"I thought the forest was closer... We've been walking for at least 2 hours now!" Opara whined, dragging his feet along the grass,
"It's not too bad, almost there," Kidan assured, pointing towards the trees just outside the main canopy, visibly miniature compared to the forest.
"I feel more relaxed already." Grinned Zeib, almost as cheerful as Kidan, who was leading the three forward.
As the three finally entered the forest, the light breeze travelled peacefully between the trees, brushing past the three youngsters. Opara buckled slightly at the feeling, but they felt at peace as if the forest was tending to each of them as a mother would their child.
"Isn't this great? It's a Paradise!" Kidan chuckled, his jaw hanging from the forest's stunning scenery.
"Yeah... It feels kinda refreshing, doesn't it?" Asked Zeib, followed by a nod from the two.
"Let's find a place to sit down. My feet are hurting a bit."
"Agreed there. It looks like a bigger tree down that way, so let's try that." Opara pointed out before marching off together towards it. Not long after, the three had arrived at the base of this enormous tree, lying against it happily.
"This is amazing.." Sighed Opara.
"At least we don't have to listen to the old people anymore. Nice and quiet here," Kidan said, followed by them chuckling together.
"Hey, guys?" Opara finally said after they had calmed down.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm kind of hungry."
"Kidan! Zeib! Opara! Where are you three?!" Shouted an elderly lady, who seemed quite panicked as she darted around the village.
"Hello there, Miss Noran! You seem troubled. Is everything okay?" Asked one of the men standing at the stalls, who stopped moving the crates to look at her.
"Have you seen the three troublemakers? They've gone off again. I can't find them." She sighed.
"Hm, I can't say I have... Perhaps past the walls?"
"No. Those boys know not to go past the walls because of monsters." With a panicked look written on her face, Miss Noran wondered if maybe, they had gone past the walls.
"I'm not sure then, I'm afraid. Hope you find them!" The man waved before resuming his work.
After a short pause, Miss Noran continued to look for the boys, this time outside the walls.It was a given rule within the village that only warriors with combat experience were allowed outside the walls, as average villagers wouldn't stand a chance. It was for their own safety, the elders said.
Although Miss Noran wasn't concerned about this, the three boys she had been instructed to watch over had vanished, and her reputation was on the line. She was the head caretaker of the village. She had crossed the Midnight Sea with everyone else, so how difficult could it be to find three young boys?
"When I find those boys... I won't let them play anywhere-"
Her words were cut short by a sharp growl from behind her. Slowly turning to face it, she was greeted by a row of razored white canines.
"H-help... Me..."
She cried, realising her mistake far too late.
That night, a scream echoed through the village.
"Are you sure it's safe to sleep here?" Opara whispered, sprawling around to find a comfortable sleeping spot.
"Of course, the only creatures we've seen were those weird flying things, but they didn't do anything," Kidan muttered back, his eyelids already shut and beginning to drift off to sleep.
While Opara felt better about his safety, he couldn't help but worry. Lifting himself off the floor, he walked around the area, his gaze shifting to all the details of the forest.From the way the branches stood frozen despite the wind's breeze to the plants at his feet that felt more like a person than plant.Why was that? Opara stared forward at the tree before shrugging off the thoughts.
"Guess it's time to sleep..." Those final words were muttered under his breath, lying on the grass and drifting off to sleep.
It was early in the morning when the three awoke, the warm sun engulfing their faces as they opened their eyes. Opara itched at his face whilst Zeib let out a yawn. Kidan looked at the two with a stern expression.
"What's up, Kidan? You didn't sleep well or something?" Zeib muttered, turning to face him in confusion.
"Hey, let's stay here for a bit."
"Wait, in this forest, you mean?" Opara asked. Zeib also seemed taken aback by Kidan's comment.
"I mean, why not? It's safe, and it's way more peaceful. I like it here." Kidan shrugged, sitting back down beside the tree trunk.
"I guess... But still, won't Miss Noran be worried about us?"
"Pff, she always shouted at us whenever we wanted to play. I'm with Kidan on this one." Zeib grinned. It seemed as though he changed his mind quite quickly.
"..." Opara stared at the two, unsure what to choose. Kidan stood up at this time, walking off cheerfully into the forest. Zeib was about to follow on before turning around,
"Is it that hard to decide? You know how bad it was back there." Zeib grumbled, continuing behind Kidan.
"Fine... You're right..." Opara gave in, quickly shuffling along to catch up with the two.
"Heh, we knew you'd say that." Kidan laughed, receiving smiles from the others.
"You know. We will have to go back eventually, though.."
Kidan sighed, "Of course, but I want to make the most of it while we're here. Let's find something interesting!"
As the three walked deeper into the brush, the morning breeze whistled through the trees, calling to the forest to awaken its true powers after years of waiting.They had not realised it yet, but this power had already started surrounding the trio, as their adventure had not even started yet...
