The forest was alive, thriving with noise that clashed with its stillness. For most people who had not lived in such conditions, the forest made much more noise than what made sense. Cracks of branches, crunching of leaves, and the rustling of bushes all indicated presences of decent size in the vicinity. The fact that bugs were still pipping up with their odd noises and birds were still singing in the canopy around the area indicated that there may not be a predator around. It was a subtle hint, a sort of handicap bestowed by Mother Nature for anyone who would listen well enough.

For those whom had learned to both hear and understand, there was the benefit of camouflage. The smaller creatures of the forest had developed into its alarm system. With the alarm remaining, there would be no weariness from those hearing the gentle singsongs of nature. The trick behind it was stillness. Those who were new to the environment, or established in a predatory sense, would cause silence around them. The birds and bugs would cease, and the more passive animals would take that as a sign to clear the area. In its silence, there was a depth of alerts. An easy way to bypass such a thing was to find a location and remain there for a prolonged period of time. Nature would readjust to the new companion, and the noises would continue.

For some, this could be used for hunting. For Finn, it was used to feel at home. The dense overgrowth was akin to his legendary home to the North, Worth Woodsea. While it had obviously not been left to its own vices so much as its northern counterpart, the East Forest certainly contained a uniqueness. Enough to intrigue the young man, and yet not too much as to rip away all familiarity. It had brought him in yet again, a few hours before the sun began to crest the still jeweled sky.

He had traveled rather deep into it before finding something that tickled his fancy. A tree that reached both high and wide. Its base was thick, bragging of years uninterrupted. It looked like it would be the perfect spot, and so he began to climb. His footing was found quickly, his movements nimble. He didn't look like he was climbing with intent or anything so particular, and yet the distance covered had been both immense and in short time. Before long, he had made it to one of it's thick mid rang branches. There, he made himself comfortable and watched the metamorphosis brought about by dawn.

The darkness was exchanged for light, shadows speckling the forest whenever deemed appropriate. The sound of nocturnal life settled for the choir of the day. The transition was smooth, bringing with it a mild warmth that counteracted the still chilly breeze. It had become the perfect conditions for a nap, which he gladly indulged in. Hours went by in what felt like only a moment of darkness before something woke him. It was more jarring than any loud noise.

It was silence.

The alarm had been tripped, silencing the smaller creatures of the forest. Eyes opening, Finn rolled to his side and peered down the canopy. The interwoven branches and leaves did well to hide his presence, and through the openings he noticed another life foreign to the land. A blonde, seemingly disgruntled, stumbling her way through the trees. She was walking with a purpose, but the quick slamming of her feet and huff of her breath suggested irritation. She seemed frustrated. Perhaps she was lost, or otherwise hindered?

Sighing, and doing his best to hide the amused grin on his lips, he couldn't help but recall his last venture into the forest. It had birthed similar results, a woman met far too deep for her knowledge of the area. While it was just an assumption based only on body language, there was only one way to confirm or deny it. Rolling from his branch and using a single hand to swing himself around the branch, he found his footing upon one of the baser branches before hopping down to the floor below. He'd land a few meters before her, knees bending and hands connecting with the earth to stabilize his fall and mitigate physical damage. Standing straight, sword on his back, he offered a quick smile.

His eyes were aimed towards her own, but his peripheral vision was weary of any sudden movements. Despite the looks of innocence, a predator could be lying wait just below her surface. Best it was to stay prepared. "Hey there," he started with an awkward chuckle. "Everything alright?"

Her words were stern, confident in themselves. She wanted nothing to do with him, that much was certain. While there could have been a plethora of reasons for her response, it didn't take a genius to figure out the most likely. She was off on her own in the forest, relatively deep in fact. Even had she not been lost, she had no companions near her. No matter how confident one might be in their own ability, they had to account for the fact that they couldn't know what the other was capable of. Very few were willing and wanting to dive into battle blind, as Finn often was.

The time between them seemed slow, crawling by in the wake of her words. She seemed steadfast in her answer, and he was not with reason to try to change it. As he began to turn away a from her and lift a hand in apology, she acted. He had only pivoted away from her when her stance released its tension. A cough, and her mouth covered as if that were enough to cover the obvious embarrassment and injured pride.

Her question was laced with regret. She did not wish to ask him for anything. She was making it clear what type of person she was, at the very least when placed before strangers. It was not a negative thing at all, really. As she admitted she was lost, he turned his body back to facing her and put on an understanding smile. "Not a problem," he began, turning so that his non dominant side was towards her. "Let's go." With that, Finn began walking, leading the way. His senses were peaked, realizing he was still deep within the forest with only a stranger.

"I wouldn't feel bad if I were you." His word cut through the static of crunching leaves and waving branches. "The East Forest is large and mostly untamed. People get lost all the time, especially when they're new to it." He could have probably turned it into a minor lesson on how to better navigate such an area but he thought better of it. She was self assured, and just asking for this much was obviously a weight upon her. To add onto it with unrequested teachings would only serve to further her discomfort.

"My name is Finn by the way. I'm a member of Blue Pegasus." He was careful as to not claim to be a mage, as doing so would be a blatant lie. The idea that he was from a light guild would hopefully let her relax some, and he glanced back at her to check her body language. If she had stiffened up or pulled back at the name of the guild, it would have been safe to assume she had something against the organization. "And you?"

He couldn't really decipher much from her. She was quiet, eerily so. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but certainly not what he was use to. The people whom he ran into were often more on the talkative side, even if only to be polite. He didn't know if there was a method to her actions, or if it was simply what came natural for her. Regardless, he supposed it wouldn't matter. They were strangers, only together until they reached the edge of the forest. She seemed intent on subverting the idea of friendship, and if that was her prerogative, he had no right to stop her.

At least, that's what he thought until she responded. It was short, sweet and to the point. Her name and guild. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl who was either bashful or quiet. Maybe he had jumped the gun on her. He knew nothing about her, and it became rather apparent that wouldn't change until he made the effort. They had a while together; The forest was a big place after all. Why not spend it trying to bridge the gap?

The genuine smile that had been born to his lips quickly wiped themselves away. A noise, coming from their left, clashed with the natural sound that had made itself their background. Planting his left foot facing towards the noise and sweeping his right foot to perform an about face, he looked towards the intruding sound with his dominant hand on the hilt of his blade. Any visage of his smile was gone. His eyes were set ahead, jaw tight, muscles tensed to be ready to move. Despite his seemingly fully tensed body, there was a gentle sway to his body. He looked more like a cobra, poised to strike, than a man.

Before them, the noise increased in sound and frequency. Whatever it was, it had been making its way closer to them. There were two distinct noises. A bass, low and deep, and the sound of branches breaking from the pressure. The bass, he quickly discovered, was the reverberation of the ground. Whatever this beast was, it was heavy. They could see the base outline of the creature through the trees, tufts of fur melding in with the appearance of the leaves. Whatever it was precisely though he still couldn't tell.

"Be ready for anything... If things get rough, keep traveling that way," he said, motioning with his head. "You'll make it back into town within the hour that way."

With that, the beasts face poked through the bushes. It was... Weird looking. Stupid, yet huge. It made its way from the brush, stomping its hooves and dragging them on the ground. It was showing aggression, that much was for sure. He couldn't tell how strong it was. Size was no proof for strength. Glancing at her, he took a single step forward to make sure he was the one leading, dragging the attention of the beast. "How do you want to handle this?"

The beast was large and obviously startled by the unknown intruders into its territory. There were a plethora of things racing through the young adventurers mind. He had no idea what the beast had come over for, which was the main concern. It could have accidentally came across the pair in its travels. It could have been fleeing from a predator, only to run into them. Or more terrifyingly, they could have been intruding in its mating territory. If it had young nearby, or if it was this strange beasts season, then there was a legitimate chance of it attacking them. Such an idea didn't seem likely to Finn. It seemed more startled and bewildered than aggressive. It was only channeling the confusion into a faux sense of power, something likely to scare them away. He had prepared to say something about them slowly leaving the area, but before he could do that Xandra began to act.

She had begun to move forward, earning herself a confused and incredulous look from Finn. He wanted to say something, to grab her and pull her back. He couldn't do either of those things though. She was her own person and could make her decisions rationally, he assumed. That didn't make him drop his guard though. His hand gripped the blade ever tighter, his knees bending ever so slightly and putting the weight of one of his feet on its toes. He would be ready to burst into action in a moments notice if things went south, but for now he'd merely watch.

As she put her hand out and the beast reared back, Finn felt his muscles tighten. He was anxious, ready to cut the beast down where it stood. She seemed intent on making her action work though, going back for a second round. He felt eerie about the entire situation. He had seen wild animals calm down and even accept contact from calm humans, but he had also seen the situation go awry. As she reached out again it seemed to accept her touch. Her hand pushed into its rather bulbous fur, petting it slowly and calmly. The contact seemed gentle, and it seemed to be enough to begin lulling the beast into a state of comfort.

She spoke, her voice soothing and kind as compared to earlier. Her eyes seemed to have a brightness to them, likely a sense of joy brought about by being able to make contact with the creature. Finn hesitated upon making eye contact with her. Slowly but surely he let his muscles release their tension, everywhere except his hand that gripped his blade. She seemed confident in what she said, and certainly enough the beast seemed to be relaxing. His eyes gazed behind it in the path it came from and saw nothing. His ears strained for any noise out of the ordinary, coming from where his eyes couldn't reach, but he heard nothing. If it had been running from something else, it had long since lost it.

"If you say so..." His voice came out quietly, though not with any signs of aggression or annoyance. Rather, he held on to a bit of fascination. This girl was odd, there was no doubt about it. Still, she had proven him wrong without even intending to. Regardless of anything else about their meeting, she had found a quick way to earn a bit of his respect as well as some wonderment.

Sighing and dropping his hand down from his blade, a chuckle made its way from his lips. "You're kind of crazy," he said, the telltale signs of laughter still bubbling up with every word. "I don't think I've ever met someone who was lost in the forest that would go up and pet a random, agitated animal." His words held a bit of a teasing tone as he slowly moved forward. His hand was outstretched, and he paused when the creature moved to sniff him. It seemed quick to dismiss him as a threat, seeing as how he'd been in this forest long enough now to have its scent lingering on him.

Reaching forward and petting the beast as well, he turned to face her. She was in much closer proximity now. Her hair was long, it framed her face well. Her face was sculpted well, though it didn't look like she often wore too much emotion. There were no lines from overuse of smiling to be found on her face, but that only brought a smile to Finn's. "Ready to get moving again?"

She was beside him, allowing him to watch the changes to her expression regardless of how few and far apart they were. She was not an expressive individual in that sense it seemed. There was only a moment where the corners of her lips pulled upward before they went back to their resting state of complacency. Magnolia had turned into a rather interesting place for Finn, somewhere he could meet many people and many different kinds of personalities. The more diverse his list of acquaintances became, the more he realized that it was difficult to clump people into groups. Things in the wild were so much simpler. There were times when animals acted differently than could be expected, as what had just happened. Still, the general idea of each creature could be assessed and accounted for. People were so much more varied and expressive, even in the case of Xandra who seemed to excel at hiding her emotions.

The moments spread on much longer than he had realized, and before he knew it she had tugged him from his own thoughts. "Alright." His words were short, and a smile had placed itself upon his face. Unlike hers, it did not retreat or go into hiding. It stayed on his face as they began to walk away from the beast. It followed for a few steps, looking at them with an inquisitive tilt of its head, before it began going back the way it came. As the beast left their vision, he turned his attention to her once more. She was playing with her fingers, an odd habit that likely had some sort of rhyme or reason to it.

This girl seemed to talk much more with her actions than she chose to with words. Regardless of why she was like that, it was something that he could respect. He didn't understand how people could be like that. He didn't need to. She found her own ways to be expressive, and it made him wonder how long he'd have to be around her until he could begin picking out the details of what actions correlated to which emotions.

"So," he said with a sigh, not a show of annoyance but rather the easiest way he could find to break the silence that had settled between them. "What brought you into the Forest to begin with? Not that you have to answer, I'm just curious." His eyes weren't pinned to her, but rather he let his gaze search for her own before looking back in front of him. Being around her felt like being around one of the giant foxes from Worth Woodsea. They were seldom to seek out company, quiet and concerned with their own business rather than others. Curious, cautious, and intelligent, they would rather avoid useless conflict rather than indulge in it.

Yet she was not a beast. She was much more complicated than that. Composed and steady, she seemed to have with her a sense of pride and self assurance that would likely make her hesitate to answer his questions. She seemed resistant to accepting his help at all in the first place. Now to indulge extra information about herself to this relative stranger; Well, something told him that wouldn't sit right with her immediately. Still, he was patient. He did not hope to force her open, but their travel would be much more enjoyable with some light conversation. Who knew? Maybe it could even be the spark of a new friendship.

The silence between them began to feel almost like an expected part of being with her. It wasn't a negative aspect, yet something that felt unique. Most people enjoyed the idea of getting to know someone else. Even if they didn't end up liking each other, there was the chance to make a new friend. Most people did this through verbal communication, and yet this girl who dove head into the unknown seemed completely content with letting a silence settle. She seemed confident and comfortable enough in the lack of noise that he almost wondered if he was ruining it. Maybe there were ways to get to know people without speaking at all? Or perhaps she wasn't intending on getting to know him at all?

There was a sudden gust of a wind that caught leaves and the like from the forest bottom and began shifting them. The sound in the air of thousands of leaves rubbing against each other, rustling about, became apparent. The whistle of the wind forcing itself through tight corners and minuscule cracks added to the orchestra of nature. Just barely over the sudden noises, the chirping of birds came from the distance. Their song was calm and chipper, the furthers thing from a warning call as possible. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful this place was. Much less dangerous than his own home. She had been lucky that she was here, rather than there.

The noises that had just made themselves so prominent just as quickly became background static when her voice perked up. It broke through the sounds of nature, making him turn his head and almost completely stop paying attention to the things around him. Thus was the effect of a soft spoken individual. Though she did not speak often, and not with many words, it made the words she did speak carry that much more weight. He didn't consciously realize the correlation, or even the effect. Part of him understood though, for the briefest of moments, that she had been able to command his attention entirely for those few moments.

Looking back ahead and clearing a low hanging branch out of their way, he held it to the side and allowed her to pass. Letting go, he took a few longer strides to become equal with her once more. His eyes were locked ahead, though they were not stern. He was searching. Not for something physical, but for his answer. It wasn't as if he were racking his brain for information, but rather he wished to answer in a way that was honest while still not being too wordy. "Reminds me of home, I guess." With a smile and a glance her way, he focused back ahead of them. "I was raised in a forest like this one."

As they continued forward, the edge of the forest grew ever closer. Though still some distance out, she'd notice the trees spacing steadily increasing and the brush itself slowly decreasing in density.