I have no words to describe what I feel at the moment, but I definitely was glad to not be alone through it all, Tyroh sits beside me where I have been since she told me where I was. This is only something I would imagine reading in a book, the forest seems more alive than any forest back home. "Is it all just forest out there or is there more?" curiosity laces my voice as I squint trying to see something through the trees in front of me. "No this is just the forest that surrounds my territory, I normally come out here to stretch my fox form." she stretches as if proving her point and I let out a laugh. "Do people like me often show up in the Mystic?"
My question seems to spark a sadness through Tyroh's blue eyes, before nodding, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Of course, others like you have ended up here, but never by their own choice, it's, of course, a fate, happening upon the enchanted emerald sphere." She tilts her head curiously looking down at me. "How did you happen across it? I had found it in a clearing almost like this, I guess old habits never die." Her chuckle is full of deep regret, sullying her features, I put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sorry but you talk as if this marble is bigger, when did you find it?" I question while showing her the marble nestled in my palm. Her eyes go wide as she grabs for the marble in between my thumb and index finger, I let her take it from me. She examines it for a while before looking back at me with sad fox-like eyes. "This has never happened before, I need to talk to Kyo." She hands me back the marble and looks at me, "Follow me, we're going into my territory." with that said she transforms back into her white fox form and starts a medium-pace jog making sure I keep up with her.
As we begin to enter the forest, I notice that the leaves on the trees are bigger up close than I thought, I can reach out and graze the tip of a deep green leaf with gold veins running throughout it. I jog up to a brush with vivid purple flowers budding from it, each one opening when I get closer to them, their fragrance giving off a fruity aroma. I hear tinkling coming from in front of us as we get deeper into the forest, I see flittering specs of golds and silvers in the air as we get closer to what I now hear as laughter.
"A visitor?"
it starts as one voice but grows into a symphony of voices asking the same thing, the gold and silver specs flutter around more rapidly. Tyroh looks over to me and realizes that I'm confused and transforms back into her human form white gown grazing the forest floor. "They're fairies, they get excited about new visitors that come through the forest." as she's explaining them to me a silver fairy breaks off from the rest of them and flies down in between Tyroh and I. I look closely and see a small feminine figure waving a silver hand at me. I wave back to it and it giggles and flies closer, as it does I notice that where the head rests above the shoulders, was faceless no eyes, nose, or even mouth in sight. "How can they talk?" I ask as the silver fairy flits off to be with the others flying curiously above us. "They're telepathic beings, and the best of their kind as well, forest fairies are timid and friendly when they grow comfortable around you, in your visit here you might find little gifts in your pockets." I smile at the thought of receiving surprise gifts from the fairies. Tyroh motions for me to follow her and we continue to walk through the magical place, talking about the different kinds of enchanted flowers and old trees that groan when we go past them.
We make it to another clearing in the forest, this one guarded by a high wall and foxes with armor on each side of the wall's entrance. "Tyroh, you have been gone longer than you said, we almost sent a search party for you." One of the foxes, which had transformed into a man around the same age as Tyroh, says eyebrows drawn in disapproval. She waves a hand in dismissal and lets out a laugh. "Taro you just worry too much is all." Taro's steel eyes narrow at her dismissal. "And who is this?" The other fox turns into another man with two different colored eyes, one a bright golden color, and the other an obsidian abyss. "Her name is Selki, she's a visitor and my friend." Tyroh leads me through the wall's entrance.
Inside were stone buildings and houses, along with people milling around, in their normal day-to-day routines. As I follow Tyroh to wherever she was taking us, people send me curious glances and it's not hard to guess that they know I'm not from the Mystic, or at least not their territory. "How many people are fox spirits like you?" I ask Tyroh as she sends people smiles and tiny waves when we pass them. "Everyone here is a fox spirit, some of us travel to different territories for better careers while others still live in the main village, I'll explain more when we get to Kyo, which is not too far now." thanking the training I had gotten starting out my job back at the agency I keep up with her and before I know it she finally stops in front of a taller building.
"We're here!" she exclaims and runs up the stairs to knock on the big dark doors, after I get up to the top of the stairs where Tyroh is, they're made of the same wood from the forest. They open revealing an old man. "Tyroh! How are you, child?" the old man's voice sounds younger than he looked which is weird. "I'm excited Kyo, I made a friend who needs help finding out a couple of things, so I brought her to you." Kyo pats the top of Tyroh's head in approval and looks at me with striking grey eyes, seeming to study me for a couple of seconds before ushering the both of us inside the tall stone building. "Kyo is the territory's archivist." I nod understandingly and hold my hand out for him to shake, "My name is Selki, I came here through this marble, how is that possible if she came through a sphere?" he takes my hand and shakes it opening his mouth to answer my question. "Did it really shrink? How can I get back home?" He goes from shaking my hand to putting both of his hands on my shoulders in a calming manner. "Child, I can only answer so many questions at once." My face heats up in embarrassment as I realize what I did. "As for all of your questions, come."