Immensely so that I suddenly tapped Willow to move. I could not spend another second near him and his vulgar mind. Stage two? Oh, please, I still had trouble wrapping my mind around stage one!

"Remember to heed my words!" He yelled from where I left him behind.

"Go away, Dad!" I yelled back, still beetroot red.

When I turned to wave Mom goodbye, I noticed that he had already returned to her side. He had a toothy grin on his face as they waved back.

"Be safe!" Mom shouted once again.

"Yes, what your mother said." He echoed her.

"Bye!"

I led Willow in the direction of the village with the reins, and we soon disappeared into the thick forest. Willow trotted steadily underneath me as my back remained ramrod straight. I had to maintain vigilance until I was far away from the house.

Turning back repeatedly, I made sure that I wasn't followed. Paranoia or whatever, it didn't hurt to be sure.

Maybe you shouldn't have lied?...

Oh please, it's happened. Move on.

I pulled Willow to a stop when I was sure that we were at a safe distance from the house.

Then I waited for the guide.

Sage had promised to send one to lead me to where the party was supposed to take place a few weeks back. I wasn't sure what it was, but she said I would know when it came to me.

With Sage being... well, Sage, I didn't question what the guide would be. I knew I would know when I saw it. I trusted her that much.

Of course, I had imagined multiple scenarios since I knew not what it could be, and Sage was being so mysterious. I concluded that signposts made from some tree vine gimmick thingy were the most likely. Vines were sort of her thing. But I didn't put it past her to put some other bizarre things in place.

Magic had a penchant for betraying what one believed to be common sense.

Grunt!

Suddenly, while I was lost in my thoughts, Willow's head jerked up and whipped around. She seemed to be searching for something. She was agitated by something.

My eyes narrowed, and I bent to ask, "What's the matter, girl?" Although I wanted to calm her down, I knew something had to be wrong. Willow had acute senses; their breed did.

...What could it be?

She started shuffling apprehensively on her feet as I patted. I tried following her line of vision as she moved restlessly.

Rustle...

Suddenly, I started hearing the sounds of leaves rustling and moving. It seemed like there was something lurking in the vicinity. Alarmed, I scanned the area.

Huh?

There was nothing.

At least, nothing I could see. But Willow had not calmed down, so I kept my guard up. My eyes roamed gently past the trees that surrounded us. Nothing seemed out of place.

Except for the sounds, which I did not know where they were coming from, the forest seemed calm.

Could it be... a ghost?

I banished the absurd thought as it came up. There was no such thing as ghosts.

Magic exists, though.

Magic was one thing, ghosts another.

Are they truly different?

I did not know. Ghosts or not, whatever stalked me was going to get my knife.

Woosh!

Swiftly, something flashed across the corner of my eye. Willow suddenly shifted violently simultaneously. I was disoriented as a result. Nevertheless, I shot into high alert, realizing it was no coincidence.

Something was there. Willow's reaction confirmed it.

Anxiously, I whipped my head, staring deep into the forest. The confusion started seeping into my heart, causing it to beat erratically.

Woosh!

Suddenly, another flash flickered from the corner of my eye. Now that I was alert, I turned even faster along with Willow, but I missed it.

Damnit!

My breathing started quickening as I realized that the thing was faster than I could react. Such a characteristic was hazardous for a person in the wild.

Then...

Since I could not catch up with whatever it was, I could not let it take advantage of the situation. I needed to unnerve it, make it lose confidence. I needed to level the playing field.

"Whatever you are... you better come out!" I shouted, carefully pulling out the knife from its sheath attached to the saddle.

Woosh! Wooosh!

I felt my frown deepen as my tactic seemed to have failed.

The sounds continued for a while longer. Eventually, I noticed my hands were shaking. There was only one thing I could do.

Breathe! Steady and calm.

Tightening my hold on the knife, I leveled my breathing, drawing calm to myself. I was fairly skilled with some basics of self-defense. Born from a line of fighters, as far as I knew, I couldn't be caught lacking.

Although I had the mind to flee, I decided against it since I'd already employed a scare tactic. Turning back was akin to admitting defeat. Admitting defeat was, in turn, akin to forfeiting one's life in the jungle.

And I was not sure whether my life was in danger, but there was no risking it to test the waters.

It was better to face off whatever it was.

Plop!

Out of the blue, I saw a brown ball pop out from behind a few branches. Instinctively, I directed my knife towards it as it suddenly landed on the branch nearest me.

Neigh!

Willow suddenly hopped backward, and I, along with her. I held on staunchly as I recalled how Dad handled Vassili.

Regaining my bearing, I repositioned myself and the knife towards the target that was now expanding.

Huh?

On taking a closer look, it seemed like a ball of fur. It was unfurling.

"What the..."

My words were stuck in my throat as a tiny snout jutted out of the thing, slowly revealing itself to be...

A squirrel?!

What looked like a squirrel standing on the tree branch, was wrapped by a black strip of cloth.

It couldn't be...

"Are you Miss Daphne?" A nasally voice suddenly echoed through the forest.

"What? Who's there?!" Instinctively I flashed my knife around, ignoring the stupid squirrel that stole my attention.

"I am here; would you please answer the question? You look like Miss Daphne." The voice replied immediately.

"What is it to you? Show yourself if you want any answers. And if you want to attack, just know I have a knife." I retorted, not intending to let whatever it was, have the initiative in threatening me.

" 're ya blind? I can see dat ya have a knife."

Huh?

The thing snorted back, its accent suddenly changing, leaving its tone laced with annoyance.

My eyes kept darting around to where the squirrel was because the voice seemed to come from that area, but I saw nothing.

"Show yourself and stop hiding if you're..." I was about to say 'man' but then realized that I still didn't know what the thing was, and so completed with, "If you're, whatever you are, enough!"

"You ain't never seen a talking squirrel before, missy?" The voice snicke-

Wait, what?

"I'm right here."

My eyes turned slowly.

It can't be.

"Sage sent me ta guide ya, and 'ere ya 're sticking a knife to me face. Talk about disrespect!" Its tone suddenly became harsh.

Holy shit, it is!

It was a squirrel...

A talking squirrel!

"You're not supposed to be able to do that.." I breathed out a sigh of relief. Soon, I started calming down at the mention of Sage.

"Do what?!" Its tiny little hands flailed about.

"Talk..."

Seriously, a talking squirrel?! Were ghosts actually real?

"And why in the name of all things logical is that?" It stopped talking weirdly.

...All things logical?

A squirrel that could switch between accents seemingly wanted to debate logic with me. Logic!

"Because... I d-don't know!" I stuttered as my head came up empty as to why an animal should not be speaking. In hindsight, there wasn't any particular reason except that they usually didn't. Or so I thought.

"If you can talk, then why can't I? We are both living, breathing beings."

"That..." I started, hunching my mouth to the side.

"Surprisingly, that makes sense." Somehow, despite how stupid and naturally senseless it seemed, I couldn't find a way to refute it.

"Well, tell your horsey to take it easy. I don't bite, and I'd prefer if it didn't bite me." The tone of its voice became calmer.

I nearly blanked out. I was having trouble accepting that a fat, furry squirrel was talking. Still trying to get over it, I leaned toward Willow and whispered.

"Okay, I think we're safe."

Slowly, she relaxed, but I could still feel caution in her stance.

"Thank you." The squirrel spoke up, placing its tiny four-fingered hands or paws on its hips. What was it exactly? Hands or paws?

"O-okay." I nodded in response to its thanks.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Daphne. I'm Larry. Friends call me Lar, Squirrel." It pointed at itself; its mouth curved into what I could only comfortably call a smirk.

Larry, the fucking talking squirrel. What in the world...

I kept the turmoil I felt within me and nodded at him.

"Nice to meet you, Lar."

"Now, without further ado, follow me. I'll lead you to where the party's at."

Without even waiting for me, it darted into the bunch of trees, following a path that was big enough for Willow to pass through.

Flustered, I stumbled to get Willow to follow Larry.

"Wait, hold on!" I screamed as I led Willow through the path bordered by trees.

Inciting her a bit more and earning, what seemed to be an excited neigh, she started moving.

Slowly from small steps, she burst into a gentle gallop, catching up with the squirrel, slithering and hopping from one tree branch to another.

"How far is it?" I asked as I gripped Willow's reigns. I was bent slightly into a riding position as much as the dress allowed me. It was starting to get uncomfortable because of the speed at which WIllow moved. But I could bear with it.

"Not that far ahead. Just a few kilometers, and we'll be there."

Wait what?

"How many kilometers are we talking about?" I retorted with apprehension as the squirrel seemed educated enough to tell distance.

"About ten, give or take." My jaw dropped.

Since when did 10 kilometers become a few?!

"Good thing you have a horse, right?" It snickered. I felt my sweat glands slowly secrete fluids on my forehead. I started imagining how it would've turned out if I decided to walk... in this dress.

"Yeah... Good thing." I replied with a dry laugh as I sank into silence.

The rest of the journey continued in silence as Larry kept moving without pause. Although he did try to make small talk once in a while, I was not enthusiastic about discovering what I had in common with a talking animal one-fiftieth of my size.

Soon, Larry started slowing as we reached a small clearing.

"We're here." He chanted as he dropped onto my shoulders without invitation.

I jumped as I turned to stare at his dark-brown eyes, wondering why he suddenly did so and, most importantly, if its feet were clean.

Although I had my concerns, I did not voice them since I didn't want to be rude. Also, I held some apprehension about the talking animal.

Are you scared of it?

What? No...

Embarrassedly pulling my mind back to the present, I turned to scan the environment. To my surprise, there was nothing but a stretch of trees.

"Where is here?" I asked hesitantly.

"Ahah!" His tiny mouth exclaimed.

"What?" I asked, annoyance suddenly creeping up my spine.

"Oh, I forgot that you cannot see it." I couldn't help the puzzled look that painted my face. "See what?"

"Just follow me."

He swiftly hopped down my shoulders and climbed Willow's neck. Suddenly, he did a somersault from her head, eliciting a yelp from her. She shuffled backward, shaking her head.

He turned around and waved his hands before turning back and darting forward. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly disappeared into thin air.

What the hell?

Willow neighed, expressing her shock and surprise. "Calm down. It is probably magic."

That was the only possible explanation I could think of. Although I accepted it as the most likely possibility, I stayed rooted on Willow, not moving a single inch forward.

Admittedly, I was nervous. Magic was unfamiliar territory, so I couldn't help but hesitate.

"Hey! What's taking so long?!" Suddenly, Larry's head popped out of thin air, the other half of his body nowhere to be seen.

Again, what the hell?!

"Just walk straight to me. It'll be fine. Sage is just on the other side."

His voice didn't stop me from hesitating. In fact, it amplified my anxiety.

"How do I know you're not lying?" I asked carefully.

Although it seemed stupid to ask at this juncture, I still did so. I should've asked for some proof that it was actually Sage who sent him instead of following blindly for so long.

Damn!

It seemed like my clumsiness was really going to be the death of me...

I stared at Larry, and although I couldn't read squirrel expression that well, he seemed like he was debating whether to knock me off Willow.

"Fine!" He huffed.

Then his head popped back out of existence, and I was left in momentary isolation, considering whether to turn or not.

"Step through the rift, Germana."

Suddenly, Sage's voice bounced through the air without warning, causing my heart to grow calmer by instinct.

Yep, that's her.

"Okay."

I led Willow by the rein, directly through where Larry passed, through a supposed rift that I couldn't see. But I believed Sage would not lie to me.

Staring at the path directly before me, I moved.

Fshh.

Then, for a brief moment, my vision was engulfed with white: a blank and seemingly still space, accompanied by the sound of Willow's hooves.

Shaaa.

Immediately it came; it changed.

The emptiness faded into a blue contrast. My eyes were drawn directly to the sky as the chatter around me was drowned out, causing me to not take notice.

In the sky; hung the moon.

It looked clearer and magnified as though it sat atop the atmosphere, ready to crash at a moment's notice. Its light bathed the place, and serenity filled the vicinity. The sky was clear without a single passing cloud.

Flickering rainbow lights danced about, stealing my attention from the moon.

I felt the lights cascade past my face as though they were everywhere.

The vague feeling of warmth it gave; made me subconsciously discard my scarf, allowing the warm and relaxing breeze to brush my shoulders.

Before I realized it, I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes gently, letting go of the reins. Something came over me at that moment, and I didn't want it to leave.

"Daphne."

"Hmmm..." I hummed in response as I heard someone call out for me from what seemed like a distance.

"Daphn-, Daph-, Da-"

Soon the voice also drowned out, and I could no longer hear a thing.

All I could feel was the slow hum of the air surrounding me, rushing towards me, exciting me into powerful oblivion.