The Inadvisable Forest

The forest on that day would be still, seeming serene. The sky blocked by the leaves that belonged to the dense trees. A breeze rippled through, chilling but not unpleasant and served to cool down the band of adventurers in the forbidden forest.

Five teenagers, five dragons. They travelled together in the forbidden forest, prompted by a quest of rebellion and daring. The forest was a delicious prospect for the prideful teenage dragon, who would want to boast about how they braved the forbidden forest and came out fine! Well... if the forest was so forbidden, then why did it not have a fence?


Among the group would be Isstar, his eyes constantly scanned around. Initially he felt anxious, even though the idea had been his, but the longer they travelled the more confident he became. There hasn’t been a single issue since they arrived. “Well this has been boring so far. Wonder if there’ll be something worth our time at some point.” Isstar snickered, at least to break the silence.


@EmiRose @Wolfie @MARIE @Boop

Isstar glanced sideways at Ava, his eyes narrowed. Everyone said that. Everyone said he would lose whenever he tried to fight. It didn't matter who he challenged, or offered to practise with, or even mentioned it with. You will lose. Instead of responding to Ava, he remained silent. Isstar wasn't bothered retorting. He grinded his teeth, his jaw tensed. He won't argue, he'll just show. But completely oblivious, Isstar didn't notice the discomfort Hal had with the whole adventure. He thought Hal wanted to go as much as he did, so he never even think twice.


As the group continued on, a change would occur that would disturb the serene they had witnessed thus far. A strange, sickly sweet smell hung in the air, one that would completely block any other smell. It would be a bit much, even for a regular human. But for dragons with their keener noses, it would almost be overwhelming. The already dark forest seemed to get darker, and somehow the eyesight of the dragons would be affected by this change. As they progressed, the smell only got stronger until they begun to walk past a clearing. The grass and plant life within it would be dead, except for a solitary plant in its centre. The intensity of the smell only meant that this plant was the cause for it, with a nauseating effect.

It would not be long after they had discovered the culprit of the smell would Isstar, Ava and Hal would realise that two of the five dragons were missing. Whisp and S'loo were not with them. Any attempt to think back when they split up would make them dizzy, and cause a headache. Whatever that plant is doing, it has caused some kind of confusion which could explain how they split up.


Isstar, who did not want to stay in the presence of the smell for long, would already be trying to move away. "Ugh... my head. We should get away from that... it'll be easier to find the other two without our sense of smell and heads being fucked up." He rubbed his head, his other arm attempted to cover his nose as he breathed through his mouth.

As the group moved away, the smell would fade much faster than they had encountered the plant. The breeze upon them would explain why. Before they encountered it, they had been down wind of it, so the wind had been delivering the smell right to them. Now that they had moved past it to become upwind, it would only be a faint but manageable smell. Any attempt to sniff out Whisp and S'loo, however, would be met with no success. They must have not left nearby, so any potential trail would have overwhelmed by the smell of the plant.


Isstar breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the smell became bearable again. He leaned against a tree to catch his breath as nausea made him feel dizzy. After a few moments, he rubbed his eyes and was able to stand and walk fine again. "Well, guess I said maybe there'll be something worth our time." Isstar huffed quietly. A part of him couldn't help but feel bad about saying that right before they discovered the plant. "We should probably look for Whisp and S'loo. I don't think it's a good idea to be split up in here." Although Isstar had a cockiness that made him feel he could handle something in the forest, he still felt some anxiety. He liked the group he had been travelling with, so the thought of any of them getting hurt... It made him shuffle where he stood, before he started to walk again with the assumption Ava and Hal would come along.


Once again, the group would progress, and the smell would fade into nothing except for a slight hint of it upon the wind. As they continued, the trees became more dense and the places they walked more overgrown, except for what could only be described as trails. The trails were more like common routes that creatures of the forest travelled frequently, as could be guessed by the unidentifiable mix of smells and and tracks.

A different smell would be delivered on the wind now, one that may not be unusual for predators such as dragons and could be very easily identified. The smell of decay, the specific kind for a rotting carcass. It wouldn't be overpowering like the nauseating smell of the plant from earlier, but certainly noticeable. It almost seemed like it was too faint to identify what specifically could be causing the smell, though.

But then, the sound of scuffling to their right would be easily heard. The bushes would be shaking as something would very obviously be moving about. Strangely, no smell came from the bushes as though whatever would be moving had no scent... Then, very suddenly emerged...

A chicken! It scuttled out of the bushes, a small flap of its wings got rid of any leaves and twigs attached to it. Followed by it were a few more, plus some chicks. Although they looked like regular chickens, and it would seem bizarre they had managed to survive in the forbidden forest, two peculiarities would become apparent to explain why. The chickens had no smell to them, and the footsteps made no sound. After they observed the three teenage dragons for a moment, they would scuttle away together.


Isstar had been curious about the smell, and had been somewhat trying to get closer. But he made sure to stay close to the group, he had no intent to separating. But then the sound in the bushes made him freeze, his hands pulled up into fists as he glared hard at what could emerge. He would fight it, if need be. But he relaxed as he saw the flock of chickens. A part of him instantly became confused what they were doing out here, but he didn't think they were in immediate danger. It seemed they were somehow decently adapted for life here in the forbidden forest.

Isstar turned to look at Ava, a glare in his eyes. “I was just curious, fucking hell. Don’t get what your problem is.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke, a growl crept into his voice. Isstar was generally irritated anyway, so Ava’s sarcasm didn’t help. “And what the he-“ Isstar spoke as Ava picked up a stick, then was cut off as she threw it at one of the chickens.


The stick landed on the chicken’s back, and as Ava intended, caused no harm. It turned slowly towards Ava and the group, opened its beak... and squawked loudly with irritation. It flapped its wings to get rid of the stick before it hurriedly joined its flock and wandered away from the group. It was just a harmless flock of chickens. Weird chickens with no scent and silent footsteps, but harmless.

Not long after the chickens were gone, suddenly... “Hey! Hey guys!” A voice called out. Whisp’s voice. But the keener members of the group would note that although they heard her voice... the smell of death didn’t change. “Heeeey!” The voice called again. The direction of the voice was downwind of them. Maybe that was why they couldn’t smell her or S’loo...


Isstar gestured in the direction the voice came from as he flashed a triumphant look at Ava. “See? I knew my hunch was right to go this way.” He spoke in a smug, slightly irritated, tone. Without consulting with the rest of the group, he started to walk into the direction the voice came from, pushing through some bushes before he went out of sight from Hal and Ava.

Before either Hal or Ava would follow or tell him to come back, an ear splitting scream echoed out, one that didn’t belong to any of the group. Followed by shout in pain that was almost certainly Isstar.