Hiro was floored.

He was surrounded by massive trees and mushrooms that towered way above him.  The ancient trees were blocking out the sun, casting a dark cerulean shade upon most of the forest.  There were smaller plants, like grass, and fungi that cast a faint glow upon the world around them,  Also, he could see flying, glowing lights; tiny faeries that flew right in front of him teasingly, then started to fly away, as if trying to draw him deeper into the forest.  The place was absolutely gorgeous, and he could tell there was much that could probably be learned deep within the forest.

That's why he was here, though not for himself.  He was here for Sapphire, who had asked him to go with her into Feeorin Forest to study something in the field.  Though honestly, he couldn't really remember all the details of what she wanted to study in here, he was so enthralled by the beauty and the wonder of this place.  It was as if he stepped into a storybook!

Hiro turned to his lady, Sapphire, who was slightly ahead of him.

"Babe, this place is beautiful.  Are we sure this isn't a dream or something?  I can't imagine this place could go untouched for so long, and not get . . . developed or exploited or such.  There must be some kind of guardian creatures here.  This place could be dangerous."  He was armed, with his sword by his side, and his crimson armor under a cloak.  "We should be careful, and tread lightly."

The purple in this area looked much like Sapphire’s hair as she looked around the area. The deep blues of the trees were much like her eyes. “Do you think… I remind people of Feeorin?” She tilted her head before Hiro had asked his questions.

She had her journal out and was sketching a flower when he began to speak to her. She turned her blue eyes back at him and blushed lightly. They were still so new to each other but they would manage, being called babe was still so new to her.

“I have a sister who’s father was from Feeorin. She is part fairy. Mother named her Talise. It means beautiful water.” For a moment she was quiet as she picked a vibrant blue flower. “That’s because everything in this forest can kill you. The place Drae is from originally was part of Feeorin Forest.” She stood up and held out the flower. “If you ingest this plant you’ll die in a matter of seconds. The burr berries that grow on the trees in this forest is instant death. The wine my mother makes for the gods has it in there.”

She came back to him and wrapped herself around his arm. “It is the deadliest forest in Revaliir. However! I know that you will do a great job protecting me because you are my hero!” She kissed his cheek and smile. “Just don’t eat or drink anything you are given here or TOUCH anything. Apparently, cousin Keira witnessed a Rosenite dying here in the forest. She had to take the necklace back home to be buried.”

She held up a finger, "While fairies look harmless they are incredibly deadly. Just one false move and you could be stuck in a loop of dancing until your feet fall off or die a painful horrible death."

Hiro blinked as she asked her question about her reminding people of the forest.  He thought about it.

"Well, you got the colors down, with your eye and hair colors matching the forest.  You're gentle, kind, and beautiful.  But you do have some strong, ferocious guardians too."  He was a strong person, but he was mostly referring to her father, Lord Drae, God of Arcane Secrets and Knowledge.

Indeed, they were still new to each other, and Hiro was still new to relationships in general.  "Oh?  That's a pretty name.  Nice meaning too."  He reached out toward the flower Sapphire was holding then suddenly froze in his tracks.

"Wait, what?  Kill?  Will it kill me if I touch it, though?"  Stupid question, he realized she was already touching it, so it had to be safe to TOUCH at least.  "By the flame, you're gonna give me a heart attack here.  I'm confident I can defeat any attacker here that might wish to do us harm, I can burn a forest down if I want to (not that I would of course), but unseen, invisible forces of toxins, poisons, hallucinogens, enchantments, and so forth, I can't do anything about."  She mentioned the wine of the Gods that Lady Angela makes is made from poisonous berries.  She wrapped herself around his arm, and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush a bit.

"The ambrosia wine is made with poisonous berries?  Wouldn't that kill anyone who drank the wine, or does the process of fermenting the berries, or whatever she does to them take out the poison?  It takes a lot to actually kill a God, but it can be done.  My father told me stories of a weapon called a Godslayer that sapped gods of their strength, and could kill them.  He also told me a story that a God named . . . Judge, a God of WIsdom and Knowledge, who was very well respected throughout the land, used his the majority of great power to stop a great evil threatening the world, and after the crisis was averted, a demon rose from the shadows, and struck him down with a poisoned dagger.  He used up MOST of his power defeating what was supposed to be like an . . . alien God, or some eldritch horror, something like that.  Judge folded reality upon itself to crush the evil being, it was the only way it could be defeated.  But doing that but a massive strain on Judge, he was greatly weakened afterward, he was struck by the dagger, one that would likely normally not affect him, allowing the demonic poison to be able to take effect on him, and it killed him.  Dad said he cried at the funeral.  So many people did."  He recalled some of the stories that his father told him, passed down by word.  It was one of the reasons he idolized his father, he told many stories of his adventures in the world, battles against titans, dragons, Gods and mortals, epic wars, and he himself had seen him do amazing things.  He was able to calm down, recalling the tales his father told him.

"Right, don't go chasing down any fairies, or wearing any magic shoes they offer, gotcha!"  He laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

She chuckled just a bit and waved her hand at her now frantic lovers. “Please do not worry so much Hiro. Rosenites are mostly resistant to toxins, we would have enough time to get to a healer if something were to happen.” She reached with a free hand and gently patted his head and gave him a blushing smile. “Thank you for worrying about me Hiro.”

She nodded when he brought up the wine and tilted her head. “Well, poison doesn’t effect the gods here. From what I understand, Judge was a DaeLuin God. Here Gods can die but only if the Voice is done with you. It’s why Mom was brought back after Dalanesca killed her. You aren’t dead until he says so, at least that’s what Mom said.” She explained to the best of her abilities.

The little half elf chuckled lightly at Hiro as she held his arm firmly and put her head on his shoulder. “You should see the lake here Hiro. The lake is called Vila and it has a mermaid city down in it that we can go look at.” Sapphire nudged him forward. “Besides if we get into too much trouble I’m sure Talise is here and she can get us out, I haven’t seen her in a long time though. She is rather a loner but she would most definitely help us if we needed it.”

After a while, Sapphire snuggled her head against his shoulder more. “Hey… Hiro?” She turned her blue eyes up at him for a moment. “Do you think we are a good match?” There was a blush across her face as she thought about it. “I mean lots of people our age get married and stuff but they are human…” She began to panic after saying it, “Not that I think we should get married… right now…” She added as she thought more about it. “I just… it’s so weird watching everyone our age freak out and get married right now… and watching them get old. Ya know?”

She informed Hiro that she, as a Rosenite, was naturally resistant to toxins, such as the ones in this forest.  "I'm glad you're resistant, but I'm not as experienced in this kind of place, and I'm NOT resistant to poison, if something happens to me, I won't be able to protect you.  Please make sure I don't do anything stupid.  I need to be alive to protect you.  Not that I'm likely do something stupid, but I'm still afraid something's gonna happen."

Sapphire explained to him that poison wasn't effective against the Gods in Revaliir, because the Gods were different here.

"That makes sense.  The Voice makes the choice, so you couldn't die unless the Voice says so, at least if you were a Deity."  She leaned on him, seemingly feeling more at ease with him.  He placed an arm around her slender waist.  "A mermaid city?  In the middle of a forest?  I would have expected one to be at the bottom of the sea, instead of a fresh water lake.  Clearly I need to learn more about this land."

She asked him if he thought they were a good match.  He thought on it for a few moments.

"I think so.  We may be different in some ways, but they say opposites attract, and we aren't THAT different.  I may be all fire swordsman, and you may be a Rosenite scholar, but I think you're a very gentle, kindhearted person, and I'd like to say I'm a kindhearted person too."  Hiro listened as she said she saw other people her age getting married.  "A lot of people our age get married out of necessity, or because they get married off.  But Rosenites are free to love who they want, and get married when they want to, and to whomever they want.  Lady Angela doesn't care about nobility or anything like that, she just wants the best for you, and the rest of her family.  I don't think I'd still be standing if your parents didn't think I was good enough.  Your father scares me a bit, though.  At any rate, I'm not in a rush to get married or even have children.  We're still kinda young, right?  What's the rush?  Also, Father told me I'm a fire elemental, I'm not an ordinary human, both him and my mother, they are fire elementals.  So I'm not going to age like regular human.  He looks young, despite his age.  So I wouldn't worry about it, Sapphire.  Who cares what other people are doing?"