The trees were older here. Thicker than homes, their bark rippled with timeworn cracks like veins carved by memory itself. Some twisted in impossible shapes, roots rising and falling like waves, forming natural arches overhead. The canopy dimmed the world in a permanent dusk, and each step taken by Rei and Ailith was met with the soft rustle of dry leaves — and nothing else.
No birds. No insects. No animals.
Only wind.
And silence.
Even the wind, though sharp, felt off — it passed through without resistance, like it too was just... observing.
---
Rei: "What a dog? Are you serious?"
He didn't sound insulted — more surprised. As if he was trying to decide if he'd heard her wrong.
Ailith: grinning sideways "Sorry, Mr. Rich. Can we focus now? We're already quite deep into the Forest of Savanna."
Rei glanced around.
Rei: "Wait... this forest is called Savanna? That's new to me."
Ailith: raises an eyebrow "You didn't know that? Seriously? It's only one of the largest forests in the entire Humanity Continent."
Rei: pausing mid-step "...Humanity has its own continent?"
Ailith stopped walking. Her ears twitched, and she turned to face him fully. Her tail flicked once in disbelief.
Ailith: "You can vaporize a man with a glance, but geography is your kryptonite?"
Rei: shrugs "Didn't come with a world map installed."
Ailith: sighing deeply "There are four continents in this world. The Humanity Continent — this one — is the most populated and politically fragmented. Then there's the Death Continent — ruled by the remnants of dead gods and things that crawl beneath the earth."
She began counting off on her fingers.
Ailith: "The Life Continent — wild, living landmasses where even the rivers breathe. Then my homeland: the Demi-Human Continent, where species like mine come from."
Rei nodded slowly, like a man filing things away that might matter later.
Rei: "...So which one has the best food?"
Ailith gave a dry laugh and started walking again.
Ailith: "Stay alive long enough and maybe you'll get to find out."
Rei followed without argument, his eyes flicking side to side, tracking the subtle wrongness in the surroundings. His boots crunched softly over the moss-veiled roots.