Chapter 8: Back into the Forrest

Exiting the cave, we were welcomed by warm sunshine. Shading my eyes, I looked up only to notice that the azure sun was now mostly in front of the yellow sun. Giving the world a light blue tint, creating a truly magical atmosphere. Turning around, I smiled up at Kana. "So any ideas where we should go, because I have absolutely no idea where we are or how to get out of here!" I declared in a chipper tone. Kana looked down at me with a slightly incredulous gaze before sighing and speaking. "How do you not know where we are? Actually no never mind." She shook her head before continuing. "Well, we should probably head north. I was about a day from the northern edge when the bear attacked, so I can't imagine that we are much further than that." Glancing up at the sky, she spoke once again after doing some mental maths. "If we make good time, we should be able to leave the Forrest by tomorrow night." Nodding to myself, I agreed with her words and gestured for her to take the lead. However, she paused slightly and gained a slightly embarrassed look about her. "Umm, well, I currently don’t have any arrows, all iv got is my bow, so I’m not sure how helpful I will be if we get into a fight," saying so she says, showing me an empty quiver that she somehow fit inside her tiny bag. Still don’t think I’ll ever get used to how that thing works. "Hmm, I should be able to help you with that, but it won’t be a quick process." Saying so, I picked up a discarded twig off the ground before concentrating on using Nature moulding to shape the twig into an arrow that would fit on the bow that Kana is holding. Over the next 30 seconds, I watch as the previously useless twig reshapes itself into a perfectly straight arrow with a pointed tip; it even grows some leafage in replacement for fletching! Smiling wildly, I offered the newly moulded arrow to a stunned Kana, stating. "Well, there you go, that’s one arrow for now! Sadly, it takes a little bit and a decent chunk of mana, so I’ll just slowly make more for you through the day!" Staring at me in mild disbelief, Kana took the proffered arrow and inspected it with eyes alight in amazement. "How did you manage to do that?" She asked after a moment. "Well, I used one of my skills, Nature moulding," I replied after a moment's hesitation. This caused a sharp intake of breath from the taller girl and a head tilt from me. Later, she elaborated on her surprise. "Moulding magics are very rare, like very, very rare. The more common version is shaping magic, but that can only create temporary forms out of whichever element the magic is from. Moulding magic, however, can create permanent constructs!" I nodded to that as most of what she said made sense, after all, how handy would it be to be able to just create anything you want whenever you wanted it, so long as I had a couple of twigs to hand! However, she wasn’t done there as she continued. "Also, you have Nature magic, which is almost unheard of. I only know of a couple of races that can cast it, and they are either monsters or rare Demi-Human subtypes!" After a brief pause, she then asked with a bit of hesitation, lacing her words. "Umm, you are an Elf, right?" At my nod and a slightly confused head tilt, she expounded. "I thought elves were extinct. No one has seen or heard of one in hundreds of years!" This statement causes me to freeze in shock as I was inundated with new information courtesy of my info package, which let me know that, indeed, no one on this continent had seen or heard of any elves, with most thinking they had either left the continent or had died off in a big war a few hundred years ago. After giving it some thought, I decided to go with a little white lie, as whilst I did like Kana, it was a touch too early to fully trust her with some secrets. "Well, I’ll be honest," I started, definitely not being entirely honest. "I woke up this morning in the middle of this Forest with no idea how I got here. One of the last things I remember is taking a walk around a lake where I lived, and then nothing till I woke up in a clearing several hours ago." So, whilst technically true, I did choose to leave out some of the details for now. Kana looked at me in shock for a moment before muttering some magical mumbo jumbo to herself for a moment before looking up at me and speaking. "But how did you end up in the middle of the Forrest of all places?" "My best guess." I started before giving a casual shrug, "some weird summing or teleportation spell gone wrong, and somehow I get caught up in it. And then poof, here I am!?" I chuckle, "Honestly, I don’t really care how it is that I got here. I didn’t have a whole lot going for me back home, so I’m viewing this as a new beginning of sorts!" I stared with a smile up at Kana. "Besides, iv already met a very cute friend!" I finished with a wink, resulting in one of my favourite things to see currently, another full face blush from the tall half succubus. Kana stood there in a daze for a solid minute just processing what I told her before shaking her head and chuckling lightly. "Well, I have always wanted to meet at elf before," and giving me a look over, she continues. "And you are just as beautiful as the stories say! Although I hear most elves are at most 5ft tall, I guess you are tall for your race, eh?" She finishes by tapping her chin, this time causing me to blush at her compliment. I do wonder, though, about the last part, wondering if elves really are that short? Not giving it much thought sh, rug andgesturede forward, saying. "Well, either way, we should probably get going; the day is coming to an end, and we should probably find somewhere to camp out for the night that isn’t surrounded by dead goblins!" We both have a quick laugh at that, and Kana heads out in front of me to begin picking a way forward. I follow after her once I pick up a couple of loose twigs and begin to craft some more arrows for her as we head back into the Forest. As I check the ground around me for any signs of tracks that we would do well with avoiding, my mind replays the conversation we had earlier. I can't help but think that Lilly might not be quite as okay with the whole situation as she let on. I noticed how she subtly flinched when I asked her how she got here, making me think that maybe it wasn’t as smooth a process as she described. Shaking my head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts, I focus back on the path ahead of me. We have been walking for a couple of hours now, and the sun is finally starting to reach the horizon, indicating that we should probably find a place to stay the night. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long for me to spot a sheltered spot not too far away from a gentle stream. There is a small clearing surrounded by bushes and undergrowth, with only 1 narrow entrance to it. Deciding that this is as good a spot as any, I call Lilly over and gesture at the spot and stream. "This seems as good a spot as we are likely to find to camp out for the night. Are you ok to try to set us up with a camp whilst I try to hunt us some food?" I watch as she inspects the small clearing and then glances over at the stream before nodding and turning to me. "Yeah, this should do nicely! Plus, I really need to clean myself up after today." She stated, and I nodded at that before turning back around and staring over my shoulder as I walked away. "I shouldn’t be gone too long, pretty sure I saw some rabbit trails not too long ago now.." I watch as Kana stalks off into the surroundings with hardly a sound. The day was fairly peaceful after we left the goblin nest, thankfully, with the only distractions being me enjoying the nature around us, whilst getting distracted watching Kana's tail swish back and forth as she stalks fforward Shaking my head at myself, I got to work cleaning up the clearing of any loose sticks and stones so we had something somewhat comfy to lie down on. Next, I got to work building a small campfire so we could cook anything that Kana successfully hunted. This turned out to be a lot harder than I initially thought, as it turns out, creating a fire without any tools is very hard. Eventually giving up on rubbing two sticks together by hand, I instead try a magical approach. Thinking about how fire is caused and the sensations that fire provides, I tap into my mana and try to replicate that feeling. Picturing a gentle flame hovering just above my hand, I feel my mana move, only to sigh in disappointment a Instead of a flame floating above my hand, I have instead summoned a very pretty red flower shaped like a flame. Shaking myheadhd I toss the flame-shaped flower into the makeshift campfire only to jump in shock, as soon as the flower touched the sticks, it gathered and dissolved, but not into mparticles; instead, it dissolved into gentle flames, which quickly caused the sticks to catch fire! Laughing to myself, I couldn’t help but be amazed once more at how awesome magic is! [Congratulations, you have learnt the spell - Elemental Flower] With a big grin on my face, I carefully stack some more sticks on the fire as I look over at the space left where we will be sleeping. Giving it a test, I lie down only to grimace at how uncomfortable it is. Thinking back to my other ski, I nod to myself and give nature moulding a go. Imagining a bed of comfortable moss growing out in a patch, I watch in delight as a batch of purple and blue moss slowly grows to cover the intended area. Eager to try it out, I lay down once again and sigh in contentment at the difference it has made. With everything camp-related sorted out, I glance over at the stream, and looking down at my still bloody body and sweat-stained skin, I decide that a quick bath is in order! I line up my shot on the rabbit that iv managed to track. Taking in a breath, I slowly let it go as I release the bow string and activate one of my skills true The arrow flies true and strikes the rabbit through its head, instantly killing it. Happy with my hunt, I walk over and quickly field dress the rabbit using a knife I forgot that I had stored in my bag of holding. Deciding that that should be enough, I make my way back to the camp, making a quick detour to pluck a healthy amount of the berries from a nearby bush. Popping one into my mouth as I walk back,, can't help but be excited to see Lilly again; she is truly an enigma in all the best ways. She shows up out of nowhere, uses a nearly lost form of magic, is a part of an equally lost race, and is one of the prettiest people I have ever seen. I can’t help but try to picture her without that dress on and wonder how her curves would both look and feel. Shivering at that mental image shake my head and focus back on the path ahead. As I get close to the camp, I notice a flash of red over by the stream and turn to properly see what it i, only to freeze in place as I truly see what is before me. Crouched down in the stream is Lil, ly except she no longer has her dress on and is bare to the world as she gently hums to herself whilst slowly washing off the day’s accumulated grime. I stare hungrily at her sinful curves, my succubus nature demanding that I claim her for my own. Only the ethereal nature of what I am seeing holds me back from my baser urges. After watching for a while, she finally looks up and spots me staring at her. She pauses for a moment before a grin curls her lip, nd she slowly stands still, keeping eye contact with me. I watch in mute amazement as flowers seem to sprout from her skin, quickly taking the familiar and revealing form of her flower dress, leaving me with my mouth slightly agape. "Enjoying the s, how I see?" she asks cheekily before walking back towards the clearing with an extra swish in her steps as she calls over her shoulder. "Well, are you ’cumming’ or not?" She asks, emphasizing cumming that I do not miss. I can't help but laugh gently to myself, wondering how tonight will end up after all.