An intruder in the forest

She lived a happy life as the forest’s guardian until she was 18 and a human entered her forest for the first time in years. She was so angry. She couldn’t control it. This was her forest. Only she was allowed. Humans hurt the forest. She tried to soothe her mind. Tapping into the network and counting the animals. Heavy, unnatural, clumsy foot falls, the human disrupted the network. She needed to get him out.

Lightly, naturally, precisely, she stepped towards this human. She looked through the eyes of a bird. He did not look like the normal humans who wandered into the forest.

The hikers who followed the trail she permitted. She had brambles and nettles and thick bushes on either side of the trail, with the branches of the trees reaching over so the squirrels could cross. Making it clear that if they deviated from the path the would not have a good time. She would hear the humans comment on how magical and beautiful the trail was.

When hunters tried to enter the forest, she would transform them into the animals they would try to hunt.

However, this guy did not look like a hunter. He wore a long brown coat, a grey jacket and trousers. His shoes were not made for hiking. He had short red hair and pale skin. He looked nervous as he followed an old map. It had Grandma’s tree marked on it. She could not let him reach there, but if she turned him into an animal, she would not understand why he was here. She snuck up behind him.