"Why are you here?" the mysterious beast repeated his, no, HER question. Truly, what he was looking at was a majestic deer, her hide dark brown, mixed with red, and in her antlers she carried the same indigo flowers that he had seen before.

But, the most peculiar part of the deer's appearance was her face. Where a long muzzle and large eyes would normally be, she had the most beautiful human face he had ever seen. Her eyes were almond-shaped and in the most interesting color. It was gray, mixed with blue, though, when looked at in a certain light, they shone silver.

Jarett could hardly comprehend if this was a dream or reality. Perhaps he hadn't awoken after passing out and these were just fever nightmares. The man backed away a little until his back struck a tree and he had nowhere left to go.

The deer closed in, her gait graceful, it showing in every step. It was almost as if she were a god, who had come down on earth to show herself before him.

It seemed that she wanted an answer to her question. Jarett didn't even doubt that it had been she who had asked it, since, well... this wasn't exactly logical.

"I, uh... I don't know." was all he could sputter. The answer didn't seem to satisfy the magnificent cervid, for her eyes narrowed suspiciously and she scraped her hoof against the ground, as if to emphasize her disbelief.

"You are somewhere where no human has ever tread. I'm sure that you have an explanation." her voice wafted around Jarett, its tone silky and melodic, as would fit a singer. Jarett couldn't be afraid even if he wanted to. And, the deer didn't seem hostile, only... curious.

"I don't know how I got here. First, I'd like to know WHERE I am." he spoke up again, a bit bolder this time. Perhaps his dominance shone through, seeing as he was facing a female of some sorts.

Though he might have just imagined it, the deer's face briefly lit up with amusement but faded as soon as he paid attention to it.

"You are in the Endless Forest." was her answer and the two last words seemed to hit him in the head. Endless Forest. THE Endless Forest?!

"But... that's just a fairy tale!"



(End of Chapter 2)

Chapter 1
Chapter 3