Immediately after I spoke, I wish I hadn’t. For the tree replied in silence and grace, and it made me feel a fool. In my defense, it was society which conditioned me to greet others with words when only a nod of the head or a flick of the ears would do. I had always been ill at ease with that small range of sound they called speech, but at that time I did not quite know enough to stand on my own convictions. My thoughts and beliefs changed with the wind. For the most part I leaned toward the unconventional, but no so much that I had the confidence to wade against the current.
Birds and moths and bark flew from the strange man like dreams dissolving into waking life. I was not prone to following directions— quite the opposite, in fact, my rebellious little heart always eager for trouble— but the way Cern spoke, I listened. Just as I listened to the trees and rocks and mushrooms and all the silent world to whom I had the privilege of knowing as intimately as I did. However, I may have frowned a little. In fact, I probably did. I was not so good at hiding my emotions, in part because I did not care to, and I was not so pleased to be told what to do, even if I felt compelled to oblige.
I followed those orange eyes, ever wary of a trick. To my surprise they met a family of wood dwellers like none I’d ever seen before, moving with a quiet that bordered on silence.
Oh, I loved those deer. I would remember them fondly for many years to come. Their shy grace embodied all I ever wanted to be. And in their presence the grove was transformed into something like a church. Something sacred and wonderful. I was terribly out of place, a trespasser on some sacred rite, and I almost wanted to tear my eyes away but I found I physically could not.
I eventually felt a burning in my chest— and only then followed the realization I had been holding my breath. I let it out achingly slow. It hardly made a sound as it left me.
“I come from horses. A queen and a soldier.” Did I speak too softly for him to hear? I didn't care. “I was born in Denocte.” I turned my wide eyes to him. “I came to see the forest.” Really I had just wanted to go somewhere— anywhere at all— and Delumine seemed far safer than Solterra. I was always a cautious girl, especially when I was breaking the rules.
I felt a warm flush of pride rise in my cheeks and chest when he told me I have a heart of wood. No one had ever paid me such a compliment. In fact, no one I’d met would even realize what a compliment such a statement was. I smiled, proud and a little self conscious. “Thank you,” I said, even as my attention returned to the deer who grew closer. “Myrtle,” I tested her name softly on my tongue, like the first prayer to a new god. “What are the rest of their names, do you know?” I looked carefully at each of their faces, committing them to memory. “And you? What is your name? How long have you lived here?” I still spoke in a hushed voice. I think I wanted to always live in that reverent space, where everything was spoken just above a whisper.
"What are you?" I asked finally, because the question begged to be asked, and for every answer I received, two more questions were born.
@Cernunnos
