Ever was supposed to return to the Elders the next day. However, it seemed that Winter was on his side. That night a blizzard struck the village and had wrecked havoc for almost three days. While Ever didn't particularly enjoy being trapped inside with his parents, he could admit that it was better than spending a single minute with those men. Ever spent most of that time in his room since he couldn't go out on the roof. The storm troubled him little since he knew they had plenty of food.

His parents, of course, were another matter completely. Eline fretted and Lesim grumbled. In the end, Ever knew it would be best if he avoided them until the blizzard passed. Once it did, the entire village was almost buried in snow. Lesim and many other men were busy with clearing away what snow they could and repairing what damages the storm had caused.

Ever was still spared from having to see the Elders due to the amount of work that needed to be done. So naturally, he did what he did best.

Avoided people.

Since the roof was too hazardous to climb on he decided to go visit Rewis' grave. As long as the adults were repairing the village, why couldn't he go and uncover the grave? Perhaps he'd find some more stones to place, or he could find some winter flowers that had been spared by the blizzard.

Ever put on his coat and boots. He slipped out of the house without Eline noticing and journeyed out into the snow. Right away he knew it would be a daunting task just to get out of the village. The snow came up to Ever's knees, and while it was freezing it didn't bother him. The snow was covered in a thin layer of ice that cracked and splintered under his feet.

He glanced to his right where he could see a group of men shoveling snow in an attempt to make a path. Ever glanced up at the clouds and grinned. It was going to snow again soon. Once he made it to the fence he brushed some of the snow off and hauled himself over. The snow was much deeper on the other side but again, Ever didn't mind. Besides, the abundance of snow would help keep anyone from following him.

Not that he believed anyone would...

Ever sighed and continued trudging through the snow. The world was a mixture of grey and white. Everything was silent with Ever's footsteps being muffled by the snow. The forest loomed in the distance. The trees bare with their branches covered in snow. They looked like giants, with dozens of arms, each one bearing a load of pure white. For some reason, the forest didn't seem so ominous in the grey winter morning.

Ever walked up to the treeline and began searching for Rewis' grave. He knew the odds of him finding the grave beneath all the snow was slim, but he wasn't exactly in a hurry. With his arms buried in the snow Ever briefly considered laying down in the cold powder. He imagined being completely submerged in the snow, letting it envelop him in its comforting silence, closing his eyes and never opening them again...

Ever shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts.
Focus, just find the grave. That's what you came here to do, isn't it?
Yes, he'd come to find Rewis' grave.
Ever continued digging through the snow.
What would be so bad about digging your own?

Ever's head snapped up, his eyes landing on an overhanging branch, and the owl that was perched on it.
"Oh, it's you again."
The tawny owl was lightly dusted with snow. Her eyes blinked sleepily at Ever.
"Sorry to wake you." Ever brushed his arms off and walked over to her tree. She didn't seem to mind his approach. She raised her wings and flapped them several times, sending a small cloud of snow onto Ever.

Ever laughed softly and dusted the snow out of his hair. Content, the owl settled on the branch and stared down at him again. Ever glanced at the lowest hanging branch, an idea coming to him. He grabbed the branch and carefully pulled himself up. The owl watched him curiously, her big black eyes studying his every move. The climbing was slow going, but one wrong move could prove to be deadly so Ever was fine with the pace he'd set for himself. Besides, the owl clearly wasn't going anywhere.

Eventually, he made it to the branch she was perched on. He sat on it with his back leaning against the tree. He looked down at the ground below. He was much higher than he'd thought, even higher than his roof.

Perfect.

He turned towards the owl who met his gaze unblinkingly.
"Wow..." Ever breathed. He'd been close to her before, but being this close in her domain, somehow made her even more beautiful. Tentatively, he reached towards her.

The owl stared at his hand. Then to his surprise, she pressed her head against it. Ever's eyes widened and he couldn't help but smile. He gently stroked her soft feathers. He'd never felt anything so soft in his life.
He brushed his hands over her wings, all the while she stood silent, her eyes never leaving him.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.

Her chest puffed out slightly at the compliment. Ever chuckled. For the first time since Rewis' death, he felt better.
Not happy, but he wasn't as cold as before.

"I wish Rewis could've met you." Ever paused for a moment and thought of all of Rewis' past encounters with birds went... "Actually, never mind."
She ruffled her feathers and hit him in the face, gently though.
"Hey! I can't help it if he's a cat! I mean, was a cat..." Ever sighed and slumped against the tree. "Normal people would probably be over a dead cat by now."

The owl stared at him.

Ever stared back. "And normal people probably wouldn't be talking to birds..."
She hopped towards him and grabbed the edge of his coat in her beak, tugging it gently. Ever frowned. "What is it?"
Without warning she took off. Without a sound she flew over to another tree, not too far from where Ever now sat. With her back facing him she turned her head all the way around to look at him.

Are you coming?

Ever gripped the branch nervously. He looked over his own shoulder back to the village. At the moment, he still hadn't entered the forest yet. All he'd done was climb a tree at the edge of the forest. It wasn't too late for him to turn back...

We don't know what caused Sable's madness.
Symund's words returned to him.
Only that it was in the forest.

Ever turned back to the owl. She was still waiting for him, her eyes blinked once.

The Elders won't give you the answers you want, no one in that village will...
He closed his eyes.
If you want to know the truth...
He took a deep breath.
You have to enter the forest...

He opened his eyes.

The owl was staring at him as if she'd heard his thoughts.
Ever silently made his way down the tree. Not once did his grip falter, not once did he feel as if he was about to fall. He landed in the snow and walked around the tree, looking up at the owl perched above him, his hand resting on the trunk.

She lifted her wings and flew to the next closest tree. Ever took a deep breath. His hand fell away from the tree, and he stepped into the forest.

The owl waited for him to come close before flying to another tree. Ever never lost sight of her through the branches. Little clouds of snow would fall to the ground whenever she would take off. One of the first things Ever noticed was a lack of other animals in the forest. Surely there were other birds? Or small rodents searching for food?

The second thing he noticed was how quiet it was. He was used to Winter being silent, but the silence of the forest was uncanny. He could hardly hear his own footsteps, or his own labored breathing as he trudged onward.

The final thing he noticed was that his "guide" was starting to move faster. She no longer waited as long for Ever, in fact, she no longer looked behind to see if he was following. Ever's breath came out in silent gasps and he plowed through the snow.

Why was she going so fast?
"W-Wait!" He was startled by the quietness of his own voice. Was it due to him being forced to run through the snow? Or was it the forest trying to silence him? Ever quickly shook the thought away.

A forest couldn't silence people!

Maybe I really am insane...

The owl gradually faded from sight, blending into the forest around her. Ever came to a stop, slumping against the nearest tree to catch his breath.
What were you thinking? You just followed an owl into the forest! It wasn't leading you anywhere, it was just being a bird!
Ever turned around. He'd follow his tracks back home, he would forget this whole thing happened and never tell a sole.

However, there was one problem with this plan.
They're... they're gone! My tracks are gone! How?! This is impossible!

Ever spun around, hoping that he'd just looked in the wrong direction, but everywhere he turned there was nothing but freshly fallen snow.
This... this can't be happening...
Ever crept forward trepidly. First the uncanny silence, and now his tracks had vanished?
I should never have come here... I should never have come here!

{\}{\}{\}

Ever felt like he'd been wandering the forest for ages. Everything looked familiar, it didn't help that the snow hid any possible landmarks. To make matters worse, it was getting dark.
If I'm not home before dinner... they'll know what happened... they'll know I went into the forest...

Then it would be over for him.

Tears welled up in Ever's eyes and he collapsed in the snow.
I can't go home... I can never go home again...
Ever looked up at the darkening sky and huddled against a tree, wrapping his arms around himself.
Maybe I'll just die out here... freeze to death... my body will get eaten by some wild animal... I'll just be another story they tell... the story about the boy who went mad and died in the forest...

A cold wind started to blow, but it wasn't chilling or biting. It wrapped around Ever and embraced him, sheltering him and drying his tears. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes. The wind gradually faded away and he was left alone again.

What was that?
Ever shook himself.
I'm just imagining things... there was no wind... I calmed down myself.
He kept repeating that to himself, repeating it as he continued trecking through the forest.
There was no wind. You're fine. There was no wind. You're going home.

Home, where was home?

Not at the village...

Ever shook his head. No, the village was his home. That's where he was born, that's where his family was.

Why did it matter if he was born there?

That's what made it home for him, it's where he belonged.

Was it, really?

Ever collapsed in the snow, his head pounding.
Hurts... everything hurts...
He felt his eyes starting to close.

No, don't fall asleep. He couldn't' fall asleep. He had to get home.

This was what he needed, he needed to sleep.

Ever's world was spinning. Too fast, far too fast.

Sleep, child, sleep.

Ever closed his eyes and gave one final breath.

He had given in.

{\}{\}{\}

Guess who got some inspiration?

Me! I did!

I really wanna start this story up again, and I'm going to try my best to hold myself to it. If I don't, then feel free to throw potatoes at me because I will deserve it.

So yeah, not a super long chapter, but I felt like it would be best to end it here.

Please leave your thoughts, they help with my inspiration.

Alright, I'm Out