The Spirit of the Forest

Oaks and the path from the foothills valley to the west opens into this lush
forested gully. Oaks and poplars emerge from the ground by the hundreds,
their massive trunks ascending towards the sky creating a most awesome
spectacle. Bright, green leaves sprout forth from the long, ochre
branches and shroud the sky allowing only the tiniest amount of light
to seep through the blankets of green. A cool breeze blows by, ruffling
the leaves and causing small birds to leap from tree to tree.
Yoshio decided earlier that he had wanted to take a walk, and so he did. His boots tread the ground softly and he would leave Sanctus Irae soon but the country side was quite beautiful. He walks among the trees, carefully avoiding the branches without a care in the world. Even if his hand was on the hilt of his sword…

The country side was indeed beautiful though Portia did not pay attention to it much. She had been searching for Bastian for days and even scrying for him did not produce a result. So here she was sitting up in the tree tops, her feet dangling freely. A light breeze sends her flame red hair like halo around her features. It was almost a serene scene if it wasn't for…footsteps. Footsteps! The Fae girl instantly becomes invisible when she spots a human strolling through the forest. Blasted, that was just her luck today!

There was alot on Yoshio's plate, but this walk allowed him to forget, for the moment, all the problems in the political world. He stops just below the tree the Fae girl had been sitting (unknown to him, of course) and closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting out a long, soft sigh.

Portia hops to her feet and crouches low to take in the figure beneath her. She couldn't sense any magical powers; he was not a warlock that was for sure. Fantastic, that would give her the chance to play with this one a bit. Under the cloak of invisibility, she silently hovers from the branch to the human. Leaning in, she whispers into his ear "Good afternoon, what are you doing in my woods?" Portia rises back into the air and returns to the branch she had occupied.

At first, he was quite shocked to hear anyone! He gazes about him, calmly and coolly… No one was there. Yoshio has seen many things in his lifetime and spirits were not a first. At least he thought it was a spirit. He ignored the voice, closing his eyes again and walking forward, slowly, as he continued his walk.

"I asked you what you are doing in my woods," Portia repeats calmly while descending from up above and flicking the man's right ear. "I know you heard me," she giggles and pulls his hair. "Now answer!" While the Fae could have done much worse to make her presence known, she had something else in mind… ]

Yoshio rubs the back of his head gently… "Taking a stoll, what does it look like?" he asks calmly. "Am I disturbing you?" He decides to speak, not seeing anyone else around… This dark magic that had a hold on his mind had ways of playing tricks on him as well and he thought it might have been his own mind until something flicked his ear and pulled his hair!

"You trample like an orc and breath like a snoring dragon, of course you are disturbing me," Portia replies and flicks his left ear. "Have you gotten permission to cross these parts of the forest? No, don't answer…you haven't." The Fae sighs dramatically "What is it with humans thinking they can just go anywhere they please, hm? Who are you anyways?" Oh dear, she almost sounded like her cousin Philippa, shooting off all these questions! Disgusting. Portia whispers a spell and a little branch close the humans face comes to life, swiping right over his left cheek. ]

Yoshio flinches and ducks! He doesn't know how to answer her, but he doesn't run! "My name is Yoshio Verdani, Regent of Lomar, who are you?!" he asks with a firmly. It was time to stop being so nice! Yoshio watches out for any more branches; his grip tightens on his blade… He'd sever any more branches that swung at him if he had to.

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Portia giggles at the rising annoyance emanating from the man and mockingly responds "Uh oh, I'm in the presence of the regent! Let me curtsey to your highness!" Of course she wasn't doing anything of that sort, laughable if he actually thought she did. "Who am I?" Portia echoes. "I'm the spirit of these woods naturally, you may call me Philippa." An evil grin spreads about her tiny lips. This was more fun than she thought, taunting a human and blaming it on her cousin. All in a days work! "Now, Regent of Lomar…why are you strolling all by your lonesome self, isn't that a bit dangerous with the impending war and all?" Portia stays on her branch now and looks down at Yoshio, her head curiously tilted to the side.

Yoshio laughs at these words… "I am not afraid of the doom pixie king and I am not afraid of you" he states with a bit of smirk. "'Spirit Philippa' I mean you no harm." He decided he would play along… he had a feeling he was being tricked by some sort of

"Now, now…did I say that you need to be afraid of me Yoshio Verdani? There is no need to be afraid of me, I am nothing but a forest spirit protecting nature and the sort…you know, yes?" He didn't seem to be the smartest in the land. Ah well, no wonder the humans made him regent. They weren't known to be the wisest after all. "Also, it is not just the "doom pixie" you should be afraid of. I heard other races are joining him in his quest. Isn't that so? Are you prepared?"

"I have been doing all I can to prepare to fight against that fool… are you going to go tell him now?" he asks with a smirk. He didn't care if the doom pixie heard him… He was prepared to fight and prepared to die right now if that was his destiny. However, it would take a bit more time before he was prepared to actually fight his armies.

Portia's laugh is light like morning dew falling into the grass. "Yoshio Verdani, you amuse me! What would I gain from ratting you out to the Pixie king? Plus, I'm pretty sure he has an idea what you are thinking. I mean what else than fighting could you possibly do? Talk him into the ground? Something tells me that that would not work well…for either of you." Portia smiles and pulls a piece of candy from a silken pouch and munches happily. "You've made my day; I have not laughed like this for a while now!" While she wasn't interested in telling the "Doom Pixie" anything, her curiosity was peaked now. "Do tell me though, Regent of Lomar…do you have an allegiance to other races? It sure would help you to get aid from the big fellas. Like, let's say…the Orcs?"

Yoshio raises an eyebrow. "I could just sign the lives of my people away to the fool. But I like the idea of fighting him better…" His eyes dart around, though they do not look up. "You would help me? and you would speak to the Orcs even as they cut and burn your beloved trees, oh 'spirit of the forest'" he smirks, wondering what kind of comeback this 'forest spirit' had. "I didn't think the Orcs talked to your kind."

"No, you fool. We forest spirits are neutral, I thought this was known by now!" Portia grew bored with the "forest spirit spiel" and decided she had enough for today. Descending once again, the Fae flicks Yoshio's ear once more. "Speaking of the forest, work is calling…a baby bunny has lost his mommy and I need to step in and…help." She almost gags at her own words. Portia hovers close to Yoshio's ear and whispers "We shall meet again, that I promise you. One way or another." With that she pin points an astral location and is gone within a split second, not waiting on any response from the human.

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