Chapter Text
Poland, somewhere in the middle of the infected Darkwood…
The woods claimed a large portion of the land before turning into a noticeable honey-comb effect on the land, essentially portioning the residents inside away from the rest of the world.
The current inhabitants have been placed under Government protection, mainly due to biological transformations out of their own hands/will.
Supply drops are periodically launched in both the village and the inner woods, providing valuable resources such as food, water and medicine.
It has been ten years, and due to the human rights protection act, the Government has no right to enforce residents out of the woods against their will, essentially leaving residents to begin a new life in the woods…
Rosa woke with an unceremonious yawn, stretching against her thick, blue blanket with a screech that could disturb the local banshees. Sitting herself up, reaching for her glass-bottle of water, she took a sip, looking firstly to her front door.
The latch was on, and the painted lilac doorway wore no splinters. It had been an uneventful night.
She flung the blanket off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed, moving on shaky feet towards the table in the middle of the room.
It was some circular, wooden old thing, covered in a pretty white table-cloth covered in stitched bees. It was a gift from Piotrek. He said he had brought it from the Trader for half of the scrap he owned, but since it was her 25th birthday back then, it had been 'worth it.'
She reached into the cupboards, painted a dull, pastel pink, pulling out a box of matches before lighting the liquid stove. A square device with two hobs and a small gas canister attached to the side.
Refills were readily available at the Traders shop, since he was smart enough to set up right where the daily drops usually took place. The poor man wasn't even human, yet operated a store on a daily basis.
Rosa guessed he just…truly loved his work, or something crazy like that!
Now, dusting down her sweet pink night-gown, Rosa opened the cupboard again, reaching for some herbs she had stored in a jar, pouring them into the boiling kettle on top before pouring the steeped liquid into a mug.
With a satisfied sigh, she unlatched the porch door, and moved to the white-painted rocking chair outside, sinking into the wood, looking around the foggy woods with a smile on her face.
The cabin in which she lived was a sweet little thing.
She had left the village only weeks ago, suffocated by the expectations of having a family and home by her age, yearning for a different type of freedom that led her here.
She had ignored the warnings, travelling through the night on foot with a lantern like a moving target— it had felt safe since the Government had concluded that The Being was finally at rest, leaving the woods now as it was, no longer moving or growing but rather protecting everything inside from the outside world.
She must have startled a Savage, as Rosa remembered running for her life, falling into a muddy swamp, freezing and too weak to pull herself back out before somoene had done so for her, dumping her by this very oak tree she had built her home inside.
It was hollowed out on the side, so Rosa had purchased planks from the Trader's shop, essentially building a floor-level tree-house against the old oak, and then scavenged paints with her old friend Piotrek, and well…
It was her home. A tiny space no bigger than 7 foot tall, cramped with all her cute little wares she had collected.
Rosa took a long, warm sip of her herbal tea, letting the steam warm her nose.
Safe, she thought happily with her tiny, bare feet wiggling in the open air merrily. Finally safe and free!
A twig snapped somewhere in the shadows above, causing Rosa to blink, tilting her head toward the thick fog surrounding her home. She froze, rising to her feet before her body failed her, stood stilll in her sweet little gown, her mug squeezed tightly in her palm.
After another agonizing moment, Rosa sunk back into her seat with a stubborn "hmph!"
Nothing came to get her. Nothing charged from the shadows. Just the rustle of morning leaves.
Smiling at her own stillness, Rosa assumed it was just a squirrel or bird, debating what she needed to buy from the Trading Post today— entirely unaware of a particularly frustrating neighbour watching her from the fog.