Chapter 7: Forestscape?

The red ladybugs feeding off of dew in the Mystic Forest were forced away after a long time as the blades of grass bent underneath the light feet of two people coursing through the forest.

A rhythmic tapping rang out alongside the sounds of footsteps.

Claude boldly stepped through the forest, looking for anything they could eat or any place they could rest at. Behind him, Elric followed in tow, with each of his steps he rested his body on the cool long branch he had picked up.

"How long has it been?" Elric heaved. "A day? Two? I don't even remember anymore. In this merciless forest where each step only leads to the next until you can't walk anymore… My memory is fading from walking all this time."

Elric paused and looked down. A drop of water trickled down his forehead and landed on a blade of grass. "How long has it been, since I've last touched water? A week? Two?"

"Fifteen fucking minutes. Fifteen," Claude snapped back. "We've been walking for fifteen minutes!"

It had been fifteen minutes since Elric and Claude set off in search of an exit from the Mystic Forest.

Hearing the horrid record his stamina set, even Elric couldn't make the joke about the Shadow Lord sapping his powers.

Claude turned back to see Elric following quietly behind. His Auburn hair stuck to his forehead as Elric took in deep breaths.

"Haah… Just follow along for five more minutes, ok?" Claude said. "We have to make some progress before night. We'll take a break in five."

"Yup," Elric nodded and pushed his stick ahead again.

The two of them continued walking in silence when Elric opened his mouth again. Maybe it was the exhaustion, or perhaps just his curiosity, he said the one thing he thought should be avoided in the situation.

"You're handling it pretty well."

Claude's feet came to a slow halt.

"Handling what well?"

"You know, being kicked out and stuff."

Claude scoffed and started walking again. "What do I care about their gods and their customs? I've only been here for a month."

"Ooh!" Elric said. "It's a shame though, they were planning to marry you off to some princess. You could've lived a life of sleeping all the time."

Claude turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Elric. "They were?"

"I heard so," Elric shrugged.

"Those people… They kept saying their gods don't expect anything from us and then went on and on about some great evil. We even had meetings with the entire class about these things, and yet… I don't care about being kicked out, but the betrayal sucks."

Elric was slightly surprised when he heard about the meetings. The few times he had stepped outside were more than enough for him to notice how the church and that general had no plans of leaving the reincarnators alone, but he didn't think his classmates would notice they were being manipulated, though it was in the most basic way. They were smart enough to notice that.

"If I were in that one guy's shoes, I would've done the same," Elric said.

"Whose shoes?"

"That guy."

"No… Who?"

"Ahh! That one that pinned me!"

"Devon?" Claude asked, then, narrowed his eyes at Elric again. "Done the same?"

Elric's sides started hurting so he stopped and leaned on the stick for a second. He took in a deep breath and clenched his thumb in his fists. "Maybe, it's not betrayal," he said in between his breaths. "You're the one expelled, but those guys have to stay. They couldn't have defended you, someone who broke their god's statue, and expect to be treated well." He pushed himself off the stick and started walking again. "I would've even beaten you up."

Claude and Elric continued walking in silence.

The statue and its fragments in the Head Priest and the General's rooms were probably seen less as framings and more as taunts. There were no arguments that his classmates could have brought up. For a second, Claude wondered if Elric's thoughts were what truly happened. But…

"It's too hopeful…"

His whispers were only heard by the forest.

Time passed, and Elric and Claude continued their journey through the forest. They walked for twenty minutes and rested for five. Unfortunately, five minutes were not enough for Elric whose stamina would be outdone by a forty-year-old office worker with back pain.

The two of them were sitting down in a small clearing after another walk. Elric had spotted some fruits midway and they had feasted on them which seemed to have eased their faces slightly. Knowing food was around set their hearts in peace and they even pocketed a few. Elric tried to stretch his hand out like rubber after eating the fruit which made Claude worried about his mental health, slightly.

Though they had found food, water was still an issue. Claude had been trained meticulously since the day he stepped into this world so he was still fine, but Elric's complexion seemed rather pale as his forehead dripped with sweat even when they were sitting around.

The humidity was a concern for Claude too.

Many thoughts were running through his mind as the two of them rested in the clearing.

"Hey," Elric, who had been keeping his mouth shut to avoid getting thirstier suddenly called out to Claude.

Claude looked at Elric and pumped his eyebrows.

"Do you think… The name wasn't 'Mystic' forest, but 'Mist-ic' forest?"

"What?" Claude tilted his head in confusion, his entire trail of thoughts was broken at once. "Why?"

"Cuz, you know?" Elric pointed behind Claude. "The mist is here again."

Claude's head snapped to the back. The same thick white mist was just shy of the seams of his clothes as it impinged over to his skin.

"Fuck!"

Screaming, Claude dived ahead toward Elric. He grabbed the boy's feet with one hand and the stick he had been walking with another.

In the blink of an eye, they were swallowed by the mist.

Elric woke up with a damp, distended feeling on his tongue. The minty, almost herbal taste spread through his mouth, but the texture made it unbearable. He pushed his head up and broke through the ceiling of the bush trapping him. A branch rested on the top of his head as he spat out the many leaves he had bitten in.

A low growl sounded from his side.

Elric slowly turned his face to the left—

—He froze.

Not a sound emerged from his lips, not a shake on his hand. The branch that was on top of his head stayed there, balanced like a machine.

Slowly, softly, Elric reached out with his other hand and patted around, not moving his head or eyes. He finally found the head of the person he was looking for and tapped on it.

"Argh, what do you—"

Elric gulped. "It's… a Goblin…"