~I wasn't exactly sure about what to do with an unconscious girl- if that was indeed what she was. Despite the fact that she was barely clothed and severely injured, she still presented herself strongly.

Even her sleeping position was poised and ready despite the fact that I was certain she'd be unable to move well for some time. What she really needed now was medical attention, and quite frankly I had no idea where to find any of that nearby.

But even if that was the case, I had no idea how to find them.

I resolved, that even though it might not have been the safest decision I could make, that I had an obligation to help her myself.

I decided that the first thing I would need was water to clean off the wounds.

I had never considered myself much of a healer before, as I've never really come across a need for such skills.

But nevertheless I did the best I could, using up the last of the water trying to make her drink something.

The sun was fully in the sky by then, and showered the forest that had once been so fearful in the dark, with a golden light that made everything shine.

Despite everything that I had just experienced, I couldn't help but find it absolutely beautiful. T

o someone who had grown up with the splendor of nature, I doubted seeing trees and flowers would provide much fascination, but for me, everything that I saw was new and wonderful.

I wanted to get up and explore the place further, but I wouldn't leave my patient on the hard ground.

So leaning against the trunk of the rather large tree behind me, I gradually faded to sleep.

I hadn't been sleeping very long however, when my mind was roused by what I thought were voices. I wondered for a moment if I was dreaming, but the more I focused on the sounds, the more conscious I grew, until my eyes began to flutter open.

The bright light burned for a moment as my eyes adjusted, and when my vision finally cleared, I had to hold back a gasp of surprise while I looked at a whole group of people regarding us curiously.

All ages were present, from young children to the elderly, and they were all dressed in the same, revealing way that my patient was.

The first to notice that I had awoken was a little girl, who could have been no more than 5 years old.

Her hair was long and black, and she wore earrings that looked as if they were made of bone. Her skin was tanned like the rest of the people standing there, and her eyes were the deepest green I'd ever seen- like looking at the forest itself.

She squealed when she saw me, rushing back to grab her mother's hand while she buried her face into her legs. I didn't think that I'd done anything so terrifying, I didn't even look so different from the people around me- granted our clothing was not the same. I wondered if I had just frightened the child, but as more and more of our spectators noticed me, I could see them all shy away from me- some more than others.

I could tell that they wanted the girl resting on my lap, and because of my, albeit brief, conversation with her, I was fairly certain that they would understand me if I spoke.

"Do you know her?" I asked, a little more timidly than usual for me.

They just looked at me, whispering back and forth amongst themselves.

"She's hurt. Is there anything you can do to help her? I did the best I could but I'm no healer..." I said, a little embarrassed as I regarded her.

Still not one person came forward to offer me any help, and I began to doubt whether we spoke the same language or not- but I was getting pretty tired of being stared at so intensely.

At that moment, an elderly woman emerged from the crowd. Her hair looked like it was made out of snow and her eyes were an eerie blue.

I wondered if she could even see.

Her clothing jingled with the sound of hundreds of small ornaments- bits of bone like from the girl's earrings, but also what looked to be beads made of the shining stones that fetched so high a price in Fiore.

Without saying a word, she held her hand out sharply, as if to stop me from proceeding with my movement, and so I gently placed the girl back down on the forest floor.

The old woman waved her hands over the girl's body as she examined what had been done to her, and felt for a pulse on her wrist. Then, she looked at me, her pale blue eyes both seeing and not seeing at the same time.

"What has harmed her?" She asked.

 "Was it you?" Her voice had the same lilting quality as the girl's had, and with a shock, I realized that these people thought that I might have had something to do with the injuries, though I had no idea how I would have made such vicious marks on my own were.

"No, I promise you. I found her trapped between some moving vines," I answered, speaking as slowly and smoothly as I could.

"Foolish girl," she spoke harshly. "What was she doing near the sickle vines?"

I had a feeling that the woman's question was a rhetorical one, since there was no way I would know, and so I kept my mouth shut, a little in awe of her.

"How did she escape?" Was her next question, one I assumed I was meant to answer this time.

"I tricked the vines to move far enough away to carry her out- she was...well...smaller at the time."

The old woman nodded in understanding, her stone earrings clinking together. She did not offer an explanation as to that phenomenon, and I was not going to ask about it either.

"What were you doing here stone-dweller?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I thought she might be my father. He's gone missing somewhere in the wilds and I must find him." Her eyes seemed interested in this, and her long, bony fingers tapped against her chin as she thought.

"So the explorer was telling the truth. He does have a family..." She crooned, though more to herself than to me, I couldn't help but jump at the news.

"Is he alive? Do you know where he is? Please I must find him!" I begged. She smiled oddl