deep in the woods (pt2)

"I really don't see anything," Kokoro murmurs after a bit, looking over to her compatriots. Nellie seems relieved, and Rofaran seems to agree. "We could go back early?" There was a note of hope in her voice--she'd love to spend the rest of the festival with Rofaran.

"That's fine by me," Nellie offered with a smile. "We explore a lot but didn't see anything, I'm sure this is enough to help the others feel safer!"

Kokoro gazed at Nellie for a moment. "You really don't need us to look through everything?"

"Oh, definitely not! This was mainly just a precaution, remember?"

"Hm." Rofaran hummed quietly, looking at Nellie for a while before shifting his gaze to Kokoro. "You can go back if you want, I just want to make sure we patrol the whole area. I think we got lost and looped around at some point."

"You don't have to do that," Nellie insisted, smiling at the two. "I don't want to interrupt your date," she brings up, and the two turn to look at her. Instead of being embarrassed and rejecting that it was a date, they seem to be assessing her.

Kokoro smiles softly. "No worries, it won't take much time to explore the rest. We'll have plenty of time afterward. Won't we, Rofaran?" The darker phim nods, and the pair continue walking. Behind them, Nellie's gaze burns into their backs.

Meanwhile, Kokoro and Rofaran share a glance that lets them know that the other is on the same page. There is something weird here. Something that Nellie most certainly is trying to hide.

The group continued further. Initially, Nellie would try to encourage a different path through the woods, or saying that they'd spent enough time exploring and should return to the festival. However, eventually Nellie went quiet.

And that was when they found what the others were talking about. Tree stumps torn into pieces. Clawmarks embedded in the bark, and prints left in the muddy dirt that suggested a monster of a large size. Way larger than an owlbear, or anything else...

"Kokoro!" Rofaran said loudly, warning her to be on the watch.

"Yeah," Kokoro replied grimly, lowering her smaller frame to the ground as her bright eyes looked around for what could've left this. That was when she realized Nellie was missing. "Nellie?" She asked, but got no response, even when she repeated it.

Something cracked behind her, and Rofaran let out a growl. When Kokoro turned to see what it was, she froze on the spot.