A Forest on Fire (KuramaxOc)

Ch. 42: The Glade

Yumiko blinked. Just a breath before, she had been in the cabin staring up into incredible emerald eyes, but now stood in a forest she had never seen. There was a small, azure lake just ahead of her. Around the lake, a field of wildflowers grew in all shapes and colors, sprawling outwards towards a distant forest. And just beyond that...

She blinked again as a bit of sunlight shown through the trees above, but... Wait, no... She was standing in the field, there shouldn't be... She looked up, and gasped, falling backwards onto her rear as she gazed high above the field where massive branches crisscrossed the midday sky! She followed those branches to thirteen massive trunks, each one being as wide as their campsite had been, or wider!!

This was it! She was standing inside of the Sylphan glade!! The resting place of her people, and the birthplace of the very first sylph!!!

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A gentle male voice called from behind, and she whirled to find her father standing there. His long cream and gold hair, black at it's tips, flowing in the slight summer breeze.

"PAPA!!" She squeaked, and launched into a run, leaping into his embrace.

Ecovehn laughed as his daughter threw herself into his arms, and lifted her off the ground in a bone-aching hug.

"You finally did it, kiddo! Took you long enough!" He praised, setting her back down. He took a playful swipe at her tail-tip as he added, "I was starting to get worried!"

She blushed, cheeks puffing up as if she were still no more than a four year old kit, and grabbed her own tail tip.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!" She pouted. "It's not like I mean for it to just snap up..."

He chuckled again, and placed a large hand atop her head.

"You'll get the hang of it... Now then, we don't have a lot of time, my dear. There are things we must discuss."

***

Kurama woke with a start to the feeling of warm sunlight on his skin. He could have sworn he had just been with Yumiko in the cabin, her keening still echoing in his ears as the tendrils of the sacred bond snapped into place, but now he sat in a field of flowers, a small stream nearby.

"Was it... a dream?" He asked aloud as his senses returned to him.

"Not quite." A soft female voice answered, amused. "Look up, boy."

He started at the voice, and tilted his head back, only to notice two things. One, was the criss-cross of massive branches high above his head. The other, was the older firebrand kitsune grinning down at him.

"Hi there!" Suna offered in greeting before plopping down in the grass next to him.

It was utterly astonishing just how much Yumiko resembled this woman, though the fox in front of him was older, taller, and wore a gentle, yet confident grin. He tore his eyes from the female to look around, his breath catching from the beauty of the glade.

"I'm in the Glade..." He half-whispered, taking in the sight of an azure lake nearby. Across its surface, he could see a shimmer of red and gold-cream, and knew that somewhere, Yumiko would be here too.

"Are you... Suna, then?" He asked, his gaze moving back to the beautiful kitsune.

Suna giggled, and nodded to the young male. He was still just a boy the first time he had spoken with her mate, but now...