[Closed] Mage Guarded Forest

pandakatiefominz

pandakatiefominz

Wraith
They had been driving home from vacation when their car broke down on a cracked and nearly forgotten backroad. And now they were stranded, and did not even know where they were. They had been driving along the border of two nations, and took a wrong turn, and who knew what side of the border they were on. In trying to find their way, they ended up on this road that looked as if it had not seen a car since cars were pulled by horses, and the only thing around them was a green, shining forest.

For a few hours, Dark and Tarot waited for another car to pass by, but the most Dark saw was a languid rabbit who hopped casually out of the underbrush before noticing the pair and scampering off. Tarot didn't notice the rabbit at all, but she had never seen anything, ever, and besides, she was a bit preoccupied with their situation. If anything, she was frustrated that her husband remarked on the rabbit's existence, because she felt he should have been preoccupied too.

After some time, Dark decided that he'd walk into the lush green forest and see if maybe, by some chance, he would run into a hiker hoping to see the sunset from a decent location, or some forest-dwelling hermit, anyone to help the couple get back onto the road. So, for a few moments, Dark and Tarot were separated from one another, because she said that she would stay by the smoking car, but as his footsteps faded, she hurried after him.

The October storms rolled in, as they were want to do, and the drum beat of thunder drowned out the nocturnal orchestra, while the torrential rainfall washed out the stars. What they didn't notice, or at the least, didn't comprehend, was how the entire forest was still so alive when they were long past the time that the trees should have turned colours and shed their leaves.

They walked until the reality of their situation became impossible to ignore, and they hunkered down on the forest floor, wet and exhausted. Tarot was no survivalist, at least, not a forest-based survivalist, having grown up in the Sahara desert, but she knew how to make a fire, and explained the steps to her husband as best as she could in between deep breaths. Not that the fire would remain lit beneath the rain.

Dark, also, was no survivalist, but he did his best to create a shelter for them out of nothing. All they had with them were the clothes on their backs, and a pocketknife. Typically, that was something Dark never carried, but he kept it in his car, mostly because his closest friend once forgot it, and Dark put it into the glove compartment. He brought it with him just in case.

Come daybreak, Dark decided to go back out on a search for someone to lend them aid. He figured that maybe, since it was earlier in the day, there might be someone on the the road, and since the rains had stopped, at least momentarily, his chances of running into a hiker might be higher. Tarot was still sleeping when he left, and when she awoke to find him missing, she leapt to her feet, calling for him, to only the sounds of birds as a reply.

Still damp from rain and dew, and shivering as a result, she stood, hoping that her husband hadn't been carried off by wolves or bears or something worse, when suddenly, in this distance, she heard the sounds of branches snapping: the sounds of something approaching.

"Dark? Is that you?" She called out, crossing her arms to shield herself, "Who's there?"
 
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Intruders were not welcome in The Forest. The Forest watched them as the two intruders wandered over the invisible threshold and into the world of The Forest. The border between The Forest and the world the intruders came from blurred and vanished. The borders between The Forest and other worlds lasted only a few hours at a time, coming and going sporadically with no obvious pattern or reason. It was how The Forest protected itself while still remaining at least somewhat anchored in reality - such as it was. People crossing over from another world into The Forest, however, was not a common thing, and something that made The Forest angry.

The male human had walked back toward where it had entered. He would not find the way back. No one ever found the way back on their own. It was impossible! Only those with the help of a wizard could even get close, but only with the help of the Wizard was survival guaranteed. The animals watched from their dens and holes, silent eyes and ears. The trees creaked and groaned as they swayed in a wind that did not exist.

~

Pan hummed softly to himself as he splashed in the cool water of a deep stream. He rolled and splashed about, giggling as the fish tickled his skin. Water droplets danced in the air as he came up and tossed his blue hair back out of his eyes. Even darker blue eyes danced to match the water as he drew his fingers through the water, tickling the silver fish sides. Such fun little things! So playful!

The Forest trembled. Pan's smile faded and he climbed out of the water. Intruders! He tipped his head, listening. Intruders not far from where he was. He scowled at the closest tree. "You should have told me sooner," he scolded. He walked through the trees, hearing the rustle of the leaves as the trees tracked the second person. The first was... yes, there she was. He stood in the shadows watching her. A grizzly bear walked a few feet away, more interested in roots and berries than people meat, but he strode near the human's "shelter," for lack of better term.

"Dark? Is that you? Who's there?"

Pan smiled in amusement. Dark? What kind of a name was Dark? That was a description or a time of night. He glanced toward the grizzly and gave it a nod. Go on. The bear grunted and walked toward the human female. He stopped and glared at her, snorting. She was blocking access to his favorite berry bush!
 
Tarot froze, hearing something very large near her and stumbling backwards. She couldn't see it, but she knew, immediately, that it brought bad tidings.

"Dark!" She called out, hoping that he could hear her, and then, to whatever was across from her said, "You get away from here. You get away!" Her long, messy hair fell around her, making her reminiscent of Eve after being cast out of Paradise, and she slowly moved backwards, hoping nothing would approach her from behind and trap her.
 
The bear walked up to Tarot and growled at her, more out of irritation than any real desire to attack. He shook his head, snorting, then walked around her to get to the bush.

"You are blocking the way," Pan said from the shadows, watching the silly human in amusement. "You might want to move. And stop yelling. He says it hurts his ears."
 
"What?" She said, taking a few large steps to the side, "Who are you?" Facing someone who was human gave her some confidence, although she, to some level, felt that this new stranger was not as human as she tried to convince herself they were.

"What is..." She trailed off, not even knowing what to ask. She didn't know how to function, she was frightened, and she was trying to prove she could defend herself.
 
The bear walked right past the annoying creature and waded into the berry patch. He snorted and gruffed happily as he slobbered down the ripe berries.

Pan glided to another spot, moving soundlessly as he went. "You are not supposed to be here," he said, warning in his phantom voice. "You will die. All trespassers here do, and you are far less prepared than most. The Forest will bury your bones."
 
"You talk like I did in high school," She said, using sarcasm to distract from the ever growing pit in her stomach. She reached for the long stick her husband broke off for her, fumbling around a little until she found where she left it, "and if I could survive a desert, I can survive a forest. At least there's life in a forest."
 
Pan actually chuckled at that, now on her other side. "I have no idea why you would go to a school that is high, but surviving in a forest is very, very different from a desert. You are likely to die of hypothermia, you and your companion. You are already well on your way to do just that." She amused him. She was so frightened, and yet still trying to pretend to be brave. And a stick? Oh, how droll. She and the other person must not have been expecting to arrive here. Bother. An accidental arrival.
 
"I'll be fine. I know how to build a fire. It was just raining last night," She stopped, and clutched her stick tighter, still not quite facing in the right direction, "You still haven't told me who you are. Or where I am. We took a long turn, and our car broke down. We just want to go home."
 
"Oh, how special. You can build a fire," Pan purred. "I hope you remember to ask before you take and to thank your benefactor. Otherwise, no matter what tricks you use, your wood will not burn." He slipped up to stand directly behind her. He'd forgotten he was not wearing any clothing, and he stood perhaps an inch and a half taller than her, naked and gleaming with sunkissed, pale skin, brilliant blue eyes, and dark blue hair streaked with paler blue. His eyes gleamed wild and untamed like a deer, laughing at her. "You are in The Forest, and you will never find your way out."
 
"If we just walk in one direction, we're bound to get out eventually." She said, closing her eyes and cinching her eyebrows together, "Can't you just help us? We didn't want to come here in the first place. I'm sorry if we trespassed onto your property, or something, we just got lost. All we want is to get back on the road. I have to finish my thesis, we have a dog, my sister will be wondering why we haven't come home yet," She pushed the hair out of her face with one hand, "If we really aren't supposed to be here, help us to leave. I haven't even seen anything, and my husband is discreet enough that my sister doesn't even know his first name."
 
"You do not understand, child. There is no out," Pan replied with a smirk. "You got yourself in here, but you won't be getting yourself out. The Forest does not like trespassers, and your husband does not sound discreet to me. He sounds paranoid. And a terrible provider considering he abandoned you here alone by yourself with nothing but a stick to defend yourself against bears, wolves, snakes, and all manner of predatorial creatures. He is gone. Still alive, but he is seeking his own way out without you to slow him down."
 
"He isn't a provider. We're equals, he just sees better than me, so he's just looking for someone more helpful than you." She said, and then turned, using her stick to feel out the way ahead of her. She didn't need to listen to some prick who never grew out of his YA mystery phase. She was a PHd canidate, she was a survivor, and she sure as hell knew her husband wasn't abandoning her. Not after everything they'd been through together. If he wasn't going to help her, she'd find someone who would.
 
Pan shrugged and turned away. "Then I hope you die quickly rather than slowly." He walked off, leaving the foolish woman to wander about ridiculously. Silly thing. The Forest was essentially a small globe trapped within its own time pocket. Her man could keep walking for days, but eventually, he'd find himself right back where he started.
 
"Nobody is going to kill me except for myself." She said, and walked off. If he wasn't going to help her, she was going to help herself.

Meanwhile, her husband was walking in a straight line, or as straight as he could manage. He wasn't calling out for anybody, he was just searching. He did his best to not damage the forest anymore than he had to, because he was an inherently paranoid man, and thought to himself that if there was some malicious hermit, said hermit could trace him by and particular markings. He thought that he should return to his wife, because she could not see to defend herself, but sitting and hoping would get them nowhere.

His stomach growled, and knew that it was important he find something for himself and Tarot to eat, but feared accidentally picking something poisonous. He studied history and anthropology, not agriculture. He suddenly realized that he went to school for so many years, long enough to get his master's degree (he decided against pursuing a PHd, because then he would be 'Dr. Dark' and that sounded like a bad supervillain), and if civilization collapsed, he would be absolutely useless. Sddenly his closest companion, besides his wife, who had never been to college, but was a skilled hunter and longtime woodsman, seemed far superior to him. And he didn't need to pay thousands of dollars to get to where he was.
 
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