Nicky trotted lightly through the snow. Greta had sent him off on a mission, to gather as many winter berries as he could possibly carry. Nicky had collected some already but there was still much daylight. As he travelled, he hummed a merry tune. His humming grew louder and louder. It was a nice wintry day, the sun was bright and the snow well packed on the ground. Some patches were icy, particularly in areas that had more sunlight but Nicky did not mind - slow and steady won the race, after all! It was an extraordinary day, made even better by the fact that there was no wind at all. It was peaceful. Nicky couldn't believe he was the only one out and about.
As Nicky reached the clearing, leaving the wooded area, he paused. What was that? It was a glimmer in the air, hazy even. Nicky was mesmerized by it. As if under a trance, he drew closer to it. Just before he could touch it, he paused. Was this safe? Maybe he shouldn't......he moved slowly backwards but then, the glimmer seemed to shine even more. He stepped forward and forward until the strands of his red hair brushed against the haze....
He stumbled back, drowsy. Why was he so sleepy? He stumbled again and fell. It was a good thing the snow was so soft was the last thing he remembered before it all went dark. It felt like he was falling still, down a rabbit hole. He opened his eyes. His eyes widened in surprise. This couldn't be real, could it? It was winter where he last was and now he was inside somewhere. The place was warm. This was a dream, it had to be. All of a sudden he heard something.....
A rabbit! A white rabbit! However it was unlike any rabbit he encountered before, this rabbit was wearing glasses and a waistcoat. The rabbit was also saying something about being late....
"Hey, wait up!" Nicky called out, prancing after him. He passed through an archway and......the rabbit was gone! The place he now found himself was scary, that was the best way to put it! Nicky knew there were soquili that enjoyed celebrating the blood moon and other scary things, but that was not for Nicky! He was a wintry celebration fellow all the way.
He shivered. He had to be brave, just like Greta was! He crept forward. His head twisted this way and that. Was he being watched? He gasped. What was that dark creature? The creature was like a shadow, it moved like a shadow but was it actually a shadow? It popped up, black in colouring with yellow eyes and two antenna sticking from its head. It wasn't alone, as more appeared, quickly surrounding Nicky.
Nicky told himself to be brave, to stand his ground. A shadow couldn't hurt him, right? The shadows came closer. Nicky gasped, trembling in fear. Nope! He was not sticking around to find out. He ran off, his legs propelling him quickly away. He passed a structure spewing liquid in to the air. He ran through a gate, appearing in an area with stone carvings. He couldn't read the writing, human he thought the writing was.
"I'm safe. They're gone." He mumbled to himself.
Or were they? The shadows appeared again and this time they weren't alone. There were bell shaped creatures now, green with some sort of symbol emblazoned across the front(?) of the creature. The symbol was red and black that was reminiscent of a heart. The creature appeared to fly through the air, sprinkling something on the shadowy creatures. Nicky backed up and up until his tail and the back of his legs bumped into one of the stone structures.
He was trapped. "Please wake up. Wake up!" He shouted. Why wasn't he waking up? Nicky gulped, the swarms of shadows surrounding him.....he was a goner. He squeezed his eyes tight, awaiting them.
"Nicky! Nicky wake up." It was warm, so very warm. He opened his eyes to a bright light.
"Nicky, please wake up." A melodious voice called. His green eyes eventually grew accustomed to the light, and there she was. Greta, it was Greta.
He was safe! His body sighed in relief before he climbed slowly to his hooves. "Greta I'm so happy to see you!" He couldn't help himself but nose at her thick brown mane. He bent his head, pressing against her soft sweater.
"Nicky." Greta was smiling, he could feel that she was. Her voice was tender as she continued, "I was so worried when you didn't come home. Bert and I came looking for you." She nodded her head over towards her companion, Bert, her buffalo friend. "Seeing you so still on the ground, it frightened me. Are you hurt?"
Nicky shook his head. He was touched they came to find him. "I had such a dream, it felt so real." He could still feel how cold it was. What were those creatures? His dreams were always so bright and merry, how could he dream of such a thing!
Greta starred up at him. "Well we have a long walk home, how about you tell Bert and I about it? It might make you feel better?" She offered. Nicky smiled down at her. He nodded.
As the trio made there way back into the woods, Nicky began his tale....."it all started with a rabbit."
The End!
Note: I referenced Kingdom Hearts in this post. Hope the depictions came across!
