Messenger

After their first day in Forest, Kira’s feet are bleeding. Forest has been reaching into her sandals and poking her with sharp sticks. Matty recognizes this as Warning and knows that Forest is telling Kira that she is not welcome, but he does not tell her.

Matty has difficulty finding the path, which has never happened before. In the day and a half he spent at Kira’s house, the path has overgrown with bushes. There are also hanging vines that drip acidic sap when cut, which burns Matty’s arms until they swell and blister. The rotting smell that Matty noticed at the beginning of his journey has grown stronger. From Village, Leader uses his gift and sees that Forest is attacking Matty and Kira and that the worst is yet to come.

By the end of the second day, Matty tells Kira the truth, that Forest is aggressive and dangerous, and he shows her how badly the acidic sap burned his skin. His arms are swollen and oozing, but there is very little they can do.