The Endless Forest

Felix paced back and forth while he waited in the hall of Chief Yorlen’s home. Nervous, he couldn’t make himself stand still. Eri was busy getting dressed, and with each passing second, he was beginning to wonder if everything was alright…

Night had fallen upon the village, with torches and magic now lighting the streets. There was something mystical in the air, as everyone prepared and made their way to the bonfire. Even for those who weren’t going, there was still plenty of excitement.

For the two dragons, they had left a little while ago to go see the children. Apparently, the kids would be having their own fun while the adults were away.

Zira was not thrilled but Kyrith had, somehow, convinced her to go. The ember-colored dragon had said that the kids were the key to her problem, and if she wanted people to approach her she would need to start with them.

Felix could only send her his sympathy as they had left.

That just left him and Eri, alone, in the house. Everyone, including Aluin, had left early and would already be at the bonfire.

The door to Eri’s room opened, causing Felix to pause mid-step. He turned to face her and nearly gasped.

She was wearing a new dress, one he had not seen before. Red and white, the dress had an intricate pattern of– Dragons? Indeed, they were golden patterns of dragons running along the seams of the dress.

He resisted the urge to shake his head and brought it up to meet her eyes. His heart pounded, as she smiled.

“Like it?” she asked.

He could only nod vigorously, too captivated to speak. Eri had braided her hair, but there was something else different about her. Something that made her even more stunning… It took him another moment to realize what it was.

Magic.

She had a soft glow emanating from her. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but it lit her up in a way that accentuated her features.

“Angelic…” Felix whispered breathlessly, only realizing what he said afterwards. He felt his cheeks light with fire.

In a bid to hide his embarrassment, he looked down at his own, plain clothes. He did not have anything nearly as good, and suddenly felt under-dressed.

“Shall we go?” Eri asked, sounding as nervous as he felt.

“Right!” He stiffly offered his hand to her.

There was a moment of pause before she slowly reached out and grasped it. He could feel a slight tremble coming from her as he tightened his grip. A bead of sweat formed as he led them down the hall and eventually to the front door.

Stepping outside, they both took a simultaneous breath before stopping and looking at each other. The hesitation, the awkwardness, they shared it both. It honestly made him feel better.

Relaxing, Felix spoke. “I guess we’re both nervous about this.”

Eri smiled. “It would seem so.”

He chuckled. “Well then, that just means we can be nervous together!”

“I suppose you’re right, and maybe we can make others nervous too!” Eri gestured to the street with her free hand, “Shall we?”

He gave her one final nod before they started off to the bonfire.

Finding their way was not a difficult task. There was still a trickle of people following each other down a single path that led outside the village. It was made even more simple with the addition of torches and lamps lining the way. If that wasn’t enough, the sound of a large crowd would have been.

Near the edge of the clearing, just far enough away from the trees for safety, stood a massive pile of logs. Everyone was gathered in front of it, either standing or sitting on the grass.

Felix could feel the eagerness, the air was filled with energy and laughter.

Off towards the left and right edges were stalls, mostly filled with either food or drinks. Small groups huddled around a few nearby tables, mugs in hand.

Finally, there was the band. They stood off somewhere in between the bonfire and the stalls on the right. From the faint sound of it, it looked like they were warming up.

Seeing the stalls, Felix was quickly reminded of his hunger. “Do you want to get something to eat?” He asked, causing Eri to give him a curious look. “What? I, uh, didn’t eat much…”

“Hmm? Sure, I missed lunch as well. I’ll find us a spot…” She said, scanning over the tables.

“Anything in particular you want?” He asked.

She shook her head no, still searching for a place they could sit.

“Right… Well, I’ll be right back.” He said awkwardly.

They separated and he made his way over to one of the stalls. The aroma of smoked meats caused his stomach to growl, but before long he was up at the front getting a tray of food. As he was leaving, one of the servers stopped him.

“Say, you’re that human right?” The elf asked, looking Felix up and down.

“Yeah? My name’s Felix.” He answered, unsure where this was going.

“I see… Well I noticed you don’t have anything to drink, and I got some special ale for you.” The elf gave him a smile.

“Oh, yeah… I wasn’t sure about getting any ale, but I suppose Eri might want something.” He thought about it for a moment. “Sure, two ales then.”

“Perfect,” the elf said, reaching down for two mugs. A moment later, he filled them and put them on Felix’s tray. “Enjoy.”

Felix gave him a smile, “I will, thank you.”

He turned around and started making his way back, barely noticing the group from a nearby table was watching him. Most held smiles on their faces, while a few even snickered. He ignored them and left, searching for Eri…

Where is she? He wondered, not seeing her at any of the packed tables. Frowning, he looked to the grassy field where others had decided to sit and eat.

“Felix!” He heard her shout. Turning, he found her sitting on the grass, waving at him.

Picnic it is, he thought and made his way over to her. He smiled, as she patted the spot next to her and he set the tray down before sitting himself.

“Smells good,” she said, picking up her plate of food and inspecting it.

Shrugging, he grabbed his own. “It’s decent, but not as good as Chef– Or your cooking,” He felt his cheeks blush.

“Oh? Well I’ll be the judge of that.” She began to eat.

Time passed as they silently ate, however as Eri lifted her mug she cocked an eye at him. “Ale?”

“Is that a problem? I could go get–” He started to get up but she quickly put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

She chuckled, shaking her head. “No, it's fine. Just… You don’t drink that often.”

“Oh… Well, I only drink for special occasions.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

A smile lit up her face. “So this is a special occasion then?”

He could only nod, feeling his cheeks flush even more.

“Then,” she held out her mug in front of him, “to special occasions!”

It took a moment to realize what she meant and quickly brought his up, spilling a little of his ale in the process. “To special occasions…” He repeated nervously.

Their mugs touched, before she pulled hers back and began downing it. Felix quickly followed suit, doing his best to ignore the strange taste. It didn’t taste like any ale he ever had before, though that wasn’t saying much. It’s not bad, but… I’m starting to feel a little hot.

“Dwarven ale?!” Eri shouted, staring at her now empty mug.

“What?” He asked, concerned he did something wrong.

She turned her head towards him, cocking an eyebrow. Her cheeks were flushed, and a coy smile started to appear. “Dwarven ale, it's…unique. You’ll see…”

Fidgeting, he was already starting to understand. He felt electric. The mug in his hand was starting to tremble…

Setting it down, he took a deep breath and looked up at the crowd. His eyes fell upon two people standing right next to the large pile of logs. It was Aluin and Chief Yorlen, and they were talking.

He saw Aluin look up and stare directly at him, smiling. Felix gave him a wave, and the elf nodded before going back to his conversation.

Unable to contain his energy much longer, he leaned over to Eri and nearly bumped his head into hers. He hadn’t realized they had gotten closer, or that their shoulders were touching…

“Sorry,” He apologized, feeling his heartbeat quicken. He couldn’t tell if it was because of being so close to her or the ale.

“Hmm? Oh!” Eri scooted away a little, much to his dismay.

Hiding his displeasure, he continued with a question. “Anyway, how much longer until they light the bonfire? I was worried we would miss the start.”

She glanced over her shoulder towards where they had come from. “Should be any time now…and sorry about that. I spent way too much time preparing…”

“No! That’s not what I meant! I…” He trailed off for a moment, thinking of how to salvage this conversation. The ale was certainly not helping.

Eri let out a small laugh and smiled. “It’s fine… I might have gone a little overboard, I even asked Aluin to help me change the patterns of my dress.” She pointed to the golden dragons.

“It looks good on you–” He failed to stop himself in time.

“Thank you… I did it for you.”

They both fell into nervous silence, neither one able to recover from their embarrassment. Thankfully, the noise of the crowd began to die down as Chief Yorlen stepped right in front of the pile of logs.

Finally! He thought, still fidgeting. The effects of his drink were only getting worse.

Chief Yorlen shouted, using magic to amplify his voice. “Greetings once again! Have you all had a good time so far?!”

The crowd cheered in unison.

He waited for them to die down. “Good! And we shall keep it going! Let us drink and be merry! Let us dance and sing! Let us light the bonfire!”

The crowd went wild as Chief Yorlen turned and gestured to Aluin. “Master Aluin! Would you do us the honor?!”

The Sage strode forth and raised a hand, and from it fire began to form. In a burst of light, it transformed into the shape of a dragon.

Everyone watched in awe as it flapped its fiery wings and took off, climbing overhead. Brilliant embers flaked off as it reached its zenith, before diving down. Meanwhile, the sky lit up with bright, dazzling flashes.

The fire dragon pulled up, performing several impressive aerial stunts before turning one final time towards the logs.

Felix watched along, mesmerized, as it slammed into the logs, splashing them with fire. With a deafening roar from the crowd the bonfire ignited, sending flames leaping into the air.

The band immediately began playing, their music keeping up with the volume.

“Shall we dance?!” Eri shouted, leaning over to him.

He froze, there was something he completely forgot about in all this excitement.

“I… I don’t know if I know how!” He replied, not even trying to hide his embarrassment. He did try to reach inside his soul and see if Fea knew, but if she did, she wasn’t responding.

Huh? That’s strange–

“Oh! I completely forgot!” Eri stood up, offering a hand to him. “I’ll teach you!”

Taking her hand, he stood up and smiled, forgetting the pure silence he felt from within his soul…

Zira grumbled quietly to herself, her tail was quite tender after the children had repeatedly stepped on it, by accident of course. None of them had the intention of doing it, but with a bunch of rowdy kids and hardly any parents, accidents were bound to happen.

Thankfully, as it grew darker it became story time. They had all gathered around to listen to the storyteller as he told them about some magical frog and a princess. Zira didn’t find it all that interesting, but it gave her the reprieve she needed.

Now, most of the younger children were asleep or quickly dozing off. She watched as they were quietly picked up and carried away, leaving only the older kids, her, and Kyrith. The latter of which was comfortably snoozing himself.

Not so quiet whispers came from the group of kids, who were huddled together. “Go ask her,” one said whisper-shouting.

“But… She’s scary!” Another shouted a bit too loudly. The others were quick to shush him.

“Fine, I’ll go.” A taller boy said, standing up. He locked eyes with Zira, and gulped.

She sat up from her spot and stared down at him. “What is it?” She asked, a little annoyed.

The kid took several brave steps to her, craning his neck to keep her head in view. “W-we wanted to pet you…”

She lowered head down to his level. “I am not some animal,” she said curtly. She cast a quick glance over to Kyrith, the other dragon had an eye cracked open and a smile on his face.

Zira let out a snort, startling the poor boy. “But, I suppose I could let you touch my scales. Just be careful, they aren’t sharp but they can still catch on your clothes.”

The boy’s eyes widened as she laid back down, curling her tail and wings closely to her body. She didn’t need any more people stepping on them.

“Really?” he asked, surprised.

“Yes. Now go on, before I decide to change my mind.” She again snorted in irritation. She could just barely see Kyrith giving a big grin as he pretended to sleep.

The children quickly ran up to her, hands at the ready. Yet no one dared, they were waiting for the brave boy to do the honors. Hah, they think it’s a trick…

In truth, Zira was nervous. While the younger kids had little fear of her, after Kyrith had introduced her, the older ones and the adults remained wary. This was the moment she both hoped and dreaded for.

The brave boy reached out a hand and slowly placed it against her shoulder. He left it there for a moment, eyes closed, before he started to smile. “I did it… I did it!” He cheered, turning to face the group.

The spell holding the rest back was broken.

Noria was no dancer, but she did know the basics at least. That hardly mattered though, because Lorem was a master. With his size and skill, he effortlessly guided her as they twirled and spun.

A pocket had formed around them, giving them space to perform more complex moves. Lorem made the most of it.

They finished their dance with him leaning her down, near to the ground before pulling her back up into his embrace. A cheer sounded all around them, they hadn’t realized they had become the center of attention.

“Wow… I never knew you could dance like that!” Noria said, as they stepped away.

Lorem smiled, puffing out his chest. “I’ve been practicing since I was little, it helps that I had a good trainer though.” He looked down at her. “You weren’t bad either, I know you don’t normally like these sorts of things.”

She skipped a step, nearly tripping on her own feet. “W-well, my mother… She taught me, but that was long ago! I’m not that good…”

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, causing her to yelp in surprise.

“Nonsense!” He shouted joyfully. “You’re just a little rusty. We’ll work on it– Unless you don’t want to…” His excitement turned to hesitation as he finished.

Do I? She wondered to herself. In fairness, she didn’t like these events because she was usually the one stuck fixing everything. It didn’t help that no one would invite her either, so going alone only made it more awkward for her.

But Lorem invited me, and it was kinda fun. She let a smile slip out. Honestly, when he is around, my days feel so much brighter. And now, we’ll get to spend a lot more time together–

Her heart fluttered at the thought.

“Is something wrong?” He asked nervously, coming to a stop. They were well past the main crowd and mostly alone.

“Huh! Oh…” She took a quick breath as she looked up at him. What do I say?! Her mind raced to find an answer. “I just need a moment to rest…” STUPID!

What was left of his smile dropped. “Right. Let’s sit here then, we’re far enough away.”

Lorem practically dropped to the ground, while Noria stiffly sat next to him.

They sat in silence for several long and agonizing seconds before Lorem spoke up again. “Noria? Can I ask you a question?”

“Hmm?! Sure.” She did her best to avoid his gaze.

“Am I… Am I pushing you?” There was a pause before he continued. “I mean, I don’t want to rush anything or push you to do something you…don’t want to do. So am I? If so–”

“No!” She blurted out without thinking, startling herself. “I…” Damn it all! Just tell him how you feel!

Her heart started pounding in her chest, her breathing became erratic, and she could feel sweat form upon her brow.

“Noria!” Lorem reached for her but stopped, the hesitation, the fear that he had caused this was written plainly on his face. “Just breath in and out…”

No! Oh gods, no! This isn’t your fault! She screamed in her head, tears starting to form. She had to do something, anything, for both their sake. If she did not, she feared a rift would form; where one side would push away what he holds dear, and the other would not reach out in fear of being shunned.

She reached out for him, grabbing a hold of his shirt and pulled herself closer to him. Looking up, she found herself mere inches away from his face. She saw a torrent of emotions playing out behind his eyes…

Despite his usual jovial attitude, Lorem did indeed have other emotions. He got sad and depressed, like anyone would. He felt pain, anger, and even rage. But unlike most, he hid it away, locking it and throwing away the key. Sure, on occasion it would slip, but never for long and never intentionally…

Noria realized, in that moment, that she and Lorem were more similar than she realized. It made what happened next, easier for her.

“Noria? Are y–”

She kissed him.

Felix plopped down onto his back, feeling the grass beneath him. He was tired, his feet were hurting, and to make matters worse, Eri still wasn’t done. Yet, he did not complain. In fact, he was smiling and laughing.

A shadow blocked out the light from the bonfire. It was Eri, she was standing over him and looking down. “Done already?” She asked mockingly.

“Just need a break,” he answered, smiling up at her. The glow from her magic and the flickering light of the bonfire bathed her in beautiful radiance.

“I suppose I could use one as well,” she said, walking over to his left side. “I’m so tired… Catch me!”

“Huh– Oof…” He felt the breath get knocked out of him as she landed right on top of him. “What was that for?!” He shouted after recovering.

“That…” She started, giggling in the process. “Was for constantly stepping on my feet.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“You did, but that wasn’t good enough. This is your punishment, you will be my pillow.” He could feel her coy smile as she said that.

What? “What?” He was absolutely stunned by that.

She rolled over and shifted until only her head rested on his chest. She looked at him with a guilty smile. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been wanting to try this… Zira always made it sound so comfortable, and I see why now.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “You know, she’ll be mad if she finds out.”

“Then don’t tell her,” she said with a wink. “It’ll be our little secret.”

He lifted his head up so he could see her more clearly. This wasn’t a side of Eri he had ever seen, but he liked it. “Oh? Well in that case…” He came up with a devious plan for revenge. “I think it would only be fair if I get to try it out!”

“Eep!” Eri squeaked, as he quickly rolled out from underneath her.

In one swift motion, he flipped around and pinned her. Realizing what he was about to do, she struggled and nearly broke free. “No! You are my pillow!”

They both laughed as they fought for dominance. They didn’t care how childish it looked, nor what people might say later. Right now, they were having fun and nothing was going to stop them.

“Give up already!” He grunted. ”It’s high time I get to use someone as a pillow!”

“Never!”

Felix felt her slip a foot onto his chest and attempted to push him off. It succeeded, for a moment. He let go and grabbed her leg, pulling it out of the way. She wasn’t given a moment to recover.

Seeing his opportunity, he lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She squirmed and they eventually ended up rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

They both laughed as they struggled to breath.

“I yield!” Eri shouted, still catching her breath.

“Finally…” He shifted his position until his head laid on her stomach, closely mimicking how she laid on him.

However, something was wrong. Just behind Eri’s head was a pair of boots.

Looking up, Felix saw the familiar face of Yedril. The poor elf was beet red, as he stared down at them.

“Hi…” Yedril waved a hand awkwardly.

Eri and Felix looked at each other, mortified.