Tess Petalspindle's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The stink bug moved through the moss beds with practiced ease, navigating gaps between the cushioned mounds Tess had never noticed before. Tess followed close, her eyes scanning the terrain, counting her steps, noting where the light broke through and where it didn't. This was mapping work. Real mapping work. Then she saw it. A willow tree stood in a small clearing, its cascading branches swaying gently. But what stopped Tess mid-step was the map pinned to its trunk. Pink silk held it in place, the webbing too intricate to be random. The map itself was half-finished, drawn on bark-paper with pigments she didn't recognize. Routes she'd never charted snaked across it in careful detail. The moss bed shortcut. The eastern ridge path. Even the rockfall was marked with a warning symbol. The stink bug noticed Tess staring. "Oh, that. Been there for days. Wondered who left it." Tess stepped closer, studying the lines. Whoever made this knew the Oasis better than she did. The thought stung. She'd prided herself on being the one who knew every trail, every safe crossing. But this map showed routes she'd missed entirely. At the base of the tree sat a twig basket filled with supplies. Colored pencils made from crushed petals. Paints in tiny acorn caps. Brushes crafted from dandelion fluff, far finer than the moss fiber she used. Tess sat back on her haunches, letting the reality settle. Someone else was mapping Blush's Oasis, and they were doing it better. She could either treat them as competition or find them and learn. The eastern trails were still blocked. The Oasis still needed a complete map. But now she knew she couldn't finish it alone. She lifted one of the dandelion brushes, testing its weight. Whoever left this would come back for their supplies. And when they did, Tess would be waiting.