The Moon-Eating Dragon

2. Death and Deception

~*~

Shrubs and scattered trees seemed to congregate and grow thicker with every step that was taken. Matthew had insisted that they leave as early as possible, not wanting to run into any mages who constantly roamed the forest. He'd given up on wondering what they did in there, it was not as if the forest held anything of value in it. Maybe they were there to make certain that the felines were not planning on mounting an attack on their precious city, or perhaps it was true that they could harvest the fire from the fire daisies that grew within, but Matthew could not care less about such things.

"How far is it?" He asked.

"Not very. An hour in this direction and we should be there." She replied, pointing past an enormous boulder that was almost as high as the trees that surrounded it.

They had just entered the walking forest. An eerie silence hung over them as if an unseen spirit was stalking and watching their every move. As they delved deeper into the forest the grass seemed to stop growing giving way to mushrooms that glowed with a purplish hue and let fly a sparkling dust when touched. In here, the sun barely touched the ground and wherever it did a bunch of yellow daisies would grow completely contrasting the shroom's dark violet. The human girl seemed to eye these with curiosity. After a while she gave in and went to pick one. Before her hand could touch the bright yellow petals Matthew pulled her back causing a surprised squeal to escape her mouth.

"Touch those and there'll be nothing of you left but ash." He warned.

She shrugged in return. Matthew picked up an almost weightless twig and threw it at the flowers. They exploded into a yellow cloud that scorched whatever it settled on without casting a flame. Charred remains of soil remained where the flower had been. She scoffed, not amused, and kept walking.

After what seemed like an hour Matthew stopped and looked at the girl.

"Are you sure you left it in these parts?"

"Yes, I'm sure..." She looked around, thinking.

"Come to think of it, how did you even survive crossing the forest on your own? I know the mages don't attack their own kind and trolls don't usually come this far down the mountains, but the Fire daisies should have gotten you at least."

At that question her eyes lit up as if a sudden thought had just hit her.

"You are one inquisitive feline aren't you?" She said excitedly. "Come. I think I know where the chest is."

As they walked she kept her eyes up at the tree formed roof that hid them from the clouds. Matthew turned and looked up too, branches of those thick trunked trees formed an intricate network bearing leaves that made everything dark from where they were. Matthew enjoyed the scenery for a while until an unexpected sliver of light caught his eye. Upon focusing he realized it was a bag of some sort with jewels hanging off the sides. A silver coin between his feet confirmed the riches which lay waiting within the bag.

"How did it get up there?"

"We need to find a way to bring it down." The girl said. She did a sweep around with her eyes and spotted a dry branch. She went on to pick it up but noticed that on the other end of it were Fire daisies, growing merrily and intertwining with the tips of the branch. She gingerly held the far end and when her grip was firm enough she pulled. The yellow flower puffed into a cloud but by the time the dust could settle on anything she was out of harm's way. Smoke rose from the now burnt tips of the branch. She looked at Matthew and smiled proudly.

"Yes, you can handle yourself around daisies but how is that short branch supposed to help us retrieve the bag?"

"Just watch." She smirked.