Crumbs in the Shadows

Starry hurls themself behind a cracked button embedded in the baseboard, clutching a crumb nearly as big as their own head. Above, the booming voices of elves echo through the apartment, every word vibrating in Starry’s bones. Dust motes swirl in columns of golden light, but Starry’s eyes flick to the shadow under the stove where they spied flickering fairy light a moment ago. The floor shakes as an elven foot slams down only inches away, scattering breadcrumbs across the rough wooden planks. Starry presses closer to the wall, heart pounding, as the fairy bell’s silvery chime rings out, closer now.

"Check under the stove,"

calls an elven voice, each syllable a warning of doom. Starry’s breath freezes. Somewhere, a mouse skitters, and the faintest scent of honeyed magic fills the air.

Starry presses their back against the splintered wood, the rough grain biting into their skin. Every muscle tightens, trembling with the heavy footsteps pacing just feet away. A faint bioluminescent glow seeps through the gap in the baseboard, casting long, eerie shadows that flicker across the floorboards. Faelin hovers near the opening, the chime of their wings sharp and discordant in the cramped silence.

The crumb slips from Starry's numb fingers, tumbling into the shadows as the fairy's talons scrape against the splintered wood. The air chills, thickening with a sickly sweetness, the honeyed scent twisting into something cloying, like decay masked by perfume. Faelin hovers in the narrow gap, a shimmering void of predatory focus, blocking the only exit.