“Didn’t you say that you had a lady friend to get back to that is going—“

“Oh Raylen’s going to be pissed already might as well give her time to cool down first.” Sabyne purses his scaly lips at me, an interesting expression on a lizard man, but he doesn’t argue. He tsks disapprovingly as he follows behind me. We’ve been exploring for awhile, Raylen has definitely noticed my absence by now, and I’m actually procrastinating because I don’t really want to get yelled at, that and this world is too cool not to explore. We come across a stretch of lions mane hanging from a branch. The mushroom is a rainbow of color and hangs like a curtained gateway, hiding a large part of the forest. I walk forward, parting a bit of the hair like strands and see a troop of mushrooms hemmed in on all sides by the thick trunks of four trees. The teal ground fuzz gives way to silvery sand with threads of deep violet and brown. When I tell Raylen about the mushrooms, she’ll probably be angrier, but I really can’t resist.

“Have you ever seen mushrooms like this before!? Oh well of course you have since you live here and all but…”

“Don’t you think we should be getting-“

“I mean look at the size of these pixie parasols! They are larger than me and yet they still look just as delicate as there earth counterparts and the vibrancy of the cyan...”

“It’s nearly midday and you said-“

“And this violet coral! It’s just spectacular.” I run my hands over the tubular body that on Earth usually only grows to be about 3.9 inches tall but here the slender branches pass my head.

“I know this probably isn’t amazing to you given the fact that this is probably natural in Xanvis and all but back home mushrooms typically aren’t taller than me and it’s just…wow. And besides I need to gather more food if you’re coming along too and Raylen’s already waited this long, I’m sure a few more moments won’t matter--“

“Aether will you calm down for a moment.” Before I can utter a response or head over to the golden jelly fungus engulfing a tree with it’s large gelatinous body, Sabyne shoves me behind a considerable sized mushroom that is a neon green and oozing a yellow slime, I’ve never seen it’s kind on earth before. I’m about to object when he shushes me with a harsh look and points around the mushroom towards the lions mane that’s being parted.

A silence descends around us, complete silence, like the kind just before a storm after the animals have fled. A creature too tall to be natural with spindly blue limbs walks mechanically into the patch. It’s got to be eight, maybe even ten feet tall and it’s arms and legs are about the same length as it’s long torso. Bones poke out of it’s arms and it’s got a Frankenstein’s monster feel to it, it’s skin appearing stretched over it’s bones. Despite it’s Smurf like color, it looks creepy and not cheerful at all. I feel prickles of goose bumps spreading down my arms and the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream and urging me to run is enough to make me fear the creature. The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I’m suddenly conscious of every breath I’m taking, and every breath that Sabyne is taking beside me, one of his clawed hands covering my mouth.

Bulbous all white eyes scan the area, rotating in the creatures head like a fish. Hanks of dark blue-black hair hang in it’s face and I swear it’s got a nose like Voldemort. Its eyes swivel around in its head and it raises its head as if it’s sniffing the air. Sabyne is muttering something under his breath and a gentle breeze suddenly picks up, swaying the lion’s mane and causing the mushrooms to wave. My sweat chills on my forehead.

After a dreadful few moments, the creature shuffles away. It makes a clicking noise before ducking its ten feet under the lion’s mane. It takes a long time for the goose bumps to leave and for my breathing to steady. Sabyne is now cursing quietly to himself but I can’t understand half of the words he says.

“What was that?” I ask as soon as Sabyne lets out a long sigh and I take that as I sight that it’s all right to talk again. His eyes scan the area and he’s shoving bits and pieces of mushrooms in the petal basket and his satchel with all of his arms.

“This way. We can’t linger. It smelled us. It’ll return, most likely with “friends”,” He takes my arm in one of his and starts dragging me in the opposite direction that the creature went. Even though that just leads to the trees pressed against each other. Maybe he knows another way out.

“What was that? What friends? Are they like it? What was it?” I ask trying to pull my arm free. I can still feel the primal terror that the creature instilled and it’s causing me to babble.

I stop, finally yanking my arm free.

“What. Was. That?” I plant my feet firmly in the ground and give him a hard stare. “I’m not moving until you tell me what that was. And why it was so freaky, and why we need to leave.” Sabyne looks like he’s ready to pick me up and run, but he’s not actually looking at me, he’s watching the lions mane, his lizard ears twitching.

“No time right now.”

“Tell me.” I’m aware that I’m acting like a brat but I want to know what that creepy thing is before I go anywhere else.

Sabyne grumbles under his breath. His head swivels back to look at me, the laces of red starting to overpower the mossy gold of his eyes. He growls and get’s so close to my face that I can smell the scent of vanilla coming from his breath.

“NOW.” And he picks me up and runs.