Back to the Forest.

With bright sunlight warming up our bodies and and the cool wind pushing on our backs we run throughout the endless meadow.

Thankfully we are not running away from danger this time, so we take it easy in a slower pace while preserving our energy.

I can see that Noëlle is adjusting to my speed, making sure to stay only a few steps ahead of me to show me the way.

She would sometimes veer left or right to dodge the various obstacles in the path like rocks, tree roots or small holes in the ground.

She dodged them skillfully with minimal movements like it was natural for her.

In comparison I was quite clumsy, almost tripping sometimes because I failed to see another hinderance where I stepped.

[I better be careful with this, I feel a bit more safe with the Heart Vines in my backpack but I don't know how much they can heal me...]

[If I twist my ankle badly or if I break anything during a fall and I can't heal it back, I will become a burden for Noëlle.]

[Yes, I won't settle down and stay useless. I don't know much yet about this world, so I will try to learn as much as I can with Noëlle and I will find how I can be useful.]

While I was lost in my thoughts I see a patch of lush dark green on the horizon, what I assume to be our destination: the forest.

I was assuming it was big at first but the forest might be even larger than the Endless Meadow.

I woke up near the entrance of the forest yesterday but unlike now I didn't quite see the mountains in the distance back then, so I must have come from farther away.

During the journey my eyes would find themselves gazing towards the faraway mountains, thinking about what happend yesterday.

[The Flock... or so what I decided to call it. In the end I never got to see what it was. Now that there seem to be no danger around a few questions flood my mind.]

[Noëlle seems familiar with it so is it a daily occurence? Weekly? Monthly? Or maybe it occurs at random times?]

[And, is it the only danger we can find in this plain? Are there other things I will need to flee from? Maybe the Flock is only a minor danger compared to something else?]

[And what about the forest? What kind of dangers lurks around in the lush nature? Noëlle is a more formidable fighter than me with her natural weapon so she might be just fine, but how long can I go fighting bare-handed?]

My previous determinatation faltered at the thought of the various dangers ahead.

*SLAP!*

-?!

I slap my cheeks hard to stop thinking too much, thinking like this won't help me in the long run. What I didn't expect was that the sound was caught by Noëlle and she turned her head towards me visibly worried.

[Huh...should've thought about that, my bad...]

I try to smile at her to say that I'm alright but I can't tell she doesn't seem convinced.

We continue to run toward the forest in silence afterward...

It didn't take too long to reach the forest, maybe thirty minutes? It's hard to say without any time telling device.

-Haa...Haa...Haa

Before entering the forrest we took a short break, Noëlle still seemed fine but I was no too good myself. It took a while for me to catch my breath. I wished that I had a water bottle right now to cool down a bit.

But unfortunatly I didn't have the luxury for that. Once I was ready I nodded towards Noëlle.

She took the first steps and I followed behind as we entered the place I decided to call "The Sea of Trees".