She follows the fox

What happens: [QS] Assist (mystical) | Involving: [TS] A Plot Arc (mystical)

Lux sets off in the direction she saw the fox run off in. She doesn’t have any expectation of catching up with it, but – it’s as good as any other direction. And, if the fox is heading for safety, maybe there’s fresh drinking water that way. Better than nothing.

Although Lux is no stranger to the wilderness, she’s not exactly a ranger, either. Without so much as a trodden path to follow, she finds it hard to tell whether she’s even progressing in a straight line – winding around leaf-laden trees she has no name for and patches of dense brambles, any landmark she might rely on is quickly lost from sight within the thick woods and the gathering mist. And as she concentrates not on finding the way, but any way at all, the subtle change in her environment passes her notice at first…

It starts with a sound that creeps in at the edge of her hearing. A soft, lilting tone – a gentle, wordless song, faint but captivating, rising and falling. It hovers just on the edge of her awareness, like some half-remembered tavern tune stuck in her head, called forth by her distracted mind. It takes her a while to notice she’s begun to hum along with it.

A kind of weariness starts to settle over her. She wonders how long she’s been walking – even the pain from her injuries is less intense, though her limbs feel increasingly heavy. This, surely, is no place to rest, but…

“Mortals ought to be more careful where they tread.” The words echo from somewhere in the mist – from the left or the right, Lux can’t tell. A wry, husky, feminine voice. “Mortals might intrude on someone’s home. Mortals might upset someone.”

Lux clutches her head. Fey magic – all too easy to lose herself if… There are flickers of movement at the edge of her vision – something is watching, shifting soundlessly whenever she turns to see –

“Look, Willow. You’re going to like this one, I can tell.”

The song is inside her head, soothing, beguiling. It takes all her effort to want to keep fighting. It would be so much easier to give in…

Hazily a half-seen vision takes shape – a figure standing over her. Lux realises only now that she’s fallen to her knees, the strength fleeing her limbs. The music lulls her, coaxes her to rest, to simply be still.

“Oh, the poor thing. So much pain.” A different voice, softer, lighter. “Let me help…”

“No…” Lux raises a shaking hand. “Stay back – ”

Fingers brush against the skin of her arm, then against her side. A cool touch that quenches the inferno of pain in her chest. The world washes away on slow, ebbing waves.

“Hush. Rest now. Good girl…”