In Search for Mr. Puffin

Part VI

It was a perfectly, fresh early morning. Even the sun was starting to rise. Well, they couldn't see the sun because of all the trees in their surroundings. But they could still see a bit of the sunlight squeezing between the trees.

It was a nice change. For the past few days, it has been raining non-stop. Or rather, there had been a rainstorm with thunder included. On top of that, it had been windy too. So windy that they could hear the howling of the wind and the continuous chattering of the windows. Despite having no choice but to wait out the storm in the cabin, they were perfectly fine. The thunder had provided them protection from the troll's return.

Because of the turnout of events, they were behind in their search for Mr. Puffin. At least by now Norway was well enough to travel. They had already packed and were ready to leave. Iceland rolled his eyes as Denmark continued to fuss over Norway. The Dane meant well, but sometimes he could be a little annoying.

"Denmark. Just lead the way already." Norway's patience was beginning to run short, so Denmark obeyed.

Iceland was trying his best to keep up with them. He didn't want to ask for a break, even though he was already feeling tired. He wouldn't want them to think that he couldn't handle this. But his bags were starting to feel heavy.

Everytime one of them turned back to check on him, he would straighten up and tell them he was fine. He had lost track of how much they have walked, and he had no clue what time of day it was. Surely they had to stop soon for a break? Or were they seriously thinking of walking as much as possible until the sunlight disappeared? The fog that had appeared wasn't helping much; it slowed them down a bit for they didn't want to get lost.

Soon enough, Norway and Denmark had to continuously wait for Iceland each time he started falling behind. This made him feel terrible and useless. In fact, he wished he could be as strong as both of them.

When Norway thought that they couldn't continued this way and that his brother indeed was tired, he announced that they should take a break. They set their bags down, and Iceland immediately sat down. After struggling to open his water bottle, he took big gulps. Denmark grinned and patted him in the back, "Slow down there."

Iceland almost choked. "What are you trying to do!? Kill me?"

"Sorry about that."

After a while, they continued walking. The whole time Denmark was talking. Until he crashed into something. "Geez, this fog is so thick that I didn't see this tree."

"No. You just weren't paying attention." Norway set his backpack down. "But we should probably wait here."

"I'm going to explore a bit." Iceland grabbed a fruit.

"Just don't wander too far." Norway replied.

Iceland took a bite out of the apple as he explored. The dried leaves crunched and the twigs snapped in every step he took. He could hear the river a bit; it sounded calm. There wasn't much to explore, since the fog wouldn't allow him to see much. He was going to head back when he heard another noise. As he stood still, he could hear more snapping of twigs. The closer it sounded, the more scared he felt.

Then the sound stopped. He was too scared to move. He couldn't tell if it was another person, or some sort of animal. What if it was neither and it was another troll!? Or even worse! Or perhaps he was becoming too paranoid and it was actually a bunny or a snake. Wait, no... a snake would still be a horror. He could run back to were Norway and Denmark where. But what if he couldn't make it to there quick enough?

Then he would have to yell for help. Except, what if they didn't reach him on time to help? Yelling would only expose his spot to whatever was out there. At least the fog helped him stay hidden. Though it might not be of help for long.

~End of Part VI~

Sorry for the lateness! And thanks for reading! (:

I hope I will have time to write the next chapter and post it soon.

And thanks so much for the review and the advices! I hope I have improved at least a bit.