The world became a blur of sensation. The glowing drink sharpened everything. Colors blazed, and the music felt almost tangible—like he could reach out and grab a handful of melody. And Bee—Bee was everywhere, her platinum curls catching light as she moved against him, her fingers intertwined with his, her laugh mixing with the bass notes that seemed to pulse through the wooden floors.

"Come on," she said suddenly, tugging him away from the dance floor. "I want to show you something."

They climbed higher into the central tree, up winding stairs that seemed to shift under their feet. The party sounds grew muffled below them as Bee led him onto a balcony that wrapped around the massive trunk. From here, Nze could see all of Oakwood spread out beneath them—dozens of treehouses glowing like earthbound stars, rope bridges swaying in the midnight breeze, figures moving between them like shadows given purpose.

"Holy shit," he breathed, leaning against the railing. The fog had lifted somewhat, and moonlight painted everything in silver. "How... how does nobody know about this place?"

Bee hopped up to sit on the railing, dangling her feet over the edge with casual disregard for gravity. "We like to keep our privacy." Her voice carried that same cryptic tone she'd used earlier, like every answer was just the door to another question.

"Privacy?" Nze asked, leaning against the opposite railing, his glowing drink catching the light like a tiny piece of the moon trapped in a jar.

"Mhm," she hummed, tipping her head back to look at the sky. Not that there was much to see—just fog swallowing the stars whole.

"Privacy or misinformation?" Nze chuckled. The glowing drink had made him bolder, or maybe it was just the way the night felt infinite up here, like anything could be said without consequence. "What about all those stories? The ones about people who go into the forest at night and never come back? They find them torn apart by animals, or... not at all."

Something flickered across Bee's face then—a shadow of something older than her years. She studied him intently, her eyes moving across his features like she was reading a language written there. The silence stretched between them, filled only by the muffled bass lines floating up from below.

Finally, her lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "We made up stories about the woods," she said, lighting one of those strange-smelling cigarettes. "Spread them across town like fire." The flame briefly illuminated her face, casting sharp shadows that made her look like something out of a fever dream. "It's better that way. Like I said, we like our privacy."

The way she said it made Nze's skin prickle. There was something about her tone, something that suggested the stories weren't the only things Skyfall had spread across town.

Nze was smart enough to know when not to push his luck.

She lit the cigarette, the flame briefly illuminating her face. "Want to know a real secret? Your uncle used to come here. Back in the day, before he decided to become respectable." She took a deep drag, then offered it to him. "Ask him about October '99 sometime. Watch how fast he changes the subject."

Nze's head spun, and not just from the glowing drink still coursing through his system. "How do you know about my uncle?"

"Skyfall knows everything that happens in St. Leo. We have to." Her expression grew serious for the first time that night. "Because knowledge is power, and in this town, power is kinda survival."

From below came a sudden surge of noise—cheering and music rising in intensity. Bee's face lit up.

"Perfect timing. The real party's about to start." She hopped down from the railing, grabbing his hand again. "Want to see some magic?"

Before he could answer, she was pulling him back down the stairs, but not toward the main dance floor.

The wooden stairs creaked beneath their feet, the scent of damp earth and cedar rising as Bee pulled Nze further down. They rounded a corner and—thump—Nze collided with what felt like a wall of muscle. He stumbled back, catching himself against the railing, and found himself staring at a boy slightly older than him who seemed to be made entirely of controlled danger.

The stranger wore a grey singlet that revealed arms covered in intricate tattoos—symbols and patterns that seemed to shift in the dim light. But it wasn't the tattoos that caught Nze's attention; it was the scars. They crisscrossed the man's black skin like a map of violent histories, some old and silver, others newer and darker. Around his neck hung a necklace of what Nze realized with a start were actual animal teeth, strung together on a leather cord.

"Bumbles?" the stranger's voice was deep and rough, like gravel wrapped in velvet. Two figures emerged from the shadows behind him—a tall guy with sharp cheekbones who had to be Nosa, and a girl with a pixie cut who could only be Kitty.

"Arthur," Bee said, her voice carrying a note of affection beneath the exasperation. "This is—"

"Nze," he offered, trying not to let his voice shake.

"Nze," Bee continued, "this is Arthur. My brother. The shithead who runs Oakwood." She gestured to the others. "Oh, and that's Nosa and Kitty."

"Another one of your strays, Bumbles?" Kitty smirked. "At least this one's cute. Unlike that last disaster you brought home—what was his name? The one who peed himself when Arthur did the thing with the—"

Arthur didn't laugh. His eyes—dark and unblinking—stayed fixed on Nze, studying him with an intensity usually reserved for prey about to flee. The air grew thick with tension.

"Don't worry," Bee said, squeezing Nze's hand. "Nze is chill."

Arthur held the stare for another long moment before his lips pulled back in what might have been a smile or a snarl. Then he let out a sound that made Nze's blood freeze—a low, guttural growl that was decidedly more animal than human. The glowing drink in Nze's system made it impossible to tell if he was imagining the way Arthur's eyes seemed to reflect light like a cat's, or the way his teeth looked just a little too sharp.

Without another word, Arthur turned and melted back into the shadows, Nosa and Kitty following in his wake like a well-choreographed dance they'd performed a thousand times before.

"Come on," Bee tugged at Nze's hand, pulling him further down the stairs. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just been sized up by something far more dangerous than a protective older brother. Something that wore human skin like a borrowed coat.

The growl echoed in his memory as they descended deeper into the roots of Oakwood, and Nze wondered—not for the first time that night—exactly what kind of world he was stepping into.

The space they entered was enormous, like a natural cathedral carved from earth and wood. Roots thick as cars twisted overhead, and more of those strange glowing jars lined the walls. But what caught Nze's attention was the circle of people in the center—about twenty Skyfall members, including Kai and the rainbow-haired girl from earlier, all holding hands.

In the middle of the circle was a platform that looked like it had grown there just for this moment—a tree stem, cleanly chopped and polished so smooth you'd think nature herself had been planning this for centuries. It didn't just sit in the ground; it felt like it belonged there, like the whole forest had decided that here, of all places, was where something important would happen. Something sacred.

"Is that—" Nze started.

"Your student ID?" Bee smirked, pulling it from her pocket. "Lifted it while we were dancing. Don't worry, you'll get it back. After."

"After what?"

The circle began to hum—a single note that seemed to make the air vibrate. Bee's grip on his hand tightened.

"After you decide if you want to see what Skyfall can do. No more pretending the world's as small as you think." Her eyes locked with his, deadly serious now. "But I have to warn you—once you see, you can't unsee. Once you know, you can't unknow. And St. Leo... St. Leo will never look the same again."

The humming grew louder, and shadows began to move in ways shadows shouldn't. Nze felt something ancient and electric building in the air, like the moment before lightning strikes.

"So," Bee whispered, "what's it going to be?"

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚

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