‘They are living trees. No, wait. It doesn't make sense, all trees are alive. Uh... grumbled the elf, confused by his own words. Anyway! Take a look at this one. ‘

He pointed to one of those trees. Sasha moved closer to it and saw a hole that went all the way through the tree, which none of the others had. 

 ‘From what I heard, someone attacked it on purpose and stole a chunk of its wood. I don't know what pushed them to act that way, but it is a terrible act of disrespect to our dear, sacred forest. Those trees have existed since the start. They are immortal. They play a very important role for the animals, elves, everything! No elf or animal of Miralen, no matter how out of their mind they are, would dare do this. It was an outsider, and whoever it was, they are not welcome here anymore, Elwyn said menacingly. ‘

He was MAD. Filled with hatred. The air was thick with anger. Sasha could practically see a cloud of negative energy surrounding Elwyn. She took a step back and as soon as Elwyn noticed the girl's fear, the dark fog disappeared. He took a deep breath, apologized and smiled at Sasha and Manta.

 ‘We're going to continue walking. There are so many cool things to see! He cheerfully said, walking way ahead of the group. ‘ 

Sasha had barely taken a step forward before she was lifted from the ground by her head. Merlin jumped out of the girl's bag and landed on the ground. The baby dragon started growling at the thing that attacked Sasha. Manta was by his side, screaming in her usual high-pitched voice. Elwyn, who continued walking, distracted, finally realized that the girls weren't behind him, so he turned back around and looked for them. 

 ‘Oh, Adall! let them be safe, otherwise, I am not going to be safe from Lysandra for long, he whined. I might as well dig my grave myself! ‘

He looked up and froze. Well... he found them. 

A giant plant ate Sasha's head and was holding her hostage 4 meters above the ground. Meanwhile, Manta was still there screaming, helplessly staring at the scene. The dragon hid himself before the elf could see and notice him.

 ‘Sasha! Stop wiggling around! It is harmless I swear! claimed Elwyn. ‘

 ‘Harmless?! It's eating my head! she screamed so that he would hear her from inside the harmless plant. ‘

 ‘What are you saying?? Can't hear you! mockingly said Elwyn. He smiled. He knew perfectly well that it would annoy her. ‘

She growled like a savage beast in response. I told you he was trying to annoy her (and it worked)!

 ‘Excuse me Sasha ahah, laughed the elf. Just relax your body. trust me. ‘

Sasha did as she was told and soon after that, her feet delicately landed on the ground. 

 ‘Wow. What was that? she asked as she wiped the plant's slobber off her face. ‘

 ‘It's a Mordrea. Its name means soul devourer. She catches the stranger's head and reads their mind. If the person has bad intentions, the mordrea will absorb their soul and feed their corpse to the carnivorous plants. If the person is good, the mordrea will send a signal to all the other plants in the region to tell them that the person will do no harm, he explained, pushing his glasses up. What an egghead. ‘

 ‘Ah... I'm happy to be a good person then, she jokingly replied. ‘

 ‘Yeah. Can we continue walking now? ‘

 ‘Wait! Sasha your dra-  ‘

Sasha threw herself on Manta and caught her in her hands. Elwyn was not allowed to know about Merlin. He watched, confused but then he shrugged it off as just another young girl's thing and walked away slowly.

 ‘Human!! you could've crushed me! you fat squ- ‘ 

 ‘Manta! No one is supposed to know about Merlin! No one! she whispered screamed. ‘

 ‘And why should I listen to you? uh? replied the Etomanian.

 ‘Because Lysandra said it, Sasha answered, crossing her arms. She knew that with that argument, she automatically won. ‘ 

 ‘ah...Ok, Manta reluctantly said. ‘

The little girl let Manta go and took her bag back, put it back on her shoulder and ran to catch up to Elwyn. Manta hopped behind her, also trying to catch up. They finally reached Elwyn, who was standing there, staring at something, both hands on his hips.

 ‘What are you-  ‘

While asking the question, she looked in the direction the elf was looking and her jaw dropped. 

 ‘Wow... Said Manta and Sasha in unison. ‘