John meets someone/something new.

Getting up before the sun and grabbing a quick shower, John got his gear and headed off into the forest. It was cool in the morning, but the temperature was going to heat up quickly as the day progressed. Wanting to truly explore John covered a lot of ground heading deep into the trees for a couple of hours, wandering without a particular destination in mind. It was just about noon when the forest started to feel familiar, as midday was coming quickly, he decided to find a place to stop, rest and eat. He could hear the sound of flowing water whispering through the trees. Following the sound, he came to a clearing that he remembered from his dream. His heart pounded in his chest as the memories hit him hard. He'd come closer to dying in this clearing as a child than he ever had as a hunter. He closed his eyes, focused his breathing and brought his heartrate and nerves back under control. Open his eyes and looking at the clearing a woman was standing in the center starting at him.

She stood there, taller than John, staring at him with her amber colored eyes. Her skin was flawless, colored like the dusty rocks along the streams side. Her hair was braided back from her eyes falling down to her ankles. The leaves and wildflowers of the forest were wrapped around her as a dress. The only thing that John had ever seen more beautiful than the woman before him was Erica, his heart jumped at the thought of her. As he continues to stare back at her, John could see other features that made her striking if not completely human, he could see the pattern or tree bark running through her hair. The eyes had a slight glow to them, green as the leaves at the peak of summer. The scent coming from her was that of the forest and the wildflowers, nothing to set her apart from the forest, nothing artificial, just the scents of nature. Her fingernails looked like rose thorns and were the pale green of rose stems. Growing from the braid hanging over her should down her body we several flowers, an orchid, a magnolia, a lotus, and amaranth. John senses for the supernatural were telling him what his eyes could already see, she wasn't human, but there was no feeling of being in danger from her.

John asked, "Who, and what are you?"

She giggled, a sound like a light wind rustling through the leaves, "Aren't you a bold one when you haven't even said hello or introduced yourself to me." She smiled, her lips were full and the color of cherry-blossoms, "You may call me Sylva, and I am an Aspect. Now that I've answered your questions, would you care to introduce yourself properly."

Blushing slightly, "I'm John and I'm or I was...." He trailed off, took a couple of breathes, and then continued, "I guess I don't know exactly what I am anymore. I was a Hunter but I'm having a crisis of faith of sorts."

"Welcome back to my forest John, it has been many years since you last entered this clearing."

John was unable to cover his shock, clearly showing it in the expression that crossed his features, "I don't remember seeing you on that day, were you the wolf that aided me?"

Again, that knowing smile graced her lips, "No, that was not me, nor any other Aspect. She is a guardian of this forest and chose on her own to aid you. If you wish to know more, you'll have to wait for her to find you if she wishes to speak. It has been many years since she has interacted with anyone from the outside world and her last few experiences were not pleasant ones, so I don't know if she'll come to you. I will tell her of your seeking and that you now remember her however, it will be her decision if she seeks you out." She stared at him as if trying to read his soul, "I sense the tension in you and can feel a connection between you and the woman who aided in saving you those many years past. is this the connection that weighs so heavily on your soul?"

"Partially, yes. She is what started this crisis of faith, or conscience as it were. But there have been many things piled onto that in the last couple of days, stuff I discovered about my family history and myself. I have a great deal on my mind and thought that searching for her might give me some answers," He explained.

"Well, take you time and rest up in this clearing. No animals will disturb you and neither will I. I'll pass your message to the one you sought while you rest. Treat the forest with respect and the creatures within and you will always be welcome here." Sylva than disappeared as it she had never been there. John sat on a nearby fallen tree to eat his meal and rest.

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Erica was holed up in the motel room trying to decide on her next action. She came to the only conclusion her heart would allow. Once the sun had set, she would head out again to find John and tell him how she felt. After more than a century along in the night she had found love in its truest form. So, come what may, she was going to chase it even if it killed her. **** would be a mercy to a broken heart and the decades of loneliness she has already suffered through. With that decision made, she settled in for the day.