Late

It was then that she saw a huge creature, proud and rather threatening, quadruped and covered entirely with black leaves, but whose grace was undeniable, which advanced towards her to stop. He emitted a brief sardonic laugh.

- So beautiful and yet so stupid. You shouldn't be here.

Ivy saw nothing concrete of this giant beast except its coldness and crystal irises that disturbed her to the core. But like her friend Sahidi, she made sure not to show it. It was only then that she began to understand many things.

- I have the right to be here," the young visitor replied thoughtfully, looking at him almost as cynically, thinking that his icy eyes looked as if they had never seen the light, and that this dark forest suited him perfectly. "It is you who do not understand.

- Poor fool," he threw again dismissively, then the creature dissipated and black leaves fell and fluttered heavily everywhere, forcing Ivy to close her eyes and shield her hand. But when it was over, and she cautiously reopened her eyes, the young woman found that she was out of the forest and even seemed to have permission from the royal beast to continue her adventure.

- You see," she murmured to her unseen interlocutor as she turned toward the black forest. "It was not so difficult.

And she continued her exploration. More, in spite of her deep love of the place and of the fauna that it sheltered so freely in its bosom that she wished so much to discover, but especially to go against the will of this so impassive and contemptuous beast that had all the same taken the trouble to come to warn her with such arrogance, and that nothing seemed to touch.

***

The beast, lying on an ochre base, shuddered a little painfully.

- Dirty idiot woman, he murmured oscillating between amusement and anger.

- What is it? Is something wrong, your majesty? asked one of the loyal guardians of the sacred beast with concern.

- No, it's nothing. He answered, mocking, but nevertheless tinged with a certain melancholy. "-Just something I would like to forget.

***

As she went deeper into the world, Ivy encountered various fierce and disciplined guardian creatures who were no help to her, but this did not discourage her. However, she was shocked by their strength and incisiveness and became increasingly wary.

But as she continued to walk and explore, a group of trees with red foliage that housed a whole cloud of Miolt, winged beings with red and green bodies and transparent, shiny wings, finally appeared in her path. When she saw them from afar, Ivy ran towards them, hopeful and already half relieved. And when she was sure of what she saw, she ran towards the band of trees, almost laughing and crying. Then, aware of what she was doing, she immediately stopped and walked slowly. She took special glasses to better see the Miolts.

But even though she had made sure to move slowly along a rocky path, Ivy had to trip over a rock, which caused an ominous noise, and immediately put the flying creatures' instincts on alert.

They raised their little heads and looked around, and when they finally spotted the young explorer, they looked at her in a suspicious and haggard manner. At first motionless and holding her breath, Ivy made a gesture that alerted them and urged them to fly away as quickly as possible. This action should have disappointed and angered Ivy, but it did not. For with each flap, the Miolts' transparent wings crumbled into extraordinary waves of sparkling, multicolored dust that spread everywhere with incredible force.

The brilliant breath of a thousand sparks enveloped Ivy directly in its waves and enchanted her intensely.

She closed her eyes and savored the magical spectacle of this incredible mass of dust.

- Wow! That was wonderful. she finally exclaimed ecstatically.

She looked at them, hovering in the skies, and they looked back at her, still with suspicion. But when they saw the pure, enchanted look on her face as she came in contact with their magic, and her obvious appearance, which exuded no ill intent, the clouds gradually lost their fear. They now seemed indecisive and hesitant as to which way to go. Then, undoubtedly their little king, distinguished by his more dignified presence, his larger wings, and his forehead marked with a golden line, finally decided to make the first move. Detaching himself from his clan, he descended without hesitation to approach the girl and stopped in front of her. She smiled tenderly at him and gently raised her hand before offering it to him in good faith.

The little chief first stared into her surprisingly green eyes with intensity, then, seeming satisfied with what he had detected there, looked at the outstretched hand and touched it with his soft, cool little muzzle. A gesture of supreme confidence.

Seeing their king make the gesture of absolute approval, the others descended in turn and approached the stranger and encircled her, then more boldly touched her with joy.

- Hello, my little ones. Thank you for not running away and for welcoming me so kindly.

They made very pleasant, husky sounds that probably meant joy that the girl was showing them her attachment.

Then she watched the sky darken further and with her magic, she made sure she could identify the western horizon. And when she saw the sun slowly setting behind the forest and rock covered mountains, her concern grew seriously.

- Oh no! It's getting late, folks.

She looked at them with wide, worried eyes.

- I have to go home.

They touched her lightly to try to support her.

- I thank you. Now I have to ask you something. I need your help to leave your huge kingdom. I beg of you.

Ivy was relieved that they would make sure to grant her desire and lend her all their strength to bring her back to her territory. Unfortunately, these brave creatures never had the time to do so because something suddenly hard and wild appeared to grab the girl and carry her away violently.

When the initial shock wore off, Ivy tried to see the nasty creature that dared to kidnap her in such a ruthless and brutal manner. The first thing she saw were huge paws with dark, sharp claws, closing their merciless and painful embrace on her shoulders and arms.

A huge flying beast with black and gray plumage, a big head with long ears, and a mouth with sharp teeth. Its ruddy eyes flushed even more in the bloody light of dusk. Stunned at first, Ivy soon struggled to escape it, gesticulating and sending magical fire shots toward the huge beast's head to blind it and force it to let go. But despite their force, the magical attacks failed to even rattle the great creature or inflict a single scratch. The only thing he decided to do was to tighten his grip, which added to the girl's pain. Soon she felt the blood flowing from her wounds, which began to pour out, soaking the top of her suit.

Stopping for a moment to catch her breath, the captive looked around to see if anything could help her escape.

But unfortunately, she didn't notice anything useful. Even worse, other flying creatures, greedy carnivores, appeared under the bright sky, and rushed right at them. Immediately a fierce and terrible battle began. Ivy could easily guess that the stake of this merciless fight was none other than her person, and more precisely her delectable flesh. However, Ivy knew that for her, these brutal exchanges were a godsend. For busy fighting his fellow creatures to keep his prey, Ivy's tormentor could not help but loosen his grip, which the girl immediately took advantage of. And although she was badly injured in the terrible aerial battles, despite the few shields she was able to create to protect herself as best she could, she still managed to break free from the powerful claws and fall into the forest.