Elysha stumbled backwards, her hand pressed against her forehead where she had collided with one of the children. The vision of ancient civilization dissolved, and the ruins around her returned to their desolate state.

“Are you okay?” A concerned male voice called out to her.

She took her hand off her head and stammered sheepishly, "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you!"

As she said it aloud, Elysha looked up slowly and found herself facing three children, all taller than her, their eyes reflecting surprise and curiosity.

One of them, whose turquoise hair was fashioned into twin-tails and shimmering, transparent deer antlers, grinned mischievously as she shrugged her shoulders at the collision, made a hand gesture and replied, “Oh, don't worry! We were just lost in our own little world anyway,” she laughed. “But you're new here in this forest. I've never seen you before, or have I?”

Elysha's mind raced as she weighed her options. Should she explain her presence in the ruins and the strange experiences she had just had? Would they even understand or believe her? She hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.

‘Should I tell them about the strange things I've seen?’ She pondered and frowned with uncertainty. ‘I don't know, have they ever seen the same things I have?’

Then, she remembered about the false child. ‘No… I don’t know…’

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before answering, "Um, I... I was following a…” she recalled back to her encyclopedia, “uh… talking raccoon," she nodded, her voice trailing off unsteadily. "He led me here, and I found myself in the ruins of this place. It was as if I had stepped into another time, and then… I got lost."

“So you are saying that you saw a ‘talking raccoon?’” The girl with the twin-tails giggled.

“Yes…”

The second of the trio, a girl with long pink hair tied into long pigtails, eyed her with an expression of confusion. The third, a boy with bear ears and a wreath of flowers on his mahogany hair, raised an eyebrow and replied, “A talking raccoon? Hm, that's... unusual for a normal animal. But I suppose peculiar sightings can happen in these ruins.”

“Yes, um, it's my first time in the ruins, and it was unlike anything I've ever seen,” Elysha said. “It felt like… like I was connected to the memories of the people who once lived here, seeing their stories and their past.”

The pink-haired girl exchanged a knowing glance with her friends. "Hm, yes, this is what our culture and history looks like to all of us. This forest that we call our ‘home.’"

“Home…” Elysha repeated, then her eyes widened in realization. "So, you are—"

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A ‘TALKING RACCOON?!!’”

The words were interrupted by a sudden outburst from behind the children. They all turned to see a gray-furred creature running towards them, panting and wearing the biggest frown Elysha had ever seen.

“Micah…” she spoke softly.

“Which one of you is calling a 'talking raccoon?!’” There was anger and frustration in his voice. "I am Micah! Not a raccoon! Get it right through your heads!"

Elysha couldn't help but quietly chuckled at the unexpected interruption. Meanwhile, the turquoise-haired girl burst out laughing and couldn't suppress her amusement.

"BWHAAHAHA—!!!" She cackled. "That makes so much sense now! 'Talking raccoon?' Haha! I can totally see the resemblance!"

Micah's scowl deepened. “Shut up! Micah is not a talking raccoon! Call me Micah!”

Then he flicked on a light bulb and changed the tone of his voice, “Ah, I see, so it was you who said Micah was a talking raccoon, huh?” He approached her slowly and menacingly. “Micah understands all this now.”

The girl with the twin-tails took a few steps back and raised her hands, her expression changing from amusement to nervousness, “Oh h-hey Micah, why are you approaching towards me like that?” she said in a slightly trembling voice. “We were just having a bit of fun. No need to get upset.”

“Micah is not a raccoon!” He growled. “Micah is Micah!”

“I know that you are not a raccoon,” she nodded in acknowledgement. “You are more like a dog to me than a raccoon.”

“WHAT?” Micah gasped in shock. “That is EVEN WORSE than being called a raccoon!”

As he said those words, the girl with the twin-tails blinked her eyes, imagining in that moment Micah's shape and form transforming into a dog.

“Pffffffffffttttt.”

Everyone stared at the two of them, and Micah's fur bristled in response.

“Grr, oh THAT’S IT! Micah will show you what Micah’s wrath looks like!”

Then he jumped towards the girl with the twin-tails, leapt into the air with determination and clung to her upper body.

“AAHHHHHHHHH—!” She let out a scream, her hands flying up to shield her face as she stumbled backwards. “Get off of me! Y-You are on my face! I can’t see a thing! AHHHHH—!”

The pink-haired girl was still amused, but tried to calm the situation down. “It's alright, Micah. There's no need to get all ruffled up. You know we didn't mean any harm with those names. It was just a joke. We understood you.”

“Micah will forgive and leave, but only if you promise to call me by Micah's name again.”

“Okay! Fine then! I will!”

“What is my name again?”

“Doggy Micah.”

The three other kids stood and watched as the chaotic scene played out before her. The girl with the twin-tails continued to scream and flail around while Micah clung to her head. Meanwhile, Elysha, who had been standing still the whole time, could no longer suppress her laughter and joined in the merriment.

“Pfft, hehe…”

The boy with the flower crown turned to her and noticed her soft smile. Micah finally hopped off and maintained his grumpy demeanor, he couldn't help but be amused by the merriment that surrounded him.

“Hmm, Micah's not impressed with you idiots.” He shrugged, his expression a contradiction to his words.

The chaos and laughter gradually subsided, Elysha took a moment to gather her thoughts.

‘Such strange weirdos…’ she mused silently, watching the interaction unfold in front of her. ‘But I like them, there's something about them… I wonder…'

She felt an inexplicable connection to this unexpected group of strangers she had stumbled upon in the ruins, when the girl with the turquoise twin-tails managed to regain her composure and said, “Alright, alright, I promise not to call you 'doggy Micah' or 'talking raccoon' anymore,” the girl admitted in an exaggerated but sheepish tone. “I'm sorry for teasing you. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“Hm…” Micah eyed her skeptically for a moment before he finally relented and his expression softened a little. "Fine," he grumbled. "Apology accepted."

The girl with the pink hair clapped her hands together and said, “See? I knew that everything would turn out well in the end.”

“You haven't done anything at all, Nevi. You have no right to ease my pain when I have Micah's dirt and muck all over my face.” She pouted.

“What dirt and muck?” Micah shouted.

“Well, I am still glad that we could sort it out," she said. “Now, can we all just get along? Especially when we haven’t even introduce ourselves to this girl right here.”

The two of them turned towards Elysha.

“Oh yeah, my name is Anaïs, but you can call me Ana if you want,” said the girl with the twin-tails. “And that small, annoying brat right there is Micah.”

“Micah already know who she is!” He frowned.

“So you two already knew each other?” The boy with the flower crown asked.

“Yeah! Micah met her outside of the ruins an hour ago!”

Elysha nodded, “Nice to meet you, Ana,” she smiled, “My name is Elysha. I am… um… new here in this forest.” Then she turned to the other two children. “What are your names?”

The pink-haired girl spoke up, “My name is Nelvia, but like Ana, you can call me Nevi.”

“Nevi…”

“Mm-hm, and this boy next to me is Neliel. We've been good friends for a long time and like to explore the forest together to have fun and work on different projects.”

“That is indeed true.” Neliel nodded. “We've all lived fairly close to each other, and we wouldn't have become friends if it weren't for the Iröstosa Trail, which connects all the tribes, villages, and neighborhoods in the forest.”

“Ana… Nevi… and Neliel.” Elysha repeated their names, memorizing them as she looked into their faces.

“And Micah too!" He interjected, refusing to be left out.

“Micah too,” Elysha nodded, acknowledging his presence.

Ana continued, “Yes, and if you ever want to meet us again, you are more than welcome to visit the Village of Illumina, where Nevi and I are from. It's not far from here, and you can come and visit us any time.”

“And when you are there, you can learn all about our village's history and culture,” added Neliel.

Elysha's curiosity piqued, “I've heard of Illumina before, and I want to understand your culture, your history and the stories of people. Will you talk about them to me? I am willing to learn.”

The children exchanged a look and Ana replied, “Of course, we can tell you all about the history and culture of Illumina, and also about this forest.” She nodded. “But sadly, we can only go into that when we meet again. We have a project that all three of us are working on at the moment.”

“A project?”

“Oh, it's going to blow your wonders away, Elysha! You won't be disappointed." Ana smiled mischievously. “If you want, we can even invite you to see our progress in the late stages, if we're not too busy.”

Elysha couldn't help but feel a pang of excitement. “That sounds fun to me. I want to see it.”

“You can see it only on another day,” Micah interrupted, stepping himself between Elysha and the others. “After all, this girl is still in a middle of participating something important.”

“Like what?” Ana smiled, eager to hear.

“Uhh, very important! Too important for you all to know!” Micah nodded.

“Aww, is that’s so then?” She then turned to Elysha. “Oh, Elysha, if something ever happens to you, have this whistle in case if you needed help.”

Ana handed Elysha a small ivory-colored whistle with some decorative marks on it. “It’s a tradition among the village and to our group. We always carry one of these in case of need. Consider it a token of our friendship.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Elysha held the whistle, feeling touched by the gesture. “Thank you, Ana,” she said sincerely.

Meanwhile, Micah stood off to the side, feeling very unimpressed, “Micah knows how to keep people safe.” He grumbled.

“Haha, it’s just a little gesture of goodwill and bonding.” Ana grinned, then turned back to Elysha. “You see, sometimes strange encounters can occur, whether scary or fun! So it’s best to have others with you rather than being alone, which then this whistle can come in handy. Isn’t that right?”

“I can see what you mean,” she nodded.

“It's always better to have friends by your side, especially in unknown places.” Neliel said.

“I agree,” Nevi added.

“Exactly! That’s what adventures and explorations are all about! Whether it can be scary or an easy walk in the park, there are so much thrills and wonders that my soul just keeps etching for them.” Ana sighed wistfully. “So, whenever you wanted to have more little adventures like this, just let us know. We'd love to have you with us and explore around together whenever the time comes.”

Elysha smiled back, feeling a sense of warmth and belonging with this newfound group of friends. "I'll keep your words in mind. Thank you for the whistle, Ana," she said, tucking it safely into her pocket.

~ ❈❇❈ ~

The group walked through the ruins together until they came to the end of a path that split in two different directions.

“Alright, this is where we part ways,” said Ana. “It is time for us to continue our separate adventures."

Elysha stopped and looked at the directions of the two separate paths ahead of them. One of the paths seemed to be an exit from the ruins, while the other seemed to lead further into the wooded path, to a place unknown to her.

Neliel, intrigued about Elysha's and Micah's next destination, couldn't help but voice his question. “Since we are returning to our location for the project, where will you two go from here?”

Elysha and Nevi turned to Micah, who responded with a sigh, “Fine, Micah will tell you all right here and now—Elysha is taking part in the ‘Trial of Iröstos!’” He exclaimed confidently.

There was silence between the three of them, who exchanged questioning glances, their expressions filled with surprise and doubt.

“Oh... I see.” Neliel finally said, breaking the silence.

“Why do I hear that condescending tone in your voice?” Micah frowned. “Anyways, we are about to reach our destination soon, therefore she is about to face the main part of the trial up ahead.

“I hope it turns out well for Elysha then.” He smiled.

Micah gave a lowered eyes glare at his expressed smile. As that happened, Nevi reached out and clasped Elysha's hand, catching her by surprise as she wore a warm smile on her face. "Before you two leave, there's an upcoming festival in Illumina Village in a few weeks. We can meet each other there if you can come visit."

Elysha's face lit up and replied, "Thank you, Nevi. I will ask my guardian if I can come visit."

“You are asking Guardian Iröstos if you can come visit?” She tilted her head, confused.

“N-No, I’ve meant Elder Merakia.”

The trio of children’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait! Are you serious?!" Ana exclaimed. “The Elder Merakia?!"

“Huh?”

"Wow… so are you a pupil of Elder Merakia? Since when did she took you under her wing?" Nevi asked, her eyes glistening in awe. "I always wanted to be taught theonum sorcery by someone so well-known and intelligent..."

“Huh?” Elysha repeated again, blinking her eyes by all of this confusion.

“I’m impressed, Elder Merakia has brought the knowledge and fundamental teachings of theonum to the villages and tribes across the Isles of Elbija.” Neliel stated. “She has greatly influenced our lives and that of the village. I wanted to ask you how you managed to—”

“Ehehehe… enough with these questions, let’s talk about them another time.” Micah interjected, closing the distance between them with his big, fluffy tail. “Right now, Elysha and Micah are on our way to the next chapter of our adventure.”

Elysha smiled gratefully at Nevi's invitation. "Thank you, Nevi. I will come to the festival when the time is right."

Nevi nodded, “By all means. After all, the festival is a remembrance and celebration of Illumina's culture and history. It's very worthwhile to visit the place of our homeland whenever you can.”

“We will be around when the festival takes place, so join us when you have the chance to be there.” Ana smiled.

“I will,” Elysha nodded. “I want to see it, too.”

Micah cleared his throat. “Well, we should be going now. The Trial of Iröstos awaits us.”

With a final exchange of words, the trio of children bid them farewell. Elysha watched as Ana, Nevi and Neliel walked down one of the branching paths, their figures gradually disappearing into the distance.

Elysha stood there for a moment. In her path lay the one that would lead her to the destination Micah had been looking for when they visited the ruins. She felt a wave of anticipation and fear of the unknown that lay ahead.

She looked back the other way and saw that the other children had already vanished.

“Elysha!”

A familiar voice called her name, and she turned to see Micah looking at her with a big warm smile on his face as he waited for her. “Are you ready?”

She nodded in response, “Yeah.”

Together they walked on, ready to experience the next chapter of their adventure in the forest.

~ ❈❇❈ ~

After saying goodbye to Elysha and Micah, the three children continued on the path ahead of them.

“I think that girl is kind of cute,” Ana said, starting the conversation. “Elysha right? That was my first time meeting her. She looked small, quiet, and even a bit docile.”

“Elder Merakia really have a charm for picking up silver-haired students.” Neliel chuckled.

“So you're saying that if I dyed my hair silver, I'd have a better chance of becoming a student of that mage?”

“I can’t really imagine seeing you without your blue hair.” He remarked.

“Well, it reminds me that I need to work harder on honing my theonum core, and when the day of the show comes along, my show will be even more impressive to my audience.” Ana said, grinning for a second, then sighed and began to pout. “If only I could be as amazing as Elder Merakia was in her theater performance.”

“Have you come up with any new creative techniques lately?” asked Neliel.

Ana took a few large steps forward, turned to him and said with a finger to her lips, “You’ll see.”

Then her eyes turned to something else and she asked, “What are you thinking about, Nevi?”

Nevi turned her attention back to Ana and Neliel and replied, “I was just about to ask you a question based on what you said earlier, Ana.”

“A question?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “When was the last time you met a local walking around in the forest that you've never met before?”

“Hm, never really. I usually know pretty much all the faces of the neighbors in the forest. Why do you ask?”

Nevi thought about it a little more, then replied, “Could you think that Elysha could be the same as Kytela?”

Ana paused, “Kytela? You mean the girl who was discovered in the forest last year?”

“Yes, you remember we used to take her on a tour through the forest with Madelei until she was transferred north to the Town of Amarante, right?”

“I remember, but why are you talking about her? It's been quite a while since we last saw her, since she moved away. You even remember her name.

“... What I'm saying is that I've done a bit of research on people like her, you know? The ones who were found lost in the forest with no memories of their past and no connections to any relatives and stuff.”

Ana blinked her eyes and took a moment to say something when Neliel spoke up, “You mean the ‘kuniju-naufenüvji’ phenomenon?”

“Kuniju… naufenüvji?”

“Yes, that's what I mean,” said Nevi. “A kuniju-naufenüvji is an old language term for a ‘forest child,’ which in this context refers to children who were ‘born’ in the forest without having anything to do with who they are or what they were—like what happened to Kytela.”

“Like they came out of nowhere, just ‘there’ out of nowhere?” Ana asked.

“That is, until someone finds them.” Nevi added.

“Wow...” Ana breathed, taking in Nevi's explanation. “I've never thought of it like that. So you think Elysha might be one of those ‘forest children’ like Kytela?”

“It's a possibility, but I could be wrong when I connect those dots. I wish I could talk to Elysha more about her background, but I was afraid of being intrusive and ended up not finding a good moment to speak to her.”

Ana crossed her arms and said, “... And I thought that Neliel was the nerdy one here in our group.”

“Oh please, I'm just interested in anything to do with the forest, its culture, history and phenomena.” Nevi frowned. “Besides, I mainly liked making music and singing.”

Ana stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder, “And that's why you're part of my theater projects, so be a little more proud of yourself, okay? My shows wouldn't be the same without your music.” She smiled.

Nevi blushed and nodded as Neliel noticed something, “Did you heard that just now?”

“Heard what?” Ana asked.

“Shh, listen closely.”

Ana and Nevi fell silent, their ears straining to catch every sound. Neliel's expression became serious as he scanned their surroundings.

Suddenly, a rustling sound broke through the silence of the forest, followed by a soft breeze. The trio tensed, their eyes darting around to find the source of the sound.

“Do you think it’s...?” whispered Nevi, her voice barely audible. Before she could finish her sentence, the nearby bushes began to shake and various figures emerged from the foliage.

They noticed a surprising sight—Zhivopians, kindred spirits of the forest. They swirled and played, their presence casting liveliness into the dull corners of the ruins and the forest.

“Oh, there you all are,” Ana said with a smile. "The forest felt strange and empty when many of you suddenly disappeared."

The Zhivopians gather closer around the trio of children. “Hello Ana. Hello Nelvia and Neliel. It’s been a nearly a week since we last had fun with each other.” One of them said.

“Yeah, but it was nearly a week in fact,” she said, frowning and couldn't help but inquire, “Why did you all disappear for a short while? We've never experienced that before, until the last few days when the forest fell very silent.”

“Many of us were in our homes in Zhivopia,” explained the same Zhivopian. “On that day, we felt an unfamiliar sensation in the forest, so we went into hiding."

"Hiding?" Nevi echoed, confused.

The little one nodded, and others around them confirmed the truth of the statement.

“Yes, there was this big flash of light…..”

“We felt these terrible omens…..”

“There was this wave force that pushed us back…..”

“I just wanted to go back home and be safe…..”

Another one spoke up, “Yes, it was quite unpleasant, especially two days ago in the early morning when a huge light flashed while we were nearby. It scared a lot of us because we couldn't see anything, not even ourselves, just white and… nothing for a short moment.”

Neliel turned to the others and said, “I think I have a sense of what they are talking about.”

“I think I do, too," Nevi said. "But perhaps I thought the wave force was just windy weather, and ... I also thought it was misty that early morning two days ago.”

“Were you awake that early morning, Nevi?” He asked.

Nevi furrowed her eyes in thinking, then shook her head, her expression troubled.

Ana furrowed her brows, her expression turning thoughtful. "I don't recall anything unusual happening that morning. It was just like any other day to me."

Neliel nodded, his gaze distant as he pieced together the information. "It seems like whatever happened affected the Zhivopians more directly than us."

Then he turned and inquired further, "Do you know the source of this white light?"

The Zhivopians exchanged glances with each other, and a tall one spoke up, “We don't know the source. The Elbijan named Merakia advised us all to stay away from the light explosion.”

“You mean Elder Merakia, right?” Ana asked.

“Yes, the mage who lives in the southeastern part of the forest.” He said.

“And after a few days, we are slowly becoming more at ease and confident about coming back." Added another.

“That's really interesting,” Neliel said. “If one of you observes another strange phenomenon in the forest, you should first inform the village council in Illumina. My father works there and the elders are very keen to protect the forest from strange and potentially dangerous encounters.”

“And us too!” Ana added. “I would love to be there and witness it next time!"

Neliel turned his gaze to Ana in surprise. Many of the Zhivopians nodded in agreement, “We will keep to your words, Elbijan friend, and let you know if anything else happens.”

“The name’s Neliel,” he smiled.

After saying their goodbyes, the trio watched as the Zhivopians disappeared back into the foliages. Nevi let out a heavy sigh, her worried gaze lingering.

“Do you think we should inform Elder Merakia about what the Zhivopians have told us?” She asked, turning to Neliel and Ana.

Neliel nodded, “I think that's a good idea. Elder Merakia might have some insight about this ‘strange light explosion’ that has happened in the forest.”

“Only when the project is finished for today, then we go back to Illumina Village and write a letter to her.” Ana said.

Having made their decision, the trio turned and continued on their way, setting aside the mysterious event in the back of their minds as they continued with the events of their day.

~ ❈❇❈ ~

After bidding farewell to the group of three friends, Elysha and Micah continued walking on their path to their destination.

“Now tell me, why did you wandered off from Micah’s eyes earlier?”

Elysha flinched and responded, “I was just looking around for a moment and then—you were gone.”

Micah turned his head to her and said with an unimpressed face, “While you were looking around, Micah was talking the whole time about fun activities Micah's friends and I did together in the ruins, but when Micah stopped and turned around, Micah realized you weren't behind Micah anymore.”

“I… um…”

“You couldn't believe your eyes, because when Micah saw you weren't behind me, I thought I spoke so boringly that you were running away from me!”

Elysha stood there and watched as Micah, with his back facing her, pouted and whined. She took a few steps forward and got down on her knees to stroke his fur.

He reacted, “Micah is not satisfied with you petting me.”

Elysha frowned, her fingers gently running through Micah's fur. “I'm sorry, Micah. I didn't mean to wander off. I was just… curious about what’s around us.”

Micah's pout softened a little, but he kept his grumpy demeanor. “Curious or not, you should have stayed close to Micah. Micah didn't take kindly to being alone without Elysha.”

“Without me?”

He grumbled some more, “... It's dangerous to walk around these ruins alone.”

Elysha lowered her gaze, her hand still on his fur. “... I know, Micah,” she assured him. “I promised to stay close to you next time.”

He still grumbled, but leaned into her touch, enjoying the warmth of her hand against his fur. “Hmph, fine, but don't do it again. Micah doesn't want anything bad to happen to you.”

Elysha smiled and let out a few giggles.

Micah turned back to her and asked, “Why are you laughing like that?”

She stifled her laughter and said, “Thanks, hehe.”

He couldn't help but grin when he saw the light-hearted look on her face, and with that, the two continued on their way, chatting about various topics as they soon reached their destination.