He opened the book tenderly, and immediately the font on the pages started to glow with a forest green color. The words lifted off the paper, swirling around in a cyclone of green magic and pink flower petals. When the magic died down, a small, green humanoid was standing before me.

She was only about three feet tall, and had large horns of a deer that rose an extra foot to add to her diminutive stature. Her skin was green, and she wore armor decorated with the patterns of leaves. Her forest green hair was tied back in a bun with many braids, and her eyes were like black lakes with rings of amber inside.

"Hisirdoux," she murmured, her voice like that of a small child. "Why have you summoned me?"
"Nari, this is Lunalis," he said, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "Lunalis, this is Nari of The Eternal Forest. She is the preserver of life, and a former member of the Arcane Order. I felt like you two might get along, because, well, you're into nature and stuff."

Nari crept closer to me on all fours, and froze when she got close to me. "A Ventil," she murmured, reaching out to touch me. "I have not seen one in so long. I thought they were extinct, like so many other species." I backed away from her touch. "We're very much alive, thank you," I said, trying to keep myself from touching this strange forest woman.

"Oh! The young god," she smiled when she saw Toby. "Tell me. Do you still have your incredible tricks with you?"
"Of course," he smiled, bringing out a small ball and hovering it between his hands. "Woah," I gasped, coming closer to get a better look. Sure enough, there it was; a small sphere the size of an orange defying gravity under Toby's power.

"Nari, we've called you here for an important reason today," Archie said, swooping in front of her to try and regain her focus. "We need Lunalis to show us her den, but she continually refuses to. If there were one being in the world that could help us, human or magical, it would be you."

She sighed, gently stroking the shapeshifter's head. "Archibald, I have been absent from the world for so long, I do not know if I could be of any assistance," she murmured, walking away to look at a painting of a man in green armor. "I ran from my siblings for almost a millennium, so I could not hurt anyone. Merlin granted me safe haven, gave me a home and family. I will do what I can, but I will not use force to get my way."

"Ugh. Why do all-powerful veggie ladies have to be so passive," Steve groaned. "Steve, be thankful Nari is willing to lend her assistance as it is," Douxie warned him, and I caught him rolling his eyes a moment later. "Lunalis, if you could step closer to Nari so she could take your hand-"

"I'm not letting anything touch me," I snapped, drawing away. "Especially her." Nari slowly approached me, and I stiffened when she brushed a hand against my face. "I swear, I will not influence your thoughts," she promised, and for some reason, I felt obligated to believe her. Slowly, I knelt, and I let her dig her fingers into my hair to rest on my scalp. I could feel her hands pulsing with magic, and something wiggling their way into my mind. Like the roots of a tree, worming their way underground.

Instantly, memories flashed before my eyes. Laughing with Raven. Archery practice with Meloetta. Taking walks with Araidne and Pythia. Scorpio-

I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears from coming. Nari slowly drew her hands away from me. "You are hurt," she whispered, brushing her claw-like fingertips against my cheek. "I can feel it. Your pain. Your sadness. It is so strong...so potent. I do not know how you can bear it."
"It's hard," I whispered, and I found little tears tracing rivers down my face.

After a moment, she let her roots worm deeper into my mind, and I found memories that did not belong to me.

Vibrant fish Ventils, gracefully floating in the water. Coral reefs of all colors. Soaring free over cottony clouds on silver wings. Trees, bending down to greet me as I walked through the forest. Lovingly stroking a young, female Ventil's hair.

It has been so long since I've seen these memories, Ela sighed. It seems like only yesterday since we were free to do as we pleased. As soon as she spoke, Nari's brow furrowed, and I could feel the roots in my mind stiffening. "There is something," she murmured. "Something dark...shadowy..powerful. It is here...inside you. Something that should not be here-"

I pulled away before she could see more, the roots instantly fleeing from my mind. "There's nothing in my mind that shouldn't be there," I said coldly, standing up. "Nari, what did you mean by something powerful?" Jim asked her, and she looked down to her feet.

"I thought...I thought I had seen something. It must have been nothing," she reassured the group, but they still looked unconvinced. "Look. If the veggie lady said she didn't see something, she didn't see something," Steve said after a while. "Her brain's probably empty."

"If her mind were empty, Nari wouldn't have been upset at seeing something," Douxie pointed out, grabbing the green book once again. "Thank you for your assistance, Nari. Hopefully we can talk about this later."
"But of course, Hisirdoux," she smiled, before leaping into the book and disappearing in a blizzard of pink petals.

**********

"I just don't understand it," Douxie paced in front of the couch. We had returned to Krel's house, and we were all convening in the lounge, as Toby had called it. "If Nari really didn't see something, why was she so scared? And what could have startled her that badly?"

I stayed silent, not wanting to draw attention to myself. Now you've gone and done it, Scales complained. If Ela hadn't opened her big, fat mouth, we wouldn't-
WHAT WAS THAT?! I winced as her voice boomed throughout my brain.

Scales was just making a joke, Aquarius said quickly, trying to soothe Ela's temper. RIGHT, Scales? He said nothing. A moment later, Ela's presence faded, and I resisted the urge to rub at my aching temples. "Lunalis? What do you think spooked Nari so much?"

Instantly, all eyes were on me. "I-I don't know," I said, playing with my braid. "Maybe a memory of my friends? One of them leans fairly heavy on their Leanea." That was true. Ariadne did tend to lean towards her Spider instincts, and there were moments where she would spin webs and wait for unsuspecting youth to walk into them. But I knew that wasn't what they were talking about. Unfortunately, they still looked unconvinced.

"Lunalis, is there something you wish to talk about?" Krel asked me, slowly brushing his hand against my arm. "No," I said curly, yanking my hand away. "Lunalis, if something's bothering you, we want to help," Claire said, looking me in the eyes. I bit my lip, struggling to come up with a plausible explanation for Nari's panic. "There's nothing wrong," I lied, trying to drown out the voices going insane in my mind.

They're starting to realize what you are, Zephyr warned. Who you are.
The longer we stay here, the more they will pressure and provoke you until you reveal your secrets, Aquarius said, voice quivering.
We cannot stay here any longer. If we do, Eclipse knows what-

"SHUT UP," I howled, clamping my hands over my ears. All eyes were on me, staring in confusion and perhaps a bit of fear. "Lunalis...none of us were speaking," Archie said slowly.
"Something is definitely not normal around here," Jim agreed. "And that's saying something."

"L-"
"I said shut up," I snarled, snapping at Toby's hand brushing against my arm. Freezing, I realized my mistake. Anger had swelled inside me like a tidal wave, drowning me in a rage I didn't know could exist. And, slowly, I felt my canines sharpening into something more...dangerous.

Getting up suddenly, I swiftly walked to the back of the room, turning down the hall and entering my chambers, my rage growing along with something else. Hunger. Slamming the door shut behind me, I beat my head against it, letting my darkening hair fall into my face.

"No...nononono no," I gasped, trying to stop the growing pressure of power coming from somewhere inside me. Someone was trying to get out, and I was failing to keep it in. "I can't....not again....no-"

"Lunalis?" Claire softly tapped the door. "Is everything okay?"
"Yo! Wolf Lady! Open up!" Steve yelled, harshly knocking on the wood.
"Steve, can you think with your head instead of your mouth, for once?" Archie snapped, and judging from the muffled screams and whoosh I heard a moment later, he may have sparked a small fire on his pants.

"Lunalis?" someone else asked. It was Krel. "Listen..I know being away from your family is difficult. Nobody here knows that better than I do. But, if it helps at all, I am here to talk if you want me to."

"What I wish is for you to leave me alone," I growled, my voice not my own.
No, I thought, desperately trying in vain to get rid of the person in my brain. No. Don't leave. Don't leave me alone. "O-okay," he murmured, and I heard his footsteps retreating.

As soon as he was gone, my head started to burn with pain, pressure growing in my skull. My teeth grew even longer, and my hair flickered from fawny brown to lackluster pitch. I groaned and stumbled around the room, banging into things and knocking over loose objects. Then, as I confronted myself in the mirror, I shrieked in horror. My eyes, instead of magenta or emerald green, were now the crimson color of fresh blood.

The last thing I remember was my scream being cut short, and Insanity's laughter echoing throughout my head.

Hey Snowflakes! I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted, and I'm really sorry about it! I just haven't found time (or inspiration) to keep writing recently, but now I've written a bit further into the book (and loaded up on mashed taters and LOTS of turkey), I feel re-vamped and back into the action! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, 'cause it gets a LOT more intense after this. Until next time! Peace out!