Closed Dare to Enter

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan had become quite comfortable in the forest. It wasn't too different than the other forests he had been in growing up. Of all the places he had lived growing up, the mountain towns in the middle of forests where his favorites. He would spend hours walking around hoping to find traces of bigfoot even when he knew he wasn't in the right territory for it. He had yet to figure out why the forest at school was forbidden though. It seemed pretty normal to him. He glanced back at Yuelia to make sure she was still there. "Are you sure you want to come with me?" he asked. Ethan remembered the last time they were in the forest she had only ended up there because of her raven. He was feeling pretty determined today to finally find some creatures but he wasn't sure how comfortable she felt yet. He also wanted to check in on his fort to see how it had lasted over the break. He hoped the weather hadn't damaged it too much. He didn't want to spend all year rebuilding.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia didn't want to be seen as a coward. She was quiet, and she didn't like the dark or confined spaces, and maybe the forest had been a bit startling when she'd been there briefly last year. But she didn't have Thanatos with her this time, she was entering of her own free will. Well, more that Ethan wanted to explore and she was rather curious about the sorts of things he wanted to find. She thought finding ghosts or creatures out there would actually be really interesting, she just hated the idea of being trapped. Her wand was gripped tightly in her hand, illuminating the path forward, and she nodded, taking a deep breath. "I am fine," she insisted, a little haughty. "I want to know what's in here," she added, truthfully. She'd just have to pretend to be far braver than she was.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan held up his hands in a sign of submission when her answer betrayed a slight sense of irritation. He didn't want her mad at him. He nodded in agreement and they kept going. He was grateful for her light as she walked beside him, his own wand was haphazardly tucked in his pocket. They weren't that far into the trees yet but it was already quite dark. It had been a while but he recognized some of the markings he had made last year and slowed slightly. He hesitated but if he didn't check now it was gnaw at him until he could come out here again which would probably be a few days at least. "Do you mind if we stop somewhere first?" he asked sheepishly.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia lowered her head, feeling bad all of a sudden. She liked Ethan's company, and didn't want him to think she was upset with him. He wasn't mean to her, and he had helped her out in exchange for her not prying into his business. Plus, she was interested in what he had to say about magical creatures. It wasn't things she'd heard before, and she was incredibly curious. She just didn't like the forest. She didn't want to get in trouble, fearing how upset her father would be if she did, and the trees got awfully close in some places, the canopies above blocking out any light. She swallowed, carefully watching her step and not letting her wand drop. "Um...I don't mind," she replied, a little more gently. "Just don't leave me here alone," she blurted in a smaller voice, staring at her shoes with intense fascination. "If it's your secret thing, I mean."

 

[Ethan Alexander]

"Ok, cool." Ethan said, relieved. Instead of going straight and farther into the forest he turned left and followed the familiar path that was still there after all break. "I won't leave you." he said as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. It hadn't really, but if he was being extra honest he didn't really want to be alone either. Not if they were going to be going deeper into the forest. "It's a secret." he said, his voice barely more than a whisper since anything else felt intrusively loud. "But mostly because I don't want any professors to find it." he admitted. It wasn't much farther until they finally came to his fort and he glanced back at Yueliea and hoped it didn't look as lame as he feared. At first glance it didn't look like much more than a giant pile of sticks but once you ducked your head inside it was just as he had left it more or less.