When Sorcha claimed that she had nothing to retrieve of, Snowflake simply nodded in acknowledgement. ”Yes, we’ll head off now,” she’d glance over at the Nature Queen, who continue to sit by the large mushroom which she assumed was her throne. The demon would produce a quick bow as a greeting before departing the area. In a maze-like forest like this, how were they supposed to find their way to the northeast section, when Snowflake was one who would even get lost from traveling to her place to a nearby coffee shop. Her directional instincts were not something that people should rely on. It wasn’t until the flowers began to guide the path once again. Shortly after a distance, the trees and the nature around them return to how it originally was. Perhaps it was the limit of the little magic that was casted on these plants.

Nevertheless, the two females were somewhat closer to their target of destination, supposedly. Her attention would shift to Sorcha as she pointed out how she wouldn’t be of much help. ”Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be of help somehow,” she reassured. Snowflake was confident in her own abilities, and she could possibly guarantee to protect Sorcha at the same time, however, she was still anxious about the strength of their enemy. The woman was a strategist and without knowing how strong this person was, she wouldn’t be able to plan out what they would do in case of some kind of emergency. If that situation were to arrive, they would most likely have to escape first before some comes up with a scheme.

As they proceeded further into the forest, the gushing of water seems to grow louder each passing second. Were they nearing a river, perhaps? Light seeped through the gaps between the trees and she could see it in the distance; water as clear and bright as day. ”How surprising,” she uttered under her breath, brushing past the leaves that blocked her vision as she finally exited the forest that seems to stretch on for thousands of miles—at least to her. Over the surface of the water were rocks that would lead them to the other side of the river, as if they were stepping stones. Snowflake had failed to realise it herself, but she had been growing thirsty and it almost seemed that a genie had granted her wish.

She’d kneel down onto the grass and cupped a handful of water before gulping it down her throat hungrily and god, it tasted like fresh water that was directly obtained from the springs. Just having a sip of it instantly refreshed her mind and switched on all the buttons inside her that she never knew existed. ”Might as well try some?” she glanced up at her partner, offering the water as if it were hers.

How much she longed to have gone home and grab the daggers or the sword or perhaps the bow that her father had left behind, no had not been able to take with him as he was taken away. She had nothing else to think about that would lead her to any more information so she could let that go. She shook her head and turned to look at Snow and following her in the first few steps in to the forest before walking next to her. She made that small bow as well, this time again being spotted by Snow and believing that she herself was a very rude person to do so.

As the plants no longer went apart to form a pathway, Sorcha took the lead and made sure to walk into the North east direction thanks to the forest and nature indications such as the plants and the way the trees grew to make sure what was the eastern side. Perhaps she could do something right. She was glad to hear that Snow would expect her to be useful in the end, and now that they were alone, she wanted to say more, "I can't use magic that well." and with no weapon.

She did hear the water as well and was glad to see a river once they arrived, it would be a great way to know where they were if they would have to return. To continue in the Northeast direction they would have to cross the river but at first they took a short break, where Snow drank the water and Sorcha looked around, thank god stepping stones. She turned her amber eyes back at Snow as she offered some water and thought it might be smart, who knows how long the journey would continue and she would hunch down to take some herself. It looked perfectly clean and clear. "We would need to use the stones to cross the river."

Fortunately, Snowflake had an elf accompanying her to guide through the woods, otherwise she would have gotten lost easily in this maze of a forest. The demon simply raised her eyebrows, followed by an understanding nod when Sorcha admitted of her inability to use her magic efficiently. There was probably a reason behind her statement, albeit Snowflake decided not to ask since she felt like it would be rude of her to do so.

They were fortunate enough to encounter a river nearby and without any hesitation, Snowflake drank the water as greedily as possible. Who knows how long their journey might take? As she peeked closer to the river, she noticed how crystal clear the water was; so transparent that she could even see her own refection against it. Colourful fishes swam through the river, their body streamlined, moving rapidly along with the constant motion of the water. Involuntarily, she dipped her finger into the water and waved it around, the coldness seeping through her veins—it felt refreshing. However, there was no time to waste, for they have a task to complete for the Nature Queen.

It was quite obvious to her that they would have to use the rocks over the river as a stepping stone, there was no other way to cross the stream anyhow. ”Yes,” she nodded in agreement and didn’t hesitate to place her foot onto the first stone, balancing herself at the same time. Shortly afterwards, she’d extend a hand over to Sorcha to help her assist to climb over the stone and as they did so, the stone would suddenly begin to move down the stream, much to her horror.

Her limit in this world and in the normal one was a frustration for the elf herself but she didn't feel the need to discuss that. It wasn't needed because Snow didn't ask and she appreciated that. She was a bit hesitant on the water but as her partner had drunk enough she was sure it would be fine as crystal clear as it was, it shouldn't be that much of a problem. The distance between the stones were accountable, they would perhaps get a few difficult jumps but nothing that they couldn't handle. It was as if this world was made with bridges that nature would be able to provide them. She lowered herself to get some water as well.

She couldn't help but tactless mention that they had to cross the river, as was as crystal clear as the river and she felt a bit dumb for saying it and quickly took a gulp of water again. Thank god Snow didn't give her a sarcastic reaction but a yes that would do. She stood up and dried her hands on the trousers that she was wearing.

She watched Snow take the first step stone, it wasn't far away from the side, no need to take a few steps back and make a jump for it. A simple step, she took the extended hand and took a step on the first stone, while she made her move to the second, it started to move and she had to hold on to Snow else she would have fallen into the water. As if they had stepped on an activation button, the water started to go a little faster and the rocks, the stepping stones that they stood on followed, "How is this possible?" She couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

As the stone beneath her moved all of a sudden, Snowflake instinctively grabbed whatever that was close to her, which was Sorcha and she could be seen clinging onto the female elf for dear life. Unfortunately, there weren’t much space on the rock for them to move either, so they had no choice but to hold onto each other. What in the world was happening? Was it natural that the stepping stones began to move suddenly when they climbed onto it? Clearly not. Not to mention, the flow of the stream was growing faster and faster every second. In a short distance was the end of the cliff, the water surging downwards into somewhere that she wasn’t particularly curious to know. It could be the end of a waterfall, or her death.

Whatever it was, they needed to get out of the river to cross the other side.

Even if they were to jump into the river and swam for their lives, they would still be washed away by the water easily. It was then she noticed another stone approaching them, and she made a split-second decision that could possibly save their lives. All they had to do was prevent themselves from reaching the end of the cliff and they should be safe and sound—hopefully. ”We have to jump,” she spoke, quickly measuring the distance between the two stones and guessed how far she would have to jump to reach her destination. There was no time to waste.

Snowflake took the initiative and leaped over the distance, which wasn’t that far honestly, but if she had just slipped and fall into the water, it would only make the entire situation worse. Thankfully, it didn’t happen. With a soft thud, Snowflake landed safely right on her toes and she’d quickly turn around as she extended her hand for Sorcha to grab. Even if she were unable to make the distance, the demon could easily use her abilities to cover the distance, albeit, she wasn’t sure if it would be the same for Sorcha, thus, she had to make sure the fellow elf was with her at all times.

”Come, quick.”

Oh by the nature Queen, this was going horrible, she thought that the Queen was watching over them? Could her magic not even help them here? She didn't actually think so negative but it happened because of the situation. There was no muscle pulled in her face as her amber eyes only looked around to see what they could do, her hand holding on to Snow because she definitely didn't want to fall in the water. Her eyes travelled to the distance in front of them, where the river suddenly stopped, now of course Sorcha understood that that meant that the river would go down and she wasn't eager to find out how far that would be.

She turned to look at Snow when she heard her about jumping and her eyes became bigger. Jump? Where, she looked over her shoulder and noticed the stone that was closes to them. Oh.. yea jump. But how would that be done, she would have to turn around but perhaps Snow could.. oh she would go first. While Sorcha was still calculating if she could, she had nothing to hold on to but the reach of Snow in the end. She had no magic to support her, so she should just try.

She shouldn't think too long because that would make things only more difficult, and without thinking too much more about all the possibilities that could make this go wrong, she quickly took a step back and pushed herself of this stepping stone to the next and her hand quickly extended to Snow, because she was afraid she wouldn't make it, but she did, not even on the edge but clearly there where she had to step, "There is another one." she quickly pointed, as the stones would move towards the edge, they would have to quickly find the next and thus jump on. The best would be if they find stepping stones that would form a diagonal line to the other side, they would move back and sideways so they would get to where they needed to be.

”It’s alright, I’ll catch you,”—was the first thing that left her lips immediately after she jumped, in order to reassure the other female. It was quite apparent that anyone would be anxious in this situation. Even Snowflake was, despite her emotionless visage. Once Sorcha did, she clutched onto her hand tightly in case the elf might have let her go by accident. Snowflake did guarantee to herself to take care of Sorcha and was technically responsible for her well-being, and thus, she mustn’t break her promise. More rocks began to swim into their direction, but each in a different direction albeit, now that they’ve taken a bit of practice, the rest shouldn’t be difficult—or so she hoped.

If Drago was here, the two females wouldn’t even have to take part in this silly obstacle and they could have simply soared over the sky to reach to their destination. But, would her dragon actually fit inside the portal? That she did worry, but Snowflake quickly shoved her thoughts to the back of her mind. She couldn’t let her mind wander off and be distracted when she was literally in the middle of risking her life, including Sorcha’s. Snowflake would not as the auburn haired woman pointed and without any hesitation, she made the jump. The procedure repeated for a number of times until they finally reached the other side of the river. Immediately after they arrived on the other shore, the stones ceased to move and froze in their position, whilst water returned to its original speed.

Was this some kind of trickery?

If the entire spiritual world was controlled by the Nature Queen, perhaps she was the one who was creating these obstacles for them? Despite how suspicious everything was, Snowflake didn’t want to doubt anyone without any evidence or specific reason. Her eyes glided over the distance they’ve crossed, and a sudden realization struck her; the river was hardly big enough, how did they even struggle to cross over the stream? Nonetheless, they were safe and sound and that was the most important thing to be considered. Her head thudded against her ribcage, as if it was about to lunge out of her throat, but she could barely notice due to the life-threatening situation that they’ve just encountered.

There was no time to think of the consequences, that would come when it was too late and with that Sorcha hoped; that they were sitting catching their breath on that side of the river that they wanted to be. But that was after she had jumped, thank god Snow would help her and that made her a little more sure of the situation. She had no idea of course what Snow thought but she seemed far more calm than Sorcha felt. The elf had been so good at staying calm but a lot of things were crossing her mind because things didn't add up in this spirit world and whe wanted to know the how's and why's instead of jumping on stepping stones and find a culprit that she had barely any information about.

Snow jumped first and Sorcha gave her a few seconds to adjust before she followed and hopped after her every time they moved up towards the other side of the river. When she felt the earth surface underneath her feet, she let herself collapse on the ground and take a good few deep breaths to stop her quickened breath and to look over the situation. As soon as they reached the soil, the river reversed to what it had done before they touched the first stone. She frowned, "That's a very strange occurance." She turned to look at Snow and wondered if they were on the same line of thinking. She didn't say anything about her thoughts but let the two of them catch their breath before she would stand up, "Should we continue?"

Snowflake could only release a long sigh of relief after the occurrence, as she tried to catch a breath. She’d been so distracted with the entire incident that she had almost forgotten to breathe, and now her lungs were hungry for oxygen. Once she had regained her composure, Snowflake began walking down the side of the river, curious to see what there would be by the end of the cliff. ”I’ll be right back.” It only took her a few minutes to reach the edge since they were already nearing it when they reached the shore. A peek down the cliff and she would see a long stream of water flowing endlessly down…down where? The demon inched her head further, but she couldn’t see any destination to where all this water ends. Instead, all that was in her sight was the endless sky that seems to span forever.

Wait, where they floating? Where did the portal actually lead them to?

The Nature Queen did state that they were in a spiritual world, albeit, never once she’d heard of the existence of skies and clouds in another dimension. Perhaps she was delusional. Many questions emerged in her head, none of them answered yet, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. They had to continue their journey and their task was still incomplete. ”Indeed,” she agreed, nodding at Sorcha’s statement just after she returned from her little trip to the edge of the world. Snowflake had never been scared of heights, but seeing how high they were up from wherever they were, it did truly made her heart skip a beat.

”Yes, let’s go.”

The woman stared ahead and beyond her was the same massive realm of woodland that they had just exited. The maiden had been surrounded by trees, bushes and flowers the entire time that she was already growing sick of the sight—not to mention the scent of wet grass was unbearable to her.

While she remained seated on the ground, she watched Snow walk towards the edge of the river, she sure was curious herself but the answer to the end of the river wouldn't change anything. They managed to hop to this side and they were save for now. So when Snow got back, she herself stood up asking her partner if she was ready to continue on their journey, if they would have obstacles like this, it would take quite while before they would finally return and right now they were in such a hurry. She wasn't sure if the Rune Knights would wait the whole day before they might consider to chop the woods down. On one hand, she had felt a high energy from Snow and she sure didn't want her as her enemy, and didn't she also say something about their lieutenant? It was a good guess that they were probably afraid.

She took the lead to go through the woodlands again, she tried to see if she recongized plants now that they were in the middle of it, to make sure not to bump with her bareskin against something poisonous, but while most looked different, there were a few plants that she had seen before. For some reason this made her at least a little more calm. They reached a bit of an open space within the forest and without much worry, Sorcha walked on.

She would recognize nature's disaster but forgot that the spirit world might show it differently and she was not aware that quick sand could also look like mud, the colour was too dark and mud would only be annoying because it would make steps heavy but it surely wouldn't suck them in.. Besides Sorcha was an elf, it would take a bit more time before she would get ankles deep into the mud.

There seems to be no difference from where they were before; trees, trees and more trees. Not necessarily being a nature lover, all the verdant greenery looked similar to her without knowing what kind of trees they were or the type of flowers that were growing around her. It would have been different for Sorcha; she would have known what each tree could be used for, since she was an elf after all and elves were meant to be an expert regarding in this area. The smell of wet soil filled her nostrils and she couldn’t help but hold her breath every now and then. It distracted her from observing her surroundings and to be on guard, when all she could think of the pungent scent—she could only wish to get out the place as fast as possible once the task was done.

The ground was spongy, like walking on foam and as she placed her full weight down on the ground, the earth seemed to hug her heels and gently release them with each step. The rustle of the dry leaves and the branches snapping underneath her boots were the only sounds that broke the silence that reigned supreme within the area. The tug on her feet didn’t bother her much, until she went deeper inside the forest and somehow, it was almost a weight was tied around her legs to the point that she had to literally drag her feet every step she took. Her eyes glanced towards Sorcha to see if there was any reaction, or if it was just herself. Nothing. The elf woman appears to be walking fine, perhaps Snowflake was imagining things?

No. It only got worse.

Despite her strength that could be considered a higher tier than most mages, the demon couldn’t break through the grip that wrapped around her ankles. It was infuriating; her pace was being gradually slowed down to the point that she could hardly lift her feet—she couldn’t handle it anymore. ”Sorcha…” she breathed, her hands wrapped around her leg as she attempted to pull her legs out of the mud. For some reason, the soil in the area appears soft and wet. ”I’m stuck.”

No idea of what the surface actually hid, Sorcha was very aware of anything that would seem natural, the thing was they were in the spirit world not in their normal habitat. She crossed the open spot with ease, as an elf she was a lightweight, not sticking too much too the ground, sure the mud would cling on her boots but she would easily pull her feet away and walk on, until she crossed and she would be back to the place without mud for her at least. But before Sorcha was able to be done with this open place, she heard Snow and stood still, a little bit beyond the middle of the open area.

Standing still in quick sand or well quick mud wasn't a good idea, not even for an elf but Sorcha would figure that out too late. But it was a bit of a late reaction to when she lookd at Snow, the words; I'm stuck, finally reached her mind and she quickly looked at her own feet noticing she was sinking a little bit in the mud, nothing compared to Snow yet and she quickly pulled herself out, walking over to her partner, "it looks like quick sand but it's mud." she whispered, looking around to find something to help Snow pull free, because she doubt that pulling at her legs with the two of them would work, but it was worth a try, as long as she was stepping aside soon enough to not get stuck as well.

If only they had a robe, Sorcha couldn't stay too long in the mud or she wouldn't have a way to help Snow out. She looked around to find a solution, perhaps she could reach Snow from a branch and pull her up, she was sure Snow was a lot stronger than she herself was though. But they had to try something.

It seemed that Sorcha struggled less than herself, perhaps due to the perks of being an elf. If Sorcha wasn’t already ankle deep in the mud, then maybe she could help Snowflake get out before she gets buried in the mud. A quick mud instead of a quick sand, she should have expected something like this, but apparently, she’d let her guard down. By each passing second, her body was sinking deeper and deeper into the mud. The more she struggled to get out, the faster she would be buried and before she noticed, she was already waist deep in the mud. How long had she been stuck for? That she did not pay attention to, but it felt like an eternity. It was almost as if her energy was being sucked out and her body felt restricted, considering how she couldn’t move so far as to prevent herself from being deeper in the mud faster.

The worst thing of all was that her heels were not dirty, including her precious clothes that she would usually spend most of her money on. Being a clean freak as she normally was, Snowflake hated being covered in mud; the ends of her hair stained and spots of mud on her face. She felt disgusting—she couldn’t wait to throw herself in a pool of water. If there was a river nearby, she wouldn’t hesitate to jump into it without any second thoughts.

With nothing provided, there was no way for her to climb up, but they had to make things do otherwise things might just get worse even before the task was complete. The Nature Queen did say that she would be watching her, so what was she doing now instead of helping her? A use of magic and perhaps she could lift her out of the mud but no, there was no assistance. Sorcha, on the other hand, appears to be searching for an item that could drag her out. There was nothing around them other than trees, dry leaves, twigs and branches….branches! They could use one with a decent size to get her out of the mud. ”Get the branch.” She hoped Sorcha understood what she wanted and silently prayed to the unknown Gods above to make the plan work.

Sorcha was calculating her move and was getting a bit annoyed by the Nature Queen, "So much for protection." she muttered accidentally out loud, snapping out of it as Snow mentioned to get a branch, yes but pulling sideways wouldn't work. She nodded, "Second." She quickly hurried to the left of her, well the right of Snow and climbed into the foreign looking tree that had long enough branches like a willow only stronger than a willow and it would probably be able to hold her weight. Muttering words towards the Nature Queen that Snow might not be able to hear but for the correct use of words, she tried to be polite, she told the Nature Queen to better support their weight in this branch for she had to pull Snow up, not sideways. She was sure she wouldn't be strong enough for that either.

Surprisingly the branch seemed to be a lot sturdier than she at first thought and she hoped it was the Queen being able to do at the very least this much. She drapped her legs around the branch, having her weight at least pull it down a little and lower her hands, "Can you hold on to me?" She asked, quite low, she was really scared she would drop off but she put that thought in the vault of thoughts that were unnecessary at moments like these. She had to get the grib on her legs and hold on to Snow and pull her up, without pulling her shoulder out of her sock- no time to think that!

Snow was already sinking much more into the mud, she couldn't think about anything else but the determination to pull Snow out of this mud! If Snow would hold on to her hands, she would mutter something to the Nature Queen to help with this tree and pull as hard as she could, keeping her amber hues on Snow to make sure she didn't feel pain. She slipped a little lower on the branch but suddenly it felt like the branch was moving upward slightly and that she didn't have to use her strength alone anymore. Hopefully the Queen was doing something to help and she heard a soft pop, the sound of the mud closing around air, thank god. She climbed a little more backwards with only her legs, but didn't let go of Snow to help her on the branch, which again seemed to be a bit thicker. Perhaps there was only a limit on magic for the queen here, since the culprit was stealing the energy? Perhaps that's why she showed up as a tiny fairy.

There were obviously other ways to prevent her from sinking further, such as using her magic to freeze the mud, albeit, it was a risky method and that would only cease the quick mud. They didn’t have time to wait for someone else to rescue them, for they had a task to complete, after all. Snowflake was furious; she felt angry at the Nature Queen more than anyone else. The Queen was the one who sent them out to stop the culprit, but if she had known there were obstacles like these, even if she wasn’t able to provide protection for the girls, she could have warned them beforehand at the very least. Nevertheless, her first priority was to get out of the mud before she gets buried to her death.

Acting as a bridge from the branch to the mud pool, Sorcha reached out towards her, and admittedly, she couldn’t help but be grateful for her flexibility, all due to the elf perks. Not wanting to waste any time, she held onto Sorcha as she slowly pulled her up. Despite her petite figure, Snowflake does weigh quite a bit and honestly, she felt embarrassed having to go through such an activity—not to mention, the mud was pulling her downwards as well. ”Sorry, if I’m too heavy for you…” she trailed off, averting her gaze away to the side—she couldn’t possibly show how unsettled she felt. Albeit, she loved how Sorcha gave her all in helping the frosty maiden out of the mud pool, even going so far out of her way to assist her.

Through a lot efforts and a whole lot of grunting, Snowflake was finally out of the mud shortly after. A sigh escaped her lips; out of content as well as exhaustion while she’d look down at her precious outfit and groan in despair. Her white cloak was stained completely, including her legs and heels. She’d have to clean them thoroughly once she gets back home, but for now, she’ll have to bite through the pain and continue for the rest of the task. ”Thank you, Sorcha,” she couldn’t express how grateful she felt towards the elf woman. If it wasn’t for her, she’d either be stuck there for God knows how long, or might possibly even be buried alive in the mud, and the thought caused a shiver to run down her spine.

Sorcha waved away Snow her thank you but smiled, trying to catch her breath again. "No problem, I hope you would have done the same for me." she laughed a little, making her way out of the tree and staying near it to avoid the mud. She looked at Snow to see if she was alright, "You are not hurt right?" she asked, perhaps a little too later but still meaning it. She was glad that they managed to get Snow out, she had not even heard anything that her partner might have said during the activity of setting her free.

She took a deep breath and kept her mouth shut after that, but in the end she couldn't help but say something, "This world is so strange to me, I have never seen quick mud, and apart from that I expected more help instead of simply a strength capicity of a tree branch." She gritted her teeth in the end, she had to shut her mouth or the Queen would probably hear her and let her help be what it was: done. She lowered her shoulders, trying to relieve some stress, she surely had shown a calm demeanor but that was everything that she felt, "Let's walk over the roots and get out of this part of the forest." If these where the first two obstacles, how were they going to find out the rest of the obstacles and what if they fell into a trap together?

She shook her head slightly and took a few steps over the roots, which felt like a harder surface and she was glad if they were out of this part of the forest, the nature surrounding them changed into heather and she looked around, stopping shortly. She expected another trap now that they changed from scenery again.

Absently brushing aside a wisp of hair that had come loose, Snowflake would inhale a large intake of breath. Her hair was already stained from the mud, so there was no point in being disgusted by her muddy fingers. ”Of course,” she uttered without any hesitation, and she meant her words. She was also partly responsible of taking care of the elf female, after all it was her decision to tag along with Sorcha, thus, she would’ve made sure the auburn haired woman was safe and sound at all times. ”No, I’m all right, but my dress…” her words trailed off as she gazed down at her fresh outfit which was now stained by brown spots of mud. The woman quickly pushed her thoughts away, she should just be grateful that she was finally out of the mud instead of fretting over some clothes.

”Indeed, I’ve hardly ever seen a quick sand, let alone a quick mud,” she nodded in agreement. Snowflake had heard about those, but she never knew experiencing it herself would be quite nerve-wrecking, although being a collected person as she normally was, the silver haired woman remained rather composed throughout the entire scene. ”You’re right, I was expecting some sort of magical assistance but well, a little help is better than no help I suppose,” said the female, clearly understanding of what Sorcha’s words were, and they were undoubtedly directed at the Nature Queen. If the Queen heard them, so be it. At least, she would be aware of how they truly felt.

Or perhaps the Queen was too trusting of them and believes that they could overcome the obstacles easily together.

Climbing over the roots of the trees, she nodded in acknowledgement and pondered how long it would take to reach their destination and how many obstacles they’ve left to face during their journey. Everything was very unpredictable at the moment, albeit, she must admit that she was also enjoying the little adventure she was having together with Sorcha.

Sorcha smiled at Snow her of course. They didn't know each other very long, perhaps for about three hours now and it was difficult to trust a stranger with your own life but she was quite happy that this stranger was Snow, she didn't know what it was, she normally didn't like humans but Snow seemed to be considerate of things. Which made her realize she should ask if Snow wasn't hurt so she did that and nodded, looking at Snow her dress as the mage pointed it out. It was not difficult for Sorcha to imagine what she meant as there was mud everywhere even on Sorcha her boots and upper legs but the elf had taken less of the quick mud thanks to being an elf, "We could see if there is some pool nearby so you can clean up a bit if you want?" she asked, not sure if that would work but it couldn't hurt to try, the trip might be still long and she wanted Snow to feel comfortable enough, that would always be step one.

Sorcha couldn't help but let her feelings escape a little, if they had not been in reach of this strange willow tree, she didn't want to think about what possibly could happen with Snow, she shook her head slightly, pushing the long strands out of her face and suggested to walk over the roots as she nodded at Snow her own agreement, "You are right. Better something than nothing at all." If the branch wouldn't be made stronger, it would probably break even with Sorcha her weight and now it had carried the two of them, that was a good thing, truth be told. Yet Sorcha wasn't that satisfied yet.

The elf let her amber hues scan over the heather fields, as if some sort of neon sign would show up saying: don't go here or some little piece of silvery rope that they would stumble over and activate something. Perhaps too much adventure movies even for an elf. She shook her head and followed the small path that was there, the heather was in full bloom, pieces of purple and pink everywhere and she surely liked the sign but also in normal heather there could be enough animals and poisonous plants that could form a danger. "It might be a tricky business but try not to step on the plans and keep your feet between the small pathways, many creatues live underneath these plants. We don't want to disturb them."

She walked on, making sure Snow was fine as well as her own balancing between plans and little paths, she looked up ahead, a big black sort of tube was there, it looked very strange and she narrowed her eyes to see where it began or ended but it seemed to be very long and about twice her own size if she stood next to it. Yet it looked of natural substance instead of something like plastic, but it felt cold when she touched it softly with the tip of her fingers, "I wonder what this is?"

”That’d be wonderful,” she’d say, in hope that they would soon encounter a pool just so she can clean herself up a bit. It would ruin her mood more than anything to walk around dirtied with mud for the rest of the journey. As the females continued to walk, they’d soon fall upon large heather fields; a splendid sight for an exhausted soul like herself. A warmth in the depths of her chest that quickly spread to the rest of her body, making her feel like she was lying in a field of beautiful flowers, showered by the sun’s rays like the warmest of rains. As much as she wished to throw herself into the fields and gaze up at the empyreans above, the demon wasn’t sure if these plants hold dangerous poison.

Appearances can be deceptive, and the most beautiful flowers could be the most threatening of them all—such were the identity of these plants. As Sorcha suggested, the frosty maiden would walk on the small pavement between the fields without questioning any further. After all, she was an elf and this particular race knew more about the nature than anyone else on Earthland—or so she assumed.

A strange substance remained in their path as an obstacle along the way. Black and shiny, it almost appeared extremely jelly-like to her, and its long length twisted and curled over the distance. Curious, Snowflake bent down to examine the unknown substance as she gently prodded her finger against the skin. Slimy. Yuck. And as she did so, she’d notice the eccentric tube flex upon her touch. Her brows furrowed immediately, and she blinked. Once. Twice. Was it just her eyes? There were far too many peculiar creatures and beings existing in this world, it would have been better if they don’t proceed further with their curiosity. Who knows what might occur, and what this creature exactly was? ”It looks like jelly to me…” she trailed off, and though as reluctant as she was, Snowflake wanted to see if it was merely just a substance or a living creature.

She poked once again, it felt like she was poking through a flexible balloon.

Twitch.

”Did you see that?”

Sorcha herself would not be so hurt by mud on her clothing, it was a common occurance with her dad's training in the woods of the Elven realm but than again, that was a part of it, so she had been prepared as well as having a shower nearby. This, Snow and Sorcha for that matter too, had both no idea how long this journey would go on as they had no idea how close to the culprit they came. Sorcha had the idea that they weren't getting any step closer and it was slightly annoying and frustrating for probably the both of them. The Nature Queen had made it sound not that bad, with her protection and their capability (or well Snow's probably) to get rid of this culprit and be over and done with it and on their way home.

Finally another part of the spirit world that they reached, but everytime again that it changed, it meant that something else would happen, another danger and so on, so Sorcha was hyper aware of that and afraid that something might be just around the corner. Unfortunately, she had not expected it in the form of a tube and as she touched it, it felt rather soft, so no harsh metal or plastic and it was still cold, she couldn't describe the feeling but took a step back, looked at it again and wondered what the blades were for as they were as long as her forearm and in a round about shape. She wondered out loud what it could be.

Just when she looked away and turned to look back at Snow, she saw the twitch, it went through a great deal of the tube and that's when she heard a loud hissing noise, "Did you prick it too harsh, is it like a ballon?" Because that's how you could describe it, some air now letting lose. Finally she noticed that the hissing sound was coming from behind her and to her right and as she turned around she saw a small, yet quite big, pink thing slide back and forth, but behind that, was a black face of a snake, twice as big as she was herself. "It is no tube.. It's a snake." and she turned a bit pale, no strength to stop a thing like that.

”No…” she started. ”I just touched it. It’s more like a jelly than a balloon.”

At least that was how she felt, until the hissing sound was heard, and Snowflake wondered if it was due to herself that the substance was reacting that way. The woman immediately retreated her hand as it began to slither on the ground. It resembled very much to a snake but never had she seen a black one before. More hissing sounds were produced, and they would grow louder each passing moment as the tube-like substance continued to slide back and forth. A large shadow loomed above them and the silver haired woman hastily turned around, only too see a snake that was twice as large as their height.

’It is no tube…It’s a snake.’

That was exactly what her thoughts were, as she immediately leaped back to keep a distance between the creature and herself. It was always good to be cautious, especially when one is uncertain of what their capabilities were. One thing she noticed in the spiritual world was that, there were always eccentric creatures and beings; ones that she had never seen on Earthland at all. The snake’s forked tongue slithered out of its mouth and the creature’s neckband would spread. A cobra? Cobras often had a habit of rearing and spreading its hood when disturbed, but she never thought a black cobra would exist on this planet. They say, you learn new things every day. Perhaps, the quote should be applied to the current situation.

”Get back Sorcha.”

The demon raised her right hand slightly, fumes of frost rising from her fingers. Snowflake was simply readying herself, in case the snake attacked and she was certain that the creature was bound to do so, especially after when it was disturbed from its rest. Within a split second, the snake cocked its head forward, striking its weapon of what she would call the forked tongue onto them. The woman quickly rolled onto the side, dodging the assault and her eyes would glide over to Sorcha to make sure that she was okay. She had to admit that the snake was strong—no, fast—and though it wasn’t much of a trouble for herself, she still had someone to worry about. After all, speed was her domain.

She had touched the tube as well, which had been indeed more than jelly than a balloon, a good description but Sorcha had no idea where the hissing noise came from in that case. Until it was too late of course. She looked at the tube that began to move and she didn't want to give in to the sense of fear that had entered into her being, it was like a beast and than the hissing. But when she finally realized that the sound came from behind herself, it was too late to make a good jump for it. She had no idea where Snow was in her surroundings, thanks to the snake its huge head she was very disorientated. She was frozen in fear at the moment, she had no power to stop this snake and that meant she would have to depend on Snow.

Finally she snapped out of it when Snow said get back, and how much she wanted to turn her face to see where Snow was standing, she lowered her gaze, seeing a part of the snake, that would connect to its head so she knew where it was, but a cobra, you could better not give it the fear, how could a huge beast like that be afraid of a small elf like her though. But she softly moved backwards. When she noticed the shadow coming closer, she quickly moved aside to her own right, seeing as Snow stood around her left and she didn't want to jump in front of her because considering the command Snow had given, she hoped the mage could do something and Sorcha didn't want to be in the way.

She gave a thumbs up when she noticed Snow looked at her and she quickly stood up again, if only she had a weapon. She looked around but of course the heather field had no big twigs and tree branches as the forest would have had. Wonderful.


After fixing everything, this huge snake as well as finding the culprit, which was no one else but the Nature Queen her son, they made sure to take care off him and the Queen send them back to their normal world and Sorcha thanked Snow for the adventure and left.

As if they were playing a game of tag, the snake chased her around like she was its prey, nevertheless, the assassin could outrun the animal with ease. As long as Sorcha was in a safe distance from their foe, she didn’t have to worry much about anything else. The snake bent forward, striking her with its poisonous tongue once again but Snowflake would quickly dodge to the side and feigned defense before she rose her hand towards its head, releasing a mist of icy fumes that froze the predator from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. With a thrust of her palm, the structure broke into an uncountable number of ice pieces that glistened underneath the sunlight. That might have been a cruel way to kill a living being, but it was fast, at the very least.

Now that their obstacle was out of their way and defeated, all that was left to do was to continue searching for the culprit of the madness within the spiritual world as well as their human world. She didn’t expect the problem to be so deep rooted that she had to solve the mystery herself. Solving complicated situations were not her forte and this certainly wasn’t something that she wanted to do either. Her original intentions were only to find the main problem that resided within the Magnolia Forest, but who would’ve known that she was going to somehow end up in a different world. Since she was already in this entirely different dimension, she might as well complete the mission that was given to the girls by the Nature Queen.

It took them much faster than she’d expected to find the culprit and what’s more to discover; he was the son of the Nature Queen. Perhaps that was the reason why the Queen was reluctant to solve the problem herself. Whatever it was, the mystery was finally discovered and it could be said that her adventure in this spiritual world was finally over. Though she didn’t want to admit openly, she must say that the journey she had together with the elf was quite the fruitful one.