Piv reached out to catch the hurled vial, and ripped the cap off as soon as he had it under control. Maya threw hers on the ground at her feet and looked up to see Piv disappearing in his own cloud of blue smoke, just as she was.
The view of the mountains shifted to focus as the last of the wisps trailed from her feet, revealing the carved stone circle under them. Maya twisted to find Piv appearing in a haze of blue smoke on the platform with her. He stumbled, but caught first himself, then sight of Maya. He turned towards the forest, then back towards the village. “We should leave, it will be quicker to Nurba if we go through Occlewood.” Piv pointed towards the forest, which looked even more ominous than before.
Maya shifted the weight on her shoulders and set to striding. “How did they find us? I thought that house would be safe.” Piv set into pace alongside Maya, “They must have followed us after the ambush, or me when I came back with supplies. They must have had enforcers in the area, the scouts will have reported in. Looks like I’m in this with you whether I like it or not.” Piv offered a reassuring grin, clearly forced, but a kind gesture nonetheless. “They’ll guess what happened pretty quickly. So, we’ll need to keep a good pace and try and lose our tracks in the forest. With any luck, they won’t follow us in there any way. They might assume we wouldn’t risk it.” Piv raised his empty vial and offered it to Maya. “Put this in your sack. These vials are not easy to come by, I’d suggest you don’t smash them.” Maya grimaced, then accepted the vial and slipped it into her bag as they walked.
Clearing her throat, Maya asked the obvious question, “Why wouldn’t we risk the forest?” Surprisingly, she didn’t feel particularly scared by the implication of Piv’s statement, just curious. The whole scenario was still madness to her, and normal emotional response had been lacking already, so she posed the question calmly. “Misvan’s tend to leave well alone, because they go missing in Occlewood.” Seeing the well broadcast horror on Maya’s face, Piv continued. “There’s a Horl settlement, and they like their privacy, and playing tricks, and the odd kidnapping.”
Maya interrupted, slightly short of breath from keeping Piv’s surprising pace. “What’s a Horl?” Piv turned, flashing an expression that suggested he had forgotten once again, that Maya was clueless. “They’re sort of like Terrans and Misvans, same sort of general make up, but tiny, with wings like a butterfly.” Maya’s face lit up, “Fairies?! Wait, do Hor-“ Maya paused and looked to Piv who quickly offered the word “Horl”
She continued, “Horl. Are there Horl on Ear- in Terra?” Piv thought for a second, “It wouldn’t be that surprising. Horl, of anyone, would be the most likely to ignore a Separation Order, and get away with it. Anyway, hopefully we won’t see them. Come on, we can’t go slow, not whilst we are in the open and there’s still some light.”
The pair continued their walk long into the night with the eventual moonlight offering just barely enough to navigate by. Maya and Piv filled their journey with shared stories of Fairy tales and Horl tricks, until they reached the edge of the now black forest; Occlewood. Piv slowed to a stop at the very clear boundary into the wood. “We head in for a few minutes, then we find somewhere to sleep.” A weary Maya nodded, mid yawn, and pushed forwards.
The dark trunks rose high into the air with most branches not starting until at least a few meters up. Mushrooms and fallen leaves scattered across the ground, gave a soft sponge like feel to their steps. The moonlight struggled to permeate the canopy and so the pair quickly found themselves in real darkness. It became clear quickly that Piv’s vision in the dark was some what more capable than Maya’s. As the wood condensed and the canopy grew thicker, it soon made safe and swift travel impossible, at least for one of them.
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Piv stopped, recognising Maya’s difficulty in keeping up. “How about we stop for the night. We can go again at daybreak. It’ll still be dark in here, but not like this. It’d be safer if we slept in the canopy, hows your climbing?” Maya chuckled, “I’ll be honest it’s been a while since I climbed a tree, especially ones like this.”
Piv began his climb, “I’ve a got a rope in my satchel. If I tie it off that should help you up.” With more time and less dignity than one would hope, Maya used the rope and scrambled her way up into the branches of the tree. Piv pulled the rope up after her and offered it to Maya, “On the assumption you’ve not slept in many trees, you might want to tie yourself in a bit. Just enough to stop you moving too much.” Maya took the rope eagerly and looked for a place to settle in. Deciding on a seated position against the trunk, Maya threw the rope around it multiple times, and tied herself like a prisoner, making sure to secure her bag. Piv took a more relaxed approach, slumping onto the branch, wrapping his tails around it for purchase.
After a short conversation about the plans for the following day Piv advised Maya to try and rest. Try was a good word. There was absolutely no way that Maya was going to be able to actually sleep, despite the near persistent yawning. Instead, she relaxed her head back and looked up into the canopy, her mind processing everything.
Maya opened her eyes, disoriented for a second, then registered Piv’s hand on her shoulder. The Togi was very close, and holding one finger up to his mouth. He pointed slowly down to the ground below. Maya craned forward, carefully, ignoring the discomfort in her back. She looked down to see glowing specks, like rainbow coloured fire flies, trailing along the forest floor. They formed almost an ant path, each glowing light following the one in front as it twisted and turned around the tree trunks. Maya looked back at Piv, who still held his finger to his mouth, begging for her silence.
Maya held as still as she possibly could, just watching the multicoloured lights as they stretched off into the distance. Within a few minutes, the procession came to end and disappeared. Piv stayed silent for a short while longer, then breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Maya ventured a whisper, “Horl?” Piv nodded, then looked up. Maya followed his gaze to see that the sky between the leaves was growing lighter. The ache in Maya’s bones had been clue enough, but the light confirmed it. Maya had slept, and for a few hours at least. With Piv’s help, Maya untied herself and stretched out.
With a little more grace than the upward journey, Maya climbed down from her makeshift bunk. A moist shimmer lay over the forest that sparkled in the morning light. Recognising the beauty around them was good, it pulled focus from everything else. Once Maya was down, Piv untied the rope and dropped it to floor. He stepped past Maya, winding it into a loop as he walked, and bundled the rope back into his satchel. He turned back to Maya, “Come on, we should probably make a move.” She rushed to walk beside him and began to make full use of the implied permission to speak. “What were they doing? The Horl?”
Piv shrugged, “I don’t know, and to be honest, I’m fine with that. We are better off staying out of their way.” Maya screwed her face up, “But they’re tiny, what are they gonna do?” Piv halted, showing something close to offence in his expression. “If you wish to travel the realms judging things by their appearances, you will very quickly find yourself undone.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at Maya in way that suggested he had said something very wise. Maya threw her hands up, “I don’t exactly want to travel the realms though, I just want to go home.”
Still without taking a step, Piv cocked his head to one side, “Is that really true though? You aren’t even a little curious? Up until yesterday, you believed Terra was the only realm. Terrans the only peoples. Now you’re talking to a fluffy white monkey with two tails and- what did you call them? - oh - welding goggles on his head. Does that not make you wonder what else is out there? What possibilities you may have missed?”
Maya smiled, “I’ll tell you what it does make me wonder, what actually are those goggles, I’ve only seen you look through them once, but you’ve never taken them off.”
Piv chuckled, turned, and carried on through the forest. “They are Clarity Lenses, they make magic glow. That’s how I knew you were wearing translator charms, and guessed about your cavern sack. They were a gift to me, from an old friend.”