She woke slowly, basking in the cool temperatures of the midnight air, she looked to the sky as her eyes slowly opened, she hadn't rested this easy in months, maybe even years of her everyday life of running. The sky showed no light, no stars, no moon, at first Viridia thought this was strange... then her mind caught up to her. She jumped upward towards the roofing grasses and punched right through, surprising herself with the lack of resistance that the trap, she thought, would have given. She did however, stop halfway through the barrier and was about to pull herself all the way through, when the grass hut suddenly seemed to realize it was made of living, lightly woven plant matter, and began to sag under it's own weight.
The light of the full moon seemed more like that of the sun as Viridia watched the grass wilt to a darker brown, and break down into soil in moments. She searched wildly around, looking for a monster to fight, wondering how she could have fallen asleep under such circumstances, and fearing that she had finally become so vulnerable that she would give the demons exactly what they've wanted for generations.
"Hold!"
The ancient and commanding voice startled her and as she swung around to face it's owner, she activated a spring-load device in her sleeve, firing a short, black arrow, seemingly from her arm. She saw the danger only too late, and it was not danger for her, but for him. She wanted to scream a warning, she didn't know why, but she felt like she didn't want the creature dead. As her lips only began to move, the arrow hit home, it went right through the wooded creature's right eye socket, splintering it's way out the other side.
"NO!"
Viridia screamed as her friend, if at least partially, shuddered, part of it's face falling away. It stood there, unmoving for a minute, then he fell to it's knees. The ground shook with a weak quake as he did so. Tears began to form in Veridia's eyes as she watched the wood of his body begin to stiffen, then crack. The dust of the wood began to fill the air, leaving a slightly bitter taste in her mouth as she breathed. She swore she wouldn't let it happen again, and she had failed. Someone else died, someone whom she didn't mean to kill, as if she hadn't suffered enough the first time.
She fell to her knees as well, the world seemed to heavy, and her head was spinning. she sat on the ground, in such a similar position as him, his body slowly rotting like an old log in a swampy area. Suddenly, the last of his depleting body shuddered as it positioned, the last of it's head towards her, it consequently fell off his neck, behind him. It split on the ground and turned completely to dust, yet his voice was still heard.
"Do not cry, human. You would have to try harder than that to kill me."
Though it seemed as though the voice was trying to be comforting, it also held a bitterness that Viridia picked up, one that told her his remark was true, and that the bitterness was not for her. She reached a hand forward to try and touch his rotting body, but it splintered apart and reduced to a fine, sawdust like substance. It blew away in the wind, leaving little more than a black patch in the grass where he perished, and a small chunk of wood left behind. Viridia picked up the last piece of him and looked at it through her watery eyes, his voice could still be heard, only now inside her head.
'This is me. This is my heart, and with it, we may speak at all times.'
Her hand shook in the realization that she had not killed an ally of her's but just seriously injured him, by the looks of it. The tears began to flow down her face again as she clutched the wood in her hands. She held it to her chest, her whole body shaking. Her voice came out as a broken whisper.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
'It is okay, i have not died this night, nor do I expect to for many more of your human lifespans. You need not mourn over me.'
"But... your... look at you, look what I did to you!"
'I am not truly with you now, I have possessed a new body, a willow I set aside many years ago, far from you now. It is... revitalizing to feel a new, fresh body. I am glad.'
Viridia tried her best to stem her tears. She felt like a weight had been lifted, but she still felt the sadness of losing someone crush her heart. She held the wood chunk even closer to her chest. The last of her tears fell onto it, soaking in instantly. Suddenly a soft glowing light began to seep between the wood cracks. The heart melted like a liquid and flowed around her neck, it began to reshape and instantly stopped glowing, there was a new weight on Viridia, a necklace. It was too short to look at, or even slip off, so she decided to feel it. It was a small wooden charm in a small shape, it was ingrained with something, but she couldn't tell what. The links themselves were made of wood, and made no unnecessary noise as the necklace shifted around her neck.
"What is this?"
'It is still me, I just thought it would make my transport easier.'
"Why would you want to be around me? I tried to kill you."
'In truth, I tried to kill you also, remember? You didn't leave me then, and I see little reason for us to part now.'
Viridia smiled a little to herself, she had someone now, sort of. It felt nice to have a companion around, to know you would be able to stay together, no matter what. It felt like when.... no it still hurt to much, and this was different. She had made a new friend now, and she wasn't going to ruin it. She decided since they would be traveling partners, she would have to talk about their destinations now, so she asked a question.
"When was the last time you went to a human city?"
ns3.148.248.235da2
