Into the Forest part 21

[krystalkatz.livejournal.com]

Sho moved through the forest with half an eye resting on his guide Nino who was stopping every now and then to listen to the trees and guide them here and there based on what he heard. He was growing steadily more convinced that there was more to Nino than first met the eyes. He had known a few people now who were said to be able to speak old languages and in spite what Jun thought he hadn’t looked down on them. He had grown tired of his aunt’s stories and until last week he would have scoffed at the idea of an old god but he did admire those that could translate the old tongue. Nino spoke the oldest language known to man, even going so far as to be able to understand the very trees around them and that…That was something otherworldly.

 In his aunt’s tales there had been the fee, the fair folk, that had been able to understand the trees they had been the first to learn the language and begin to speak and they in turn had taught it to the humans. He had assumed that they, like the old gods, were just tales to amuse small children but now…Now he had no idea what he was meant to believe. He refused to speak aloud though, his cousin was already one step from having him sent away on the grounds of insanity and Nino appeared to be unwilling to speak of it.

“We are getting close…” Nino breathed holding up his hand to tell them to stop running his face screwed up a little as he appeared to strain hear the trees. The lord, though unable to speak to them, could understand his difficulty, the forest was so densely packed here that the wind was struggling to get through and there was only a low hum coming from above which sounded like garbled mess.  “I’m sorry my lord…The trees aren’t making much sense at the moment…” Nino hummed looking frustrated and disappointed, Sho shared his disappointment though he hadn’t allowed himself to grow overly excited at the idea of seeing Masaki again choosing instead to believe that this would just be a wild goose chase in the forest. “I think we should go to the left…”

“Are you sure?”

“I said…I think my lord…I can’t claim to be absolutely sure, but I have a feeling…” Nino shrugged moving aside some branches and motioning for him to pass. Jun stared to move forward but Nino shook his head, his hand resting on his chest as he murmured “I’m sorry my lord, but as I said earlier it’s not us that god would want to see…Lord Sho should go first…If the old god is here…Then at least he would be happy to see him…”

“And if he isn’t here?”

“Then there will be no foul, my lord…There are no wild beasts here that would harm the lord, my lord Jun…” Nino reassured them with a smile and that caused Sho to realise that that they hadn’t ran into a beast at all while they had been in the forest. He had expected to, the tales of wolf attacks were wild in the town and yet Sho knew for certain that children played in comfort near the very edge of the forest. “…For their own safety they stay away from the world of men and humans…Humans are the ones that purposely go out looking for them…Now go, my lord…”

“Right…” Sho nodded stepping forward and walking through the trees. He pushed through blindly his hands stretched out in front of him to block damage from the spindly branches that reached out to him. His clothes caught a little but he continued until he was on the other side next to a rive and his heart began dancing with happiness when he saw a glimpse of the white coat of the large beast and then a flash of flesh.

TBC
A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^