Pine roots grew all around the forest in a strange, snake-like pattern. They slithered from deep underground to the surface, their sturdy carcasses paving a crude path that led further inside the forest.
The wind seeped into his skin, making Zephyr's trip slow and agonizing. With shaky breaths, the chilling temperature that came from above the mountains started to bite into his nostrils with every careful inhale.
I should have taken the blanket...
Regret already started to make its way inside his mind, but it didn't matter.
Zephyr already went inside the forest and said his goodbyes. He didn't want another problem to arise from not having enough resources. Though he was unsure about the lion even needing to waste his time on something like traps.
Now that I think about it... We don't even need to wait. We could go hunting together and catch a boar or something.
Yes, that would have been a better idea. Still... Zephyr looked down at his tattered armor, which looked as if it were just an old rag. Its gaping hole made the wind slither inside his clothes that barely escaped being damaged.
"I wonder if he has something my size. I haven't visited him for a while, so I'm not sure if he thinks I already died." He rubbed his chin before glancing back at the roots.
They pulsed faintly under his boots, like living beings; they closed on him from behind before falling back inside the soil where they belong.
The path back was already gone.
He stopped briefly, waiting for the roots to react. And they did after a moment, wiggling all over the place with their smaller ends as if they started to look for something or someone.
One of them, with a muddy curled tip, grazed the edge of his feet. The path froze momentarily before reverting to its previous behaviour of just breathing, or at least looking like it did.
So he does think it's me... That's a relief.
The roots weren't normal, of course; just like the forest, they had their own quirks, for example, creating one-time use paths that could be built again after a few hours. It was still a mystery how that man figured out their function; he didn't seem to come from the west.
Unlike any regular human, the roots and the man were immune to the forest's tricks. When usually stepping inside it, Zephyr's head became dizzy, and the sense of direction started to become blurred as if the memory of it was hidden behind a veil of fog.
A feeling that everything was alive, the trees, grass, and even dirt, which he casually walked on. The trance that he was put into.
His head just hurt from thinking about it.
"Hm?"
A hum left his lips. At the corner of his vision, he noticed two small pellets falling from the sky, slowly drifting down before touching the ground and turning into two drops of water.
Is that?
Dazed, he turned his head upwards. Spreading his palms open, another crystal white pellet fell from the clouds before melting in his palm.
It's snow.
...
A man sat inside a dimly lit room.
The soothing rocking of his chair that stood next to the window echoed inside the small space.
Next to it stood a small coffee table, its round shape supporting a cup of steaming hot tea and an open book that didn't close itself. His eyes drifted to his window, which bore many marks.
Over his body was a simple, thick hazel robe that hid him from the chilly weather. Pale green patterns of leaves were spread on its edges, followed by an outline of gold that many couldn't even lay their eyes upon.
He glanced at the window, and the swaying trees made him heave a sigh. Resting his cheek in his palm, he flinched under the sudden sensation.
Without standing up, he turned to the window and looked into the forest, his eyes peering through the thick vegetation before settling on something or someone.
His eyes changed slightly, it's dim color was like that of freshly cut grass, they weren't surprised or angry, just a flicker of an uncertain emotion came to them and left the moment he turned away.
"I wonder what he will bring this time." The man hummed to himself in the shadows.
The room was empty of any furniture, almost like he had just moved here a few days ago.
It started to change along with the man.
Structures started to shape themself almost like pieces of clay, a long couch started to grow on the opposite side of the room, the melted wood hardened, changing its color into a soft yellow.
The same thing happened with a pair of chairs, a table that stood between them, and a pair of bookshelves that framed the walls.
He smiled to himself, lifting a cup to his lips and taking a long, careful sip. Steam escaped his nose as he placed it back with a thump.
"Perfect, now let's-"
Before he could finish, a jolt came over him like a shock of electricity.
He turned to the window, his body practically jumping to it as his face pressed tightly into it.
Don't tell me...
A strong premonition that something bad would happen crossed his mind.
...
Snow gradually began to descend upon the tall pine forest.
Tiny pellets of snow weren't actually as tiny as Zephyr thought.
Before his body managed to get familiar with the cold, hail started to rain on him with a somewhat calmer tone than usual.
His tiny silhouette peeked from beneath the roots from time to time, trying to guess how long it would last.
It's just the start of October, and the weather does something like this? Maybe I should have taken a lion with me.
But he wouldn't want to force him. It was still a little weird that he didn't say 'no' but instead answered with 'can't'.
Did he get so comfortable there? Well, I'm sure he's happy to sit in my hut away from all this ice and snow...
Seeing that it didn't seem to stop any time soon, he went deeper inside the dense root cocoon.
His body slumped against its hard, soiled walls, right next to his bag from which he pulled out a small piece of dried meat. (Another trick he learned from his book)
It's too cold
His face scrunched up before throwing the meat back inside his bag, which was filled with similar cuts.
I wonder if he's going to like them-
As the thought crossed his mind, an unexpected tremor started to rise from within the soil. Zephyr, taken by surprise and the force of the earthquake, flew to the ceiling, hitting it with his head.
- Thunk!
A dull sound of something being hit resonated within the thick forest.
Zephyr's body went limp, lying lifelessly on the roots, which broke down with each quake until-
The roots snapped loudly, slugging the nearby trees hard enough to leave scars on their trunks.
The floor beneath his body collapsed, parting to the sides so quickly that no one could have run away from it.
A huge gaping fissure opened across the entire forest, swallowing his body along with all the unfortunate life that got in its way.