--------///----Losine's POV----\\\--------

All along our hunt, Morrius would dart off in a random direction and begin to search for something to test himself against. The encounter with the snake from earlier hadn't been enough for him as he would fight stronger opponents each time. After another three fights in which the most dangerous opponents he fought were a small band of goblins, which appeared to be in the middle of hunting, we began to make our way back towards Martiq and Lily. Morrius had some minor wounds due to the crude weapons and the number advantage yet he still showed a calmness and capability to stay aware of the field.

Despite being there and able to jump in at any moment, i was worried. Would they land a lucky hit against him? Would he be hurt before i could kill them all? Would he be safe after this? All those fears kept creeping into my mind yet i couldn't allow myself to show my fears. However after seeing him fight, seeing him stay calm under a group threat and coming out on top brought me a sense of pride in him that i will never forget.

Due to Morrius' hunting search, we had ended up going further from the meeting place then i had thought so it took us thirty or so minutes to return. Martiq and Lily had been waiting for our arrival and adopted smiles, Emily however seemed to be asleep on the ground. As we came into view. Martiq raised a brow at Morrius' wounds but seeing how they seemed to be minor and Morrius himself was rather happy, he let it go. 

Looking over at Lily, she didn't seem to have any wounds and seemed rather happy.

(Martiq) " So how did your hunt go Morrius? "

(Morrius) " I had fun! At first i didn't think there would be anything that would be enough for me or anything that i could do to have an advantage over Lily, but then i found these weird green things with weird weapons. There were five of them but they were dumb. It was still fun though. "

After hearing about Morrius' explout, Martiq turned to me with the look of, "Did he actually?" to which i nodded and smiled. Lily on the other hand looked confused. Thinking on it, she's never met goblins so even if she knew of them she wouldn't know much about them.

(Losine) " They are called goblins, Lily. They are a type of monster, that despite being the weakest kind, can deal irreperable damage. What about you Lily, what were you able to hunt? "

After i had asked, Lily looked conflicted and said.

(Lily) " I killed goblins too... But now it doesn't feel speciel... I killed a few cat like beasts but they weren't anything special. "

Hearing that Lily had killed some goblins i was somewhat surprised and turned to Martiq for an explination.

(Martiq) " Well, there was a whole cave of them further in but we kept away from that. It'd be annoying to go and deal with a tribe of them so i just told her to ignore them unless they were in a broken off group. And the cat's she mentioned were forest lynx's. "

~ I thought that was what they were. But to think there was a goblin tribe in this area... There may be another in the area we just came from as well... We can deal with this another time. ~

(Losine) " Let's put that off for now. "

Turning to Morrius and Lily, i said.

(Losine) " Anyway i believe you two made your first hunt a competition. "

Lily and Morrius looked over to each other and seemed to have a fire in their eyes as they looked back to me.

(Losine) " Now from what Morrius hunted, other then the goblins. We have a pond constricter which he handled with ease, a trident hyeana that lived a short life, and a dracovine. Which i thought were endangered plantlife but that must not be the case anymore. "

After i had mentioned the dracofern, Emily shot up as if she was risen from the dead. She looked around for a moment before locking onto me and rushing over to me with a desperate look in her eyes.

(Emily) " Did you just say Dracovine? "

I wasn't expecting the sudden burst of energy from the previously sleeping elf, so i was left stunned for a moment before answering.

(Losine) " Yes. I did mention them. "

(Emily) " Where? Did they have any seed pods? Were they healthy? "

(Losine) " One at a time please. And what's the sudden interest about Little one? "

Emily, seemingly just realizing her sudden behaviour, stopped and backed away before starting to apologize. 

(Emily) " I'm sorry! I just got so caught up in the thought of finding some Dracovine. Usually just a small piece of Dracovine would be enough to save someone's life. But thinking about finding and cultivating the whole plant made me a little stir crazy. "

(Losine) " Ahh. I do remember it having those qualities. Well to answer your questions, I believe the one Morrius fought did have pods and they did seem to be healthy. "

(Emily) " Can you bring me there, please? "

Thinking about her request, it didn't seem to be a difficult endeavor and it could be helpful to have something that we may need for our travels.

(Losine) " I don't see why not. "

Looking over to Martiq and the Little Ones i said.

(Losine) " I'll be back soon. Emily, please get on my back. "

(Emily) " Yes ma- Losine. "

(Losine) " And we'll decide who won the little contest after i return. "

(Morrius & Lily) " Awww. "

And with that i set off. I didn't want to take too long so i made sure to keep my top speed going until we reached the area i had first found them. The area seemed to be a kind of grove, thick with vegitation and rampant with young and small beasts, it truly reminded me of a druids grove. If it weren't for the fact i didn't smell any trace of another person in this area then i would've thought this was an artificial grove. After arriving, Emily dismounted and began to forage for the Dracovine's seed pods. She had taken her time and kept looking around the grove.

(Emily) " This place is amazing. It's a concentration of nature attuned energy, it's so concentrated that even something like Dracovine can flourish without being overly predated. How hasn't anyone found this place? I mean seriously, it's right next to a plains of all things. "

Emily had kept speaking aloud, as if she was in her own world as she kept picking various plantlife. She kept placing any seeds she found in a small pouch she kept on her side.

(Losine) " Why would Dracovine be overly predated? "

(Emily) " You don't know? "

(Losine) " I can't say i do. Despite knowing about it, i've never had some of it. Just knowing that it's a rare healing agent, Just knowing it tastes good isn't helpful. I don't know what makes it so delicious. "

(Emily) " We'll if it's from here, then i don't see why we shouldn't find an intact Dracovine for you. "

I would be lying if i said i didn't get excited about the idea of eating something new.

(Losine) " Then i'll search for one. I remember the scent from earlier so this shouldn't take long. "

After i finished talking with Emily, i started to search for the scent of this Dracovine and after a few moments of searching i found it. It was only a few feet away so it was easy to walk over to it. The tree i stood infront of was a regular tree that could be found in any forest, however sitting atop the branches was a different story entierly. 

Like before, the Dracovine appeared to be coiled around the branches while the vine like tendrils hung off the branches. It's main body appeared to be feeding on the tree. All i could only see of it's main body was it's dark green scale like back, it's circular appearence, it's "scaled" tendrils, and the various leaves growing from it.

I haven't fought many plant based creatures before so whenever i see them i always have a sense of curiosity grow within me. The creature had yet to notice me, so i just sent a spike directed towards it's main body.

~ If it dies then it dies. ~ 

 However the creature reacted by grabbing my spike out of the air and darted off the tree and onto a nearby branch to face me. Because of that i was able to see it's "teeth" and the unnerving substance leaking from it's mouth. Despite already seeing this kind of creature earlier, it was still unnerving. The creature was keeping itself on the branch with one of its tentacle's, and sending the others to try to strike towards me. I felt no threat from these tentacle's so i allowed them to strike me. And as i thought, there was no threat to me as they bounced off my hide.

After the failed attack, i created earthen claws to slash off the closest tentacles and try them out for myself. As i began to chew on the nearest tentacle i felt a burst of flavour that easily outclassed most of the previous vegitation i've eaten. Because of this unexpected flavor i couldn't keep myself from devouring the other tentacle aswell. They both tasted incredible and i still had more available to eat.

The creature seemingly apathetic about it's eaten limbs, attacked me again with another two limbs. It didn't seem to learn about last time as it did the same thing and didn't follow it up with anything at all. After that attack i severed the limbs again and ate them. The explosion of flavor was just like it was previously, and after i was done i decided to finish the creature off and see how the body tasted. 

Sending a few spikes towards the creature was simple enough and skewering it was satisfying. The skewer had landed a few paces away so retrieving it wasn't a hassle. Having arrived at my prize i began to nibble away from the mouth and eat away at what remained of the limbs. After i was done with those delicacies, i moved onto the main body. Since this one didn't have any seed pods, i didn't have to worry about those getting in my way. The main body tasted... Odd, to say the least. It was good but not as good as the rest of the body. 

Leaving the leftovers of the Dracovine, i made my way back to Emily. She seemed to be watching me with a look of awe yet i didn't do anything that deserved that. When she noticed i was looking at her she shook herself out of her stupor and looked up to me in a child like way and said. 

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(Emily) " Ma'a- Losine, that was amazing! When you didn't do anything i was worried you'd get hurt. But then the vines couldn't even hurt you! "

(Losine) " Were they supposed to? "

By the way Emily was acting about the vines i assumed they were supposed to be able to puncture my hide. From the vague knowledge i had about them, i knew their vines were strong just not how strong. Emily, probably wasn't expecting that question which would explain her surprise.

(Emily) " HUUUH!? Of course they are! If they attack at the speed they did against you, on a armoured person, they would be able to punch a hole straight through them. Yet you took them headon without even flinching! That was amazing! "

~ So it was something like that. I've long surpassed armor in terms of defense. ~

I was about to say something to her but seeing the sparkle in the eyes of the child infront of me had made me forget for a moment. I couldn't help but smile at her and say. 

(Losine) " Perhaps you'll see more amazing things as we journey to your colony. Anyway are you finished collecting? "

(Emily) " Yes! "

(Losine) " Then let's get back to my family so we can bring you back to yours. "

(Emily) " Ok ma'am... Sorry. "

(Losine) " At this point i don't mind anymore. Feel free to call me ma'am if it's more comfortable for you. "

Emily grew a smile at that, it seems like she was hoping i would say that. After a seconds worth of a hug, she got onto my back and held onto me. After another half hour we returned to find Martiq playing with Morrius and Lily. They seemed to be playing tag, and of course, Martiq was out manuevering Lily, who was it, as if she were just a newborn. Morrius seemed to watching yet i could tell he was waiting to catch his father unaware to help Lily. They seemed too focused on the game to notice that we had returned.

(Emily) " Umm. Should we tell them we're back? "

(Losine) " We could. But it would ruin their fun... Besides, it seems that they'll finish soon. "

Martiq must've noticed our whispering since he turned to us and shouted my name. However it seems that Morrius exploited that moment and made crude chains to lock Martiq in place as Lily tackled him.

(Lily) " Hah! Take that papa! I told you i'd catch you! Mama look look! "

Lily was jumping around and Morrius seemed to be sharing her enthusiasm, just in a more tame manner. Martiq however was a different story. He seemed to be pouting like a child, but smiled after a moment and said.

(Martiq) " I won't let you two win next time. "

(Losine) " Hmmm? Are you going to challenge them again Martiq? "

(Martiq) " Nooooo... But if they want to play again i won't say no... "

(Losine) " *Chuckle* You overgrown child. Anyway we should keep going, we can relax more later. "

(Morrius & Lily) " Ok mama! "

After that, we began to run again. We would take our time and have breaks to eat, sleep, hunt, or relieve ourselves, but aside from that we kept going. After a week and a half, we made it to the area of Emily's colony. Infront of us lied a massive and dense forest with trees that grew taller then the ones in the grave. The lively sounds of various insects and beasts radiated from the forest from many directions. The trees, aside from their height, seemed to just be regular trees with regular fruit and leaves. Entering this forest was pleasent as it felt nice to be in a forest again even if we were going to leave it again soon.

(Losine) " Emily, do you know which direction your colony resides in? "

Emily had been feeling a different kind of nostalgia as she seemed to be tearing up and crying as i could feel tears fall onto my back. She was about to answer but instead i decided to stop her.

(Losine) " Get it all out first instead, ok? "

Emily didn't say anything but Morrius and Lily trotted over and tried to nuzzle her but considering she was still on my back and i was standing, they couldn't. So i laid down and made it easier for them to do so. After a minute or two of Emily being nuzzled by my little ones, through some sniffles she said.

(Emily) " They should be a mile or two northeast from here. "

(Losine) " Then let's be off. "

Perhaps ten minutes in and i was becoming very annoyed with manuevering in this forest. As there were trees closer together then what i had become accustomed too, along with the constant entaglement with the vegitation, i was coming somewhat close to just mowing through the forest and make a path for the rest to follow since i was leading everyone else with Emily on my back. However, i felt an arrow was shot towards me. I felt nothing coming from the arrow, so i knew it was a regular one, yet since Emily was on my back i created a wall of earth to protect her.  

After hearing the arrow meet my wall and falling to the ground, i dropped my wall to look towards my assailent. In the direction i sensed the arrow i saw an elf high upon a thick branch, who was aiming another arrow, pause. The elf in question seemed to be taking a closer look before shouting. 

(???) " HALT! Identify yourself! "

Given my earlier annoyance with the forest, now this archer shooting and then proclaming his order to halt, i was more aggrivated then normal. However before i was able to say anything, Emily had shouted out.

(Emily) " WAIT! MAY THE GARDEN OF LIFE GROW FOR ETERNITY! "

The archer seemed to flinch at what Emily had just said and began making his way towards us. After a few moments, a thin elf who wore a light green tunic and pants with leather shoes. Along with his vibrant green hair and eyes, he had a quiver of arrows strapped to his waist and a hood that he had taken down. 

(???) " Who are you? And how do you know that phrase? "

(Emily) " I'm Emily Cinvilla, i knew the phrase because i was allowed to visit the grove. And it's horrible manners to attack someone and not even identify yourself afterwards. "

(Illian) " My name is Illian Bydin and i won't apologize. I noticed a pack of savage bea- "

(Losine) " Another ill advised word and i will make you regret it. Not only did you strike first, you attacked when i was highly irritated. "

The elf flinched at me speaking and begun to carefully re-evaluate his next words.

(Illian) " When i saw a pack of wolves come in the direction of my home. "

(Losine) " Acceptable. "

(Martiq) " You were getting irritated Sile? "

I couldn't keep myself from flinching at Martiq's mischevious tone. However it got worse.

(Lily) " Mama was something wrong? "

(Morrius) " Why was mama annoyed? "

My Little ones began to question me with innocent looks in their eyes. Martiq tried to take advantage of their pure questions but i was saved by Emily.

(Emily) " Anyway, can you take us to the colony? I want to just settle down here for a bit and go from there. "

(Losine) " *Ahem* And i have news that would be detrimental to your elders. "

(Emily) " Huh? "

(Martiq) " Tch. Almost had her. "

(Morrius & Lily) " Mama? "

(Losine) " Lets go. Onwards to the colony little ones. "

Despite saying that i hadn't noticed the elf who shot at me was sweating as if he had just entered a volcano. Along with his ever paling face i would have thught he was sick. Suddenly Martiq gasped and said.

(Martiq) " I know that look! It's the "Oh shit i almost fucked up" look that Mina made! "

As soon as Martiq had said that i reflexifly reached out to smack him but he was at the rear and essentially out of my reach.

(Lily) " Fucked... "

(Morrius) " Up? Mama what does... "

(Losine) " When your older little ones! Martiq! "

(Martiq) " I'm sorryyyyyy. "

Despite his apology, i created a small paw of earth and hit him on the back of the head. They were about to turn to their father to see why he suddenly started whining but i said.

(Losine) " Don't worry about him little ones. He deserved that. "

They seemed to be a small bit confused but accepted my words nonetheless. Emily was giggiling through this and the elf from earlier seemed to have calmed down a bit. He still seemed paler then sunlight but he was no longer sweating as if his life was on the line. Since it wasn't... For now. The elf began to lead us towards the colony and kept himself from saying anything that might've annoyed me. It took a few minutes but we entered a portion of the forest where the trees were less compact yet vastly thicker, which made it easier for me to traverse forward. It took a moment for me to realize we had arrived.

Lily had been the first to react as she gasped and begun to run up, presumably to get a better look at the interconnected bridges that seemed to grow from the trees themselves. Morrius shared her enthusiam and followed after his sister. The bridges were connected to a number of trees, and to a network of homes, farms, and spiral staircases that ran up and down the trees. There were various other buildings and facilities that were built inside and out of the trees, however there were multiple bridges that were connected to one massive bridge which led to the thickest tree.

Before i could analyze the area further, various shouts could be heard from the bridges and homes up above. Martiq had gone after Morrius and Lily and right before i was going to join them Emily said. 

(Emily) " Ma'am should i get off now? "

(Losine) " Do you want too? "

(Emily) " ... No. "

(Losine) " Then your free to stay on until you need to get off. "

(Emily) " Ok. "

With that i started to walk over to them, yet before i reached them i felt various elements aimed towards us. When i looked up, i saw the trees and bridges had become weapons themselves as portions of the wood had become spears, blades of air were aimed towards us and i even felt a few of them aim earth elemented attacks towards us. Continuing to walk over to Martiq i said. 

(Losine) " Should i handle this again or do you want to? "

(Martiq) " Why don't we both go? "

Despite our calm demeanor, Emily seemed to be feeling stressed, the elf seemed to be trying to calm everyone else, and the children were oblivious... I'll have to drill into them that not all bipeds will be nice so they can react to situations like these. However before we stopped them, a shout was heard from the bridge connected to the thickest tree that i attempted to look at earlier.

(???) " What's the meaning of this?! "

Looking towards the speaker of the voice, i saw a rather old looking elf, which in itself was a rare sight. He had thick gray hair, emerald green eyes, a forest green robe and pants and he seemed to be carrying a staff. From this distance i couldn't make out the finest details but it was clearly visible that he had wrinkles littering his face. The elf began to look down and met my gaze. I could tell he has ages of experience behind his gaze. Afterwords he shifted his gaze to Emily who was still on my back, and it was relieving to see what he did next.

(???) " Cease your casting! We have guests! "

Despite the order from their presumed leader some of the elves were hesitant to drop their elemental attacks. Seeing this, the old elf snapped his fingers and the wood grew and flicked the heads of those were still readying attacks. It was amusing to see and that seemed to work as one by one all the elemental attacks i sensed had begun to de-materialize. Then the old elf tapped the bridge with his staff and begun to create a staircase for us, the wood at the bottom of the bridge began to break off and grow in our direction. It was slow yet very well put together as when it had finally been completed if i hadn't seen the process then i wouldn't be able to tell that this was just created.

As soon as the last step had grown, Lily, followed by Morrius, began to run up the stairs. Martiq went after them after shaking his head for a moment, yet the fatherly smile on his face was still firm. The elf who had shot at us had disappeared at some point but i wasn't worried about that. After i made sure Emily wouldn't fall of as i went up the stairs, i proceeded to walk up and meet this elder. 

The stairs took a minute to climb, but the top of the stairs was worth it. The bridges overlooked the dense forest, and the light that broke through made the sight nice to take in.However now wasn't the time as we had someone waiting for us. The old elf had been waiting patiently for us and was keeping a calm and respectful attitude towards us, which was relaxing. I walked over to him however since i was standing still, Emily had decided now would be the best time to get off of my back so as she decided to hop off she almost tripped  because i began to move again.However a railing of wood jutted from the bridge and kept her from hurting herself.

(Losine) " Are you ok Emily? I'm sorry, i should've given you a moment. "

(Emily) " Y-yes ma'am. And it's ok, i should've said something first. And thank you, elder Ulvian. "

Now that i learned his name, i decided to look over the old elf infront of me again. He seemed to be five foot seven, if my measuring was right, he seemed to have a scar on the arm that held the staff, and despite his old age he seemed to be slightly toned.

(Ulvian) " There's no need child. But this is a surprise, you haven't been here in a couple of years, then suddenly you return with a family of Eclipse Wolves as escorts. Would you mind telling me how this happened and why you've come back? "

When Ulvian had asked her, Emily had a look of shame flash on her face yet Lily came up and nuzzled against her hand and said.

(Lily) " Don't look sad Emi! Your pretty when you smile. "

Emily stood there for a second before proceeding to give Lily some scratches. They both had smiles on their faces, for different reasons obviously but smiles nonetheless. I could see that Morrius wanted to get some scratches aswell but he stopped himself and let them have their moment. After another moment Emily had said.

(Emily) " It's kind of a long story... And there are parts of it that i don't want to admit out in the open. "

(Losine) " And we have information that needs to be shared throughout the elven community. "

Ulvian brought his gaze back towards me again and he seemed to be appraising me aswell.

(Ulvian) " How bad is it? "

(Losine) " Apocalyptic. "

After i said that Ulvian kept looking me in the eyes, and after a few moments in which he seemed to be identifying whether i was being truthful, his eyes widened and said.

(Ulvian) " Follow me. If what your saying is true then this isn't a conversation to be held in the open. " 

Ulvian turned aand motioned for us to follow, which we did. But Emily tugged at me and asked.

(Emily) " Ma'am? What's going on? "

(Losine) " You'll find out soon Emily. "

And with that we all began to follow Ulvian to his home.