Oneshot written for the lovely pastelchromist as payment for an adopt!

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The forest of envy and love was forbidden in the small village along the river of life. It was the biggest rule in her small clan.

The forest of envy and love surrounded the clan she lived in on all sides. There was no way into the clan. No way out that she knew about.

"You were born here and you would die here," she remembered her mother's voice iced with snow. "You are the chieftess's daughter. You will take over the family business and carry on."

"You done with dinner, Enoki?" Her father asked, his glowing green eyes gleamed with optimism. She always felt closer to her Dad. Her mother was always helping the village out and never taking a second off of work. He was a stay-at-home dad with large rimmed glasses and a button up shirt.

"Yeah. I am done. When is Mom getting home?" Enoki asked as she adjusted her skirt as she stood up, handing him her empty plate.

"You know Mom. She will probably be home really late. Make sure you turn off your light if you're still up. You know she doesn't like you reading those books," her Father hummed as he turned around and started doing the dishes.

Her mother wasn't really one for her having her nose in a book and being introverted. She wanted her daughter by her side, both solving community issues together and creating bonds...

... She would often dream of being in charge after her mother stepped down; however, her heart ached. She didn't want that for herself. She didn't...

She turned towards the small corridor and bounced down the hallway and closed her bedroom door. Her bedroom had a light pink wall with small flowers and mushrooms drawn in small areas from her childhood youth.

... Her mind snapped back to the forest of envy and love.

Why it was forbidden? Nobody knew except the Elders. They whispered of darkness, despair, solitude. They whispered of malicious violence. Did anybody know the true reason why it wasn't?

She sighed as she opened her closet and ruffled through her shirts and pants before finding her mushroom hat, her bunny ears twitching ever so slightly as the twitching grew worse and worse before she—

"Enoki? You awake?" A small head popped itself at her window, startling her back. Her white fur and pink accents seemed to glimmer under the moonlight.

"Cerise?? What are you doing here...?? Don't you know that it is passed curfew...??" She stammered as the strawberry cow humanoid gave a cute laugh.

"I wanted to show you something! It won't be long!"

"... You sure...? My Mom could be home any time soon."

Cerise gave a small smile as she nodded, watching the bunny turn off the mushroom lamp and climb out the small window, falling into Cerise's arms.

"You're stronger than you seem—" Enoki started before Cerise took her small hand, giving a low giggle as she asked: "is that a bad thing?"

The two crept through the quiet streets, the only sound between them was the crunching of the leaves under their steps. Cerise led Enoki towards the forbidden forest before she felt her heart stop beating.

"Wait—! Where are we—??"

"... I found something within the forest that I thought you may like... I wanted to show you..." She whispered as Enoki finally unstuck her paws from the grassy terrain.

The forest seemed darker than the village's night. Enoki narrowed her eyes, trying to piece together where everything was before a soft glow caught her attention.

"I found these and I thought of you..." Cerise whispered as the glowing grew brighter and brighter until they were right in front of them.

"Are those???" Enoki gasped as she glanced at all the dancing mushrooms, their bright colors lighting up the darkness of the forest. "Mushrooms??"

"Yes.." Breathed Cerise as she softly took hold of Enoki's soft hand. "They made me think of you. However, not even their glow compares to how you light up my world."

"You don't mean that...!" Enoki stammered, her flustered face refusing to glance at the adorable girl who stood beside that.

"I do! I do! You're just the brightest thing here?? You're honestly the reason why I haven't left here yet."

"You know the exit??" She gasped, leaning towards the girl.

"I do. My older brother showed me it. I know how much it means to you to finally get away from this place and explore so I wanted to surprise you by... Taking you out of here someday."

"You didn't have to plan that at all!" Enoki argued, her argument ended with giggles as the girl nuzzled her cheek softly.

"This place doesn't make you happy."

"I'll talk to my mom about leaving. Then, we can put this plan into motion."

"Really?"

"Really. Together," Enoki smiled as she felt her dimples begin to show. A few seconds had past and she finally glanced at the strawberry cow that had a smile painted on her face before leading her back through the darkness of the woods.

~. ~

"Emoki. How are your studies with the Elders going?" Her mother asked in the early morning. Her cold forest green eyes watched her daughter pour milk in a glass cup and she gave a shrug. She never went to an actual school like those in the village did. Because her mom was the leader of the village, she had "special education standards."

"It's going good! Excited for the new lesson on leadership and money managing tomorrow. Should be fun," she exclaimed, her excitement dropping as her mind wandered. She LOVED science. Chemistry. Math. Why couldn't she do any of that??

Her mother smoothed Emoki's hair down and picked a small flower she had placed in it and gave a small exhale.

"Perfect. You are my sweet lily of the valley. You know that?"

"I know, Mom."

"You would... Tell me if you ever did something, right...?"

Oh no. Her mother often knew everything that happened in the village. Did she see her venture out to the woods?? Her mind raced as her father exited the bedroom and placed on his glasses.

"My adorable family!! How is everyone?"

Nobody answered his question for the longest time. Her gaze was focused on the woods while she felt her mother's glare.

After the longest time in history, her mother finally spoke. "My daughter doesn't want to be here anymore."

Her heart dropped. Her mind began to race as her ear twitched uncomfortably. She always knew. She always knew.

"What makes you say that?" Her father asked, glancing at his daughter with sorrow in his soft look.

"That's not true!" Enoki shouted as she crossed her arms. "I just think it would better my leadership skills if I ventured outside the village. THROUGH the forest of envy and love and learned about other villages... Other clans.."

Her father's sorrow never left as her mother gave a smirk.

"You really are like your mother. I was just like you when I was your age. I was worried you were going to feel content in your books rather than working on your leadership skills."

Her heart sunk. The conversation always had to come back about her love of books or nature...

"Pack up. Say goodbye to everybody. You will be gone for quite sometime." Hearing that, she ran out of the house. Her legs sprinting to the otherside of the village and leaping the small fence to see Cerise.

"Cerise! Cerise! Cerise!' Yelled Enoki as she slammed her body against her, hugging the girl as her feet sunk in the pooling mud.

"My Mom is sending me to the city!"

"The city? Why?" She frowned softly as she gave Enoki's hand a small squeeze.

"For leadership! Do you think they have different kinds of mushrooms and stuff in the city?? Probably! That's a dumb question..."

"That's wonderful you're going to the city and I am happy that you're happy! Just.... Stay safe. I don't wanna lose you like I lost my older brother. The world is cruel."

"Come with me!" Enoki exclaimed as Cerise's eyes enlarged. "I know we were supposed to do this together if this plan went south but... I don't wanna go without you."

"Wait for me. Wait for me for a couple days by the school in the city. Wait for me to emerge from the thickness of the forest and vines. Wait."

"I'll wait. I'll wait by the forest of envy and love."

Words: 1440