The Joys of the forest

Ever since the stone, my body feels lighter and stronger; it's almost as if I have a second heart. I noticed after a particularly difficult night, that the morning in the forest practically glows with verdant sunlight, birds chirping and singing to the skies. It reminds me of home with mom and dad, but…in the woods. I step over to a small spring for a drink, and stop to check my reflection. My natural blonde straight hair is getting greasy and is a mess and is no longer reaching my shoulders due to the dirt and sweat. It is actually starting to look more like dust and dirt than wheat. I rub the dark circles under my emerald eyes. My ear tips have been aching lately, too; they keep folding when I sleep on the hard ground. Dirt and grass aren't ideal for elf ears. 

"Even my clothes look horrible!!!"

I glare down at the grass stains and mud caked all over them. Gods, I hate dirty things! I can NOT stay like this. I wade into the spring, scrubbing the stains and mud out of my clothes and skin. Aaaaand now I'm soaked. Oh, well. I should try to think on the bright side, and look for some sign of civilization.

~Sigh.

I need something to do…literally anything. I'm so bored, I even played duel battle with a tree, and used a wooden stick as a sword. A tree. And now I just feel even more lonely!

Crrrrraaack!

I whirl around, and see a large, draconic creature, with iridescent fur and scales in all shades of blue. Its crimson gaze pierces my soul. It's… beautiful. But scary. Mostly scary. Eventually, it ambles over to me and kneels down so that it's eye level. It slowly inches its head closer to mine. Cautiously and gently, I place my hand on its head. The creature abruptly raises itself, catching me off guard, and making me fall. It begins to walk away, turning its head just once to meet my eyes again. Then, it leaves.

What an amazing encounter! I've never heard of a beast like that; not even from any of the stories mom told me! I can't wait to tell them about it. Dad always tells me that if I ever end up alone in the forest, to always head north. He says that there is a city in a mountain valley up north, and that the forest leads directly to its border.

Daytime slowly turns to dusk. I pass the time by talking to squirrels and rabbits as they pass by me. Some even stop and let me touch them (they're so soft!). One of the rabbits, a little white one, starts following me (which is not exactly uncommon for elves, but it's still rare for them to follow me for so long). It followed me for hours through bushes and briars, and even at one point, a pond.

"Poor thing."

I reach down to pick it up. The rabbit feels soft and warm, but I can tell it's miserable as I hold it. Maybe this bunny lost its family too, and was following me to keep me company. It really makes me think about what the chances are for a little girl to end up all alone, talking to a little lonely white rabbit, in the middle of the Everack Forest.

Authors note ~ thanks you for reading, I'm now starting to get more time to write more chapters and plan more ahead!!