The Sisters of the Woods Ch.2

“So…”

The word was already out before Nic realized that he didn’t have any to follow it. He’d intended to speak a full sentence, but it had vanished the second he needed it most. This proved deeply unfortunate as Geniveve had already turned to look at him.

“Hm?” she asked.

“Uh…” Nic stumbled, desperately grasping for words, feeling every second drop heavily between them. They sat together in the autocar, not two hours after she’d fallen on him out of the sky. Things had been like this since they’d entered the tower, a definite weight growing slowly between them over the course of breakfast. It hadn’t gone away when they’d left to take Geniveve home, in fact only growing worse as Orlin seemed to have chosen the smallest possible car he could have from his collection.

The cramped space made Nic painfully aware of how close he was to Geniveve, the frill of her dress scant inches away from the side of his leg. The thought of accidentally brushing against her popped unbidden into his head and Nic’s pulse instantly skyrocketed. It distracted him long enough for the pause to grow from awkward to worrying.

“I-”

Still nothing appeared in his mind to fill the silence, leaving him to uselessly open and close his mouth several times without producing a single sound. In desperation, he made a second attempt at just saying words, hoping that something sensible would come out.

“You-”

“You guys are weird,” Zephyr intruded, coming to hover directly between the two of them. “Why are you quiet?”

“Zephyr, buzz off!” Nic snapped, swiping his hand at the sprite. He missed, Zephyr zipping out of the way before beginning to fly mocking circles in front of them.

“Why? You two are being weird and I want to know wh-”

He stopped suddenly, Nic’s planned insult catching in his throat as Zephyr began to wobble back and forth. He only did that when he was about to get up to mischief and thought he was being terribly clever about hiding it.

“Oh, ooooohhh,” the little sprite said. “I get it now.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s wrong! Now go away!”

“O-kaaaaaay,” Zephyr said, the widest grin somehow audible in his tone. He at least had the decency to retreat, even if that was only to the other side of the car.

“Sorry about him,” Nic said, turning back to Geniveve. “He’s a brat.”

“It’s alright,” she said. “What were you saying?”

Much to his dismay, Nic realized he still didn’t have an answer. He made another heroic attempt to make something up but found he was well and truly beaten on this front. He turned away, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.

“Never mind,” he said, altogether too quickly. “It’s nothing.”

Unwilling to risk meeting her gaze and make this all so much worse, Nic turned to look through the window. They were still relatively close to Greytower, rushing down a narrow road through a lightly forested region broken up by rolling hills of green and gold grasses. It was like stepping back in time, everything having been left to grow as it may, the road and their autocar the only sign that civilization had ever touched this place. Even the youngest trees were decades old, towering over the landscape with thick canopies of lush green leaves.

The further they went the denser the growth became, the trees clumping together into thick groves. They split the midmorning sunshine into dappled pools of soft light and softer shadow, the entire forest seeming to dance as the wind shook the branches. The kind of wilderness that would make for a pleasant afternoon’s hiking, for those so inclined to such things anyway. 

“Has the forest been expanded, Miss Croire?” Orlin asked from where he sat on the opposite seat. “I don’t remember it being like this so close to the road.”

“Oh, yes,” Geniveve said. “Sylvie needed more space and there’s a new colony of pixies living up in the hollows.”

“Hm, sensible,” Orlin said before returning to his screens, much to Nic’s dismay. He’d been hoping the conversation would carry on a bit longer and stave off the return of the dreaded silence.

Thankfully, the universe took mercy on him as the car announced they had reached their destination. Nic looked back up out the window to see the road abruptly end in a large, circular patch of dirt and gravel. It was the only artificial construct around, no other buildings visible as far as he could see. Which wasn’t far to be fair, the trees having grown thick enough to block line of sight in all directions.

“You live here?” Nic asked without realizing. Why had that come out so easily?

“No, well I mean, yes, but kinda?” Geniveve stammered, raising a finger to point at the forest. “The house is that way.”

Nic raised an eyebrow, glancing between her and where she’d indicated. He never would have looked at the spot twice if she hadn’t pointed it out, a gap in the trees that bore no indication it was anything but natural growth. The grass didn’t even look particularly short, as wild as everything else around them.

“Do we have to walk?” Nic asked.

Geniveve shook her head. “No, well I mean, you can if you want, but it’s kind of far. But if you want to…” She stopped, beginning to fidget with her hands again.

“No, I didn’t mean- or that, um…” Nic flailed, trying to figure out just where he was going with this sentence. Orlin saved him by opening the door.

“Come along you two,” he said.

Endlessly grateful, Nic moved to follow. A pleasant morning greeted as they stepped outside, the air sitting at just the perfect temperature and pungent with an earthy aroma of growing things. Though that couldn’t distract from the feeling that they were being watched. Nic couldn’t really explain it, something about the way the shadows lingered in the corner of his eye, or how some of the trees swayed in the wind. It was subtle enough that he could always dismiss it as nothing, only for something else to catch his gaze. He was tempted to fire up his tablet to see if magic could find anything but decided against it when Orlin stepped up next to him.

“Is requesting entry the same Miss Croire?”

“Yes, let me just-” Geniveve began, reaching for a pocket. She went quiet as a look of worry came over her face and she began patting down her sides in a panic. It lasted only a moment before the worry was replaced with recognition, then embarrassment.

“Is everything alright?” Orlin asked.

“I um, I forgot my whistle,” she admitted sheepishly, meekly holding up her broomstick. “I was expecting to take this back.”

“That was silly,” Zephyr said from where he zipped around the edge of the forest.

“Zephyr!” Nic snapped. Zephyr just giggled, dancing out of range of any retaliation.

“Ignore him,” Nic said, turning to find Geniveve looking even more embarrassed. “He’s an idiot.”

“It’s okay,” Geniveve said, though her bashful expression remained.

“No matter, I have mine,” Orlin said.

He reached into a pocket and extracted a flat, heart shaped object with a little tab on the pointed end. Without explanation, he placed it between his lips and blew, producing a sharp, metallic note that pierced the forest ambiance like a knife. It echoed away into the trees, taking longer to fade than it should have. He repeated the action twice more, both times producing the same effect, the sound lasting a full minute before falling into eerie silence.

Nothing happened at first, none of them speaking and even Zephyr refusing to break the calm. Then, that feeling Nic had of being watched returned in force, followed quickly by the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs. It grew louder, something big moving towards them, hidden from sight behind an especially thick cluster of trees. These began to shake as they parted to reveal the limbering form of a bear.

It was huge, easily coming up to Nic’s head at the shoulder. Thick brown fur covered its hulking body, shot through with a generous dusting of grey. Far from making it feel old, it instead gave the beast an appropriately grizzled look. Not worn but aged, still standing after a lifetime of struggle. Nic took an instinctive step back just at the sight of it.

The bear paused briefly, looking over the three humans standing before it. Then, giving off a surprisingly small huffing sound, it lumbered towards where Orlin stood, sheer presence enough to push Nic and Geniveve aside.

Orlin didn’t move, instead watching with arms folded as the bear approached. It stopped less than a foot away, angling its head up to look the elder techne in the eye. Orlin held the gaze, showing no emotion at all as they held their staring contest.

In the end it was Orlin who moved first, reaching out to scratch the bear behind the ear. The shaggy beast chuffed in approval, settling down on its haunches to give Orlin better access. Orlin obliged, scratching up and down the bear’s neck in the same way one might an old dog.

Nic was on the cusp of breaking his silence when the crashing sounds came again. He turned to find a horse emerging from the trees, a handsome mare with a sparkling white coat, speckled with highlights of pink and lilac. Except it wasn’t a horse, as evidenced by the large pair of feathery wings sitting folded along its flanks. They were the same colour as the rest of her coat, though the feathers were a much deeper pink.

The creature, a pegasus Nic realized, stepped onto the road and trotted over to where Geniveve stood, the girl extending a hand as it came close. The pegasus started at the movement, stumbling back a step, and shaking its wings in distress. Geniveve squeaked, starting to pull her hand back before catching herself and holding it in place. The pegasus sniffed at the offered hand before gently pressing its muzzle into the palm, Geniveve taking the tacit permission to begin petting the creature.

“Hey girl,” she said, her voice small and quiet. “Sorry I scared you.”

It whinnied, nudging Geniveve’s hand to keep going, all mistakes apparently forgiven. Geniveve happily did so, a small smile spreading across her face as she stroked along the creature’s neck. Nic felt one on his own face as well as he took in the sight.

The thought was interrupted by a third sound from the forest. Nic had been expecting this one, the pattern obvious, so was quite surprised when he saw nothing among the trees. Though the sound continued unabated, the crashing of leaves and something heavy moving among them, no shape appeared as the cause.

“What is-?”

Nic’s question was cut off when a nearby tree suddenly pitched violently to one side. In the same instant, a shape landed with a thud on the road next to him, leaving Nic whirling about to face it. He was too slow, whatever it was already pouncing at him with sharp, slithery movements too fast for Nic to keep track of. His hand instinctively went for his casting rig before realizing that the shape, for all its frenetic movement, had yet to touch him. It was more just orbiting him, coming close but never actually making contact, like a cat that wanted to be pet but refusing to let you touch them.

Taking a second look, Nic was confronted with the sight of a creature he did not recognize. Lizard was the first impression he got, its hind legs and tail reminding Nic of a blue-green gecko or salamander. This changed quite suddenly midway up its body, with scales giving way to a coat of very fine brown feathers, transforming the creature from lizard to bird. Or at least some fusion of the two as closer to the head the lizard traits started coming back, its snout losing the feathers to return to scales again.

“Um,” Nic said.

The creature turned at the half word, fixing the young techne with its bright amber eyes, the cat-like pupils going narrow as they focused on him. Nic swallowed heavily, able to feel the gaze stabbing into him with pointed intensity.

Before he could do or say anything else, the beast opened its jaws, exposing a set of long, needle teeth. A low hiss issued past them, just loud enough for Nic to be worried.

“Um, good lizard…thing?”

“KITTY!”

From nowhere, Zephyr came streaking back into the scene, making a beeline straight for the creature. It responded in kind, turning its bared fangs to hiss at the little sprite, dropping into a crouch as Zephyr began zipping circles through the air. On the second rotation the lizard pounced, swiping with its claws, and coming surprisingly close to connecting. Zephyr didn’t seem to care, dancing away and blowing a loud raspberry. The lizard responded by showing its fangs and hissing again, then bounded forward as it began to chase Zephyr back and forth across the road.

“Wow,” Geniveve said. “Lucky you.”

“Wha?” Nic asked, turning towards her. She still stood next to the pegasus, hugging its neck but looking at him. “What do you mean?”

“That’s a ridgeback gecko, they don’t usually come when we call.” She nodded towards the creature as it continued to chase Zephyr. “It must like you.”

Nic watched as the gecko lunged at Zephyr, its jaws slamming together with an audible snap. Zephyr seemed endlessly amused by it, calling for the creature to try harder.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Nic said.

“Zephyr, enough,” Orlin called. He’d climbed onto the bear’s back at some point, sitting comfortably as the old beast lumbered back towards the trees. “Come you two.”

“Coming,” Geniveve said.

She turned to the pegasus, bracing a hand against its side before hopping up. Or trying to at least, falling well short of the height she needed to make. A second attempt produced no better results, leaving her flailing desperately as she tried to find purchase. The pegasus shuffled at the movement, clearly growing restless.

“You need a hand?” Nic asked.

“What? No, I mean…well, yes but…” She stopped, looking flustered. “As long as you don’t mind?”

Nic nodded and padded over to where she stood. He dropped his stance, cupping his hands together to form a step. It wasn’t until she moved in to step up that Nic realized the flaw in this plan: his awareness of how close they were returning with a vengeance. It was all he could do to hold steady as Geniveve stepped into his hands, having to avert his eyes as he boosted her up.

She did not land gracefully, briefly getting mired in the wing as she worked her way onto the pegasus’ back. After a minute of struggling, she managed to right herself and settle into a comfortable riding position. She would have looked quite natural if her hair and clothes weren’t a mess for the effort. A fact she seemed deeply aware of as she tried to fix them without making eye contact with Nic.

“Thank you,” she said, quick and quiet.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, finding the words strangely difficult to say. Another pause threatened to linger so he quickly moved to fill it.

“Here’s hoping mine isn’t so-”

As if summoned by the words, the gecko exploded onto the scene. Nic barely had time to process its presence before the creature wedged itself between his legs and casually tossed him into the air. Nic yelped as he flipped over, the gecko moving swiftly to catch him. The whole thing took less than five seconds from Nic speaking to him lying askew on the creature’s back. Rather disorienting to say the least.

From somewhere, Nic heard Geniveve giggle. He turned to look with some difficulty, finding her smiling at the scene. It was a good look for her, Nic decided.

“He really does like you,” Geniveve said.

“Guess so,” Nic agreed.

“Hurry up you two!” Orlin called from the edge of the trees. Nic finally managed to maneuver himself into a proper sitting position on the gecko’s back before turning to Geniveve.

“After you,” Nic said.

Geniveve nodded and tapped her mount on the neck. The creature immediately turned to follow the elder techne, Nic’s gecko following them in turn, and together they headed into the trees.

*

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