Lisa sat at the table at her parents' house. She still wore the robes from the graduation ceremony. Her mother held a speech on how good her daughter was and how proud they were that she had graduated. Never mind that she had almost flunked out several times, and only a big donation had saved her after her summer with her aunt.
She still remembered everything like it was yesterday, even if it had been a few years since she been to the tree - though not for a lack of trying. After the summer had ended and she had gone back to school, her aunt Eva had promised to stay in contact; Eva's elf life partner Mel had promised to make sure they did. Still, that day had been the last day she saw them. When she had gone back there a few weeks later, the house was empty and the room with the portal was just another room.
After that, she had not really felt like studying anymore. School was just another place that was not the tree she loved. Still she managed to push through. She remembered something she had said herself: 'If I finish school I will be allowed to return.' Could it be that the tree needed her to graduate and had closed the portal to make sure she would focus on school? That sounded silly - but, still, it was the only hope she had.
More problems had arisen when her mother had discovered that Eva was gone. She had not even seemed to care that her sister was missing, but had only started the process of getting the house sold. Luckily for Lisa, that was when she had almost gotten kicked out of school, and she had made a deal to get it as a summer home - as long as she managed to graduate. Now, she only had to survive today and she would be on her way.
The drive was difficult, as it was so long and she wanted to be there yesterday rather than tomorrow. Still, she made it there before night - even if the sun had already set. It was clear that not many had been here in 3 years, as the grass and other greens were out of control. Despite that, she felt a tingle in her tummy as she drove up to the house and walked up on the porch. This is where she had seen Mel for the first time, wearing a summer hat to cover her horns, and a long summer dress to cover the big girl cock that hung between her legs.
She had not spent much time in this house. Most of her summer-long visit had been spent in the elf-world - but they had been back here to make phone calls, or just to spend a bit of time to themselves when the tree was too busy. The excitement she was feeling at being back started to change into something else: a bad feeling of abandonment. She looked up the stairs. It was clear no one had been here. Her aunt would have called if they had found the gate between the worlds to be opened. Still, it was quite far from the tree; it was possible the two worlds had been connected again and no one had found it. There was only one way to find out.
She stood outside the door, holding the handle for at least a minute. She hoped - even prayed - that everything would be as she wished it to be on the other side. That the connection was there and that she never had to leave the tree again. Finally, she closed her eyes and stepped inside. She stood there for a few seconds more, breathing heavily with her eyes closed, before she dared to open them.
It was just a normal room. She walked inside, waving her hands in front of herself as if that would make the forest appear.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she slumped down on the floor. Why was it not there? She had done everything the tree had wanted. There were other visions the tree had shown her. How could they come true if there was no way to cross over to the elven world?
In the midst of all her sobbing she felt something - a movement or maybe more of a shift - like the air had vibrated, like time itself had shifted and everything else around her with it. She looked up and saw a faint image of a branch - a lush pine bough full of needles and with a cone hanging at the end of it, looking like it was full of seeds. Lisa rubbed her eyes to make sure it was really there. It was shifting in strength and seemingly barely poking through from the other side.
Lisa quickly jumped up and ran over. She held her hand up cupping the cone to make sure it was not a mirage brought on by her own wishful thinking. When she felt the roughness of the cone in her hand she felt so much joy. Every knot and every crevice felt so real and she held it firmly so that it would not disappear. When it pulled from the branch, she could see it as clearly as the real world, but the branch was still barely visible. She panicked and grabbed onto it, not caring about the sharp needles pushing against her skin. She was so happy she closed her eyes again, just enjoying the prickling feeling of hugging a pine branch.
When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the room on the second floor in her aunt's house; she was in the forest. She let go of the pine and looked around to try and find the path. Where was it? It should have been right there but she could not see it. It didn't matter. She knew the way and she just started to run. Over moss and stone, as fast as her feet could carry her. When she reached the clearing, she looked up to see the giant tree in the sky.
It was not there.
This couldn't be! It had to be there. She ran up to the middle of the clearing where the tree should have stood, but it was empty too. Was this the correct clearing? A lot looked the same, but everything was also different. First of all, the tree was not there. The path that went from her aunt's house was not there. All of the other paths were gone too. How could it be both the correct clearing and the wrong one at the same time? Maybe it would be different during the day. It was dark and cold now. All of the emotions must have made her head get messed up. Tomorrow everything would be clear again.
She tried to think of what she would need to survive the night. Shelter, fire and food - that is what she would need. Starting a fire didn't seem possible; she knew nothing about starting a fire. There were probably a lot of places she could seek shelter in the forest, but it was getting darker and darker, making the forest look scary. There were some oak trees a bit away. They looked fluffy, with all their leaves, and it seemed it would be a good shelter so she ran over and picked a good one. It had acorns on it and she grabbed one, hoping she would be able to eat it. She lay on her back, trying to get it open. The acorn was hard as a rock. Hitting it against her hand only made her hand hurt. A rock would help. Or two rocks so she could crush it between them. She sleepily looked around her but there were no rocks to be found. Instead she closed her eyes and hugged the acorn. It would keep her company during the night, and in the morning she would find a way to crack it open - maybe another acorn, as she really started to like this one.
She awoke from a faint noise. She looked around her to try and see something, but there was nothing. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her body ached from sleeping on the ground. The sun was trying to find its way into the clearing over the forest, but it was still dark under her oak tree.
Another noise caught her attention. It was similar to the one that woke her up, only much louder. She looked towards the part of the forest from which the noise came, but it was just like a dark wall, as the sun was unable to put any light there. Could it have been an animal? She crawled towards it but made sure to stay under the protective covers of the oak tree. With her ears focused she could hear more sounds coming from the otherwise silent forest. It was like something big was running through the foliage, not caring what got in the way. She hoped it would be an elf - but she also knew they would move more silently. She decided to stay hidden, looking at where the sounds had been coming from.
Suddenly a woman came jumping out of the forest running into the clearing. Could that be the person that had been making all that noise? She looked much too small and agile for that. A few seconds later she got the answer - as another woman came bursting out of the forest, knocking all the branches and trees out of the way. She was big; much bigger than any person Lisa had ever seen before. Not only in length but she also had a strong muscle-covered body, barely covered by some small clothes.
Lisa looked on, trying to make herself as small as she possibly could, not wanting to be seen. It seemed clear that the big brute woman was chasing the smaller one. Only a few steps out of the forest was enough for the big woman to catch the smaller one by grabbing her shoulder and tossing her up in the air.
The smaller woman landed on her feet, now facing towards the bigger woman. She was now holding a small knife, but that didn't seem to bother the giant, who launched an attack, swinging her right arm. The smaller woman made a quick burst forward, grabbing her knife with both hands. She stuck it into the powerful arm, causing it to sink in deep and stopping the momentum of the blow. The big woman screamed in pain but still swung her other arm.
