The Shadow sat crouched just beneath the surface of the stream. It had found a spot almost five feet deep and hidden by a thick patch of cranberry bushes along the water’s edge. It was cool here and away from the bright sunlight that hurt its eyes. But the solar cycle was almost complete, and the dim stars of this world would return, and it would be time to search again for the way home.
It slowly raised its head above the water’s surface and looked out across the dimly lit forest floor. Glowing objects danced from plant to plant; these were new lights—some orange like embers, others purple like the color of the nebula back home. Each light pulsed in a pattern, a mesh network, sending out signals and listening for any sign in return.
Then the lights began to pulse erratically. Flashes of bright light, like firecrackers going off. The Shadow leaped onto the forest floor in a crouch and tilted its head up toward the sky. Something was happening. A signal from home. The lights began to vibrate now, leaving streaks of color as they swarmed back and around the shadow creature.
Slowly, scales opened and fanned out across its arms and legs as the sprites nestled in like bees returning to a honeycomb. As the last sprite landed, the Shadow closed its scales and began to process all this new information. New signals. Clear and strong. It was being called from miles away and knew exactly where to go.
Although the world beyond the forest was still lit by its too-bright sun, the Shadow couldn’t wait any longer. It started to run.