The Moonweaver Chronicles 2-4

Morning came somewhat quickly. Angus and Selena had fallen asleep relatively close to the lake, sometime after daybreak, when I sensed that they wouldn't be asleep for too much longer, I went to catch some fish. I managed to find a few particularly good looking fish that I had seen Rin cook for me before. I cast an illusion spell that lead them to believe that if they jumped into my hand, there would be some sort of reward, as opposed to the fire I intended to cook them on.

I heated them up enough that they died from the temperature shock without actually burning them. By the time I returned to the sleeping lovers, they were just beginning to stir. The stirring was hastened a bit when by the delicious smell of meat, I handed each of them a cooked fish, (I had pulled the bones out on my way back, tossing them haphazardly, assuming that some other creature would find a use for them) and ate a third one myself. They seemed to enjoy the fish enough and were quickly ready for more exploration.

“We can explore later, I need to ask Rin what to do, she didn’t exactly detail any procedures to follow in case I ended up bringing someone with me.” I told them, leading them towards the home we now shared, where I hoped I’d be able to find Rin. Neither of them seemed to complain, I could only assume that they were deferring to me, assuming I knew what I was doing. I decided not to correct them and inform them that I’ve barely been here myself.

“So which one of you was Rin exactly?” Angus asked, I suspect that he might have had some worry that she was one of the siblings that would try to seek revenge. Either that or he was just curious, he was a weird enough person that I felt it unwise to make too many assumptions about his words.

“Rin was the naga.” I told him, the silence from him suggested he didn't recognize the term, they must not have had them in their world. I decided to clarify, attempting to disguise the fact that I suspected he was clueless, “She has to be one of the most beautiful snakes I’ve ever seen.” I hadn't really thought before I had spoken, I was kind of embarrassed at what came off. I acted as if it hadn't accidentally slipped out.

“She is pretty nice, if there is anybody who you should be talking to, it's her. She might even be able to help you smooth things over. If nothing else, she will take your side as far as trying to work things out between you and the others.” I explained to him.

We passed many trees, they all sort of ran together for me to be honest, I wasn't much of a nature enthusiast. I loved the wild, but trees mostly looked the same to me. Some of them that we passed had unique colors on the bark and cool designs though I suppose. As we walked there were a few trees that had a candy stripe pattern around the bark. One was purple with Yellow circles all over it, a few of them even had designs of various animals on them, as if someone had painted said designs on. There were definitely a few interesting ones that I suppose I’d have to ask about. Mostly however, they were kind of bland and ordinary.

Eventually, we reached the cabin that Vincent had built for us. I wondered briefly about how we would convince him to build something for these people, who he seemed to feel no small amount of spite for. Rin rushed out and hugged me, taking a few minutes to notice that I wasn't alone. It was strange to me that she could feel I was here without having had a window she could have seen us from.

“I don't recognize these people, did Vincent bring them here?” She asked.

“No, I did.” I replied, somewhat curious at why it made a difference.

“You can't just bring people here, there’s an enchantment on this place that makes people die if they aren't added to the roster.” Rin stared at me seriously.

“Is that why you added our names to that one tree? If so, I picked up on there being some significance to that action and wrote down their names the same way.” I informed her. She seemed to relax.

“That is relieving, if they aren't around a Warden for too long and don't have their name added, they tend to die relatively quickly. It’s why we have to be very careful about bringing people here.” She paused for a moment and, as if it just clicked in her head she suddenly got tense and stared at Angus. “Wait a minute…”

“Yes Rin,” I said somewhat loudly, most of our conversation had been rather quiet and probably wasn't picked up on or, at the very least, wasn't understood. “These two are Angus and Selena. Selena didn't believe that Vincent and I were going to take care of the creatures we brought back. They’re really nice and have good intentions.” I told her in a voice that I hoped communicated to her my desire to not tear open old wounds. She seemed to pick up on that.

“Hello, nice to meet you...again…” She said the first part to Selena but turned her gaze towards Angus as she said the last word. “I’m Rin, welcome to the Forest, are you here to join our cause, or just passing through?”

Selena looked like she was going to inquire about it, I stopped her and said, “You must be quite thirsty, you haven’t had anything to drink for a while. There is a sink and some cups inside, how about you get some water so you don't accidentally dehydrate yourself.”

Angus seemed to pick up on the hint. “Why thank you very much, we will have to take you up on it.” He looked her in the eyes and she seemed to understand, they walked into the house and, when I was sure they were out of earshot, I began to explain.

“Angus seems to be repentant for what happened with Mira, Vincent and Iggy. He gave a reason for it that makes a lot of sense. I think we should trust him, he seems to want to make amends. Selena doesn't know about the war that’s going on, I think we might want to show her the good that we are accomplishing before introducing her to the not so good things going on here.”

“That might be for the best.” She told me understandingly.

“Can you help smooth things out with the Vincent and the other two?” I asked her.

“I think I can imagine a way to do that, I will go right now. As for you, do you think you can find something that will occupy them for now? I think you can find a place that none of them are likely to visit.”

I nodded, she slithered off to go about whatever plan she had to smooth things over. I could only pray that she knew what she was doing. I was mildly encouraged the fact that she had, at least, known them since birth. Surely she’d be able to fix this mess and make things right again.