
Lila was right, it took her a while to settle in. Besides her deadly tiredness, it was hard to explain what prevented her from falling asleep. Of course, she was overexcited. Of course, the place was strange. It was not hostile. At least, Lila hoped it wasn't. But this whole circumstance was utterly bizarre.
The strange beds that were seemingly grown from the branches of the tree looked fine. They were pretty outlandish but not that strange, so that Lila wouldn't be able to sleep on them. But still, they smelled wrong.
The whole treehouse breathed forth an unusual fragrance Lila never experienced with any other trees or plants. Still, with the bedroll they took from that ranger on the river's shore, Lila was able to make her bunk quite cozy.
She turned from one side to another in bed, trying to find the best position. Lila turned her diddle bag that she used as a pillow up and down several times, trying to find the coolest side. Nothing worked.
Sleep didn't come.
Lila counted minutes, diving in and out of her reverie. And she was never really sure whether she was dreaming or not.
The light in the treehouse was dim, shadows playing due to the movements of some lanterns outside. Lila could see Aira in her typical meditative position, fully immersed in her magic. Several times, she wanted to stand up from her bed and reach out to her undead companion but decided not to break her concentration.
How the tables have turned. A few months ago, Lila was a lonely human who wanted to understand this unusual being. To help Aira find her place in their town. Then, they found ways to communicate seamlessly, built their temporary home, and researched the past of Lila's world and civilization. And now, in this den of the undead, she was the outcast. A person who can't understand a word of what is said.
Everything had turned on its head...
"Can't understand even a word…" thought Lila. "As if they are leaves and I'm blind as moss trying to catch them. Without Aira, I'd be stuck in the lichen, no clue what's happening around me."
Slowly, the exhaustion was overwhelming Lila. With all her body and her mind, she sensed she had to sleep to be anything but a complete wreck the next day. But nothing helped her to finally succumb and enter the dream world.
When Lila felt that she was finally on the precipice of sleep, suddenly, the door burst open and several undead ran inside.
Lila wanted to scream, to warn Aira. But she wasn't able to push any sounds out of her mouth. It was as if a spell was cast over her.
"By the roots, it's magic!" Lila thought. "They're twisting my mind or something!"
She wasn't sure what she even had to expect with all these undead, enlightened, and whatever. They were never supposed to be friends. They weren't even supposed to be friendly. Looking at Aira, the range of her powers seemed to be limitless. And she herself mentioned multiple times that it was only a fraction of what she had before.
Who knew what a bunch of people like Aira could do to a human? What these undead would do to her?
All these thoughts rushed through Lila's head in just a brief moment.
When Lila looked again, Aira was already held tightly by the guards and Ainorrh was entering the house.
The undead shaman slowly walked towards Lila, her face transformed by a wicked smile. She was obviously enjoying her moment of triumph. Even if their cultures differed so much, they weren't different enough for Lila not to understand the expression on Ainorrh's face.
Ainorrh approached Lila, still lying on her bed, frozen with fear and some strange spell. The undead woman growled and reached out to grasp Lila's shoulder. That was the first sound Lila heard in this cursed forest after Aira's attempts to talk with the undead. She started shaking her, growling. Her wicked smile only growing larger.
Strange words pierced through directly to Lila's mind: "Give up, Lila!" Ainorrh said. "Give up! You can't do anything to save her! Aira and her secrets will be ours!"