As soon as Mathias entered the woods he could feel his heart rate increase. Usually walking into the forbidden woods wasn't so nerve-wracking, but now that he knew what actually loitered in the woods, he couldn't help but feel the effects of the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Even though he had learned more about the nøkk and its tenedency to kill, he couldn't stop thinking about seeing it again. Never before had he seen such a captivating creature in his entire life. 

As he continued towards the spot where he had walked off the trail, he felt a strong gust of wind force him backwards. "Not again..." Mathias muttered to himself, holding his ground as he pushed back against the wind to continue on his path. As the wind continued to grow stronger, Mathias wondered when or if he would hear the hypnotizing sound of the violin again. 

After a few more minutes of walking, Mathias realized he had gone further down the path than before. As he walked further from the town, the maple and fir trees had disapeared, and he was now surrounded by scots pines, whose leaves made a canopy that blocked the sunlight, creating an eery, smoky atmosphere as he continued to push against the wind. 

Mathias continued on the path until he nearly tripped over an object on the ground. Looking down, Mathias felt the hair stand up on his arms. He had tripped over a pair of leather sandals that looked to be decades old. He reached down to examine one but furrowed his brows as he realized that neither shoe would budge from their place on the dirt path. It was like they were cemented into the ground. They were also placed in a perfectly straight position, as if the person who was wearing them had spontaneously combusted and left only their sandals to be found. 

Feeling a little creeped out, Mathias stood up from his crouched position to continue on his walk. He almost stepped forward but froze as he locked eyes with a woman standing only a few feet in front of him. The woman had translucent white skin and hair and was wearing a floor-length white gown. As Mathias focussed on the creature further, he noticed she had all white eyes, void of any iris or pupil, and had a slight smirk on her colorless lips. She was terrifying. 

Mathias tried to say something but could only muster a choked-up noise. The woman seemed to enjoy his squirming. In a fluid, ethereal motion, the creature reached her hands up to her lips before blowing a kiss, sending a gust of wind pummeling towards Mathias, forcing him off of his feet and causing him to fly backwards a few meters before hitting the ground. Mathias groaned as he felt himself land on a few rocks and quickly reached for his neck as the pain of the whiplash settled in. 

When he finally picked himself up and looked forwards again the woman was gone. Mathias was still shaking as he observed the cuts littering his arms. He had no idea what had just happened. Whatever that thing was, it definitely did not want him there. Mathias debated whether he should continue his journey or turn back. He desperately wanted to see the nøkk again, but he was beginning to realize that the nøkk wasn't the only creature inhabiting the woods. He had been lucky not to be killed the first time. Now he was just toying with fate. 

Mathias glanced once more at the sandals that were still placed perfectly in the center of the path a few meters ahead of him. He made a mental note not to cross that boundary. He had a feeling that the woman may have been trying to protect him rather than hurt him. There was obviously something sinister laying further beyond the shoes. 

Turning back around, Mathias felt as though he was being watched. Still on edge, Mathias shook the thought of the petrifying creature he had just encountered out of his head and began his trek towards the town with a slightly faster pace than before. He was feeling slightly dissapointed that he hadn't seen the Nøkk until he heard the faint sound of a violin through the trees. 

In an attempt to not get trapped in a trance again, Mathias covered his ears but stepped off the path anyway, attempting to remember the path to the pond he had been lured to the day prior. Occassionally he would lift his palms from his ears just to hear where it was coming from before quickly covering them again and heading towards the sound. 

It took him a few minutes of covering and uncovering his ears before he reached a clearing in the woods that he recognized as the clearing that had led him to the pond. As he reached the path the violin got louder, and he decided to shove his fingers in his ears in an attempt to block out more noise. Once the pond was in sight, he tried to creep up slowly as to not scare the man. 

Hiding behind a shrub near the edge of the water, Mathias peeked over to see the creature, turned in the opposite direction, playing his algae-covered violin as he glided around rythmically in the water. Mathias watched on in a trance as the creature turned towards the edge of the pond where Mathias was hiding. Mathias ducked further behind the bush as he was privileged with the view of the nøkk's face again. Mathias had never been so captivated by another living being. 

The nøkk's eyes were closed as he felt the rythym of the violin's vibrations in his hands and down through his body. Mathias couldn't help but unplug his ears. Mathias hadn't even realized his mistake until he felt his body pull him towards the water. Mathias suddenly stood up from his hiding place and walked slowly towards the edge of the water. It wasn't until Mathias was calf-deep in the pond before the nøkk noticed his presence and turned to stare. 

Almost immediately the nøkk stopped playing his violin, and Mathias snapped out of his trance to find himself in the pond, mere inches away from the creature. The two locked eyes before Mathias saw the nøkk emit a white glow before turning itself into a fish in midair. 

"Wait-!" Mathias yelled as the fish fell from the air into the pond. Mathias expected him to swim away but was surprised to see him pause. "I- uh- I know what you are" Mathias stammered, not knowing what to say as the fish stared up at him and flared its gills. Mathias figured he had probably scared the nøkk and began to back out of the pond and onto the bank. After sitting himself down on the sand, he stared where the fish was still floating in the water. 

Suddenly the fish was surrounded with the same white aura, and the nøkk appeared again in its previous form. The man seemed to be wary of Mathias, and didn't seem to understand what he was and what he had been doing in the pond. His violet eyes stared at him curiously and gazed over his face before moving over his body. Mathias' face flushed a little at the uncomfortable staring. When the nøkk was done, Mathias made an attempt at a smile. The nøkk misinterpreted the sudden flash of teeth and took a step back in the water before clutching onto his violin a little tighter. 

"I'm Mathias" he stated, trying to sound as unthreatening as possible as the nøkk tensed at the sound of his voice. Mathias wondered if the nøkk could even understand him. His human language could've been complete gibberish to the spirit. The nøkk seemed to weigh his options and relaxed as he figured the man was probably harmless. 

The nøkk opened his mouth to speak and a cascade of water escaped. After letting the water pour out and removing a peice of duckweed from his mouth, a gurgling sound escaped the nøkk's lips that frightened both Mathias and the nøkk himself. The nøkk quickly cleared its throat and spit out a bit more water before making eye contact with Mathias again.

"I'm Lukas" he exclaimed, eliciting a surprised look from Mathias. He could speak! Mathias was surprised at how relaxing the man's voice was. It was as if his voice were made to recite lullabies.  

"Your music is really beautiful" Mathias exclaimed, not exactly sure how to continue the conversation. Lukas looked down at his violin and then back up at Mathias with an apologetic glance. 

"Sorry about that" Lukas apologized, suddenly forcing his violin to vanish as he realized what he had done. "I wasn't intending on having anyone hear it."

"No worries. I'd come to listen every day if it weren't so difficult to dry pants soaked in pond water" Mathias joked. Lukas didn't even crack a smile. Mathias suddenly felt a bit more intimidated. 

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you still here?" Lukas asked, shocking Mathias slightly.

"I have no reason to leave..." Mathias said. Lukas furrowed his brows. 

"You know what I am. Isn't that reason enough?" Lukas questioned, wading slighty closer to the shore in an attempt to intimidate the human. At first he had been wary, but now he realized Mathias was harmless. 

"Well I've encountered you twice and neither time have you drowned me" Mathias replied with a nervous smile. 

"I could drown you right now. Doesn't that scare you?" Lukas asked, his voice suddenly sounding a bit more threatening as he waded out of the water and onto the bank where Mathias was slowly inching away from him.

Mathias was surprised to see that the nøkk had legs. Although his upper body was bear, Lukas was wearing a loincloth made of algae, duckweed, and starwort. Mathias' face turned pink as he stood face to face with the nøkk. The creature was far shorter than him, but his physical prescene was still intimidating. 

Lukas reached out and touched Mathias's face, causing him to flush a deep shade of red. The nøkk felt the curves and grooves of his face before running his hand through Mathias's wild golden hair. Mathias clenched his jaw as he let the nøkk's cold hands reach from his hair down to his jaw and finally onto his neck. He suddenly felt nervous that he was going to strangle him right there on the pond's edge, where he would die and never be found. 

"You're so- warm" Lukas stated, lifting his cold hands from Mathias's skin. "Alive." Mathias didn't respond but instead gulped, fearing what the nøkk would do next. Lukas stared at his face closely again before turning back towards the water and wading back in so that his legs were no longer showing. "I've never touched a human before."

"Well I'm glad to have provided you with that experience" Mathias joked nervously, not knowing what to expect after having his face examined by the creature in front of him. 

"I've never met a human before" Lukas stated. 

"I've never met a nøkk before" Mathias replied. 

"You're not as scary as they describe you" Lukas said, a slight smirk on his face as he seemed to recall a fond memory. 

"Thanks?" Mathias responded, "You're not as scary as they describe you either. You're actually quite beautiful." Lukas suddenly stared at him blankly before the water surrounding him began to freeze. Mathias watched on in slight horror as ice crystals began to form around the nøkk's pink lips. The water around Lukas continued to crystalize and branch out in every direction as he stood paralyzed in his spot in the pond. 

It wasn't until the ice reached the shore that Lukas snapped out of whatever had just happened and the ice began to recede. "You should go back to where you came from. There are things that do not want you here" Lukas suddenly spoke, eliciting a concerned look from the Dane. 

"I think I met one of those things earlier. Do you know anything about a woman in a white dress? She's kind of creepy looking? Has completely white eyes? Looks like something straight out of a horror movie?" Mathias asked rapidly, causing Lukas' eyes to widen in concern. 

"Go home Mathias" the nøkk demanded, his voice stern as Mathias felt his heart pound again. Something about the Lukas's tone was ominous. 

"Who doesn't want-" Mathias began before Lukas began emitting the white glow again. Mathias watched on as the nøkk dissapeared in front of his eyes, his form being replaced with a waterstrider's as he swiftly glided out of Mathias's vision. 

Mathias felt the panic settle in as he stared at the spot where the nøkk had been standing a few seconds prior. Mathias continued looking, waiting for him to reappear for a few minutes before he gave up and ran towards the path back towards the town. He couldn't believe what had just happened.