The sun was just beginning to dip beneath the edge of the horizon, Ravyn walked towards the bar, heading straight toward the stable just a few meters away. Kael trailed behind, arms crossed, kicking a pebble or two with no particular emotion on her face.
The horse, a sturdy black stallion with a temperamental eye, stood calmly, munching on hay. Ravyn untied the rope from the post like he was untying a ribbon from a gift box. Smooth. Effortless.
Kael tilted her head. "You're really going to just ride off without saying anything?"
Ravyn swung up onto the horse's back in one motion. "Saying something now."
Kael rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Scoot forward."
"No space," he said flatly.
Kael blinked. Then looked at the wide, roomy back of the horse. Then back at him. "You serious? This horse looks like it could carry three of you."
"Still, no space."
Kael opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed. "You know what? Whatever."
She walked beside the horse as Ravyn casually guided it out of the town limits. The sun dipped further down, long shadows stretching across the ground. The silence between them lasted about five whole minutes before Kael broke it.
"So... where exactly are we going, Mr. Silent Drama?"
Ravyn didn't look at her. "Fragrant Forest."
Kael stopped walking. Completely. Dead in her tracks. "Excuse me?"
The horse trotted a few more paces before Ravyn gently tugged it to a halt and looked back at her.
"I said, Fragrant Forest."
She jogged up next to him, eyes wide. "Back? So you went there already? Like... on purpose? Not lost, not kidnapped, on your own?"
He nodded.
Kael let out a scoffing laugh. "You do realize that place is basically a death sentence, right? Tenteri banned entry for a reason. You could sneeze in that forest and twelve monsters would show up to eat your liver."
Ravyn gave a faint shrug. "I lived there."
Kael stared. Mouth slightly open. "Lived there? As in past tense?"
"No. Present."
Kael stopped walking again, arms thrown up in frustration. "Okay! No. That's it. What are you? Some kind of forest cryptid with perfect skin and anger issues?"
Ravyn didn't answer.
She jogged up again, now side-eyeing him with both suspicion and mild irritation. "What do you even eat in there? Bark stew? Grilled vines? Do you talk to squirrels to keep sane? Or do they talk to you first?"
Still no response. Just the gentle clopping of hooves.
Kael started biting her nails. "Is this your thing? Just... being all quiet and mysterious so people lose their minds trying to figure you out? Because if it is, congrats. You win. I'm confused, angry, and also kind of impressed."
Ravyn simply kept his gaze ahead, his back straight and posture calm, as though her words were just background noise.
She let out a long groan. "Ugh. You're like a wall with eyes. A horse-riding, sarcasm-deflecting wall."
After a beat, Ravyn finally said, "Better than a loudmouth with questions."
Kael gasped. "You can insult. Good to know."
Another long silence.
Then, Kael smirked. "So... do you at least have furniture in your little forest home? Or is it just you and your pet rocks?"
Ravyn considered it. "Rocks are loyal."
Kael blinked. "Okay, that was actually kinda funny."
He said nothing again. But she swore the corner of his mouth twitched upward for half a second.
They continued like that for a while—him riding, her walking beside. Occasionally throwing sarcastic jabs or rhetorical questions that Ravyn mostly ignored, but every so often, gave just enough of a reaction to fuel her curiosity more.
Kael eventually huffed and kicked another pebble. "This is the most exhausting conversation I've ever had. And you're not even talking half the time."
Ravyn, at last, glanced at her. "And yet you're still talking."
"Because silence makes me nervous! Especially when I'm next to someone who casually lives in a forest of death and acts like it's a spa retreat!"
He didn't respond.
Kael grumbled. "Fine. Keep your secrets, Forest Wall. But I swear, if I get eaten by a six-legged bear or a flesh-eating flower or something, I'm haunting you."
"You'd make a noisy ghost," Ravyn muttered.
She narrowed her eyes. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
A growing suspicion that she had just signed up for the weirdest chapter of her life.
***
Grey forest, a forest you need to pass before going to Fragrant Forest.
Although grey forest was gloomy and dark, it was MUCH safer than Fragrant Forest since Brindare took it with care.
The path into Grey Forest was quiet and well-kept. The trees here were tall but spaced out, letting the sunlight gently filter through. Kael walked beside Ravyn, arms crossed, glancing at him every now and then. The deeper they went, the quieter it became—birds chirped softly, but even they seemed to lower their voices when Ravyn passed by.
He didn't speak. He rarely did.
Kael looked at him again. The more she stared, the more it felt like he was fading—not physically, but something about him seemed distant, unreachable. Like he was cursed. She didn't say anything about it. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable. But the air around him always felt... heavy. Sad, even.
So she tried teasing him.
Once, she joked about his gloomy face.
He didn't react.
Then again, she tried poking fun at how serious he looked while walking.
Still nothing.
Kael gave up after that. It felt stupid. He wasn't someone who laughed, not even a chuckle. She sighed and kept walking.
Soon, they reached the edge of the Fragrant Forest.
Kael stopped.
Her heart dropped.
It was darker here, thicker. Even though it looked like afternoon, the place gave her a strange feeling. The trees were twisted, the air slightly sweet, and the silence... deeper.
She stared at the forest and muttered, "Why did I agree to this...?"
They stepped in. The difference was immediate. The air was warmer, and the shadows moved like they were watching.
"Where's your house?" Kael asked, half-joking, half-hopeful.
Ravyn didn't even look at her. "It's stupid to think I'd have a house here."
Kael's face froze.
No house?
She looked behind her. The nearest town was Brindare, but they were heading away from it. The only other town nearby was west, in Fricret. But they were heading east. Straight into Tenteri's capital, Crewliywas.
She felt her stomach twist.
Tenteri wasn't a strong country, but Crewliywas was no place for the poor or weak. Nearly 80% of its people were rich. The rest? Forgotten.
And here she was, walking deeper into this forest, with a man who didn't laugh, didn't talk, and apparently lived in a cursed forest with no house.
Kael said nothing. She just walked beside him, eyes darting around.
Even though Ravyn was strong—very strong—he moved carefully. His steps were quiet, deliberate.
The Fragrant Forest had its own rules. One of them was the strange phenomenon where, no matter what time it was, it always looked like 3pm. The sky was too bright for evening, and too dull for morning. A golden glow lit the path in front of them, but Kael knew it was already night outside the forest.
Despite the light, she felt cold.
They kept walking.
And the forest watched.