CHAPTER 16 JARED #3
Davos laughs softly before answering. "You know, sometimes it's better not to know everything and simply let life unfold. The universe has a funny way of untangling its own knots, and sooner or later you realize things happened exactly the way they needed to."
"Thanks," I say before ending the call, whether I want to or not taking Davos's little dose of philosophy with me.
I'm just about to return the phone to Gianni when I hesitate.
Instead, I tap the browser icon. I notice it’s open to an article by an omega telling the story of meeting his True Mate in his late thirties.
Wow, is Gianni still hoping that some miracle might happen in his life? Poor guy. I can't say I don't understand his longing.
Sighing, I return to the subject of the Silvari and type:
"Forest spirits, forest deities, forest guardians, forest fae."
The first result reads:
"Forest spirits appear in the mythology of cultures all around the world, from the Slavic Leshy and Roman Silvanus to Greek Pan, dryads, and the Japanese Tengu.
Despite their differences, they often share one important trait: they are rarely purely good or purely evil.
Instead, they represent the untamed power of nature itself. "
Curious, I keep scrolling.
"Many traditions describe these beings as guardians or rulers of forests who protect their territory and expect respect from those who enter it.
The Leshy may guide respectful travelers but lead the arrogant astray.
Tengu are known as tricksters who can abduct or confuse humans, yet they can also act as teachers or helpers.
Pan, satyrs, and fauns embody fertility, wilderness, and instinct, while dryads are closely tied to the life of the trees they inhabit.
Silvanus served as a Roman protector of forests and wild places… "
How interesting and somewhat fitting.
"Fae are a type of mythical beings found in the folklore of multiple European cultures, a form of spirit, often with magical, metaphysical, supernatural qualities…"
Muffled voices drift up from downstairs, pulling my attention away from the screen.
All right… enough research for now. I leave my room to return Gianni's phone, following the sound of the conversation below.
As I reach the top of the staircase, I realize it's actually the perfect place to eavesdrop. The acoustics carry voices from both the living room and the dining room with remarkable clarity.
Renato is talking to somebody I don’t recognize by his voice. His tone is somewhat gloomy.
"There are new infection pockets in the western sector. A lot of trees are already showing signs of disease and decline. We'll have to remove quite a few of them to keep it from spreading, and even replanting afterward is going to be difficult."
Renato’s interlocutor sighs sympathetically.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Climate change is affecting even the forests around here."
"Yeah. We had several years of drought, followed by two years of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes. Trees that lost part of their root systems haven't been able to recover fast enough, and that's when honey fungus root rot moves in."
"Do you have any kind of plan?"
Renato lets out a bitter scoff.
"Has anyone ever truly beaten something like this?
Once the trees are weakened, there aren't many ways to save them.
We can cut down the infected ones before the fungal network spreads any farther, we can avoid dense replanting and thin out the stands, and sometimes we even remove perfectly healthy trees surrounding an infection site, hoping it'll stop the disease from advancing, but even that doesn't always work.
It's a constant war against an enemy that never disappears. "
Then I hear Silvio's voice joining the conversation. "The eastern sector is already showing the first signs as well. The trees are suffering, I can feel it, and before long the forest over there will start dying too."
There's genuine sorrow in their voices, real concern rather than simple business worries, so maybe Davos really was telling the truth when he said Renato was the forest's protector.
Unfortunately, even someone like him seems to be losing against the larger forces reshaping the local climate.
I hesitate, wondering if this is the right moment to go downstairs, but in the end I decide not to intrude on their conversation.
Besides, I still don't know whether Renato was the one who spent my heat with me in the forest?
Am I supposed to look him in the eye and ask,
What the hell is going on here? Did you happen to fuck my ass for three days straight?!
That would be painfully awkward if it really were him.
I'm not attracted to him in any way, yet he clearly possesses the same glowing form I saw in the forest, and I still have no idea what any of this is supposed to mean.
I turn around and head back to my room. Even after sleeping for so many hours, exhaustion is still weighing heavily on me, so I settle into my nest as fatigue rolls over me once again, hoping that by morning I'll finally have enough strength to get up at a decent hour and make it downstairs for breakfast.