Dammit how could this have happened?  Usually he was so careful, thought ahead, did all of the things his parents had taught himself and his brothers.  One of the most important rules was to never go into unknown territory alone, and what had he done?  Well the exact opposite of course.  But there was something so tempting, so absolutely alluring about the fabled azure forest, that before he knew what he was doing he had already set foot beyond the toadstools.  Each one plump and impossibly white, standing almost as warning to those that wandered too close.
 
He had heard stories about this place, how it had its very own set of rules: never eat, never drink, never dance.  Not that he’d want to be doing much of either of those anyways.  The longer he had stayed there, the more he realized that the tables might have been turned.  No matter where he walked it felt as if eyes were watching him, despite the nerve wracking quiet.  It was too quiet.  His fingers had been drawn to his blade, and while usually he only saved it for vampires, he’d make an exception for anything lurking about here.
 
First there was a snap of a twig to his left, small in volume but the only other sound aside from his breathing and the rustle of leaves pushed by the wind.  It was an imperfection to the unnatural solitude, and more than enough to prove he wasn’t alone.  Fast as he could, he instead drew his bow from his back and an arrow, aiming it fluidly only to find himself face to face with at least ten opposing arrowheads.
 
Some were dripping in a sap like substance, one that he wasn’t keen on finding out the effects of, while others were merely rust tinted from previous kills.  All of their slanted eyes, eyes slender and so similar to his yet so different, were narrowed and fixed perfectly on him.  This wasn’t his territory, he had no advantage…While uncharacteristic, he knew when he was beat in a fight but could also recognize that thirst for a kill.  Damnation.  Instantly, he flickered from view, teleporting fifteen feet away and taking off with as fast of a sprint as he could manage.
 
The different blues of the forest blurred together, had he already gone this way?  Turned that way?  Was he even making good distance away from them?  Their dashing footfalls were fast behind him, some spreading out to his sides and he knew then that he was being toyed with.  They were allowing him to run, but for how long?  Why not shoot him?  Stop him?  Take him?
 
Sooner than he would have expected, the ground beneath his feet shifted to soft grass and his eyes widened at the sight of the lake.  He’d made it to the lake…?  Had he realized that they had stopped at the edge of the treeline then he wouldn’t have kept up his speed, but already he’d picked up too much momentum.  Before he knew it he was at the lake’s edge, just in time to realize he was going to crash into a person. 
 

“I-I’m sorry!”  It was in his native tongue but he managed it before jerking to the side enough to miss them, yet his foot crunched down on something hard just before crashing into the water.

There was much that could be learned from the feys of the forest. She sat upon a stump and strummed the strings on her lute. Her voice went from high to low. There were little feys around her that came out and offered her gifts of the forest. She stopped for a moment so her ivy green eyes could look at each and every one of them. “I'm sorry but I cannot accept.” There were whispers among them as they watched her.

Holly was a beautiful girl of just sixteen. She had long curly brown hair in comparison to most of her siblings. She had the eyes and skin of her mother. Though she was thin and not nearly as curvy as her mother. A simple traveling dress was all she wore. It was a beautiful ocean blue against her sun-kissed skin. Her voice raised high and low as she strummed. From the last fey village she was in she had learned a new song and she was eager to test it out.

The trouble makers that they were the feys took her lute. “Hey!” There was slight anger in her gentle eyes as the traveling bard chased the tiny fey around. “Give that back you little bastard!” Holly almost ran smack into someone but in horror she watched as he stomped on not only the little fey but also her beloved lute as well. Her jaw dropped a bit as she looked at what was left of the lute. Turning to what was making the man run she lifted her hand and made the trees creak. It might have been enough to scare off what was following him.

Putting her hands on her hips she marched over to the boy and realized she stood a few inches under him height wise. “You broke my lute! How am I suppose to make silver now!” Her voice went high as she said angrily. A blush went across her face and her voice softened. “Sorry, I know it wasn't your fault but could you please get me another one?” She was truly her mother's child.

He sat up out of the water, his dark hair flopping in front of his green eyes as he searched for any oncoming archers.  But there were none, only a girl that appeared to be just younger than he was, and so very slight.  Quickly, he stood up from the water and stepped back onto the shore only to widen his eyes and pause in his steps as she advanced on him with quick words.  Something about her, despite her smaller stature, made him want to listen to anything he told her to do…odd. 
 
Either way, he quickly lifted his hands up, palms facing her in a sign of peace as he shook his head, though his eyes moved over her head back towards the trees.  Whoever had been chasing him was gone, but why?  Why had they stopped at the edge of the forest?  Something to explore into another day surely, but it sealed in his head immediately: the lake was a safe spot.  Well, safe from them at least.
 

Only then did he notice the lute, that explained the crunch, but his eyes saddened at the battered creatures that had also ended up under his feet.  His eyes returned to hers and he pushed the wet strands out from in front of his eyes, their usual green dimming to a foggy blue now, “Forgive me, I was being careless.  There were-” He looked over her head again, half expecting to see them reappear just from thinking of mentioning them, “It was an accident, please accept my apology.  I’ll find you another instrument…” 

Her blush spread across her face more as he responded to her. “It wasn't really your fault after all. This place is dangerous. Are you alright?” She looked him over as she questioned then brought him out of the water. “Whatever was chasing you is gone. It looks like I made enough noise to scare them off with techniques my mother taught me.” She gave him a shy smile before checking on the little battered fey. She put a hand on them and a warm green light came off. Before long the fey scampered away from her and hid in the tree.

She came back to him and sat down by him. “Well I accept your apology but I am glad you are getting me a new lute. I could not bare to go back and beg my mother to make me another one. If she finds out she is going to have a fit but.. Maybe she already knows!” She began to panic and flail her arms and bit before falling over and looking up at the sky. She let out a frustrated scream before breathing heavily.

“At least we're in Pravpora so the chances she knows is very slim.” She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. “You know your eyes change color. They got blue when you asked for forgiveness. I think they are pretty.” She was trying to take her mind off of it all. “Villa will have some lutes. Probably some pretty ones at that.” She mused a bit as she stretched on the ground. “Talented creatures sirens are and one hell of a trader if you know the right ones.”

His lips parted as he watched her heal, that must have been it, right?  Whenever he did it it looked so different, soft white light.  Who was she…?  And almost more importantly, who was her mother?  Surely not someone from here from what she had said, but still, he felt the urge to look over his shoulder almost immediately.  No, best not to think about it…yet.  He sat down with her but his eyes widened at her exclamations and he couldn’t stop a smile from creeping over his features.  Ah, he too understood a mother’s wrath and knew that his own would have his head if ever he snapped his bow.  She’d spent months carving it to perfection for him to have after he had turned eighteen.  The shame would be worse than any whallop she could give him.  Well…possibly.  He wasn’t about to test the theory.
 
His eyes blinked open wider when she mentioned his eyes and he raised a careful hand up to touch under one of them, replying with a slow nod, “It’s something natural that’s happened since birth.  It shifts with my aura…Nice to know it’s pretty at least.”  His smile shifted to a gentle smirk as he looked over at her, bringing his knees up and resting his arms on them loosely.
 

“Sirens eh?” He arched a curious eyebrow, “They’re supposed to be quite dangerous too aren’t they?”  Personally he’d never actually come across one, only knew stories that had been told about this place.  There were many things, both beautiful and horrific that he’d heard about Feeorin Forest, and sometimes those terms were interchangeable.  

She sighed from her position and lifted a smile up at him. Pushing herself up off the ground slightly her brown hair laid loosely across her chest and down to the ground. “If my eyes were like that I imagine mom would have smite me more than once growing up.” She gave him a gentle giggle as she gave him a flirty wink though a blush followed.

He was pleasant on the eyes to look at. Her mother had said that what mattered most were the souls of people around her so Holly had devoted much her time singing about the souls of people. She sang of love, pure and true. Most of the time her songs brought together people who would not have otherwise noticed each other. Though in the end Holly was always the odd woman out.

“Aye, just like everything else in this forest.” She pulled herself up completely and studied his facial features quietly for a moment. “Though I have seen much more frightening things on my journeys. Even growing up I seen terrifying things. I've seen an angry goddess!” The story teller was coming out in her as her voice raised and lowered to parts of her tales dramatically.

“My name is Holly, Holly Rose.” She gave him her name and lightly bowed her head in respect. “I am from the Red rose tribe of the Goddess Angela. She is my mother. Do not be alarmed though.” She hastily reached out and grabbed his hand as if so many others had run before when she said so. “I try to keep a slow life outside of the Sundering Gardens where my mother rules. I am but a simple bard.”

He breathed into a wider smile as she went on, and he shook his head.  Thus far he’d done well to stay away from any deities.  They were so strong, some of them dangerous that he’d always been warned to keep away.  Respectfully of course.  But he wasn’t keen on heading to a temple any time soon.  Before he could remark on her mother she spoke words that made his blood nearly run cold.  Her mother, her very mother, a goddess?  ……and he’d broken her lute!  Instantly his heart hammered in his chest and had she not gripped his hand he would have been on his feet.  Something about that grip though, that pleading look in her eyes, grounded him.
 
The blue in his eyes shifted to vibrant emerald, piqued for a possible threat, “Y-Your mother, a goddess?”  A nervous laugh escaped him as his eyes darted from side to side as if she’d suddenly appear to glower down at him for destroying something of her daughter’s, “A-And uh…how, pray tell, did you come to the decision to live a simple life?  Surely you don’t reside here…”
 

She certainly was lovely enough to blend in here, and powerful enough to be safe from any real threat, but still…those arrowheads came back to mind.  

His smile was sure nice. She realized she was staring and sent a mild blush across her cheeks. She tried to regain her composure but she was right as he tried to spring away. She had her grips on him so he could not move and maybe it was in poor play but she kept them there and sighed softly. “Aye.. She is the Goddess Angela. The Mother.” Her mother was nice and kind except Holly could understand if the boy was scared after all she would be too.

“Because being called My Lady or Princess all day bothered the hell out of me,” She kept her hands on him as she brought her other hand up and took his other free hand. “I travel. I'm a traveling bard learning the trade from one place to another. I have no home. Well my mother from time to time tries to get me to come home.” She mused softly. “See she worries about all of us. There are many daughters of the goddess.”

She got closer to him so their faces were almost touching. “What does green mean?” The pairs of green met and there was electricity in there. “Don't worry about the lute. She would be angry at me for letting a fey take off with it in the first place. She is not an unreasonable goddess.” When she realized how close she was she gasped and fell backwards pulling him towards hers without realizing it. “Sorry.. You can tell me if I get too close.”

His eyes weakened, trying to imagine what it would be like to be in such a trapped life.  Obviously she had freed herself from it and come out all right on the other side, but still.  In his own life he had more than enough expectation and responsibility thrust onto his shoulders as well as his brothers, but at least it was something he wanted.  Perhaps her mother wasn’t so terrifying, after all, she wasn’t forcing her daughter to come back.  Though he didn’t want to chance being within a mile of her.  Goddess or not, all mothers are terrifying if they think their child might be in danger.  Hers would have plenty of reason…He tried not to think about why.
 
He was pulled from his thoughts when she asked about his eyes and they softened down on her as a matching smile formed…though the closeness of her face had him nervous for reasons he didn’t want to think about.  So far he was doing well at keeping positive and already he felt the scratching in the back of his mind.  Before he knew it she had tugged him just a tad too hard, so energetic she was!  It was refreshing but not something he was used to, not so suddenly from females at least.  All his life he had mainly been around his brothers and others that he trained with, there wasn’t always time for friendship, much less with young women.  A distraction was what his mother had called them, plenty of time for things like that when he was older she had said.  His upbringing had been strict, but not harsh.
 
Before he could fall directly onto her his arms went out and he caught himself over her; his own body and face only half a foot above her, but even that was almost too close for his liking.  For the briefest of moments, his eyes flickered to red and then back to green…and a whisper started.  No.  He pushed up and sat next to her, “U-Um, green.  That’s the natural color of them, what they usually are…I suppose you could say they get that way when I’m calm or relaxed…excited sometimes.  Their glow will increase depending on the strength of it.”
 
His heart was still racing and he fought to keep his eyes forward and off of her, but that voice, so familiar and always constant, spoke clearly and quietly, “She certainly is lovely isn’t she…?  So thin too.  I’m sure her arms would snap as easily as the lute you destroyed…Maybe I could come out for just a moment?”
 
Nothing on his expression changed and he forced a smile to his lips, ignoring those words, “Forgive me, I’m not used to so much touch, though I assure you that it’s nothing personal…Your household must have been very affectionate.” 
 
The whisper grew louder, he certainly was insistent today, “You’ve already lost yourself once today, I promise I’d at least let the death blow come swiftly…Just one small snap of her arm?  It would be quick.”
 

His jaw locked despite himself and his toes curled in against the grass, trying his best to ignore him.

Holly stared up at him dreamily. Even she noticed the red flicker but she kept it hidden. Red normally meant anger and she wondered if she had touched a button she shouldn't have. A blush crossed her cheeks once more and she felt her face get hot but before she knew it he was gone and beside her. A finger came up and she gently twirled her hair. “Are you excited now? Or calm?” She stopped her hand and sat up and put her hands in her lap.

She gave him a smile back and watched him gently. “It's alright. I've never known anyone to be against touch before.” She sounded remorseful as she thought about how horrible it was that she touched without asking. “Aye I have over twenty sisters and a handful of brothers. Plus Rosenites are affectionate anyways. To us sex isn't really sacred.” She blushed a bit and laughed. “Well I guess most of us anyways. I don't actively go out of my way to find anyone. My songs bring people together but when there is an uneven number someone is always the odd man out.” She offered him a sad smile.

“I guess its doesn't bother me. I always watched Mom by herself and when she is sad she normally smiles anyways. Though being a goddess the plants give her away. I feel sorry for her most of the time. She doesn't have anyone she can ask for help. The one thing she taught us is that nothing is forever and even she can fall someday. It was a thing she always stressed. She taught us how to survive. She taught us magics and how to use our surroundings. Most importantly she taught us how to read people. Though I might have missed bits and pieces of that lesson.” She blushed once more and played with the edges of her dress.

“Will you come with me? Down to Villa? I don't mind if we go swimming together. I haven't had a good bath in a while anyways. Which sounds terrible! I bet I stink.” She laughed softly and tilted her head over near him. “You never told me your name by the way.” She watched him softly and kissed his cheek to see if she got a reaction. She wanted to make sure he was listening to her.