A bond

She named her Hilgard.

A small arborling follows an unclear, forest-y path. She rides an imposing mount, a Puca, a Puca named Hilgard

The two had been on the run for what seemed like a while now, and the steps of Hilgard slowly phased into calm walking. Her rider looked around trying to find a reason for the sudden stop in speed. The scruffy furred midveiler hums; -Well, this little path definitely took us away from that crazy store owner… doesn’t seem like someone has stepped a foot here in ages. -Hey Hilgard… you O.K?

The mount scuffs, exhaling in a loud sigh

Right in front of them stood a strange, yet natural sight, a fairy ring, to be precise. A neat alignment of mushrooms, symbolic of witchcraft to some, or simply a subject of party talk to others. Sights like these weren’t uncommon for the duo. After all, they had been together for so long, the small arborling, Iniko, considered her mount family.

Iniko groomed her whiskers. She felt a strange aura from the unique place, clearly a stark difference from the intense chase they just had escaped in order to put a few fruits and veggies on their plates. The two travelers were covered in small branches and leaves from running their way into the place, as mildly threatening as the site was, the tranquillity felt in the presence of the mushroom ring felt familiar, and homey.

Iniko jumped off Hilgard -I think we’re meant to stay here, at least for a little bit.

Iniko landed perfectly on the ground, she walked up to Hilgard’s front, the arborling’s head stood as tall as her mount’s torso, she caressed Hilgard’s neck, ending in a hug.

The two walked around the ring, Iniko grooming the sticks and debris off of her friend’s fur. The trees stood so very tall, taller than the mental image that pops up in someone’s head when you mention forests, see. The ground was covered with thin grass and large ferns, small flowers and clovers appearing here and there at the corner of the eye. You could feel the rays of sunlight, running through the thick patches of leaves belonging to the trees hit your face in a warm embrace, small particles shining in the faint beacons creating a feeling only describable by an afternoon spent at a grandparent’s house as a child.

Hilgard layed down next to a large tree trunk, all that running, even in its common occurrence, felt like it required some kind of break. Iniko noticed, and took her turn collapsing on the ground, resting on her friend’s stomach.

She took a good look at the site yet again, she felt comfort, something that felt too rare in the last few months. She closed her eyes and let herself drift into a nice afternoon nap.

She named her hilgard…

Cold weather, empty plains, skies that feel too large, Iniko had been walking for so long, so long... So long felt too long, and too long felt like an eternity, no words could describe how tired she was back then. Premises we’re distant, but memories fresh. Loss is a hard feeling.

She felt too small, too frail, too weak and too young. She wanted more, anything to feel as though she was doing something to better herself, for the sake of her lost one.

“The druid’s springs are known to awaken an arborling’s full potential aren’t they? Yes, the history books said so.” She thought.

Her goal was set and her trail too. A few days of finding a near village, a few days of stealing and fending off. She had a map and a goal. And off she went.

More days, more plains, more large skies and… alot more steps that felt like an eternal task. And there she was; Cafe Central, oh the forest, oh the sweet sense of the pines hitting the small arborling’s muzzle, Oh! The relief.

She walked in, to meet a quite standard forest, the type to resemble the mental image that pops up in someone’s head when you mention forests. She still had much more walking to do, but this time the usually grumpy and reserved Iniko was gone, she was waved by an unnatural sense of excitement, it all felt like an adventure! Everything just peaked her interest much more now knowing that this was. The. Slumbering Woods of Cafe Central. Everything with a capital “E” felt special; the moss, the flowers, the ferns, the grass, the trees and the bright red berries growing around.

Though it was all temporary once she felt a lumbering presence behind her, it felt like time stopped, it felt like the sky went gray and the forest turned dark. A tall, so very tall, black furred, beast was standing in front of her, it’s glowing orange eyes stared upon the arborling who just felt so minuscule compared to the cryptid. It was a puca, an occupant of the forest. Maybe it was the fatigue, or the visceral fear, or the overwhelming stress that came with coping with the loss of one dear to her, or maybe, and probably, everything all at once; Iniko passed out, it went by fast, only a black flash and she wasn’t there anymore. But its when she woke up that she really felt it all come back to her, she was panicky, she thought she must be dead! It makes sense too; weird forest, weird monster, what else was she supposed to expect? It all came to a climax when she stepped on something wet. Oh god she stepped on something wet. This is it. She’s in the beast’s belly now, goodbye bittersweet world she thought. But its as she looked down that one of the most intense senses of relief lightened her face up, in a beast’s belly she was not. the druid’s spring we’re right there and she was bathing in them. It felt like a relief, but a quite bitter one, she was still alone, just, you know, taller and all. Small arborling she wasn't anymore… She looked around yet again, after all, she had plans to return to Cafe Central, the forest wasn’t really meant for her.

Thats where she saw it, tall and black and big and...beasty! The Puca was back, with the same orange eyes as last time, but this time Iniko didn’t pass out. She stayed silent for a bit and took things one step at a time. She stared back at the puca only to remind herself that while yes, Puca’s are known to be quite the tricksters, but they can also bring good fortune. And grasping at every ounce of optimism the now druidic arborling could reach for, she connected the dots.

She calmly got out of the small pool of water and shook herself around in order to dry up. People say a stare is worth a thousand words, and clearly the Black forest beast understood, it walked up to Iniko and started grooming her with its tongue to dry her up. Next thing iniko knew she was back out of the forest on the back of a tall black goat, and the rest is history…

Something tickles… The sky is dark, the circle of mushroom is now lit by scarce moonlight. Iniko woke up, her eyes still tired, she tries to open them wide and notices a small flutterby resting on her muzzle. She shook her head to make the creature go away and sat up.

A small sigh escaped her. She crossed her arms to rest them on her knees and think about her next move. To her right, Hilgard was sleeping, her mouth was wide open and she was drooling like an old dog. -Now’s probably a good time for a midnight walk.

The arborling sat up and took another walk around the fairy ring. This time, she picked up some flowers and small trinkets she could find around in the hopes of selling them in the next few days. The night grew short and she sat back into place next to her mount. Letting herself take a mental note of the fairy circle, she layed on her side, head resting on the bust of her friend. -Good night, Hilgard.