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a r c a n e (Adjective.)

understood by few; mysterious or secret

A month into Elain and Milo's exploration and they had a good idea on how life worked for the creatures of the Mushroom Forest. Everything had been documented and reported in the essay format, but some things weren't making sense. Some instruments were being tampered with whilst they were working on something else and tracked animals were sometimes found dead with clean cuts. She knew it couldn't have been Milo, because there wasn't a single time he wasn't in her space. She needed to have some free time, but couldn't because she was still meant to be teaching him how to do her job. She felt rather caged, but tried to keep down her temper.

Elain was up early today, sitting at the top of one of the tallest bridges. Finally alone for the day, as Milo liked to sleep in. She was going through her journal and added some of the finer details or corrected her hasty mistakes. Even creating sketches to be more life-like compared to the real creatures. Selcouth's boney head laid in her lap, because his body had grown far too big to be a lap dog. Milo's suspicion of them having followers never died and neither did his small grudge against her new friend. After a while, she started to feel the eyes too. Both had no proof at all, so they didn't put anything into the report. Only adding a small note into her journal about it.

Well, they didn't have any proof until a large shadow hid away the small amount of sunlight she had. Her Selcouth hadn't noticed with eyes shut and a small snore echoing in the silence. Her head turned up at the humanoid creature, her eyes and smile now wide. Without the creature's knowledge, her glasses were already taking pictures of the humanoid.

The creature was around nine feet tall and looked to be a male. Its skin was grey with nearly glowing colors sprinkled over the grey, like several freckles all over. It had two pairs of arms, after each elbow that was similar to the entwining branches or roots of a tree from Earth. She had a pretty nice close up of the intricate design with its knife now at her throat. The ends of the arms, or the fingers, were sharp with long nails. It's legs were similar, with a branch-like structure below its knees. The creature's legs were in the shape of an animal legs with the odd bend. A tail swung behind him, which must have helped him keep that upwards posture. It was most definitely a male. It had a strong, bare chest and wide shoulders. His eyes were completely black with two slits underlining their smooth shape. His lips were thick and short, but the line at where it should open stretched up to the edges of his face. Elf-like ears twitched at the slightest sounds and it had dark grey braided hair atop his head.

At the lower half of his body, he had a long white fabric that held a similar purpose of a loin cloth. Bright colors splattered around the clothes and different loose metal chains and their charms dressed all the way down his waist. The cloth around his waist wrapped tightly around his tail. Reaching only a few inches down it. It was a wonder, to her, how silent he was with so many chiming charms and dangling chains that decorated him. Across his back was a larger sword-like silhouette and a sheath for the knife at her neck was strapped to her waist.

Elain's happen expression didn't even falter at the sight of the knife, it only showed the intelligence of his species. "You are incredible," she said happily. His ears twitched as she spoke, but he only crouched down with a sneer. The knife pressed closer as he moved. He decided to show off those pearly white, sharp fangs and the rest being those of an omnivore with a sneer. It was like he was trying to warn her from making any sudden moves. She didn't expect him to understand her words at all. Most likely, he had never even seen a human before. If he had, she wouldn't have to inform her boss of humanoids living on Meia.

Selcouth's sleepy eyes opened at the sound of her voice and began to growl at the new threat. In an attempt to settle him, she let a hand rest at the top of his skull, not taking her eyes away from the creature before her.. The growl quieted for a moment, but picked up again just as quickly. "You've been watching us since we got here, huh?" His eyes squinted slightly, as if confused, then she could see him readjust his grip on the weapon at her neck. "Oh! Yes. I apologize." She lifted her hands slowly in surrender. This only made her friend more agitated.

"Uoy era ohw?" He growled out, but she only blinked up at him. He repeated himself again to try once more. She frowned at her inability to understand such a beautiful language. What she would give to understand the first humanoid creature that mankind has ever come across. "Neila, esoprup ruoy si tahw? Ereh uoy era yhw?" The pause between Neila and the rest of the question had her assuming that Niela was what he had called her. Perhaps a substitute for the word alien? Still, she didn't speak. She didn't want to offend him, simply waited for him to make the first move.

"Elain?" Both her and the humanoid turned to look at the ground where Milo stood in shock. A plate of heated food bars in his hands.

Her lips parted to explain that everything was probably going to be okay, but she was yanked out of her sitting position and all that came out was a small yelp. One pair of arms held her wrists behind her while the other had one hand pulling her head upwards and the other had the weapon still at her throat. Her journal falling all the way to the muddy floor. Milo better pick that up for her.

Her assistant frowned at the new position. "How do you get into situations like these all the time?" Milo called up to her in an attempt to sound unfazed. She just shrugged her shoulders lightly. Not trying to give the humanoid a reason to execute his threat. Selcouth now roared at the stranger, his jaw widening and the lines on his cheeks opened up to allow for a louder noise. It was similar to a snake unhinging his jaw. Something that was ignored. Obviously, he didn't see Selcouth as a dangerous beast.

"Em ot netsil ot gniog era uoy. Semag gniyalp ton ma i. Yats ot gniog era uoy dna em thiw gnimoc si sith. Tsiser ton od." He slowly backed down the bridge with her in tow. The knife still pressed tightly against her neck. This was no longer as fun, but she had no choice anymore. Her life was at risk had she not gone willingly. Selcouth followed with a constant growl, showing that he was going to be with her on this journey.

The humanoid led her down to the cracks in the ground, forcing herself to squeeze her way through, to the caverns that they were informed about in the beginning. Even Selcouth had to dig at it before he could enter along. Thankfully, Milo hadn't followed her. Most likely in fear of the humanoid killing Elain or even killing himself. She didn't know.

The underground tunnels were dark with many twists and turns. It went in all directions and the humanoid behind her didn't stutter at any fork in the road. He knew where he was going. There was new plant life that grew along the tops of the walls and in the smallest of crevices. She wanted to reach out to them. To know their texture and to get a better look at them, but she wasn't allowed. The humanoid kept a strong grip on her and, eventually, he got so annoyed in her looking that he forced her to simply keep straight forward. You couldn't blame her. Milo and her hadn't explored the cabins yet.

Elain had no choice, but to try and memorize the path they were taking rather than excitedly watching the wildlife around them. Down, left, left, straight, right, straight, down. She would never be able to remember any of these directions. She needed a journal for that reason exactly. All she knew was that they were going deep into the winding tunnels. It was easy for her to get bored of their walking for this reason exactly, so she let out an exhausted sigh. There was so much exploring she could be doing at the moment. Was meeting some of the first humanoids worth the waste of time? Who was she kidding? Of course it was. Still, the thought didn't make the long walk any less boring. Especially since she had no one to speak to.

"You really don't need to hold that knife to my throat. I wouldn't even think of running right now. I'm too invested in where you are taking me." She knew that she was basically talking to herself and he proved it by not saying a word in reply. Her honey eyes slid over towards her friend, who walked two feet to the right of them. Selcouth's large frame had his wet shoulders brushing against the stone walls, but he didn't dare come closer to the pair. Anytime he would try to get closer, the creature behind her would his loudly and show off his large canines. "Can you believe this, Selcouth? To perish at the hands of the creatures I have dedicated my life to studying. Oh the irony!" Her beast's bony head tilted to the side at her dramatization. Maybe the lack of sound was making her go slightly insane. It certainly felt that way.

The humanoid, who she had now named Arcane until she got his true name, yanked her through the dark caverns without a single light. It was amazing how he and Selcouth could find their way without having to feel the walls. Something that any human being would struggle to see through. She had to remember to write down his ability to see in the darkness if she got back. When, she corrected herself. The male behind her continued to move them deeper and deeper into the cave systems.

The dark journey lasted maybe thirty or forty long minutes. Their destination was only given away by the pale blue lights that shined outwards from the exit of their tunnel and the echoing noise of Arcane's unique language. Elain tried to slow their approach so she could prepare herself for what she was going to see, but he only snapped at her with words she didn't understand. She had all the mind to snap back, slightly offended, but decided that that may have been a bad idea. As soon as they entered the dimly lit room, she was thrown to the stone floor. Her aching back screamed out in pain, but she only yelped through clenched teeth. The pain was worth it.

The room was filled with creatures the same as Arcane, except they had several different shades of greys. It was so instant, the attention she gathered. The cave room was in the shape of a bee's nest. Several layers upon layers of people, making her suspect that there may be other species hidden under the sopping forest floor. Peach vines, each full of flowers, decorated all of the ceiling. Several different sized pillars and bridges connected everything. What amazed her was the fact that everything was the natural cave. There were so many tunneled exits that she would give her life to explore. At the center of the cave fell a purple liquid framed at the top by the peach vines and at the bottom by stalagmites.

Her eyes only fell away from the cave's beauty when Arcane began speaking. His voice traveled with great strength and power. Perhaps he was used to needing to speak in front of this large amount of people. Although these people may have never felt anything along the lines of social anxiety or glossophobia. If one of them wasn't watching them from their entrance, they would be now.