This Isn't a Regular Forest

As their bare feet crunched the leaves and branches on the forest floor, Nadia tried to piece together what they knew so far. As far as she could remember, Alice had fallen asleep about 20 minutes before she did, and that was sometime around 1 AM. Based on the sun's position in the sky, as well as the scorching temperature, they could have woken up anywhere from 6 AM to 9 AM.

Now, that doesn't exactly explain where they were or how they got there, but at least they had a window in which she could think. This was assuming they were even anywhere close to their home where they could measure time accurately, but it was all Nadia had at the moment. She sighed, realizing just how lost she was.

Alice's hand gripped hers tightly, neither of them wanting to lose the other. Even as every inch of their skin was exposed to the elements, their messy hair collecting leaves and dirt caking their poor feet, the warmth of each other's touch helped them keep moving. "How far do you think we've walked?"

Nadia looked back. She tried marking the trees they passed at regular intervals, but she couldn't see tell which trees they'd passed without backtracking. "Maybe a quarter mile," she estimated, using her internal clock as a rough guide. It felt like they'd been walking for an hour, but it wasn't like she'd been keeping track. "We've got all day to find a way out of here, but it's important we watch the sun. We want to be someplace safe before it gets dark."

A shiver went down Alice's spine. "You d-don't think there are... wolves in this forest, do you?"

"I doubt it." Nadia said, trying to still her own rapidly-beating heart. "It's too humid here for wolves." Actually, as she looked around, the nude wanderer was perplexed by the greenery they were walking through. The bark of the trees had a similar sheen to the grass she'd noticed earlier, and the bark, leaves, and didn't quite seem to fit together. Granted, it wasn't like she was any expert on trees, but she certainly had never seen any coniferous trees with palm leaves and orange bark.

Where the hell are we? she wondered to herself, a new meaning put into those words.

WWWWRRRRRGGHH...

Both women stopped dead in their tracks. They'd never heard a guttural sound like that before, even on tv. It sounded more like something you'd hear in a sci-fi movie or a video game than anything you're hear from a real animal. Their eyes slowly looked around them for hints as to where it could be coming from.

A sharp CRACK sounded behind them and they turned around. Somewhere past the tree line, a figure was sitting, watching them. It was easily bigger than both of them put together, but the only thing they could make out clearly were two piercing blue eyes, standing out in the shadows.

No one moved for a second. Sweat dripped down the naked girls' faces and legs. Their bodies tensed up and their hands gripped one another vigorously. Neither made a move, afraid it would spell doom.

BRRUFFF

The creature let out a snort, and that was all it took to send both girls running in the opposite direction. They paid no mind to their footing, jumping over logs and boulders to get away from the monster behind them. Both were absolutely sure of one thing, now: they weren't in Kansas anymore.

Pinklepuff and Tootily glared at their younger sister, floating below them. "You idiot, you scared them away!"

"I'm sorry!" Findledee whined. "I didn't mean to; I just made a small toot, that's all."

"I warned you not to eat the blueberries before they were ripe. They always give you gas." Pinklepuff shook her head in disappointment.

Tootily pouted and plopped herself onto the branch of one of the trees. "And we were so close to having some new humans to play with. And they were already naked, too. Grrrrr..." She crossed her arms in an exaggerated pose.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, why don't we check the grove. There are always stupid human adventurers there to torment." Pinklepuff tried to console her little sister.

Tootily sighed. "Fine. But they better be pretty. And have nice stuff." The three pixies flew away, forgetting about the humans they'd just sent running and screaming.