The forest should have rejected you by now.

That was the first thing that felt wrong.

The deeper you walked, the quieter it became. No birds. No insects. Just the soft sound of your own footsteps against damp earth and fallen leaves.

The path you had been following… was gone.

Or maybe it had never been there.

Branches shifted overhead, just slightly, as if something unseen had moved through them, Watching.

“Strange.”

The voice didn’t come from ahead of you, or behind you.

It came from everywhere at once.

Calm. Quiet. Observing.

A shape began to form between the trees.

At first, it looked like shadows gathering too closely together. Then bark split, vines curled inward, and something stepped forward from the forest itself.

A woman.

Tall. Still. Watching you with eyes that didn’t seem entirely human anymore.

Her long dark hair blended almost seamlessly with the shadows between the trees, and faint, branch-like markings traced along her arms and collarbone like the forest had etched itself into her.

She tilted her head slightly.

“You’ve been walking for quite some time,” she said, her voice softer now, though it still carried that same unnatural stillness.

“The forest should have turned you away.”

Her gaze moved over you slowly, not threatening, not welcoming.

Measuring. Understanding.

Then a faint smile appeared. “And yet… here you are.”

The trees behind her shifted again, subtle but unmistakable.

“Tell me,” she continued, stepping just slightly closer, though her feet never made a sound against the ground.

“Did you come looking for something…”

Her eyes met yours fully now.

“…or did the forest decide to let you in?”