Chapter 4: Chapter III – Jessica – Great Spirit Forest

Beth chuckled softly, putting up her hands defensively to hold off the attack of her friend who had taken on a mildly defensive stance. “Hey, I surrender. Try not to punch me, eh?”

Jess let out a soft sigh as they lowered their hands. They had already been rather unsettled by the strange presence that they’d felt, but then when Beth snuck up on them, they were afraid that it was whatever they were feeling. Thankfully, it wasn’t… hopefully. “Right, sorry. Was just a little jumpy… You really shouldn’t sneak up on me when I’m meditating.”

Beth nodded and took a seat down next to Jess who scooted over to accommodate her. “It’s not like you to be so jumpy. Is something wrong?”

Jess shook their head absently, their mind still racing with confusion and adrenaline from what they’d felt. “I’m… not really sure… I… felt something, something really strange.”

Beth gave a slightly confused and inquisitive look. “Strange how?”

Jess tried to concentrate on the feeling. “I don’t know… like, malicious… really malicious. I’ve never felt anything like that before and it was so much more intense than I’ve ever felt from any Ser beast.”

Beth thought for a moment. “Huh… that’s weird… You’re usually pretty good with sensing things, so I have no doubt that whatever you felt was definitely something, but if it isn’t a Ser beast… what exactly do you think that it could be?”

Jess sighed, flopping down with their face in the grass. “I have no idea and I hate that…”

“Where exactly did you feel it?”

Jess just lifted their hand up and pointed down.

Beth’s eye widened slightly. “Wait… You’re saying that you felt it under here? You do know that the searcher trial is held underneath of here, right?”

Jess raised their head slightly. “Do you think that means that it’s some new part of the searcher trial or maybe that it’s something that is interfering with the searcher trial?”

Beth shook her head. “Either is possible. I wish I could sense as well as you… I can’t feel anything under us…”

Jess perked up more at that statement, their eyes narrowing a bit.

“What? Did you figure something out?” Beth asked.

Jess pressed their ear to the ground and closed their eyes, feeling the earth underneath of them. They pushed their field of focus lower and lower, but even then, they felt nothing. They shot back up, looking at the ground in confusion. “I don’t feel anything either…”

Beth smiled softly. “That’s good. Maybe it was just some kind of weird anomaly and it’s gone now, so there’s nothing to worry about, right? Plus, if something bad does get in, I’m sure someone will take care of it. We have some of the best sensory apprentices there are in the world here.”

Jess nodded and sat up, finally actually taking a real look at Beth since she had arrived. She was wearing the same outfit as Jess, but with boots that were actually the same size. Beth had beautiful green and brown eyes that Jess often found themself getting lost in. She had light brown hair that practically exploded off of her head, the entire left side being shaved cleanly. She was a fairly well-built girl with a similar level of strength to Jess, but with more defined muscles. Jess smiled warmly at her as they stood up.

“What? What’s that look for?” Beth asked.

Jess shook the thoughts away and chuckled. “Nothing… Just thinking that I haven’t had anything to eat since like… way earlier in the day…”

Beth rolled her eyes. “I swear, your hunger is endless. But hey, why don’t we go pick up some food and bring it up to the top of the tree. We can eat up there and watch the sunset.”

Jess blushed slightly and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me. Let’s go!” Jess coughed slightly, realizing that they had sounded probably a little too excited.

Beth seemed to take no notice and headed off, motioning for Jess to follow behind. The two made their way out in to the bustling central village which was currently swamped as everyone was going to dinner or heading home from work for the day. Beth scanned the various eateries dotted all around, trying to figure out what to get for food.

“Hey, Jessie, what are you feeling like?” Beth called back over the sounds of the crowd.

“You know I’m not too picky! Whatever works for me! As long as they give us some nice disposable utensils, I’m happy!” Jess called back.

Beth nodded and began to make her way towards one of the restaurants, a place called The Wooden Spoon. It was a relatively simple wood building with a bit of vines growing along the walls of the outside. As the two headed inside, they were greeted by a relatively large amount of people all enjoying their meals. The walls were dotted with all kinds of plans and vines creating a somewhat overgrown look, but it also enhanced the more homey feel of the place. The lighting was soft and the tables all sprouted right out of the ground. On the right, there was a long counter where people could order their meals or watch as their food was made.

Beth and Jess made their way towards the counter. Thankfully, at the moment, there was no one else waiting to order, so they were tended to immediately.

“Hey, Arkis!” Beth called happily to the man standing behind the counter who was currently washing his hands.

At her call, the man turned around and smiled. “Beth! It’s been a while. How are you?” The man spoke in a soft but gruff voice. As Jess looked at him, they realized that he was a shadeling, a shade that had come to inhabit a human corpse. His body seemed mostly in tact, but the dark grey skin and solid black eyes were a bit of a dead giveaway. He was dressed in a very simple white chef’s outfit with a short white hat atop his head. He had a very kind face and seemed to be quite energetic which Beth found surprising. All of the shadelings that they had met were usually a bit more morose.

“I’m doing really good, actually. Just out getting some food with Jessie and they aren’t very picky, so I thought I’d come here and pay you a visit,” Beth replied.

Arkis smiled at her. “Oh… Jessie… huh? You guys out on a date, eh?”

Jess’s faced turned bright red and quickly shook their head. “N-No! We just had a long day ya know… Wanted to take some time to cool off… and I was hungry…”

Arkis let out a hearty laugh and nodded. “Right… sure…”

Beth sighed softly. “We actually broke up two weeks ago, Arkis, so… they’re right. This isn’t a date…” Beth’s face was a little red, but for a completely different reason than Jess.

“Anyway… so… what do you guys have that’s vegetarian…?” Jess asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

Arkis smiled wide and handed Jess a menu. “Our entire menu is actually vegetarian.”

Jess raised an eyebrow. “W-Wait… Really… Beth, you like this place? You’re usually pretty adamant about maintaining meat in your diet.”

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Beth waved the question away dismissively. “I’m not really super hungry, so this is mostly for you. Plus, Arkis actually makes some really amazing noodles. Just cause I tend to incorporate large amounts of meat in my diet doesn’t mean it’s the only thing I eat.”

Jess narrowed their eyes, giving Beth a very unconvinced look before sighing. “Fine… Whatever you say. Can I get the fireroot island bowl?”

Arkis nodded. “A great choice. Is this for here or to go?”

“To go,” Beth and Jess said together, causing them both to giggle slightly.

“Oh, and can I get some of the oracle leaf chips as well?” Beth added.

“Gotcha” Arkis replied, heading off in to the kitchen to begin preparing the food.

Jess just gave Beth another narrow-eyed look.

“What??”

Jess rolled their eyes. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just that someone said they weren’t hungry.”

“The chips are good!” Beth retorted.

Jess chuckled softly and the two sat down for a moment while they waited for the food. About ten minutes later, it was all ready. Jess raced to the counter, picking up their food and staring eagerly in to the take-out bowl.

“That’ll be 2100E,” Arkis added.

Jess began to fish around in their robe, looking for their money before Beth placed a glowing green bill on to the counter and nodded to Arkis. “Keep the change, as a tip.”

“Thank you and enjoy your meal!” Arkis replied as the two made their way back outside.

The crowd had died down slightly as the two made their way back to the giant tree at the center of the village. They headed to one side and began making their way up the tree, Beth occasionally forming branches to help them along their way. As they climbed higher and higher, more of the massive sprawling forest came in to view, the brilliant setting sun off in the distance. Jess smiled softly as they saw the large raised section of trees where their village was.

“Come on, slow poke!” Beth called down.

When Jess looked up, they found that Beth had already reached the top. They sighed and quickly scaled the remaining parts of the tree, hopping up on to the large smooth platform that rested at the top of the Great Spirit Tree. Some village elder had made this with the plans of turning it in to some kind of shrine or community meeting place, but the plan was scrapped, so the smooth platform was all that remained it this point.

The two took a seat on the edge of the platform, looking off in to the sunset as they began to eat. All around them, expanding off miles in to the distance, was the tops of the trees of the spirit forest The island had been formed over a hundred years ago when the new continents were created and so, some direct descendant that was born shortly after decided that they were going to infuse their life in to a single seed and plant it, giving way to this massive forest. It covered the entire island and along the branches, there were bright green glowing spots. The wood of the trees had tons of special magical properties and was coveted by a lot of people, but the disciples of the forest didn’t often sell it off. It was usually used for things like limb replacements or ground up for the healing properties.

 The leaves of the tree weren’t quite as special, but they did have a soft glow to them that got more intense in the dark, so looking from the top of the central point, they could see as the trees slowly got brighter and brighter. In a few spots were there were villages, one central tree had been chosen and raised up higher than the rest. Usually, much like the central tree which was the biggest, they would grown some luminescent plants to hang from the tree to signify its elevated status.

The two just sat there, marveling at the sight of the forest and watching the sun dip further below the horizon until finally disappearing completely. A soft green light illuminate the entire platform thanks to the leaves as well as Jess’s hair.

“You know… I’m kinda nervous about doing the searcher trial…” Beth admitted, finally breaking the silence that had been maintained while they ate.

“Of course you are. The trial is pretty difficult, or so I’ve head, so it makes sense you’d be nervous, ya know?” Jess offered, setting down the empty noodle bowl, beginning to eat the chop sticks that had come with it.

“I know, but… I feel like… if I don’t succeed… then… leaving home… coming here… working so hard… it will have been for nothing…”

Jess frowned slightly, placing a hand gently on Beth’s leg. Beth swiveled her head, turning to Jess who was smiling warmly at her. “It’s not like you have to do it along, ya know? I’m going to be there right with you~”

Beth smile warmly placing her hand atop Jess’s gently rubbing it. “Yeah… I will have you there… Thanks, Jess… I appreciate it… A lot…”

Jess nodded, looking at Beth. They could feel their heart start to beat faster, their face growing lightly flush before leaning in, their lips pursed.

“Jessie, what are you doing?!” Beth replied, quickly scooting away from Jess.

Jess’s eyes opened and they were met with the somewhat concerned and slightly scared face of Beth. Jess swallowed hard and looked away. “Sorry… I just…”

“Jessie… I… we can’t… We decided, remember?”

Jess nodded shyly. “I know… It’s just… hard to adjust…”

Beth sighed and scooted back towards them. “I know. I’m sorry for snapping like that… I was just kinda surprised is all. I’ve been working to adjust too… But it’s for the best, really.”

Jess sighed and nodded. “I know it is.” Despite their words, they weren’t fully convinced of them.

Silence fell on the treetop once more as the two awkwardly looked off at the glow of the forest until Beth finally offered, “Hey, why don’t we spar? You still have some time before you have to head back home, right?” she asked, standing up and dusting herself off.

Jess smirked and stood up as well, following Beth to the center of the platform. “Yeah. Let’s do it!”

Beth narrowed her eyes. “I’m not gonna go easy on you.”

Jess cracked their knuckles, getting in to a starting stance, their hair shifting to a slightly more yellow color. “Neither am I.”

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