RISE AND SHINE YA SLOTHS

♁.•°°•.•⭒•.•°˙°•.✧{7}✧.•°˙°•.•⭒•.•°°•.♁

Tias POV

I was so caught up in admiring the room I didn't notice how long it had been until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Can you move? I need to block off a few rooms"

I looked over to see scott standing there with what looked like very big blankets.

"Oh yeah sorry"

I quickly scuttled over to the center of the room following everyone and taking off my shoes and lining them up inside one of the apparently hollow benches. By the time I turned back around the large blankets that Scott had been hanging from hooks on the ceiling were completely hung, Scott had clearly done this before. I stood up and walked over to Taylor who was standing only a short distance away talking to Amelia.

When I walked up alongside Taylor Amelia handed me a small drawstring bag, curious I opened the bag. Inside there was an assortment of nuts and dried fruits.

"We don't have any meat right now so have a nighttime snack and go to bed." Amelia gestured towards the large area of the room that looked like a ball pit made of blankets and pillows.

I was just about to go over to the sleeping area when I heard Amelia's voice from behind me.

"Actually wait I'll clean it up first because it's not actually all soft ground"

Amelia walked over to the mass of blankets and started picking them up and folding them. After a few minutes, all of the blankets were folded, and all of the pillows were in a large pile next to them. I now understand what Amelia meant when she said it's not actually all soft ground. It's an inset section of the ground that has four mattress-type sections in the floor. Amelia started making one of the beds and put her green overcoat on it before excusing herself to go help scott after telling us to pick a bed.

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Taking off my cloak I laid down on my newly made bed turning away from the glowing flour that I was only now noticing is extremely bright. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

I heard a small click and squinted my eyes open. Picking my head up I saw Scott hanging up more of those room separator blankets around the sleeping area. I was about to ask him if he needed help when Amelia came over and gently closed the glowing flowers leaving the only light as the flowers from the other room. That quickly changed when Amelia helped Scott finish the curtain and closed it, plunging the room into darkness.

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This morning was . . . less, it was less peaceful, to say the least.

"RISE AND SHINE YA SLOTHS"

Scott ripped open the curtains to our sleeping area as he yelled wake-up calls.

Rubbing my eyes and sitting up I was nearly knocked over as clothing came hurling at my face.

"Tiah, your first go change if you can't figure it out ask Amelia." Scott tied the curtains up and walked away, returning a few seconds later with more clothes and throwing them at Kailey and practically carrying me to the other room he had curtained off.

After I was unceremoniously shoved into the room I carefully placed the clothing on the floor.

"There are just clothes, what is there to not understand?"

I mumbled to myself as I changed into the black ripped jeans and cobalt blue long-sleeved shirt. As I picked up the cropped leather jacket and slid it on carefully to not get the chains on the shoulders tangled I found what Scott meant. There was some kind of leg harness that had two of what I assume were knife holsters on one part and two small bags. After flipping the contraption around a few times I gave up and grabbed my clothes before walking out of the changing room holding the harness.

"Ha knew it,"

Scott said as he shoved Mae past me into the changing room.

"Amelia's over by the window getting the backpacks ready go ask her for help" scott zipped away before I could even ask.

"Window? We have a widow?"

I sighed and looked up. My view of the other side of the room was blocked by the rather large pole in the center of the treehouse and I assumed the window was on the other side. Shrugging to myself I walked around to the window and was greeted with a backpack to the face.

"SCOTT"

"WHAT"

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO THROW IT"

"WELL, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME NOT TO"

Amelia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Just go put these on their beds . . . gently"

Scott chuckled and helped me up before grabbing three small backpacks from Amelia and delivering them.

It turned out the window was in between the strange cupboards that framed the only flat wall on the treehouse. I grabbed the backpack off the floor and walked over to the window, which had no glass, and set it along with my clothes down.

"Amelia?"

"Yeah" the answer was short, flat, and she definitely didn't like me

"Can you help me with . . . uh this?'' I held up the harness thing and she grabbed it and unrolled a few parts before unhooking the largest buckle and looping it around my waist.

"It must have tangled in the bag I think you can figure it out now"

Amelia finished gesturing to the harness that was now hung down by my leg. Quickly doing the two buckles around my thigh and standing back up. I was surprised to see Amelia was nowhere to be seen. I didn't even hear her walk away. Hearing footsteps to my right I turned around and saw Scott approaching.

"What's wrong?" Scott's eyebrows knit together in concern.

"Amelia was here but she just kinda disappeared." I shrugged realizing how crazy what I just said sounded.

*chuckling*" Yeah, she does that. I really need to put a bell on her. Anyways, I'm going over to the door, closing the window, then we'll be off."

Nodding, I grabbed the backpack off the floor assuming it was mine, and walked over to the door where I found Mae and Kailey both in new outfits both consisting of black ripped jeans and some kind of harness like mine. Other than that there wasn't much similar Kailey had a white knit sweater top with a floor-length cloak and Mae had a muted dark green top on with a zip-up cropped sweater on top. I walked over to the group and stood next to the girls, Mae was talking to Sebastian and Scott was heaving a rather large backpack onto his back. Amelia was still nowhere to be seen.

"Tiah" I turned my head to find the source of my name.

"Just like last time I'm gonna have you go first, it should be a lot easier now that we aren't climbing in the dark. Just be sure to keep in mind that you have a backpack and you should be fine."

I nodded and started over to the ladder before climbing down, I could hear Scott giving instructions as I climbed down the latter. It wasn't long before I exited the bunch of leaves that surrounded the hideout and made it into a large open space like the night before except now I could see that it wasn't just open, the tree just had left a large open area where leaves made a sort of protective pod. As I marveled at the tree I realized I had stopped climbing and quickly resumed climbing, careful to not step on any leaves as I pushed through the leaves at the bottom of the leaf pod and out into the open.

At this point I couldn't decide what was worse, climbing up and knowing you are getting farther from the ground or climbing down and having to look down the entire time and see the distance to the ground shrink painfully slowly.

Eventually I made it to the ground. After nearly twelve hours i was on solid ground and i wanted to just lay in the grass and never move. My moment of bliss was cut short however by scott.

"INCOMING"

I jumped away from the tree at scotts yell but unfortunately for the second time today i was taken out but a heavy back pack. I guess I got my wish of laying in the grass, it just wasn't how i expected.

"SORRY"

"IT'S FINE"

I yelled back as I pushed the back pack off my chest, sitting up i took in my surroundings. Yep I'm surrounded by trees and bushes nothing changed.

During the day it definitely looked different, the bioluminescent moss and flowers that bloomed sporadically made the forest look magical. Not that it wasn't breathtaking during the day as well but at night it was just another word.