[Mission] Barking up the Wrong Tree | Lelianna

The forest was upset. She could feel it in the back of her skull: the hum lately getting stronger to the point Lelianna could almost make out...something. Her connection with Arecia was evolving somehow, but she wasn't quite sure in what way. However it was still clear as day that something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong as the sensation of feeling in her head expressed urgency mingled with something that almost felt like pain.

Well if there was one surefire way to get on the hermit's bad side, it was harming the forest.

Armed with her staff and pouches full of seeds the magi headed out to discover the source of all this distress, guided by the forest. When she got there, she immediately knew the cause of all that hurting. Wounds littered the trees in mindless gashes. Broken branches littered the ground where pockets had been torn out here and there. Whatever had come through had sure been aggressive. The mere sight of such wanton disrespect and clear uncaring for the Wood's well-being pricked and prodded at a white hot molten core buried deep within the redhead's genes. One very, very rarely disturbed.

As Lelianna surveyed the scene with a deep frown, she startled at the appearance of the two rabbits, followed closely by a fox. Already on high alert, both by Lelianna's own choice and from leakage of the uneasy and unhappy vegetation around her, the surrounding greenery nearly snapped up the animals by pure reaction. Once Lelianna had first seen the signs of destruction, she'd gotten a little more cautious moving forward. While she'd moved closer to the damaged portion, Arecia reacted in kind to her alertness. She just barely managed to stop them and let out a puff of nervous breath. But then she spotted the fox. And its prize. Wait, did it just groan? What in the world was--

Boom!

The resounding explosion not only startled the animals, but the magi too. She let out a yelp and looked off towards where the sound had been for a moment. However the flash of moving red made her glance back and see the fox running off. No wait! What was that in it's mouth?! "Wait! Please!" She hissed quietly, focusing out her power to the surrounding plantlife. The plants near the fox reacted immediately, growing out with incredible speed to try and (gently) grab the fox and wrap around it to hold it firmly in place. If Lelianna was successful she'd keep her eyes on where the explosion came from but back up towards the fox until she was beside it and could see what was in its maw. While she did so she flashed it an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry little guy, I'll let you go in a second I promise." She said in as soothing a voice she could manage. "I just need to see what you've got there." Which, speaking of which, she would examine if she could.

Lelianna felt a little bad for having to entrap the fox like that. However when she saw what tumbled out of its mouth, she was definitely glad she had. It was a woman! A very tiny woman who was only humanoid in shape really. The rest of her denoted she was obviously some sort of spiritual denizen of Arecia. She looked like a little sprite. And, if the hermit was being honest, absolutely adorable. yes she was definitely glad she'd saved the little woman from the fox's maw.

As the fairy began to stand up, Lelianna hesitantly reached a hand out to assist her. Spirits always were a little unpredictable so there was no telling if this one would accept her help. However Lelianna couldn't help but be a little concerned until the little one sprite took to the air. When she received the string of thanks, it made her relax a little. "Oh, it was-" But then the fairy turned away from her and bopped the fox right on the nose with one of the vines. The redhead blinked and couldn't help but crack the tiniest bit of a smile for a moment. A Spirit that could manipulate the plantlife of Arecia? Though from her appearance, Lelianna should have known. Speaking of Arecia...

The upset hum in the back of her head was only getting worse. The pain she felt through her connection with the woods telling her that whatever was causing this was still doing so. She glanced over uneasily at the direction the explosion had been, still ever alert. Fortunately she couldn't sense immediate fear in the mingling sensation of emotion in the back of her head, so the danger had to be further on. Though Lelianna soon turned back to the fairy when she was addressed again.

"Oh! Um, wait just a..." Willing it so, the vines wrapped around the fox gently untangled from the creature to let it go. After that was done (and Lelianna was certain the fox wouldn't try for another bite at the little woman) the redhead looked back to the Spirit. She knew where the problem was? And it was a human? Instantly an idea of what type of human came to her head. Still she explained herself. "The forest sent me." Surely a Spirit would have a much easier time understanding this stuff, right? "I could feel it was hurting so it guided me this way. Could you please show me where this human is that's tearing up the forest? I need to stop him before he does even more damage." And as she said it her eyes trailed back towards the destroyed pieces of greenery and earth with a mingling sense of sadness and frustration. Green eyes turned back to the fairy. "I would really appreciate your help. Oh, I'm Lelianna by the way."

Wow she was energetic! Not only that but fast!

Lelianna also heard the first explosion, which made her cringe. The sound alone was bad, but she could feel the surge of unpleasant feeling from her connection that the explosion brought with it. Whomever was doing all this damage was still doing it. That simmering feeling within the hermit grew more intense as the hurt rang out in her mind. But before she could even blink the fairy had suddenly taking off, leaving Lelianna to scramble after her. Thank goodness she had good endurance! It was already hard for her to keep up, but without it she would have surely gotten left far, far behind .

Thank goodness the fairy wasn't the only thing guiding her.

As she ran, more explosions rang out through the woods. Numerous creatures passed them by going the opposite direction. Their fear was as obvious to the hermit as what she felt through her connection. Tic. Tic. Tic. The simmering sensation grew hotter and hotter. Especially as the hermit viewed the wanton destruction left in the culprit's wake. Burns and gashes left along the trees. Huge gashes torn out of wood and dirt alike. Bits and pieces of metal strewn about and impeded into the vegetation or even some unlucky wildlife. Tic. Tic. Tic. A frown had settled upon the redhead's face. Not the "did I mess up a sentence" kind of frown.

A genuinely pissed off one.

Lelianna slowed when they reached the core of Arecia's pain. The frown was still upon Lelianna's face. Clearly she was not very happy. Even less so when the boy pulled something out of his hoodie and tossed it nonchalantly into the treeline, causing yet another explosion. Hurt and fear communicated into the back of the hermit's mind. It made green eyes narrow into an angry glare. She didn't need the fairy to say anything; she'd found the source of the forest's pain. Yet she wasn't about to jump out there all Willy-nilly. Something was off about how he seemed so immaculately clean despite all the damage he was causing (asshole). Fortunately the boy didn't appear to see them yet, so Lelianna was going to use that. Reaching into one of her pouches she tossed a handful of seeds onto the ground. Never hurt to be prepared. Simultaneously she whispered to the fairy: "You should hide. I wouldn't want you getting hurt any worse, and if he tries something you might be able to surprise him." Whether or not the fairy actually listened to her was another story. But at least Lelianna could say she tried.

Extending her powers, Lelianna aimed to do two things in quick succession. The first was mostly born out of frustration as she focused on the ground beneath his feet and abruptly shifted it, aiming to have it basically pick up and dump his sorry butt onto his back. The second was to have the plants from behind him rapidly extend and lash out to try ripping away his hoodie, since that seemed to be where he was storing those grenades. After that Lelianna would call out: "Hey what's the big idea blowing up parts of the woods like this?!"

Oh thank goodness she managed to get that hoodie away. Successfully stolen, the vegetation that had taken it encased the thing and hid it back within the treeline somewhere. Getting it back, or even finding it, was probably going to be a hassle. At the very least Lelianna didn't have that to worry too much about. He'd looked like he was going to use it on her! She saw how that hand had inched towards it searchingly! What a jerk!

Faced with this guy now, Lelianna stood her ground with a frown on her face. No way was she giving that hoodie back to the guy. "No! You're completely destroying the forest with it!" She said, not really realizing that the guy couldn't quite hear her over the loud music. In response though he threatened her with…a skateboard? Well that was a weapon the redhead certainly hadn’t expected. What no wicked sword or mighty hammer? Odd.

However the boy seemed keen on ignoring the hermit and instead dealing with the spirit. Wait, what did he have against the spirit? This was her home! This kid was the one being a nuisance! Lelianna could feel the connection her little fairy friend had with the greenery around them. The fact the treelike responded to the winged woman was proof enough. And like the spirit said; the trees didn’t want this boy here.

Shouting something, Lelianna watched in minor amazement as the board transformed into a sword. Oh there it was! Ok now that made a lot more sense. Unfortunately though, he was charging straight for her new fairy friend with the sword lifted. While the fairy seemed frozen for the moment, Lelianna had been ready for this.

“No!” The surrounding greenery responded immediately as her powers extended outward. Again tendrils of plantlife whipped outwards towards the destructive boys, only this time coming from numerous directions. Including right before him as the seeds Lelianna had thrown onto the ground as a precaution burst forth and around the fairy toward the boy. If the moving greenery managed to it would wrap around the boy in a vise grip, preventing his movement and not allowing him to swing that sword at her fairy friend. She didn’t want to hurt him but she didn’t want to let him hurt others.

Unfortunately in her haste to put down seeds for backup, Lelianna didn’t realize which pouch she’d reached into. It didn’t help that she’d been working in a particular part of her garden beforehand; the seedlings she’d thrown down were entirely venomous to the touch.

As the boy slashed through the vines with his sword, the earth magi once again felt that boiling feeling inside of her swell. Her face contorted into a deeper frown as she also felt the pain from them. Granted he was only defending himself. Yet look at all the damage he'd already done! And that hadn't even been in self defense! It had been reckless and careless destruction caused to that she held so dear. it didn't help that clearly he was aiming to now fight her. Probably kill her, most likely.

Tic.

Lelianna backpedaled fast as he changed targets to her. Almost instinctively her powers made the vines he had to trudge through surge upwards to strike at the hunter and try wrapping around his limbs and body once again as they continued to grow like grotesque tendrils. Lelianna kept moving backwards when she suddenly heard the "Duck!" come from behind her. The connection she had with Arecia helped clue her into what was going on. There was the feeling of emotion shifting in that sensation that rested in the back of her skull. Without questioning the command and what she felt from said tree, the hermit dropped out of the way just in time as she saw branches whoosh past overhead towards the boy.

She wasn't alone in this fight!

While the spirit tried that, Lelianna decided to continue her attempts to fend off this invader without killing him. Hurting him though? Well... With a motion of her hand a portion of the earth before her surged out of the ground. If the boy didn't dodge, or was wrapped up in the vines, he was going to be treated to one hell of a sucker punch to his stomach as the earth blasted forth from the ground. Lelianna was still trying to distance herself further though, although she had to move out from under the branches now.

Ouch: that had to hurt. Lelianna grimaced only slightly at the boy as he was thrown back and rolled across the grass. Normally she'd feel bad for someone when that happened. But with this guy? Not a chance. He deserved it for all the damage he had caused. And the fact he was trying to kill both Lelianna and the fairy! What a jerk!

Lelianna was about to say something else when she noticed the boy slashing away at a bush. What, had he not done enough? The anguish of said bush registered once more in the back of her head. This son of a...Wait was that another-? Green eyes went wide when Lelianna recognized another one of those grenades in his hand. Already Lelianna was in motion while the boy started to throw. With a gesture, a wall of solid rock formed up and around her facing the direction of the boy. For a few eerie moments there was nothing but the sound of silence and a heartbeat as Lelianna took to the ground.

BOOM!

Being so close to the impact, she could feel the power behind that blast. The wall she'd constructed cracked and pieces blew off of it. If it wasn't for her powers keeping the wall of earth up, that could have been worse. Ears ringing slightly, Lelianna's eyes fluttered open to find...Wait what? Branches had also joined the frey to protect her, forming a double barrier. Yet unlike her rock wall, they were quite flammable. "No..." The hermit was close up to it this time. She could see the damage. Feel it as though the burns danced lightly along her own skin. The blast had once again taken a large chunk out of the forest. And it hurt. Out of the corner of her eye she could also see her new fairy friend flutter to the ground as though in pain. Had she been hit by that blast? Or was she also feeling the level of pain the trees were feeling? I guess either way it didn't really matter.


If the hunter had wanted to make the magi angry, then he had succeeded. As the magi stepped out of her protective shielding, the wildlife around responded to the redhead's rage. The vines that had been wrapping around his leg suddenly sped up. No longer was hurting the boy a concern. Vines literally lashed out at him in the efforts to entangle him, targeting his wrists like whips to yank his hands away from the hoodie once again and begin to painfully squeeze. As for the hoodie itself, that got pulled away once more. Now these vines weren't just ropes to tie him up anymore; they were more similar to constricting snakes at this point.

As the vines continued to crawl along this boy's body, unsatisfied until he was fully entrapped within their venomous tendril-like grasp, the earth magi took a few steps forward. Not nearly close enough to be in sword range; she wasn't that stupid. Gone was her slightly panicked look. Gone also was nearly any hesitation she'd had about dealing with this hunter. Instead it was replaced by a burning hot anger that not only showed in her expression but her hair as well. The flowers that had been there had wilted away to be replaced by a flurry of blood red roses and thorns. It would be a terrible hassle to fix later, but for now green eyes only trained on the boy who'd been hurting her forest. Or maybe "trying to murder through sight" would be a better way to describe the look she was giving him.

At some point in the tangling process, one of those vines would have whipped up to tear off those headphones of his. The hermit wanted to fool to actually listen this time. "You come into the forest that has done nothing to you; a forest filled with all manner of beauty and life. And what do you do? Destroy it!" The magi was seething. "You tear into it so thoughtlessly like some blood-hungry hound! As though I could even compare you to a creature of nature after you hurt it so much. Not only that, but you try to kill me and my friend without even a moment of hesitation!" There was so much damage around her. Arecia, in this spot, was hurting so badly. It was as though someone had jammed a thorn into its side. All caused by one person. No wonder the greenery around her was curling and creaking from the earth magi's emotion.

Just take a look at all the mindless destruction that lay around her.

"I hate violence. I've seen enough of it to know I'd rather have no part in it. But you..." There was another glance around at the damage surrounding them. "You seem to love it. And something tells me you aren't about to stop just like that." The vines would continue to wrap around the boy, tightening as they went. "So I'm not so sure I should let you leave..."

Wait was that yet another grenade? Lelianna once again began to raise another rock wall to protect herself, but the branches got there faster. Slightly baffled, the magi still turned and crouched behind the small wall she'd half-way constructed while the bomb went off. Yet another wave of pain hit her, so close she could nearly feel it herself. And this time followed by a scream. Looking back the hermit could see the fairy. Now the redhead was almost completely certain that the Spirit was connected on a far stronger level to the trees surrounding them.

It did not help her mood in the slightest.

Standing once again and facing the boy, red hot rage still burned in her eyes. Perhaps even more so from his last-ditch effort to kill her once more. "You see?!" Now she was practically yelling. The sword was pulled away by separate vegetation while the ones on the boy grew even tighter. They weren't simply stopping at his chest. Oh no: one thick one snaked around his neck as well, beginning to constrict as well. "Again! You just destroy this place without a single thought into it! You burn it and slash it and hurt it as though none of it matters! But I can feel everything you've done to it! Look! Look!" With a gesture the magi indicated the area they'd been fighting in. The burned trees. The shattered branches. The torn earth. There was so much injury here to Arecia. When Lelianna looked back at the hunter, a new emotion played across her face. Tears began making streaks down her face.

"Look at what you've done."

She could see him. Yes she could see the one who'd done this to her precious Arecia. Her longtime friend and the only one she'd had for years due to people like this hunter. Yet she could also see the frightened little boy before her. Gods, he looked so young now. So fragile there. Someone too young to die just yet. It was enough to break through her seething rage, but not quell it entirely. The torment this boy had caused to the woods was still freshly thrumming in the back of her mind. Besides that, she finally saw what plants she had grown. Even if she let him go, he would die without immediate medical attention. The toxin was likely nearing his heart at this point. Her mistake yet...her mind was made up.

"I'm sorry." Said the druid sincerely. Her anger was swiftly drained from her, leaving only sorrow behind while she regarded the one who'd dared enter her woods and harm it so. A boy who hadn't known better. "I can at least assure you that you won't feel any pain." That was the least she could do as the tendrils continued to constrict the life out of him. What would get him first: the lack of oxygen or the toxin?

Either way, the hermit felt the same.

Once his struggles stopped and he gave his last breath, only then would the redhead slowly make her approach towards him. With ease the greenery that had held the boy so tight loosened for her. They presented the now still form to her like some grim token. A thud came as a staff dropped to the earth. Faintly trembling arms reached out and accepted the boy from the vines. Whether or not he was particularly heavy the hermit held him. Lelianna got a good, long look at the dead hunter's face. At all the cuts and the green veins signalling the toxin's crawl towards his vitals. Cradling the boy in her arms tightly, Lelianna collapsed to her knees.

Then all she could do was cry.