"Be quiet!"
His warm breath brushed my skin as his harsh whisper scraped against my ear. His hand was still pressing firmly over my mouth, and his face was only inches away from mine. But still, he didn't meet my gaze; he was fixated on something else behind me. With his entire weight pressing me down on the moist grass, I couldn't turn around and see. His heart hammered against my chest, matching my own frantic heartbeats.
With his eyes still glued to whatever he saw, he started muttering- a guttural whisper in a language I did not recognize. For some reason, I didn't fight him. I just waited, and I could feel my eyes widen as green smoke started to seep up from the ground around us, swirling in a sinister dance. The green smoke capsuled us, but I didn't feel different. It didn't change the energy around us; there was no powerful aura, and the air still felt light and fresh. Who the hell is this guy?
Steps. Movements. Someone had just walked out of the forest line, just like he had done only minutes ago. Holding my breath, I stared at the stranger on top of me. I watched his reactions as much as I listened for any clues at all about who had just arrived. My heart rate started increasing; this man seemed so calm and carefree, and just like that, he looked scared, tense, and anxious. Whatever made him this scared, I reasoned, I should be alarmed myself. But then I recognized the voices, singing light voices danced across the open field like a beautiful song. Huldra and Nida!
Muffled sounds were everything I could muster. His hand didn't move, and it tightened even more over my mouth, obviously to keep me quiet. But I know these women; we don't need to be scared! Irritated, I started shifting beneath him and trying to wiggle my arms free. I'm not staying like this, pressed down by a stranger for no freaking reason!
"Shut up! Listen! Don't ruin my illusion before they are gone!"
Angry now, I squinted my eyes at him and started shaking my head. Stop touching me! Get the hell off me! Pervy idiot! With one arm free, I started pushing him and pushing him away while kicking and still shouting behind his hand, silencing me. My anger turned to cheer panic in the blink of an eye. He fought to keep me down with his weight and muttering profanities, but that is not what scared the hell out of me. A long, black, tail-like shape formed out of the green smoke and so quickly I didn't even have time to fear for my life. The tail struck me. It felt like a prick of a needle as the tip of the tail pierced my skin, and before the sharp object even pulled out of my skin, my body went limp.
The strangest calm sensation spread through my body; even my heartbeat slowed down. My head still felt clear, but at the same time, I felt lighter. I had nothing to fear, not even the slightest worry. It was so bizarre, but the occurrence made me feel giggly. My cheek rested on the cool grass after all my muscles stopped working. I just lay here, staring straight forward. My breathing felt unusually heavy, but strangely, it felt good. Deep, slow breaths, almost like I was trapped in that stage where the body fell asleep, but the mind hasn't reached that stage yet. Spit trickled down my chin, feeling warm against my colder, numb skin. A light, ticklish feeling danced on my chin as warm and cold came in contact.
And this is so incredibly awesome! Nida and Huldra! It's just the perfect timing! I already regret leaving them behind, and now we can have so much fun! Like a little girl's night out! I wanted to laugh, "girls' night out" in the middle of the forest. How insane is that?
A deep rumbling sensation starting deep down inside my chest snapped me out of it. Still, I didn't have a single piece of control over my own body; all that was mine was my mind- like slow-flowing honey, the heavy base sensation rumbling inside me turned into words. As words started to have meaning, they got their own sound. At first, I only heard a strange song and words. Words that had a meaning on their own, but together, they meant nothing.
I felt like I stood in a dark, calm, and soft nothing. And all around me, low music, tones, and songs danced around- all with their own paste, all with their own tone and fall.
Lightning up the darkness, words started moving around the tones, followed, crossed, and moved around the music. For a brief moment, I thought I had found the final peace- a beautiful, cuddling place filled with magic, contentment, and the alluring feeling of not existing. But the magic changed. The dark night gradually became lighter. The softest felt colder, then harder, somehow, heavier. Then it watched, stunned, as music, tones, and all those words started working together. They found a rhythm together. Words began to create a meaning together; they created sentences.
A sudden movement caught my eye. Like a switch, my focus, my everything switched from the sentences forming to whatever moved through the grass right in front of me. Huldra and Nida walked through the high grass, only meters from my face. He stopped talking; the deep rumbling sound that had been him talking went quiet. Instead, I heard Huldra and Nida talking together.
"I'm not sure; I told you that!"
"I know what you said! But we both know that is not true! You can feel it deep down."
"That doesn't matter. I can't do it based on a feeling, and you know that better than anyone."
"It is more than a feeling; you saw it!
"No, I didn't! I'm not sure what I saw."
"Bullshit, you always know. You have better sight than anyone in these woods. You know. And you know what you need to do."
"No. I need evidence first. But this is none of your concern; it is my job. Not yours! Let's focus on finding Orm. That is our main concern right now, the first thing on our list and all that. So, focus on what you do best! Find him, and let my task be mine and stay out of it."
"Orm... What is a Mare doing here anyway? And especially him, from what I heard, he has refused to set his feet on earth for over 50 years now."
"That is why we need to find him. He is too lazy to do anything without good reason. So let us just focus on finding him and asking him just that."
"It is just a way to postpone what you need to do. You need to find her, and fast. Grow a backbone and deal with her before it is too late! You know the risk that follows if she manages to leave this forest. You need to deal with Eir, Nida. And fast."