Chapter -159: Mystery of the Trees

Sarajin and Justek follow Mos to what seemed to be the farthest part of the village. Here, the biggest tree was planted. Twice as wide as all the rest, and so tall its leaves were hidden above the surrounding canopy.

Mos' house was a sphere of wood with the tree branches having grown around the sides, but not the front or back. Three levels, complete with windows on both sides.

Sarajin paused and thought "This is definitely a leader's house" before continuing on towards the bottom of the tree trunk.

Mos took a commanding lead with his stocky legs, beating out even Sarajin's energetic pace by merely walking. He waved his hand around in the air and hummed, "Ah, what another beautiful midday. When the sun beats down, and the vibrant rainbow of colors in nature truly shines."

"Yeah! Nature is nice to look at!" Sarajin agreed, "On the way here we saw a bunch of different colored flowers, and glowing moss. Oh!"

Sarajin waddled up in front of Mos and rattled his fists before his chest, "I even had a small creature crawling all over my skin when I touched the moss!"

Mos turned his head and giggled, "You must have run into a Picpic Beetle."

"Picpic...Beetle?" Sarajin replied, tilting his head.

"Yes, they're a one of a kind insect around here. They blend in with the moss on our trees so as to not be disturbed while they burrow into the wood to extract the sap," Mos wagged his fingernails out and chuckled, "They've plagued my nails before trying to find sap."

Mos was looking at Sarajin but the boy was painfully unaware of how frozen up his face now was. Mos nevertheless grinned and remarked, "This all must be flying right over your head."

Sarajin shook his head and declared like the eager beaver he was, "It's fine, I'm happy to learn more about your culture!"

"And I, happy to teach!" Mos chuckled, facing forward with a smile, "I see we're going to get along just fine, young Sarajin."

With the two hitting it off, Justek rolled his eyes behind them and impatiently crossed his arms against his chest.

Once at the tree trunk, Mos tapped his knuckles along the wood to make a rhythmic sound. This caused a vine to uncurl to the bottom, which he allowed to attach to his back. Sarajin let his curiosity get the better of him and he just HAD to peek at Mos' back to see how this worked.

Turns out the vine grew a bunch of tinier, white vines that dug into Mos' clothes. There were so many of them that it was just like glue.

Mos' feet raised off the ground a little and he looked at his compatriots, gesturing his hand towards Sarajin, "You won't be able to use this lift, but I should be able to lift one of you at a time with me."

Justek fluttered his right fingers up dismissively and turned his head aside, "Oh don't mind me, I'll just be waiting right out-"

Sarajin held his hand down and before you could say "Poof!" there was a cloud platform in front of him and his friend.

"We can use this to get up there!" He said, patting the soft, bouncy cloud.

Justek grumbled internally but nevertheless forced himself onto that cloud not long after Sarajin got on. Mos' eyes widened, his voice cracking with sheer elation as he muttered, "S-So that's how the power of the Sky manifests..."

Sarajin turned and nodded, and Mos' eyes began to wobble, "H-How marvelous..."

He then gave a firm nod and gestured his hand upward, "Yes yes! We must hurry! Oh, splendid day!"

The vine pulled him right up along the tree, with his two guests following their own way. There was a hole in the bottom of Mos' abode that allowed them entry.

Mos got there first and stepped aside to give his guests plenty of space to take in the sights. Though the house was mostly sealed in there was still a faint warmth in the atmosphere thanks to the presence of these glowing white bulb flowers attached to the walls by their roots.

In the center of the room was a staircase where the steps were made of leaves and a stem held them all in place. The steps twisted into a spiral shape and rose towards a hole in the ceiling.

It was a room designed for helping guests feel welcome and provided nothing else of substance.

Mos made his way for the stairs and remarked, "Come this way."

They followed him up the steps, Sarajin surprised at how sturdy the leaves were. The second floor provided more to look at. Mos had his own bookshelf and though not as big as Justek's, still seemed to house more books overall. He shelved the one in hand and then reached for the bowl on top.

The bowl was made of some strange brown material. Not wood but rather something grainy looking. It was tightly woven together and seemed as sturdy as glass.

He picked up a small round, green piece of food and was able to eat it in one bite. He then strutted over to a wooden chair with a leaf backing and sat down. When he did, the chair rocked back and forth.

He gestured his hand out towards two stumps that had grown out of the floor. On top of them were these yellow pillows with a flowery appearance to them.

"Please, have a seat." Mos insisted.

While Sarajin sat down right away, Justek was almost magnetically drawn to the bookshelf. He kneeled down in front of them and pulled one book out just enough to see the cover.

Its title had been carved into the wood: "Nimue and the Concealed Forest".

He then looked at a couple other books, finding their titles to be "Flik the Brave" and "Of Man and Leaves".

Justek glanced aside at Mos and remarked, "These are all...children's books."

Mos smiled, "Indeed. I write them in my spare time. Heh, you'd be surprised how hard it is to put words to paper sometimes."

"Want one?" He gestured towards the shelf, "You're welcome to take any from the bottom shelf if you're interested."

"...No thanks, I've long outgrown such childish tales." Justek uttered.

Mos' expression soured for a moment as he faced Sarajin. With their gaze elsewhere, Justek stared at the shelf once more and then quietly pulled a book from it, tucking it away inside of his shirt, unaware that Mos was smirking.

Justek then went to take a seat on the other chair. Sarajin had his hands on his knees and was jittering up on the cushion. Justek sighed and uttered "How childish" under his breath.

Mos then waved his hand out and blurted, "Ah! Where are my manners?"

With a flimsy gesture to the right a vine extended out of his sleeve and grabbed onto the basket handle. He then held it aloft between his guests, "You probably haven't gotten to taste what Tanglefae has to offer. Feel free to take what you wish."

Sarajin reached out immediately but was stopped by Justek whispering, "How are you hungry already?"

Sarajin turned and said through gritted teeth, "Justek, when someone offers you food, you don't say 'No'. That's rude!"

He continued to reach out and grab onto the bundle of small round green stuff that Mos had before. It was all connected by thin wooden stems and each piece was glowing and firm.

As he prepared to take the first bite, Justek leaned back a little and sighed, "I'd say it'd be more rude to vomit all over the floor, but you do you..."

Sarajin looked at Justek with narrowed eyes and somewhat of a glare, letting out a "Hmph!" with a firm slump of his shoulders.

Justek stared back, watching as he dangled the collective food over his mouth and chomped them down one by one.

Three bites in, Sarajin swung his head down and laid a hand against his cheek, plump to the brim with the juices gushing out of every bite. Sweet and savory flavors swished around in his mouth, until finally he swallowed.

"Delicious!" Was his verdict.

"Like our grapes?" Remarked Mos, receiving a flurry of nods from his guest in turn, "You're welcome to take more, we have plenty to spare."

"No thanks, I'm good for now!"

Mos withdrew the basket and after taking a few more bites, Sarajin remarked, "I recognized some of the stuff in your basket."

"Oh?" Mos' tone flirted with intrigue.

"Yeah, like that purple thing with green on top reminded me of the tomatoes we grow back home."

"The people of Arc Hurricanos grow tomatoes?" Mos' pitch began to rise.

"And carrots and potatoes too! I never knew they originally came from here."

"Nor did I ever expect that our plants were being grown elsewhere," Mos took to this news with his heart fluttering with joy, "Though I suspect your crops are nowhere near as pure as ours."

After Sarajin finished eating up the grapes he rubbed his stomach, resulting in a gurgling noise deep within. He chuckled in embarrassment and then bowed his head, "Thanks for the food, sir!"

"My pleasure," Mos replied, bridging his hands underneath his chin by touching the wooden fingernails together, "Now, about your request for a medicinal herb..."

"First off, what is ailing your mother?"

"Well," Sarajin settled down and looked Mos straight in the eyes, his tone becoming more relaxed if not a little nervous, "She...tends to cough a lot at random times. She's not very active, and her skin is pale. I don't know what the condition is called, but she says she's been that way ever since she was a child."

"Sounds to me like she was born with a lowered immune system. Hmmm..." Mos stroked his chin for a good while.

Sarajin slammed his hands between his legs and lunged forward, "I-Is something wrong?!"

Mos flinched and gestured his hand up aside his head. Closing his eyes, he took care in asking the boy, "Tell me, Sarajin, how much do you know about the Titans?"

"H-Huh?" Sarajin pulled back, his eyes as wide as the cushion he sat on.

Justek commented, "Don't expect a quick answer out of him..."

Sarajin shook his head and then waved his hand out at Justek without looking his way, "N-No, don't worry about me. I can handle this."

Sarajin took a deep breath to relax, purging his mind of any immediate worries. He then looked Mos in the eyes and steadied his hands towards him, "The Titans are supposed to be our guardians, right? And each Tribe has their own Titan that takes on different appearances to reflect the element they represent."

"You're half right," Mos said, sounding rather impressed, "They are our guardians, but I think another apt title for them would be...'gods'."

"Gods?" Sarajin murmured.

"They not only protect us, they nurture us, guide us. It is no exaggeration to say that we as a people would not have a society were it not for them."

"True..." Sarajin pondered on that for a moment, "Our Titan sits atop the tower in the center of our village, offering advice to anyone who can make it up to him. AND, he's the reason the village is able to stay in the air."

"To be able to hold an entire city afloat?" Mos' eyes widened in awe, and he couldn't help but smile like he was a young boy again, "Their power really is something majestic to behold, is it not?"

Sarajin rubbed the side of his head and chuckled, "I don't know, is it really THAT impressive?"

"Of course! How could you say otherwise?!" Mos proclaimed, lunging forward with his hands gripped firmly around the arms of his chair.

Sarajin and Justek reeled back, leaving Mos staring blankly for a bit before pulling back, letting out a couple coughs.

Following an abrupt and awkward silence, Mos remarked, "Regardless, each Titan provides different needs to its children."

Gesturing towards the fruit basket, Mos used it to make a point, "Like these fruits for example. Though we planted the seeds and tilled the soil, it is our Titan who makes them blossom. It feeds them its elemental energy through the roots, making them grow to their fullest, luscious potential."

"It is a relationship born of respect. So long as we its children respect the plants around us, and live with them instead of abusing them, then our Titan will repay us in full, blessing us with the fruits of its gratitude."

Sarajin raised his hand and Mos gestured out from his waist, "What is it?"

"I understood most of that but..." Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and strained through his teeth, "What's elemental energy?"

Mos' eyes widened and his calm demeanor was broken with a stutter, "H-How could you make that cloud and not understand what elemental energy is?"

Justek crossed his arms and got a little smug about things returning to normal, "You'd be surprised what this one doesn't know about."

Sarajin sat up and gestured his hands around wildly, "I-I know that its connected to our ability to control elements, but-"

"Oh it's MUCH more precious than THAT!" Mos gasped in disbelief, "Why, elemental energy is the very foundation of our world!"

"It IS?!" Sarajin said in recoil.

Justek nudged his glasses up with a smirk, "Duh. What, did you think the ground you walk on is made out of nothing?"

Sarajin stared down at his feet and said, "I thought it was made of rock?"

"..." Justek squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

Mos then bridged his hands under his chin and explained, "He's right though. Without elemental energy, we wouldn't even have the ground we walk on. Nor could we drink water, or enjoy fruits...Why, we wouldn't even be able to breathe."

"Well I've never SEEN this energy before..." Sarajin said, trying to give an understandable reason behind his ignorance.

"It's not exactly something you can see per se," Mos commented, "But rather, something you just know about."

"What do you mean?"

"From birth, each child is gifted a portion of elemental energy from their Titan. It's an intrinsic part of our beings. Even if we can't SEE it, it's as natural to us as blinking. Therefore, we know how to use it and sense it so that someday, we may be able to master it."

"So if I concentrated hard enough, I'd be able to sense elemental energy?"

"Well, yes and no," Mos gestured towards Sarajin, "You'd be able to sense the elemental energy in the wind, in the clouds, and even in other people like you..."

He then gestured towards his own chest, "But you'd never be able to sense the plants in the ground, or even the fruit I hold in my hand."

"Oh!" Sarajin received a jolt of clarity to the brain at that moment, "I get it now! Each Tribe is only able to sense the elemental energy they have inside of them!"

"Yes. But if you lived long enough in another Tribe, you might gain the ability to pick up other elemental energies too."

Justek crossed his arms, yawned, and then remarked, "This is all well and good but what does any of this have to do with what he came here for?"

"Well," Mos raised a finger and wagged it gently at him, "If you just let me finish."

"Hmph." Justek ruffled his lips and leaned back.

Mos then stood up for this part, flattening his palm against the tree wall behind him, "Sarajin, did this talk teach you anything about our society?"

"Well..." Sarajin laid his hands on his knees and hung his head in deep thought, "You're able to enjoy life because of your relationship with your Titan."

"That's right," Mos smiled, sounding impressed, "What they provide is not something we've ever taken for granted. They feed us, clothe us, and keep us healthy and wise. You'd find no other boons like this in any other Tribe, least not in the way we experience it."

He glanced over his shoulder with a hesitant smile, "So...you have to understand why this knowledge must be kept within our trees, yes?"

Sarajin raised his head and shook it, "I-I don't, actually."

"Hmmm..." Mos laid his hand down on the arm of his chair and closed his eyes, "Remember how you mentioned growing different kinds of produce back home?"

"Yeah?" Sarajin tilted his head.

"While you can find other plants in the rest of the Tribes, ours are unique for one reason..."

"The elemental energy?" Sarajin deduced with a somewhat blind guess, to which Mos nodded back.

"That's right." Mos extended his hand and from his sleeve, a carrot appeared out of nowhere. It was so bright and orange, with a smooth texture.

"This is a carrot that's been blessed by our Titan," He extended his other hand and from the sleeve appeared a carrot with dirt and crevices in it, "And this is roughly what I imagine your carrots look like."

"Yeah, they do." Replied Sarajin.

"See the difference? It's as clear as night and day," Mos took a bite of the clearly better carrot and his face appeared to melt with bliss. Once he swallowed he remarked, "Every bit of nature here, from the towering oaks to the smallest blades of grass have been infused with our Titan's elemental energy. Ergo, if someone were to say...Take a plant from our forest and bring it back to their Tribe..."

Sarajin's face began to slack in disappointment as he muttered, "They might be able to figure out how to harness that type of elemental energy for themselves."

"And should it come to that, there would go our unique way of living." Mos said, sinking into his chair as a melancholic air filled the room.

Sarajin hung his head and lurched forward, letting out a sigh. He tried to look Mos in the eyes and ask him, "But I just want an herb..."

"...It's not that you want an herb, Sarajin," Mos fiddled his fingers before his chest daintily, "But the type of herb your mother requires is very, very strong, born from the purest essence of the Titan's skin. Thus, you'd only be able to acquire it with their permission."

Sarajin was about to open his mouth when Mos explained to him, "And I couldn't even tell you where they are to begin with. Unlike your Titan, ours prefers to remain hidden, even from his children..."

Sarajin's brows sank and he hung forward with a feeling of being weighed down hanging from his heart.

Mos opened his eyes and he too seemed to feel melancholy. He had no sense of deception in his voice as he stated, "I'm sorry. I feel as though I've led you on with a dim hope after you came all this way for my help."

Sarajin raised and shook his head, "I-Its alright. My...my mom wouldn't be glad to hear I took something without permission, even if it was to help her feel better."

With a heaviness surrounding his body, Sarajin stood and bowed his head, quietly telling the man, "Thank you for listening, sir."

He started to make his way for the stairs and Justek was behind him. However, Mos snapped his fingernails to make him stop part way down.

"Now hold on a second." Mos walked up to them and extended his hand out. In his palm was a small, spindly plant with green leaves and light purple veins.

"It's not much but, give her this herb and it will dull her cough for a time."

When Sarajin took the herb, Mos laid a hand in front of his chest and bowed, "I hope she makes it through."

Sarajin pocketed the herb in his pants and said, "T-Thank you."

With the help of his cloud, the two of them made their way back to the ground. Sarajin hung his hands beside his hips and stared at the ground as they walked away. Justek made the occasional glance, but was otherwise silent.

As they passed through the middle group of trees, Sarajin stopped and looked to his right. The flower rings they had run into before were now vacated and he began to walk towards them. Carefully wading through the flowers so as to not damage them, he found the bare spot in the center and plopped down on his back, spreading his arms and legs out.

Justek glared at him and then made his way over, not taking the same care he had.

He raised his brow and muttered, "Should I just leave you here to wallow among the flowers?"

Sarajin breathed in deep through his nose and sighed, closing his eyes with a slight spark of determination on his face, "I'm not going to give up, Justek."

"You heard what he said though."

"...If that's what it'll take, then that's just what I'll do!" Sarajin thrust his eyes open and declared for many nearby to hear, "I'll find Tanglefae's Titan, and see if I can get its permission!"

Justek laid a hand on his hip and uttered bluntly, "You'll be committing blasphemy if you beg another Titan for help."

"I don't know what 'blasphemy' is, but I don't care..." Sarajin raised his hand into the air and squeezed it into a fist, "I don't want to stop trying until I've exhausted every chance I got."

His fist then dropped upon his chest, where he continued to stare up at the blue patches between the leaves above.

Justek stared at him for a few moments then nudged his glasses back up into place as he turned around, "Well, good luck with that then."

He made his way out of the garden and Sarajin turned his head to see him off, though not without a twinge of sadness in his voice, "You're leaving?"

Justek flinched and then swung back to look over his shoulder, "Loathe as I am to admit to a shortcoming, even I don't know the first thing about how the Titans operate or where they might be. Thus, I no longer have a reason to be by your side."

"...I understand, I wouldn't want to keep you out too late either, so..." Sarajin turned back to look up at the sky and smiled, "I'll see you later, Justek! Be safe!"

Justek paused and then made his way towards the entrance. With a proud smile he felt as though he had managed to get something out of this experience.

"Well, that was at least a little entertaining. Probably not worth the headaches it created, but..." He took one step below the archway of the village and then stopped, an act he couldn't explain.

But it felt like there was this...soreness in his chest that was abruptly putting his happy times to an end. He laid a hand on his chest, and found his heart pounding.

"..." He glanced over his shoulder, and when he saw Sarajin still sitting among the flowers, staring up at the canopy, he wondered, "Is he really just going to sit there until he comes up with an idea?"

It definitely seemed possible. His actions so far didn't suggest otherwise.

And that just...annoyed Justek, because why SHOULD he care if they want to waste their time chasing legends? It doesn't concern him.

He grit his teeth in a scowl and turned around all the way to stare at Sarajin, clutching his fists against his hips and growling, "This annoying little pain in the...!"

He kicked up into a slightly faster pace until he was back in the flower garden, the target of his ire tilting his head towards him with a mix of confusion and welcoming surprise.

"H-Huh? Did you forget something, Justek?" He asked in the most gratingly ignorant tone possible.

"Listen here you!" Justek proclaimed, "I, in all my boundless generosity, am going to grant you ONE more piece of advice for free."

Sarajin sat up and planted his hands on the ground, "You are?"

"Do not misconstrue my intentions though, I am merely doing this because it is the duty of the wise to lead the blind!" He said, doing a terrible job of convincing even himself of that.

Nevertheless it drilled the message plain and clear into Sarajin's head as he stood upright and proclaimed, "Thank you, Justek!"

He grinned and said with an awkward chuckle, "Cause to be honest, I couldn't think of what to do next...Hehehe..."

Justek forced himself not to yell, gritting his teeth, pinching the space between his eyes and muttering to himself "Just stay calm, Justek" just to name a few things he did.

He then put his arms against his chest and suggested over the course of one long-winded sigh, "Did you think to ask around?"

The way Sarajin's eyes popped said a lot.

"So that's a no," Justek sighed again and waved his hand up beside his face, "A leader isn't necessarily the smartest person in the Tribe. Take my barbaric one-track minded father for instance..."

"You're right, Justek!" Sarajin nodded in agreement, "Maybe somebody else knows a hint about where to find the Titan!"

"I probably could've thought of that, I was just...feeling down in the dumps because I didn't think I'd be able to help my mom." His tone from a genuine place in his heart.

Justek nevertheless punched back with bluntness, "Don't make excuses to justify a lack of forward thinking. Either you think about it, or you don't. There is no in-between."

He then nudged his glasses up and gave a rather subtle smile, "But...I suppose even I can understand the reasoning behind your ignorance THIS time."

With a plan in mind, the two started to head around Tanglefae together asking whatever citizens they could about their Titan. Some were tight-lipped but overall everyone carried a politeness to their mannerisms.

The sun was setting faster than they realized and it wouldn't be long before it wound up going away from the forest for good.

But Sarajin refused to give up. He persisted and talked to hundreds of people all over the village in those few hours, taking a break only to give his feet a rest in the water.

Until finally...

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Sarajin walked on up to a lady that had to be in her late seventies. Her clothes had some signs of wilting on them, but she carried poise and grace all over her wrinkly body.

"What is it, young sapling?" The lady said prematurely, but when her eyes met his she gasped, "Oh! You're not from around here, are you?"

"That's right, ma'am. I'm from Arc Hurricanos, and my name is Sarajin," He said with a polite bow, "I've been trying to find out where to find the Titan of Tanglefae. See, my mom needs a herb to help with her health, and your Titan's the only one who can produce the kind she needs."

"An herb from the Titan...?" The lady tapped her cheek with a finger until inspiration struck, "Ah! I may not know where exactly the Titan is, but there was an old folk's tale I heard when I was a wee sapling myself that may guide your way."

Sarajin's eyes lit up and he turned to Justek excitedly, "You were right! Somebody does know!"

Justek was sweating all over his face and struggled to be happy in this moment, "H-Hooray..."

Sarajin then stared at this wise old lady with his sparkling eyes as she raised her hand and spoke carefully, "If you seek where Nature rests, go to the path that you know best. There you shall find your way, by seeking a glow as clear as the sky in the day."

"Seek a glow as clear as the sky in the day..." Sarajin repeated with a whisper, "Thank you, ma'am! That's just what we needed!"

"Oh ho ho! I'm more than happy to help you with your ailing mother," The old lady then gestured her fingers out rapidly and said, "Now be cautious out there, lest the Lumafae lead you astray."

"We will!" Sarajin waved her off and then with a spring back in his step, he made his way towards the entrance of the village, with Justek trailing close behind.

Justek rubbed the back of his head and let out a yawn, asking, "So do you know where we're going now?"

Sarajin had some confidence when he said, "Yeah, I think I get what her tale was referring to."

Before they made it out of the village he explained, "The path they know best has to be the road outside the village, cause anyone can walk it without getting lost."

"And what of the glow as clear as the sky in day?" Justek murmured.

Sarajin put his arms against his chest and took a break once he set foot on the soil path, "I'm not so sure. I think it's telling us to find something blue?"

"That WOULD make the most sense," Justek's agreement was short-lived as he was quick to remark, "But I hardly recall running into any sort of blue moss on the way here. Unless you plan on combing every tree along the path..."

Justek's brows raised with a dawning realization over the way Sarajin was grinning just now, "Oh good grief, that's exactly what you're going to do."

Sarajin's grin widened a little more and Justek murmured to himself, "I hate that I'm starting to think like you."

"There's an idea I want to test first. Follow me, Justek!" Sarajin led the way back down the path, walking up to a tree that had red moss on his left and green moss on his right.

Then, he leaned his face in and started to take a sniff from them both.

At this point Justek waved his hand up and sighed, "Dare I ask?"

Sarajin pulled right back and pumped his fists with a utterance of "Knew it!" before turning to Justek and smiling.

"Both varieties of moss smell different!"

"Really?" Justek rustled his nose a little and flinched, "Huh, now that you mention it, I do smell two distinct scents coming off these trees..."

And then his eyes bulged briefly, "And...a third one?"

"Wow, that's a strong sense of smell you got there, Justek," Sarajin remarked with awe, "I can't smell the moss unless I'm up close."

"Hmph," Justek ruffled his hair around a little, "Shamefully, yes."

"Shameful, why? That's a cool ability!"

Justek reared his head back and muttered, "None of your business...But fine, I suppose I'll use this 'cool ability' just so we get through this faster."

He sniffed the air some more while trying not to look ridiculous. He walked forward between the two trees Sarajin had picked out and glided his hand around the left one.

He stopped partway through and sniffed some more, the kicked up pace making Sarajin investigate as well. He wound up lifting Justek's hand up and underneath it, was a patch of glowing blue moss, as clear as the sky in the day.

"Heh heh!" Sarajin grinned, while Justek's jaw slacked.

"I swear, my lexicon lacks a word to describe your luck..." He bemoaned.

Sarajin was more laser-focused on the blue moss. He stared at it, then straight out from where it was, holding his finger out level with that path.

"I bet if we follow where the glow is pointing towards, we'll find the Titan!"

"Ok, but let's try not to get lost." Justek forewarned as they began their trek deeper into the forest.

Immediately, getting away from the path left less light for them to see with, but the sun beaming through the leaves provided enough of a soft glow to keep the darkness away.

They rustled through some of the wild foliage in their path, sticking to the straight and narrow path forward, even when the trees forced them to move around.

Sarajin's gaze wandered a bit at the bugs fluttering around. It was all so colorful and even after a few hours in this Tribe, he was discovering new things. He could spend countless hours here, and still find new things.

This is the "dangerous place" he's been unable to go to all this time? He almost didn't want to go back home again, it was so comfy.

The bushes rustled in the distance as they explored, indicating there were other creatures hidden beyond their reach.

All the exploration made the trip through the woods tolerable. Finally, when it seemed like they were making no progress, there was a break of sunlight further in.

Sarajin rushed on ahead, but snagged his foot on a root and tumbled forward.

"Not again!" He shouted before he hit the ground. Fortunately, the soil was soft and warm, having been enriched by the sun.

He pulled his head up and spat some of the dirt out of his mouth. When he craned his head back, he saw the sun was beaming down atop a small knoll covered in many colored leaves and fungus. The hill was surrounded by fallen pillars woven with moss, and flowers so tall and wide they formed a canopy all on their own. At the back of the hill was a unique looking tree, with a sleek, sap covered trunk and branches stretching left and right made out of white wood.

"This must be where the Titan lives..." Sarajin whispered as he rose to his feet.

But as he stood all the way up, he found there was another person waiting for him at the top of the hill.

A citizen of Tanglefae, about his age, was resting at the very top of the hill on his back. He had rather small legs but a lithe body like everyone else. His body, wrapped in a coat of orange leaves, while underneath lies a garment of thin, smooth cedar bark that trails down to his ankles. A belt of ivy keeps the whole thing on him, and around his neck rests a necklace made of tiny petals, stiffened by sap.

As the boy raised their head off the ground and sat upright, their violet-eyed gaze looked soothed and undisturbed, and a tiny smile crossed their face. Their hair was a darker shade of red, short and a little perky up top.

He rested their hand on their lip, with his eyes meeting Sarajin's, lacking any manner of contempt.

Sarajin was the first to initiate conversation with this stranger, his mind instantly jumping to the first implication their presence entailed, "A-Are you the Titan of Tanglefae?"

"I am not," The boy replied promptly, "My name is Carmine Rose...And if I may ask, why do you seek our Titan?"

Next Time: Gift of the Garden