Green.
That is what Kayta could see.
Her footsteps were silent on the undergrowth of the forest, her ears filled with birdsong. Sunlight poured in from the canopy in scattered, golden rays. The trees were tall and old, their boughs reaching high above her head as she made her way along an unseen path.
She was alone, it would seem. Until she glanced to her right.
A hooded figure walked in pace with her some twelve feet away, their face concealed by a gray shroud. For some reason, she felt like she knew this person, but as her brow creased, she found that she could not recognize them.
The trees around them had begun to change as they walked. With every tree she passed, the darker the forest became, the trees more mangled. A heavy silence had fallen upon the woods. A chilling sigh of wind danced over her skin as she glanced back over to the figure. They had stopped walking, head turned as if looking at something ahead of them.
When her eyes followed their gaze, she wished she had never looked.
A body lay in a clearing. A girl, by the looks of it. Her skin was pale and lifeless, like alabaster. Honey gold waves shone in a lone ray of sunlight, concealing the girl's face from view.
A sickening dread washed over Kayta.
Slowly, she stumbled forward to the clearing. Her footsteps seemed to echo around the whole forest, clumsy and erratic. She stopped right in front of the corpse. Bending down, she raised a shaking hand to the girl's veiled face. Her blood pounded in her ears.
Kayta flinched as her finger touched cold, soft skin. In a gentle movement, she brushed the hair off the girl's face.
A warm scream filled her throat.
She couldn't tear her eyes away. She couldn't stop looking into the unseeing, light blue gaze that belonged to the girl.
The girl. Her friend. Halaina.
Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She fought against the grasp, crying out in agony as she stared at the lifeless body.
Her throat was tightening, strangled by her own screams. And her heart was so loud, so loud, so loud, ringing in her ears, hammering in her chest--
"Kayta!"
Her eyes snapped open, sitting bolt upright. Her eyes fell upon a figure beside her, sitting on the side of the bed. Halaina, alive and well, stared back, her concerned features illuminated by a single candle in her grasp.
"Are you alright?" she inquired softly, her blue eyes searching.
After a few ragged breaths, Kayta nodded. "..Yes, yes I'm okay". Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I heard screaming, and came to check on you.." Halaina gently set the candle on the bedside drawer, looking back to her. "What happened?"
Kayta shook her head. "It was nothing.. just a bad dream, that's all.."
A slight flicker crossed Halaina's face. "As long as you are alright." She shuffled closer to pull her into a hug. Kayta was almost surprised to feel the warmth upon her skin.
"You can tell me anything, you know" Halaina murmured.
As Kayta held her friend close, she tried to suppress the looming visions that threatened to spill in front of her eyes. Visions of this girl she now held, dead in the grass, the blood drained from her fair, perfect skin and rosy lips.
She buried her face into Halaina's hair, breathing in her sweet, floral scent.
"I know."
