Tangled

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284 Ava: Yet Another Strange Forest

Shaking off the morbid thoughts clouding my mind, the images of war and supernatural chaos, I breathe deeply and close my eyes. (D) Focus, Ava. There's work to be done.

Concentrating on that elusive string of connection I can feel deep within me, it's like a gossamer thread. Barely visible, but undeniably present.

I tug at it gently, as if saying hello to an old friend. No response.

I press on, trying to deepen the connection, fumbling along in this strange magical mental space. It's like groping in the dark, unsure of what I'm looking for.

The sound of Lisa's breathing and subtle movements a few feet away threaten to break my concentration, and it's an effort to push those distractions aside, diving deeper into the recesses of my mind. The world around me fades away, replaced by a vast emptiness. Then, I'm falling.

By now, the sensation is familiar enough for me not to panic, waiting it out as space whizzes past at breakneck speed.

My stomach lurches, instinctual panic taking hold of my body; my mind might understand that I'm not falling, but every physical reflex of mine insists that it is.

And then, a torturous second or two later, it's gone and I'm alone in the middle of what looks like the creepiest forest to exist on the planet.

Gnarled, dead branches wrap together in a dense canopy of trees that block out the majority of light.

Dead leaves litter the ground, crackling and crunching beneath my feet, but there's a shocking lack of underbrush. It's like walking inside an unfinished painting.

There's a pond, of course. Why is there always water? Is it symbolic, or just coincidence?

Unlike the pond where I met with the Moon Goddess, this one is so murkily dark that it seems filled with black water. Just looking at it makes my skin crawl, and I step back reflexively, not wanting to get near the edge-even when I'm a solid ten feet away already. There's an unnatural quiet to the space. No birds singing. No insects buzzing. Fuck, I'd take a cicada to break up the oppressively creepy environment. But no.

Just the dead leaves crunching with my every movement and my breathing.

I turn in a slow circle, taking in my surroundings. The forest stretches out in every direction. seemingly endless. The trees all look the same-tall, dark, and foreboding. There's no path, no sign of which way I should go. Only the pond breaks the monotony. My eyes are drawn back to the water. Its surface remains perfectly still, not a ripple in sight. I approach the water's edge, peering into its depths. For a moment, I think I see something moving beneath the surface. But when I look closer, there's nothing. 284 Ava Yet Another Strange Forest

even reflections on the

it might

a pebble into it, it sinks

self: Don't go

to connect with your magic. Is this what that

breeze stirs the branches overhead. It carries a

ears, trying to

my magic, it's...

supposed to be some sort of evil overlord. Dead trees. Creepy, murky

the kind of thing I

it

just a

way closer. There's some sort

the water, my eyes straining to catch another glimpse of that elusive glint. It's maddening, like trying to catch light with my bare hands. Every time I think I've spotted it, it slips away, dancing just

I mutter, leaning forward. My reflection should be visible on the surface, but there's nothing. Just that

ache, and I give up to walk around, rubbing them to ease

This isn't working.

about this all

not about to try drinking the water, even if someone tells me it's the source of

do?

I've been...

Fuck.

Wait a second.

But this place... it's not real. Not in the way the physical world is. It's connected

th

Yet Another Strange

That intangible sense

for. But as I

my magical senses. But it's there. A warmth, a golden glow that seems to