The rustling of leaves in the underbrush came accompanied by stomping boots. The trees stretching tall and thin, their trunks like crooked ribs rising into the green ceiling above. Roots coiled around fallen stones and old bones, wrapping the forest floor in a tangle of half-swallowed paths. Insects buzzed low in the underbrush, but their hum seemed dampened—like even the bugs didn't want to make too much noise.
Mikey and Nickel moved through the forest. Vines hanging right above them. The dense foliage makes them seem like shadows passing through; their forms are barely perceivable. Nickel jumped over a fallen log as he moved, every so often taking a look at his compass. "Are we getting close?" Mikey ruffled his nose as he spoke, a leaf landing on his face and not wanting to move.
"Uh?" Nickel's gaze roamed from the map over to Mikey, still battling with a leaf, his pride too much to resort to his hands. 'Good answer or true answer, good answer or true answer?' Nickel stared at Mikey, the boy now flapping his hands to push the leaf off his face. Trudging over, Nickel swatted the leaf from his face before handing Mikey the map. As the leaf fell from Mikey's face, Mikey took the map. "Uh, what does this mean?" A gloved hand pointed towards a section of the map. "Zhat iz ze forest of death, and zis," Nickel's hand shifted towards the center, "iz where we want to be." Mikey's brow raised. "So are we close?"
"Can zou point to where we are?"
"No?"
"Neitzer can I."
"You could've just said that."
"I'z did."
Mikey's eye twitched in frustration. The goblin seemingly gained a smile as he bounded away. A bush rustling made him stop in his tracks. From his left, Mikey whispered, "You heard that too, right?" Nickel slowly nodded his head up and down as they stared at the bush. Another rustle occurred before a green nose poked out, followed by a head. A sigh of relief escaped from Nickel's mouth as he saw the rest of the squirrel come out. But the rustling didn't stop right away. For a moment, it kept going—just a little too long.
Then, silence.
Mikey's hand rested on the staff. Without realizing it, his eyes darted to the bush, then to Nickel, then back. Finally letting go, Mikey did a small yawn. "For a forest of death, it's kind of peaceful, don't you think?" Mikey said, stepping over a branch. The breeze shifted behind them. Albeit just barely. Like something holding its breath. Nickel gave a side-eye, his lip curling upwards. "Zou jinx it."
"I what?"
"Zhut up."
As the boys continued walking through the forest, it seemed somewhat peaceful. Contrary to what Nickel said, they were not immediately besieged by the gates of hell, not that it would ever happen. Along with the faint crunching of leaves, the bushes rustled softly.
A lullaby for any nature lover. As Mikey trekked along, he dug in his back pocket, taking out the tusk he found earlier. Feeling it around in his hands, he spoke.
"Hey, Nickel." Nickel's ear turned towards him, indicating he was listening. "You think the blacksmith lady could make a weapon out of this, like add it to the staff to make a spear? Ooh, what about a bone knife? Or maybe—wait, what if it was like a knife... but the handle is made of obsidian and the blade is the tusk! Like, tuskfire, yeah!"
Mikey spun the weapon idea in the air like he was crafting it on the spot. "I could call it something cool too. Wizard's Bane? Devil's hand? Nah, Lion's garb. Yeah, that's got a bite to it." Mikey turned towards Nickel, smiling. "Get it?" At his words, Mikey jabbed the tusk forward, as if he were stabbing an enemy. "Ze lady zaid bring real materials." Nickel responded, not even looking back.
Mikey rolled his eyes at his words. Mikey slashed the tusk through the air as he continued, "But it is a material! The teeth of that green cat monster, "zhenstalk," "yeah, that thing, not to mention it was glowing!" Mikey flipped the tusk into the air before letting it land in his satchel. "That's gotta be rare, right?"
Nickel exhaled at Mikey's argument. Behind them, leaves rustled again—not frantic, not loudly. Just a brush, like a hand through grass. Nickel glanced back but saw nothing. Noticing Nickel not paying attention, Mikey turned around, being met with silence.
Turning back and seeing Nickel's attention back on him, he kept speaking, "Ohh, I know what it is." Nickel turned around, seeing the boy taking out his sti-staff. "You're jealous because you don't have a cool weapon, huh? Don't worry, we can grab another stic-prime staff specimen and get you a staff maybe as good as mine."
"Huh? Whatz zhat?" Nickel pointed to his left, Mikey immediately turning to his side and aiming his staff. "W-what? Is s-a-something there?" Nickel's laughter from behind him made Mikey's panicked expression drop. "Ha, very funny. I'll make sure you never get a staff." Nickel's laughter continued, interrupting nature's call. "Wh-what, z-zomething where?" Nickel spoke in a mocking tone, with the same scared expression. Mikey crinkled his nose at Nickel's expression. "No one can even understand you; why are you laughing?" Nickel's laughter abruptly stopped, giving Mikey a side glare before moving forward.
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"So nickel." Mikey spoke, moving a hanging branch from in front of him. "How did you end up tied up in the princess's room?" Nickel looked down for a second as he checked his compass. "I iz hired help," Nickel paused as he scratched his head, still looking down. "I zink? I forgot." Nickel continued moving forward, checking the bronze trinket to make sure he was still going in the right direction. "Mm, must have been the same wizard that made you talk funny." Mikey came behind Nickel, patting his back. "Don't worry, we're going to find the princess and make that wizard fix your voice." Nickel's ears flapped in irritation as he nodded. 'No wayz i waz curzed right?'
As they walked, Nickel took out the map, lining his compass up with the edge. "Ze map zays a river should be near, leadz to middle." Nickel said, handing the map to Mikey. "So how long is that? We wouldn't want it getting dark or anything, right?" Mikey said while stepping forward, squinting toward the distant trees. "Alright," he said, stretching his back and adjusting his staff, "let's hurry up before it gets dark." The very moment the words left his mouth, the forest dimmed. Not gradually. Not gracefully. Like someone pulled a curtain over the sky.
Goosebumps ran across Mikey's back.
Mikey froze mid-step. The wind howling above the darkened forest. Nickel walked up to Mikey, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I told zou, Jinx." "What? No." Mikey pushed Nick's hand off of him. "No way in hell this is my fault; the forest is just… cursed, yeah. It's cursed!" Mikey spoke while nodding. "Wait, no, it must be Creepy Wizard; that must be it!" Mikey continued nodding his head, fully convinced he didn't tamper with the laws of cause and effect. The boom of thunder interrupted Mikey's rant, making his heart jump.
Crouching down, Mikey looked around, holding his glorious staff outwards. Nickel looked at the boy, confusion written all over his face. "Zou gonna fight Thunder?" Nickel asked, genuine confusion flashing across his face. Mikey pouted his lip, "no, just making sure that a, uh… beast doesn't attack us, scared from the thunder and all." Mikey said, not even believing in his own words. Clearing his throat, Mikey stood up, still holding the staff in hand. "We should find a place to hide out till the storm passes."
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The wind howled from the twisted root hollow they decided to call shelter. The inside being lit by the dim glow of moss hanging on the inside. Why it was glowing, who knows? How it was glowing, who knows? In the center of the small excavation in the tree, Mikey turned towards the opening. Branches swayed roughly against the hollow wood.
Whispering to Nickel, "Is it really a good idea to hide inside of a tree when the trees eat stuff?" Nickel stopped for a second to think about Mikey's words. "No, but it's better zhan," Nickel pointed towards the opening, booming thunder and a flash of lightning appearing just perfectly outside the tree, "out zhere."
"Oh, okay."
The wind outside whipped against the side of the tree. A creak just a tad bit too loud drew the pair's attention. "Ok, I'm not crazy; you heard that right?" Mikey turned towards Nickel, the goblin throwing a rock towards the entrance. The rock hit the ground with a thud, unmoving. "Ze, itz fi-." Nickel's words were caught in his throat as his ears began twitching.
Mikey's eyes turned towards Nickels; in a hushed tone he spoke, "Is something out there?" "I don't know." Nickel's ear kept twitching, rotating like it was trying to catch a signal. "Then why are we whispering?" "Because I don't know." At that, Mikey fell silent.
Then Nickel's ear twitched again.
Outside, a twig snapped. Not loudly, just enough.
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Ooo scary, hopefully creepy wizard man isn't, like, stalking them or something.