Doesn't Feel Right

Luna

The first thing I noticed was the door which looked like the trunk of a very wide, though not so tall tree. I hesitated but Indrik was not having any of that as he pulled me in with him. Inside the hut was so cozy, I could barely control the urge to curl up and sleep on the bed. It didn't seem possible but the ground seemed to be covered with living grass that teased at my legs, urging them to get out of their covering and seek refuge in them instead.

The bed seemed to be made of plant matter as well. The four bedposts which each grew to be about five feet and bore leaves which grew into each other in a manner reminiscent of the trees in the entry point seemed to have grown directly from the ground. Curious about it, I bent over and took a look at the bed. Like I had suspected, it was also made of grass, like the one on the ground except this one seemed even fluffier. I placed my hand on it and hardly realized when I crept into the bed. Laying down on it, it was like I had died and gone off to paradise. I was tempted to sleep, which was partly due to the intoxicatingly sweet fragrances. Somehow, I managed to get out of bed, curious to see the other things the room had to offer. It was hard to explain but this place seemed to be alive making it hard to shake the feeling that I was an intruder. The room was lighted with a lamp of sorts on the center of each wall. I advanced to take a closer look but it turned out to also be a flower. It was the shape of a lantern and glowed just as brightly, but yes, it was a flower with the way it squished under my hand, releasing orange liquid that smelled so intoxicatingly sweet.

"How did you find this place?" I whispered, entranced by the beauty of it.

"It found me!" Indrik reminded, sounding just as awed as I felt by this place even if though I was fairly certain he had been here a number of times. I couldn't blame him though. This was a place that I never thought you could grow tired of. Frankly, I could believe that this place had really found him. This was not the kind of place that you simply stumbled on.

Walking to a table which was set to the other side of the room, I ran my hand over its oaken back. And no, I did not mean the oak that had been cut down. I meant the oak that was still very much alive. It might have been my pulse but I thought I could feel it moving under my palm. Speaking of moving, this place seemed to be very much alive. I looked up at the roof and was surprised to find that it was made entirely by the branches of the trees in the room. At least, that answered a question about how they managed to stay alive although nothing could detract from the magnificence of this place. This place felt like a tree paradise, if there was anything like that. I couldn't help but wonder who it was that had built this place, if anything like this could be built that is.

One thing was certain though which was that this place was definitely shaped to serve the needs of a person, either human or wolf. Trees after all did not sleep in beds or use high backed chairs. I shut my eyes and inhaled the fragrance of this place. There was something about this place, something powerful and...magical. Even now, I could feel it in every fiber of my being, rustling in the leaves, whistling in the wind, glowing in the flowers. It was everywhere, taking in the strangers in its territory, probably wondering whether to choke us to death with the plush grass rug beneath our feet or pop out a banquet table in the center of the room. I hoped it would do the latter. I hadn't realized how hungry I was till now. I couldn't really see the moon from in here, this place didn't exactly need ventilation. Being in the middle of so many trees in close proximity should probably have been a little uncomfortable at least but this place seemed incapable of exuding anything else that was not warmth.

I turned to Indrik, feeling breathless from all of these. It was overwhelming to say the least. I still could not shake the feeling that we were trespassing but it would seem that the owner if this place did not consider us to be a threat. "Who built this place?" I didn't expect him to have an answer but I couldn't help it.

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know either." But he seemed to agree that this place was built.

Suddenly, this place seemed too crowded. I needed to get out of here. I stumbled over to the door. I could hear Indrik calling after me but I didn't stop till I was outside the room. Outside was not much better though. I could recall the enclosure being more widely spaced than this. The trees seemed to have closed in on us and spread their branches so they were blocking the moon from sight. None of its light filtered through the branches, throwing the area into total darkness and making the trees appear like axe wielding warriors. I could feel a not so familiar sense of dread start to build up in my chest. Something about this place was so wrong. So very wrong!

I was contemplating what the best means of escape would be, either making a break for the trees while hoping they would see my heart and let me go, or run back into the room where I didn't feel much safer, when something appeared before me making me leap back and yelp in fright.