World Recap: Day 2

The meteor shower began just as Gem’s stomach tightened into a familiar, hollow knot. She’d been hunting for food, her steps quick but her mind racing with the promise of sustenance, when the sky split open with streaks of light—sharp, fleeting, and utterly alien. For a moment, the world held its breath. Then, the wind shifted, carrying the scent of burnt sugar and something ancient, like roots rising from deep earth. Gem bolted, her small body a blur against the fading light, her fear a living thing that pulsed in her chest. Vex, too, had been chasing the same trail of glass shards near Glowgrove Timber Stand—what Gem had called ‘the thieves’ claws’—but the sky’s sudden violence turned their hunt into a frantic scramble for shelter. Even Zyx, usually so calm, had flung himself toward the safety of the Den, his thoughts a whirlwind of urgency: *Danger!* The meteor shower was no ordinary event; it felt less like a storm and more like the universe itself had paused to whisper something only the quietest of creatures could hear.