The moment he'd entered the woodland depths, Kalil knew he had made a grave mistake. The familiar pathways of the vast grove had been twisted beyond recognition, dead, burnt leaves and ashen dust blanketing the ground, staining the bottoms of his boots with each step. To make things worse, he was actually lost.
All the same, he could at least take solace in the fact that not all of the forest had been burnt asunder, as he assumed previously. He could spy trees untouched by the flames not further ahead--before soon enough the charred remnants were far behind him as he walked through a vast sea of greenery, the trees denser as thick leaves swayed overhead--though the wildlife which populated them had not returned, leaving an eerie silence in their place.
The attack on their village seemed to have specifically targeted the area where it was positioned--or, that's what he believed, seeing as how all else had remained untouched. Yet back in his mind, despite his vague familiarity with his surroundings, the underlying sense of danger refused to relent. Everything about the depths felt… wrong. As he walked, his soft steps crunching through the dry leaves which covered the path beneath him, he felt as though it was all but threatening to swallow him whole.
...Could the forest itself have been angered by the demons' attack? Was that why he felt so on edge? His tribe often paid respects to the guardians of the sacred grove, as was tradition. Spirits unable to be glimpsed by the unenlightened were said to stalk the treetops, and for one to incur their wrath...
The blue-haired youth paused at this, lifting his head to observe the rays of light which pierced through the leaves of the thick trees overhead, narrowing his eyes as he strained his hearing, not entirely certain of what he was listening for.
After a few moments, he shook his head and dropped his gaze to resume his trek, steps lighter as he moved through the woodland, sighing as he pulled his cloak tighter to himself. What reason would the forest guardians have to attack him? He'd always done his utmost to honor them. The temple in ode to them was sacred to all in their clan, though as Kayda and his grandmother would tell him, to enter it for anything but ritual worship or to honor fallen tribesmen would be to desecrate it...
Kalil bit his lip, feeling a great unease well up in his chest.
The demons--could they have...?
Again he halted--a gasp spilling from his lips as the realization tore into his mind. He could feel his heart begin to pound. Then, he heard the rustling.
The forest ignited into a deafening cacophony of sound as the vegetation rustled and chittered with movement--no longer the peaceful symphony of birds and insects that had filled them as far back as his memory could recall, nor the unsettling silence which had plagued them till now.
So overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of noise, Kalil could not hear the sound approaching from behind--before something slammed into him, a sharp impact that sent him staggering across the grove.
Bracing his impact with a roll, Kalil's brow furrowed as he hopped to his feet, hand on the hilt of his sword as he observed the spot where he had been standing--a curious set of claw-tipped tracks leading into a dense thicket he would have to cut through were he to investigate. A bead of sweat formed across his face as he stepped forward--there appeared to be more tracks alongside it.
Far too fast for his eyes to track, a pair of thick vines shot out from the dense foliage to wrap around his ankles--pulling the ground out from under him–snapping taut to drag him along the forest floor--his shout of surprise drowned out by the orchestra of sound that now dominated his surroundings.
Twigs, dried leaves, and everything in between raked and scratched his body, snagging onto his hair and cloak. Unable to pry himself free of the coiled appendages with his own strength, the ensuing surge of adrenaline forced his hand to draw the sword at his side--blade held high to sever the vines ensnaring him in a single slash.
Without anything to slow his momentum, Kalil skid across the ground like a bull–finally tumbling to a heap in an open clearing where the sun shone the brightest. Short, panicked gasps spilled from his lips as he scrambled to his feet--the hilt of his weapon warm in his grip as he brandished it with both hands--white blade bright as it reflected the sunlight.
Once more, he found himself aware of the unceasing motion in the environment around him--creatures cloaked by the greenery scampering beneath the undergrowth. His gaze narrowed, but could distinguish nothing from the shadows of the trees.
Then, no sooner than it had resumed, the cacophony of noise stopped, bringing the open grove into a deep silence, safe the ebb and flow of trees swayed by the breeze--though the numerous presences yet remained. He could feel them watching him.
His shoulders rose and fell as he panted to steady his breath--a surge of movement and rustling leaves directing his eyes to a portion of the undergrowth to his right--causing him to spin with the tip of blade pointed outwards in front of him--before finally, one of the creatures watching him stepped out into view.
The first thing Kalil noted about its appearance were the three large claws sprouting from both of its hands and feet--the ones on its hands slightly longer and bearing a crescent-shape, tips tinged the faintest lavender. An ornate mane of patterned leaves decorated with flowers dangled from around its neck and shoulders, other similar plant-like ornamentation adorning the rest of its green, scaled body, and especially its tail. The only discernible feature of its smooth, elongated, pearl-colored head was a large, gaping, jagged maw that pursed shut as it spied the weapon he held out.
Neither of them moved. Kalil could feel the sweat build across his face with each passing second, his body wracked with hesitation--locked into a standoff with this creature cloaked in floral adornments that could tear him to shreds with a slash of its claws, or bite his head off with a clamp of its jaws.
The plant, however, did not hold, value, nor honor such complex trivialities. Its maw parted with a toothy grin, before it reared back on its legs and lunged toward him with nauseating speed--the nameless blade flung from his hands as it tackled him to the ground with the full impact of its body. A pair of thick vine-like appendages snaked out from its back to keep his arms restrained as it lay atop him.
Flinching, Kalil's eyes clenched shut as the creature leaned in--giant maw opening to reveal the rows of sharp teeth lining its interior--a long, thick serpentine tongue lolling out, beads of saliva falling to stain the front of his tunic as it drew closer--
--to lick him.
Shivering with half his face slathered in the creature's warm saliva, the youth popped an eye open as he felt its weight suddenly lift from his body--twin jaws shut as it reclined on its scaled legs, slurping its loose tongue back into its mouth as it seemed to study him--before its jaw opened to speak.
"You… friend." A claw lifted, pointing at him.
Kalil stared back, mouth agape and eyes wide--the fear and adrenaline assaulting his body pushed to the back of his mind with the knowledge this creature--this spirit--could speak. And not only that--he had raised a blade at a forest spirit--one he could actually see--and it was talking to him?
"You friend." It repeated, nodding excitedly, hoping to quell his uncertainty and reassure him. "You child of forest tribe. You. Friend." Punctuating the last two words, it gingerly crawled toward him, the vines from its back rising to run through his hair--removing the twigs and bits of leaves tangled within.
Still stunned, Kalil's gaze was drawn to more rustling--this time from all around, as it had begun. More creatures crawled out to reveal themselves, some sliding down trees, others stepping out from the underbrush. They all bore striking resemblances to each other, sharing the same, giant maws and eyeless face--though their leaf-manes were different in design, some having fewer or no flowers at all, while the leaves on their bodies and tails, along with their sizes, varied between them. Including the one atop him, he counted at least five in total.
"We see you leave village." One of the creatures panted excitedly, tilting its head back and forth while its tail swished. "You want to leave forest. But forest no let you."
"Village attacked by demons. We see fire." Another said, lowering its head meekly. "They come to temple after. Temple infested with monsters."
"Guardian spirit try and fight." A gruff-voiced one added, it's leaf-collar and body dry and faded, with a scar across the top of its maw. "Guardian spirit lose. Sealed by evil presence."
"Forest in trouble." A slightly larger one nodded, looking straight at him with its maw, remaining still. "Village in trouble too."
"Evil presence kill life. Forest wither and die." The one cleaning his hair finished, regaining his attention. "Guardian spirit in trouble. Need help."
"The forest is… dying?" Kalil whispered, processing the words of the spirits. Not only had they taken Kayda--they had gone so far as to bring ruin to their forest, as if torching their home wasn't enough?
"Demons take life." The five creatures confirmed in unison. "All life here. All life burn."
"Friend help?" The spirit atop him asked, vines retreating from his head.
"Of course." He replied, looking over to the white blade which lay flat in the grass of the open grove--feeling a tinge of anger. "Those demons… they took my sister. They burned my village. And now they're trying to kill our forest…"
"Tiku make them pay. They hurt forest tribe. They hurt friend." The creature hissed, extending one of its vines to wrap around the hilt of Kalil's sword, dragging it closer to return it.
"Tiku?" The youth's head lifted as he reclaimed his weapon, meeting the spirit's open maw. "...Is that your name?"
"Yes." Its jaws parted with a smile, gesturing to its leaf-mane with a claw as it reclined on its legs, a large white flower sprouting amidst the leaves and other flowers. "Tiku leader of forest spirits. Guardian spirit trust Tiku, so Tiku always watching. You Kalil, yes?"
"Yeah." Kalil nodded with a smile, returning his sword to its scabbard as he rose to his feet. "You know my name?"
"Tiku watch Kalil for long time." Tiku panted excitedly, tail swinging as it flexed its claws. "Tiku and Kalil make demons pay. We teach them lesson." It turned away, the other spirits joining him with excited pants, before speaking up. "Tiku and friends lead Kalil to temple. Follow."
Without another word, the group of plant creatures all leapt up to swarm him from all sides, leaving him no choice but to follow Tiku to a wall of sense vegetation--the undergrowth seeming to part through his influence as he waved his claws, creating a path forward.