They appeared just as they had disappeared, suddenly and with minimal approval from Briana. She collapsed. Straight to the ground she went, eyes wide and gasping, clutching the dead leaves and the dirt on which she lay. Botolf, mannerly as he was, stood over her, ready to offer a hand of assistance.
"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed to him.
"Sorry! I should have warned you. Travelling like that takes a lot of energy out of a soul."
He helped her up-what a redeeming gesture-and Briana brushed the wet, decaying foliage off of her clothing. It was strangely damp in wherever they were; the ground, the trees, even the air, the entire forest was coated in an inescapable blanket of water. There was obviously sun above the forest, but the leaves of the tree tops were so thick and tightly woven that the rays only made it through tiny breaks in the leaves. For that reason, the forest was dark, very dark, to the point where one would think it was evening.
"Where are we?" Briana asked.
"The Canvas Forest," Botolf replied.
Botolf's calm demeanor had lasted through the teleportation. He stood confidently. Briana, however, was bothered. Her new surroundings were less than inviting, and she eyed every inch of the soaked forest with a crazed and questioning gaze. Botolf gave a small smile to Briana after he noticed how unsure she was.
"Don't worry, this is a sanctuary. Nothing can hurt you here," he explained.
His point was moot. Briana went on with Botolf, but her she remained defensive. She looked every which way as they walked, waiting for something to jump her from every direction. After what seemed to be a lengthy amount of time, the girl dropped her armor fists and stopped walking. The scene around them hadn't changed at all. It had been the same trees at the same distance from them, and Briana's fear turned very quickly to genuine irritation. When she stopped, Botolf did as well. He gave her a looked that questioned the motives of her actions.
"Where are we going, exactly?" she asked with sass.
"I told you. We're going to see Mother Nature."
"Well, where is she?"
"You can't see her," Botolf chuckled.
"Then how are we supposed to find her if we can't see her?"
Botolf just laughed some more at how lost Briana was; her confusion would have been entertaining to any being who knew better than her.
"I can see her just fine. You can't see her because you're not looking for her," he explained.
Briana moved her weight to one leg and crossed her arms, "Well then how do I see her?"
Botolf was simple, "Look."
His voice seemingly faded into the water of the forest. Briana looked over her shoulder and then turned around to look behind her, but soon behind was no longer behind, and the left became right, and right became left. Suddenly, she was alert again, not to danger, but to destination. Lo and behold, there is was, out of thin air. A wall had erected itself spontaneously right up from the leaf covered ground. It wasn't even close to appearing brand new; it was structured of stone that had been whittled together over the years, and it had been many years, eras even. Moss and vines had made permanent residence on the surface of the wall. New plants were even pushing in between the stones, and their efforts, though small, had beneficial repercussions. Briana looked at this new scene before her with such awe. She recognized that it had been created from her own change of opinion, but it couldn't make much of any sense. Her surprised look was just as amusing as her ignorance about the new world she was in. Botolf laughed again.
