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Without a glance back, the lop-ear marched forwards to the other side of the river. The wings that flew James' heart a moment ago evaporated as he came to realize what was spoken, no number of rocks were capable of sinking his stomach further than it had in that moment. 'Kill the king' he echoed internally, as Harman began crossing the river at the opposite bank of the island. A fire began to build within him, already betrayed by the only other living thing he had met.

"Kill the king?" he barked across the river; Harman paid him no attention. "What the hell kind of plan is that?" James began marching through the river to catch up to his companion, the novelties of warm water and the life of the forest around him quickly eroding. "What makes you think I want any part in this? This isn't my problem; I don't even want to be here!" Without hesitation, the Lapin whipped around; his staff's emerald light piercing the artificial night. Again, the now-familiar pressure built around him and hoisted him into the air, heaving him directly at Harman. Without breath or thought, his limbs halted as though they struck a wall.

"You will consider well your options before making such great noise again! Do you so greatly desire your demise you would announce our location and intent? The forest has many ears, and by hell I am now certain you intend them all to hear!" Haman dropped him unceremoniously to the ground and began to stomp away. "We must have haste now, unless you wish to bear the wrath of those to come!" He darted off further into the woods, only a gleam of green betraying his position. Without much time to recover, James scrambled to his feet and dashed off after him.

For several minutes he chased the smallest hint of green he could find in the darkness, but the crowded growth and thick deadfall on the ground slowed him greatly; he would be unable to keep up at this rate. He was not built for navigating the unseen obstacles in a dimly-lit forest. Running came naturally to James, as any of his track and field trophies would attest, but this wasn't a track or a street; hell, an obstacle course would be envious. Before long, and without fail, the last faint glimmer of jade faded from view. He had no light, no hope of finding it again on his own.

It was only then he began to realize how silent the forest had become; not a single stirring leaf or creature rustling in the woodland, as if in deep slumber. 'No,' he thought to himself, 'even slumber makes noise. This is more like death.' Fearing he may further draw attention to himself, he cautioned to remain as still as possible. Absolute silence would have been an understatement, if not for the disquiet of his mind. Pressure built in his lungs as he subconsciously held his breath - he could have sworn something was calling from the reaches of his hearing. Carefully, he strained to unravel the secrets of the forest, waiting only fleetingly before it next caught his ear. 'Laughter?'

Once more, a faint, giddy babbling caught his focus, pulling his perceptions nearer. As it became clearer, it seemed to spread around him from every direction - a dissonant chorus of what could have been an eruption of water droplets or subtle bells. Unable to locate its source, he could only stand and stare helplessly into the gloom. A giggle, first - then more in time - a young girl could have been appreciating a joke immediately next to him. It grew until it was booming in his ears, a mind-numbing, wicked cackling that could have driven even the most steadfast monk to madness - if it hadn't so abruptly ceased. He didn't dare move; not now, not ever.

But the painful silence was brief; through wide eyes and vulnerable ears, he was brimming with dread as the faintest specter appeared in the air above him. Its approach vaguely illuminated the air, sickly and faint; as if venom and vitriol were its breath. Had James been capable, he would have turned away and run until he surpassed the furthers edges of the earth, until his lungs dried and crumbled under the strain; but a new, eldritch force held him standing in place as the curious figure swept near him. Its resemblance was nothing short of an absolute nightmare. Trembling and yet eerily still, it hung almost lifelessly in the air - only its quivering, snaggle-toothed grin betrayed its lifeless appearance. Sneering from ear to ear, its translucent form stared right through him - the geist a hideous perversion of a young girl or some elven or fey creature. Clad in tattered robes, it may easily have been a cruelly-made marionette.

"Did I hear you correctly back there?" the specter inquired. The shrill screech of her voice tore through his ears like paper. "Kill the king, I'm pretty sure."

Her voice was wailing and fire and death; surely she was not actually speaking - were words merely implied? The chaos of her voice filled him with squirming and discomfort, as though ice and insects covered his form. She swirled around him, cackling as her vaporous form enveloped him, encased him in effluvial poisons that ponged of death and rot. "Quite a bold proclamation. You're a long way from home, little boy." She approached like an amorous lover, the feverish tick of licking lips betraying her guise. As though she were winter incarnate, she placed her dead cold hand on his cheek, stroking the color and warmth from his face. "And so fragile too. At least he picked a handsome one this time."

'This time?' James' body ached to shiver, but he was helpless against the alien force of his captor. His head spun with the possible answers. How is it that he was brought to this strange world, only to perish? Surely this wasn't a random chance, but then why him? His lungs wept for even a breath of polluted city air; he would give anything to be free of the rot and acid plaguing his senses. With all of the force he could muster he attempted to call upon the pittance of his newborn blue flame; he could think of no alternatives while he waited to die. He turned his focus inward for the warmth of his personal sun, he merely needed to open the door. Desperately, he longed to remember the fresh balm in his hand, but his concentration was abruptly shattered by sudden crowing and cackling.

"Oh, what's this now?" she murmured under her toothy grin. "Well isn't that adorable. Were you going to burn me with that, dear - was that your plan?" The flame was gentle, a whisper even in such darkness - but it had grown since he last tried. Delicate as a falling leaf, she drifted eye-to-eye in front of him and extended once again the cold daggers of her hand. Between her thumb and forefinger, she gently held his chin and tilted his head from side to side, as if judging livestock. Through the feigned attention to detail, she hummed quietly to herself while she examined his neck, tested the outline of his jaw. Though her purpose was unclear, she swiftly arrived at an answer to her hidden query.

Softly, the wraith giggled to herself with great glee. "You've amused me, dear; a rarity in this sacred gloom, as I'm sure you can imagine." Her Cheshire grin trembled with anticipation for a heartbeat before continuing to form words. "I'll let you live for now, and later you will provide for me entertainment of my choosing." James' eyes widened in horror or hope; he could not know which. As the sensations of warmth and life began to return to his jaw, he found he would be permitted to reply.

"What sort of entertainment?" he started softly, "And why not just get it over with? What could I possibly do later that I can't do now?" Openly, the ghost bellowed out laughter unlike any he had ever heard before; a cacophony of horns and piccolos boomed through the forest as if it hoped to banish silence for all eternity.

"Later, I'll know more about you; why, even the anticipation is amusing." She wisped around him, caressing the back of his neck with a single finger and held its frost against his skin. The cold penetrated him immediately, as if an icy spear were thrust through his heart. In reflex and ache, he gasped, the cold projection forcing the air from his lungs. All thoughts of fire and retribution vanished, spirited away by the mortality of his human body. He could hardly comprehend the sudden sensation. "But it's not like you have a choice in the matter, darling. Never mind what that bucktoothed rat said, you're mine." By gradual measures, she began to loosen her unseen hold on him. "Pitter patter, now. I'll be seeing you real soon, dear." Without much delay, the figure became less than obscurity provided by the forest ceiling.

It was a few minutes before James could even feel his heartbeat - much less his legs - but he reasoned it wouldn't be long until some other force inevitably crossed his path. Insecure in his body, he stumbled to his feet as though he were a toddler, seeking balance in the great trees. As he steadied himself, he peered through the indistinct forest trying best to assess the last direction the subtle emerald recalled notice. By increments, he shuffled his feet through the must and toadstools that carpeted the woodland floor, the frozen spear of pain melting slowly away with every step.

'Damn it!' he cursed silently, 'I've got to find that rabbit and get the hell out of here. Magic be damned! It's not worth all of this!' He began to shuffle along the ground quickly, though the myriad trees and thick vines prevented a run. His pace was not meant to last, however, and eventually he slackened his gait to a steady stroll. A number of times he attempted to bring up fire to aid his vision while he walked, but he found that it relied on a level of concentration he could not muster.

What concentration he did possess was therefore unable to assess the incoming swing of a staff. His vision erupted in stars and fire as it struck him, forcing him to his knees. While he cursed and clasped the back of his head, the immediate area became engulfed in a familiar green glow; a figure crouched next to him, urging him to remain quiet.

"You imbecile!" he hissed at James, "You were supposed to follow me! You're damn lucky you're a noisy walker or I might never have found you. For that matter, it's a wonder nothing else got you before I did!"

Rage was quick to build in his chest while he spun around to face the rabbit. "YOU!" he roared, as if he meant the sheer volume of his voice to rend the flesh from Harman's bones. "I'm not spending another god-damn minute in this world!" He seized the Lapin's ears in each fist and violently reeled him to his face. "No more fairy-tale talking animals, no more creepy forest shit, and no more quest! You're going to send me back right now!" James squeezed his fists again to punctuate his statement. "And no more magic games, unless you think you can concentrate while I tear these ears off of your head.

Harman flailed in agony, caught completely off-guard by the sudden vehemence. There was no conceivable way he could hope to concentrate enough to shed his assailant. "I can't send you back!" he wailed, falling to his knees.

"Can't, or won't?"

"Impossible!" he continued. "You are bound to me as I have said! You cannot return until your purpose is fulfilled!"

Harman's hyperventilation was interspersed with gentle sobs as he struggled to recompose himself. "You must either complete your summoned task, or you must perish. Then you will be freed my compulsion."

New wrath built in James' chest, a steadily-fueled conflagration of anger and despair. He threw the fists of ear into the rabbit's face as his hands erupted into seas of conflagration. "So you're telling me you brought me here against my will, and to leave I have to do your bidding or die?" Unaware of the new light, his shaking fists shed rivulets of fire that flecked the ground with scorch marks and light. Unnerving shapes danced in the shadows of cerulean radiance, daring any else in the forest to approach. "Well if I'm stuck here either way, what happens if YOU perish? Will that send me back?"

Harman crumpled to the ground, pressing the base of his lit staff into the loam as if to ward himself from further attacks. Wincing tenderly, he lifted his head to meet the gaze of the enraged human, the gem's light piercing the veil of darkness and moisture. "NOT likely!" he retorted. "Either way, you won't last long without my help, so you may as well come along."

James huffed noisily for a handful of heartbeats, air hissing through his teeth as he weighed his options. Slowly, by degrees, his breathing calmed while liquid flames quieted to a soft exhalation. Abruptly he collapsed to the ground, sitting in a half-sprawled position as the depths of his choices sunk in. With a long, aggrieved sigh, he softly asserted, "Guess I'll have to follow along wherever it is we're going, then." Shifting into a more upright sitting position, he rested his chin in his palms while taking a moment to prepare for the consequences of his choice.

"The Haven," Harman proclaimed, as if to correct some fallacy. "Only then may we even hope to conceal you." He patted the dirt and plant remains from his trousers before dimming the end of his staff. "In either case, we must proceed. Please gather yourself and follow along." He took a tentative hop away, waiting for James to finally stand.

James rose with the enthusiasm of a rainy school day, begrudgingly wandering toward the rabbit. Without further exchange, the duo again began their march towards the Haven, whatever that might be.