The Forbidden Forest

[Nahara46]

The moment Lucinda had asked about Xie, Rhea had had a terrible feeling that she knew what had happened. She was angered to realize her feeling was truth, now she had one hand over her mouth, and tears clearly in her eyes, though she did not allow them to fall. The werewolf couldn't help but glance toward the castle, where her little brother was at school. If he had died, she knew that she wouldn't take it very well herself...

"I'm so sorry." She told Kei and Jei, lowering her hand as she got a hold of herself. The older unicorn merely nodded her thanks before turning to Lucinda,

"There is no need, fortunately me and Jei sustained only a few minor injuries. Nothing serious enough for you to worry about."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda looked at her seriously. "That, at least, is fortunate news." She used the phoenix song to comfort them, finding the words she wanted to say far to difficult. When she was finally able to speak, she apologized yet again - something she was getting very used to. She didn't offer any excuses - for there were none at this point - only took the blame for not keeping the barrier up like she'd promised.

[Nahara46]

Had she been human, Kei would have given a sad smile toward Lucinda. "There is no need to apologize," She finally said, "Xie is safe were she is, and knowing her, she's probably made herself perfectly comfortable and content by now as well."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda would have smiled back, if she could. Instead, she trilled in a sadly relieved sort of way. "Thank you, Kei. I appreciate your kind words. If you need anything, call upon me and I shall come."

[Nahara46]

Kei nodded and glanced toward the woods and then at her still angry son. "I will keep that in mind, again, thank you for your sympathy but me and Jei must be on our way now. I'm afraid we must speak to the Herd and total up the casualties." It was clear she was not looking forward to such a task, but Kei had to know who else had died and then they would have to make plans for a funeral.

With that, the two unicorns left quickly, Cantering off in the direction of Home.

[kumainpink]

"In that case, I suppose we should be headed off as well." Lucinda said in an even tone. "Rhea, do you know of any others that are in need of healing?"

[Nahara46]

Rhea hesitated, thinking it through, "Now that I can think of. I sent everyone to the stumps that we attended to last night." Honestly, she couldn't help but give a small smile. It was a definite good thing that she didn't know anyone else who needed help.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda trilled gratefully. At least that wouldn't be an issue. "In that case, shall we retire to my cave for a bit of rest and some food? I have plenty of berries for us to enjoy, and will be willing to hunt if either of you want something more substantial."

[Nahara46]

Fawkes shook his head, "It was nice flying around with you two," he began, "But I'm afraid I must go for a bit. I'd like to have a chat with the current headmaster of Hogwarts, though I'll be back shortly."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda nodded. "Very well, Fawkes. It was good seeing you. Feel free to stop by my cave at any time."

[Nahara46]

"I will keep that in mind." He replied, before rising up into the sky and quickly becoming a pinprick in the distance as he flew toward the school.

Rhea glanced at Lucinda after she lost sight of Fawkes and quickly said, "I'd be fine with the berries, Shall we return?"

[kumainpink]

"Sure." She then got off of Rhea's shoulder and slowly flew at her side - it wouldn't be a good idea to just flash somewhere, in case her vow called upon her.

[Nahara46]

Rhea walked in silence. She was finding that the quiet that often occurred between herself and Lucinda as they walked, was not one of discomfort, rather of comfort and peace. It as almost calming to simply walk along with the phoenix, in the complete and utter....

Well, Perhaps not completely complete. Rhea turned one hundred and eighty degrees in a flash, wand out as she heard a loud creaking noise. Have just recently been in battle, her reflexes were still sharp. Which was probably a good thing as she saw that a rather large tree was now teetering forward, toward Rhea.

Instinctively, the werewolf yelled out "Protego!" As she took a half step back, knees bent and eyes close, bracing for impact.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda's eyes widened as the tree started to fall. "Rhea!" she cried, getting in front of her protectively. She flashed them away from the tree. "Are you alright?" she inquired, once they were out of harm's way.

[Nahara46]

It was good luck that Lucinda had though to flash the two, as Rhea's protego was quickly being cracked by the shear weight of the tree. Just as Rhea disappeared, the tree broke through and smacked the spot where Rhea had been a split second earlier with a loud bang that resonated through the forest like thunder.

The shock, combined with the light-heated feeling that came with flashing, cause Rhea to begin to talk several times, only to produce nonsense words. It took several tried before she managed to calm herself down enough to say comprehensibly-

"Y-yes... I suppose that the battle weakened some trees."

[kumainpink]

"I'd imagine so." she replied, nuzzling Rhea in a show of comfort. "You're quite prone to danger, aren't you?" she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

[Nahara46]

In response to Lucinda's teasing, Rhea manged a small, though still stunned, smile. "I guess so," She responded in an equally teasing tone, "Or perhaps your are, and it's just rubbing off on me."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda chuckled melodically. "Maybe. Or we could both be equally unlucky. Anything is possible at this point." She pecked Rhea affectionately, feeling herself relax.

---

Little did they know that they weren't alone. Something was watching them, and it was not amused. They had their orders, and would follow them. But that didn't mean it was going to be enjoyable...

[Nahara46]

"I thought a negative plus a negative equaled positive?" Rhea responded, enjoying their friendly banter as much as the comfortable silence from before. It was definitely helping her ignore the fact that she had almost become a pancake.

[kumainpink]

"In most cases, yes. But I think fate has made an exception for us." She retorted serenely. Just as they were about to continue, however, an acromantula jumped down from one of the trees.

"Good day," it said in a masculine voice. "My name is Bax, and the Big Mother wishes to speak with you, Lucinda. You may bring your...friend along, if you wish."

[Nahara46]

Rhea took one glance at the spider, and gave a miniscule shudder. No, she wasn't terrified of spiders. But no one in their right mind would ever be excited, slightly fond or even neutral about this... humongous spider. She didn't quite know what to say, though when she looked back at the Phoenix to see what she would say, the werewolf gave a slight nod to show that she wanted to come. It may not be pleasant, but Rhea didn't feel right having Lucinda go and speak to... Big Mother, Alone.

[kumainpink]

"Ah, Big Mother... I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting her yet." Lucinda replied calmly. She looked to Rhea, who nodded at her. "Very well, then. Show us the way, Bax?"

"Of course," he replied, sounding as though this were far from a pleasant task for him. "Right this way." And on that note, they were off. They walked deeper and deeper into the most forsaken part of the forest, where the reaches of battle seemed have stopped. "Sorry for the long walk, but we had to move to a new home after yesterday."

[Nahara46]

"Understandable," Rhea replied as she thought of the forest closer to the battlegrounds. The tree that had fallen was only proof that the woods themselves were greatly injured. As they walked, Rhea kept a sharp eye- making a note of where they were going, in case they had to make a quick exit. 'Eaten by giant spider' was not what she wanted on her grave marker.

[kumainpink]

Eventually, they arrived to a part of the forest so old and forgotten that nothing else seemed to live there. The trees were huge, and had a series of webs hanging from them - large, well-woven webs that shimmered in the sunlight. In spite of the obvious danger that arose from this place, Lucinda couldn't help but find some of it beautiful. In a creepy sort of way, though.

The other acromantulas had a sense of revulsion about them, as though they wanted nothing to do with Lucinda and Rhea. They seemed hostile, but unwilling to attack as of now. At last, they arrived.

"I have brought her to you, Big Mother." Bax said in an affectionate manner.

"Very good, my child." she crooned. "Now please leave us. I have much to discuss with these outsiders ."

Bax did what could only be interpreted as a bow, and silently did as he was told. When he was gone, Big Mother eyed them warily.

"You must be Lucinda, the phoenix who has made such a stir in the forest. I am Agora, though my children call me 'Big Mother'." She made an odd, amused sound. "And who might this be? Did you decide to bring along a snack as a peace offering?"

[Nahara46]

In this case, Rhea had very different thoughts compared to Lucinda. To her, the webs and darkness were reminiscent of the horror movies that her mother occasionally allowed her to see, or the few horror books she had read. Every string seemed to scream fear and murderous, insane axe-men. She shuddered several times throughout the long walk, and resolved to try and avert her eyes straight ahead, and ignore the creepy sights around her. Of course she couldn't help a glance here and there.

The acromantula's themselves didn't help matters. It was clear they didn't like Rhea or Lucinda, and the feeling didn't comfort Rhea in the slightest. To keep herself from getting too terrified or paranoid, Rhea found herself taking comfort in her glances toward Lucinda, and her fingers that were keeping a good grip on her wand, in case she needed to use it.

When she saw the mother, which was larger then the others, Rhea gave yet another shudder. Then, of course, the Spider had to mention eating her. Rhea would have broken her wand had she held it any tighter as she forced the words out,

"I'm not a snack." The words weren't very loud or confident, but forced and held a slight tremor in them.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda kept her emotions in check, though there was a hard edge to her voice. "This is Rhea, and she is an ally of mine. I would appreciate it if you didn't attempt to eat her."

"I apologize, then." Agora said, though she didn't seem to be sorry at all. "In that case, shall we get down to business?"

"That would be best." Lucinda replied. I do not like her one bit, but she does lead a portion of the forest's creatures. We have no choice but to try and be peaceful. She hoped that Rhea would understand. "Might I ask why you had us come here?"

---

There wasn't much to either of the new arrivals. One of them was nothing more than a pathetic song bird, and the other, a human. Or, at least, someone that appeared to be one. Still, she had questions that needed to be answered, and quickly.

"As you know, many of my children were killed because of the battle that took place. As leader, I demand to know what you will do to compensate me and my kin."

The bird eyed her warily. "What would you want?"

"Bring us humans to feast on. We want revenge for our fallen."

[Nahara46]

Rhea was getting more and more unhappy with this bunch. Human snacks to compensate for their deaths? They truly were sick, and Rhea wanted to call them out on it. However, she was smart enough to realize that if she insulted the queen, then the hive probably wouldn't have a hard time killing her. Rhea decided to speak up- even if her voice was still a bit shaky.

"We can't just give you innocent humans," She began, "If you want your revenge, then the best way you can get it is by helping us. You can defeat the human beings who actually killed your kin- not the human beings that had nothing to do with it. Fight the ministry, not the innocent."

[kumainpink]

"Nobody asked you to speak, mortal!" Agora snapped. "What would you care about our plight? You know nothing of what we've lost!"

"She is a werewolf, and has just as much stake in this as you do!" Lucinda replied frigidly. "And no, I will not supply you with humans to feast upon. What Rhea says is right - we need to be working together to win in a proper way! Your methods are barbaric and unnecessary." she then flew off of Rhea's shoulder to face her directly, and spoke with a more compassionate tone. "Agora, I know that you and your kin are hurting. I cannot imagine the pain that you are feeling, and offer my deepest condolences."

There was silence for a moment. Uncomfortable, nerve-wracking silence. And then, without warning, several of her kin started to come down from the trees, until they surrounded Rhea below. Lucinda tried to flash down to her, but was stopped when several of the acromantulas jumped on her at once, sending her downward.

Lucinda let out a trill of pain, as they bit in to her all at once.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple." Agora replied, in a mock-sympathetic voice. "If you refuse to offer me what we want, we will have to take it out on the two of you, instead."

[Nahara46]

Rhea was now not just unhappy- she was very angry. How dare this bitch claim that Rhea and Lucinda knew nothing of the pain they had? Of the lost? They'd tried to be nice to this bunch, and they clearly didn't appreciate it. As the spiders surrounded Rhea, she pulled her wand in front of her as she had done earlier. When they bit Lucinda, you could almost feel the Werewolf side of Rhea coming out. There was very pure anger in her eyes as she glared at the spider queen. This was no time for petty fears.

"Listen you horrible monster, Wake up! Your not the only one who's lost something here! Don't you dare be so self-centered to think so, the Forbidden Forest suffered much lost in the past day. Children lost parents- Parents lost children, and siblings lost siblings! Not all of them were spiders, I knew some of them, and I felt their lost. The pain of the forest is not yours alone, it does not revolve around you. Every tree in here felt a piece of the despair, every creature harmed, whether emotionally or physically." Rhea felt had to take a deep breath after that rant, she raised her wand a bit higher and said threateningly,

"So, you've got about five second to tell your spawn to let Lucinda go. I get that I'm just a puny little human in your eyes, but this werewolf had quite a bite of spells up her sleeve and is not very happy right now."

[kumainpink]

Agora was stunned, to say the least. A lowly human - no, halfbreed - had dared to openly defy her? Where was the fear, the helplessness that was to be expected? She was obviously outnumbered and outmatched, so what was the point of trying? She found herself impressed with her. But, this didn't mean that she would give in so easily.

It wasn't the example she wanted to give her kin. "For your bravery, I will see to it that you have a quick death." she replied in what she thought was an honorable fashion. "I respect and admire your courage." she then glared at the squawking bird below her. "That is more than I can say for this pathetic creature."

"Don't kill them!" Lucinda warned. She tried to fight back against the acromantulas, but the strength of her the vow was keeping her in place. It seemed that the really did need their revenge. Or the thought they did, at least. "Try to get out of here! I'll be fine!"