"Danny." He keeps looking back and forth between her and the beast, but once he notices her attention he keeps his head tilted down. His eyes keep shifting to her, however. Or maybe to the glow of her fruit. "You're new. And you speak English. How many clearings have you passed through?"

"uh ... just this one." She stammers. "Wait, are you also from the real world? Where are you from? What is this place?"

"Just this one? Impossible. Those fruit came from somewhere. How many things did you encounter, outside of the hedges?" He sounds impatient, suddenly, maybe even angry. "How many days or nights?"

She flinches, leaning back. Her eyes wander up and down the tree. She can't see any obvious way to go from here. So she makes her face smile, softening her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, totally! Uhm, there was this Christmas Tree? And..." she wasn't sure what counted as day and night. "The light kept shifting. Is that a day and a night? I only just got here, maybe 2 hours ago."

He's easy to read, or maybe she's just in a particularly focused state right now. The tension in him builds, fingers plucking at his bowstring in agitation, even as his voice gets less angry. "Two hours doesn't mean much here, unless you spent it mostly in one place. Time is odd, particularly when you're moving from place to place. If you've only been to a couple clearings... the opening you came through might still be there. We can leave. Maybe."

The beast is moving around below, having finished its meal. It's snuffling at the ground where some juice spilled. The boy, Danny, turns his full attention on her. "I'm from a place called America. It was real enough to me, and if you speak English, or something like it, then we're close enough that I don't care if it would count as real to you. Almost anywhere would be better than here. It's... people call it a lot of things. The one I heard the most is The Hedge. It's a place between worlds."

"I have so many questions ... people? What people? I didn't see anyone. Should we bring them? And I'm from America. New York, actually. How long have you been here? Do we have time to talk? Does time stand still if we stay in one place? Or do we need to hurry to get back? How do we even get back?" She pauses a second, searching his face. "And how do I know you are telling the truth?"

"You don't, but there's not much I can do about that. As for other people, all the others I've met are dead or Lost." The way he says it makes it clear the word is capitalized, somehow. "I don't know how long I've been here, but my clothes fit a lot better when I arrived. And you've got it the other way around. Being in one place is how time moves. Moving is what slows it. At least, in this part of the Hedge, and you don't look nearly torn up enough to have crossed over from one of the others.

"And yes, better to hurry." He looks around, and she notices that dark has fully fallen, now. "I don't know exactly how it works, but time and distance both make it harder to retrace steps. It's also hard to travel without light, but you've got those fruit... which, by the way, was a dumb thing to take. Not that you'd know better, but if something's in a clearing and looks valuable, you're gonna attract attention taking it to another one. Maybe from wild monsters, but worse would be from the things that put it there. Feel glad you haven't met anyone else, yet. Most aren't as lucky as I've been."

"Lost?", she rolls the word around in her mouth. "What does that mean?"

He said moving is what slows time ...

"And if we walk up and down between clearings, does that freeze time? Does our speed matter? How can you even tell the time? What does time even matter here? Are you aging? How old were you when you arrived?" Questions keep pouring out of her. Danny seems earnest enough, and willing to provide information. Also the creature below them still hasn't moved so it's not like they have anywhere to go.

She bites her lip and tries to study Danny as he talks.

His lips press into into a thin line. "Look, if you're injured or tired, I can give you my life story while we wait in this tree all night, but unless you want to be stuck here we should go now, and maybe I can answer your questions if you practice asking them one at a time. I've only got five arrows left, which means we should use another of your fruit to distract that thing and run for it."

She frowns, trying to think fast.

Trusting a stranger with her life seems iffy, though he did save her from that monster. Then again, she might not have needed saving if he hadn't pulled up the rope ladder to begin with. And for that matter, what was he doing up here in the first place?

She absentmindedly bites her lip.

Danny seems agitated and possibly dangerous. Maybe he'll keep helping her, maybe he won't. A place like this could drive anyone all sorts of crazy, so maybe he thinks he's helping her but actually she is in for a world of pain.

That bow looks very useful though. She knows some basic archery from her summer camp days. Supposedly he has food on him, and maybe more information about this place. But how can she tell if he is being honest with her? Lying is cheap and she knows so very little about what's going on. She'll have to trust her instincts and keep her eyes peeled.

So she nods at him slowly, involuntarily glancing back and forth between the creature below and the young man up here.

"Ok, so how would we get out of here?"

"We try to reverse the path you took. So long as you're in front, there's a better chance that works. We'll probably end up in a new clearing or two along the way, but the rest won't be too disconnected from them. When you start noticing the same things you originally did when you got here, the portal should be close, even if you don't see it."

"So long as I'm in front?", she repeats the words incredulously. She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes as she wisely remembers who is top ranking in the pointy object department. Well, actually she does still have her knife, she realizes.

"Ooo-kaaay", she breathes out slowly, then shakes her head. "Sure, sounds terrifying and dangerous and like something I entirely don't want to do, but I'm not sure we have better options. Though ... just to check: Do you know what the creature down there is? Does it have sensitivities? Can we talk to it? Are there options that don't involve us running headlong through a organic needle barrages followed by a rushing hell boar? Cause ... I'd sure be excited about that option?"

God, why is she so snarky when scared??? She bites her lip very very hard.

"I ... I am sorry. I'm really scared, and freaking out. And I shouldn't take it out on you ...", she looks up at him feeling pretty lost.

"Yeah, I... get that." He lets a breath out. "I'm sorry too, it's just been a while since there was somewhere to go that seemed worth the risk. I forgot that you might not know what to expect, here."

He settles his back against the trunk, still watching the monster below as it snuffs around in the grass. "I don't know the name for this specific one, but it's a kind of chimera. You see them around, now and then. Not all are hostile but this one's got some boar in it, and those can be nasty, even if they're not trying to eat you.  As for talking to it... hey! Hey pig thing, do you talk?"

There's a moment of silence as the monster below looks up, eyes gleaming orange in the light of her hidden fruit. A long tongue snakes up at them through its conical mouth, while its snout quivers and snorts between sharp tusks. Then it goes back to sniffing at the ground where she cut the fruit.

"Not usually an option," Danny says, then looks at her. "But it was a good question. As for sensitivities... they're basically animals. Heart, lungs, brain, you know. Sometimes there's something magical about them. Usually. Maybe always, and it's just hard to tell. If it came after you right when you left the... Christmas tree, you said? Then it might have been created specifically to guard it. Or maybe you just got unlucky. Still luckier than you would be if the person tending the tree found you." 

She notices herself relax a little as Danny lets go of his agitation. Nodding along as he talks, she can't help but laugh when he addresses the monster directly.

"Thank you," she says, "for explaining I mean. I... I don't mean to hold us up. I'm just ... I am really scared. I don't want to go down there and run in front of that thing. Is there any chance we can get rid of it all together? Like you said it might be related to the Christmas tree, so what if I throw all the fruit I have really far away from us. Maybe it's just tracking the fruit. Would you have a light source we could use if I got rid of all of it?"... shit, she realizes - that creates a huge dependency on the mystery guy she just met in a creepy magical forest. Though ... she does need to get out of this tree and options seem limited.

So she keeps her face straight and waits for his answer.

He grimaces and looks back down. "No light source, they tend to attract trouble sooner or later. If we get into the hedge quickly, we'll have a huge head start, since as soon as we start moving we'll be stretching time out. But... yeah, throwing all the fruit will be more of a guarantee. But it's hard to tell what else we might encounter, and the fruit might attract more unwanted attention, or it might be valuable for trading, even aside from its light." He sighs. "We can also wait it out. I expect it'll leave within an hour or so, and if not then by morning for sure. Whoever hung that vinerope here might come back by then, though, and I was hoping to be gone by then."

She frowns, looking down at the rutting boar creature.

"Ok, whatever, let's make a run for it. Getting back home is more important than anything else. If that one doesn't eat us, the next thing will." She takes a deep breath to steady herself. "Besides, I'm glad to finally have some company. I have some practice at monologuing, but it sure is a hell of a lot more satisfying with an audience!" She smiles at her own joke.

"So ... I throw the fruit at the count of ten, clamber down the rope, and make a run for it? I don't think I'd have time to check if you are following me, but I am guessing you can keep up." She eyes his physique, then feels caught out, and looks away blushing.

She can hear his smirk. "I'll keep up. It's been longer since I've had company, and I've got triple motivation to keep you close."

Triple???

She doesn't ask though. Is he hitting on her? Why can she even notice that while they are in life threatening circumstances?

She blinks a few times rapidly.

"Uh, yes. Ok. Yes. On the count of 10 ..." She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

When she opens them she feels momentarily calm. She looks at Danny and nods.

Then she grabs the remaining fruit, stares in to the middle distance, and starts counting down:

"10, 9 ..." she looks down at the boar creature "8, 7" Holy shit what is she doing?! "6, 5" This is insane .... "4, 3" fuuuuck shitshitshitshit, "2, 1" And she throws the fruit into the bushes with every shred of force she can muster. Yet as the light arches away from her, she is plunged into darkness. A darkness she had not properly anticipated.

Where is the rope? Where is the rope?!

She feels around by touch, and winces as she skims across the thorns. Ouch.

Then she starts clambering down clumsily feeling around in the dark.

The creature runs off after the fruit, and by the time she reaches the bottom of the vinerope her eyes have adjusted to their distant light.... light that's getting weaker as the creature eats another one. Still, she can make out hedge well enough to tell which direction she arrived by when she first came here.

Danny is half climbing, half sliding down the rope, and a moment later he lands beside her.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she spins around and sprints away. She feels light as a feather for the first 300 yards till the first rush of energy falls away and she drops into a more sustainable pace, catching her breath as she goes. It's not the only thing she needs to catch though as she finds herself pitching forward a bit too quickly down the sloping path. Luckily falling forward is a lot like running as long as you keep your feet between your face and the earth. And luckily this frantic attempt at locomotion has her coming up on the three-way split in the path any moment now. The three-way split with no obvious portal.

Danny better be right about this.

Thorns and branches tug and pull, tearing her clothing as she shoves her way through the dark hedges in a reckless gravity-assisted charge. She somehow manages to avoid tripping on any roots, though she comes close a couple times, ankles almost twisting as she lands on uneven ground.

Eventually she reaches the bottom of the hill, momentum abruptly stalling as the ground levels out. It's so dark she can barely make out where the paths lead, though she can roughly remember that the one to the left leads back to the river, one to the right goes straight, and the one roughly ahead curves off to the side.

Danny comes through the hedge behind her much more quietly, though nearly as quickly, and practically knocks her over as he runs into her from behind. His arm grabs her around the middle and heaves to keep them both upright.

"Sorry... you're quicker... than I expected." He sounds only half as winded as she is, though she can feel his heart pounding rapidly against her back through her jacket. "And more reckless... thought you were tumbling... head over heels... lucky we didn't lose each other."

It's been a few seconds now, and his arm has... failed, at letting her go. As in, an attempt was made, or something like one, his hand loosening and shifting around her waist as if about to pull away before suddenly gripping again, keeping her against his chest.

She feels him take a deep breath, and then his arm relaxes again, and this time does uncurl from around her. "Why are we stopping?"

She leans into him, her muscles too weak to resist, her mind too muddled to notice. She sways for a moment as he lets go, then catches herself and blushes.

"I ... the portal. This... is where I arrived." she stammers, looking around."At least ... I think I did?"

She is starting to feel pretty stupid and frustrated about all this. Then she bites her lip, squares her shoulders, and turns around to face Danny -- face Danny very very closely apparently. Her resolve weakens for a moment as she feels herself drawn in by her currently entirely inappropriate instincts that need to go take a hike while we are trying to save our lives like sane adults.

So she steps back to a more comfortable and polite distance. "How would we recognize the portal? What does it look like?"

She heard his breath catch as she turned around, and it seems to also take him a moment to reorient after she stepped back. "Nothing, they could be anywhere. You can't tell until you've walked through them, or someone else has. Did you appear right at the bottom of this hill? Was there anywhere else you went before you found the tree we just left?"

She takes a moment to think it through ... If the portal looks like nothing, and she only remembers walking on fairly narrow paths, then why would she not have hit the invisible portal when she backtracked from the river?

"Are you sure about that? I walked down here," she points behind her, "till I hit a river of some sort. I saw a magic elk get attacked by vine wolves so I snuck back and made my way up this hill hoping to get the lay of the land. I do ...", she frowns. "I do remember the path being somehow different as I walked back. I had noticed a flower and an arched tree on the way to the river but then later they were gone. I was a little too distracted by the introduction of magic and violence to reflect on this particularly much." She pauses and turns around to look down the path.

"Do you think the paths can move or change? I guess I hadn't thought about that at the time ... I still thought I was on drugs at that point. I'd still be tremendously relieved if that were true." She looks over her shoulder and raises her eyebrows at him, half joking, half pleading.