over here doesn't know it, but he's about to be famous in The Swann Chronicles! Title pending of course,"
Swann zoomed in on him, held for a good four or five seconds or so like she normally would, and then stopped the recording.
The pond was so lovely at this time of the afternoon. The orchestra of various bird songs echoed just slightly through the trees as the gentle breeze caused the branches to slightly sway along to their songs.
A pair of deer, a buck and a doe, slowly approached on the far side and started to drink from the pond. Swann took a breath and started recording again.
[Rec.]
"Here is doe, a deer, a female deer! And her husband Ray. He's not a drop of golden sun though, he's more like a buck-fifty," Swann again giggled at herself.
She wanted to be more serious about this, but she was honestly having too much fun.
She stopped the recording and fished out her water bottle from her backpack. Watching the deer drink had made her thirsty.
She took a swig, capped it, and put it back in the bag.
Swann took another look around, admiring the scene one last time before picking her bag and starting down the path leading further into the woods.
"No signs of the ghost shadow yet, huh. Dang. Maybe it's too bright out still," Swann thought out loud.
Swann couldn't really complain, she had already gotten a lot of great footage today.
Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes off the path behind her startled her.
She whipped around and stared into the bushes for a few seconds, but couldn't see anything.
Swann shrugged and turned back to the path.
She kept her eyes focused on the distant trees as she walked.
And after a few minutes, she saw it.
The shadow.
It blinked away immediately as she saw it, but Swann knew what she saw.
She quietly ran towards it as she hit record on her camcorder.
[Rec.]
Distortion again. Swann smacked the side of the camcorder as she aimed at the spot where the shadow just was.
"This might be the first of its kind! A rare ghost, caught on tape! Maybe it could even be the ghost of that girl Kat-"
"Uhh, what are you doing?" A voice softly asked, curious.
Swann skidded to a halt and aimed the camcorder around.
But she didn't see anyone.
She shut the camcorder off and looked up.
High up in one the trees, on a branch that looked too thin to stand on, was a young looking teenager. No older than Swann, at least.
They were dressed in overalls, sneakers, and had a buzzed haircut. Their face was smeared a bit with black makeup, which Swann could barely see in the sunlight as she looked up at them, covering her eyes with her hand.
She had sounded like a girl, but Swann couldn't quite tell.
"How did you get up there?! Aren't you scared of falling?!" Swann exclaimed. This teenager had somehow managed to climb way higher in sneakers than Swann had ever seen anyone before.
And they looked so casual, too. Like they were barely holding onto the trunk.
"Falling? Hmph. Please, I don't fall," they scoffed as they removed their hand from the trunk and crossed their arms in front of their chest.
Swann gasped and started to move towards the spot below them.
"Geez-o, don't do that!" Swann screamed.
But then she realized this teenager wasn't falling at all, or even shaky in the slightest, and her mood shifted from anxious to baffled.
"Wait- how the heck are you doing that?!" She called up to the teenager.
But they ignored the question.
"Say, have you seen a knife anywhere? I lost it up here...somewhere..." they asked while scoping out the forest from their high vantage point.
"And maybe my mask, too? Looks like a bird, with big ol' buttons on it," they motioned and emphasized with their hands, all the while somehow maintaining their balance.
"Has a beak on it too that says, 'see you in hell'?- Oh wait, I remember now. I didn't even bring that with me. Nevermind!"
Swann scratched her head. She couldn't make sense of this weirdo.
"What does your knife look like? I- I can keep am eye it for it!" Swann called back up to them.
"Oh, could ya? That would be great! Thank you, friend! I can see a lot from up here, but it'll help to have someone *cough cough* on the ground!"
Swann squinted up at the teenager one last time before turning down the path.
Geez, what a freak...
After fifty and some odd steps, she came across a tiny finch in the trees. It was on a low branch, only a short distance away.
She lifted her camcorder up and hit record.
[Rec.]
"You didn't answer my question."
Swann nearly jumped out of her skin and whipped around.
The teen now stood before her. Arms crossed and grinning with amusement. They tilted their head at Swann curiously.
"Wha-what?! Yo-you didn't answer mine, either! About how you got up that t-tree and..." Swann responded frantically.
"Yeah okay, but I asked you first," the teen sternly replied, pointing to the camcorder.
"What is that?" The teen asked, now staring at Swann.
Swann now noticed their choker and raven pendant around their neck, along with the matching bird design on the front of their overalls.
Swann slowly made eye contact.
And immediately blushed.
Swann was pretty convinced this was a girl, though she'd never seen one with a buzzcut before.
Either way, those curious soft-blue eyes were deadly cute.
And that didn't mix well with Swann's stammer. She broke eye contact.
"Ohh, this? Th-this is my c-camcorder. I like to f-film-"
The teen instantly plucked it out of Swann's hands, turned away, and started looking down the eyepiece.
"H-hey! That's mine! G-give that back!" Swann tried to grab it, but the teen held her back with one arm while investigating the device.
"I don't see shit in this. Is it broken?" The teen turned to Swann while still holding her back with one arm outstretched.
"Y-you gotta turn in on and rewind it. I can sh-show you if you just gimme it back!" Swann answered frustratingly as she fought to reach for it.
The teen shrugged withdrew their arm and handed it back to Swann.
"'Kay. Show me?" They asked again.
Swann caught it with a huff and rewound the tape.
She held it out towards the teenager.
"Here, just look down the eyepiece again," Swann instructed.
The teen gave her a curious look and then did so.
Swann held it and pressed play, having forgotten what was on the beginning of the tape.
The teen soon burst out with hysterical laughter, doubling-over.
Swann pulled the camcorder back, and then her jaw dropped.
The teen had started floating in mid-air while laughing.
They soon realized this and landed with embarrassment.
"Oh! Uhhhh, you didn't see that!" the teen blushed and grimaced, trying to wave it off.
But Swann definitely did.
She continued to stare wide-eyed at the teen, and managed to squeak out a question without blinking:
"How- how-"
Or, at least it was the start of one.
The teen suddenly put their hands on her shoulders.
Swann flinched.
"Hey, help me find me knife, and I'll tell you, okay? Deal?" The teen offered.
Swann said nothing, but nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay, it's a *cough cough*, a deal!" The teen exclaimed.
They stuck their hand out to Swann, and bolted away immediately after Swann shook it.
And Swann was once again alone, and confused.
She noticed the shift in sunlight and checked her watch.
4:31 p.m.
She needed to get home for dinner soon, but figured she could help this adorably weird, and now likely magic, teenager find their knife.
Swann's eyes swept the ground as she slowly proceeded down the path.
She found nothing but litter for a while, until about twenty minutes later she finally spotted it again.
The shadow.
This time it was closer to her.
And it didn't blink away, or even move.
Swann slowly brought her camcorder up and went to start filming it, when all of a sudden it brought its arm up.
Swann caught a glimmer of light shining, and her eyes went wide. She barely had time to duck as the knife whooshed overhead and got stuck in the tree trunk behind her.
She turned to look at it, and then back at the shadow.
But the shadow was gone again.
What the fuck?!
Swann turned back around again and pulled the knife out of the tree.
She looked down at it in her hands, when it was suddenly plucked out of them.
Swann looked up to see the teen floating again, only this time they were six feet off the ground.
"Hey, you actually did it! Thank you!!"
They held it close and spun around, suddenly elated and beaming down at Swann.
Swann wasn't amused, even if she was still stunned. She put her hands on her hips and pouted.
"You said you'd tell me how you're doing that. So it's not just floating, you can actually fly, too?!" She asked, with a mixture of both extreme curiosity and annoyance.
The teen excited nodded down to Swann as they "stood" in mid-air.
"Mmhmm. And I can teach you too, if you want," the teen gradually lowered themselves back down to the ground.
"I had always dreamed of flying...away from here. Away from all the...And I finally did it!" They now peered up into the sky with a twinkle in their eyes and a tiny smile.
Swann blushed. She was finding it hard to be frustrated by them.
Swann fidgeted with her hands as the teen looked at her again and smiled.
"Before you teach me, can I ask you a weird question?" Swann asked shyly.
The teen nodded excitedly again, and coughed again a few times.
"Sorry, it...kinda hurts me to be up here," the teen responded.
Swann scrunched her face.
"You said that before. 'Up here.' What does that mean?"
The teen raised their eyebrows at Swann.
"Oh, that. Up here, meaning, away from home," The teen explained.
Swann was now completely lost.
"...home?" Swann blinked twice.
The teen approached and put an arm around Swann.
Swann blushed again.
"I live in a magical place. Beyond the stars!"
They gestured with their other arm into the distance.
Swann continued to stare at them with an eyebrow raised.
The teen burst into laughter.
"Just kidding, that would be so fucking stupid!"
The teen broke off and now stood in front of Swann, facing her.
"But seriously, I'll show you where I'm from! It lies in a secret place. Below the surface! Hence why here is 'up here,'" The teen again emphasized with their hands for dramatic effect.
Swann sighed.
"Is- that a joke, too?"
But the teen suddenly looked a little offended.
"Uhh...no? It's true! And it's...it's not a cave. It's much...well, you'll see!"
The teen now stepped into Swann's personal bubble and grabbed both of her hands.
She blushed again as she looked down at them.
"So...you'll come? Tonight? With me?"
Swann made the mistake of looking up into their eyes again.
Those eyes could make her do whatever they wanted.
"Uhhh...yes? I can maybe...sneak out after dinner, when my parents fall asleep."
The teen groaned.
"Ugh, parents...who needs 'em, right?" The teen grinned.
"But also, fuck yes! Awesome!" The teen suddenly let go and did a backwards summersault into the air and floated up there.
Swann again looked annoyed.
"So, are you gonna teach me now, or what?!" She asked, crossing her arms.
The teen lounged on an invisible hammock in mid-air.
"Uhhh. That's the thing, it was always the plan for you to come back later. When I can show you both things."
Swann huffed and turned away from them.
The teen flew over her, flipped, and dropped down to face her.
"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I'm...not the best at making friends. I only have two other ones: the Lost Girls...Anyway, I wasn't trying to trick you, honest. I always keep my word!" the teen explained.
Swann considered them, and then decided to ask.
"So, are you a boy, or a girl?"
The teen blinked.
"Huh?"
Swann rolled her eyes.
"It's a simple question: are you a boy, or a girl?"
The teen scratched their chin and started floating slightly.
"You know...I haven't really thought about that in a while..." the teen answered pensively.
Swann grabbed their shoulders gently and placed them back on the ground.
"That's not an answer," she sternly replied.
The teen then suddenly looked offended again, and even a bit hurt.
They shrugged at Swann and stared at her with doe eyes, and fidgeted with their hands shyly and retreating into themself.
"...Does it matter?" they softly asked, as if they were hoping it didn't.
Now it was Swann's turn to scratch her chin in confusion.
She...supposed it didn't matter, no. Even if she didn't understand how someone could not know, or simply not care about their gender.
She sighed.
"Okay, nevermind then. Do you at least have a name?"
The teen lit back up instantly.
"Oh, how rude of me! The name's Raven! Hence the pendant, and uh, the overalls...Kinda my whole brand, really...What's yours?" The teen formally held out their hand to Swann.
Swann eyed it for a second and contemplated, then shook it.
"I'm Swann."
Raven instantly got excited.
"See?! Raven and Swann! Two birds of a feather!"
Raven leaped back up into the air and twirled around.
Swann smiled and blushed up at them. She felt like she would never get tired of watching them dance around in the air, mocking the laws of gravity so elegantly.
They landed and took a bow.
"*cough* No autographs, please!"
Swann looked at her watch.
5:13 p.m.
"Shit, I'm gonna be late! Ughhn my parents are gonna kill me!"
Raven frowned.
"I hope not. Then you'll miss our date tonight,"
Swann's heart skipped a beat.
"W-what? D-date?!" She now looked up at Raven, wide-eyed and anxious.
Raven just nodded.
"When you make an appointment with someone, it's called a date, silly...Why, what were you thinking?" They tilted their head at Swann like a curious, naïve puppy.
Swann blushed.
"Oh! Uhhh, I don't know! Listen, I'll be back later, okay?! Wh-where should I meet you?!"
Raven grinned cheekily and looked around.
"Right here is good, Swann. I'll be waiting!"
Swann turned to leave.
"Wait!" Raven suddenly shouted.
Swann turned around.
"Where was my knife, by the way?"
Swann thought about how to answer this for a moment.
"A, uhhh, shadowy ghost threw it at me,"
Raven growled and stomped.
"Ugh, I hate that guy! I really should have a word with him...You're lucky you can control your shadow,"
Swann raised her eyebrows, waved, turned around, and left.
She supposed it was very weird that a shadow had attacked her, but she was so baffled and flustered by the flying teenager that it didn't even register.
For as weird as they were, they were endlessly charming and adorable.
And Swann couldn't wait 'til tonight.
...
It was just shy of midnight by the time Swann made it back.
The full moon was bright enough overhead that she had barely needed her camcorder light.
Swann approached the exact spot as before, but saw no sign of Raven.
She hoped they hadn't grown impatient and left to go...wherever, without her.
Swann grabbed her camcorder and flashed the light around, hoping to signal them.
"Hey, hey, enough with that! Too bright! But also, what took you?"
Swann looked up as Raven slowly floated down to the ground from the tree branch they were standing on.
Swann shut the camcorder off and shrugged.
"I...didn't give you a time. I got out when I could sneak away," she replied shyly.
Raven shrugged.
"It's cool. I'm just glad you're here!"
"So, are you ready to go?" They giddily asked, getting excited all of a sudden.
Swann briefly looked up at the stars and back down at their cute, eccentric, new friend.
"If you'll teach me to fly, then it's a date!"
The words had slipped out before Swann could catch herself.
Shit, why did I say that?!
Raven looked down and bit their lip, smiling to themselves. Swann thought she saw a slight blush in their cheeks in the moonlight.
They suddenly beamed back up at Swann and grabbed her hand.
"Then let's go! No time to waste!" They excitedly announced
Holding onto Swann's hand now, they bolted.
"H-hey! W-where are we going?!" Swann anxiously asked as she was dragged along through the woods.
"You'll see!" Raven called back.
They soon came to an odd clearing in the woods.
There was a circle of dead trees, and in the middle of that was a circle of mushrooms.
Swann recognized this as a fairy circle. She'd read about them before.
Raven let go of her hand, now seemingly very winded.
"So...this...*cough cough cough* is it! Sorry, ow, I need a *cough* minute...God, I fucking hate it up here..." they sat on the ground at the edge of the clearing.
Swann looked over at them with growing concern.
"Are you sure you're okay, Raven?" She asked, rubbing her hands together anxiously.
Raven smiled up at her after hearing her say their name.
"I'll be fine, Swann. I just *cough* need a sec. It...hurts me to be up here. And *cough cough* I just want to go home..."
Swann plopped down next to them, shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," she assured with a smile, and started fishing in her backpack for her water bottle.
Finding it, she opened it and handed it to them.
"Here. Drink," Swann insisted.
Raven coughed, nodded, and took it, downing a large gulp before handing it back to Swann.
"*cough* Thanks, Swann," they softly acknowledged, now leaning their head on Swann's shoulder.
Swann flinched and blushed, but ultimately tried not to move.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before Raven suddenly sprang up to their feet.
"Okay, enough of that! Let's go home!" They offered a hand down to Swann.
And this time Swann didn't hesitate to grab it.
Raven walked them over to the center of the circle, and instructed Swann to sit cross-legged opposite them.
Swann did so without hesitation, but then became anxious as Raven pulled out the knife.
"Wait, w-what's that for?!" Swann asked.
Raven grinned.
"Oh, this? This is for the blood ritual!" They casually answered, as if that was a normal thing to say.
"Why do you think I needed to find it so badly? It's our ticket home!" Raven exclaimed.
Before Swann could ask, Raven sliced their right pointer finger with it.
Swann winced.
"*cough cough* Okay! Your turn!" Raven offered her the knife.
Swann reluctantly took it.
"Umm...why are we doing this?!" Swann asked, inspecting the knife and then looking back up at Raven.
Raven rolled their eyes.
"So we can go home? I just said that," they answered, now sounding annoyed.
"You keep saying that, but I don't know where we're going, and...my home is here, Raven," Swann noted.
It was true. Raven hadn't told her anything, but was apparently already convinced Swann wouldn't want to leave wherever they were going, even if her parents, cat, and precious stickbug Twiglet were all still here.
Raven looked a bit sad now.
"Can I just...show you my home? And then you can decide if you want to stay? I promise you'll fly with me before we get there..."
Raven had those doe eyes again.
And Swann looked back down at the knife.
"So...what do I have to do?" she asked.
"Oh! Just, uh, slice open your finger, and touch it to mine!"
Swann winced again.
"Gross! That's so...why?!"
Raven facepalmed.
"Ugh, cmon, Swann! It'll be fine, I promise..."
"Do you trust me?"
Swann considered them. Those were loaded words. The mixture of total wonder and confusion at how this teenager could fly had been on Swann's mind all afternoon. It churned with the butterflies in her stomach that stirred every single time they looked at her.
But, trust? In someone so chaotic and weird?
But also, this cute?
Swann had also been yearning for adventure. So, if this was the key...maybe she should take it.
What's the worse that could happen?
She grabbed the knife, sliced her right pointer finger, and stretched it out towards Raven.
Raven touched their wounds together.
"Okay, Swann. Close your eyes, and trust me. No matter what, keep your eyes closed. Promise?"
Swann nodded and closed her eyes.
"Okay, good. Now, focus...use your imagination," they instructed vaguely.
"Um, what, exactly, am I imagining?" Swann asked.
Raven cleared their throat.
"Okay, try this. Imagine...you're a moth. Your whole life, you've been stuck. You yearned for wings, but they never grew..."
"Life and its hardships slowly made you tougher, and you gradually built a chrysalis around you to hide and protect yourself, but all the while hiding your true self, even from yourself."
"Well, today's the day you free yourself from *cough* the cocoon, Swann..."
"Sooo, say it: I wish to free myself from this cocoon, and fly!"
Swann was already starting to feel weightless, as if she was leaving the ground behind.
"I wish to free myself...like a moth shedding it's cocoon!" She enthusiastically stated, now with a newly-discovered confidence she hadn't had earlier.
The ground suddenly and loudly gave way beneath them.
Swann screamed and opened her eyes.
Raven immediately snagged Swann's arm by the wrist and held on tightly.
Swann looked down in fear as the place where they had just been sitting moments ago had ripped open, becoming a massive, glowing, purple, seemingly-endless hole.
And they were both floating high above it, face down with their limbs outstretched.
"I'm...I'm flying! I'm doing it! Holy geez-o!"
She looked up at Raven, who was now smiling ear-to-ear.
And then she started falling, and screamed again.
Raven zoomed over and caught her, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I got you, Swann! It's okay! I got you...Don't worry, little bird, flying takes a lot of getting used to!" Raven assured.
Although they were now floating over an endlessly deep pit, Swann suddenly felt so safe in Raven's arms, and blushed deeply.
"So...about this h-home of yours?" Swann looked down and gulped.
"Is it...down there?" she asked, already afraid of the answer she knew was coming.
Raven pulled back so Swann could see their face.
"Do you trust me?" They asked again, grinning wickedly.
Swann thought for a moment, but only for just a moment.
She looked deep into Raven's eyes.
"Ye-"
She couldn't even compete the word before they dropped.
And Swann screamed again.