“You’re not remembering wrong. You’re dead.” The woman lay stretched out on the enormous low lying limb of a live oak tree. Massive, the limb itself must have been over three foot wide with a staggering circumference. Trees like this were all too common in the Mystic Forest, hinting that this world had been here far longer than time measured it to be. Perhaps, though, they’d just sprung up over three centuries and remained there. Maybe this advanced growth was part of the reason this place was referred to as… mystical.

Her curled hair was long enough to almost brush the ground below her as she laid reclined on the branch, her knees bent and her tanned legs bared in the dim light of the forest. The world around her was almost tinted blue from the darkness the canopy provided by not allowing the sun to shine through, the thick leaves blocking its warm rays. With a sigh, the young woman rose from her place and stood, her dress falling back into place almost modestly. Her feet were bare against the lush grass that spread across the forest floor, mingling with ferns and other ground plants. Slim over-all, petite and almost innocent, she smiled at the newcomer with only a hint of the sharp canines in her mouth. She’d always wondered how people appeared in this world but somehow, even though she’d only been feet away, she hadn’t sensed anything until she heard the male speak. Puzzling her right now, was this creature’s appearance and though she’d seen a lot, she hadn’t seen anything quite like him.

With almost a simple curiosity, her rust colored eyes studied him obtrusively. “What was that thing that just disappeared?”