Fauna bounded through the forest, jumping over fallen trees and mushrooms. Today was the day! Her fluffy fox cub tried to keep up, squeaking as he tripped on a branch. “Frost!” Fauna giggled, screeching to a stop to pick up her pet. “We don’t have time for shenanigans! What would Oak say?” Stuffing the white cub under her arm, she continued racing through the forest, her thoughts running almost as fast. She’d get to go anywhere she wanted tomorrow! All by herself! (Other than Frost…) Fauna slid into her village, and elves stared at her blankly. Despite their best efforts, Fauna still heard the whispers. “Did you hear it’s her travel day?” “She’ll be gone soon.” “Good riddance.” Fauna ignored them. Nothing could ruin today! She slid to a stop in front of The Great Mushroom. “This is it, Frost! Tomorrow we’ll be long gone.” Fauna stepped through the chiseled door. Apparently, she’d barged right into a meeting. “The forest is too big! Literally, the trees are taller than human skyscrapers! All the flora here is oversized and-” Councilman Oak paused when he saw Fauna. “What are you doing here?” Oak stared down at Fauna like she was an acorn blocking the exit of the village. Just before Oak could yell at her, Tulip ran into the room, panting. “Oak, sir!” She called. “There’s news!” Oak sighed. “Tulip. What?” “Sir! Humans! Nobody knows why! Headed towards the village!” The messenger puffed. “Feather wants backup! He said-” Oak stopped her right there. “I don’t care what Feather said. It’s Fauna’s travel day, and I wanna get rid of her now.” Councilman Cloud stood up. “Oak. We need to assess the situation.” She turned to Tulip. “Tell Bunny, Wolfsbane, and Ledge to go be Feather’s backup. We can’t have humans near the village.” Tulip saluted, retreating. Cloud finally noticed Fauna. “It’s your travel day.” She dropped a leather bag in front of her. “We don’t have time for the official ceremony today, but…” Cloud cleared her throat. “Bring Fauna luck as she quests to find sunset lights undappling. Help her find Truth.” Fauna stared at cloud for a little bit, before she realized the councilman was talking to a rock. Cloud picked up a pebble, giving it to Fauna. Fauna took it, putting it in the pouch. “Now. Go away.” Oak commanded. Fauna didn’t argue. “C’mon Frost.” She said snippily. Skipping out of The Giant Mushroom, Fauna wondered if the humans would end up being a problem. Fauna decided not to think about it. The trip from the village was rather boring. Just giant branch scaling and avoiding rock walking. Frost trotted behind her excitedly. “We’re finally alone, Frost!” Fauna squealed. “No angry whispers or open glares!” Frost sniffed in agreement, then growled. “Frost, what?” Fauna said, reaching a hand towards her white fox cub. Footsteps sounded from Fauna’s left, and a pair of red sneakers came into view. “Human…” Fauna said, her voice dripping with poison. A sandy-haired boy with a ton of freckles peered at her from the shadows. “Elf?!” He said. “But… those are only in fairy tales!” Fauna made an angry face. Frost growled. “Fairies don’t have tails!” The boy burst out laughing. “At least you’re a nice elf. Not tying to kiII me with stones. You don’t have any hidden stones to throw at me, right?” Fauna’s gaze softened, and she puffed out her cheeks. “No…” The boy sighed in relief. “Good. I’ve already gotten pummeled enough.” He said. “I’m Kevin, just so you know.” “Well, KEVIN, go away. You’re ruining my travel day!” Fauna commanded. Kevin stared at her in confusion. “…travel day?” Frost growled again, pulling at Fauna’s leg. “Humans don’t have travel days? But that’s the most important day ever! Stop that, Frost.” Kevin looked at Frost, then drew a bow, quick as a whip. He notched an arrow. “Don’t look now, but a fox is trying to eat you. Don’t move, and I’ll sho0t it for you.” “No!” Fauna shrieked. “Don’t!” Kevin blinked in confusion. “But monster trying to eat you? We have to kiII it!” Fauna grabbed Frost, turning to leave. “No, we don’t. We don’t, Kevin.” She retreated into the shadows, leaving Kevin to wonder what he’d done wrong. Fauna ran as fast as she could. She couldn’t afford Kevin catching up the her. Blinded by her speed, Fauna leapt over giant acorns and broken branches the size of ten of her. The trunks thinned. Fauna broke out of the trees, bursting out of the forest. The sky was full of blues and pinks and golds… she’d found the sunset. An elf with short-cropped red hair and orange, tattered scout uniform sat at the edge of a cliff, their back turned to Fauna. “Are you here for Truth?” The elf asked coldly. Frost whimpered. “…yes?” Fauna said. The elf turned, ice-blue eyes piercing Fauna like they were searching her soul. “You must be Fauna. The note said an elf called Fauna would come for her travel day. I’m surprised you made it; not many elves do.” The elf sniffed. “I’m one of Truth’s apprentices. Sweet Pea’s the name. Despite the name, I’m the opposite of /sweet/.”
Frost whimpered again, hiding behind Fauna’s leg. “Got it,” She said. Sweet Pea’s scoffed. “This way, Fauna,” She commanded. “To Truth.” She led Fauna the a giant mushroom, shoving her inside. Fauna gawked at it. “This is even bigger than The Giant Mushroom!” She chirped. About three or four other apprentices were preforming tasks like sweeping and dusting off bookshelves. Speaking of bookshelves, there were about a thousand of them. “What is this place?” Fauna asked, eyes wide. “An old scout house. It still is a scout house,” Sweet Pea gestured at all the other elves, who were also in tattered orange uniforms. Sweet Pea led Fauna to a giant bookshelf with an elf sitting at the top. “TRUTH! The elf from the note got here.” The elf on the bookshelf, whose nose had been in a book, absentmindedly jumping down. Fauna stared in awe as he landed on his feet, not even looking up from his book. “Welcome, Fauna,” He said. “Here’s a piece of paper saying you found us. Now you can leave.” Fauna looked at him closely. Truth was wearing a tattered orange uniform, just like everyone else, but had a golden badge on pinned to it. She took the note. Frost tugged at her shoe again, still whining uncomfortably. “Let me escort you out, Fauna,” Sweet Pea said. “Follow me.” Sweet Pea opened the door once again, and Fauna stepped out. “Before you leave, let’s talk. I wanna know about your life in the forest.” She gestured at the towering oversized conifers and oaks. Fauna sat down next to Sweet Pea, legs dangling off the cliff. She explained how everyone in the village thought she was terrible, and how they whispered about her. Fauna explained the situation she’d “interrupted”, about the humans. “Humans… I’ve seen more than usual lately, but I guess any number is more than usual. Humans don’t like this forest so the average number of them is zero.” Fauna sighed. “I guess I have to leave if I want to get home before dark. Sweet Pea hesitated. “You don’t have to go home…” She said, as if deciding something. “Truth is always looking for new apprentices… you don’t seem very welcome in the village. You can be a scout for our outpost.” Fauna’s eyes widened. “You’d really let me?” She asked. Frost barked. “If Truth thinks it’s ok…” Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind them. “Of course I think it’s ok.” Fauna turned around to see Truth standing behind them. “Welcome to apprenticeship, girl.”
