A Mother's Protection

[Translated from elvish]

"Hurry!" Eve pulls Kris along as fast as she can. That wasn't normal, that REALLY wasn't normal!

"I'm...trying!" The elf huffs, struggling to keep up.

Are they after us? The goblin looks behind her, not seeing anything through the trees. "I...I think we're fine..." She slows down, keeping an eye around her. Did...they not notice us? A rock wall suddenly shoots up from the ground in front of the pair. "Not fine!" Eve pulls Kristhyra to the side and around the wall, just in time to spot a pit trap in the forest floor, covered by brush. Since when are there traps like this around here? She leads around the poorly disguised trap, continuing her rushed escape attempt. Just need to get to town! We'll be safe there!

A branch comes out of nowhere and whacks Kris in the face, knocking her flat on her rear. As Eve turns around to help her up, her own leg gets tangled in a tree root, tripping her. She twists her body and pulls out an arrow from her quiver, stabbing down on the root with enough **** to break it and leaving a wooden anklet behind. "I've got you, Kris." The goblin pulls her friend up and is about to continue running, when she realizes that they're both surrounded with earthen walls. The only way out is back...toward a four-tailed fox now staring them down. "Kris, get behind me." As the elf moves around Eve, some kind of radiant spell at the ready, she draws her bow and readies a shot, waiting for the unnatural beast to make a move.

However, before it can, another fox, this one with two tails, rushes to stand between them, turning back and facing the four-tail in a crouched position. An uncomfortable silence passes...

The pit in your stomach turns into a chasm. Miki stares you down, both literally and figuratively, clearly upset by you standing up to her. Her mouth doesn't move, but she still speaks: "I must protect my family at any cost. I cannot let the elf leave this forest." She begins walking forward.

You quickly turn your head, spotting Eve and Kris. They don't seem to have reacted to her speech. Another illusion, this time with sound waves directed solely at me. You turn back to Miki and concentrate on what you want to 'say', but can't help one of your legs shaking as you stamp it into the dirt. "They...both...trusted." You take a deep breath, redoubling your effort as the mother fox stops. "They're...afraid of us...they don't know who...what we are."

She pounds her own paw into the dirt. "All the more reason to ensure they can't speak of us! Fear leads to anger and hatred, which will only bring a mob upon our home!"

"Wrong! Look...them. Kris accepts...Kris cares...her. You only..." Geez, this is hard to get a hang of... "You only see...threat...I see...hope, for you." You pant, beginning to feel your, or maybe Kara's, mana depleting rapidly. I guess this is a more complicated spell. "Peace...like Go-bi."

She's visibly taken aback. She looks to the pair behind you more closely, for an uncomfortingly long time.

[Translated from elvish]

Eve's arms were getting tired from holding her bow for so long. What are they doing? Can they speak to each other like this? She was aware that animals were often able to communicate without sound, but...this was a long 'conversation'. Now it's looking at us! She pulls her bow taught, taking deep breaths to calm herself. I can do this. I couldn't save her before...I'm not going to fail this time! The goblin adjusts her stance. Instead of one where it'd be easy to run after firing a shot, she plants her feet more firmly, making divots in the dirt.

Suddenly, the walls around the pair slowly lower, eventually merging with the forest floor again. The smaller fox seems to relax, its tails lowering from a raised, aggressive position. The larger one continues to stare, and even seems to speak, though its snout doesn't move. "Speak of this with no one." It turns, seemingly reluctantly, and leads the two-tailed fox away.

Kris nearly collapses onto her knees. "W-we're okay..." She wraps her shaking arms around the goblin as the latter relaxes her bow arm.

"Yeah..."

"I hope this doesn't become a habit." Mother speaks sternly as she leads you away, making it sound more like a demand than a 'hope'.

You glance behind you, confirming that you've left Eve and Kris' earshot, before breathing deep, the pit in your gut not receding in the slightest. "Mother, you would do anything to protect your family. I don't have any of my own family in this world, so I've come to value my friends just as much. I haven't known Kristhyra for very long, but she's important to Eve, and Eve is one of my closest friends here. I couldn't let you hurt them."

She turns her head and squints at you, baring her teeth. "I gave them one chance. If rumors start to spread, I won't be so merciful." She faces away, seeming to try to calm herself. "We're finished for now. We can start again after supper." Miki begins walking off, deeper into the woods.

You watch her until she fades behind some trees. I guess that's about as good as I could have asked for... You turn, pausing for a moment when you have to remember where town is, before heading back. The walk is slow, and you can't seem to tune it out like your usual travel. Is this because of Kara's reaction? You breathe deep, trying to calm your - or maybe Kara's - nerves. "Everything's fine, right?"

[Translated(?) to humish]

She crept around the edge of town, sniffing the air. Did he go this way? She stops when she feels footsteps along the ground, and quickly hugs the wall of a building. When the footsteps faded, she returned to her search, heading east. Eventually, she smelled the familiar, delicious scent she was looking for. This way! She rushes along, eventually finding a strange carving in the dirt. However, that isn't what interested her, as there was some kind of...space here, absolutely filled with magic.

She stretched out and touched the edge of the magical space, feeling a surge of magic as the region shimmers. He's here...