Chapter 43: Strangeness In The Eastern Forest

'Where is he?' Shu rubbed his eyes to ease the brightness of the day, sitting up on the wooden bed that creaked lowly when he got off it.

He slowly made his way to the tent's curtain and swept it by the side, groaning a bit from his injuries that hasn't healed and his muscles that was sore from going around the forest.

He scanned the surroundings, patiently looking left and right in hopes to find a certain person. However, before he can even focus, his eyes was already busied by the scenery that was being unraveled beyond his person.

A dozen pair of wings dived down on his very face and flapped its long wings up to the heavens again. His excited eyes followed it everywhere and zoomed in its characteristics which he noticed that these flock of birds had such very soft and silky blue feathers with pointy beaks. They soared so high above him that their flight reached the branches of the gigantic trees which served as the ceiling and protector of the forest for so many years.

The rays of the sun passes through the gaps of leaves, lighting the environment around him. However deserted the land was, it still looked as luxurious and exotic as ever. Although vines crawled halfway the walls of the empty homes that stood there, they all gave off an atmosphere of calmness and serendipity.

He turned his head again.

Left and right.

But to no avail, no matter how hard he looked, there are no moving objects that can be seen.

Estes is missing.

That thought stopped him from moving.

That single thought was enough to paralyze him.

He felt his muscles become tense and that feeling of dying inside his chest. 'Where is he?!'

The trauma that he gained from a short period of time of being hopeless and alone felt like it grabbed him on the neck and stabbed a harsh down his throat. His memories of his nightmarish past that his head forcefully locked away for good kept on coming back inside his mind, replaying and rewinding the shed blood and tears. Of how his beloved family died in front of him and how it was all because of him.

Heavy breathes and cold sweat haunted him, his fingers shook and twitch, finding himself biting his nails or scratching his wrist. Whenever he doesn't spot Estes on anywhere his eye lands, he shivers and his breathing becomes more heavier, wearing a pale face with a ghastly expression and an eye filled with terror.

'What have i done!'

'I shouldn't have approached him! I'm not safe!'

'Did i hurt him?!'

'Where is he?!'

'Why did he leave?!'

'I knew it! It's all my fault!'

'Its because of me!'

'Im a monster! Im disgusting!'

Shu's brain's emotional defense mechanism was to blame himself for any misfortunes that happens around him. It is always him and the things he committed that misfortune follows and haunts those people around him too.

He deeply believes that what you do, comes back to you tenfold.

As his state becomes worse and more terrible to watch, a low yet jolly whistle caught his ears, as if calling him.

'?' His ears twitched and became alerted, his eyes zoomed and his neck shifted everywhere to follow where the sound came from.

There, it went again and whistled three sharp notes. Then on the left just beside the trees, he sees an orb of light jiggling on its spot happily as if trying to get his attention.

Hearing it snapped him awake, out from something that was binding him like a dark spell. He felt a bit light headed just after the whistle.

It taught him to take a breath first and steady his mind.

'What do i want to do?'

'Find Estes.'

'Now, where can i find him?'

Then he remembered those type of strange floating lights. Before, he followed those bright orbs and eventually found Estes, are they things that symbolize him? Are they fragments of Estes? Do they just hang around here often and follow Estes everywhere he goes? Are they one of his abilities too?

He was about to move when the bottom of his feet ached and contorted, indicating that he had pulled a muscle from moving around too much early in the morning. He sucked a sharp breath and walked limply towards the ball of light that hopped around the air, as if waiting for him.

Unlike the previous time, when hundreds of orbs gathered to guide him, this time there was only one. Nonetheless, he followed it for half an hour and continued walking on the changing terrains in the hopes of finding that particular boy.

After reaching the plains, the orb vanished, and there he is.

A dazzling white-clad man stood beneath the five-hundred-foot-tall tree.

His back was turned to Shu, and his head was tilted up, staring at the massive wooden trunk. Shu was speechless when he saw how massive this tree was. It appeared to be a huge umbrella planted on the ground, casting shadows over everything beneath it.

The coldness of the shade inside made him shiver the moment he stepped inside the shadow of the tree.

Despite the fact that his back was the only view available, Estes appeared as ethereal as ever. His snow white hair blew in the breeze, and the hems of his robe had a fading yellow style with detailed floral patterns on the edges.

The wind helped him notice Estes' sleeves, which had a touch of blue on the ends. It was such a peaceful moment, almost like a dream telling you to breathe.

Except for that person, everything else was erased.

He appeared so dreamy and bright that the darkness within him was driven away and the world simply became calm; there was this heavenly power around this person that kept things around him bright and beautiful. It was such a flimsy sensation that the only thing that mattered was this young man and his swaying robes.

The gorgeous boy turned around when he heard the crunch of the leaves behind him.

When Estes realized who it was, he gave Shu a wide, gummy smile and ran towards him, greeting him a good morning.

The air around Estes was refreshing, with the scent of flowers and his entire being on display in front of Shu electrifies his body. He'd never seen anyone more stunning than him.

He was glowing even more when Shu looked closer. Except for the fact that his skin was already white, it was glistening with sparkles, sparkles from which he observed glitters of all colors. It resembled broken crystal particles and remained on his skin. Minerals that are blue, amethyst, yellow, and green was spread on his collar bone to his shoulders, so strange however so eye-pleasing at the same time.

"Uuu, my friend!" Estes exclaimed joyfully and went closer to him. "This," he says, raising his arm and motioning to the tree. "Is the Niagara."

"A tree that shields the entire Ouggharaia forest."

Estes looked at him as if he could read his thoughts.

"What is this tree?" Estes asked, taking note of Shu's question in mind. "It's not just any tree, but the most sacred of all glorified things."

"As I previously said, this blessed tree protects the forest by creating a barrier that makes our forest invisible to the human eye, allowing this forest to exist on empty space, so, if any human searches for this forest, the man would not see anything, and his efforts would be rather futile. The only ones that can access this ground are beings like me, fairies." He took another breath.

'He's a fairy? But- huh?..they exist?..'

"However, I felt something strange enter our territory just last time, and it was you. You went past the barrier and miraculously stepped foot inside." Estes sighed.

"I thought, 'no human could do that!' So I went out to search what the issue was and found you, bleeding on the ground. I was truly shocked with how a mere human passed through the barriers, but when you showed me how you controlled the air, I immediately thought of reconsidering my suspicions with the weakening of the Niagara's powers."

"After a few days of your presence here, nothing particularly troubling occurred; in fact, it became more peaceful than ever; however, I couldn't help but feel uneasy, and just last night, I felt something wrong was happening on the borders of this forest once more. That same time, I decided to take a look while i was on midnight stroll. On the way, i found human tracks as well as a pool of blood of an Ouggharaian deer. I reckon it was a deer hunted by the humans, and I couldn't help but feel nervous if they come back searching for more of my deers as i think they would be surprised with how the blood of Ouggharaian deers are silver."

"..." The other boy that was listening was stunned as well.

"Look, the sheets of the barrier have started to rip and get broken down. The human must've entered on a weak spot of the barrier and got inside." Estes pointed on the almost plastic-like layer on the sky.

"Did you ever see a purple atmosphere when you started to wander inside the forest? If you did, then you may have seen the barrier itself."

'Oh, so that's how it looks at night.. that was the barrier.'

"Everything was normal, however when you went past it, the barrier was... unlocked?"

"..." Shu's sweat broke awkwardly. He felt embarrassed and apologetic that it's his fault again. Unfortunately, he can't even utter a single word of apology.

"Actually, its not just the barrier but the tree itself is changing."

"The Niagara is thousands of years old. It's been here since i was still a child. But i have never seen anything like this.."

'It's a bit weird to imagine how he's been here all alone since he was a kid..'

Estes continued talking. "The trunk of the Niagara..." He went forward and touched the tree. "It... beats.."

Hearing that, Shu also pressed his palm against the tree and confirmed it pulsating. 'This is.... What is this tree?..' He felt shivers the moment that the tree's beating shook his arm.

"I don't know what this is... I have been an expert of all living things, however this is the first. I've never heard any of this from my ancestors.."

'Oh? So he has ancestors too. But where are they?'

Estes is unsure whether he should be happy with the changes in the tree or to be concerned about what will happen next. He's hesitant on whether he'll feel shocked or scared for the forest and the life in it that he's been protecting for so long. Estes tried to remain calm and collected in order to deal with the situation, but he couldn't because of the state of the forest.

It's a risk for both sides, not just his forest. If hunters enter the forest, they will hunt the animals in Ouggharaia. However, now that the barrier has been breached, wild beasts of Ouggharaia will be able to enter the human forest as well. Wolves and lions may wander outside of Ouggharaia territory and attack nearby villages. More stressful situations may arise, and Estes will be the one to bear the responsibility. The fact that the forest is accessible to anyone is already a problem, but what if the animals of Ouggharaia venture into human territory as well? So many possibilities, far too many scenarios, all of which are problematic.

Shu coughed, getting Estes' attention. He raises his arms and began to use his gestures to say his thoughts.

'Find... answers.. together.'

Estes caught what he was trying to say and nodded. "But I've been searching for scrolls and documents, and there is none matching this certain scenario of the barrier being broken. It has never happened before!"

'Again.' Shu looked at him.

Estes still nodded even though his feelings are torn. "Okay. We will look for it again."

The two went back on the deeper part of the forest and returned to where their humble tent was installed. It was already midday when they first took a short break consisting of water and snacks, (pantry for Shu and petals for Estes.) And then began to head somewhere place where Estes took him in tow.

Past the empty households, one will pass two bridges to reach a magnificent building. It was huge and overwhelming to look at, everything was covered in earthly elements like wood, vines, and crystals. It was a palace constructed entirely of those materials.

Estes led Shu through the palace, but the journey was awkward. Shu was uncomfortable with how Estes was acting. He has been quiet and somehow distant from the moment he opened the doors. His mouth was shut, never telling anything about the place. The nervous atmosphere would always arise.

Even though he's concerned, Shu cannot pry if it means making Estes uncomfortable.

Despite wanting to know what Estes' worries are and wanting to hear all the things Estes couldn't say, he must be patient for Estes to open up himself since Shu knows first hand that there are things one cannot say to a stranger so easily.

Shu still kept his eyes glued on Estes' face. His fingers slightly twitches and his shoulders were a bit stiff. Is he afraid of something?

Shu was about to look up and look around but stopped himself, deciding to keep Estes' privacy and just look on the wooden floor the whole time.

When Estes saw Shu do this, he realized how careful Shu was about how he treated him. 'How thoughtful of him, how embarrassing of me... Oh Estes, is this how you treat your guests?' Estes chuckles inside his head and puts on a forced smile.

Estes didn't want Shu to be uncomfortable, so he took a deep breath and turned around. "Hey Uuu! Look here, my brother and I used to play here when we were kids, if you see here-" Shu suddenly grabbed his arm, but it wasn't a violent grab but a more gentle one, making the other stop talking.

Shu would appreciate it if he was to hear Estes' childhood stories, but how his eyes looks so fake, and his cheeky smile so tensed, he couldn't bear to listen to what he was trying to tell, he'd rather listen to horror stories than listen to someone's forced words.

He shook his head and looked at Estes with a soft look in his eyes. 'Don't do this.'

Estes blinked and stepped back a bit. Thinking to himself how he made Shu even more uncomfortable. He felt so embarrassed now and just kept averting his gaze. The other boy wanted to respect Estes' privacy so much that he doesn't want to hear his life in an unbearable way.

They resumed their walk, this time hand in hand. Estes felt the power of the other's eyes prickling on his cheeks, causing him to avert his gaze even more and fix his gaze on the floor, not realizing he'd been gripping Shu's hand a little too tightly just after the other finally rubbed his wrist with his thumb to notify him.

He gasped and apologized right away; the chamber was finally in sight, so they rushed over and flung the door open to begin the search.

Estes assigned Shu to look for documents mentioning the Niagara, but it was immediately declined right after.

'I can't read this.'

Estes slapped himself mentally. 'Right, the language used here was different to what the alphabets the humans use.'

Since the Jian letters are the ones Shu grew up with, he couldn't definitely understand what these symbols are. So in the end, Shu would only come up to Estes if he sees illustrations of trees on the scrolls he was viewing.

"-no choice but to go out.." Estes scrunched his white brows and sighed a shaky breath.

'??' Shu snapped his head back as he heard Estes' soft mumble echo around the room.

He stood up from the floor with scattered scrolls and went where Estes solemnly sat.

Estes looked up to him wearing a nervous expression. "Uuu, as how reckless this may sound, i will be leaving the forest.. So you stay behind here and recover your injuries. I also need you to guard the forest in my place."

Shu jolted when he heard this. He immediately shook his head and looked at Estes. 'No!' Estes sighed and expected this, but he needs someone to protect the forest for it cannot be left all alone.

Shu persistently grabbed Estes' sleeves and shook his head again. 'I'll come with you.'

His eyes begged the other while his hand softly tugs the sleeve, gesturing: 'Together.'

But Estes just cannot look straight at him. "A-alright. Im scared to go out alone as well.. plus you know more in the human world too since you came from out there.." he nods to himself, and went silent for a minute as he plans how he can leave this forest all alone for one month.

Estes now looks at him. "We'll pack our things tonight and head out tomorrow. Im sorry for the rush Uuu, but we have to solve this as soon as possible since its going to be dangerous if all the creatures in here gets out. The barrier wont last for another month so we have to find other people who can help us solve this problem too."

Estes turned around and began packing two to three scrolls in a made up bag he snatched from somewhere. "It's just, i dont know where to start searching.."

Shu leaned on the door's frame and flashed a smile of reassurance. 'It's all going to be fine.'

When Estes was done cleaning up the messy floor, he patted the dust on his sleeves, and walked to Shu, offering his hand. "Let's go back home?"

Shu nodded at once and took his hand. 'Yeah.'