The rumble of the night keep her on her toes. A small hunting knife kept still in her sheath that was on the inside of her tall boot. The night sky almost seemed peaceful at a second glance, but the rumbling of the clouds and earthly forces colliding into one kept her from enjoying the idea of sleep. The light of the moon only shined in spotted segments of the forest's floor, almost like spotlights shining on insignificant details such as a rabbit or a mouse. By the Angel…what's coming?

"Seraphina, are you listening to me?" Her father gritted his teeth as he paused to look over his shoulder to check on her progress behind him.

"Yes father…" She sounded as if she had been daydreaming…again.

"Don't lie to me, child." His frustration grew as he stopped over the mud covered path.

"But I am…" Dazed again, her eyes danced around the tree roof tops weaving through her environment like the wind.

Seraphina only followed a few feet away from her father, but her eyes followed everything that moved. A bird taking flight, a family of mice running through the grass, a baby black and orange snake sliding into a clubby hole in the ground, all these things pricked ideas and adventures in her mind.

"Seraphina, I—"

He turned to face away from the mud but only for his daughter to stumble into him. Face first into his chest. Taken aback they both tried to take a step back; unfortunately there was nothing but mud behind him. With a disgusted sneer on his face he stared down at his boot now sinking farther into the earth.

"I'm sorry, Father! I didn't mean too, I was—"

"Distracted. Again…I'm aware" With a sucking noise he pulled himself out and straddled himself over the cavity of sludge.

She held her breath and watched him but he didn't turn back to meet her eyes. Instead she noticed his nose curl up and his brow furrow. Father? She walked to his side to see what he was staring at so intensely. A trench had dug its way into the small dirt path. Entering from the grass that grew by the dense grouping of trees and exiting off of the path into a large hole. Seraphina walked past her father to stare down into the hole. Dropping herself to her knees, she crawled close enough for her eyes to adjust to dim lighting inside the makeshift cave. The mud and water dripped and it looked as if the burrow had already collapsed in on itself.

"What is this, Father?"

"You don't know?" He pinched his brow and sighed. "Have you been paying attention to any of your lessons this month? And I was hoping that an interactive setting would help you learn more..." he mumbled under his breath.

She frowned and gave a sheepish look up at him. I've paid attention to my Latin lessons… She pushed off the ground and dusted her knees. Her father stared down at her again.

"It was a type of downworlder; do you think you could tell me what it was, Seraphina?" He walked around to meet her standing straight and with his hands behind his back. An obvious test. An obvious test she was going to fail if she didn't think of something.

"Naga…maybe?" The first thing that popped into her head, and he could tell by the way she held herself that she wasn't confident in her answer.

"Oh? What makes you believe that…?"

She swallowed but her mouth was dry and when she went to answer again a snapping sound came from deeper in the woods. She jumped and covered her mouth to keep her for yelping. Guard up, Sera… Her father easily just turned his head away from her and stared off in the direction of the noise. He was always so calm when she couldn't be. It should feel comforting to see him so ready…So why am I on such an edge?

"Come along. We'll investigate…But don't think I'm being lenient" He kept his hand behind his back and waited for his daughter to join his side before walking.

She watched her father fiddle with hair ties that clung to his wrist. They break so easy… Seraphina's hair was rather thick as well. A deep wash of red that reached pasted her shoulder blades. She glanced up at her father's hair, nothing like her own. His was longer, a washed out white colour almost tied tightly together in a pony tail that rested over his shoulder. Father is old…I wonder if he was younger would we look more alike?

"Father…We don't know what's up ahead…Could you tie up my hair?" she tried to sound as firm as she could. And he paused to look down at her.

"Of course, Dear, come here…" He gave a small smile and turned her around starting to tightly weave her hair together into a braid.

Feeling over it, the young girl grinned, feeling more confident than earlier. Thanking her father she proudly walked ahead on the dirt path. She kept herself tense to survey every surrounding from the trees. To the creatures that jumped into bushes and shrub. The oddly calm state of the forest would usually give anyone a sense of ease, but young, little Seraphina knew not to let her guard down. Not even if she had her father to give a helping hand. She knew that if she started something, he wouldn't be the one to help but the one to encourage her to win. And winning kept him proud and her confident.

"Father, I found something!" She paused, standing a foot or so back from a small dark figure. It almost looked like a rock from far away.

"What is it, My Dear?" He stood behind her putting his hands on her shoulder looking down to meet where her eyes lay.

Below their feet sat a tattered hiking bag, one that had looked as if it's been there for months. The poles next to the arm straps were rusting while dirt, water, and animal waste spoiled its dark green colour. The flap to the largest pocket laid open revealing a swarm of snakes huddled and hissing together. All the same colour black and orange. I saw a snake like that earlier…

"Who does it belong to father?" She kneeled down to examine the snakes closer. The colours gave away that they weren't poisonous, so when she went to reach for one she was surprised when her father grabbed her arm.

"Don't."

"But..."

"I said do not, Seraphina." She stood back up and stared up at him. "Come along, I need to check on something." He didn't sound well.

He pulled on her arm as they walked off the path and closer to the east. I'm not allowed to go this far east. She looked up at him again worried. Father, what's going on? Trudging past the trees and through the softer patches of moss and mushrooms, she realized they were so deep in the forest that even if he father had told her too she couldn't find her way back to the house. The sun's light had almost completely vanished, nothing but greys and dark greens covered the landscape. But he could see perfectly, he knew every step, every stone, and each new turn to take. What's out here?

Suddenly giving her a chance to catch her breath he father stopped and let go of her arm. Her eyes darted around trying to memorize her location. Water? No. Food? I saw eight types of berries here, three of them I can't eat… She turned around with hope that the path would be in sight, but there was only more thicket.

"Seraphina, don't look," he snapped with a hitch in his voice.

On instinct she turned her head and saw an opening in the trees where the light beamed and sparkled on the rocks that surrounded a small cave. She stepped forward so her father's figure was out of her sight. Their eyes are staring back at me...

A large man hung from one of the branches. Vines intertwined around his arms and neck. The purple skin merged with his pale face making it look like his features would scream if they could. Who are you?