The three of them entered the forest without fear, even if Ruka often tripped over something and ended up being the absolute mess. Without her footing, Yuxin offered her hand as they walked together like sisters.
Blanche, Yuxin, and Ruka ventured deeper into the dense forest of Myrdvawein. The towering trees loomed overhead, their branches forming an almost impenetrable canopy. The sunlight filtered through in fragmented beams, creating shifting patterns on the forest floor.
"Twenty minutes," Yuxin muttered, her voice laced with annoyance. She kicked at a stray pebble on the path, her shadowy tendrils flickering faintly. "We've been walking for twenty minutes and found absolutely nothing. No elf. No ruins. Nothing."
Blanche kept her composure, her gaze scanning the surroundings with quiet determination. "Patience, Yuxin. We'll find something eventually."
"Patience?" Yuxin snorted, throwing her hands in the air. "We're in the middle of nowhere, chasing a ghost of an elf who probably doesn't want to be found! She's probably laughing at us right now from whatever hidey-hole she—"
Before Yuxin could finish, a loud crack echoed above them. The group froze, their eyes snapping upward just in time to see a blur of blond hair plummeting from the treetops.
"Move!" Blanche shouted, stepping back instinctively.
With an undignified thud and a cacophony of rustling leaves, Vilaphine landed unceremoniously in a nearby bush, her dagger flying out of her hand and landing a few feet away.
Ruka, wide-eyed, whispered, "Is she... okay?"
The crack of a branch above them snapped the group to attention, and in the next instant, a figure plummeted from the trees, landing with a solid thud in the nearby bushes.
Yuxin blinked, her shadows curling defensively before realization struck. "No way."
Rising from the leaves and twigs was none other than Vilaphine. Her face, as stoic as ever, betrayed no reaction to the fall. She stood slowly, brushing off her robe without so much as a flinch.
"You," Yuxin said, pointing, her voice dripping with disbelief. "You just—how did you—what was that?"
Vila retrieved her dagger from where it had fallen, her tone as flat as her expression. "Gravity."
Blanche's lips twitched slightly, but she maintained her composure. "Vilaphine, are you hurt?"
"No," Vila replied simply, her gaze drifting between them. "What are you doing here?"
Yuxin crossed her arms, her incredulity turning to irritation. "You fell out of a tree, and you're just... fine? Not even a scratch?"
"I fall often," Vila said matter-of-factly. "It's faster than climbing down."
Ruka, peeking out from behind Blanche, whispered, "That's... efficient, I guess."
Yuxin threw up her hands. "Efficient?! She just—ugh, forget it."
Vila regarded them impassively. "If you're done being surprised, explain why you're trespassing."
Blanche stepped forward, her tone diplomatic. "We've been looking for you. We want to understand Myrdvawein—and your connection to it."
Vila stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged slightly. "Understanding won't change anything."
Yuxin rolled her eyes. "You're the last elf here, and you just expect us to walk away with nothing?"
Vila didn't respond immediately, instead turning and starting to walk further into the forest. "Hmh, sure. Follow me, or leave. Your choice."
Yuxin blinked. "What—wait, that's it? No argument? No threats?"
Vila glanced back briefly, her expression unchanging. "Talking is a waste of time."
Blanche exchanged a glance with Yuxin, suppressing a smile. "Well, you heard her. Let's go."
As they followed the unflappable elf deeper into the forest, Yuxin muttered under her breath, "She just fell out of a tree like a sack of potatoes and acts like nothing happened. Who does that?"
Ruka hesitated, then whispered back, "Maybe... elves are just built differently?"
Yuxin groaned, throwing her hands up. "Great. Stoic, mysterious, and indestructible. This is going to be fun."
Blanche chuckled softly but said nothing, her focus already shifting to the path ahead.
The group followed Vilaphine deeper into the dense forest, the silence broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the crunch of twigs underfoot. The towering trees formed an imposing canopy, casting long shadows on the forest floor.
Yuxin, walking beside Vila, couldn't resist breaking the silence. "So," she began, hands tucked into her coat pockets. "How long have you been living here, anyway?"
Vila didn't look at her, her tone flat. "A while."
The elf's response kept showing dullness and vague answers. Vila never intended to spend energy to reply to barrages of questions that she finds bothersome. Her emotionless face is surely intriguing and annoying to watch, a hint of annoyance flashes across Yuxin's features.
At the same time, their pace seems steady as they descend through cliffs and big trees, jumping off fallen trunks and crossing streaming rivers. Ruka nearly tripped over and dragged by the waterflow, but Vila caught the little lady back to her feet.
Ruka yelped as she got back to her feet, regaining her balance while gripping tight to the elf's waist. Her cheeks reddening by how things unfold before them. "W-Wah! I nearly fell, t-thanks! miss"
"It's Vila. You're new here, and your footing is just as bad as a newborn beaver."
A small pout formed on the short girl's face, her lips tucked into a frown. She just had to accept and be embarrassed.
Yuxin let out a sigh and crossed the river just fine. "A while…Can't you be more specific?"
"No."
Blanche covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a small laugh. The elf's presence, and her brutally honest replies won't just let it pass Blanche's ears as it is really humorous.
Yuxin groaned, her shadows curling around her ankles in irritation. "Fine. How do you even survive out here? Do you hunt? Gather berries? Magic your food into existence?"
"Indeed"
Yuxin blinked, she was caught off guard by the elf's immediate answers. She's really close to bursting in anger, but Blanche already warned her to keep her emotions in check. "Wait—which one?"
"All of them."
Ruka, walking a few steps behind, whispered nervously to Blanche, "She's... really efficient, isn't she?"
Blanche smiled softly, graciously walking beside Vila to examine the elf's features a little bit longer. "It seems that way, even if our elf friend here seems kind of…direct, towards our hot-blooded companion."
Yuxin, undeterred, pressed on. "Do you even have money? Like, what if you need to buy something? You can't just live on air."
"I don't.", Vila replied with an unbothered look, seemingly fine with talking such topics to the three of them.
"Don't what?", Yuxin snorted in a slight tone of confusion.
"Money. I use goods.", Vila's words left Yuxin's jaw dropped, before the girl facepalmed in defeat.
Yuxin stopped in her tracks, throwing her hands up. "What are you, a forest spirit? Who doesn't need money?"
Vila paused briefly, glancing at Yuxin with her usual stoic expression. "Me."
Yuxin groaned louder this time, turning to Blanche. "Is she doing this on purpose?! Please tell me she's doing this on purpose."
Blanche chuckled, shaking her head. "I think this is just how she is, Yuxin."
Vila resumed walking, her tone as calm as ever. "You ask too many questions."
Yuxin hurried to catch up, pointing an accusatory finger. "And you answer like a broken oracle! Do you even have hobbies? Or do you just stare at trees all day?"
"Mhm."
Ruka bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "She's really in tune with nature…"
Yuxin sighed dramatically, raking her fingers through her hair. "This is impossible. I give up. She's like an unbreakable wall of deadpan…straight up mystery!"
Vila glanced over her shoulder, her blond hair catching the dappled sunlight. "Good. Then stop asking questions."
Yuxin opened her mouth to retort but stopped when she saw Blanche smiling at her. "What?"
"Nothing," Blanche said, her voice laced with amusement. "I just think it's nice to see you so engaged."
Yuxin rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Engaged with a brick wall, maybe."
Vila and the rest of the pack, walked for a little more until they reached a waterfall that duly existed in front of them. Vila stood in silence, standing near the waterflow, and stared directly forward. Lifting her right hand, she points at it.
"There, Myrdvawein.", Vila muttered, Blanche and Ruka looked right and left with a confused look. They can't seem to notice what Vila was trying to imply, before Yuxin responded in an outburst.
"Are you kidding me?! What is this, the perfectly-fine-looking waterfall, and voila! Myrdvawein. You better be-", Yuxin's words cut by Vila's actions. She pulled the girl's hood, their faces met while the elf whispered a few words to deny such a thing, their nose nearly touched, but the intensity left things hanging by the time Vila pulled away too early.
Yuxin hitches a breath, while she's regaining her composure after such a thing, directly provoking her defenses.
"Look closely.", the elf pushes Yuxin away with her eyes, barely giving any warmth but her usual cold stare. She stepped into the water and let the waterfall split like an open curtain, her wind magic separating the water into two directions to reveal a small cave-like entrance, enough for people to walk in and out.
"Enough talking, come inside.", Vila led those three deeper into something that lies behind the secret passage. Blanche, Yuxin, and Ruka were undoubtedly skeptical on what they would find out by the time they stepped inside.
At first, everything is dimly lit since there are only a few torches being put inside the passage, before a hint of sunlight appears at the end of the tunnel. "Careful, it is steep. I don't need you to trip over and fall above hundreds of feet.", Vila casually replied with a pragmatic response.
The waterfall is just the first very few parts of Myrdvawein, as the entire place was sheltered behind the enormous waterfall and hills that surround them.
"Myrdvawein was never big, it has a pretty small village, and the rest is just vast nature that envelopes it.", The elf huffed as she took the first step and exposed the group back to the sunlight.
"I never knew this place existed outside Eurandel.", Blanche shortly answered as she followed the elf, the pack descended through the steep hills, carefully slowing their pace as they thoroughly moved with extra caution.
"Like I care, one wrong step and we'll end up as bean paste, Blanche!", Yuxin retorted while she clicked her tongue, and felt a nuisance flicker within her vision.
"A-Ah! Hey, don't leave me behind, w-wahhh!", Ruka lowered her pace and suddenly stopped, her ankle nearly tripping over some thick grass.
Yuxin caught Ruka on time, she held the shorter girl's shoulder and helped her by offering a place to lean on, and by then Ruka held onto Yuxin's hand as they walked together.
"What did I just tell you?!", Yuxin lightly shouted, scolding Ruka for her recklessness that was clearly inevitable.
"S-Sorry, I'm not responsible for…my f-footing, okay?", despite Ruka's embarrassment, her words still stood for her own, and it is indeed slippery through the process of their descent.
By the time they reach the ground floor, they proceed through a set of woods, where things calm while the sun is seeping through the trees and leaves, not as thick as the forest outside Myrdvawein.
The riverbank is filled with fishes, and behind the calmness of the forest, there lies mammals and chirping birds. Multiple parts around the areas are scattered with various kinds of flowers, even foxes are running around while they feel safe as they claim spots as their home.
Overall temperature around Myrdvawein is cold, so cold that even the heat from the sunlight is still not enough to dissipate the fog that still lies around its atmosphere.
"Don't get lost.", Vila whispered softly, leading the group through the fog until they reached a place where the fog no longer interrupted their vision. It subsided as they passed through the mist, arriving at Myrdvawein's sole village, a place where Vila lived for roughly a hundred years.
The group paused in a small clearing, the canopy above shifting as the light dimmed. Vilaphine stood a short distance from the others, her dagger resting loosely in her hand. Her stoic expression seemed as much a part of the forest as the trees themselves.
Yuxin, never one to avoid a direct question, leaned against a tree and crossed her arms. "Alright, Vilaphine. I've been wondering—why are you even here? Why stay in this forest all by yourself? It can't be easy running the whole place solo."
Vila didn't respond immediately, her gaze drifting over the trees as if the question were a passing breeze. "Because someone has to."
Yuxin groaned. "Seriously? That's it? That's your big reason?"
Blanche stepped in gently. "Vilaphine, we're not trying to pry, but Yuxin does have a point. It's remarkable what you're doing here, but it must be... lonely."
Vila's gaze didn't waver, her tone steady and unbothered. "Lonely is better than forgotten. This forest is the last piece of my people. If I don't protect it, who will?"
Ruka, who had been quiet until now, hesitated before asking softly, "But, isn't it too much for one person? Don't you wish there was someone to help?"
Vilaphine looked at her, the faintest flicker of something—sadness, perhaps—crossing her otherwise impassive face. "Help doesn't come without cost. And trust... is rarely worth the risk."
Yuxin clicked her tongue, pushing off the tree. "You're saying that like we're all backstabbers. Maybe some of us actually care, you know."
Vila tilted her head slightly, her blond hair catching the dappled light. "Perhaps. But I've yet to see proof of it."
Blanche stepped forward, her expression thoughtful. "We're here, aren't we? We're not asking for anything in return—we just want to understand."
Vilaphine studied her for a long moment, her face unreadable. "Understanding doesn't change the past. And it won't undo what's been done."
Blanche's gaze didn't falter. "No. But maybe it can shape what comes next."
For a moment, silence hung between them, the weight of Vila's solitude pressing against the group like the forest's ancient roots. Finally, Vila turned, her voice as calm as ever.
"If you're done asking pointless questions, we should keep moving. There's still a long way to go."
Yuxin muttered under her breath, "Stoic and stubborn. What a combo."