A series of small huffs, dormant seeds of laughs, bubbled from her lips and had Era lightly chuckling with her.
He used his other hand to grab her wrist, helping her balance as gravity righted itself. He had forgotten that being forcefully pulled through veils like the Still Sea was pleasantly exhilarating. The way it had Korin looking a little thrilled pleased him.
She stood half dazed for a moment, with flushed cheeks and wind torn hair, before her observant gaze was back to cataloging her new surroundings.
They stood in the circle of a shallow pool nestled in the center of a densely vegetated crater. Era watched as her eyes scanned over lush ferns, fronds curling heavy with the weight of rusty beads ripe with spores. Then those luminous eyes lifted, trailing up massive trunks of giant coniferous trees, standing taller than kings. Limbs full of shaggy green needles that bore sappy cones.
The air was wet and dappled in foggy patches, like that of a temperate rainforest. Korin found it different from the more arid climate of Ipahn, where hardy ferns only grew in the most moist of areas.
"Where are we now?"
"This is one of the Forests of Moon."
"Forests of Moon?"
Era nodded. "Moon is an astral entity who has a hobby of creating forests in reclusive corners of the astral plane. He's always been very secretive so very few people know of the locations of his forests. We should be safe here for now."
Era began to guide them off the pond and into the lush undergrowth of the forest. The wetness from the pond had remained in the Still Sea, however droplets of moisture from the humidity began to speckle Korins legs. Dewy tears sitting on fronds and leaves soaking into her pants as she rustled them in passing..
She followed along, her feet carrying her confidently, hand still wrapped in his.
Era had thought hard in the time since he had last seen her. Attempting to formulate a plan. He had been just a little too confident before and was surprised to find that Korin did not come to him as expected. But he could repair the situation. He had a fail safe just in case something unexpected like this did happen.
"I know a powerful being who lives in this forest. I want you to meet them." Era pulled Korin along small trails, the bottoms of their clothes soaking through and attracting forest debris. It wasn't cold, just dampening and weighty. "It might take us a while to get to where she resides. The forests shift and the trees travel so all I can do is follow her trails and hope to find her."
Korin kept pace, not too hurried but not entirely leisurely, steadily following Era as he guided them to a destination only he knew. "That sounds difficult."
Era shook his head. "Not so much as long as you know how to follow trails. And like I said, magic and mental fortitude can be used to traverse the astral plane. As long as I can persevere in my belief that I will locate her, I will."
Korin nodded in contradiction to her words, "I don't really understand what you mean."
"For now that is all right. It is going to take time to remember these dreams so getting too into the details isn't very important for the time being. Right now we should decide on a sign to send to the waking world to help you recall your dreams. Something or some little action or event that will ignite a sense of deja vu. It'll aid you in your ability to carry memories back and forth."
Korin absorbed this new information. The thought of being awake and she was suddenly too aware of her life beyond the mirage of the dream. Her form flickered a little.
"You're thinking too hard again. Breath in and breathe out. The connection used to enter the astral realm through dreams is fragile. It can be broken at any moment and send you awake, especially if you start to doubt your surroundings too much."
"Okay…" Korin closed her eyes for a moment, coming back into her semi-relaxed state. "...okay."
"Good job." Era cooed, giving her an affectionate smile. He was impressed with her ability to stabilize herself. "While we walk I want you to think of some way to remember your time here. Keep taking note of it, study it, find things to compare it to in the waking world and commit it to your memory."
Korin looked at him, eyes becoming wet and then dry as her vision went in and out of focus. Viewing him and then seeing his image in the world around them. "Okay, I can do that."
Era smiled as she studied him. "Are you using me to remember?"
"Yes."
He laughed, her honest and blunt reply. Once again reminding him of his distant past and the eerily calm demeanor of a friend long gone. "I'm flattered."
"Well you're very pretty." She continued on, direct and unashamed of her intimate words. "You look so kind and happy and your presence feels very welcoming. You are very memorable." To Korin he looked like caramel and spun sunshine, sweet and warm. Maybe it was the odd connection she felt, or his cherubic like beauty, inviting and floraly angelic, but she was drawn into him. Undeniably infatuated with his comforting presence.
Era flashed her a pretty smile, dimples creasing in his cheeks, pleased at how she thought of him. His experience so far had been nothing like he had imagined meeting her would be.
"You remind me of a man I once knew." Era told her. "He was just like you, very forthright and calm."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, so calm and open that some of the people in our lives found his directness intimidating. But I admired him. To me he seemed so strong." Era looked a little far away, his thoughts transporting him to the experiences of his past.
"What was his name?"
"His name was Nisha. We'll talk more about him later, for now let's find my acquaintance." He picked up his pace, moving them into a light jog, feeling the pull of the thick trail of who they were searching for. He tossed back one more smile as the woman connected to his hand, a faint blush dusting his cheeks, "Remember to study me so you can remember our dream."
Korin nodded, eyes narrowing just enough to notice and soft pink spread across the tips of his ears.