Cayleth was running through the forest, the heavy rain muffling the sounds she made while crossing the greenery. Her silver hair heavy with the humidity clinging tightly to her nape.

It felt liberating, the plants around her noticed her presence, just as she was aware of theirs, like old friends finally meeting.

Even among the edges of the forest the trees were high, higher than any other she had seen before coming here, she still remembered when she first took sight of it a few years back.

 Enormous logs splitting into a myriad of branches thicker than herself and seemed to reach the heavens, booming with large green foliage during the heat of summer, offering an everlasting shade to the lands below, the green turning bloodshot during autumn making it seem as if the skies were on fire during the daylight, the leaves wilting into needle like protrusions during the snowy winter as the snow painted the scenery in the purest of whites, only to blossom into a myriad of multicolored  flowers during spring, their smell permeating the whole forest and lands around.

The way the forest brimmed with life and beauty tricked her back them, a mistake she wouldn’t commit again.

Humming a song thought by her mother, she slowed down her pace, reaching an area where the mana was ever so slightly thicker than in the village. But it was enough so everything seemed like it was brimming with life, yet still not present enough quantity so the denizens of the forest would claim the land as their territory.

Cayleth stopped near a large tree and meditated, reaching with her consciousness, peering into herself she could feel a node of light. It was like small sphere, the circumference not larger than that of her irises, she could feel the energy of the world pouring into it, leaving it in equal measures afterwards, never overflowing in an endless cycle; She willed the energy out of the sphere and directed it outwards, running from where the node stood in her hearth down her right arm leaving a prickly sensation where the energy had passed.

She touched one of the big trees and allowed the mana to leave her body and pour into the bark.

The tree reacted, hungrily taking in the spiritual energy, Cayleth regulated it so the energy drain wouldn’t sap her and formed a link with the plant. Directing her consciousness along with the strand of energy.

The tree noticed the alien intrusion, but the plant consciousness unable to form complex thoughts, simply dismissed it as unimportant as it hungrily took the refined mana from the girl just as its roots extracted water and nutrients from the soil.

Cayleth couldn’t help but let out a giggle at the simple yet ancient presence of the tree. She then willed the part of her consciousness present within the energy link to reflect her will, shaping it in the song taught by her mother, so the tree could understand it, like a child asking a question to their elderly.

The plant ignored her for a few minutes, Cayleth already feeling the strain on her reserves, no matter how diminutive the cost of maintaining the link was, it still took a great deal of effort, and much of the mana was lost in the process of externalizing it due to her meager skill. But the tree eventually answered back to the pleas of the little mosquito nagging at its ears.

Cayleth felt her senses expanding, strange sensations filled her mind as her consciousness travelled along an intertwined root system beneath ground, and back emerging from every grass, bush and tree in the near vicinity from the one where she injected herself.

She could feel everything the plant’s felt, although the sensory experience was alien, like seeing through tact, hearing through what seemed like smells, the combined consciousness of the forest submerging her own.

She allowed it to run its course, becoming one with the plant’s before directing her request in the form of a song through the energy.

Among the scenery present in her mindscape several parts of it glowed with golden light and some gained a severe dark mist that spelled danger as the spell ran its course.

She couldn’t help but let a smirk out as she retracted her strained mind from the collective of the forest. Willing a larger mote of mana into the tree before severing the connection. ‘thank you’

Reclining on the bark she stopped for a second to recover from the mild migraine caused by her dive. Smirking at her progress. Still remembering the splitting headache that lasted for hours when her mother first introduced her to the druidic arts.

If asked, any of the villagers would’ve said that the forest was terrible, bearing only poisonous plant’s, toxic mushrooms, and thorny bushes that festered in the everlasting twilight of its domain.

 But for Cayleth those people simply didn’t know where to look. Yes, the forest was not kind, few of the plants bearing fruits, of these most were poisonous and toxic, but it was not in its entirety.

She approached a thorny bush, it carried large purple berries that seemed about to burst with their fruity juice, but Cayleth knew better. The berries were still firmly covered in a dangerous dark mist in her eyes, instead she focused on the golden light shinning under the thorny branches, within the ground.

Digging the moist earth with her bare hands didn’t prove too hard. Staining her ivory white arms up to her elbows, she dug until the golden light was bared to the world to see, exposing a clump of purple tuberous mass.

“Jackpot” Cayleth couldn’t help but exclaim, expectant with the possibility of making her usually boring supper of wheat porridge a bit more sumptuous.

She harvested the tubers, rinsing the earth the best she could before storing them in a pocket sewed in the frontal part of her dress.

Then her gaze fell on a few mushrooms growing on the bark of one of the trees. They were a phosphorescent blue with pink spots in their caps, screaming danger and toxicity to any less versed herbalist.

 To Cayleth though she knew all the danger was not on the cap, but on the stalk, as she carefully plucked the neon blue mushrooms from their perches, disposing of the brown stalk where the dark mist resided, keeping only the caps.

‘This should be enough’ There were still many motes of golden light in the greenery around her, but she decided against harvesting them. Hoarding food was a punishable offence in a village where it was ever so scarce, and while the boons of the forest were plentiful, Cayleth didn’t feel any urge to share them.

She wasn’t worried about the common folk discovering her. Raz reputation was more than enough of a deterrent so they didn’t dare to touch her, but in a small village the news fly, and the higher ups were another problem in of themselves.

In the past she slipped and let the other villagers know about a strain of berry that was safe to be eaten, that led to the village chief personally calling her and coaxing out every strand of information about it from her foolish older self. Leading subsequently to a gathering frenzy that all but extinguished that particular plant from the vicinity of the village.

Unwilling to let that let happen again, and having her subsistence threatened, she always hid whatever she harvested, only sharing it with Raz. Letting all others believe the forest was inhospitable and poisonous. Selfish? Maybe. Cold? She knew the desperate folk wouldn’t hesitate to do worse if they thought necessary.

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The rain had finally stopped, rays of sunshine penetrating through the deep reddening foliage. The sun at its zenith peeking through the edges of the storm clouds that left towards the south. A chilly wind denouncing the approach of winter still blowing through the trees.

Cayleth looked up at the sky, it would take her a good part of an hour to make her way back to the village, and knowing the routine, that would put her walking through the muddy streets right in the middle of the busiest hour of the small community. Specially after the rain made everyone retreat to shelter for most of the morning, and the prospect of going through that, having glares directed at her, and waiting inside their home till Raz came back from duty was hardly appealing to her.

 Looking at her arms and dress stained with mud and dirt she made her decision. ‘The spring it is them, it’s a bit chilly but the sun will make do’ quickly finding an excuse not to come back early. Even though she knew Raz would likely be worried about her. She ran following her mental map of the forest for another hour or so.

For a while all that broke the silence in the wooden scenery was the sound of her footsteps, and the rustling of cloth against her skin, one thing the outer edges of the Forest of Evargandur was its frightful silence.

A burbling sound broke the peaceful atmosphere, indicating that Cayleth neared her destination. A few more minutes running revealed a small lake. Surrounded by large rocks covered with moss, one of which sprouted a stream of water.

Cayleth couldn’t help but break a smile at the sight of her favorite retreat from the village life. Raz’s work as one of the higher-up’s lackeys ensured that they wouldn’t starve as long as the situation wasn’t critical. And most of the old folk that held important professions in the village didn’t like her very much, refusing to teach her their craft. They wouldn’t teach anyone but their offspring in the first place, but they really didn’t like her in particular.

All that was left was working in the fields along with the refugees, and that was hardly appealing to her.

This place always held a special place in her heart ever since she found it. Located in a clearing, the crystal-clear water gleamed in the sunlight, freed for the everlasting shade the trees imposed.

Not wasting another second, the girl ran and jumped in the lake with a ‘’Yahoo” , her dress ballooning up as she sunk to the bottom of the 2 meter crater. Letting the buoyancy drag her back to the surface, she made her way towards the shore. Leaving an earthy stain on the water as it washed away the mud stuck to her figure.

Sitting on a smaller rock on the lake’s shore, she took off her dress, revealing her marble white curveless figure.  Proceeding to do her best to rinse whatever mud was left on the cloth and her harvest.

The tubers proved to be rather rebellious as their uneven and rugged outer layer seemed to hold much more of the earthy substance than it was entitled to.

Once she was satisfied, she chose one of the largest boulders where the sun was still hitting and extended the clothing on top of it, leaving the now much cleaner Tubers and Mushrooms beside it, unpreoccupied that something might snatch them away.

Diving right back into the lake, she swam for a while before letting herself float. Relaxing her body, she looked at the bright sun shinning in the sky, feeling its glow hit her exposed skin gave her a sensation of peace like no other.

She closed her eyes entering a state of calmness that made it seem like all was right in the world.

There was nothing else, only the sun and herself, its warmth nourishing her and driving away the coldness of the world.

Letting her consciousness drift into an almost slumber, she only awakened when the sun had once again hidden itself behind the towering vegetation.

Reemerging from the depths of her mind, she found herself feeling refreshed. Swimming to the shore, she dried her hair by shaking her head and squeezing it, so the excess water wouldn’t soak her dress.

She felt a rather cold wind running through her bare flesh, denouncing the approach of dusk, but ignored it as a minor annoyance as her entire body felt brimming with vitality.

“Those human folks really don’t enjoy the simple things in life, do they?” She allowed her thoughts to escape through her mouth as she knew there was not a soul in reach to hear her, not ones that cared anyway.

“Well at least I don’t have to share, they’re all cunts anyway” She thought of the folk in the village, always complaining about their life, how cold they felt, how the hunger was tearing their insides apart, how the world was unfair and so on, sometimes she felt pity for them, but their behavior towards her ensured that even that pity was short lived most of the time.

The cold wind continued running through her figure as she put on her down almost dry dress, storing back her harvest on the frontal pocket, she took one last look on the lake. Approaching it so the surface of the water mirrored her image.

“Yep, no changes yet, you’re still a brat, just wait a few more decades and I’m sure you’ll grown up to be a fine woman Cayleth just you wait…… *sigh” she said, mimicking Raz’s mocking tone.

Although she kept a stern façade about it every time he brought it up, it actually bothered her a lot.

“I’m not even a damn full-blooded elf, why the hell I must stay like this for years?! Like come on?!” She said punching her reflection in the water, with a scowl on her childish face that was more cute than intimidating, and it infuriated her.

And for the thousandth time the world didn’t answer her questions. So she sighed again and left towards the village, barring the negative thoughts with ones of what she should make for supper.

“Oh, I should gather some firewood too” she said to no one In particular. Now keeping an eye out for any fallen sticks and branches she could carry with her, so she didn’t go back seemingly empty handed.

Finding suitable ones wasn’t too hard, some of the bushes and the smaller tree species had already started to shed some of the excess growth they couldn’t afford in preparation for the approaching winter.

Breaking the weaker and dryer looking branches wasn’t too hard, and soon she had a plethora of sticks on top of her shoulder. Also putting some of straighter, less pointy ones inside the frontal pocket to mask the volume of her harvest. It never hurt to be careful.

Humming her song again she continued to make her way back to the village, only the sound of her footsteps and rustling cloth against the vegetation breaking the silence of the woods.

Not long after, Cayleth heard a creaking sound, breaking her calm.

 Just because the meadow of everlasting twilight didn’t house any particular critters, it didn’t mean it was impossible for one of the dwellers of the inner forest to make their way there, an occurrence that happened often during winter as beasts made their way out of the inner sanctum and attacked the village. But it was still too early for that.

Now alert to her surroundings she dropped the sticks she was carrying. Lowering her body and moving quickly and quietly, putting a tree in between herself and where she heard the noise.

Taking out the sticks in her pocket. She chose one that was longer and straighter than the others and willed her mana into it, once it was filled with her mana and she could sense all the infinitely small structures within it. Multiplying and rearranging them with her mind, the stick becoming straighter and sturdier, gaining a flat pointed end with edges on both sides, copying the format of the spear Raz wielded, albeit an entirely wooden one.

‘This won’t last long but it’ll do’

The whole process took only a few seconds but also claimed nearly a quarter of her mana. She then made one more, for the possibility she needed to throw one of them.

 A Wolverine Rat or an Impaler Rabbit she could contend to; The latter would become a nice addition to her supper. Although she’d have to hide the body then come back with Raz for a dinner in the woods if they were to keep it for themselves. But if Bone Gnawer or a One-eyed Wolf had caught on to her scent. She could only hope the throw spears would slow it down as she ran for her dear life.

With her senses on high alert, and heart pounding, she lowered her figure and spied her surroundings. The silent nature of the forest made it, so any noise seemed like an oddity, The location of the creaking branch was about 30 meters away if Cayleth’s acute hearing was to be trusted. With the time it took for her to create her weapons. It was enough so any predator could’ve approached and readied itself to attack in the meantime.

Keeping perfectly still and limbs like coiled springs ready jump at any moment, she waited.

30 seconds.

A minute.

Two minutes.

Then it happened, she faintly heard another crack of a branch breaking in the distance. Followed by a dull thud, confusing her.

Then she heard it, a small cry, that then turned louder.

The cry of a child followed by another voice.

‘Children? What are they doing here?’ she felt confused, most of the villagers didn’t dare come so deep into the forest, although it was safe when it wasn’t winter. They didn’t have reasons to. The plants were poisonous, and if they needed wood the trees bordering the village were much easier marks, also counting that most had an irrational fear of the forest. Cayleth couldn’t help but wonder why those people where there.

She thought of her options. She knew that she had about 3 more hours before the twilight turned to darkest night, and she couldn’t care less about some idiots that got lost in the woods, also counting that Raz would be upset if she didn’t return soon. Annoying he may be, but he also cared a lot about her.

Ultimately her curiosity got the best of her, she didn’t remember seeing anyone brave enough to head so deep in the forest. Even when they were starving their fears always got the best of them.

So, she carefully made her way towards the origin of the sounds, still keeping her spears. Raz wasn’t here, and nothing stopped a particularly resented refugee to decide their world would better with one less xeno in it.