A canon-divergence fic that began when Heather awoke on her first night at Cloud Mountain to see a stranger roaming the halls. Updates on Wednesdays.
Heather’s heart was pounding in her chest. As she walked forward, her world shrank to the circle of illumination her candle cast. Before her, there was nothing but darkness and endlessly branching tunnels.
She looked back at Kyle, who held his candle out to examine a side passage, and paused to let him catch up. They kept walking down the passage. Even with the combined light of their tunnels, she couldn’t see an end to the passage. It was cold, unending, quiet.
Heather stopped. “This isn’t right.”
“What?” It was the first time Kyle had spoken. The atmosphere must have been getting to him as well.
She shook her head. “I’m sure the cloaked rabbit didn’t continue this far down the passage last night. I thought I’d recognize where he turned, but the passages are all the same!”
“Can you remember if he turned to the left or to the right?”
Heather closed her eyes, thinking back. It was all a blur of reckless excitement and quick turns. She’d been focused on following the rabbit so that she wouldn’t get lost, not keeping track of each turn. She sighed.
“No.”
“Alright.” Kyle looked around. “What if we just keep going down this passage? There’s got to be something interesting eventually.” He smirked at her. “Come on Heather, you’ve already stayed up this late, what’s a little longer?”
Heather tugged at her ears. Would she make no progress at all tonight? She took off running, each step fueled by her frustration. Her candle flickered wildly, then went out, melted wax spattering on her hand. She yelped, skidding to a stop.
The light of Kyle’s candle grew brighter as he walked toward her, laughing. “You can’t run with a candle, Heather! It’s going to spatter and burn you, and the air just blows it out."
She looked up from peeling the wax droplets off her fur to glare at him, then reconsidered. “You’re right,” she said.
He smirked. “As always."
“No, I’ve been assuming that the rabbit had a candle, but that can’t be right. He was moving so quickly—it must have been an enclosed lantern, something that prevented the flame from blowing out.” She grinned, choosing to take this small clue as progress, and relit her candle with Kyle’s flame. They continued, feet padding endlessly against stone. Heather peered ahead, but there was only more darkness. She could hear water, off to the left.
“What if we try to follow the sound of water?” she suggested. Kyle nodded, and they turned into the passage. Heather paused. “Wait,” she said. “How do we make sure we can find our way back?”
"Here." Kyle knelt by the corridor’s entrance, tilting his candle so that it dripped pale wax onto the stone.
She raised her eyebrows, impressed. “That’s a good idea.”
“I know.” He smirked at her. They continued, the sound growing louder. Heather glanced back, realizing that the passage had been slanting downwards, and it was growing steeper. Was it going to become so steep that they’d begin sliding?
Heather felt her heart pounding. Something about this was familiar. She clutched her cloak, glancing sideways at Kyle. He caught her gaze and grinned, eyes wide and excited. She smiled back, feeling the wild excitement growing again.
There was dim light ahead. Heather held up her candle, illuminating an arch carved with rough figures and jagged lines. Writing? She couldn’t make it out. Beyond was a strangely glowing space, and— “Stairs,” Kyle said, stepping forward. Heather hadn’t expected that. The steps must have been twice as tall as the stairs to Lighthall. She held her candle carefully to navigate each drop.
The sound of water was explained now. The golden light of their candles flashed off the surface of a wide, dark river in a rocky cavern. The surface was perfectly still, reflecting the rough, string-covered stone. Beyond the reach of their candlelight, rapids or a waterfall filled the cave with the sound of water.
The stone landing Heather and Kyle stood on had been leveled and intricately carved with tangled figures and more spiky writing. Heather couldn’t speak for a moment, overcome by the unexpected beauty of the cave. “Where does the light come from?” she finally asked.
Kyle held his candle up, examining the ceiling. “I’m not sure. Here, blow your candle out,” he said, doing so himself. Heather frowned skeptically. “No, trust me. We still have our flints and tinder, so it’s all right.”
She brought the candle to her lips, watching the wild flicker of light on the walls as the flame went out. Feeling a hand on her arm, she jumped. “Hey,” Kyle said. “Come sit on the step and watch this.”
Heather followed his guidance, sitting on the stone and peering into the darkness. The sound of flowing water continued, but she couldn’t see anything clearly—Heather gasped. There were tiny blue lights lining the ceiling. As she watched, more came into view. Each speck of light was reflected in the water, making the cavern look like a sea of stars.
She sat back, imagining the story of a river lit by a thousand stars that hid from the sky, accessible to those who dared brave a labyrinth of stone. Who had been the last to see this? Who had carved the stairs and the writing on the stones?
“It’s like magic,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Kyle’s voice sounded strained. She looked over, catching the motion of him wiping his eyes by the dim light.
"Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I—it just reminds me of home.”
Heather looked back over the water. She didn’t want to pry into his past. “It reminds me of my father,” she said. “He’d always tell us about places like this.” She sighed. “I miss his stories so much.”
“Do you want me to tell you a story?” Kyle asked.
“Sure.”
"Have you heard of the city of Terralain?”
"No.”
“Really?" She nodded. "Well, most suppose it a myth, but it’s very real.”
His voice strengthened as he continued. “I met a traveler once who told me of a night he was lost in the wilds of Natalia. Trying to get his bearings, he climbed a stony ridge. At the top, buffeted by wind and shivering in the cold, he looked down and saw lights in the darkness—a city like a field of stars fallen to earth, hidden away in a secret valley. And he supposed that there were fairer things there than anywhere else in this earth.”
Heather shivered. “What did he find in the city?”
Kyle sighed, shaking his head. “He couldn’t climb down to the refuge. The stone was too steep, and the wind too harsh. Only after days more wandering did a citadel patrol find him. No one would take his story seriously. But I do.” He leaned closer, voice earnest.
“Heather. Terralain exists, somewhere out there. Cloud Mountain and the citadels will fall eventually, but Terralain is unknown to the wolves and the hawks. The true king will rise, someday, and rabbitkind will live on in the City of Stars. Do you believe me?”
She looked down. “I want to believe you.”
"Heather. There’s a cloaked rabbit who roams Cloud Mountain, and a labyrinth of tunnels carved by ancient hands." He waved at the cavern filled with light. “There’s all of this. What makes you think that Terralain can’t exist?”
“It’s just a story,” she said, pulling at her cloak.
“And aren’t stories the best kind of truth?”
] She didn’t speak. Kyle doesn’t tell the truth, Emma had said. He’s good at pulling you in, but not good at delivering on his word. Heather looked across the cavern, the sea of blue stars, and wanted desperately to believe.
There was a spray of golden sparks, a flare of light, and Kyle was holding his relit candle, nodding at her. “Time to go?”
She nodded, fumbling with her flint and tinder until she had a flame. At the top of the too-high steps, she looked back. The strange stars were still there, faint in the candlelight. Who would believe that she’d seen them?
A/N: Is this going to be Keather? Nah. I prefer platonic relationships (unless it's Heather/Smalls, then romance all the way). But if you want to view it through shipping goggles, I won't stop you :)
Also, glowworm caves are a real thing. Go check out some pictures; they're very cool.