The Forest Is Awake

A New Feeling

The next morning, I was awakened by the smell of something cooking. I roll over and see Parker with two skewered fish roasting over a new fire.

"Good morning," Parker says, pulling one fish off the stick and handing it to me on a large leaf. "I hope you like fish...wait, do sprites eat?"

I laughed and sat up, taking the fish from his hand.

"Yes, we eat, at least the younger sprites eat. Older sprites are more forest than human, so they rely on the same things that plants do to survive."

I take a bite of the slightly burnt fish and swallow it. Parker gobbles up his fish in one bite, pounding his chest as he swallows.

"Easy there, just because you're large doesn't mean you should swallow your food whole."

We both laughed and, for the most part, remained silent as I finished my breakfast. I thought about the story from the night before. I thought all the forest creatures knew about what happened during The Before. I'm sure each race tells the story differently, but it holds the same premise and the facts are the facts. The story is shared with each lineage in an attempt to warn future generations of what could happen if the territories collapsed into a war.

"Hey Parker, you knew that wolf from yesterday, didn't you?"

He became tense but nodded, "He's from my pack. He is...was... The Alpha of the Northern Moon Pack. When the fire started, he was in the Eastern territory trying to prevent a war that the South was trying to provoke with the East. He was also my father."

I could feel the pain in his heart. His claws were digging into the dirt below him as he breathed back tears. He was in visible pain. I crawled to him without considering how dangerous he could be right now. Unstable wolves are unpredictable and could lash out at even their mates.

I looked at him and used what little power I had to warm my body enough to create a blanket of heat as I held him close. I could feel him relax into me, his heart rate slowing as my body temperature returned to normal.

"You're incredible," he whispered.

"Wolves are the incredible ones. You get to find soul mates, have children, and your souls get to pass into the beyond."

He looked at me. "Sprites can't have families?"

"To my knowledge, sprites can't have children. We slowly turn into plants and once we're no longer able to remain animated, our souls are reabsorbed by Mother and created into a new sprite."

"Aren't you technically human right now? Don't you have all the parts to make it happen?"

I thought about it for a second. I have all the same organs as a human. The only difference is my body produces foliage and harnesses magic. Sprites come from trees. We're not born as babies either, we emerge from the trunks of huge trees at the center of the forest and are immediately bestowed with all the knowledge we need through Mother.

"Sprites are created by Mother. I don't know if any Sprites have ever had a child before. In my experience, sprites don't even desire to reproduce, nor do we have a desire to fornicate."

I have to admit to myself though, ever since I encountered Parker, I've felt things I've never felt before. Was this lust? Did I want Parker? He catches me looking at him and he smirks.

"Your face says otherwise, and if you didn't know, wolves have amazing senses of smell."

Parker leans close to me, which sends my heart racing. Before I realize it, I'm lying on my back underneath him. He nuzzles into my neck, my breathing heavy and my head dizzy. He slides a hand up my side, his skin on my skin leaves a trail of static. He's slow and cautious, his forehead resting on mine. I could tell he was struggling to control himself.

"What's wrong?" I managed between gasps of air.

"I don't want you to think this is all I am. I'm not a wolf who looks for women who are alone in the forest and seduces them into my den."

He was serious, but I couldn't help but laugh a little. I didn't know what I was doing, but I lifted my head and pressed my lips into his. He responded with a deep and throaty growl which sent tingles between my legs. His movements were slow, his kisses were deep but gentle. He pulled me up and held me in his lap, kissing me more and more. I straddled him, my arms linked around his neck. I couldn't kiss him enough. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I've never felt this way before. I never felt any of this before. My body was moving on its own. Parker's hands on my hips and back were driving me crazy.

He must have heard my thoughts or something because he slowed his movements and eased me to a stop. Our eyes met, and his hand caressed my face. I swallowed hard, my mind was fuzzy.

"I'm going to guess that sprites have the ability to desire more than you think."

I gasped and threw myself off of him. Standing up, I started pacing the den, questioning everything I had ever been told. What if s*x wasn't the only thing I was lied to about?

I look at Parker, at this point, he's standing, "We have to go to The Heart."

"Through witch country? Yeah, that's a fantastic idea when there's zero coverage from the fire, and you're too weak to escape."

I looked at him a bit shocked.

"You know about how sprites escape?"

"Yeah, you disappear into the trees or whatever and use them as teleportation pods or something, right?"

I had to walk away, I walked outside the den and let out a loud bout of laughter. My sides were screaming by the time I was done laughing. Parker stood nearby crossing his arms, obviously offended.

" Sprites disappear into the trees. Yes, however, once we're out of sight, we just blend into the trees with our magic and leave the area once the coast is clear."

He nods, obviously realizing that teleportation was a bit of a stretch.

We cleaned up our camp and used plant debris and other materials to try to hide our scent from the den. It's not perfect, but if the wolf returns, it'll smell like we left days ago. That and Parker took pieces of both of our clothing and ran it back the way we came the day before. Hopefully, this will give us a head start as we head north. We decided that going through the center of Twilight Forest was just too risky. Without any other pack members and my magic starting to fade, we had no form of protection.

As we walked, we dusted ourselves in dirt and Parker refrained from shifting into his wolf to dampen our scents. As we walked along, I noticed that we weren't seeing any sprites. Sprites are talented hiders, but I couldn't even feel any nearby. We're also an abundant creature, and we're easily overlooked because we blend into the forest, but when you know how to spot one, they're everywhere.

"Parker," I said, slowing down as we came up to the opening for a clearing. "Where are all the sprites?"

"Yeah, I noticed that about wolves too. The Eastern Moon Pack is the largest in the twilight forest. My first time down here you couldn't go half a mile without seeing at least two wolves."

I think back to the day of the fire and the sea of wolves that I saw just before I was forced to flee.

"You don't think they all died in that fire, do you?"

"There's no way. Many she-wolves and their pups stay behind. They hide with a group of young males to help protect them. Not only that, but the next Alpha is always left behind to help rebuild the pack in case of instances like that."

We continued into the clearing. A beautiful field of flowers was spread out before us. In the distance was a small group of houses. Parker took my hand as we walked through the field. The houses were small but picturesque in this beautiful field. Outside one of the houses, we could see someone tending to a pile of laundry. As we approach, Parker slows us to a stop to not scare the she-wolf. When she notices us, she walks inside and, after a few minutes, wolves emerge from all the houses.

"Who are you?" They demanded, a circle of men surrounding us.

" My name is Parker, I'm the Alpha of the Northern Moon Pack. This is my travel companion Dawn, a sprite I found south of here near the southern border. "

There was a brief moment of murmurs before a large male emerged from behind the small crowd of women standing nearby.

"It's alright. He is the son of the fallen gray wolf."

Parker reached out to the man, and they pulled each other in for a hug.

"Marcus, thank you for the safe passage through your territory. I know times are scary, so having the trust of another Alpha means a lot. "

"You two know each other? " I chimed in.

"Yes," Parker said, putting his arm around the other Alpha, "this is Marcus."

I eyed Marcus, he was as tall as Parker, a bit more broad, and had caramel skin. His eyes were golden, and his hair was brown but slightly sun-bleached.

"And who is this beautiful creature you're traveling with, Parker?" Marcus says as he takes my hand and kisses it.

I could tell that got Parker's attention, but he remained composed and cleared his throat.

"This is Dawn. She's a forest sprite who was on her way south to assist with an issue they were having near a human town. "

Marcus nodded, it was obvious he already knew what Parker was talking about. Looking around, Marcus insisted on everyone returning to their homes. As the last wolf went inside, I got a strong scent of the flowers outside. I found it odd that there was a field of flowers after all the smoke from two weeks ago. There was no sun for days, and even if this area remained untouched by the flames, I could still see ash stains on the sides of the houses.

"Marcus, could I ask you a question?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"I can tell the flowers are a cover for your scent, which I'm guessing is why you wanted everyone inside, but how are these flowers even here when there are obvious signs on the houses that the smoke from the fire suffocated this area?"

He considered his answer for a moment. "There's a very old sprite who lives in a tree here in our village. He can no longer move, so he uses his magic to help however he can. When the battle between East and West broke out we all came here. These houses are typically used as outposts for wolves who patrol the territory, but when news of a battle came up they sent us all here for safety."

Marcus walked us towards a large tree that shaded the courtyard in the center of the village.

" The sprite just enjoyed the peacefulness here and helped keep the area abundant with plants. However, about a week ago, a large wolf was spotted nearby. It wasn't acting right, so we stayed hidden inside for almost two days. Thankfully, something drew its attention away, but it scared me enough to ask the sprite to cover our scent with dense flowers."

The sprite in the tree was hardly noticeable as a person anymore. You could make out a face and could see where limbs have merged into the tree, but if you didn't know the sprite was there you'd never know it was. I looked over at Parker, who was looking concerned about the wolf sighting.

Parker and I exchanged glances. When Marcus notices, we decide to tell him about our experience with the wolf and explain to him our theory as to what's going on with it.

"It's probably best not to shift into your wolves unless absolutely necessary."

Marcus nodded in agreement, "Agreed, we've been refraining from shifting since the wolf has been sighted. We've been shifting one at a time inside, just long enough to stretch our bodies. My concern is that the full moon is coming, and, unfortunately, we won't be able to stop ourselves from shifting once the moon reaches its peak. "

" That's still almost two weeks away," I added.

"Right, however, who knows how long we'll need to be careful. The fire changed the balance and there's a rampant wolf out there controlled by who knows what."

I look at Parker not fully grasping everything Marcus is trying to get at.

"If the shift, their wolf forms have double the scent of their human forms. If they all shift at once, it'll be like sending off a homing signal that can stretch miles. It would put this location at risk."

The gravity of their situation started to set in. For all we know, this could be the last remaining members of the Eastern moon pack. An entire species of brown wolf is on the brink of extinction.

After talking with Marcus for a little while longer and enjoying a much-needed meal, Parker and I headed back out into the forest and started north toward the Northern Moon Pack territory.

As we walked along, I couldn't help but think about the sprite in the tree and how we couldn't see any other sprites around us. We were just as abundant as the animals that roamed the forest. It wasn't abnormal to see a spray hanging out in a tree, lounging on a log, or tending to an animal. It was our duty to run the forest and help where we were needed. Mother would call on us if she needed us for something specific other than that we were free to roam and do as we pleased. The one in the tree seemed so old, it couldn't even communicate with us, it could definitely hear us, but it couldn't talk back to us. It was only a matter of time until it completely became part of the tree.

Older sprites were hard to see, so even if we were looking for more sprites that were older, it'd be near impossible to tell if they were tree parts or Sprite parts. When sprites get older, they pick a tree of their choice, and they find a spot that suits them. The real question is, where are all the young sprites like me? Human-like sprites were less common as we're not born as often as other creatures. A new sprite only emerges when an older one dies. This is why it's more common to see sprites who look like plants as they've been around for a while. Sprites live as long as the trees do, with some living hundreds of years. It's also not uncommon for young sprites to be curious and wander to areas they're not supposed to be in, which causes them to die. In my twenty years, I've only ever encountered one other young sprite.

At a time like this, I would assume you would be seeing many sprites of all kinds fleeing to safer parts of the forest. So it makes me wonder if all the sprites are hiding out on the outer borders or if they've run back to the heart.