To The Forest - Part Fifteen
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
“Okay,” I say tentatively, some time later. “So, that wasn’t our finest moment of all time.”
Aiden keeps silent, his eyes determinedly trained on the tent peg he’s busy pushing into the forest floor. Kasey, on the other hand, decides to put it all into words.
“Yeah, given that we got lost, didn’t cover any of the ground we meant to, got caught unawares by one of the illusions, and then ran like cowards, even though we already knew it wasn’t real.”
I drop another armful of sticks onto the pile I’m building for the fire, then straighten up to wince deeply at Kasey. “Thank you so much for that summary, Kase-face.”
“Yeah, that was very helpful,” Aiden growls, slightly red-cheeked, sinking the next tent peg into the ground with more force than strictly necessary. “Just lovely.”
As if we’re not embarrassed enough. I was running in such a panic that I processed Aiden shouting at me in tiny pieces, like - someone’s yelling at you. A boy is yelling at you. Aiden is yelling at you. He’s saying that nothing is chasing us, and to stop - stop -
And when I did finally crash to a stop, he was right. Nothing was behind us. We were fleeing wildly through the darkness for no reason whatsoever.
I try to put some brightness back in my voice. “Let’s look at the positives.”
“The positives?” Aiden casts me an incredulous glance. “Are there any?”
“We identified one of the illusions,” I point out hopefully, fidgeting with the sleeve of my flannel. “You didn’t lose the ghost glasses, and no one got hurt, even though we were running pell-mell through the old-growth without looking where we were going! I’d say that’s pretty good, right? We even found a place to set up camp before the sun goes all the way d-”
“Oh, no,” Kasey interrupts, her dark eyes widening with alarm. “The sun is almost down! I need to get back to Ketterbridge before I use up all of Will’s energy, and he doesn’t have any for tomorrow!”
“Oh, you’re right - go, go!” I blow Kasey a kiss, then give her a wave goodbye. “Love you!”
“I love you, too! Be careful - don’t get near the Plant! And don’t forget to summon Will in the morning, so he knows where to find you!”
Kasey vanishes before we can answer, leaving the log she was sitting on empty. I sit down where she was and flex my sore feet, letting out a long, tired breath.
Aiden straightens up, tossing his hair out of his eyes. He tucks the glasses away in the pocket of his jeans as he sweeps his appraising gaze over the tent. Finding it satisfactorily planted in the earth, he sits down next to me in front of the little heap of firewood and circle of rocks I’ve been assembling.
He absent-mindedly touches a fingertip to the sticks poking out of the pile. They immediately begin to smoke, glowing red. Aiden pulls his hand back, and a flame begins to lick the tinder pile, melting down over the rest, lighting up the campfire. Smoke begins to wind up into the chilly night air.
I stare at this piece of casual magic in silent amazement as Aiden sits back on the log and snuggles his head into the curve of my neck. He exhales a heavy sigh, and the rush of his warm breath against my skin sends a wave of goosebumps racing down my back.
“Can’t fucking believe it.” I can hear in his deep, growling voice that he has a stormy scowl on his face. “Hate myself. I’m out here trying to look powerful in front of my boyfriend, or at least sort of competent - and instead I scream and run from the first illusion we meet. Not at all the impression I was trying to make on you during this, man, to be honest. Here I was thinking - maybe I’ll get the chance to show off a little bit, try and impress him.”
“How disappointing for you!” I answer sympathetically, fighting back a laugh.
Aiden makes a thin, agonized noise, lifting his head to look at me with wide eyes. “Oh my god, how can you still be in a good fucking mood after all this?”
Because I’m with you, I nearly answer.
“It’s just difficult for me to be upset right now,” I say instead, “Because you’ve kinda got the same expression going that my dad has when my mom makes him stay for the musical skits that the youth pastors do at church. Specifically the youth pastor who always tries to rap, but like, about God and Jesus.”
I take another look at Aiden’s expression - mortified dismay, aghast embarrassment, total horror - then lose the battle against the laugh rising up in my throat.
“Yep, that’s exactly the face!”
Aiden glares down at me, then breaks into a sudden, unwilling laugh. He rubs his eyes in immense exasperation, and I lean up to kiss his jawline adoringly.
“You didn’t make that same face when she made you sit through the awful Jesus raps, Keane?”
“Oh, I missed it completely every time. My secondhand embarrassment just wouldn’t let me hear one word of that. I think I might have dissociated? Either that or I’ve blacked out the memories.”
Aiden huffs out another soft laugh, shaking his head. He turns his gaze back to the fire, distractedly folding an arm around my shoulders. He looks less grumpy and more thoughtful now.
“Why didn’t the illusion follow us?” he rumbles, after a moment. “I’m definitely not complaining, but I kind of thought it was going to chase us right out of the forest.”
I thought so, too. All of Team Ghost Office was bewildered when we realized that the Plant hadn’t given us any kind of chase. We were all under the impression that it was right behind us.
Once we got a hold of ourselves, we reluctantly discussed retracing our steps so we could find the Plant again and try to dispel it. But we had scampered with no thought to the direction we were going, and we had no idea how to get back.
The illusion is still out there somewhere. We haven’t seen it again since. It didn’t even return to block our path in its much less frightening thorny plant form.
“Rose said that her illusions are running low on power, right?” I ask slowly, thinking it through as I talk. “Maybe it gave up a lot of power at once doing that transformation, following us around all day... I’m guessing we gave it a lot more trouble than most people do. I doubt it has to phase into its scary form all that often.”
“That thing is not out of power,” Aiden says firmly. “Might be running low, sure, but it’s not out. I can sense the magic coming off of it. Rose didn’t give herself nearly enough credit.”
“I’m used to Guardians doing that.” I let out an affectionate laugh, leaning over to brush a kiss onto his stubbled cheek. “Must be one of those things Guardians tend to have in common. It’s funny when I find some way you all seem to be the same, since you’re all so different from each other.”
Aiden blushes a little as I gaze deep into his breathtakingly beautiful eyes.
“Will said that Ariana had unusual sapphire blue eyes,” I add thoughtfully. “That means they were pretty different from yours.”
I’ve given this some thought lately, even though Will mentioned it a long time ago. Aiden’s eyes are so unusually striking that I initially assumed the color was handed down through a Guardian line. That’s clearly not true, at least not in the way I had imagined. Will said that Ariana’s eyes were like star sapphires.
I learned a lot about the meanings of various gems and stones when Aiden and I were still trying to channel magic through his mom’s method. The three intersecting lines of a star sapphire are said to mean hope, faith, and destiny. People wore those sapphires as a talisman in ancient times, to ward off ill omens.
That’s why I remember so clearly what Will said about Ariana’s eyes. I thought it was a fitting color for a Guardian, but - Aiden’s eyes aren’t that color at all.
“Yours can look sapphire in the dark, but they’re so much lighter than that.” I tuck a glossy chestnut strand out of Aiden’s face, so I can see them better. “Definitely not the same as Ariana’s. But such an unusual color, I swear I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Will made it sound like the color of Ariana’s eyes was super unusual, too. I’d be amazed if that had nothing to do with anything.”
“Mmm… that’s true.” Aiden tilts his head to the side, turning it over in his mind. “Guess we’ve been talking about how little we really know about Guardians. Add that one to the list.”
“Do you remember what color your mom’s eyes-?” I begin, then cut myself off sharply, pressing my fingers over my mouth. “Oh, nevermind, we don’t have to talk about-”
“Nah, it’s - it’s fine,” Aiden gently cuts in, keeping his gaze steadily on the fire. “They were… I want to say they were kind of like - lapis lazuli.”
“Oh.” I blink hard at Aiden, surprised that he chose to answer, then eagerly tug on his sleeve. “So that’s different, too, but they’re all some form of blue! We just figured something out about Guardians, I think! See, it’s fine that we don’t know. We’ll figure it out together.”
I give Aiden a bright smile, and he can’t help but smile back, the last of his frustration unraveling.
I nuzzle my nose into his affectionately. “I wonder what shade of blue the next…?”
I trail off, my cheeks going violently red. Now I’ve accidentally brought up our potential future little Guardian.
“I’m just saying a lot of things, right now,” I manage, hiding my burning face against Aiden’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m tired.”
Aiden breathes out a soft laugh, lifting a hand to tousle my hair. “It’s okay. I’m tired, too. S’been a long day.”
It has, and we got up so early, and Aiden actually did find us a cozy little place to camp, despite how far off-plan we got thrown. A little clearing where the trees are naturally set back, leaving an open expanse of moss and wildflowers and boulders shining softly with twilight dewfall. The dampness of the forest hangs in the fragrant, slow-moving summer air, caressing my face.
Soft sounds of little creatures moving around the boughs reach us. In the little nooks of the branches, some of the fungi are beginning to glow as night grows deeper around us. A light dusting of raindrops sprinkles down on us through the gap in the canopy high above our heads.
The old-growth is dark and mysterious, whispering quietly. But our campsite is aglow with the warmth and brightness of the cheerful little fire.
Aiden spreads one hand to release a burst of his fireflies, which float out to drift around the edges of the clearing. Revealing that there’s nothing hiding in the shadows, at least not too close by.
“Are you gonna be able to get some rest?” Aiden asks softly, squeezing my shoulders. “I know we’re all freaked out, but I don’t think sleep deprivation is gonna help us handle the forest of illusions any better.”
I’m honestly not sure if I will be able to sleep. The glowing eyes of the transformed illusion are burned into my mind. I don’t even really know what the hell we were looking at. No one got a good look before we decided we’d seen plenty enough. All we know now is that one of the illusions is terrifying, aware of us, and out there somewhere. That kind of notion doesn’t make sleep come any easier.
But it turns out I don’t need to worry about it. I’m with Aiden, and soon that overrides everything else.
Aiden and I eat a warm campfire dinner together, then change into comfy clothes, put out the fire, and snuggle up together in the tent. The rain taps against it, making a gentle noise that combines with the deep rumble of Aiden’s voice and the softness of our sleeping bags to make my anxious heart grow calm.
Before long I’m talking to him and cuddled up to him the way I would be in our bed at home. We talk for a long time, debating how to dispel the Plant and what exactly that was it transformed into. What the plan should be for day two in the forest. Whether or not we’ll actually have Will with us tomorrow, despite his obvious anxiety about leaving Ketterbridge after all this time.
Aiden’s fingertips trail softly up and down my arm as we talk, his voice rumbling through me with every word he speaks.
His breath is all minty from the toothpaste tab when he leans down to brush a slow, lingering kiss on my lips. We’ve both gotten quiet, our exhaustion slowly pulling us towards sleep. I kiss him back drowsily and lazily, smiling against his mouth, working a strand of his luxuriant chestnut hair around my fingers.
“Raining again,” he observes quietly, his lips brushing mine as he speaks.
“Good,” I murmur, slipping my arm around his waist. “Should bring some nitrogen down from the lichen up in the canopy, put it right into the soil. The plants will like that.”
Aiden smiles softly at me, then sits back and pulls his phone out of his backpack.
“Fuck. No service, not that I really expected any. Guess we won’t know if the forecast for tomorrow has changed.”
“It would be hard to say out here, anyways,” I tell him drowsily, snuggling up against his side. “Forests like this make the weather.”
Aiden breathes out a quiet laugh, tossing his phone aside to gather me back up into his arms. “You’re gonna have to explain that one to me later, Linden. You’re the only one of the group who speaks the language of this place.”
This sweet, thoughtless little comment from Aiden is the last thing I hear from him before he drops off to sleep, but it wakes me up some more. I find myself gazing up at the ceiling of the tent for a long time, listening to the muffled tapping of the rainfall.
Thinking.
~~~~
Aiden is still asleep when my eyes blink open to find the sunlit ceiling of the tent above me. The dawn light must have pulled me gently and slowly from my sleep. Aiden has one hand protectively spread on my chest, his nose pressed to my shoulder.
My first coherent thought is less of a thought at all, more just pure relief. We got through our first night without a visit from an illusion, or anything else (bears) that might be wandering around this forest.
I carefully move Aiden’s hand so I can sit up and stretch my arms over my head. Then I unzip the tent, crawl outside into the morning air, and sit back on my ankles to see what the forest is like today.
The answer is: full of sunshowers. Light, feathery droplets of rain are fluttering in glowing waves through shafts of dawn sunshine, briefly glowing before moving on. The ferns and wildflowers are trembling beneath the droplets, the mossy boulders glazed with rain. The sunrise is so new that the air is still tinted blue.
I know there are good reasons not to go off on my own (bears), but the forest looks beautiful and welcoming to my eyes right now, and I think I hear the rush of a little creek just off to one side of our campsite. I step into my hiking boots, then tread quietly across the clearing, closing my eyes for a moment to listen to the twittering calls of the birds. A mist blown in from the sea soaks the forest floor, making it soft beneath my boots.
I make my way down a little slope and nearly slide right into the creek I was looking for. To my delight, the water is stunningly clear, shining in the early morning glow. I pull my shirt off and kneel beside the creek to rinse myself off a little, gasping when the icy water meets my hands.
It’s so cold it almost hurts, but my drowsiness is gone and my eyes are all the way open by the time I’m done. I use my wet hands to try and do something, anything that might help my hair, then give up immediately and strike out back for the campsite, tugging my shirt on over my head as I go. I want to get back to Aiden before I accidentally run into anything unexpected (bears) while I’m alone. Besides, I don’t want him to wake up worrying about me.
It turns out I’m a little too late for that. I meet Aiden right at the edge of the clearing, where he was hurriedly making his way into the treeline. His hiking boots are left unlaced, his chestnut hair all adorably sleep-tousled, his blue eyes full of worry until they fall on me and fill with relief.
“Dude,” he begins sternly, then softens when he gets a better look at me. “Oh, you - you look-”
“Hi,” I say brightly, rocking up on my toes to kiss him. “Morning, Sugar Maple. Sorry about my hair. And my stubble.”
“Nah, it’s all good,” he murmurs, a warm smile taking over his eyes. “Don’t you wander off like that, though. If I couldn’t hear your note I would’ve been panicking. You do that one more time, I’m gonna go find that youth pastor and make him do a full-on rap breakdown, right at your face-”
“I’m sorry! I promise I didn’t go too far. I just wanted to make an attempt at a shower, and then I found some cool slime on a log on my way back. Had to get a closer look.”
“Yep, sounds like you.” Aiden huffs out a laugh, then catches my hand and pulls me back into the clearing. “Did you sleep okay? I was just about to light up the fire, get some coffee and breakfast going-”
Aiden suddenly breaks off. His hand tightens sharply around mine, his blue eyes blinking fast, staring at something.
I follow his gaze across our campsite clearing to find - the Plant.
It’s gone back to its original form: a spread of pale woody vines, green leaves, and violet thorns. It’s draped across an opening in the trees on the far side of our camp, hanging from the branches, swaying gently in the breeze.
Not necessarily blocking our way, I realize. We could easily go around it.
“Fuck,” Aiden whispers, his eyes wide with alarm. “Okay, we should - Jamie - the fuck are you doing?”
“I have a new plan. I wanted to explain it to you first, but now there’s no time.” I give his hand a tug, taking another step closer to the Plant. “Just trust me?”
I’m not actually sure if I even trust myself on this one, but Aiden must, because he cautiously falls into step at my side. He doesn’t argue with me about it, even as we get closer and closer to the illusion, even as goosebumps begin rolling down his arms.
His words from last night are echoing in my ears. You’re the only one of the group who speaks the language of this place.
I’ve often talked to plants. Always, my whole life. None of them could understand, but this one - this one was tired after we ran into it, and took all night to find us again. This one knew when we weren’t fooled anymore. It opened its eyes and looked right at us.
Maybe it could understand.
It’s also made of Guardian magic. That knowledge is what keeps me going, despite the powerful fight-or-flight instincts trying to override control of me right now.
I approach the thorny wall of vines very slowly, and stop as soon as Aiden’s eyes light up with icy blue magic. He looks at me sidelong, his eyebrows knitted with obvious worry.
The Plant ripples in the breeze, its pale wood darkened as if with the rainfall. Rose really thought of everything, for this illusion.
“What are you doing, Linden?” Aiden whispers.
I take a deep breath, trembling inside, steadying myself out with the help of Aiden’s strong, protective presence. Then I look up at the Plant, slowly lift my hand, and spread my fingers in a nervous, tentative wave.
“Hello,” I begin haltingly, in what I hope is a warm and respectful voice. “I think we got off on the wrong foot last night. Can we start over? I’m Jamie, and this is Aiden.”
I can feel Aiden’s incredulous stare on my profile, but I clear my throat and forge ahead.
“This is gonna sound very strange,” I tell the Plant, “But we know what you are. Old friends of yours sent us to find you. We want to help, if you’ll let us. To help you, and all the others like you.”
There’s a lengthy silence.
“Aw, man.” My shoulders sink as I turn to look at Aiden, crestfallen. “I’m sorry, Sugar Maple. I thought maybe-”
Aiden and I both gasp and whip around as the Plant suddenly begins to move. It releases its grasp on the tree boughs and floats in the air, morphing and shifting. Beginning its transformation.
But this time the trees around us aren’t going wild in a sudden windstorm, and no writhing darkness encompasses the Plant. The only disturbance to the forest is the snap and groan of twisting wood as the illusion changes shape.
Aiden freezes, and so do I, watching with enormous eyes as the Plant pulls itself into the figure we saw last night. With a final snap it comes completely into its other form. It hangs there in midair for a second, then opens its huge, hollow eyes and looks down at us.
Aiden and I stare up in open-mouthed amazement, taking in the true form of the Plant.
He’s shaped like a huge, hollow man, grown from pale wood. The sunlight shines through all the gaps in his body where the thorny vines don’t meet perfectly. Leaves grow right out from him in sporadic clusters, and two long, violet horns stretch out from his temples, shaggy with moss. His long hair is a curtain of moss, too, and he’s bearded with lichen. He has only one foot, the other leg ending in a tangle of roots. A mossy wooden staff is grasped in one of his hands, and he appears to be leaning on it heavily.
His face is a graceful gathering of wood and bark. Almost human in profile, but with a very broad, flat nose. And above that nose, those two gigantic, hollow eyes, full of violet light. Staring at us like they were last night, in an expression almost like - curiosity.
The Plant tilts his horned head to the side for a moment, then bends down to look at us more closely, balancing himself on his staff.
Aiden and I are holding perfectly still, too stunned to do anything. I hastily clear my throat and wave again, this time with shaking fingers.
“Hello!” I call up to the Plant, trying for a friendly smile.
Hello, small fauna, comes a whispering answer, in a voice like the rustle of leaves in the wind. It seems we have much to speak about.
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