The Fairy's head snaps up. Sh'e had caught a glimpse of the elf, one sh'e prefers to think of as h'er elf.
A darkness had overtaken the deepest part of the forest, and it had changed, it had become a different kind of place. In this forest, here, it has been quiet for long.
The fairy had been exiled, for a time, and sh'e had found a home. Roots had gone down deep, and they remain. But the time of the exile has ended, and carefully sh'e has returned. Wary and wondering, sh'e sees old friends. Memories of the past haunt h'er, and memories of the present.
Sh'e does not know what the future holds, in this place, nor in any other. But in h'er spirit a vision is being born, one that includes the larger forest, where there are also places of safety.
Sh'e sees the elf, and sh'e is quiet. Wounded, they are. Perhaps the dormouse is too, the dear one. But sh'e had been gone long, the banishment was of h'er own fault, but sh'e has returned stronger, greatful that by grace, the time had passed. And lessons have been learned.
Sh'e remembers the days of old, the battles that burned the old forest to the ground. Sh'e has questions, is looking for answers.
It is not time for h'er to touch the elf sh'e loves. Sh'e has been grieving, perhaps, in this place, sh'e will build a new path, one that unites, and sets free. Sh'e does
But it is not h'er forest, and sh'e is scared.
Frightened and sad eyes look at h'er friends. Sh'e walks quietly into the dark forest, memories come, sh'e needs to think.
