Ash looked over at his brother for a moment, then ducked under the branches of the weeping willow. The low-hanging branches gave them both a bit of cover and allowed his brother to do his ‘roots’ thing. This venture was their first time going out hunting in a week, and they’d chosen a much simpler task than last time: the colt pixie.

Colt pixies looked the most like baby horses. They had the long, spindly legs of a newborn and the right shape for the face. The came in an array of colors that matched horses as well: browns, dapple, black, even the elusive all white would show on occasion. The most common in this area was the black with with “stockings” or the brown with a white “star”. It matched the look of the local herds and looked like a new foal had gotten loose.

They weren’t horses, though. The name ‘pixie’ made them seem innocent, but they only earned that title because they were less murderous than predator monsters. Their intelligence was about at the level of a goblin, or perhaps a hobgoblin, and they were best known for playing tricks and leading travelers astray. It wasn’t unusual for a pixie to be see snickering (in a way that sounded creepily human) after leading a human into a pond or bog. They particularly enjoyed quicksand on a river’s shore. The bed wouldn’t get deep enough to kill a full-grown adult, but it was almost guaranteed that the pressure would break an ankle or a knee. The joints took the biggest hit when struggling to get out.

Colt pixies were also the first enemy the snake Noir and their father had faced together years ago. Since both the human Noir and Ash grew up on stories of colt pixies they were very familiar with their habits.

“Finished?” Ash asked after his brother turned away from the tree. He’d seen the glow of the skill fade away from the corner of his eye, and he never knew what kind of nonsense Noir would ‘learn’ from nature.

“Yes. Poor thing had a bad run in with a slime the other day, but she’s recovering well. Doesn’t know anything about the pixies though,” Noir said as tossed down his sword and stretched. “Nothing around for miles, so we can relax.”

“There wasn’t a request up on the board,” Ash mused as he took the string off his bow and gave the wood a quick inspection, “and we aren’t really that close to their favorite bogs and swamps.” He’d checked it multiple times before they left, and Noir had assured him it was made from a good, strong tree. It was new, though, and that worried him. New bows always threw his aim off a little bit.

“But their as common as grass in the right places,” Noir grumbled as he sat down and pulled out a map. “Are you sure you read this right?”

“You’re looking at it too,” Ash snapped lightly. He restrung the bow with care despite his tone and the sour look on his face. “If I read it wrong then so did you.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. The receptionist did say they still pay for them, right?”

“Yes, but not much,” Ash sighed, tapping his fingers on his weapon. “They’re more of a nuisance than anything, I guess. People don’t pay well to get rid of nuisances.”

Noir drummed his fingers on the ground for a few moments, looking the map over closely. “Would you fight the demon lord with me?” he suddenly asked.

“We were talking about colt pixies,” Ash groaned as he finally sat down next to his brother and set his bow aside. “In what universe do you suddenly jump from prank-playing baby horses to demon lords? That’s not playing fair at all.”

“In this universe, and I’m serious,” Noir said. “If we both get to level 100 you could become a tree with me.”

Ash rubbed a hand over his face and groaned. “Noir, listen to me. This is very important. Do not go after the demon lord. Do you know why?”

“Well right now I’m a level 10 and he’s 99. I was planning to fix that before going up against him though.”

“No, that’s not why. Do you remember when we fought the lynx a little while back?”

Noir nodded.

“It took us two tries, remember? The first time we had to retreat, and we only won the second time because of Trixie’s planning. Without that we would have had to retreat again and try a third time.”

“I remember. I’m not stupid.”

“Didn’t say you were,” Ash said slowly, doing his best not to snap. “I’m saying it took multiple attempts to get it right. With the demon lord you don’t get that. If you can’t win and you retreat, the demon lord is going to kill countless innocent people while you get your shit together. And that’s assuming you aren’t killed trying to retreat. Low-level monsters are more forgiving, and stay in their territory. Once you get to high-level monsters that’s not true anymore. There’s a reason the guild motto is ‘hunt for the future and let sleeping dragons lie’!”

“But it’s really important that I get to level 100.”

Ash leaned back and thunked his head against the willow tree’s trunk, cursing all the people in the world who put fool ideas into his brother’s head. It was absolutely ridiculous that Noir thought he’d lived as a tree before to begin with. “Why do you even want to be a tree?” Ash asked. “What if someone comes and chops you down? You couldn’t even fight back or protest.”

“A nice spot in the forest would be safe enough from the lumberers. With plenty of rainfall and a good portion of sun.”

“Competing with all the other trees for resources constantly, bogged down or flooded during the rainy season, and at risk of damage from slimes, monsters, and random hunters who need firewood.”

“A peaceful life for hundreds of years.”

“A boring and lonely life where you leave your family behind.”

Noir glared at him. “That’s why I asked if you’d come with me.”

Ash just couldn’t understand his brother. Wanting to be a tree was like wanting to be a flower or grass or a rock. Being a creature would be better than being a tree because at least then he could hide from enemies and protect himself if necessary. He’d be able to communicate with others.

Being a tree was losing so much.

“What if I become a tree and you become a tree, and then someone comes and chops you down. Do you expect me to be happy watching that knowing that I can’t do anything to make sure you don’t get chopped?” Ash asked, trying to get his brother to understand.

Noir shook his head. “Why do you only see the bad futures? Something like that could only happen after hundreds of years, when our trunk gets wide enough to be useful to humans. Meaning we’ll have hundreds of years to live happily in peace together.”

Ash covered his mouth with his hands. Telling Noir that Ash didn’t want to be a tree hadn’t worked in the past. Diverting him only worked temporarily and pointing out the flaws only served to Noir finding alternate answers.

As much as he loved his father, Ash hated him for letting Noir continue with this sort of delusion.

A blue screen similar to the stats message hovered on the edge of Ash’s vision. He pulled it over into his line of sight and looked at it curiously.

[A new mission! Become the Protector of the Forest]

The status screens rarely showed anything beyond the current abilities a person had and details on skills and titles. Missions weren’t unheard of in the city, though they were usually only given to paladins and those of more devout faith. These were messages from the gods, after all. It made sense that those who believed more would have more contact with them. Ash touched the screen to see more details, and a new window popped up.

[Brother of the Trees

The God of Nature has taken an interest in you. He sees how strongly you care for your brother and would like to reward your loyalty and courage. He will show you the path to become the Protector of the Forest, a being who will shield all trees in the forest from attack and disaster so they may continue to grow and live in peace for many years to come.

Will you accept?

Yes / No]

“It’s always tricky when the gods send messages,” Noir grumbled. “It’s rarely anything good. Look at how they cursed me. They don’t send anything good without making you work for it.”

“It says the God of Nature took an interest in me,” Ash said as he studied the screen and debated, “and that I could become a ‘protector of the forest’. What does that even mean?”

“Maybe some sort of forest spirit?” Noir asked. “I don’t know. I’d say ‘no’. If they aren’t going to give you details then why bother?”

Ash hesitated. His brother had a beef with the gods since he believed he was twice reincarnated. He was automatically skeptical of any sort of mission that came from them. But his brother wanted to become a tree. And this was a mission that would let him become a protector of trees. It didn’t say that he had to leave his humanity behind.

Of course, Noir wasn’t actually going to become a tree. That was silly. But if he did…

Would it be better to have this in his back pocket, just in case?