"Reubeeeen! Reuben, where are you?!"

The boy dashes through the woods, ducking under low branches and hopping over fallen logs, calling out for his pet pig. He can't believe everything has turned bad so fast.

One minute, he and his friends were triumphant, standing on top of their wool zombie statue, feeling like they owned the world. The next, he's found himself bolting through the darkening woods as he tries to find his beloved pig, who'd been set on fire by their rivals.

Fire! Of all the nasty, devious tricks to pull.

He is going to kill Aiden.

The sun is just starting to go down, the late afternoon sinking into the beginnings of evening. He needs to find Reuben soon, since he really, really doesn't want to be out here after dark. He's completely unprepared right now, having nothing but a flint and steel and a wooden sword in his inventory.

Slowing to a stop, he glances worriedly at the trees around him. There's no sign of anyone or anything, much less a scorched pig in a dragon costume.

"Reuben?" he calls again hesitantly. This time, he hears a slight rustling noise, and whirls around.

It's not Reuben. It's not even a mob.

A tall, elegant woman appears in his line of sight, and he tenses slightly. He's never seen her before, but she seems vaguely familiar in a way he can't describe. She looks to be several years older than him, and has long dark hair that's pulled away from her face by a coral-pink hairclip. Though she's undeniably pretty, there's also something faintly disconcerting about her.

The unsettlingness disappears when she smiles at him and says, "Well, hello."

"Uh…hi." He replies hesitantly, unsure of how to react.

After a quick glance around, she asks, "I heard your voice and thought I should come investigate. Are you looking for someone?"

He slowly relaxes as she walks towards him. "Yeah. My pet pig, Reuben…he ran off. Have you seen him?"

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry to say I haven't. I'll help you look, though, if you want. I know these woods pretty well."

She seems so genuine and kind that he can't help but agree. "Sure, thanks. I'm Jasper, by the way."

"Call me Essa. And, ah…if I can ask about this pig of yours…why did he run off? They normally seem like such calm animals."

Jasper is immediately gratified by that she doesn't point out the fact that a pig isn't exactly a normal pet to have. "They are. He…sorta got caught on fire. My friends and I were at the building competition, and one of our rivals tried to sabotage us with lava, and it…didn't end well. Reuben took off somewhere this way. I just don't know where." he summarizes briefly.

Essa raises her eyebrows, her expression full of shock. "Lava, huh? That seems extreme."

"Extreme is basically Aiden's middle name." Jasper grumbles, kicking at a pebble as he walks. "He practically lives to torture me."

She shakes her head sympathetically. "Sometimes people are just impossible. I remember I had to deal with someone like that back when my friends and I used to compete."

"You did the building competition too? Did you ever win?" Jasper asks, glancing up at her.

A mysterious smile darts across Essa's face. "Once. But it wasn't as much of a big deal back then."

"I think we actually have a pretty good chance of winning this year. Assuming, of course, that Axel and Olivia managed to save the build." Jasper mutters, feeling another flash of anger at Aiden.

"They're your friends?" Essa asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"Yeah. They're both big dorks, and they argue a lot, but they're awesome. I couldn't live without them." he says truthfully. Although he's not used to anyone paying as much attention to him as Essa is right now, he's enjoying it.

"I can imagine." Essa replies softly.

Jasper isn't sure what to make of the quiet note of pain in her voice. He chooses to ignore it for now, and instead asks, "What were you doing in this part of the woods? There's not much out here."

"On my way to EnderCon, actually." She says with a light smile, the ache gone from her voice. "I'm sort of a nomad, and I usually prefer traveling lesser-known roads. But I'm not a total recluse, and I thought it might be fun to check out the festival tonight."

"Oh, it is fun." Jasper tells her. "My friends and I have gone every year, since I was a new spawn. It's awesome, you should definitely go. There's so many cool booths and things to see, and there's always great music, and Gabriel the Warrior is gonna be there this year!"

She laughs. "Well, I guess that settles it."

Jasper pauses, glancing around a slight clearing in the forest, then continues walking. He's not sure how far Reuben might've run.

"Don't worry- we'll find him." Essa says gently, as though she's read his mind. "Pigs are hardy little critters, I'm sure he's fine."

Her tone is confident, which calms him. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'm just…ugh, I'm so mad at Aiden."

"Trying to sabotage your build and hurting your pet? I'd be mad too." Essa says. Jasper nods angrily.

"He's so annoying. All the Ocelots- uh, our rival group -are pretty irritating, but he's the worst. He's always making fun of me, and just generally being awful. He says all this weird stuff, like it should be a compliment, but he's always being sarcastic or just rude. I swear it seems like he has a personal vendetta against me in particular, and I don't know why."

Essa gives him a thoughtful side-eyed glance, appearing to be considering something.

"What?" Jasper asks, looking curiously up at her. She shakes her head.

"Nothing. He sounds terrible."

Jasper crosses his arms. "They all are. Well…I guess Lukas isn't so bad, but he's still really arrogant and kinda pushy and…I take it back, they're all terrible."

Essa laughs, though it sounds more sympathetic than mocking. "Trust me, I know how you feel."

"Really?" he asks. "You…don't really seem like someone who would have trouble with bullies."

"Well, I don't anymore, but I used to when I was your age. You actually remind me a lot of myself when I was younger." Her dark, slanted eyes are still sparkling with mirth, though he doesn't understand why.

Jasper could swear she seems more and more familiar by the minute. Logically, he knows he's never met her before. He would definitely remember her. But still…there's something unusual about this dark-eyed stranger.

"How'd you deal with them? Bullies, I mean." he asks.

She pauses, then shrugs. "I don't really remember, actually. Honestly, I mostly just took it when I was young, and then…well, circumstances changed. So as much as I wish I could help, I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of advice." she tells him gently.

"It's okay. They're not quite as intimidating as they think they are." is his flippant reply.

To his surprise, Essa laughs. "Trust me, kid. That's the truth for most of the problematic people you'll run into. They think they're tougher than obsidian, but they end up crumbling like gravel. You don't have to be stronger, braver, or scarier than anyone else. You just have to hang on long enough for everyone else to fall away. I'm not saying to stay out of the action completely, but no one I know gained very much by throwing themselves into every problem that crossed their path. It's not beneficial to anyone to shout over everyone else, or to shove through the crowd."

"But there's not much to be gained by staying quiet, either." Jasper points out. "You can't get anywhere by whispering or waiting for said crowd to part on its own."

She nods appraisingly, seeming impressed by his insightfulness. "That's true, of course. In my opinion, it's all about finding that middle ground. The ability to weave through the crowd, and say something worth saying, at any volume you wish. Being independent, but not pushy. Doing things for yourself. That's where you get places."

He glances up at her again, noticing the slightly bitter tone her voice sinks into. She's not being metaphorical; she's speaking from experience.

A dim voice at the back of his mind considers that maybe he should be suspicious of this. He doesn't know anything, really, about this mysterious woman. She could be dangerous.

But this small sliver of worry is quieted by how kind and genuine Essa seems. Sure, maybe she's dangerous. Or maybe she's just a helpful kindred spirit, and Jasper is being paranoid.

"I guess I am sort of one of those who's just waiting for the day that the small ones take over." Jasper admits. "Even though I know that's not gonna happen without someone making it happen. I think I…I like what you mean. About doing things on your own."

She gives him a cryptic smile. "The meek don't inherit the earth, kid. That's just what the bold tell 'em so they'll get out of the way. Audentes fortuna iuvat."

He blinks his dark teal eyes. "What?"

"Fortune favors the bold." she translates with another quirk of her elegant mouth.

He doesn't have time to think more in-depth about this as Essa abruptly stops walking. "Uh-oh."

Before them lie two possible paths that Reuben could've taken. To the left, pig tracks lead off into more forest. To the right, smoke is visible in the near distance.

"Uh…" Jasper hesitates, glancing back and forth. The sun is just sinking below the horizon, making the woods darker and darker by the moment. They don't have time to explore both ways.

"How 'bout we split up?" Essa suggests cautiously. "I'll check out the smoke, and you can follow the tracks?"

He nods. "Sure, good idea. One of us will have to find him that way. So uh…if you don't, we could meet back up at EnderCon?" he suggests.

She replies with a light smile. "Alright. Good luck."

Without waiting a moment more, Jasper hurries off, scanning the dim trees. He's infinitely glad he met Essa. He's heard the phrase 'friends can come from anywhere' before, but didn't really believe it until now.

Essa watches the boy disappear into the shadows of the forest, her practiced gentle smile stretching into a grin of triumph.
Instead of walking towards the smoke, she turns, heading instead for the distant lights of EnderCon. She already knows that Jasper will find his pig on his own- after all, she managed just fine without any help, more than seven years before.

This is going to be even easier than she'd thought.