Pluto nodded. "Happens a lot to people who try to search for Cassiel. They get lost looking for his lake, and they're never seen again. Cas insists he only lets it happen to the wicked who don't deserve to find the lake, but I'm not sure that's how it works," she said quietly
%20pngg.png)
"From what I have gathered, Urth holds a generally low opinion of mortals, and does not wish them to visit his lands. Heaven help the human who threatens Urth's sacred forests and mountains."
As they walked, the light gradually strengthened, and some fresher green began to appear among the ancient trees. A bird called out, breaking the eerie silence at last. The stream came into view, as clear and shining as liquid glass and fringed with mossy stones. It was more beautiful here, and the air felt less heavy. High above, it was possible to glimpse a bit of the clear blue sky.
Mike walked more confidently now, his back straight and his gaze sweeping the forest on either side. "This is completely different from the last realm. I like it a lot better."
"Then perhaps," Kaiser remarked, "You will return here when you die."
That shut Mike up, and he continued to walk in silence.
Pluto frowned. "Is this…Are these realms like afterlives?"
"In a sense," Kaiser said. "Generally only those that are born in one of these realms returns to them. Hapbringers go to Uarilon, Earth demons go here, and so on. But there are exceptions. Humans have been known to go to any of the five realms after death, and many choose other afterlives of their own creation. We don't know how or why."
"Sounds a bit like the meltwood. There's different rings that represent different realms within the meltwood. Different creatures go to different rings, but a lot of things can happen when you're in them. I once heard about some cursed kid who used the purgatory ring to turn himself into a demon and wreck an entire city."
"Hmm." Kaiser pondered that as he walked. "It may be that our afterlives are the same, but they have different manifestations according to the ways and customs of each dimension. When I return home, I shall research this further."
Mike had stopped listening and was watching the trees carefully. Now, he spoke again. "Hey, does anyone else feel watched?"
Pluto looked up at the trees. "Maybe..?"
Kaiser paused, glancing warily around. "Be still. Don't make any sudden moves until I say it's safe."
Pluto made an attempt at standing still but fumbled, accidentally snapping a few twigs. "Crap…"
Mike briefly put his hand on her shoulder to steady her, then let go. He was staring intently at a sunlit clearing several yards away. "Look," he whispered.
There was a young girl in the clearing, asleep in a bed of grass and flowers. Her curly black hair had fallen in her eyes, and there was a fine layer of fallen leaves and pine needles covering her jacket. Standing over her was a large canine–maybe a dingo–with thick golden fur and white markings on his chest. He pricked his ears at the group, his green eyes calm but alert. Everything about the pair radiated power.
"That doesn't look good," Pluto said, wings bristling
"Careful." Kaiser's voice was almost impossible to hear. "Don't look in his eyes. Just come this way, very slowly. We don't want to–"
The dingo suddenly stepped towards them through the grass. Every time its paws touched the ground, it left tiny white flowers behind in its tracks. The air got warmer and thicker as it approached, and the silence pressed against the ears almost painfully. Kaiser tried to speak, but couldn't. Mike tried to step back, but his feet were rooted in place.
Pluto's eyes widened, and she did her best to look away. She tried to take a step back and found herself stuck in place. Her ears had started to ring, and an inky black shot up her hands, through the veins all the way up to her elbows. Her body seemed to be caught between fight or flight, and her powers couldn't properly manifest
The dingo stopped at the edge of the path. He was much taller than he had seemed from a distance. His eyes were so hard to avoid–they glittered like sunlight through young leaves. He stared at each member of the group in turn, quietly and deliberately. It felt like he was staring at their souls.
After either a heartbeat or a century, he blinked. The pressure was released, and some of the unnatural silence receded. The dingo seemed more ordinary now, and he turned and padded casually back to the girl. He lay down next to her and closed his eyes, seeming to be relaxed again.
Pluto gasped and hunched over, an inky black substance spattering from her hands before slowly receding. Her ears still rang a little, and she looked at the dingo's feet. "What is it?" she muttered quietly
Kaiser moved stiffly, beckoning. "I'll tell you in a moment. Let's get away from here."
Pluto nodded, black still flashing through her veins around her hands and eyes. "Lead the way."
They walked carefully along the path until the clearing was well out of sight and the sound of birds cad returned. Then Mike spoke up.
"All right, buddy, tell it to me straight. Was that Urth back there?"
Kaiser stopped again. "No. That was merely one of his servants. Urth, unlike the other gods, does not cloak his power. Simply being in his presence would have driven us mad. As it is, we got lucky. The watchdog did not consider us a threat."
"Yeah, that's great and all, but what if we stumble on another one of his servants. What if they consider us threats?"
"In a forest, what one tree sees, all the trees see," Kaiser replied. "Unless we do something to threaten this realm, we will be left in relative peace. But we must not outstay our welcome." He turned and continued down the path. "There are many lesser creatures who would gladly do mischief to slow us down."
(I gotta go, and I won't be back until tomorrow sadly. seeya!)
(k, see ya)
(morning~)
(hello) Pluto nodded. The sooner they were out of the forest, the better
They walked for quite a while without incident. The forest around them shifted in an almost dreamlike way, From pines to oaks to maples to the tall, tangled tress of the jungle. Animals began to show their faces more often, and the birds were more vocal in this part of the realm. At one point, a figure that looked almost human darted away as they drew near, but when it came back into the light it proved only to be a deer with slender legs and twitching ears.
Finally, the forest ended, and they stepped out onto a fast plain of grass and low hills. The only sound here was the wind. Far in the distance, blue mountains ringed the horizon, and a river snaked through the valley below. The path kept going straight, now only a dusty trail without a single foot or paw print on it.
"Are we almost out of the realm?" Pluto asked