RP entry 6
(discovery part I)
Hassan looked down at the steep grassy incline and shielded his eyes with his hand. It was a big hill, no boulders or trees. Just soft grass. With a devil-may-care laugh, he lay on the ground and began to roll down the hill, shrieking with glee. Mom had told him something about snow and sledding, but he'd never seen snow and he didn't think anything could be better than this! Tumbling to a stop at the base of the hill he sat up and looked around him for the customary dizzy fluttering of Clarice. Too little to roll, she fluttered above his head, waiting for him to brush the grass and dirt-clumps from him before settling on his shoulder, nice and close to his ear so he'd be sure to hear whatever she had to say.
With the fairy safely perched, Hassan stood up and surveyed their surroundings. It wasn't that he was really that far from the Place, but he'd never been this far in this particular direction before. A hundred yards in front of him was dark line of trees that meant only one thing: he was at the entrance to the forest. A forest that he had no business whatsoever going into. A forest that was most definitely off-limits.
What was it mom had said? That place is full of dangerous stuff. Never ever ever go there alone. But he wasn't alone. Then again, she'd meant to never go into the forest without her. And he knew perfectly well that none of the visitors who came to the Place ever ventured into the forest. And he knew that sometimes, in the middle of the night, there were weird lights and sounds that came from within the trees. Clarice muttered in his ear but he ignored the little fairy. He knew perfectly well that if he went into the woods she'd go with him. She went with him everywhere.
"C'mon Clarice" Hassan said, straightening up and puffing out his chest. "We're going to play amazon explorer!" Ignoring the small tremor of foreboding that skittered through his veins, Hassan focused instead on the idea of exploring the forbidden woods all by himself. Maybe they'd find something amazing that he could bring back to Fae. Then she'd tell him how brave he was! And maybe bake him one of her super-special velvet cakes. Yeah... he wasn't little Hassan. He was the daring and intrepid explorer Hassan the Great! Braver than Indiana Jones and faster than Superman! Smarter than both of them too. Hassan the Great shoved a lock of green and red hair off of his forehead and started forward into the dark forest.
