Vanessa pulled out the map again, furrowing her brow. “…could have sworn… hmm… it can’t be outdated, I just got it this week…” Luckily, Brittany didn’t appear to hear her murmurs so she was able to focus on the map, to try and figure out how they hadn’t arrived at the campsite yet. She was positive she’d gotten the degree right this time, so she had no idea how they hadn’t seen the camp yet! She subtly reached into her bag to pull out her compass, really hoping nobody noticed. Luckily, she didn’t hear anyone say anything, and she lay the compass flat on her hand to check the degrees. And her eyes grew wide. “…what the hell…?” The compass needle was spinning around and around in a smooth, constant motion, as if magnetic north was rotating around them somehow. She snapped it shut and looked up with a nervous grin. “Uh, guys, we, uh… Guys? Guys…? GUYS?!” All of a sudden, she realized her friends were nowhere to be seen. She looked around in a panic, and found herself completely alone, and even worse, realized she had absolutely no idea where she was. The forest was thicker than she had ever seen it, and she couldn’t even tell what direction she’d come from anymore. And strangest of all… It was glowing… A strange, dim light was shining all around the forest, and she wasn’t sure exactly from where. It looked magical… But she really didn’t have time to stare in wonder, because she needed to find the others! “Where are you guys?! Say something, please!” But she heard nothing. Just as she was about to really start panicking, she noticed a light in the distance, far brighter than the weird glow. It must be Sally's flashlight! She began to run over, but the light suddenly started moving away. “HEY! SALLY, WAIT UP!” The light stopped, but just before she could see exactly who it was it started moving away again. And in her desperation to find her friends, Vanessa followed.

The light continued to move as Vanessa followed it, the person holding it always just out of her view in the darkness. She could feel the hiking they’d already done starting to take its toll on her as she ran after them. Panting, she leaned against a tree, and tried to look closer at the light while she was standing still. From this close, while she couldn’t see the person, she could definitely tell it wasn’t Sally's flashlight. It wasn’t bright enough, and it was also gently swaying side to side, like a lantern… Which means she’d been chasing after a random stranger… Who was probably as scared as she was. She took a deep breath and called over. “Hey… Sorry for chasing you… I… I’m lost… And I thought you were one of my friends… They’re lost too, I think…” As she caught her breath, a quiet voice echoed from the light. “…Lost…?” Vanessa nodded. “Yeah… Lost… I… Misread the map… And my compass is… Broken or something… Do you know the way out of here…?” The light continued to sway, and the voice softly answered, “…Follow me…” Vanessa smiled, relieved. “Alright, good… Hopefully we come across my friends on the way…” She stood up, still panting but much less so now. “Lead the way.” The light began leading her, and, happy she’d found someone to guide her, Vanessa followed.

It felt nice to have something to follow, especially after she’d messed up so terribly navigating earlier. She was usually better, but she’d been distracted yapping with the others that morning so maybe she’d gotten turned around a little, or maybe her compass had already been acting up. Whatever the case, she was happy to follow the light, glad she didn’t have to try and figure out where to go anymore. She could leave all that difficult stuff to the person leading her. Although… She still wasn’t sure what they looked like, or who they were… And it was probably nothing, but it was odd how she could always see the light. It was constantly swaying back and forth in that gentle, rhythmic motion, yet it never seemed to go behind their body. It was always visible, swaying and flickering softly just at the edge of her vision… But that didn’t really matter, because all that mattered was that she’d found someone to guide her, someone she could follow to safety… She had no idea how far away the exit was, or even how long she’d been walking… It didn’t matter, because the light was guiding her… The light swayed and flickered and danced, and without a worry, Vanessa followed…

Vanessa's body was beginning to feel so sluggish… Like she was so exhausted she would fall asleep on her feet… But the light wasn’t tired at all… In fact, it was only growing brighter the heavier her eyelids got… Eventually she sat down, leaning sleepily against a tree. “…needa rest… can you stay for a bit…?” The light grew closer. “…Rest…” Their voice was so soothing and reassuring… Vanessa could barely keep her eyes open as they approached… She glanced up, and weirdly couldn’t see anyone holding the light… It was just floating above her, swaying and flickering and… swirling… As she stared into the light, she saw a spiral spinning inside… It made her feel even sleepier… Wait, but…it’s weird to have a light floating on its own, right…? ”…whassssgoinnnonnn…?” The light flickered, almost like it was chuckling. “…Follow~…” The light came closer, until it was all she could see through her nearly closed eyes… “…Rest~…” Vanessa's eyes softly closed. “…resssssssstttt…” The light nuzzled up next to her cheek. “…Good Girl~…” She smiled happily, letting the warmth lull her to sleep… As Vanessa followed… Followed the Will of the Wisp…