Chapter 12: Expedition (3)

The forests of the Fae were...unnatural, to say the least. A straight path could suddenly leave one feeling as if they were turned around and hopelessly wandering in a circle, filtered light from the sky above cast into shifting and disorienting patterns of glowing lines by the shifting leaves overhead, wind flowing through the myriad trunks and dips in terrain that alternated between soothing and feeling as if they were being pursued by countless stalkers.

"This place gives me the creeps."

"Oh? Perhaps you would like to turn back, Nanashi~?"

Seemingly unconcerned with the ominous and unnatural terrain Manaka happily gazed out over the forest, cerulean orbs cast into shadow by her wide-brimmed sunhat and causing the orbs to glow brightly in a manner that would have left Nanashi perfectly willing to believe she was one of the Fae herself, had he not known better.

"Yeah, well, not all of us have confidence wide and heavy enough to sink a cruise liner, Manaka. Some of us are actually pretty fragile."

"You worry too much, silly boy. Why not follow after Fou's example and simply enjoy the scenery? Not many have been allowed to see the lands of the Fae and live to tell the tale, you know~!"

Casting his gaze along the path of Manaka's outstretched finger the youth couldn't help the wry grin that came to his face as the odd creature scampered from one patch of dirt to another, clambering over logs and other bits of forestry as his nose was nearly permanently attached to the ground, sniffing furiously at anything and everything that caught his attention.

"True, I guess if the thing with senses way sharper than my own isn't worried it'd be dumb for me to be so."

"Precisely. You are teachable after all."

Offering the smugly grinning blonde a wry expression Nanashi promptly tripped over an exposed tree root, cursing as he almost faceplanted into the dirt as his companion didn't even bother to hide her giggles, the homunculus struggling to his feet as she amusedly asked, "Would you perhaps like to take a moment to rest, Nanashi?"

Palug didn't help his pride any, the fluffy thing softly barking at him as even with reinforcement he had to take it slow.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Merely chuckling at his grumbled response the trio sat on a mossy rock, Nanashi gratefully accepting the gathered ball of water Manaka formed with a negligent wave of her hand, the liquid cool and refreshing to his parched throat and gradually heating body.

"Thanks, I needed that. So do we have a destination in mind, or…"

The doll-like girl merely cocked her head, hand automatically seeking out Cath Palug's ear and reverently scratching it as she replied, "I was under the impression we were to follow it's instructions and nose until we arrived at our desired destination."

"So basically we're walking blind here. Great, not exactly what I expected when-holy shit, sorry!"

Blinking at Nanashi's bizarre behavior as he leapt to his feet and frantically waved his hands towards the log they had sat on Manaka inquired, "Has your bodily degradation begun to affect your brain, Nanashi?"

"While an amusing misunderstanding that I would ordinarily let stand it seems you are no ordinary travelers. You have sharp eyes, young one."

An ethereal and soft voice that sounded as if it was spoken by the trees themselves sounded out, the blonde girl's eyes widening before her lips formed a pout, tone irritated as she complained, "Your mystic eyes are truly unfair, Nanashi."

No sooner had the magus uttered that sentence than a handsome and beautiful male body freed itself from the wood, twisting and corkscrewing like a dancer as vines and leaves formed a slim loincloth, wings of verdant greenery forming upon his back as long hair the color of hale and healthy bark spilt down his back, both Manaka and Nanashi alike blushing before averting their gazes from the largely bare body, Cath Palug having a far more innocent reaction as it trotted towards the Fae and happily yipped, sniffing the being's feet as it smiled indulgently down on it, musing, "And you come in the company of Gaia's Beast, no less...how interesting. You have met with the Magus of Flowers, have you not?"

Getting ahold of himself the young boy nodded, responding, "Yes, we are. He told us to head this way towards your territory, that you would be able to help us with what we're trying to do."

"Hmm...is that so? Well then what brings two such strange yet beautiful children like yourselves to our neck of the woods?"

The Fae suddenly burst into laughter, throwing his head back with a dramatic flourish before quickly calming back down, albeit with an amused smile.

"Neck of the woods...what fun wordplay. Oh, but how rude of me. My name is Mortin, young ones. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Warily watching the capricious Fae Nanashi responded, "We were hoping to find a variety of phantasmal materials that might be used in the construction of a new body. Merlin said you would know a bunch about stuff like that or could at least point us in the right direction."

Making a pensive noise the Fae scooted himself upwards even further out of the tree log he'd been occupying, a length of gnarled root growing upwards into a workable seat as a finely sculpted ass was left largely on display, Manaka staring at it with a blush as Nanashi felt the slightest stirring of jealous annoyance at the action before he got ahold of himself.

"Quite the interesting request, one that our queen would no doubt be quite interested in...this body is for yourself, would I be correct in assuming that?"

Grimacing the boy replied, "Yes. This one is on its last legs and...and I just want to be able to move like a normal person, none of this slow and weak crap that I've had to live with for most of my life."

Mortin nodded amicably, stating, "A self-serving wish, certainly...but by no means one we would be adverse to fulfilling, should certain favors be offered in kind. I shall even put in a good word for you with our queen should you fulfill a small task for me, nothing too strenuous...I just have need of those eyes of yours to take care of a simple quandary I find myself confronting."

Feeling wary at the prospect of aiding a Fae in anything Nanashi nonetheless slowly nodded, reassured by the fact that Manaka continued to stare at Mortin with a dangerously neutral expression, no doubt waiting for any signs of duplicity.

Although her eyes quickly averted themselves as two young saplings grew right from the man's concealed groin, the Fae holding them out for the boy's viewing pleasure as he dully stared at the sight, Manaka blushing furiously.

"I have been intending to plant these for some time now but you see, I may only properly care for one and I would rather it be the healthier and hale sapling of the two. You have quite interesting eyes, I think you will be able to tell which is the superior specimen."

Nodding in acceptance of the deal the youth stared at the dual saplings with his mystic eyes, trying not to think too closely on the fact that he may very well be eyeing up the Fae's ballsack.

"...Not much change in them, at first...jesus, this isn't going to be easy…"

Staring at the two objects with utmost concentration Nanashi delved further into their respective mystery, trying to parse out details and weight ascribed to each sapling as his teeth gritted at the strain. He'd been running his circuits hot for most of the time spent in the Reverse and it was starting to wear on him...but he wanted to do this, to answer one of the few genuine calls to action he could remember ever receiving.

Refining his search - helped along by the many hours of practice Manaka had him undergo the past few days - the boy went even deeper into the unique nature of the two saplings, watching and observing how they interacted with their surroundings, measuring and weighing how much influence they would have on the forest around them and would be influenced in turn, attempting to parse just how important each one was to the greater whole-

-and snapped out of his trance with a heated breath of air, hand shakily pointing towards the leftmost sapling.

"That one...that one will do better."

Mortin merely smiled, staring at the one Nanashi pointed to with an intrigued look.

"Did...did I get it right?"

"How should I know? I am not the one who with highly unusual eyes seemingly able to peer into the fabric of reality itself. You tell me, young one~!"

Unsure of how to respond to that and feeling more than slightly unsteady on his feet the youth remained silent, Mortin instead handing the sapling that wasn't chosen to Manaka, stating, "Keep ahold of that, children. As long as you use that seed as a focal point when traveling between realms you shall always appear within our lands."

With seamless grace the male Fae's expression turned cold, the trees and forest itself seemingly leaning inwards with clear threat as he calmly warned, "Do not abuse that trust, young ones...we do not lightly hand out such favors and will not tolerate them being held by those of foolish or antagonistic disposition."

Manaka seemed entirely unconcerned with the threat, Nanashi a bit more weirded out as he fervently nodded as Mortin instantly shifted back into his playful and amicable state.

"Wonderful! Now if you shall excuse my impertinence and what may be an overstepping of bounds, perhaps you should return home rather quickly, the young man seems to be dangerously weak."

Manaka's cerulean orbs shifted to stare at her friend-

-and she was instantly at Nanashi's side, worry clear to see as she supported the swaying and overheated boy, quickly preparing herself to create a rift in reality that would take them back home as the Fae stepped back out of the range of effect, Cath Palug barking in farewell as Mortin announced, "Our borders shall remain open to you, as long as our guidelines are obeyed...farewell, young ones. Our queen shall no doubt be quite interested in meeting you upon your next visit."

His only response was a brief and shaky wave from Nanashi, Manaka ripping open a pathway home as the pair entered it and were gone in the blink of an eye-

-before entering the girl's workshop in a stumbled heap, Nanashi shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear it - which really only exacerbated the pounding within his skull - as he almost collapsed then and there, Manaka quietly grumbling, "Relying on a girl such as I to do the heavy lifting, Nanashi? How brutish and uncouth of you."

"Yeah...not...the greatest…"

The magus almost stumbled to the ground right then and there, the homunculus's limp body dragging her down as darkness claimed him.

"Urgggghhhh...well I feel terrible…"

"To say such a thing in a scenario like this? How horrifically rude of you, Nanashi."

Peeling his eyes open as he felt his body surrounded in a lukewarm shower of water that felt positively great against his ragged feeling and overheating skin the youth was treated with a sight that had him wondering if he was still hallucinating somewhat.

That of Manaka in one of the school swimsuits highlighting her slim and fragile body in an extremely provocative way that had him blinking rapidly, the girl deftly handling an extendable shower head as she rinsed him off, heavy blush coloring her skin.

"I didn't die and get shipped off to some kind of heaven, did I?"

He hissed as the young girl offered him a furious pout, embarrassingly shifting the water temperature to freezing before switching it back after he was shocked back to full awareness.

"That was a compliment, in case you didn't notice."

"Hmph! Typical boy, only thinking about...about things."

Once more thrown off by his friend's odd shyness with things relating to romance or sex Nanashi instead asked, "So why the school swimsuit. Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

In an act that had him doubting his own eyes Manaka's blush deepened even further, tone indignant as she protested, "And shower with you naked?! What manner of scarlet woman do you take me for?!"

Deciding it was better to let sleeping dogs lie in this scenario and just enjoy the moment the boy fell silent, eyes drifting closed as he felt the girl continue to slowly but surely cool his gradually expiring body down, a slightly uneasy silence building until Manaka asked, "You used your eyes in an unconventional manner today. Do you have a further grasp on just what it is they can accomplish now?"

"Sort of. It's not just being able to see and measure the conceptual weight of something...it's more like how things connect, how they matter and appear to the other."

He paused.

"Or something."

Manaka huffed in irritation at his less than helpful explanation, Nanashi unable to help but smirk slightly at her vexation-

-before a wave of dizziness yet again struck, the youth almost collapsing if it wasn't for Manaka being there to catch him, the boy mumbling, "Sorry...still not feeling great...you feel really nice in that swimsuit, though."

A resigned and somewhat admonishing sigh escaped the girl, shyness briefly averted as she tenderly embraced him, whispering directly into his ear, "You had best survive and discover the secrets of your abilities, Nanashi...life would be much duller without you around."

Lips quirking in amusement the boy dazedly mumbled, "The feeling is certainly...mutual…"

And, for the second time in as many hours, fell unconscious...albeit this time he had a much brighter smile on his lips as his head rested in the crook of Manaka's neck.