Shangri La Pt. 1

140: Wishing

After finding–and restoring–the very forest that Izumi and Katsuki first met, the two are now taking a little through the same forest to continue heading back to the East. They could've traveled through the forest on horse, but since Izumi wanted to get a little energy while staying on her feet, she suggested they keep walking. 

Eventually the sky was starting to get darker and darker in the process, leading for the Sun to leave and for the Moon to appear. 

"You sure you don't wanna stop and rest for the night? It's gonna get really dark soon." Katsuki pointed out. 

"Just a little further, I'm sure we can find a cave or something near this place." 'I doubt it with this place.' Katsuki thought.

Upon the fact that they were far gone from the burnt part of the forest–that Izumi restored–both Izumi and Katsuki notice something off. 

"Um– Hey Katsuki?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Is it just me, or shouldn't we have reached the part of the forest that looks more like it should be in the fall?" 

"Ah– No, you're not wrong. We left the burnt part of the forest hours ago, so it shouldn't 've spread this far." 

"No, and I don't think my powers would've reached this far either. Could this all be some kind of illusion?" 

"Not sure." 

Sure enough, they approached some bushes and revealed something quite surprising to be a spectacle. 

"Ah–" 

"What the– Where are we?"

Going deep enough in the forest led the pair to approach a river surrounded by trees and lush grass, but that wasn't all. The Moon could be easily seen at this point, but there were also these flickering, glimmering lights floating around the river. 

"A river, I don't remember passing a river the last time I came this way, do you?" Izumi questioned. 

"No, we must've gotten deep enough to find one. I couldn't even hear it until we got a lot closer." Katsuki noted. 

"Mn. It's almost like... it's trying to hide from those traveling through this forest." Izumi added as she approached the river. While the Moon reflected through the river, the water glistened by the simple light, leading Izumi to lay her hand out into the river and feel its coolness. 

"Something doesn't feel right about this place." 

"It feels refreshing though."

"Hey! Who do you think you are to just come here and touch our water?!?!" a squeaky voice exclaimed. 

The pair easily heard the voice, but neither of them were sure just where it came from exactly. 

"Huh? Did you hear that?" 

"Yeah, did you?" 

"Mn. So where did it come from?" 

"Hello~ I'm right in front of you~" the squeaky voice spoke annoyedly. Izumi noticed just how much closer the voice was to her that she moved her eyes left and right until she looked down to see something shocking. 

"Ack!" 

"What is it?"

 Izumi jumped back just for Katsuki to catch her, only for her to point in front of them. 

"T-That–" 

"What the–"

Right at their feet stood a tiny little figure with wings that shimmered through the moonlight. They had eyes that shined like Onyxes, skin that glistened from the moonlight to make it look like their skin was made from pearls, and slightly pointy ears.