Vous Voilà

Into the woods, Pt. 2

Enoki put a hand on Maple's shoulder. "They'll understand."

Maple sighed in relief, knowing that Enoki probably found the perfect words to say to keep Aaron from worrying. It was like a boulder had been lifted off her shoulders. "Whew..."

So into the woods they went.

A few hours of trekking went by. It was kind of remarkable that they hadn't encountered any roads yet. They hadn't eaten anything yet, but Maple was sure to bring a steel cup, one that she had owned since she was much younger - a few times, they would stop by a stream, and she would light a small fire underneath until it began to boil. They'd wait for it to cool off and then drink it. It tasted like dirt and had a grainy aftertaste, something Enoki wasn't familiar with, but at least it wasn't going to kill them.

At some point, Maple eventually became hungry. She stopped, turning around and facing Enoki. "Alright, I'm famished, let's see what snacks you-" Enoki spun around, letting Maple see inside her backpack. "Um... Enoki?"

"Uh huh?"

"Did you mean to pack nothing but portabella mushrooms?"

"All the vending machines were in the student center!" She held her hands like a crooked businessman. "I had to bribe some workers in the dining hall to gimme all their extra mushrooms."

"Did they have literally anything else?"

"I mean, yeah, but.. What else do you need?"

Maple was short with her. "I'm intolerant to mushrooms. We've talked about this."

"Oh." She folded her hands in front of her and leaned back. "Well that.. would have been good to know earlier."

Maple groaned.

"Hey, but can't you just magically transform them into something you like?"

"I failed that class. Didn't you get an A?"

"I guessed on all the tests and got everything right, so I didn't actually.. uh.. learn anything."

Maple died inside. "Oh."

Over the next hours or so, Maple had decided not to eat anything at all, but the two made great progress. The sun had completely set and the two had decided to camp for the night. They sat on the ground around a bundle of sticks that Maple had caught on fire. It was a bit chilly, but not uncomfortable, especially near the fire.

"Hey!" chirped Enoki, "You get the tent, Maple?"

"We weren't ever going to have a tent. How could we have gotten a tent?"

"A bedsheet or somethin'?"

Maple sighed. "Look, I'm fine just sleeping on the ground, that was up to you if you wanted to bring something to sleep in."

"Oh, I'm fine without a tent, just the stars above my head... and the creepy, crawly, death parasites from below, crawling in through my skin and mind-controlling me to drown myself in the ocean."

"...Enoki, this isn't Australia."

Enoki looked up at the stars. There were quite a few up there. "You ever think the stars looked like little fairies, and when they twinkle, it's like their way of saying 'salut'?"

"No, I think fairies look like fairies."

"You're no fun!"

Maple stood up and kicked the fire out. "Shh!"

"You 'shh'!"

Maple whispered harshly. "No, I mean, shut up and listen, I hear something." The two were quiet, and the house of horse hooves faintly echoed through the woods. "What's that?"

"Oh, probably the blind elves, coming to take away lost humans and hold them for ransom."

"Shut up!" she hissed.

"I'm serious!"

Maple sighed. "See, that's your problem, you keep coming up with stupid explanations for everything, and then I can't trust you when something serious happens."

"...Hey, Maple?"

"Yes?"

"If they're blind, why did you put out the fire?"

In an instant, the two of them were grabbed by their legs and held upside-down like sacks of potatoes. For only a split second, they could see who was before them - a dark rider on a dark horse, no eyes in his sockets, limbs stretched and far too long for his body, strength far exceeding his reach. Maple couldn't make a sound, she could hardly breathe- the wind had been knocked out of her, and her eyes were reeling as she tried to figure out where he stood in relation to her.

"I mean," pointed out Enoki, "It just seemed a little silly."