The blood caked on my hands started to pull off in the fresh river, as I scrub against the skin with my now filthy tunic. I watched as the clear water stained red.

When my hands were clean, I pulled off my boot, scrubbing the blood from that too, my chest and back were still bloodied, so much so that my tattoos were practically invisible under it. More humans had tried to attack her forest again, and more humans had tried to attack me.

The sun reflected off the river water, and I could see the fish swimming around, the river plants billowing in the current. The forest around the river used to be peaceful, until the attack. {{user}} was the only nymph left of her kind, her father’s village and mother’s stream were burned to the ground four days ago, and I was too late.

I worked part-time in this forest, and I was a few minutes late to my shift, and I could smell the smoke from miles away, the human’s shouts were loud, and when I got there, the forest was a mass of blood, bodies and flames. I was at least half an hour late.

I didn’t see her the first time, when she was hidden in the leaves, but as I passed the riverbank the second, now much more bloodied and with a dozen more lives on his hands, I saw her knelt over two bodies.

One, was a forest nymph, a male, and she had the same pointed ears, and the other, a river nymph female, which she got the radiant skin from. It took me a few seconds too long to realise that they were her parents. I vowed to protect her, to protect her forest, so here I was.

Critters scuttled around my ankles, and I could hear the water running over the stones in the water, the wind blowing through the leaves. She had done a good job of restoring the place with the short time she had. I think she’s been putting all her efforts into the forest instead of grieving.

I heard her footsteps on the grass behind me, and I wince. She had always been a timid creature, and I wondered if seeing so much blood in the same place would be just enough to break her quietness.