“I knew it! You’re also after my forest! Simple creature, do you want to feel my ire?!” Her vines rattled as they closed in on X, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The redheaded elf spun around, confronting the dryad. “You followed me?”

The dryad's piercing gaze pinned him in place, her eyes already skinning him, ready to let him rot, hanging upside down from whatever tree branch she felt like it.

“Calm down! I’ve done nothing to this flower.” X remembered. “Yeah, that’s right. This isn’t even your forest. Yours is on the other side of the main road, you said so yourself.”

“You fucking strange, lanky shit gave me odd vibes back there! I didn’t trust you one bit, and I was right. You know what happens when people disrespect nature?”

“A freaky mutant comes out and starts murdering people in whatever name she thinks of that day. And I mean it when I say this: you should get free of your shackles. You want to kill, do it, you’re good at it. Stop holding yourself back.”

She forced a nervous smile, then went back into business mode. “Can anyone of you lower creatures respect nature? Is it too much to ask?”

“Answer my question. Is this also your forest or not?” pressed X.

Her discomfort showed in her tight-lipped expression and stiff posture caused by hard questions of consciousness. If she had any. Simple questions she had not been able to answer to herself, she didn’t answer this time either.

"You have serious issues,” spoke the elf, “starting with your flip-flopping personality. This is a straightforward situation. If this is also your forest, I’ll leave as I came, in peace. If it’s not, then why are you here?”

Once more, he met a wall of silence. He knew she had her reasons, but he didn’t care about them one bit. The two stood facing each other, X out of exhaustion and the dryad in growing exasperation. He was about to voice his apathy when she spoke first.

“Well, I can’t fucking protect all of nature, can I? Can I?!”

“And here I was wondering what this confused bestial act was all about. It’s freaking good to see the real you. Don’t lose yourself, it’s unbecoming. And I do repeat myself but... why are you here?”

She kept quiet. ‘Fuck it!’ X wanted to yell at her crooked face but couldn't even think about it. He stepped back and continued on his path. The dryad followed his steps. He stopped and faced her again.

“Jeez... Are you going to follow me all the way? I know I’m good-looking but you’re not my type. Wait. Wrong. You are kinda my type of crazy, but to be honest, I don’t know what sort of ailments and diseases you creatures carry and irresponsibly share, so... you’ll have to wait till I figure it out.”

[Oh, but you freely mated with the blond girl back there, in Saint Jaulea.]

She seemed human enough... at least as human as she needed to be.

[Human enough? Nice standard.]

The dryad’s eyebrows rose slightly while barely moving her lips apart, but remained silent. He studied her, trying to understand the strange being before him. And if there was something X did enjoy, it was messing with people, or in this case, speaking creatures.

Though he knew he toyed with death with each spoken word, something about that beast bothered him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he couldn't shake off the feeling either. Perhaps what annoyed him lay in her hypocritical nature, her self-censorship, or her absurd rules?

No, not any of those.

The elf sat beside another flower, delicate and lonely. He circled his fingers around the stem, and stared into the dryad’s light blue eyes, her whole body tensed. Likewise, her vines jittered faster.

“What a beautiful flower. A shame this one has no scent. Well, they can’t all be perfect. Can’t fault this... small, delicate... Such an effort to grow and thrive. Between my fingers, it feels... fragile, a mere wind could break it.”

He held the small, vulnerable flower between his fingers, admiring its ephemeral beauty. The vines around him rattled, pointing their sharp edges towards him.

“Hey you, overgrown plant, play fair! This isn’t your forest, and I haven’t done anything to your sister,” exclaimed X.

The vines inched closer.

The redheaded elf continued, “I have a question though... if I slowly defile this flower... You’d be powerless? Or you’d cut me down right where I stand?”

Thoughts formed within the dryad and words soon followed. “I... this is... not my forest...”

“Then again, why are you here?”

No answer escaped her lips.

“Maybe I’ll crush it under my foot,” teased X.

“It’s a promise I made to myself. I... I fucking can’t,” uttered the dryad, her disfigured countenance expressing sorrow and rage.

“Or twist it till it pops...” X didn’t relent.

The thought of the elf defiling the flower crossed her mind, a clear vision spread inside her. Violence. However, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not yet.

“I need clearly defined boundaries or else...” whispered the dryad, her voice trailing off.

A faint grin appeared on the elf’s face as he watched her, mesmerized by the ignominious creature before him, fighting against herself, a battle she always lost for sure. Yet still tried.

“Or else... I’ll... You don’t even fucking dare to!” yelled the dryad, beginning to lose herself to the growing voices of violence inside her.

Promises made, promises kept, promises broken.

X interrupted her exposition of madness. “Perhaps you prefer fire?” He rummaged through his bag, searching for a match.

“Argghh! I’ll fucking flay you alive and leave you to dry if you do anything to this innocent flower!” Vines snaked forward, ready to strike him. Her maddened mind treaded on the edge, anything would set her off. X quickly backed off, leaving the flower alone. A pair of eyes, filled with rage, followed his every move.

“How quickly you break your promises! Bodes well to your freaky self. Oh yeah, and everything I said about defiling this flower was purely theoretical. I’m a fan of nature, after all.”

“The fuck are you parroting on about?!” demanded the angered dryad.

“Strange creatures deserve strange treatment. That’s my motto.”

“I might’ve killed you. I might still do.” Finger on the trigger, vines ready to butcher on command. “You numbed my mind... be careful where you step, my vines know your scent. I wouldn't want to be held responsible for what happens to you,” threatened the dryad.

The redheaded elf’s face mixed disgust and contempt in equal measures. He found what had been bothering him: her tasteless act.

“You want to lie to the world, do it. But why would you lie to yourself? Whatever, I got my answer. You get yours, or never do, who cares,” spoke X.

She simply watched him carefully, making sure no one would sully her woods, vines still trained on him.

“What about your word... creature? I haven’t done anything, and I don’t plan on doing anything... to your forest, or whatever this is to you,” stated X.

“I’m on the edge, and you keep stepping all over my grass.”

For a brief moment, X’s heart beat faster. He looked down but saw only soil. “Decent use of language shows a higher level of abstraction, not bad for a talking plant.”

He stretched out on the rough ground beneath him, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The night had descended, enveloping him in its darkness.

“And good thing this is not your forest,” spoke X, “and I haven’t hurt any greenery. Now go away, I’m going to rest, or don’t. Sing a song or something. That’s what you beasts are good for aren’t you? Come on, show off your skills in this cool night... entertain your guest, sing, dance... You can do something other than killing, right? I mean, even the humblest of flowers can...” He rubbed his eyes, then yawned when he saw the dryad was no longer in sight. She had quietly vanished.

"Finally, some peace," he muttered, closing his eyes.

[She could easily cut you up. Are you looking for the easy way out?]

“Freaking monster... She can, but she won’t. Wanna know why?”

[Illuminate me, oh... freak one. Why?]

“She has this twisted sense of justice, a set of self-imposed rules she won’t break. Because if she does... or to be precise, the day she does, her whole world crumbles. I’ve known people like her, freaking murderers, torturers... all sorts of sanguinary characters with a sense of honor. Can you believe that?! Freaking garbage thinking they are righteous murderers, torturers, and rapists.”

[And you don't?]

“I keep it real. I don’t pretend to be something I’m not. At least not to myself... unlike her.”

[You hate her because she somehow tries, in a fucked-up way, to retain more decency than you. The humanity you lost somewhere along the way.]

“I never said I hated her. But nature’s protector? Yeah right. She should just kill anyone who looks her wrong. I’d respect her then. And what humanity are you talking about? I’m a beast now...”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[You’ve always been one.]

X chuckled. "Now let me sleep."

The chirping of a bird and the warm rays of the morning star woke him up. The redheaded elf stretched his arms and scanned his surroundings, but she was nowhere in sight. From his bag, he pulled out a piece of bread for breakfast and took a small bite as he continued down the main road. After his experience at Saint Jaulea, he decided to avoid human towns. According to what the dryad had told him, the elven town of Silifran should be close.

Strolling through the forest took most of his energy, and as his supplies dwindled, his pace slowed down, yet he kept moving forward. The main road forked several times, each branching off to different towns, and the frequency of carriages increased. X stayed on the main path, and after a few hills, he finally spotted Silifran on top of a gentle slope.

By midday, the scorching heat was beating down on him, but X carried on. Silifran looked similar to Saint Jaulea, protected by tall walls with towers evenly spaced along the perimeter. The large gates were easy to spot from a distance, framed by statues—half monster and half humanoid—on either side. Beyond the gates, the town was organized into neat blocks, dotted with dozens of houses, all running uphill towards a shining emerald castle at the top.

“Look at that...” X murmured as he approached the city’s wall. Sentient and non-sentient creatures of all shapes and sizes lined up, eager to enter Silifran. Carriages rolled in through the main gate, while individuals filtered in through a secondary, smaller one.

X made his way closer, observing the bustling activity at the entrance. Tamed creatures of various species came and went, with only a few beings appearing equipped for battle. He noted the city soldiers, their distinctive metal-plated armor glinting under this world’s main star. Their armor covered their upper torso, hips, shoulders, neck, and pelvis area, paired with long boots on top of black leather. The design blended a layered-down style with sharp patterns interwoven with fine golden embroidery and edged by silver threads. Some wore helmets, while others simply had metal circlets. Long ears peeked out from under the metal.

Elves.

The redheaded elf took a seat under a small tree, watching the flow of creatures and keeping a safe distance from the secondary entrance. Strange beasts, not horse-like at all, pulled carriages around. Up close, these creatures appeared even more savage, with teeth protruding from their mouths, yellow reptilian eyes, and bodies covered in scales, fur, or armor. The monstrous spectacle befuddled him.

Natural meat grinders.

[Do you have to look at everything through a violence lens?]

X's silence greeted the dusk star as it rose on the horizon. A gentle autumn breeze flowed through the hills, bringing some relief to his thoughts as he lounged, observing the busy entrance. A couple hours later, two soldiers approached.

"Stand up!" they ordered.

With a makeshift turban obscuring his pointed ears and ragged appearance, his elven heritage went unnoticed.

"No vagrancy allowed in the city's outskirts," declared one soldier with a mixture of seriousness and arrogance.

The vagrant elf remained seated. His silence incited the soldiers to demand again, "We said, stand up!" The nearest soldier grabbed his arm and lifted him up.

Energy saved.

"Another vagabond," uttered the second soldier.

Dirty with a mixture of sweat and garbage odor and clad in rags, X felt affronted by the soldier's prejudice.

I might look like a hobo... but no. No.

[Look? You are a hobo.]

“Shut up!” X voiced out loud.

"What did you say?!" one of the soldiers took offense.

"We've got a live one!" said his partner.

"Take him inside."

"You'll repent... soon enough."

The redheaded elf didn’t interrupt their monologue. The one-way discourse of authority seemed well developed in all realms and on all worlds. The two soldiers ushered X into the city and sat him down inside an interrogation room.

This brings me memories...

The door opened, and a female elf entered. The two soldiers spoke in a language he didn't understand to their superior. The hobo couldn't avoid admiring her graceful face.

Is this a race of pretty things?

“Another vagrant.” She took a seat across from him. "Documents."

X gazed at her delicate and feminine features, which, without a helmet to conceal her beauty, shone brighter in the dim-lit interrogation room.

“Does he understand?” she asked facing her subordinates. They shrugged. The female elf captain stood up, approached him, and slammed her hand onto the table. "You look as you smell." A look of disgust twisted her beautiful face. "Are you going to give us trouble? Here in Silifran, we have clear rules."

Ufff... she smells so fine.

[You want some?]

Don’t you?

“Hey you, listen up! Do you want a fast entrance into the dungeons?” threatened the elven captain.

As enticing as that sounded, the redheaded elf had other plans. "I was robbed on the road by bandits. It happened three or four days ago."

“You speak.” Her eyes fixed on the vagrant. “How many days ago?”

“Three... or four.”

"We received a report about a mixed caravan being attacked," she said. "Were you with them?"

"No, I was walking by and was assaulted too."

"And you are?"

"X."

"Ekk's?" she asked.

He nodded.

The female captain sighed, stared at X, and spoke, “What a strange name... No documents, vagrancy, and a suspicious behavior.” She scrutinized the emaciated vagrant’s half-revealed face, trying to decipher his race. “Identify yourself. Your race, your origin. And be honest, or things could turn ugly fast.”

X undid the rags around his head, his pointy ears plopping out. “Is this how you treat a—?” he halted mid-sentence.

The three soldiers immediately bowed in apology.

“Oh! Sir, we beg your pardon!” said the female elf.

“Excuse us!” chorused both male elven soldiers.

The sudden change in their demeanor momentarily startled X.

“Judis lak’ai delle ando! Fash seu’ri ogun h’ara,” uttered the female captain.

Again, some strange vociferations, their mouths moved but made no sense at all.

“Ihiso salin’au dou laer oklus?” The female elf stared at the redheaded elf expectantly.

“Eh?”

“Fuia sha’k tris’ouhen kas icsadi doiu’ju ghastaka orew. Ibid ji’xau la poas’he sum j’oas iuf?” she continued.

The vagrant elf focused, struggling to come up with a story. “Wait, wait... eh... My head’s dizzy... I got badly beaten... and... as surprising as it seems, the elf language... simply eludes me... Can you speak—?”

“Lennel!” the female leader called for her underling, interrupting X.

“Yes, captain?”

“Bring our fellow elf a cup of daess.”

“Yes, captain.”

“They hit you hard, sir.” The female elf addressed X. “Once again, I apologize for our harsh treatment. We did not expect you to be... Sir, you understand the current state of Silifran with all the different races... It's not a safe time. With the border conflicts, rising crime, and the political instability caused by Saint Jaulea’s chaotic aftermath... to put it mildly, we’ve neglected our manners.”

X's lips curled in a self-satisfied smile as she stumbled over her words, offering him an apology. A complete reversal of her earlier demeanor.

"Sir, you must be aware of the current situation. But most importantly, how are you feeling? What happened to you?" she asked, concern drawn on her face.

The redheaded elf’s expression darkened as he spoke, “Those... monstrous speaking creatures—”

“Indeed, the report talked about human bandits,” interjected the female elf captain.

"Of course,” assented X.

“Attacking even their own...” added the female elf captain.

“It was a mixed caravan, Captain. Elves think every human hates kinn’hayas, but that’s not true,” Lennel chimed in.

“But those bandits attacked the caravan all the same, even butchering their own kind,” added the third elven soldier.

“Everyone's on edge, especially these days since Saint Jaulea... Here’s your daess, sir.” Lennel placed a steaming cup with a faintly glowing liquid on the table. It gave off a foul odor that caused X's nose to wrinkle in disgust.

Yeah... no.

"Those bandits bashed my head and left me for dead," stated X.

"Is that why your face is partially covered?" inquired the female elf captain.

"Yes. It happened so quickly, and all because I was... bringing medicine and gifts to my sick niece. I woke up to find the caravan gone and all my belongings taken by the thieves. God...s help me. My documents and status as a vagrant are the least of my worries now. What really saddens me is my fellow elf’s treatment..." spoke X, sadness and disappointment colored his voice.

The three soldiers hung their heads in shame, "Sir, we deeply apologize for our earlier behavior towards you," spoke the female elf captain.

The redheaded elf grinned momentarily before adopting a down-trodden expression. “Don’t worry, I know my condition aggravated an already tense situation. It’s a mad world we’re living in. The dangers lurk around every corner, and we never know what kind of demented beasts— I mean, beings, living and thinking beings, we could cross paths with.”

“No need to hide it, sir,” spoke the captain.

“What do you mean?” X's heart raced.

“Those beasts you talk about,” the female elf gestured to the air, “the other races. Unclean and uncivilized. Criminal. To be honest, they shouldn’t have ever been welcomed in Silifran.”

“Agreed,” swiftly replied X. “Every single one of yo— er, the other races out there... Their very presence sends shivers down my spine, especially the... furry ones.”

“You’re thinking of the feralis,” Lennel cut in.

“Yes, yes!” exclaimed X.

“They breed like insects,” the captain shook her head in disbelief. “Almost dreg-like.”

“How they do it?” the redheaded elf faked his interest.

“I’ve heard,” Lennel interjected, “it’s a tricky business, for sure.”

“You’ve heard?” the female elf captain feigned surprise. “Sometimes your preferences disturb me. But of all the races, the feralis are the worst. They multiply without end and cannot be shaped into proper citizens. We elves are far too superior for them.”

“I don’t know captain... At least with the feralis, you know where you stand. It’s all downhill from there,” stated Lennel.

“Ugh... let's not dwell on that. And let us give thanks we aren’t stationed in Fildereal. They really have it tough, surrounded by all those undesirables... all those dregs.” The female elf captain shuddered.

X nodded along their conversation.

Suddenly, they began speaking in their language again, the words fluidly rolling off their tongues. X remained silent until they switched back to the language the redheaded elf knew well.

"We will accompany you to your niece's house, good sir," said the captain.

"Looking like this? Do you want her to die from consternation?" replied X, touching his disheveled red hair. "No. First, I must bathe and change my clothes. Then... I will visit her."

"Of course, Ekk's, sir," agreed the female elf with a nod. "Duissian's bathhouse is still the best. She will treat you with the respect you deserve. And concerning your recent... incident..."

"Those darn bandits!" growled one of her subordinates.

"They had the audacity to rob and harm an elf. They will pay," declared Lennel with a fierce expression.

"Please be more cautious from now on, Ekk's sir. Silifran and its surroundings have become dangerous, with humans, feralis, and all the other... races. Our... difficult allies," said the captain, frowning. “Allies that just won’t learn.”

"We are drowning in savagery, Captain," added Lennel.

"Nonetheless, we promise to find those responsible and bring them to justice," stated the captain.

“Good. I don’t expect less from all of you. Don’t fail... our great city,” X glanced at the three elven soldiers before him.

“We will find them and bring them to justice,” promised the female captain.

X rose from his seat, but before he could leave, Lennel stopped him. "Sir, you haven't drunk your daess," said the elven soldier, holding out the cup.

"Ah, of course," Without thinking twice, the redheaded elf gulped down his warm and steaming daess. “Crazy delicious.”

His stomach churned.

What kind of foul concoctions do these beasts consume? Not even the good, bizarre ones that let you explore places or see pretty things or—

He struggled to keep the drink down but eventually succeeded. With that, he was released into the streets of Silifran.