The forest is hushed in the early hours, the kind of quiet that wraps around everything like a bnket.

  Misty tendrils drift low along the forest floor, curling between tree roots and mossy stones as Ruby and Lyari move silently through the winding path.

  Ruby's breath puffs softly in the cool air. Her bnket is slung over he shoulders, arms wrapped around herself as she walks.

  "I liked yesterday," she murmurs after awhile. "Yesterday didn't try to kill me."

  Lyari, walking just ahead doesn't respond-just gives a short nod, barely visible in the low light.

  The canopy above them shifts with the rising sun, thin beams of pale gold breaking through the morning fog. The forest feels older here. More still.

  Ruby's eyes drift toward the underbrush, scanning for movement, her tail twitching gently with each step.

  The rhythm of travel has become routine-but the air feels different this morning.. Not dangerous, not yet.. but expectant. Like something is waiting.

  As the mist thins with the rising sun, Ruby's eyes catch something unusual just ahead-a rge stone, weathered and moss-covered, nestled just off the western side of the trail.

  She squints. "Hey.. is that a person?"

  Lyari doesn't stop walking, but his eyes flick in the direction Ruby points.

  There,, stretched across the rock, lies a figure-human-shaped, but unnaturally still. Their skin looks pale and dull in the morning light, almost waxy from this distance. No visible clothing, no gear, no movement.

  Ruby's steps grow cautious. "They're not reacting at all..."

  The two draw closer. The forest is quiet except for the rustle of leaves and the soft crunch of earth beneath their boots.

  Still-no movement. Not even the rise and fall of breath.

  Ruby leans closer to Lyari, her voice low. "Are they... asleep?"

  Lyari's hand moves to his bde. "Or dead."

  Ruby grimaces. "Charming."

  Lyari doesn't respond.

  Lyari takes a single step forward-just one-But it's already too te. Ruby's curiosity is faster than his caution.

  She breaks from the trail and hurries toward the rock, her eyes fixed on the unmoving figure sprawled across the mossy surface. "I think he's sunbathing...?"

  "Ruby-" Lyari's warning comes sharp, but she's already at the base of the rock.

  Up close, the figure is unmistakably human-or at least humanoid. A thin, wiry old man, entirely unclothed, skin like warm parchment. His long silver hair spills around his shoulders, matched by a beard that trails over the side of the rock like creeping ivy.

  He's flying ft on his back, one knee slightly bent, arms at his sides, like he's been there for hours-maybe days.

  He doesn't move. Not until Ruby leans a little too close and says, "Hello...?"

  The man inhales sharply, and then- "AHHHH!"

  Ruby yelps, stumbling back as the old man sits bolt upright with the grace of a startled cat. His eyes snap open-milky, but strangely alert.

  He blinks slowly, looking around and then stares directly at her. "Well," he says, voice raspy but rich, "You're not a mushroom."

  Ruby blinks. "Um... thanks?"

  Lyari approaches quickly, but cautiously, their eyes scanning the rock and the figure for hidden weapons-or traps.

  The old man squints at them both, then stretches with a long groan, vertebrae cracking like old wood.

  The old man finishes stretching, then tilts his head toward Ruby, studying her like she's some odd bird that's wandered into his garden.

  Then he smiles-a wide, zy grin framed by his wild beard. "Would you care to join me on my wizarding rock?"

  Ruby blinks. "Your what?"

  He pats the moss beside him. "My wizarding rock. Good for crity. Keeps the spine aligned. Excellent for sun charging the soul. Though-" he gestures vaguely at his bare, weathered form-"you'll want to disrobe. That's part of the crity."

  Ruby opens her mouth, then closes it. Then opens it again. "... I'm good, thanks."

  "Suit yourself." He shrugs and flops back down on the stone with a long, satisfied sigh. "But you'll never reach your full mystical potential with all that cloth in the way."

  Lyari, standing a few paces behind, pinches the bridge of his nose.

  Ruby half-turns towards him, "So like... is he dangerous, or just... very committed to the bit?"

  "Unknown," Lyari mutters.

  "I have a name, you know," the old man calls out zily, eyes still closed. "But I've also forgotten it."

  "Convenient," Lyari replies ftly.

  Ruby slowly backs away from the rock, still watching the old man, who's now humming tunelessly and waving one hand zily in the air like he's conducting an invisible symphony of leaves.

  She rejoins Lyari, who gives her a long, unreadable look.

  "...What?" she asks, voice a bit too high-pitched. "He seemed to be friendly."

  "He also invited you to sunbathe naked on a rock, while in the middle of a forest." Lyari responds.

  Ruby shrugs. "Yeah, but like... politely?"

  They walk on without another word, picking their way back onto the trail. Neither of them looks back.

  As they disappear into the trees, the old man stretches once more, muttering to himself, "Youth these days. No commitment to spiritual exfoliation."

  The forest quickly swallows up the weirdness behind them, but the vibe lingers. For a while, neither of them speak.

  Then Ruby mutters, "I'm gonna have questions about that for the rest of my life."

  Lyari only nods. "Good. Don't ask them."

  After leaving the wizarding rock behind, the forest feels strangely quiet. Not tense. Not magical. Just... quiet.

  As they press on through the ter hours of the day, the forest begins to change.

  The trees grow thicker and lower, their trunks twisted with creeping vines and lichen. Patches of standing water dot the ground, and the once solid path turns to soggy, uneven terrain.

  The air becomes damp and heavy, clinging to their skin like a wet cloth. Bugs buzz in growing clouds, drawn to movement, warmth, and sweat.

  Ruby fans her face with her bnket. "Okay. I take back everything I said about how nice this forest is. It's trying to drown us in bugs."

  Lyari smacks a mosquito against his neck without a word.

  The terrain slows them. Footsteps spsh and squelch, and more than once, Ruby nearly loses a boot to the mud.

  As the sky darkens into hues of purple and orange, they emerge briefly onto a higher, drier patch of ground. The air feels cooler here, the buzzing of insects momentarily less oppressive.

  And that's when Ruby sees them. "Lyari," she whispers, eyes narrowing. "Look."

  On the horizon, silhouetted by the st light of the sun, three cloaked figures stand motionless.

  The two outermost are tall, broad-shouldered, and clearly armed- swords, perhaps, or axes hanging from their sides.

  But the middle figure is much shorter, the top of their head barely reaching the shoulders of their companions. They stand still, hands hidden beneath their cloak, posture unreadable.

  Lyari's stance tenses immediately, hand instinctively moving to the bow slung over his back.

  "They haven't moved," Ruby whispers. "What do you think they're doing?"

  "Waiting," Lyari says. Lyari's hand settles lightly on Ruby's shoulder. "We go slow. Quiet. Keep low."

  Ruby nods, determined. "Got it. Silent as a falling leaf."

  She crouches low, tail twitching with anticipation, and slinks off towards the edge of the nearest tree for cover. Then promptly steps on a branch with a crack that echoes through the quiet like a thundercp.

  Lyari closes his eyes briefly, exhaling in frustration.

  Ruby winces, freezes and then tries again-only to catch her boot in a twisted root, stumble forward, and half-trip into a bush with a loud fwump of leaves and startled birds.

  "Okay. That one was the root's fault," she whispers harshly. "Nature is cheating."

  The three figures ahead don't move.

  Lyari, now gliding between trees like mist, barely rustles the ves as he advances. Ruby, determined not to fall further behind, sticks to cover with exaggerated caution-her version of stealth is equal parts enthusiasm and chaos.

  Eventually, the two draw close enough to get a better look at the figures-still unmoving, silent in the fading light.

  The taller two are both clearly armored beneath their cloaks. One carries a polearm, the other a massive sword strapped across their back. The smaller figure between them remains still, hands tucked into oversized sleeves, face still obscured by the hood.

  They've made no sound. No movement. Yet they seem to be watching. Waiting.

  The tension crackles in the stillness. Lyari's hand drifts towards his bow, eyes locked onto the trio. Every inch of their stance screams caution.

  Ruby, meanwhile, narrows her eyes. Something about the middle figure-it's not just that they're shorter. It's the way they're standing. Still, sure, but... too still. Like they're trying not to move.

  And the two tall ones? They're looming. That's all Ruby needs.

  She rises from behind her tree and shouts, "HEY! Back away from the kid!"

  Lyari's head snaps toward her. "Ruby-!"

  But she's already sprinting out of the trees, bnket fring like a cape behind her as she charges forward, kicking up mud and shouting, "Don't you touch them!"

  The two rger figures react instantly-spinning toward her, drawing weapons in a fsh of steel.

  Ruby skids to a stop a few paces away, hands up. "Whoa whoa! Let's not do anything stabby, okay?"

  Then the middle figure turns. A small face peeks out from beneath the oversized hood. A child-no older than seven or eight, pale-skinned with wide eyes and a tear-streaked face.

  Ruby's jaw drops. "Wait. You're... you're actually a kid?"

  The child nods silently.

  The two armed figures take a step forward-closer now, weapons still drawn, saying nothing.

  Ruby takes a small step back, eyes flicking between them and the child. "Okay. Um. Lyari? Little help?"

  The taller of the two guards takes another step forward, the glint of his sword catching the st of the sun's light.

  Ruby doesn't wait. Her hand snaps to the ground, scooping up a palm-sized rock slick with moss and mud. She draws back- and throws.

  Not wildly. Not frantically. but with a sudden, focused grace that surprises even her.

  Thunk!

  The stone strikes the swordsman square in the forehead, a dull crack cutting through the air.

  He stumbles back, letting out a guttural noise of shock and pain as he grips his head.

  Ruby blinks. "...Holy crap, I actually hit him."

  The second man shifts his grip on the polearm, stepping in front of the child now-protective or possessive, it's hard to say.

  The child ducks down instinctively, arms over their head, whimpering.

  Ruby steps forward, heart hammering, mud squelching under her boots. "Let the kid go!" She shouts. "Now!"

  The injured man growls low, recovering fast, eyes locked on Ruby with sudden fury. And now the fight is really beginning.

  The man Ruby struck snarls, his face twisted in rage. Blood trickles from the spot on his forehead where the rock hit, and with a sharp yell, he lunges towards her, sword raised.

  Ruby's eyes go wide. "Uh-oh."

  She throws herself sideways just as the bde comes down, the steel biting into the wet earth where she stood a heartbeat ago.

  She scrambles to her feet, mud flying, hands up like that might stop a sword the second time. "Time out! Do-over?!"

  The second man moves to fnk her, polearm leveled-too fast, too close. And then-

  A thunk rings out.

  An arrow buries itself deep in the group between his feet.

  Both men freeze. Ruby turns.

  Lyari is already moving, bow in hand, expression cold and sharp like a drawn bde. He strides forward without hesitation, another arrow nocked, ready.

  "I warned her," Lyari mutters under his breath, "and she still did it."

  The two men hesitate. One rubs his forehead. The other eyes the child warily. Neither looks ready for a real fight anymore.

  "Ruby, still catching her breath, fshes a grin. "You saw that throw, right? I was amazing.

  Lyari doesn't answer. But the second arrow's aimed squarely at the next person who makes a move.

  Ruby_Foxgirl