The Elder Forest

Maia looked up from under her tree. She felt a magnificent connection with it. Hell, she felt a connection with all of nature, but this was her tree. It was born when she was born, it was like a star in the night sky for her; a refugee. It was her home.

She stood up and stretched fluidly, her long legs eager to run through the laughing forest. She tied up her dark hair into two ponytails, and set off for a brisk run through her valley of trees.

She comes to an abrupt stop when she notices something shiny in a tall oak tree, her heart barely pounding from the brisk run. She opens up her wings and propells herself mid way up the tree. She's closer to the object now and she can see that its a mirror. She steps gingerly onto the branch about a foot above her and starts to climb up the tree untill she reaches the branch wit the glistening mirror. She hoists herself unto the branch and carefully picks up the mirror. She sits back against the trunk as she starts to examine the shiny object, he viens high with adrenaline. Rarely is there anything mysterious as this in her forest.

She turned the mirror over in her hand. It was double sidded. She could see herself in it. Wow, I'm pretty durn good looking! She thought and she fluttered her wings to watch them dance in the shiny surface.

She looked at the mirror again. On one side it had the words Wrath, Envy, Lust, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Gluttony. And on the other it read, Purity, Charity, Justice, Temperence, Courage, Hope, and Faith.

She twirled it around in her hand again and glanced vainly at herself in the mirror. This is a treasure. It's mine now. She held it tenderly in her hand as she bounded off her branch and landed lightly on the forest floor.

She tucked the mirror handle securely in her belt, a prized possesion she wanted to show off. Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry... obviously. So she danced over to a nearby raspberry bush and started picking them. She tossed a few in her mouth, the flavorfull berry exploding with the perfect mixture of sweet and tart. She could never get enough of those little red berries.

She sighed in contentment. She loved nature.

Victoria walks into the forest and finds a nymph eating raspberries. "Hello," She says walking up behind her. "How's it going? My name's Victoria. And you are?"

She turns around quickly, mouth covered with sticky red goo. "Hi! Er..." She quickly wipes off her face on her arm and straightens out her dress. "I mean... Hello! Welcome to the Elder Forest. My name is Maia. This is my forest. How can I help you? Are you lost? I know this place like the back of hand. I can lead you out. Or are you looking for herbs? Are you with child. I have lots of stuff for that. Or even for a bruise. I know my way with herbs. I can cure anything. If you're here to cut down my trees, for your own use then I'd advise you to leave now." Her words strung together so quickly she wondered if the girl could catch them all. The Nymph smiled sweetly, and nervouly.

She was figidty. Not many people wander into this wood. Her heart starting beating a little quicker, making her cheeks flood with warm blood. Why am I blushing this is so stupid. People come here. But what if she a threat. A danger... Or mebby she's not. She could be nice. She seemed nice. But then again you can never trust witches. SHe learned that the hard way.... As long as the witch doesn't bring a coven, she'd live. The scatterbrain's fingers found her new treasure in her belt and she toyed with it carefully.

Victoria smiled at all the questions. They could be wonderful friends! But she wondered why she was so fidgety. Victoria had lived in the forest for quite some time when she ran off in search of her sister Xylina. "I'm not lost. I'm just wandering around. But now that you bring it up, my sister is with child! I'm going to be an aunt! I'm very excited..... Oh and no, I'm not a big fan of cutting down trees. It's a waste of life." She hoped she'd answered all the questions. The nymph had rattled them off so quickly. "What did you say your name was? Or didn't you?" She smiled. She took off her mask, realizing that she had had it on for quite some time now, and stuffed it back into her bag.

Maia smiled widely, and decided that this girl was not a threat. Oh what great friends they could be! But a sister? A sister witch? The nymph shook her head. It didn't matter. It was life, nature, and dog gone it if she could help she will!

Maia held out her hand, but not before positioning the mirror back into her belt. "My name is Maia, I'm a nymph. This is my forest, and I know everything about it. Including all the herbs." The nymph turned around, and looked back at Victoria. "Follow me! I have some thing for your pregnant sister!"

Maia took off into the woods, hoping that the witch could keep up with her.

Victoria moved through the woods after Maia with ease. She had some trouble keeping up as Maia left some branches smack her in the face. But that was okay. She was just excited that she could help Xylina. Maybe she had something that could change Xy's mind to keep the child? She would have to ask.

"Maia, do you have something that could change one's mind about something? I'm not very good at persuasion and..." Victoria breathed. "I really want my sister to keep her child. It's not...." She inhaled again, trying to keep up. Maia was fast. Victoria had to speak up so that she could hear her. "It's not fair to the baby."

Maia stopped in her tracks. "She what... she wants to get rid of the baby? Not like kill it... right? Cuz that wouldn't be fair. The baby would have no choice in the matter. She doesn't want to kill it does she? She shouldn't want to."

Victoria stopped too. Something was wrong. She hadn't had this feeling since Xylina fell out of a tree while trying to catch a squirrel for a test subject. She had broken an arm. "Yes... Yes.... I must go. Something is wrong...... Xylina.... What happened to her..... Would you like to come with me? I think something happened to my sister...." Victoria realized that the nymph probably wouldn't like leaving the forest. "She's pregnant." She figured that would get Maia to come. She felt medical assistance might be needed.

Before Maia could answer, Victoria bolted out of the woods and towards where her intuition pointed her: Xylina's lab.

Out of the forest. That's most likely where she was headed. Was it a trap? No it couldn't be, she could hear some sincerity in her voice when she spoke about the child. Of course she would go, she couldn't deny her instincts to help another whose helpless. Maia looked around her and noticed a ginger plant. She dove for it and quickly dug to its root. She brushed off the dirt and tossed it into her sack that hung from her back. It was filled with a bunch of miscelleaneous herbs, for emergencies.

Maia took a deep breath as if to convince herself to go and took off after the witch, to who knows where.

He walked in his right eye was really hurting him. he placed his hand on his eye, his bent deactivated, and it started to bleed. "Damnit.." he whispered under his breath. he sat down, his back to a tree. and he closed his eyes. and started laughing.

As Maia was walking back to her hut she heard laughter, but it was strange, not gleeful and happy. Almost painful, and forced. She kept walking towards the sound and she came upon the man she met in the lab. It bothered her a bit that his dark presence was in her forest but she shook it off. Even though she was exhausted she took a couple of steps closer, trying to figure out why this strange man was laughing painfull in the middle of a forest.

he noticed the nymph he had met was watching so he composed himself on the spot. his human visage was failing. his bent was taking a toll on himself. "I wouldn't be here nymph." as he spoke fangs were gfrowing it was happening. his guise was failing.

"This is my forest. I can be here if i want to be here..." But something about his tone made her nervous. She spread her wings and leaped into the branches of a nearby tree. She wanted to run away, she didn't need this. But for some reason her legs failed her and she stood put on the branch, clinging to it.

His muscles contracted, and expanded. He stod up, his right eye was bleeding. and his skin was turning darker by the second claws had sprouted by this time, and he let out an ungodly roar. with the roar came an explosion of aura. he stood their breathing heavily. he was full demon now.

She felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. So much darkness, and hatred, and rage was eminating from him and it hit her full blast. She gasped for air. A demon. She hadn't come across one of these in centuries. She knew there had been something familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

And he was a powerfull one at that. One that she had a good mind to be afraid of. But she didn't get why a demon, helped that with. It seemed like the opposite of what a demon would do.

He saw the girl fall down from the tree. he was truly sorry for that. but he had the reasoning of a human. He walked over to her, and gave her a hand to show he'd help her up he was still breathing heavily, and the blood had stopped flowing.

She looked up at the demon, it was frightening yes, but there was something else to. He held out his hand to her and she flinched a bit. There was something about this man, or demon that told herhe wasn't as frightening as he looked. Yet, when she extended her hand to accept the offer, it was quite shaky.

He lifted her up off the ground. "Sorry" he said his voice was dark and gruff. His skin was turning lighter. His body was slowly healing. "I tried to warn you." he said remorcefully. "Are you hurt?" he asked

Maia was mezmerized with his transformation that it took her a moment to realized he was talking to her.
"What? Er. Right yeah, you did, sorry. I mean. No I'm not hurt I'm fine... Are you ok? You're bleeding."
Her thoughts were going a mile a minute and it was hard to pick the words shewanted to say out of the jumbled mess inside her scatterbrained thoughts.

He wiped the blood from hsi right cheek. "I'm alright, but are you sure your alright, that explosion was pretty strong." His fangs were replaced by hsi canines, and his eyes turned back too. The claws went away. he was slowly turning back to normal.

Her right arm stung, but that was to be expected from falling out of a tree, and she needn't worry him with needless information.
"Yeah, I'm totally fine, not a scratch on me. At least I don't think there is." She smiled a bit.
"I am fine."

He looked at her "You sure, this is my fault, and I'd like to know if I hurt you."his voice was a lot gentler as he turned back to his human form. he was still breathing heavy though, btu he had just gone through another transformation.