The shadows of the willow canopy over his head enshrouded Kalix from the sunlight and gave him that false sense of security that no one was around, that he was finally alone and free from danger. It was a cozy spot, one he had lost himself to many times before to sit and think far away from the workings of those terrible druids in days past. Nevertheless, those druids still managed to drive Kalix back to this location, long after their greatly-desurved deaths; for in his arms he held their final creation, a female that looked no older than himself despite the fact she was only a couple years old and he had already passed his first century. Burns from the great fire that nearly consumed her marked her arms and legs, but they were healing quickly.

Looking around, Kalix thought it best to find a suitable location for her to awake in, one out of the arms of a fellow sentient. A nearby willow tree had its branches extended toward him in a friendly offer of help, one that Kalix didn't refuse. Walking over to it, he reached up as high as he could to set her comfortably on the leafy branches. He watched her silently, breathing slowly, caught in a much needed deep sleep. He truely was facinated with this individual, but that led to fears of him acting just like the druids that made her. He shook the thoughts from his head and sauntered over to another tree nearby, sitting down facing the lake. Only a few spots of light graced the water with its warmth, but it was enough to ensconce the lake in a welcoming comfort, one that truely calmed the soul.

Kalix's eyelids quickly grew heavy. His hands folded themselves together on his stomach when she shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position in the futile process of staying awake. The night before had been a rough one indeed, and his body was finally ready to acknowledge this and obtain its rest by force. He let out a soft sigh as he feel into a deep, well-earned slumber. It was his last hope to awake before the creature he brought here, for fear it would miss him and wander off on her own into the forest and he would never be able to track it down.

Her slightly green skin was burned, turning to a charred brown color, and her long blue hair dirty, and stringy. The screams… Her mind was full of them. The screams of her family, her friends, the trees, the animals, she couldn’t get them out of her mind. She had gone unconscious, and visions of the horrific event kept replaying in her mind. Her whole life had been reduced to ashes in front of her eyes. She had seen her mother burn to death, the small huts torched. But, who would do such a thing? Why would someone profit from the burning of a small community of tree sprites?

She awoke in a willow tree, and looked around. How had she ended up here? The last thing she remembered… She clasped her arm, noticing a large burn. As she touched it, it seemed to vanish, her green tint of a complexion returning. She slid down the trunk, landing in the soft dirt. Her face was smudged with dirt, her long green skirt that wrapped around her waist was ripped and frayed along the edges, while her cream colored shirt had holes from the fire, and dirt all over it.

This was a mess, and Enelya was barely able to recall her name. All she could remember was the terror she and her loved ones felt. She clutched her waist, and pushed up the band that she used to keep back her long blue hair out of her face. The trees’ pain hung in the air – along with the confusion. They would not speak to her. She could not hear them. Enelya leaned against the trunk, sliding down onto the ground, sitting there. The closed her eyes… Trying to comprehend what was going on around her.

She sat there more a good long while, meditating, collecting her thoughts... Despite the fact there was little to collect. She didn't know exactly what had happened, or how she'd ended up in that tree. Perhaps it had saved her? She stood, and looked around. She'd lived in this forest all of her life but something was different... She caught sight of a man. Sleeping. Enelya approached him, and sat down in front of him. Her lavender eyes took in his form; he looked like a wood elf, but they were so reclusive, you never really knew with them. Enelya outstretched a long hand, though she hesitated. What if he didn't want to wake up? She wanted to know what was going on, so she continued, and shook the man ever so gently. "Umm... Hello?" She whispered softly.

The sky was soaked in red and black. Fire blocked his every exit and smoke screened his senses from the guiding light of the moon. Soot filled his lungs and his ears roared with the flames. The forest child in his arms had already suffered numerous burns and if he didn't get out quick, the smoke would asphixiate them both. The rear half of the building he was trapped in collapsed under its own weight, giving Kalix the opportunity to make a break for it. He ran. But then, out of nowhere, the house shook in an unforseeable earthquake. His eyes shot upward to catch the cieling falling right ontop of him to burry him alive along with his parcel...

"Gah!" Kalix shouted and fell over, now wide awake with his eyes the size of dinner plates. His heavy breathing was quickly subdued at the sight of the lake infront of him, but his heart refused to calm itself for another few seconds. He gazed upward to see what had awakened him, and sure enough, it was the forestchild. "Ugh..." He groaned and rubbed his eyes after sitting up. His butt ached, and soon realized why. The tree he was under had a root hidden away at its base that Kalix had promptly plopped down on before his nap. He rubbed the side of his bum. "...And who might you be?" He spoke to the lady, but his eyes were wincing as he moved his hand up to his lower back.

He knew full well who the girl was, but couldn't remember her name, and didn't know anything about her aside from her unique... birth. Around him, the dryads had only whispered her name, and did so sparingly. All the did was make sure he knew their wish, and that was to protect her when they could not. He mentally sighed at the thought of another religious cult brought on by some clueless individual.

The man grunted, and Enelya almost regretted waking him up. His eyes showed the fatigue he was obviously feeling. She looked at him sheepishly, embarrassed. He spoke, voice groggy from the lack of sleep. Had he been in the fire too?

"...And who might you be?"

Enelya grabbed her fingers, unsure of what to say. Who? Well… What was her name? She looked around, as if something would remind her. “I…”

“Enelya…” A whisper flew into her ears.

She nodded, silently thanking the trees around her. “My name is Enelya…” She mustered up a bit more confidence, and managed a little smile. “Enelya Norvayn. Who are you? Are you okay? Were you in the fire too?” She clutched her knees, bringing them to her chest tightly. She rubbed a bit of dirt off of her cheek, and a smudge off of her arm. Looking towards the ground, she lost herself in thought. She shook her head, blushing. “I’m sorry, I…” She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember… “I can’t seem to remember much.” Had he been apart of her village? She didn't recognize him, but then she was having a hard time remembering her own name. The trees whispered behind her ears, but they were all talking so fast that she couldn’t quite understand what they were saying. She pressed her hands against her cheeks, trying to decipher everything going on around her.

A sleepy gaze grew skewed with an upturned eyebrow as Kalix visibly questioned this... Enelya's... state of mind. Had the fire fried her brain? Maybe she was just suffering from some stress and sharing in Kalix's exhaustion. The poor girl couldn't even remember her name. When she started asking him questions, he waved his hands defensively, "Calm down. One at a time..." He had to take a hand supporting his upright position to cover his mouth for a deep yawn. He shook his head and blinked away sleepy tears. "My name's Kalix, and I'm fine. I was just trying to get some shut-eye in my most favorite spot in the forest." He smiled past her to the secluded lake.

“I can’t seem to remember much.”

His face lost a little fatigue as he nodded backwards at the tree behind him, "Come." He hopped on his butt a little to his left and patted the ground to his right. "Sit and relax with me." He folded his arms in and locked his fingers together over his stomach as he settled comfortably into his new spot. If she would sit with him, he would nod towards the lake and say, "It's beautiful, isn't it? I used to come here often to clear my mind and focus my thoughts." He would look over at her, "I didn't even notice you today. I must have really needed some rest and peace." Tilting his head, he'd add, "You said something about a fire?" He knew full well what he was doing. In fact, he was trying his best to casualy change subjects to make her forget her third question so that he wouldn't have to lie to her.

"Calm down. One at a time..."

Enelya sighed, and took a deep breath. She ran her fingers through her long blue hair, trying to calm herself. This frantic stuff had to stop. She hated not knowing what was going on. The man, Kalix, had introduced himself, and she was glad to know that he was all right. As he invited her to sit with him, she agreed. Enelya clutched her knees looking out onto the lake he had offered a smile to earlier.

“It’s nice to meet you Kalix.” She whispered. As much as she loved water it didn’t bring her the same joy, as it would have normally. She felt completely out of her element. Where were her kin? Her villagers? Enelya was very worried about them, and this Kalix was too calm. Had he been completely oblivious of the tragedy? Were they really that far away?

"I didn't even notice you today. I must have really needed some rest and peace."

Enelya raised an eyebrow. “Notice me? You’ve been to my village?” She was curious. Had she seen this man before? She wished she could remember. At this point… she couldn’t even remember her teacher’s face. What did her face look like? This started to worry her. Her eyes held a new weight in them as her mind loomed, trying to remember things that should have been cemented into her mind. In her confusion, she heard Kalix mutter something about the fire. Enelya nodded, absent-mindedly. “Yes, there was a fire in the village… But… I don’t know how it started… How far are we from the village? Is everyone okay? Do you even know?” She put her hand around her mouth, bewildered that she couldn’t remember. “I… I don’t even remember their faces…” How could she forget their faces?

Kalix watched Enelya cooly as she visibly calmed herself, or what seemed to be realitive calm. He could never tell with women. Seeing her tuck into a little ball and focus inward, assumably about what's going on, Kalix grew ever tempted to reach out an comfort her, but such signs of compassion just wasn't his style. Him even offering her a seat next to him was extraordinary for Kalix. Maybe he was just getting like this because he hated being flustered and assumed people were as bad as he, but just couldn't control themselves as well; that, or he was truely more empathetic than he realized; but if there was one thing Kalix was prideful of, it was his zen.

“Notice me? You’ve been to my village?"

Kalix shook his head, "No, no," and pointed to the tree she awoke in, "I meant, I didn't notice you in that tree over there, today." He didn't exactly lie to her, but just skipped her question entirely.

Seeing her start to get worked up again, he made an uncomfortable face. "Calm down... Take a deep breath and focus." Kalix sat up and positioned himself relaxed, but upright. "Fold your legs, relax your shoulders... Slump down, but be at just the right spot to stay sitting up." He took his own advice, and with a sigh, he closed his eyes. He whispered, "...It's nice..."

"How far are we from the village? Is everyone okay? Do you even know?”

He sighed again and waited a moment to answer, "If that big mess of smoke I saw last night was your fire, we're a few miles West. I don't know how your people are doing, or what really happened. In fact, I didn't even know there was a village of people this far into the woods. I suprised I missed it." He opened one of his eyes to glance at Enelya to gauge her reaction. One again, he avoided the fact they were dryads. He knew there was a dryad community out here, as well as this area lacked a human village; and he truely would be suprised to find one. "Just meditate. Calm down, relax, and your mind will clear itself."

Yeah, focus. Sure. How could she focus when everything she knows and loves could have been reduced to rubble and ash? Fire was so scary… She could still feel the heat on her skin; places were she could potentially form scars. Perhaps if she formed scars, she would never forget them, despite her obvious unreliable memory. Nevertheless, Enelya took a deep breath, and shut her eyes.

But as soon as she did so, flashes came racing into her mind. Screams. Fire. Death. Despair. Her eyes shot open again, and she grabbed her head, leaning forward, breathing heavily. “I keep seeing fire…” She whispered. She could not tear her arms away from being wrapped around her knees, clutching them tightly. With every beat of her heart she felt it grow heavier as she felt the sadness of her people. Enelya was worried about them, but something told her they weren’t all right. That they hadn’t survived. She rose, and started to walk west.

“I need to go back. I need to see them,” determined, Enelya folded her arms, as she began her trek. She needed to make sure they weren’t all dead. She needed to make sure that there was more than just rubble left of her home. They were pulling her to them; she could not ignore them, ever. The dryads were her family, the people who had raised her, found her as a babe. How could she even consider abandoning them in such a time of need? What good would meditating do anyways?!

"Bu-...!" Kalix opened his mouth in protest as she stood and started walking off, but closed it again with a frustrated, "Hrmph," as he knew there was no disuading her. All that went through his head was, This isn't going to end well...

He hopped to his feet with an irate expression soaking his face, and it dripped into his voice, "This might not be the best idea yet, Enelya. Your memories are too fresh and your feelings too strong." He quickened his pace to catch up beside her, concern replacing exasperation. "If this fire was as bad as you said it was, do you really thing going back right now is the greatest plan?" He had the feeling none of his words were going to alter anything on Enelya's mind, but he had to at least give it a try. Unfortunately, if he tried to hard, he'd sink her right back down into depression.

His lips pursed together in indecision on what to say next. He eyed her sternly before opening his mouth, "Look... promise me that you won't go and end your life over the start of a new one." He quickened his pace, stepped infront of her, and stopped. "Even if your friends have passed on, you were given a second chance with a second life. At least accept this reality before you go and face what has already happened, what you cannot change." His eyes were stern, yet loving, all at the same time.

Enelya ignored Kalix’s protests, and continued on her trek. She didn’t know if it was going to take awhile or not… But she prepared herself for the worst. She was already so mentally shattered, that this wasn’t going to make a difference. He called something to her, but again, she ignored him. What did he know? He hadn’t suffered genocide in his village, and these people meant more to her than her own sanity did. A fault, perhaps, but she really did care about them.

"If this fire was as bad as you said it was, do you really thing going back right now is the greatest plan?"

Enelya stopped in her tracks for second, thinking about his words. They soaked deep into her heart, and though the possibility of what she could see would be devastating… The hope that someone might have survived hung in the air. She could almost feel it in her heart… a gravitational pull towards her home. It was, after all, her home. She could never abandon it. So, she continued to walk again. “I can’t abandon them, Kalix. There might be no hope, and it might be awful but…” She bit her lip. “What if someone’s life can be saved because I went back?” She touched his shoulder, and was curious as to why he was coming with her. “You don’t have to come anyways…”

"Look... promise me that you won't go and end your life over the start of a new one."

Enelya halted once more as Kalix stepped in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, confused. Her eyes softened and looked like they might tear. “I promise…” She whispered. After all… if she was the last surviving… Shouldn’t she stay alive to keep the memory of her people alive as well? He continued to give her strong, yet consoling words. She looked at her feet, which were browned with dirt. A broken grin spread across her face and she nodded slowly. “I promise, Kalix. But... Why are you making me promise?”

“I promise, Kalix. But... Why are you making me promise?”

Kalix opened his mouth to say what was truely on his mind, but quickly gained control over his speech, closed his mouth, then opened it again with, "Because I'd hate to see such a fair lass like yourself do something terribly stupid. Okay?" His expression didn't change much. The worry in his eyes was simply replaced by understanding. He stepped back beside her and walked with her, "Irrational people do stupid things. I just don't want to see you be made a victim of something I can prevent. That's all." He was quiet for a moment, not having anything to say, and not really wanting to say what he did have. "... If we keep heading in this direction, we'll end up in the middle of it, I suspect." He did more than suspecting, as this was the direction he had taken to leave the accursed place. He truely doubted anything could have been left alive after a fire of that magnitude. After all, this was a forest, and that was a fire. He just didn't know what he was going to do when they got there.

(OOC: Just to speed things along a bit, I'm going to have them arrive. If there's anything you want to happen before they do, just make it so.)

Eventually, bits and pieces of blackened degree littered the forest floor. A small clearing opened up infront of them where the canopy was cut open by a mighty blade of fire. All that they could see of the devistation were a few blackened trees on the perimeter of the wreckage.

"Because I'd hate to see such a fair lass like yourself do something terribly stupid. Okay?"

Enelya had her suspicions, but she refrained from questioning. Kalix was hard to read, including his intentions. It bothered her slightly; usually Enelya was very good at reading the way people felt and their motives, but not this fellow. He continued to explain his argument, and Enelya nodded, agreeing with him. “Well, I suppose that’s very kind of you, Kalix.” She walked a little farther, and then added. “Thank you for coming with me…” She murmured. She was certain it would be bad… But how bad? She didn’t want to think about it. Enelya had never seen a catastrophe such as this before, so she was not aware of what she was getting herself into.

**

As they approached the wreckage… it wasn’t even a wreck… There was nothing there, but the smell of death, and fire. Enelya’s eyes were brimmed with tears, and her hands flew to her mouth. Everything was gone. There was no possibility for survival. The trees that survived murmured their pain through the air, and Enelya’s tears streamed down her face. “I… I…” She couldn’t speak. Her heart ached for her family, and her friends that had passed.

Though she remembered her promise, Enelya took a deep breath, and turned to Kalix. “They’re all gone…” Her naiveté was breeched as she witnessed the burnt clearing. Enelya walked slowly to the center of the clearing, and dropped to her knees, pressing her hands to the soil. The smell of ashes rose into her nostrils, but she ignored it. Enelya closed her eyes, and lifted her hands slowly. Under them, a small plant started to grow, until Enelya had risen her hands a few inches from the ground. “Rest in peace… My friends.” She stood, and wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging herself.

“Thank you for coming with me…”

Kalix nodded quietly to Enelya with an unspoken "You're welcome." Kalix walked along beside her while chewing on his lip thoughtfully. The grim nature of his memories reflected through the sadness in his eyes. He was unfortunately enough to remember last night, and the sight of the aftermath would be hard for him to control himself, and even harder for Enelya, who was emotionally attatched to these people...

**

As they stepped into the clearing, his tears were still dry from the flames last night. It was fortunate Enelya's attention was elsewhere, as the overwelming sadness in his eyes would undoubtedly link him with some connection to this place or its people. As she curled up on the charred forest floor, Kalix stepped backwards to the edge of the wreckage and leaned "casually" against a burnt tree. He murmured some things to himself quietly with a sigh. His eyes watched Enelya, the sadness never leaving them.

Enelya mumbled a little lullaby that had stayed within her heart even after the fire. Despite everything she’d forgotten, it was this little tune that kept her still tied to this place. She could not remember any of their faces, voices, names… anything. She continued to hug herself as her soft singing caused her to sway slightly.

She couldn’t understand how something as important as the people who had raised her, lived with her, cared for her, and everything else had just disappeared from her memory. Enelya supposed she could be grateful for the knowledge of her name, but where was that going to get her? She had no idea who she was other that, along with the emotional ties towards this place.

Enelya walked slowly towards Kalix, still humming slightly to herself. She did not speak to him, but merely glanced up at him through her tears. She thought it was impossible that she was so connected to something she couldn’t consciously remember; but her heart remembered. She kept walking towards the edge of the forest, ready to get out of such a place where she felt so much pain. “I can’t stay here anymore…” She said as her voice began to break in her humming.

Her humming ceased, and she touched a tree, feeling it’s pain, wishing she could help it. However, this tree wasn’t scorched, but mourned for it’s lost saplings. The screams still loomed in Enelya’s thoughts; she could not rid herself of them…Not only could she hear them, but she could feel their pain as well. Even now she felt as if fire was licking at her heels. Enelya placed her hand on a knot in the tree, and hoisted herself up into it. She sat there on a wide branch, clutching her knees.

Despite her need to leave the forest, she could not break away from the things that gave her the most comfort; trees. She sat there, letting the smell of the surrounding leaves soothe her misery for her nameless loved ones.

As Enelya aproached, Kalix wiped his face clean of thoughts and emotion, without ridding his eyes of the feeling of having lost something dear. Not saying a word, he placed a hand around her and set it on the shoulderblade on the other side of her and he rubbed her back soothingly. He stopped when she did to place her hand on a nearby tree. Letting go of her, the wood elf pocketed his hands and let her say her good-byes.

Kalix wasn't expecting her to joist herself up into the tree. Uncertain if he was going to have to drag her down or not, he placed a hand gently on her ankle, but ended up brushing ash off both her shoe and his hand. "Staying here would do you no good at this moment in time, Enelya." He nodded away from the tree she was in and towards the rich greens behind him, "Let us explore for a little while to get you out of the forest and into the world. There are many plants and trees out there that need to be able to see you, as I'm sure they've all heard of you by now." It would be unclear to Enelya how Kalix would know something like this, but he had a cover for it if she asked. Besides, he needed to say something to lighten her mood before she rooted herself here in the middle of ash and death. "Besides, it might help to jog your memory if we head out for a couple weeks before coming back..." He wasn't sure how true that was, but it was worth a shot. Amnesia was an unusual thing.

(OOC: Sorry for such a short post... Couldn't think of anything x.x)

Enelya felt as if Kalix was trying to rub out the sore spots in her head as he soothed her shoulder blades. She sat there for a moment, sobbing, trying to let the hurt vanish under his fingertips… But it would not leave her. She felt the pain and the mourning of the surrounding trees. It was not just her pain, but theirs as well. It was as if their pain was projected onto her heart as she stood under the akimbo branches above her. Enelya studied Kalix’s face, completely unaffected by such an event. “You must grow weary of my constant crying,” she breathed, a bit ashamed of herself. She was petrified, sure, but she did not need to drown Kalix in tears that were not his own. She rested her hand on his shoulder, still unsure as to why he followed her, and listened to her sobbing.

"Staying here would do you no good at this moment in time, Enelya."

The Plant Lady knew Kalix’s words were true, causing her to take hand a limp branch and using it to guide her down the tree as her feet slid against the trunk. She landed back on the ground, continuing to listen to the Wood Elf’s wisdom.

"Let us explore for a little while to get you out of the forest and into the world. There are many plants and trees out there that need to be able to see you, as I'm sure they've all heard of you by now."

Leaving the forest? That terrified Enelya. She had never done such a thing before… Or had she? She couldn’t remember… But there was just the feeling of uncertainty, the fact that she was not conscious of what was out there. Were their malicious monsters that would eat her? Or devour her lack of knowledge? Or perhaps even people who would chew her up and spit her out because she did not understand how their city worked?

No, no, that wasn’t true.

Besides the possibility of monsters, Enelya believed that the people she would meet would be kind to her, because sometimes a friendly hello was a lot to ask, and help her through her lack of knowledge. Maybe they would even teach her things about their world that she was so unaware of.

Though… What plants would need to see her? Enelya raised an eyebrow, questions beginning to form in her mouth. “What plants? Why would they want to see me...? What do you mean they would have heard of me? That’s ridiculous!” She laughed a bit, trying to get her mind off of what was at hand. Others knowing her was a preposterous idea! As far as she knew, she had never before left her village. She was born there, never ever leaving it.

Enelya chewed on his last statement. She didn’t know how amnesia worked or how it was cured or how it was fixed… Besides, she had a feeling that there was a reason why she didn’t remember. Perhaps… she didn’t need to remember…

“You must grow weary of my constant crying,”

His eyes couldn't help but smile as he said, "Only if that's what it is; you, crying." He tapped upward on the bottom of her chin with a finger in a pitiful attempt to cheer her up.

Kalix watched her indecision race, followed her thoughts as best he could with simply her facial expressions to go by. It wasn't hard to what people were thinking when they were so expressive without words, but it was still a chore for him. "Just think of all the new and exciting things out there. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'd even be able to find another group of dryads; if not in this forest, then possibly in a forest nearby. There's no way this country only has one forest, right?"

“What plants? ... That’s ridiculous!”

He gave a you-know-better-than-that look to Enelya, "Even just by hearing you talk about the people you lived with, I'm sure they were dryads or druids. Both people talk to plants and both people lived incredibly close with nature. Dryads even lived in plants." He shrugged, "Doesn't sound so crazy now, does it?" He paused before adding, "Well, first things first, let's get you out of here and work on that headache, yes?" He started to lightly massage the back of her skull, "I'm sure there's got to be a small village outside the forest somewhere where you can get some rest. A nice comfortable bed would do you wonders." He touched her wrist and pulled it toward him very slightly and he started to walk, but that's all it was, a touch.

Enelya’s eyes lifted slightly as Kalix threw a smile in her direction. Though she could not muster one up to match his own. She let out an exasperated laugh, still quite embarrassed with herself. She hated that he had to sit there and listen to her crying and carrying on. It wasn’t fair to him that he had to be bogged down with her problems. But… he had insisted to come along.

Enelya twirled her hair around her finger, her safety blanket. She didn’t like how Kalix was demeaning her family, telling her how she could just get another one. It wasn’t that she had lost “dryads” it was that she had lost her family. They weren’t replaceable, and even if there were other dryads, Enelya wouldn’t think of them any more than she would anyone else. But, they were not family. Her amnesia made it more difficult though, not being able to remember who they were, but keeping hold of the missing hole in her heart. Enelya shook her head somberly, just ready to get out of the forest.

She stopped listening to his ramblings of this and that. He seemed to know more than Enelya could keep up with. What did a Wood Elf know about dryads and druids, anyways? Probably more than Enelya did, realistically. Enelya found herself leaning against the tree she had just climbed, her arms folded across her chest, staring at the dirt. The soil had become black and charred; it wasn’t the luscious brown that it should be. The young plant lady wished she could help it, heal it, but she did not know how. A mass fire such as this one… She was completely lost as to what she was supposed to do.

“Help it grow…”

Enelya rubbed her temples again as she head a soft voice once again in her head. Who was this voice? What did they want? How was she supposed to help it grow? She jumped slightly at Kalix’s touch, and her gaze looked up to him, confusion in her eyes. “I’m ready to leave when you are…” She said, her voice distant, as she continued to rub her temples.

(OOC: Sorry for the shortness x.x)

“I’m ready to leave when you are…”

As Kalix spoke, he felt Enelya slipping out of attention, so Kalix stopped his speach in the middle of a sentence and waited for her to regain her thoughts. He wasn't upset in the slightest. He understood what she was going through, even if it was only a fraction. She doesn't even seem to remember many of the skills her body was born with...

“I’m ready to leave when you are…”

Kalix looked at his feet and started walking, "Then let us go." He was tempted to place a hand on Enelya's back for both comfort and to make sure she was following him. As he exited the clearing, he took one last look back. "By the time we get back, I wouldn't be suprised to see a couple dozen new trees replacing the ones that were lost. Just because they fell to fire doesn't mean the land lost it's furtility. In fact, I understand it increases it." His gaze shifted to Enelya. "Maybe you'll have your own chance at mothering your own section of the forest." He paused before adding, "...When you're ready, of course."

He nodded North, out of the forest. "Where we go is for you to decide. All I can provide is information I've heard about the various regions outside the forest. I, myself, have only been on the outside for a very small time." He neglected to mention both his age, and the fact that "very small time" was a relative term.

"Then let us go."

Enelya nodded, quite ready to leave the forest. She pulled another twig out of her hair, following Kalix quietly. Hopefully he knew where they were going. She'd never been out of the forest to her memory, and even so, did not know what was beyond her beloved trees of Norwood.

Kalix looked back at her, again trying to lighten the mood, which did cause her to smile at the thought of new baby trees she could take care of. Beause everyone knew that trees, of all the plants, did not grow with haste. She touched his shoulder in thanks. Not only for cheering her up, but also for simply being there. "Thank you, Kalix." She whispered.

Raising an eyebrow, Enelya tilted her head slightly. "Um, Kalix," she said, scratching the back of her head. "I have never been out of Norwood before..." Her voice trailed off, as to hint to him what a bad idea giving her the chief direction to was. Though she thought a moment, looking at her toes as they dug into the forest floor. Turning her head up to Kalix once more, "Perhaps you could tell me where you've been, and we could make a route based on that?"

As she waited for Kalix's response, she turned around, and had once last look of the burned clearing. She could not invision what it used to look like, she could not see in her mind the different beings floating along, or their huts bunched together, or fires for stewpots, or anything of what her life used to be. All it was was a burnt clearing full of mourning. She said her good-byes again, turning back to Kalix.