After we finished our applause, which lasted around five minutes, pushing to see how long we could keep it up until Spore stopped posing, she slumped to the ground. It was a little mean, but I’d say we were even now after saying she’d challenge us and made fun of Root. The only thing to do now was to look at the rest of the grove and then find Divy before going outward to explore.

“Spore, do you want to come with us to look at everything or stay here?” I asked her, looking at her tired figure with her legs spread out on the ground.

“I - huff - think I’ll stay here. It’s only around a month until the beginning of summer, which means there will be some new guests coming to the grove, and I need to be ready.”

“Ok, well, we’ll be off then,” I said, and then looked over at Root. “Show me around the rest of the grove?”

“Sure!” Root said, floating back up next to me after growing the two mushrooms he used for clapping to each have a hand-shaped cap. “Let’s go!”

We spent the next few hours examining the first three layers of the grove, working from the innermost to the outermost. The first we visited was the Crimson Canopy layer, a mix of sharp plants that would make participants bleed and hungry plants that grew from it. The biggest obstacle was the Brosim trees with light grey bark on tall, thin trunks. One of their bigger features was their numerous spindly, flexible branches, each with serrated red leaves at the ends. Those who were bleeding would be sensed by the tree, which would then attack them with its swinging branches, worsening their injuries.

The hidden benefit of the trees was that when a creature damaged their trunks, they would bleed a light red sap. It was capable of healing injuries with its mixture of blood and nature mana, a unique resource across the forest. Offering blood to a Brosim tree would cause the branches to recede, allowing those who gave it to take some of the sap in a limited amount. A faint bit of the healing remedy would seep from the trunk to be taken, and if one overindulged or hurt the tree, they would then be attacked.

There were other plants, like large blood bramble bushes, that could be broken apart but would grow very quickly from their blood reserves. One would have to navigate through them or break them enough in one area so they would stop regenerating. Other plants, like Nox flowers, would mix their own poison in with other plants to make their cuts more lethal, and in return, the plants would protect them. All manner of life lived in this area, and beyond that were other creatures that had made their home here, though most were weaker. Just a few of these creatures included mosquitoes, hooded beak and flesh pecker birds, butterflies, ticks, and gel snakes. Each of these helped the ecosystem of the Crimson Canopy layer of the grove.

The second layer was the Grasping Meadow, a stretch of land with loamy soil where boulders, moss, and tall grass grew. The main danger was the pits in swampy ground where marsh moss grew, along with the surrounding tangle of reeds. They were disguised as normal tall grass and had a symbiotic relationship with the moss, and were tasked with dragging prey into them. The boulders could be used as points to stop at, but were placed among higher concentrations of marsh moss and trapper reeds. Creatures like leeches, grasshoppers, and rodents were among the highest concentrations found here.

The first layer was a maze made from a large area of Curling Bush, which also served as the grove's entrance. There were some gateways scattered across the entire front of the grove, acting as funneling points for it. Inside the bushes were wide and narrow paths, lined with vines that would lash out and grasp unsuspecting creatures. They would smother and restrain them, with more piling on to eventually suffocate and kill their prey. The concentrations of creatures entering the maze-like terrain, the variety of different-sized pathways, and the predatory plants were the main obstacles here. Beyond all of that, however, was the rest of the forest.

We searched for Divy, but the only traces we found were small mushrooms with purple caps and speckles of gold across the tops. Sifter had mentioned “he’s running around the grove planting his strange shrooms,” and this seemed to be the only trace. They were unique beyond the colors, as they were made up of a strange mana I couldn’t identify. Root told me that it was mana with a hope affinity that Divy’s soul was made out of, and what had kept him together after death. Root told me he was originally a squirrel, since his ghoul fungus body took that form, and since they were known for being acorn distributors, it made sense that it was now a spore instead. We weren’t in a rush to meet him, so whenever it happened, that would be good.

After I got the full tour, we climbed up the Curling Wall and began walking along its top. The entire grove was around ten miles wide, and on top of where we were, I couldn’t see the end of it, mainly due to it being mostly completely level. We walked for a while before coming to a nice outlook, and I channeled some of my mana to make the thick hedge knit itself together into a thicker blanket of leaves.

Root and I sat on top of the edge of the Curling Wall, where we looked out at the sun dipping down into the horizon, casting an amber glow across the entire forest. The chirping of birds and rustling of animals moving through the bushes had begun to fade, being replaced by the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped to each other across the land, the occasional owl hooted after its silent swoop to grab some prey, and toads croaked to each other, echoing off the surface of a nearby pond. The light of the sunset bounced off the body of water nearby, reflecting on the foliage around it, creating a brief show of beauty. Reeds and bits of tall grass began to shift to the side as a gust of gentle wind made its way through the area. It brushed against the edge of the grove and a few neighboring trees before blowing past us, brushing back some of my hair.

I had woken up in the morning and only left the underground mid-afternoon, where I then spent the next few hours exploring the entirety of the grove. As the sunset on the horizon, I sat next to my brother Root, both of us silently contemplating our next steps.

“Harvoth, can I ask you a question?” Root said as he floated to my left, looking out at the illuminated forest, the last of the sunset casting on his soul body.

“Yeah, of course. What do you want to ask?” I said as I played with a vine that I threaded through my fingers.

“What happened to make you leave the village?”

I paused my actions, sitting still. The vine in my hand lay limp as I did.

“I only have memories up to a certain night when we fell asleep, and then it stopped. You were fourteen then, but I know that you were fifteen when you went into a slumber, and I was created.”

“Ah, well…”

I stopped, not knowing how to answer him as I felt a knot in my stomach at the thought of what had happened. Telling Root would be to tell my childhood self what had happened, reliving it in a much different way. I didn’t answer, but Root spoke anyway.

“You have a burden in your heart and mind, brother. I can tell by your actions when I compare them to my memories. We have the same childhood, but we both lived different lives afterward.” He said, almost whispering the words as if to lighten their landing.

He turned to me, his wispy face glowing brighter with the end of the sunset. The details of it were the clearest I had ever seen. Full eyes, a hooked nose like mine, wisps of white hair that blended in with his body, and a mouth with two glowing tusks.

“You want to take my burden, but that isn’t fair since you already have one.” He paused with his mouth partially open, stopping himself for a moment to decide something before continuing. “You don’t have to tell me now what happened to you; I can tell it wouldn’t be easy to speak about it. But at least share the burden I held between both of us. Taking it all on yourself doesn’t make me feel better.”

My hands were faintly trembling as they sat on my lap, and my eyes became glossy as I heard his words. The heavy feeling on my shoulders was all the more apparent now.

“…Ok,” I said weakly. “I will…share the burden you’ve kept, but I can’t yet share the burden in my own heart, even though I know I should.”

“Thanks, brother,” Root said, leaning against me as I felt a faint barrier of mana being assembled for him to do so. “Let’s not speak about this anymore for now…Also, I don’t think trauma dumping in front of Sifter and Spore was an ideal choice.”

The last part he had practically whispered, like a subconscious thought that slipped out. I sputtered at his unexpected comment, and he quickly turned to me as he blushed a dark green.

“I-I mean, it’s embarrassing talking about that stuff in front of them, not like it was a bad idea, but that it wasn’t amazing, but I don’t think there would be a good moment to do so, and you tried your best, but I…”

Root sputtered off, his voice getting quiet with his own thoughts running to a stop as he heard a chuckle escape my mouth. I began to laugh with a heartiness I hadn’t felt in years, and I felt my shoulders get just a smidge lighter. My voice echoed out into the forest and the grove, no doubt startling whatever creatures were close enough to hear it. Root smiled at me, the blush mostly fading away except for a slightly darker shade of green that stayed on his wispy cheeks.

“You’re right, Root. I shouldn’t have been so quick to say all that in front of them.” I said as my chuckles died down, a smile resting on my face. “Thank you for telling me. I have a bad habit of assuming things and getting the timing horribly wrong with emotional stuff.”

“And, well…I have another thing I want to talk about, but now I’m not sure if I should wait until tomorrow.” I finished, looking out as the sun’s last rays of light began to duck out of view.

“Hmmm, it’s probably alright, but…” He said as he looked at me, “Let’s wait until tomorrow.”

“Good idea.”

The sun’s light faded away, leaving only my natural dark vision to begin to light up my sight. I focused for a second, turning it off and lying back on the thick hedge, with my feet hanging off it, looking up at the stars. Root also turned to look up with me, both of us relaxing, just focusing on enjoying the night sky.

The soft leaves beneath us helped release the tiniest remaining tension, and the silence between us created a comfortable blanket for the night. Tiredness ushered us into a well-deserved rest, both of us sleeping comfortably and without burden for the first time in seven years.

I awoke with a gasp of air, my body sitting upward and arms grasping out in front of me as I tried to grab onto something I couldn’t see. I breathed heavily, inhaling the crisp, misty atmosphere around me as I began to work out where I was. My body had a thin layer of sweat on it even in the cold morning, making me wonder what had happened in my dreams.

I couldn’t remember.

My breathing settled, and I rested my arms at my sides, brushing against the dew-covered leaves. I looked out ahead of me, seeing the morning mist swirling around the trees and stopping near the grove, with rays of light piercing from behind me. I turned around and saw the beginning of the rising sun on the grove, cutting through the mist. It was almost too much to gaze at, but I did anyway.

I etched the image of this morning and the night before into my Soul Library. I wanted to always remember my first sunset and sunrise after waking up.

I stood up on the hedge, stretching my arms above my head and letting out a grunt of satisfaction. With my hands on my hips, I spoke to the world and myself.

“Today is going to be a good day.”

I based the Brosim trees off a real life ones that were said to bleed, such as Socotra dragon tree in Yemen that was said to produce dragon's blood. It's actually red sap that has protective compounds that help heal the tree.  It was used throughout history for healing and warding off evil spirits. There are many other places that have similar trees too that are used for medicinal reasons.

Also the Hooded beak are based on Hood Mockingbirds that are scavengers which drink blood from injured animals, eat eggs from seabirds, and eats animal carcases. They are native to native to Española Island, which is in the the Galápagos’ Islands off the coast of Ecuador. The flesh pecker birds are based on Oxpeckers birds native to Africa which have two subspecies and mainly each ectoparasites off of mammals. They have been recently classified as parasities themselves as they will drink the blood where the animal was being parasitized and even make it worse to get more food. Gel snakes aren't specifically based on one thing, but a mix of lampreys and leeches with some other stuff too.

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