Effy’s snake flew over the forest. Sunlight shone over the treetops and. From where Acantha was sitting it looked as if the snake was slithering through grass. This made it all the more disorientating, because her body felt that surely, they were flying. Looking down made her feel sick and she thought it best to focus on something else.
“Where are we going?” she asked and focused her gaze on the horizon, which the sun was nearly touching. Acantha had expected Effy, who sat in front of her, to respond, but the answer came from behind her.
“We’re going east. To the mountains.” Morn said.
“How do you know the daemon is there?”
“I saw it.”
“You were there? Then why did you come back?” It didn’t make sense to Acantha that Morn came back to fetch them, instead of simply praying to Aoda to explain their whereabouts.
“It was not through my own eyes,” Morn replied with what Acantha took as amusement in their voice. Morn explained how they had learned how to summon a shadow familiar. “Turnfeather is waiting for us in the mountains.”
“Oh,” Acantha didn’t know how to respond. She had never heard of shadow familiars before. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have one. Earlier she had been happily explaining to Morn how she had learned how to bend wood. But now that Morn told her they had learned something as well, Acantha felt a pang of jealousy mixed in with her curiosity. “Did Shesha teach you how to do that? Summon a familiar, I mean.”
Morn grunted affirmatively. “Shesha and I have been tracking the daemon. She thought teaching me how to follow it myself would be most efficient.”
Effy snorted. Acantha waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. The sun was setting. Suddenly she heard a beastlike howl from the forest below. She startled when she saw trees move as if they were being pushed aside by a large creature. But the leafy snake was fast gave whatever was trampling the forest no time to reach them. Effy looked over her shoulder with her eyes closed.
“Probably a Wolfkin,” the snake lady answered the unspoken question. Jade sat between the her and Acantha and the elf shot a worried looked towards the swinging trees. “Most of them live up north. They’re very territorial, but only towards creatures their own size. Usually.” Effy turned her head back to face forward. Her thick black hair fluttered in the wind and the small snakes on her body curled over each other to find a spot to hide from the cold wind.
“You know this forest?” Acantha asked Effy.
“I know most places,” Effy sighed, “Yes, of course I know this forest. Aoda calls for me often and I come.”
“You travel a lot?”
“Constantly,” Effy said with a tone that displayed utter boredom. Acantha’s interest was piqued. She looked down and through her upcoming nausea she realized that she had never been this far from the Grove before. Her excitement grew and suddenly the prospect of having to face a daemon was not so bad. It would all be worth it. She would be able explore the world. Acantha started grinning.
The sky darkened as the sun disappeared below the horizon. Below them, the density of the forest changed. Between the trees was more open space.
“Perhaps you should try to sleep,” Effy proposed.
Acantha raised an unseen eyebrow. She had no idea how Effy thought they would be able to sleep on a flying snake. But she didn’t protest. Perhaps it would be a good idea to at least let her eyes rest for a bit. With her long vines she held on to the snake, before she lied herself down on the leaf-covered backside of the serpent.
When Acantha opened her eyes it was with a jolt in her stomach. She sat herself upright and looked around. She let out a sharp shout when she realized they were flying. She felt two large hands firmly gripping her shoulders. Morn grunted something soothing behind her. They were flying. Acantha took a deep breath, shook her head and smiled at herself. How could she forget? But then her smile disappeared. She had noticed leaves flying through the air surrounding them. When she looked down, there were no longer any trees to which those leaves could belong. It didn’t take her long to realize that the leaves were coming off her method of transport. The snake was coming apart. On top of that, the ground seemed to come closer with increasing pace.
“Effy!” Acantha shouted forwards, unwanted panic resonated in her voice.
“Chill,” Effy responded in her regular bored voice.
Acantha looked at the grasslands below them. She had never seen such outstretched treeless landscape. From the sky she could see a river running through the land, like a blue serpent relaxing after a long flight. Acantha shook her head again. This whole flying thing started to get on her nerves. She felt her stomach clench as they descended.
As soon as they touched the ground, the snake disappeared in a gust of leaves that broke their fall. Despite landing on her feet, Acantha instantly collapsed to her knees. Her legs were sore from being cramped against the snake. Jade stretched before her, but Acantha saw her legs shaking too. Effy clicked her tongue.
“We’re going to have to do the rest by foot.” Effy looked in turn to each of them, “But first, I need some blood.”