Buoyed by a sense of chivalrous duty, a friend under each arm, and a baseless infection optimism that was by no means well-informed, I lead our little troupe on a merry jaunt through hostile territory.
Together, we began our initial descent toward the general direction that I had ventured a guess might be the location that I had last seen Rilah. It was slow going, over newly flowering growth and rotting wood; half-buried in the mossy undergrowth.
Iridescent lizards scurried across the breadth of trees as wide as a garden shed; pulsing in bright neon shades of blue, and green, and orange. They scattered whenever we got close, but you could always see them in the distance displaying the inherent danger of their poisoned flesh with the splash of colorful lights.
I had heard Rilah discuss this area that she had supposedly stumbled upon in previous treks—unknowing of the inherent danger held in their slender, brightly colored bodies—a flash gecko's poison was so strong that it was told a single dart of its mucus would be enough to kill a creature as massive as a diredeer.
She had never been able to find them again, no matter how many times she returned into The Sunset Domain in the fleeting hope. The dying light cast a stark contrast against the throbbing, beating shimmer of the forest's heart.
Fimbs gasped, transfixed by this alien, galvanizing, and almost tranquil scene. Noticing this, Janny warned, "Be careful, Fimbs. You don't have to actually eat the gecko's poison to get a fatal dose."
She looked abashed that he had pegged her distraction as danger, so easily, and apologized. "I'm sorry, I just—I've never seen anything like it."
I nodded. "Yeah, the stalks can be a beautiful place, at times. Sure, everyone talks about the forests like they're this great, terrible evil thing; and while it can be dangerous, for sure, it's also breathtaking to experience for yourself sometimes. I think that's why Rilah was always so bored with our safe life in the glades. It could never replicate such glories as this."
"Zoel...?" Janny asked, wondering where I was going with this.
I waited patiently for a beat, allowing the scenery to wash over me, before I eventually encouraged him, with "Yes, Janius?"
He pulled his lips tight, and tittered uncharacteristically, before continuing his query. "I know I said that I was okay with you not telling us what happened, and all—and that's still true! You don't have to answer anything you're not comfortable with—but I was just curious about ...I mean, how did you get those nasty wounds on your back? I'm sure you must have had your reasons. Isn't it fair that we get to know what's out there, as well?"
I let out a heavy breath, and blinked burning tears away from the edges of my vision at the remembrance of that difficult time, but he was right. They had a right to know. I swallowed hard, and looked him in the eyes.
"That plant was a man-eater." He nodded, understanding, as they were standard fare in the warnings of what awaited us in the dangerous, dark woods. I continued, "I don't know which one, or what method it was using to manipulate me, but it had me utterly convinced that I was the only one who understood how to escape, and I walked right into its open mouth."
Fimbs gasped, again, but this time with horror in the stead of delight's place. "You mean, you almost died?!"
I snickered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world that someone like me would struggle to survive in the forest. Then, I saw the look in her face, and I realized just how much she looked up to me, to Janius, to all of us with the courage to brave this forest on our own; in spite of our parent's instruction.
I cleared my throat, and gave her response the seriousness that it required. "Yes, several times. I may not look it, but I'm nowhere near as useful in this forest, as Rilah is."
Janny shook his head, knowingly. "That isn't true, Zoel. You're both amazing! Fimbs, he's just being modest—"
"I'm not!" I shouted, cutting him off with my fists balled up, anxiously. "I'm nothing like her... She's the amazing one, and she always will be! Don't tell me that you know what my potential is, when you didn't see what I had to do, just to find you again...!"
"Zoel..." He said, with sympathy weighing heavy in his tone.
"No, you wanted to hear the truth of what happened, out there? Well, here it is—I got a foraging reality check, that's what!" The air settled on the scene, and I slapped a chin-height length of some flowering plant with razor sharp edges to its leaves out of my face, before continuing. "If Rilah was here, she would have been able to navigate all those horrible encounters with no difficulty, whatsoever! I've seen her do it, Janius. The way she glides through the forest, it's like she was born for it, you don't know what the five you're talking about!"
He shook his head. "No, I do." he whispered quietly, before resuming with full confidence returned to his voice. "No, you know what? I'm sick of hearing how much greater Rilah is, every single time. The truth is that whatever you had to do out there—that you're oh, so ashamed of—neither of us were capable of pulling it off! The fact is that you went out on your own, and you made it back, on your own. That's something to be proud of!"
"I know what you're trying to do, but it won't work! Look at me; really look at me. I left with a pitchfork, a sickle, and a pair of shoes, and I returned with such terrible injuries that I need you both to help me walk! You want to know what happened to my diving back?! I was almost eaten by a spider! Why was I soaked through? The flood almost took me! I made mistake, after—" Then, I stopped; because I thought I heard something.
It sounded like Rilah's scream.