ELO

  Bree had to stop, blink a few times before she mouthed, "what?" Faelorn signed it, "I don't eat meat..."

  Bree stared and signed, "but why did you kill that pheasant for me?" Faelorn shrugged, "You needed the meat, and I am not opposed to killing animals for food. I honored the pheasant for giving his life to you."

  Bree took a moment to wrap her head around this. She had never met anyone who refused to eat meat. Faelorn took a bite of his stew, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and signed to her.

  "I am one with the forest. I feel its pain; when I take an animal's life, I feel that animals' pain. I don't need meat, though sometimes I like to taste it." Bree supposed it made sense to her, but she still found it mind-boggling. Faelorn laughed at her baffled face. He signed, "most of the fae do not eat meat. Tharin won't touch it, though some elves do partake. All of the fairies eat only vegetables, fruit, and nuts. I can only think of a handful of fae that do. Wood Elves, Grey Fairy's, Fae Wolves, Caedus, Boulten and Woodling."

  Bree asked, signing, "A fae wolf?"

  He dug into his stew. "I suppose during the day, I can show you some of these faes. Joltrun wants me to help you. Your safe as long as your with me." He winked at her and said, "Although seeing you use that bow. Maybe its I that am safest with you." Bree hid a smile behind her hand. Elo rolled her eyes and dug into her stew. She said, "Fae wolves look similar to earthly wolves. They are brightly colored with silky feathers in their manes. They are intelligent; they can speak and easily crush a man's skull with their mouths."

  Bree pulled out her journal and began making notes. Faelorn scooted closer and went on. Bree's heartbeat began to race with nerves. Faelorn leaned over, looking at her notes with curiosity.

  He traced her sketches with his fingers. "You've been observing the fae, that one you drew here that is a Boulten." He lectured, "Boulten are similar to fairies. Their cousins to the woodlings. They look like mushrooms and only eat carrion. They are very friendly, but they smell terrible." She scrambled to take notes as he pointed to another sketch. "That one looks like a gray fairy. I can tell by the six long wings." Bree signed, "Tell me about them." Faelorn scooted in close to her. Bree stared at his shirtlessness, he continued teaching, "Gray Fairy's are like light fairy's. They serve the queen differently. They look like spiders and are venomous. They eat insects but do like to capture the occasional bird. They also weave webs and use the silk to glide from the tallest trees. During their mating season, they like to parachute from the tops of trees. Some times there are so many that it looks like the forest is covered in snow."

  Bree was horrified; Faelorn laughed, "Grey fairies are friendly, so are Boulten, Fae-Wolves not so much, but they are respectful if you respect them." Bree signed, asking, "what about the wood elves?" Faelorn was thoughtful. "They are cousins to Tharin, distrustful of even me. They speak a different dialect of standard elvish, but sign language works just fine. They are masters of camouflage. I doubt they would speak with you if they were to encounter us passing through." Bree wrote her notes quickly. She made sure to leave space so that she could sketch and take more notes. Elo joined them, serving Bree a heaping bowl of soup. She ate the delicious, savory vegetable soup listening to Elo's stories. She talked about her childhood on the farm, her adventures with her siblings, and her love of her family's cows. Faelorn didn't say much he listened and answered Bree's questions. She had many questions for him about his family, but she did not pry. His hostile reaction to Joltrun mentioning his brother and mother had been enough to keep her from asking. She told them over the fire about her grandmother, the cabin they shared, and their lives. They spent the evening communicating. Elo told stories Bree signed about her life, and Faelorn lectured them on the many fae species that lived in the forest.

  Night fell, and Faelorn left to patrol the forest. Joltrun came for him, and together they departed swiftly. Bree had watched them leave, feeling down. She had enjoyed their day together, eating and talking. She reminded herself, Faelorn had to go. It was his job, after all. She wondered whenever did he sleep? Elo noticed how quiet Bree had become, and that her eyes were on the forest.

  Elo asked, "Are you sad?" Bree nodded, turning over, deciding to sleep. She was tired, and even Elo's was yawning by the fire. She turned into a doe and snuggled up to Bree. Bree leaned against the white deer's neck and fell asleep. She began to dream that she stood in a lonely, dusty clearing. Elo's eyes were black and dripping fluid. Bree signed to the white deer. "Elo, Elo, what's wrong?"

  Bree looked around, panic in her throat. She shook Elo, the doe did not respond. The miasma had spread all over the forest, everywhere.

  Bree touched the ground; the forest was in pain. She wanted to stop the forest's suffering, and she could feel the miasma spreading. No matter how much she struggled in her nightmare, she could not stop the darkness from polluting the forest. Elo was gone, the world was rotting into ash. The miasma was spreading until it was in her skin, burning her throat, she screamed, turning to dust. Bree gasped awake. She had been quiet enough not to wake Elo. She looked around; the mob of deer had moved in. She was surrounded by the warm bodies of white deer that had settled for the night. The herd had been slowly accepting her. While they did not talk or change back to human as Elo did, they did seem to be less wary of her. Elo said that they did speak to each other, but it was different than when she talked to Bree. On the first night, she had thought she had heard their voices, but as time went on, they looked and acted as deer. Bakura and Elo were the exceptions. This had troubled her, but she had said nothing of it to anyone. Bree lay back down, listening to voices in the distance. Bakura and Joltrun were talking, and she could hear them. Joltrun warmed himself by the fire. He quietly said. "The entire forest is in danger..."

  Bakura sat in her human form. "Do you know what is causing this?"

  Bree stared at Joltrun's shadow, which she could see clearly against the light of the fire. Elo's thick hide blocked her from their view. Bree's heart skipped a few beats. Joltrun said, "No, and yes."

  Bakura threw her hands up, she hissed, "That is not helpful.” Joltrun snapped “Its a form of corrupted magic, old stuff. Tharin says that it's not elvish, it's wild magic. Like the spirit inside Faelorn."

  Joltrun took a deep breath and pulled a pipe from his robes. He stuffed it with a lush plant from his pocket and lit it with a piece of coal. "Bakura, the girl, have you been watching her?" Bakura nodded, answering in hushed tones. "She is safe; nothing has changed. Do you think she is connected to the miasma?"

  Joltrun spoke his voice serious. He said, "that girl shouldn't be alive. She must be connected, but how, I am not sure. She should not have been able to see the spring, not without Faelorn's help. She didn't just drink in it, she bathed in it and ate from it. She can see the fae. No one can see the fae unless they have joined the herd. I'd be afraid to say, but she may not be human. Only the elves could hunt and drink from the spring as if it were natural. Only the king's deer can drink freely from the spring. A human girl, never. Something is off with her, I just don't know what it is?"

  Joltrun looked up at Bakura, "did the king say something to you?"

  Bakura shook her head. "He only comes to take souls into the water; he asked me to guide her and that Elo watch over her. Nothing more." Joltrun coughed, hacking into a handkerchief. He said, "Oh, I'm too old for this, I need sleep, I'm so tired." Bakura shifted into a golden deer once more. She said, "Thank you for sharing with me, Joltrun" Bree rolled over and closed her eyes. Bakura stood and turned to walk towards the forest. She said, "Sleep old man, I will watch over the herd and you," Joltrun grumbled, tossing water over the coals. The coals hissed loudly, startling a few white deer awake. "I'm not a child, I don't need to be babysat." Bakura retorted, " hush, Jolt-babe," Joltrun growled, “you haven't called me that since I was a child."

  Bakura surprisingly giggled " Sometimes I still see that child in your eyes," Joltrun growled but turned over, pulling up his blankets. Bree was tingling with nerves. "
What did Joltrun mean that she shouldn't be alive?" Faelorn had saved her. She had been healed by the spring, right? She lay on the hard ground in disbelief. Was she not human? Was it possible? She stared at the numerous stars, listening to Elo's breath bedside's her. She was afraid to sleep. Eventually, her eyes grew heavy, and sleep claimed her quickly.

  Chapter 14

  Bree woke the next morning bright and early. She was up so early that all her morning chores were done well before the sun was over the horizon. She planned her day looking longingly into the forest. Elo recommended that they spend the day practicing shooting. She gathered sun fruits from the basket. "We can use these for practice!" Bree signed, "Won't your friends be afraid of me shooting so close to them." Elo groaned, "They're not real deer; some were probably even hunters when they were alive. No one will care." Elo gathered stones "Let's pile them up, and put the sun fruit on top so we can build stands." They stacked stones from the spring. Bree was impressed when Elo changed into her human form, dived into the spring, and hoisted a boulder from underwater. Bree clapped as they added it to the pile, and soon it was almost as big as Elo. Bree placed a single sun-fruit on the top of the pile. Readying herself, she aimed her bow and fired. She missed but managed to nail the fruit the second time. She searched the field behind their stone pile. To her surprise, a little boy ran out of the grass with the sun-fruit. It was the fawn, Eli. He handed her the fruit and arrow. She approached cautiously, smiling, not wanting to spook him. Bree was determined to befriend the other deer, and this was an opportunity. Eli followed her and Elo back to where they were shooting.

  Elo held the bow clumsily, looking nervously at Bree. She said, "Okay, what do I do with my fingers" Bree fixed Elo's posture and adjusted her elbow. She signed, "Hold your fingers as I do." She showed her, and Elo copied her. The blonde woman shot an arrow into the rock pile, and it stuck awkwardly. "Oh, bloody hell..." she looked discouraged. Bree signed, "try again, it takes practice." Eli watched them for a long while as they practiced. He ran back and forth, retrieving fired arrows for the women. Eventually, his mother called, panicking when she saw him handing Bree an arrow. The mother deer threw herself between Eli and Bree. Bree stumbled back, caught off guard. Elo said, "Hey," Bree signed quickly, "I won't hurt him, I'll be careful."

  Elo translated, and the mother deer looked at Bree with a stony face. She turned and left, and to Eli's delight, he did a little dance. He cheered, "yay, she said I can play!"

  Bree let out a sigh of relief. She was determined to make friends other than Elo and Faelorn. She had thought more and more about her time in the realm of the fae and was determined to find a way to stay.

  Elo lifted Eli onto her shoulders. "Eli, I sure you know by now since you never were introduced proper. This is my new friend Bree." Bree gave a little wave. Eli grinned at her, "I want to learn how to shoot arrows!" Bree gave him a lesson, putting the sun fruit lower and helping him hold the bow. He was terrible as expected of a small child, but he giggled every time Bree let an arrow fly. She fired her arrows until her fingers where sore and Elo had grown bored. Next, they went swimming in the spring with Elo transforming back into her deer form as she let Eli ride on her back. Bree splashed him and played, chasing him with giggles.

  She missed playing with children, her sibling's children, and especially her littlest sister. It was familiar chasing after a little child, laughing. He rode on her shoulders while they fished for crawdads, and Elo gathered food for their next meal.

  All the while, Bakura watched them with Eli's mother by her side. Neither doe said anything, and Bree was slightly unnerved by their staring. Eventually, the three were tired from playing. Elo shifted back to her feminine form and was cooking by the fire. Eli was exhausted and decided the return to his mother's side to sleep. As everyone settled in, Elo said to Bree over the fire," Your better with children than I thought" Bree signed, "my siblings had children, and my youngest siblings were still children before they were killed." Her hands shook, she felt her eyes get wet. Her face reddened, and Elo patted her back. Bree's throat was tight; she hugged her knees and stared into the fire. They ate in silence, as midday set in. Faelorn appeared at the edge of the wood. Bree brightened when she spotted him approaching. He cheerfully waved and served himself lunch from Elo's cauldron.

  Faelorn signed to her and Elo. "I want to show you the woods, I can take you to meet many faes."

  Elo frowned "aren't we all in danger if we go into the woods?."

  Faelorn shook his head. "I want to help Bree find her purpose, plus your safest with me." Cockily he tossed his antlered head looking at Bree. "Aren't, you bored anyways. I have so much that I want to show you."

  Elo looked doubtful but agreed to accompany Bree into the woods. Excited, her mind finally off her parents and siblings. Bree slung her pack on to her shoulder. It was filled with her book, notes, and charcoals. She ran to his side, thrilled. Elo trotted ahead of them, nimbly running as she transformed into a deer. Bree huffed after Elo running. Faelorn, transformed into a beast, picked her up mid-stride and threw her on his massive shoulders as he ran on all fours. She was breathless, mounting his back. Cael leaped into her arms. The wooding had been in the trees climbing when he had divided down onto Faelorn's back. She was glad to see the little woodling as he had been gone since the incident with the wicked hobgoblin. Cael hung onto her shoulders as she clung to Faelorn's back.

  Bree wanted to whoop and yell as Faelorn crashed, threw the trees with reckless pleasure. Her voice was trapped in her throat, but none of it mattered. She was happy, and it wasn't until they were deep into the middle of the forest that Faelorn stopped. Bree dismounted, and Elo was huffing and puffing leaning against a tree. The forest opened up to the river she and Elo had crossed on their first walk into the woods. Faelorn lead them to a fallen log, where they rested to catch their breath.

  After a long moment, he beckoned Bree to follow. Elo laid down in the tall grass. She was tucked away neatly in her deer form, her white fur only visible to the careful eye. Faelorn went to the edge of the river in his beast form and let out a strange call. It was like a howl, but it reverberated through the entire forest. He transformed halfway, looking down at her. "I have called the fae, now you can document them, and I will tell you about them. You must stand near me. The faes will not approach if they see two humans." He sat down, his lower body was that of a stag, and his upper body was human. Moss and vines grew on his back, his eyes were a deep vibrant green. She settled to sit at his front hooves. Faelorn pulled her closer. He smelled of moss and the woods. His thick fur tickled her head as he sat towering above her.

  For a moment, Bree was disappointed that there was no immediate arrival of the fae. Then she noticed that the ground was moving. Bree stared in amazement when she saw that tiny mushrooms where walking. She started sketching quickly. These new arrivals were vaguely shaped like little men. They had small stalk-eye structures where faces should be. Faelorn greeted them, bowing his head in acknowledgment. He gently said. "These are the Bolten, they filter the air and clean the ground. They eat carrion but are completely harmless." Bree sketched, taking notes on the creatures' average size, shape, and habitation. As Bree worked, in a matter of an hour, they were flooded with all kinds of strange fae. Light fairies flew overhead, and another type of fairy, a tree fairy, skittered across Faelorn's shoulders. Bree sketched it, and seemingly noticing her, the fairy posed hanging off of Faelorn's arm. It was stick-like with two tiny bulging eyes on top of its head. Its limbs looked like leaves, and Bree was amazed when she outstretched her hand, and the creature leaped onto it with great acrobatic dexterity. Cael, annoyed and jealous, screeched at the fairy who filtered away.

  Bree let Cael perch on her shoulder while she continued taking notes. Bree sketched more bush fae, which appeared almost out of thin air. Strange white creatures wandered on two legs across the river. They had many shiny black eyes, and they walked slowly. They looked like giant lumbering mushrooms; they made soft calling sounds.
Bree leaned into Faelorn fur for warmth. She could only sketch so fast, so she focused on drawing the creatures. A brightly colored rabbit hopped by Faelorn's hoof. It was not the typical coloring of a rabbit. It had blue frills and black stripes all along it's back. Its face was yellow, and its eye shone with an intelligence that was not that of an ordinary animal.

  Bree signed up at Faelorn, "Is that really a fae?"

  Faelorn greeted the creature who sniffed him then hopped back into the grass to settle by Elo. He answered, "yes, many faes take the form of animals, rabbits, foxes, bears, and wolves."

  "Are they still animals or fae?" Faelorn paused, "they are like the King's deer. I would say that they where animals, but time and magic in this realm changed their spirits to resemble a more perfect form. Fae animals are usually immortal, they can still be killed but not by nature."

  Bree pet the rabbits hide in amazement. She signed "this...this makes me happy. The fae make me happy," she looked up at Faelorn. Elo watching all of this, commented, "Faelorn, are the King's deer like the animal fae?" Faelorn shook his mane. "No, the King's deer are special; they were created by the King as vessels for lost souls." Elo flicked her ears back. "Yeah, but we're still human, aren't we? We just happen to live in this forest,"