Sadie knew she had crossed into the heart of the Darkwood when the bird calls fell away, replaced by occasional, hushed trills echoing amongst the overhead boughs. She felt the possessive grip of the forest's presence surround her once more. She knew that this area of the forest would not part easily with its creature's spirits.
A hare and a pheasant hung from Sadie's belt. They had been hunted nearer to the edge of the Darkwood. Sadie hadn't even seen their spirits. She had needed to venture deeper.
Though her eyes were sharp, Sadie could not see any sign of the mysterious flower said to ward off the ferrifae. She was hesitant to go too deep into the woods without protection, yet was eager to find more spirits. On high alert, Sadie continued cautiously down her path.
The soothing babble of a nearby brook drew Sadie's attention. She followed the sound and arrived at a small cluster of rockpools. The water was icy and crystal clear. Small glowing fish flitted amongst the layers of vibrant corals and swaying reeds.
Sadie crouched behind a rock, settling in to wait. It wasn't long before a fox arrived at the pool's edge, lapping cautiously.
Sadie's arrow was sharp and quick, and the fox fell with a dull thud by the water's edge.
Sadie moved quickly, kneeling by the motionless fox and hoping she had come deep enough into the forest... After a breath or two, misty lobes of light began pouring from the body, coalescing into the form of a fox. The translucent shape was writhing with vibrant teal and shades of lavender.
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Sadie withdrew a quartz vial from a pouch on her belt. Unsure of what to do, Sadie uncorked the top and slowly, tentatively, held the vial out towards the fox spirit. The fox seemed unaware of Sadie's presence, continuously forming and reforming its colours in apparent confusion.
The fox yipped as it nuzzled its lifeless body. The sound was wrong. Distorted. It yipped again, sounding plaintive.
Disturbed, but determined, Sadie touched the lip of the vial to a point near the spirit's cheekbone, just below the eye where a particularly bright bead of light had formed. Sadie startled and almost dropped the vial as the light flared briefly, and was sucked into the container.
Sadie laughed in surprise, hastily corking the vial and tucking it away. Before she could withdraw the next, Sadie felt a tugging within her chest. The feeling of a bell ringing. Soundless. Deafening.
Sadie stood quickly and stepped back into the trees as a ferrifae materialised, dancing before the fox. The fox swayed back and forth, mirroring the movement of the pearly light. The fox stretched forwards as the ferrifae danced just out of reach, compelling the fox to follow.
Sadie watched, fascinated, as the colours within the fox were called away from its form, piece by piece. They fell to the forest floor and dissipated into the earth until only a small ball of silver light remained of the fox's form.
Sadie took a step towards the ferrifae, entranced by the rhythm of its dance and the pulsing of its pearlescent light. As she tried to move closer, compelled by that exquisite, eerie melody, she felt the grip of the forest tighten, freezing her in place.
With a brilliant flare, the ferrifae and last of the fox spirit vanished from sight. The trance was broken. Shaken, Sadie took several steadying breaths before retrieving the carcass of the fallen fox. She turned on her heel and raced back through the forest towards familiar paths. Away from ghosts and the chilling songs of the ferrifae.