People of the Forest

There isn’t truly anything that Tanitha wants to discuss with Vahkul. She doesn’t know him, she doesn’t like him, and she doesn’t trust him. But the blubbering whiny fool has gotten it into his head that because she accepted his pathetic little pleading and agreed to take him home, she owes him every morsel of information that her body could ever possibly hold.

As if.

Who does he think he is? Her father? Well, even her father isn’t entitled to anything from her anymore. He had made his choice on what kind of man he wanted to be. So when Vahkul asks for the umpteenth time, “Why are we running?” She snaps at him.

“Shut your mouth, beetle!” Yes, it was such a witty reply. He grumbles and stops abruptly. Tanitha is tempted to continue on and let him fend for himself, but... gold. With a groan, she too comes to a halt. “What now?!” She asks, throwing her hands up.

They’re out of range of the hunter's inn, now traveling in the woods, which are soon to become dangerous as night falls. She doesn’t bother to control the volume of her voice for that reason alone. Pivoting, Tanitha comes to see that Vahkul is no longer focusing on her, and his face has lost its normal irritating expression. Something between concern and caution now takes up residence.

Her body turns to follow his line of sight, and she now sees what he sees.

She falls back a step.

It doesn’t take long for the druid to spring into action though. “She’s hurt,” Is all he says before falling to his knees next to the little girl. Tanitha squints as she takes in the buckets of blood pooling beneath her body. It coats the daisies in red. If she isn’t dead now, she will be soon. Tanitha swallows and shakes her head as a pounding in her temples begins to take over.

Her ears... the girl’s ears are bleeding like no wound she’s ever seen before.

Vahkul lifts her eyelids and Tanitha can see that her eyes have also obtained some damage. Where her eyes should be white, there is only red, like all of the blood vessels have popped. Looking at the rest of her body, she can see that the girl’s shoulders seem to be bleeding, and the nails of her fingers have peeled back.

She fought whatever or whoever attacked her.

Tanitha shivers, a nasty feeling draping over her shoulders. She's hoping that the culprit isn’t still around.

She watches as Vahkul lets his open palm travel over the length of the child’s body. He speaks lowly, in a language that she has no knowledge of. Wherever his hands hover, a stream of light seems to fall. The rays travel in waves from his skin onto the girl’s wounds, like sprinkling snow. The woman stares, astonished, as the druid heals the child with no tools, no medicines, and no guidence.

She’s seen skills like this in only one other person in her world. And that person had decades of experience in the art of healing. She can’t imagine where Vahkul’s skills will be when he reaches that age if this is where his gifts are right now. How much better can he get? How much can he heal?

Turning her back to the pair, Tanitha surveys their environment. There’s nothing but thick forestry for miles. She’s not sure that she made the right decision when planning the route, and the state this girl is in is doing nothing to put her at ease. “We need to move, Vahkul. Whatever it is that did this could still be around.” It likely is.

There’s grunting before she receives her reply, “Her body needs to rest for a moment before I can finish. I can’t move her right now.” Tanitha sniffs, her eyes darting. Her shoulders tense and her fingers begin to twitch as the hair on her neck stands at attention. Dropping her pack, she begins ruffling through it. Tanitha takes out her spear and a few throwing daggers.

Something isn’t right.

It’s in the air.

She sniffs again, her nose scrunching as she tries to place the scent. It smells of something bitter and burnt. Like melting poison ivy. Lowering her voice, she urges him, “We need to move now!” She doesn’t take her eyes away from the surrounding trees, and it’s a good thing that she doesn’t.

Right as she’s about to blink, Tanitha sees something moving against a nearby trunk. The bark seems to pulse, the air around it glimmering. Something is there, watching them. It's only when she really looks that Tanitha realizes exactly what attacked the little girl. Looking, just for a second, to the body, she understands that the child never stood a chance. This thing only kept her alive to use her as bait. It wanted to pull in larger prey.

Now it has them.

The woman licks her lips, her eyes going to focus on the movement. If that thing gets too close, there might be nothing that she can do in this form to save herself. She grabs a knife from her pocket, palming it slackly. Dropping low, she focuses on where the pulsing is, then she loosens a breath and lets her dagger fly.

A nasty venomous shriek fills the air and something hot flies towards her. She rolls, hissing as the heat burns near her bare arm as her cloak flutters open. She hears a grunt, but no screaming, so she assumes that Vahkul is either dead or has managed to roll out of the way. Either way, she’s hoping he won’t be a liability.

Shooting up, she pulls another dagger out while she scans her surroundings. She can’t see anything out of the ordinary. The first dagger she threw is nowhere to be seen, and the tree looks like any old tree again. “I’m almost finished,” Tanitha hears from behind her.

“Finish faster!”

"Oh, why didn't I think of that!" Vahkul utters back. She has half a mind to start swinging at him.

But then she hears shuffling to her left. Tanitha swings in that direction, but she's too slow. The creature is on her before she can let loose a yelp, its retched body propelling her. Her grip on her spear is lost in the fall. The monster’s ant like pinchers opens in a wet screech, some of his venomous saliva dripping onto her mask. It goes to take a snap at her neck, but she manages to maneuver her arm and land a solid stab on what should be an abdomen.

It squeals, and it almost sounds human.

Scrambling, Tanitha snatches the knife back out of it and nearly gags at the stench that its wound emits. It’s the same smell that filled the air earlier, only twenty times stronger. She kicks a leg out, hitting its scaly stomach in an attempt to put space between them.

She stands as it wiggles, momentarily stuck on its side. Malve truly thought it fair to give this creature venomous spit, the ability to camouflage, a mouth that opens like a book, and a body the size of a man, but decided that arms would be going too far? She supposes she should thank the goddess of creation for that much.

A smile creeps up on her face as she watches the Tralenger struggle, the creature's wound leaving soggy green muck puddling on the ground. Spinning her knife on her index finger, she walks up to it. “What’s the matter little guy? You need some help?” It screeches again, its vile green body worming around. Tanitha leans a knee on its unnaturally soft belly, then pulls her mask down and tosses her hood back.

For some reason, she wants it to see her face.

“You tried to kill me...” It bucks up, its mouth snapping at her aggressively as its body continues to ooze sticky slime.

Her smile transforms into a sneer as she points her knife at it. “You think you can kill me?” There isn't a visible change in Tanitha. Her teeth don't grow sharp, and her body doesn't morph, but a change does take place nevertheless. Around her, the air grows thick with her displeasure. It heats and darkens like a charring stone.

Tanitha, of course, doesn't notice these changes. She doesn’t know what the creature sees when it looks at her with its monocular eyes. But something causes it to shrink back.

Her knife travels to the end of its mouth as her free hand and knee holds its body in place. She peels its pinchers open, then before it can scream, she starts chopping.

The life leaves the Tralenger soon after.

And she collects her trophies in the meantime.

“How’re you doing?” Vahkul asks the little girl. Tanitha sighs, looking up at the sky. There could be more of those despicable creatures lurking around, and he wants to waste his time asking this girl how her day was? Does he also want to know what she had for breakfast?

“She was mauled, you healed her, now lets go,” She whines. Vahkul huffs in response, but he wasn’t the one that just had to defend a bunch of sitting ducks, so he lifts himself off of the ground without further complains.

“Can you stand?” She girl nods, her little brown ringlets bouncing energetically. Tanitha turns away from them, her legs no longer able to keep still. “Great! Can we maybe walk you home? Do you live around here?” Tanitha scuffs. They aren’t an escorting service. If she wandered out here by herself, then the little girl should certainly be able to wander back.

Feeling pressure on her shoulder, she turns to look at the brooding man behind her. His scowl would be intimidating if she didn’t already know that she could beat him sideways without breaking a sweat. His teeth glimmer as he speaks to her, rather harshly. “What is your problem? She nearly died, the least we can do is see her home.”

Tanitha shrugs him off, tapping the blade of her knife on the spot that his hand had just occupied. “That is the way of life here, beetle. You practically brought her back to life anyway, I think you’ve done enough for her. As for me... I’ve prevented her and you from being attacked further. Now hurry up.” His lips curl at her, the red of his cheeks deepening, but his scowl drops as he turns back to face the little girl.

She’s standing now, her thin black dress darkened with her own blood. Her smile is toothy when she looks to Tanitha, and something behind her eyes tingles at the sight. She turns away again. “I don’t live too far from here.” She speaks Talagrek, and her slurry accent rings familiar to Tanitha as soon as it rolls off of the girl’s bottom lip. Looking around, she tries to pinpoint their location in her head, but she just can’t visualize it right now.

Vahkul looks to Tanitha, confused, so she translates. After, the druid gives the little girl the universal indication that she should carry on. His large hand rests consolingly on her tiny shoulder, as if he’s trying to make sure the girl doesn’t trip. He doesn’t see the curling of the child’s toes into the earth. He doesn’t see the familiarity with which her fingertips travel across the bark of the trees. He most certainly doesn’t notice the trail of daisies that appear wherever her blood meets soil.

Tanitha’s head cocks as they continue to follow the child. She leads them deep into the forest, the trees beginning to cluster so closely together that they almost appear fused. “Just a little further,” The girl whispers. Her words are strung together so tightly that it’s like she’s speaking in cursive.

Tantiha only just begins to put two and two together when she feels something wet and prickly travel across her skin. She stops, gagging as the moist sensation sticks to the inside of her eyes and nose. Her knife and spear drop as she turns back to the area where she was initially hit by the wet force, her mind now reeling.

When she instead hits a hard invisible wall, she turns back to the pair that’s now staring at her in confusion. Tanitha’s face heats. “You godsdamned fiend!” She shouts. Then she lunges for the Onesian.

Something snakes around her waist just as she becomes airborne. “I should have known what you were the moment I spotted you. I can smell it on you!” Her nostrils flair as she continues fighting an obviously unfair battle. Her current form is just too weak. Tanitha’s fingers dig into her hair as the girl goes to hide behind Vahkul.

He, of course, is looking at her as if she’s the bad person, but he doesn't know what he's just done to her. Tanitha points at him with one hand as she claws at the arm around her with the other. “I should have left you to die! You’ve doomed me! You’ve cursed me!” The scent... The scent lingering in the air is nauseating.

She starts to gag, acid running up and burning the soft lining of her throat. She has to get free.

Shooting an elbow out doesn’t have the effect that she was hoping for, and the blackening of her vision has her panicking now. Her heart is beating like she’s run twenty miles in two minutes, but it’s the scent that’s messing with her head.

She shouts out as the burning reaches the inside of her mouth.

Then her hands receive a new mission from her brain.

Make the smell go away.

And so she touches the person behind her until she feels the outline of their knife in her palm, then she snatches it, yanks down her mask, and makes the smell go away.

“Just what in the hell was that?!” Well, at least she knows she’s not dead, unless she’s in one of the hells. Her being trapped with an annoying foreigner for the rest of her afterlife would make sense in that case. Tanitha groans, scrunching her nose. The voice abruptly cuts off, which she’s eternally grateful for.

Though, another one soon replaces it.

“You had a bad reaction. I apologize for not seeing the signs as quickly as I should have miss,” Is what it says. She waves her hand and turns over, just wanting to sleep off the pounding in her head. “Miss.” She waves again, squeezing her eyes tightly. “Ma’am.”

“Fuck off,” She grunts in Talagrek. “Come back later.” A laugh sounds. It’s deep and Tanitha is sure some would even say it’s sensual. She cracks an eye and smacks her lips. Looking around, she takes stock of the fact that she’s not at home and this is not her cot.

In fact, she’s not even in a cot.

She’s laying on the ground rolling around in dirt and dead leaves whilst two pairs of male eyes watch her, both amusement and uneasiness emanating from their every pore. She turns to the unfamiliar one and snarls as she stands. “Where is that little fiend?” She asks as she reaches her full height, her memories simultaneously returning to her. The man shakes his head.

“Straight to the point isn’t she?” He turns to look to Vahkul and the druid just raises his shoulders in a lazy attempt at a shrug despite the fact that he can’t understand a word of what’s being spoken.

Tanitha picks up her knife and spear, both of which are conveniently laying right next to her, and points the blade at the stranger. “Let me out, now.” He shakes his head again.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. You must speak to the elders to get permission to leave.” Tanitha can’t help the growl that escapes her. She begins walking, her feet switching direction every few steps.

“So you can bring me in without permission, but you can’t let me out?” The man shrugs, his braids falling over his shoulder in the process. “That’s absolute bul-”

Holding up a hand, he cuts her off. “Luckily for you, they will be coming to Yukos in two days for Naisil, so your wait will not be long. We can also provide you with room and board for the time being. In return we only ask that you lend a hand with the festival preperations and refrain from attacking anyone.” Is he kidding?

He has to be kidding. Tanitha laughs, but stops just as abruptly as she started when she realizes that no one is laughing with her. “So you mean to tell me that you’ve essentially kidnapped us, and we now have to work for you for two days while we wait for your elders to come and determine if we’re ever allowed to leave? And you think this is a fair trade?”

The man’s brows furrow as he rubs his tan jaw. “When you say it like that, it doesn’t make us sound too good, does it?” Tanitha nods her head vigorously. “Good thing no one has ever called us onesians good people. I’m sure you understand that sentiment... amono.” His smile is feral and his sharp shark-like teeth only serve as embellishments.

Tanitha sneers at the accusation in his tone, her grip loosening on her weapon. If she could shift, Tanitha would kill everyone in this village. Then she would sit in the aftermath of the massacre with a smile on her face until the elders showed up.

Vahkul clears his throat, ridding Tanitha of all her deliciously violent dreams. “Um... what’s going on?” Huffing, Tanitha picks her discarded bag up off of the ground and signals for the sociopathic guard to lead the way.

“We’ve traveled into Onesian territory. They have barriers that prevent evil presences from entering and unfamiliar presences from exiting. We passed through one, and since we aren’t verified members of the Yukos tribe, we can’t leave until we get permission from their elders. They won’t be here for another two days though.”

He starts fiddling with his fingers. “I suppose this is my fault.”

No shit.

She says nothing as the guard leads them further into his village. The trees begin to part just the tiniest bit and signs of intelligent life can be seen scrambling around. Women and men run to and fro, always something in their hands or words streaming from their mouths. Everyone seems to have something to do or somewhere to be, even the children.

The sight of it is so familiar that her heart begins to ache.

She swallows and casts her eyes downward.

“So... what was that earlier?” Vahkul has saddled next to her as he watches the organized chaos around them. Tanitha shrugs and the man chokes on air. “That wasn’t nothing! You-” He looks around for any listening ears before leaning in close. “You cut your own nose off!”

Yeah. That certainly wasn’t her finest moment, but it definitely wasn’t her worst. She would thank him for healing her, which she’s nearly positive he did because she feels nothing, but he’s the reason that they’re in this mess. “I had a bad reaction to the veil. Onesian magic... it’s... it’s nothing you need to worry about.” The druid nods hesitantly, seeming to know that she’s hiding something from him. But that’s not really anything new.

“Hey, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about all of this. We were taught as children that the Land of Creatures is full of strange things. Things that can’t be explained, but the extent was never divulged. How is it that you guys even have this magic? Is that why you were never hit by the smaze?”

She smiles under her mask. This is a question that the other continents have been killing over for decades now. How do they have magic? Why were they never ravaged by that nasty disease? Just what are they?

Foreign nations crept into their seas and invaded their coastlines. They combed their forests in search of these answers. They steal their wandering children for these answers. Tanitha glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

They will never figure it out.

And Gods save them all if they do. Because that will be the day that all life here falls.

“You will get no answers from me, smazer.” Vahkul steps away from her, conscious of the change that her tone has taken. If they are to fall, Tanitha is sure that it will not be by her hands.