Chapter Thirteen – Deep in the Deepwoods
Evelina
It was their third morning in the Ilex Forest. Eve sleepily checked her hair in the mirror before she headed downstairs to the Pokémon Centre's common room. She'd managed to do it while still more than half-asleep – after so many years of styling her hair in the same way every morning, the habit was ingrained into her bones.
Eve had never been to Deepwood Pokémon Centre before, but she was familiar with it. It was quite big for a trailside Pokémon Centre, being a large two-storey log house sited at the crossroads of the Ilex Forest. Most visiting trainers came up the southern trail from Azalea Town to head on north to Route 34.
It was quiet in the common room this morning. The Centre nurse was doing paperwork at the front desk – their eyes met, and she raised a sardonic eyebrow. Sonya. If Eve was the black mareep of the Cherrygrove Joys, then her second cousin Sonya was the golden. Eve knew what that raised eyebrow meant. It meant: 'I'm twenty-three, and I'm already a nurse. This is my Pokémon Centre. I'm a real Joy - what are you?'. She shot her cousin a sharp look back, with a slight flourish of the Capture Spear. It meant: 'I am a pokémon trainer. My choices are my own. Back off!'
Josh was watching the coverage of yesterday's Pokémon World Tournament matches in the lounge. Eve hesitated – Oh, what the hell – and gave him a good morning hug.
"Ow!" Josh flinched. "Not so tight!"
"Sorry," Eve said sheepishly, "Shouldn't have hugged you with your bruises."
"I didn't say that ..."
She hugged him again, gentler this time. "Hey, Lorelei's back at the PWT!"
The camera lingered on Lorelei for a moment. She was beautiful in the same way that a snowflake is beautiful, arms folded tightly – no easy feat – across her chest. Her glasses seemed to obscure her eyes, like sheets of ice.
"Yeah, I wasn't going to watch this but she caught my eye," Josh said admiringly.
Typical guy.
"The way she battles is just - incredible!"
Atypical guy!
"- she was spaced as a psyduck, frankly, until she set foot in the trainer's box ..." he trailed off. Eve found she wasn't sure how to react; she hadn't seen Josh star struck before. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Sonya surreptitiously keeping an eye on her.
"It was like she flicked a switch, you know?" Josh continued, "One minute she's away with the fairies, the next – calculating. Ruthless. Indomitable as a glacier."
"Well, she is a pokémon master," Eve said. Sonya was getting on her nerves. What is that little witch looking at? It seemed to her that Sonya was watching Josh a lot more than she was watching her.
"Josh ..." Eve said slowly, "Why is my cousin over there spying on you?"
"Must be my virile aura of sexuality," he deadpanned.
The giggle bubbled up before Eve could stop it. She could think of several positive adjectives to attach to Josh, but 'virile' was not one of them. "Come on, you. We'd better make tracks before Sonya jumps you," she giggled, as they stepped out into the Ilex Deepwoods.
Beneath the leafy roof of the Deepwoods, the dawn twilight lasted all day. The Deepwood trees stood so closely together that their crowns merged into a green roof. They were ancient-looking things, with gnarled grey limbs and leaves of a rich, dark green. Here and there spots of daylight found their way down through the forest roof, startlingly bright against the gloom. The Pokémon Centre itself stood in the middle of a small clearing, a rough oval washed with sunlight. Just outside, a tall flagpole rose up above the dense trees, flying a red P on a white background.
Eve wasn't sure what she had expected from the Deepwoods. They were said to be one of the few true wildwoods left in Johto – the very soul and centre of the Ilex Forest. People had lived here once, long ago, but the wildwood had returned, smothering the abandoned villages under a green blanket.
You couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the forest. There was something about it that was vaguely unfriendly, as if the trees disapproved of people. Josh said they were called Quercus obscurus, or black oak, and that they grew nowhere else in the world. Eve was privately glad that their time in the Deepwoods would be a short one. The eastern trail from the Pokémon Centre struck out across the narrow waist of the forest, the quickest route through to Len Town.
"Oh, hang on Josh," Eve said, holding out the Capture Spear, "This is yours."
Josh didn't take it right away. "But I made it for you," he said.
"I know, Josh. And it worked beautifully."
"Well ... ok then."
"You're not upset, are you?" Eve asked anxiously.
"No. No, it's ok. It's just a clever stick."
"Are you s-" said Eve, then stopped herself. Trust him on this one, Eve.
About half a league down the trail they came across the Ilex Forest Shrine.
It looked very much like any other wayside hokora, discreetly tucked away beneath the spreading crown of a huge black oak. The shrine resembled a small wooden house raised up to a convenient height on stilts, with a porch of sorts to accommodate offerings. Eve felt a bit disappointed; the Ilex Forest Shrine should be mystically illuminated by a sunbeam, not standing gloomily in this grey shade.
They regarded the Shrine in silence for a while. Eventually, Josh said, "You going to leave an offering?"
Eve kicked her heels in the dirt a couple of times. She was well-known to the spirits back home in Cherrygrove - she had been making small offerings at the shrine for almost as long as she could remember. It wasn't worship, as such. Eve regarded it as an acknowledgement that people and spirits had to live in the same area, so they might as well get along.
"I don't think so," she said. Making an offering to the spirits at home was one thing, but the Deepwood spirits didn't know her any more than she knew them. "How about you?"
"No," Josh said firmly, "I don't need their help to get through this forest."
Boys and their pride. Eve shrugged and followed her friend down the trail. A faint breeze stirred the air. She turned, looking back at the Forest Shrine. Dead leaves skittered across the path but … nothing.
It was almost noon, and Eve decided that she didn't like this forest. It was too dark. It was too quiet. The forest pokémon were secretive, watching them from conspiratorial huddles, melting away whenever she stared back. It wasn't so bad with Josh there. He was practising with his Capture Spear, trying to 'learn how to wield it as deftly as she did'.
It was sweet, really. She watched him try to spin the Spear from an underarm into an overarm grip, lose control of it and drop it clumsily into the dirt.
"Not much of an athlete, are you?" Eve laughed, giving him a friendly punch on the arm.
"You shut up, you," he grumbled.
"Oh, sweetling, I'm only teasing," she said, retrieving the Spear from the dirt, "I am going to teach you to throw better, though. See if we can avoid a repeat of that bellossom incident, huh?"
Josh wasn't paying attention. He was frowning in concentration, head cocked to one side.
"Josh?"
"Sh-sh … can you hear that?"
Eve listened sceptically. Aside from an oddish slipping away into the undergrowth … nothing.
"... no?"
"Someone's crying, I'm sure of it. They might need help."
With that, he turned and strode briskly off the path. Bewildered, Eve hurried after him, trying to keep up as he weaved purposefully between the trees. How the hell does he move so quickly in these sodding woods? She was debating whether to argue with him over whether he had heard anything at all when she caught the sound of feminine crying from up ahead.
"Hey!" Josh called out, "Hey, are you ok?"
There was a gasp of surprise and relief, then the sound of someone tearing through the undergrowth, wildly yelling "I'm here, I'm here!" as she ran. The girl half-collided with, half threw her arms around Josh, nearly bowling him off his feet. She sobbed breathlessly over his shoulder, burbling something about being lost forever.
"Hey now, hey now," Josh said gently, tactfully extricating himself from her vicegrip, "It's ok, we've found you now."
The girl sniffed prettily and wiped her eyes with a sleeve. She looked like an older teenager to Eve, a little shorter than herself. She was dressed head-to-foot in mossy green – green raincoat, green umbrella, green wellies, even a green rainskirt. Her hair was the most gorgeous shade of pale gold, tied back into a loose ponytail.
"Sorry," she said. She stroked her ponytail awkwardly, "I've not long broken up with my boyfriend and I thought I'd take a walk to, ye know, clear my heid and I wasn't watching where I was going and oh god I'm babbling. I'm Maisie. Just Maisie."
Eve took a moment to absorb that stream of nonsense. The silly girl evidently wasn't an Ilex native – there was a lot of heathery Blackthorn brogue in her accent. "Josh, hadn't we better get back to the path?"
"I suppose so. It's in this direction – no, I tell a lie ..."
Maisie gave Eve a watery smile. "I bet I can guess what your name is!" she said with a kind of wobbly gaiety, "I don't think I've ever seen a nurse on a journey before!"
"I'm not a nurse," Eve replied bluntly, and felt a brief burst of schadenfreude when Maisie's smile disappeared. Josh was pacing back and forth, frowning the way he tended to do when he was concentrating. A nasty little suspicion started to grow in the back of Eve's mind. "Josh … which way do we go?"
Josh wouldn't look at her. Instead he scowled at the trees accusingly.
"Joshua Cook!" Eve warned.
"I'm … not sure which direction the path is in."
"What!" Eve barked.
"What?" Maisie cried.
"Calm down, damnit! We're not bleached skeletons yet. There's still the Ranger Union," Josh said, tapping the number into his battered slab of a Pokégear, "No signal, what the hell?"
"Shall I get the bone polish then?" Eve said tartly.
"This can't be happening again!" Maisie wailed.
"This is ridiculous, I bought this Pokégear because it gets a signal anywhere!"
"Everywhere but this forest!" Maisie persisted.
"I -"
"That's not helping!" Eve yelled at the silly girl. These sodding woods were unnerving enough without Maisie's wailing.
"Now -"
"Why are you yelling at me?"
"Because this is your fault!"
"Everyone shut up!" Josh roared.
There was a shocked silence.
"Right," Josh said, "Eve, send Lyra up above the trees and find out where the Pokémon Centre is. If I'm right she should be able to see the flag."
"I'll go myself," Eve said, taking off her backpack. Secretly she was relieved that Josh still knew what he was doing, and relieved to be doing something useful, "Give me a leg-up."
With a little effort Josh helped her hoist herself up into the branches. That was one good thing about these trees – the gnarled and twisted limbs made for easy climbing. Eve made her way to the highest point she could find, pushing her way up through the leafy, twiggy roof into the noon daylight.
The day was overcast and getting cloudier, but after the Deepwood gloom Eve still needed to blink to get used to the light. It looked as though they were near the middle of a miles-wide depression in the ground; in every direction almost all she could see was a blanket of trees. Even the lines of whatever paths existed were smothered by the Deepwood. Leagues off to the right Eve could see the Ilex Hills, the highlands that lay near to the Lake of Life. And very far off, she could just about make out a red P fluttering above the horizon.
"It's that way, just on the horizon," Eve said, leaping down the last few feet.
"That way," Josh repeated pensively, scrutinising the map, "Good, we have a bearing. Ok, so we'll head that way."
"But – the Pokémon Centre's the other way," Eve said, confused.
"Yes. But there's marshy ground somewhere that way that spells trouble if we end up in it. No. We'll keep heading east."
It was late afternoon, and the forest was seriously getting on Eve's nerves. The damn black oaks stretched on for mile after endless mile, glowering down in mute disapproval. Strange paths appeared in the undergrowth only to abruptly disappear again; the sun was hidden behind the clouds, deepening the gloom still further. Eve didn't have the slightest idea where she was, and that chilly knowledge was steadily fraying her temper.
Josh was having real trouble navigating, and that wasn't helping either. Somehow he kept getting turned towards the north, away from the east and into the heart of the Deepwoods. Eve could see his growing frustration every time he glanced at his compass. "I don't understand it," he kept muttering to himself.
Eve finished the last of her chocolate bar and growled under her breath. Josh had decided to stop for a rest while he figured out the way. They'd finally come across a proper path over the last half-mile, following it south-east till it split into a fork. The left-hand fork headed down a wide avenue of trees – the right was rather narrower, thick beset with thorns and briars. A gentle gust disturbed the dark leaves. Their rustling almost sounded like sibilant whispering.
"I think … I think I know this place," Maisie started, "Aye! Aye, I do! That broad, bonny road there, that leads up to the hills! There's a path that takes ye out just north of Len Town."
The trees loomed over the thorny path, their branches lacing together overhead. They were whispering malevolently at her. Wait … no they weren't. Just her imagination.
"Hm," Josh said neutrally. Eve drifted closer to her friend for the comfort of it.
"We could be in town before sunset," Maisie said pointedly.
"Josh, maybe, maybe she's right, we'd end up heading east anyway," Eve said.
Josh stared down the left-hand path as if he hadn't heard either of them. After a while he slowly recited:
"Up the airy mountain,
And down the rushy glen,
We dare not go a-hunting,
For fear o' little men."
"No," he said firmly, "No, there's no such path on the map, and going north for a while solves nothing."
"Why don't you believe me?" Maisie complained.
"Because you got lost here in the first place."
There was only enough room for them to go single file, and still the thorns snagged and pulled. Eve made sure that she walked behind Josh; she wouldn't admit it, but his confidence was encouraging. It was silly – she felt silly – but she also felt nervy and annoyed.
There was an oddly familiar crackling, spitting sound behind her. Eve glanced about, puzzled, and spotted a leaping orange light in the brambles.
Fire.
The flames spread quickly, greedily burning through the tangled vines. Leaf litter caught light and crumbled to ash in moments. The air was already starting to become hazy from smoke. Eve looked about wildly – to her horror independent fires were breaking out all across the forest ahead.
"Fire!" she shouted. Her warning was redundant – Josh had stopped dead, startled. Maisie was shrieking incoherently. Trees were blazing, old dry bark going up in rippling sheets of flame. Eve clamped down on the rising panic. Think. Use your eyes! The wildfire described a rough crescent consuming the forest to the right and the path ahead. Back. Back and to the left.
"Back! Back this way!" Eve shouted. Maisie was still overwhelmed with panic; Eve grabbed her firmly by the arm and towed her away from the blaze. She could feel her own fear crushed down into a little ball in the pit of her stomach. Panic later. Act now. Take charge. Be sensible.
She glanced back. There was Josh, leaning on his Spear, silhouetted against the raging, billowing, yellow-hot fire. The madman hadn't moved! The trees were like black skeletons wreathed in flame and he hadn't moved!
"Josh! Get back!" she commanded with her mother's steel tone.
Josh half-turned to look back at her. "Why?" he said, and stepped into the inferno.
"Josh!"
Dusk descended on the forest. The wildfire snuffed itself out. Unharmed, Josh looked critically at the unscorched forest, as if awarding it marks out of ten. He said something cheerfully, but Eve couldn't hear him. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst. Suddenly, the truth of what had just happened sunk in; her fear turned to fury, and she punched his arm as hard as she could.
"Bastard!" she yelled.
"What -"
"Bastard!" Eve punched him again, "Do you know how scared – I thought you'd be – how could you -" she babbled, trying to hold back the tears.
Josh had the decency to look ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry." He put his arms around her, but Eve wouldn't hug him back and just held her arms up close to her chest.
"If you ever do that again I won't forgive you," she muttered into his shoulder. Make an excuse and I'll bite your head off. Josh wisely said nothing.
"How did you know." she said.
"The fire wasn't hot."
"What?" Eve said, breaking away, "Of course it was -"
But wait … it wasn't, was it? Now that she thought about it, there had been smoke and light, but no heat – and she'd been too scared to notice.
"Something's screwing with us," Josh said, "Ghost pokémon, maybe. I'll bet that's why I'm having trouble navigating."
"What are we going to do Josh?" Eve asked wearily.
"We keep going," Josh said resolutely, "No forest has defeated me yet, and the Deepwoods won't be the first," he laid a hand on her shoulder, "Trust me on that."
Eve looked Josh in his dark eyes. The fact was, even without an accurate idea of where they were, no phone and illusions throwing him off track, Josh still wasn't lost.
"I trust you."
It was early evening, and Eve decided that she hated this forest. The sun setting above the trees brought an early nightfall to the Deepwood below. Over the past few miles the path had turned from thorny to ferny, forcing them at times to wade through a carpet of waist-high fronds. Eve wondered how often anyone walked this deep into the forest. A while ago they'd come across an old iron signpost, of all things, pointing towards a place called Ercledoune.
Not long after that they happened upon the ruins of a castle. Not much of it was left standing aside from the shell of the keep - the outer bailey had crumbled to the height of a garden wall. Best of all, the bailey was also a very welcome woodland glade. Second best of all, Maisie was finally quiet. Probably sulking.
"Doesn't look like there's much more than an hour of daylight left," Eve said, "What do you say to camping here for the night? It's as good a place as any."
"Yes, please!" Maisie groaned, "I'm so tired."
"I'd hoped to reach Len Town by tonight," Josh said doubtfully, "Depends how close the Deepwood edge is."
Eve slung her backpack on the ground. "I'll take a look at the land. I saw a good climbing tree back there."
"I've just got to, erm … use the ferns," Maisie said needlessly euphemistically, "Might have a wee look at the ruins too. I'll be a while."
There was a rotten old grandfather of a black oak within eyeshot of the glade. Eve quickly hauled herself up into its heights and scanned the landscape. The grey sunset made details difficult to pick out, but her heart leapt to see the lights of Len Town in the east. It would mean a trek in the dark, but they could make it there tonight.
Eve made her way to one of the stockier lower branches and sat herself down. Down below, Josh sat leaning against the bailey wall, resting his eyes. The sight of Len Town had put her in the mood for mischief. Time to give him a scare.
But she couldn't move. Her muscles were frozen, held not painfully, but immovably. With a flash of anger Eve remembered the sensation from an incident involving an irritable abra – Disable.
"Looks like we're going to have to sleep here tonight, hun," something said in Eve's own voice.
The something that walked into the glade was a young woman in her twenties, kinda skinny, sensibly dressed, with a hairstyle better suited to a somewhat more mature woman. Down to the last detail, she was Eve's exact double. Another illusion! Something's going to pay for this one!
The illusion-Evelina gracefully vaulted the bailey wall. For some reason illusion-Evelina had removed her polo shirt, and was wearing just the sleeveless green gilet instead. Slightly unzipped, too, Eve noticed to her deep annoyance.
"What? Oh. Oh, well," Josh sighed, "Can't be helped. I'll get a fire started in a moment."
Evelina sat back on her legs in front of Josh, with a rather contrite look on her face. "I'm sorry I hit you earlier. I was just so scared that I was going to lose you."
"I didn't intend to do that, Eve, honestly I didn't."
"Well, thinking back … it was kinda hot," Evelina giggled.
Josh gave her a blank look. "No, it wasn't. That's the whole point."
"Not the fire!" Evelina laughed, giving him a playful shove, "You! Standing there all fearless and figuring it out."
There was a pause as Josh considered this. "Really?" he said.
"I'm really glad you're here, you know. Journeying by myself was an adventure, but also … kinda lonely," Evelina went on softly, "Don't you ever get lonely on the road?"
"I liked the freedom," Josh said carefully, "But I like travelling with you, more than I thought I would."
There was another moment of silence. Frozen in her tree, Eve watched with the intensity of a pidgeotto.
"It's a lovely evening," Evelina said, biting her lower lip gently, "All the better for being out here alone, huh?"
"Er. I suppose so ..." said Josh, beginning to look a little nervous.
Evelina leaned forward, her hand drifting to the zipper of her gilet. "I know what I want this evening," she said seductively. She tugged the zip down another couple of inches. Josh's obviously couldn't help but look, brief and almost reluctant though his glance was. Eve burned with embarrassment and fury. Those are my boobs you're showing off!
"Eve … you can't be suggesting what I think you are."
"Is it so strange? I've seen the way you look at me," Evelina purred, "Don't you want to see what's under my jacket? Unless you'd rather see me from the back."
"... what about Maisie?"
"There are two tents. And she's going to hear me anyway," she giggled, "I can't believe I just said that."
"You know, Eve, this is all a bit sudden -"
"Shh. Don't think." Evelina shuffled closer. She leaned in -
- and caught Josh's fist square in the mouth. Josh wasn't a big man, and it wasn't a hard blow, but it was enough to knock Evelina onto her back.
"What are you?" Josh demanded. The force holding Eve was instantly released. Driven by fury, she raced down the tree and was over the bailey wall just as the illusion-Evelina was scrambling to her feet.
"There's the real Eve!" Josh said.
"So you've figured it out, have you?" Evelina snarled. She made a wide sweeping gesture, like she was throwing off a coat. The girl blurred, her features transformed – and became Maisie, angrily tossing her pale gold ponytail.
Now to find out what you really are.
"Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon, and the evolved form of Vulpix. Ninetales are both intelligent and vengeful, using illusions to trap victims into receiving curses."
"I nearly had ye as well," Maisie said, her illusion visibly slipping. Pointed vulpine ears were pushing their way up through her hair.
"Why," Josh bluntly demanded.
"Why? Why?" Maisie snarled, "You dare walk through these sacred woods and leave nae offering? How dare ye come to Ercledoune withouten leave of me?"
"I'll come and go of Ercledoune and ask no leave of thee," Josh flatly replied. It wasn't an argument; he said it as if he was stating a fact.
"Oh, we'll see!" Maisie appeared to produce a Poké Ball from a pocket, "Ninetales, go!"
Ninetales – the true Ninetales – manifested in a flash of fire. Her coat shimmered gorgeously even in the fading light, but there was malice in her deep red eyes.
"So it's like that, is it?" Josh said evenly, "Magnemite, battle's on!"
"Gail! Help him out!" Eve cried, yanking Gail's Fast Ball from its clasp on her gilet. Gail elegantly backed air with a flick of her wings and settled on Eve's upraised wrist. Josh folded his arms in preparation for battle.
"Indomitable as a glacier," he muttered.
"Ninetales, Flame Burst!" Maisie ordered.
"Intercept. Thundershock!" Josh snapped. The two attacks collided, the Flame Burst exploding in a shower of embers.
"Gail, Quick Attack!" Eve said. Gail eagerly launched herself at Ninetales' legs. Ninetales was just that bit quicker, leaping straight up and over Gail who went skimming away across the clearing. Ninetales landed fluidly and launched her own Quick Attack, dashing past Eve and tackling Josh hard in the stomach. Josh was thrown into the bailey wall, the breath squeezed from his lungs. He collapsed into the undergrowth, clutching at his midsection as Ninetales bore down on him.
But Magnemite didn't take too kindly to pokémon baring teeth at its master. Maisie screamed as Magnemite's Thundershock burned through Ninetales. By now Gail was lined up ready for another attack, picking up speed, bringing her talons to bear -
"Hit the neck!" Eve shouted. I'll make you regret that Quick Attack! Gail put all the force of her descent into her Tackle and sunk her talons in deep. Ninetales howled in pain and vindictive fury. Maisie's illusion was seriously beginning to unravel, her teeth turning into fangs, ponytail multiplying and growing longer. Gail cunningly took flight again, circling round Ninetales so she couldn't keep an eye on her and Magnemite at the same time.
Magnemite seemed to realise they had the advantage. It spun to face Ninetales and emitted a terrible screeching, scraping noise; much like Supersonic, but harsher, even more discordant.
"Aaargh!" Maisie screamed, "Burn it!"
Ninetales rounded on Magnemite, flames flickering between her jaws. Her attack engulfed Magnemite in a ball of crackling fire. "Magne-miiite ..." it wailed, drifting semi-conscious to the ground.
"Come on Gail, let's end this now!" Eve shouted. She was resisting the urge to throttle Maisie where she stood, illusion or no, "No more games! Gail, give it your strongest Gust!"
Gail swept down her powerful wings as hard as she could. The Gust rippled Ninetales' lustrous fur, her tails streaming out like banners. Ninetales snarled her defiance – a Flame Burst roared from her jaws only for the fireball to be torn apart by the winds. Suddenly the Gust started to spin around Ninetales, dust and dirt whirling in the vortex. Cobalt lightning flashed in the howling winds. Eve quickly scanned the vortex with her Pokédex.
"Twister, a Dragon-type attack. Classified as a Special attack, Twister may inflict the Flinch status on opponents."
"Perfect work, Gail!" Time to end this. "Poké Ball -"
"No!" Maisie screamed. Battered and bleeding from her neck, Ninetales fled to the edge of the bailey, "No, no, no, I will nae be captured!"
Maisie was beginning to fade. She pointed a vengeful, translucent finger at Eve. "This is not the end. Mark my words!" she warned, "I will be back and I will see you cursed!"
"If I see you again then it will be the Poké Ball for you! Be told!" Eve raised the Poké Ball threateningly, and with a last snarl, Ninetales fled into the depths of the Deepwood.
Eve found Josh sore but otherwise fine. As it turned out, Ninetales' attack had badly winded him, preventing him from being able to give Magnemite any further orders. He winced from the pain of his many bruises when Eve helped him up. "You're seeing a doctor in town," Eve told him, "No arguments. I'll take care of Magnemite."
Eve held up her wrist for Gail to perch. "Perfect work," she told her, stroking her brilliant scarlet crest.
"Pidgeo," Gail replied, and tried to groom her hair.
"Josh …" Eve asked hesitantly, "How did … how did you know it was another illusion?"
To her surprise, Josh actually blushed. "The eyes. They were the wrong shade of blue."
Night had truly fallen, and Eve had never been so glad to see the lights of a town. The Deepwood edge loomed behind them; down across the fields Len Town twinkled like a friendly constellation. It had been one of those days that felt like it had lasted forever, and though Eve suspected that she'd look back on it as a great adventure, now she was only too ready to leave the Ilex Forest behind.
Josh leaned on his Capture Spear. For once, he didn't have a compass in his hand. Eve put her arm around him, this time being gentle about it. "So I was right to trust you," she said, "No forest has defeated you yet."
Josh gave her a tired smile. "Yeah, well, it's a matter of honour. For you to be safe with me, that is."