The first time they met (part one)
Something flickers amongst the trees- a flash of bright feathers, a little green dress, a blink of mossy eyes. I trail my gaze over the shadowed form through the dense thickets and towering oaks, watching with an enamoured interest as the tiny figure comes ever closer to the barrier.
Then something catches me off guard.
My eyes widen a little as a sound, a horrible grating crunch- as though something were breaking apart a tree with little more than their bear hands, echoes through the air. A second angry, more human sound follows, a huff of frustration, followed by a dull thud of something burying itself into bark. Perhaps if I had a heart, it might have started to beat. Whatever is lurking behind the border is no ordinary being, that much is evident already.