“Well, I am a man of many talents but I guess today I’ll make an exception.” He released her hand and sat in the chair opposite us.
Some would have been fooled by his nonchalant attitude toward Lavender but his rose-blushed ears betrayed him. I raised my eyebrows at her but she wouldn’t meet my gaze. I smiled. The past week had been almost peaceful without the threat of Alistair’s presence to suffocate me. It was moments like these that reminded me how natural it felt to be around them; that a small part of me hoped my time to leave would never come. But I would never be able to stay. It wasn’t my home, no matter how much it had started to feel that way.
I jumped at a sudden noise outside, a pleasant chirping and beautiful melody. I got to my feet and walked toward the open back doors. Streaks of red and orange danced and twirled around the grounds and dove in and out of the treeline, before the two birds nestled on a branch.
“Those are Redwings.” Ric rolled his eyes. “Not a very original name, I know.”
“They’re beautiful,” I said admiringly. They were similar to the pheasants that ran around the farm, but their necks were long and their wing feathers glinted in the morning sun.
“They only ever come out on days like this.” Ric shielded his eyes and looked up at the sky. “Lucky for us it looks like the weather’s going to hold.”
“Hold for what?”
“You and I are going for a little walk in the forest.”
My stomach flipped. “You mean I get to come with you? –to get out of the house?”
“Yes ma’am,” Ric smiled. “Needless to say you probably need a little bit of fresh air.”
“An understatement if I ever heard one. When do we leave?” I bounced on the balls of my feet.
“As soon as I finish breakfast.” Ric sat back down on the couch and stretched his legs out.
“I always have to miss the fun things-,” Lavender whined.
“You’ll be laughing when your education keeps you alive longer than the rest of us, Lav.”
“You’ll all be kissing my feet when I’m keeping you alive.” Lavender turned the page. Ric laughed and made short work of the rest of his food.
WE WISHED LAVENDER luck for her day of gruelling study and gathered whatever was needed for the trip. I strapped my dagger in its usual place and met Ric back in the entrance hall. He’d stuffed his pack with food and handed me a canteen as he passed by.
“How far are we going?” I asked, following him through the entrance hall.
“It’s about half a day’s walk. If things go to plan we’ll be back before sunset.”
“And if they don’t-?”
“The moon is mid-cycle. Even if we get caught out after dark we’ll have no trouble, from the forest creatures at least.” He shrugged. “Can’t speak for any others that we might stumble across.”
“Comforting. Where are we going exactly?”
“Willow needs a few ingredients for the upcoming term-”
“We’re not picking Groggnuts, are we?” I feared the worst.
“Oh, no, you wouldn’t be able to find me within ten miles of Carrandell if it was Groggnut season. Just Razorcaps.” Ric shouldered his pack and started outside. “So far the eastern paths have been clear of predators for weeks.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.” I followed after him. “I’m not too eager to bump into anything toothy.” My troublesome dress snagged on a blackberry bush and I scowled; at least I had my trusty, old boots.
We walked for hours. I may have been less nimble than Ric but eventually keeping up with his thunderous strides wasn’t an impossible task. He was easy to talk to which made it more difficult to imagine that our first encounter wasn’t just another odd dream. No matter how I tried to move past it, there would always be an element of distrust in our friendship I wouldn’t be able to shift.
We crossed an open lea and paused before entering the next tree line. Ric turned to me, “We need to be vigilant from here. Plenty of people get snatched up from right under their friends’ noses in these woods…and it’s quite easy to get lost so be sure to stay close.” He slid through a gap in the trees and disappeared from view.
“Yes, because getting lost is now right atop my list of concerns after hearing you say that,” I grumbled. Pushing through the foliage I fumbled to grab his knife belt and plodded along behind him.
The world around us seemed to grow as we traversed a fallen tree across a rift in the forest floor. Below a thin river dropped steeply and its water bounced off the weathered rocks that lined the falls. My head swayed and I willed myself not to stumble.
“Gehn,” I said as my feet touched back on the soft soil.
Ric stared back at me with an eyebrow raised. “What? You can walk up and down from your room at home but you can’t cross a small log without your legs wobbling?”
“I’ve never been good with heights. At the house there’s a bridge rope to stop me from falling off it.” My forehead creased as he turned away from me. The vibration of his shoulders made it obvious he was trying to hide his laughter. Bastard.
All around us the trees seemed to have grown taller and wider, dwarfing our comparably small statures. Even the leaves seemed enlarged. New, unusual colours sprung into life around us as they painted and twisted themselves up various vines and bark. I stopped beside a tree I couldn’t see the top of and looked closer at the purple fuzz growing up its side in a spiral.
Before I could see sense I touched the plant, feeling its surprising firmness beneath my fingers like moss. “What’s this?” I asked.
Ric groaned. “I was going to warn you about this after we came to it. Apparently I thought you had more sense than to be prodding things you don’t know.” He pulled my hand away from the tree and inspected it. Clearly the worry on my face wasn’t hard to read as he turned my hand over for me to see. “Lucky for you they aren’t poisonous, but they’ll stain your hands for a while.”
I pulled my hand back to look at the now-purple palm, and attempted to wipe it off on my skirt – with little success. “What-?”
“It only responds to organic material. That’s why it’s such a pest.” Ric wiped his finger across my palm and showed the purple mark that had spread to it. “It’s a bloody nightmare.”
“Maybe you should give me the rundown of things not to touch before I put myself in a difficult situation.”
“How long have you got?” he smirked.
“I’m being serious, idiot.”
“Alright, alright, a few come to mind.” Ric scratched the stubble on his jaw as he pushed through a curtain of green. “We should come across it easily. Keep an eye out for small, bright yellow flowers-”