Journey of a Ceaseless Flame

Chapter 3: Thirty-four

I found myself in this strange forest when I woke up.

"Fib? Are you here?" I called out, but was easily distracted by my surroundings.

"Woah..." Bewildered, I murmured to myself, "What is this place?" The air held a crisp chill, just enough to send a slight shiver to my body, but not cold enough to need a cloak. Towering trees, their bark ancient and gnarled, encased the landscape. Their canopies adorned with iridescent purple leaves that danced in the sun rays filtered through.

Amid my exploration of this enchanted forest, I stumbled upon a breathtaking pink flower, with soft vibrant petals and delicately patterned corners catching my eye. Driven by curiosity, I reached down to pluck it, only to find myself ensnared within an intricate net that had seemingly materialized from the ground below.

"Oh!" My heart raced as I struggled to comprehend the situation. I was caught in a net tied to a tree branch, as if I were prey waiting to be captured by its predator. Just as I was about to burst in a series of screeches and pleas for mercy, two kids, identical to one another, appeared from behind the tree, scaring me half to death.

"Ah! You startled me!"

The two approached me, a pair of what seemed to be twins dressed in tribal attire adorned with intricate white inscriptions and tattoos that decorated their entire bodies. They didn't look a day over six years old. The youthful glint in their eyes suggested so.

Their ginger hair had been meticulously braided, and their dark, sun-kissed skin formed a stark contrast to their striking, almost translucent, silver eyes. They looked almost otherworldly, but at the same time strangely familiar.

"To our territory, dares enter who?" The girl in suspicion with an accent I could not quite point out.

"Calm down, sister. Just passing by he is." The twins argued with one another, their new way of words fascinating me.

"Why pick up the flower did you? To catch us birds it was supposed to. Trap that was." the girl angrily said, focusing her gaze on me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to... I just woke up here. I truly have no idea where I am," I immediately replied. Though they were kids, the stone blades tied to their hips did not suggest my safety. I had to be careful, at least while I was ridiculously tied up in this net.

"Ah, a complete misunderstanding this is," the boy piped up.

"Trying to get all the birds for himself he is, that's why our trap he sabotaged!"

"Calm down, for once can you?" The boy complained exasperatedly.

"What to do, don't tell me!"

As the twins continued on with their squabble, a woman carrying a baby in her arms came wearing a tired expression. "Fib!" The recognizable purple reflection against the sunlight relieved me as I spotted her creeping next to the woman.
"Meow!" The cat looked just as happy to see me.

"Quit with you two your babbling! Thought I tell you stop all these traps making! See you what just now did, do you?"

"Sorry, Mom." The twins replied in unison. They indeed looked apologetic. The boy climbed up the tree trunk, finally releasing me from the trap with his blade. Their mother's eyes fixated on me suspiciously as I tried to shake myself from the net's thick hemp. "Don't think seen you before in tribe," the eldest says, mostly to herself, observing me from head to toe.

"Oh, I'm not." She looked up at me, a frown immediately evident.

"What mean you do? Not from here, you?" I nod.

"Kele, Kateri, stand back! Vromerós, this is!" She said, a protective hand guarding the two away from me, like I was a huge threat to them. The girl pointed her wooden bow at me, growling. The boy, the blade.