Ashes of the crown

POV: Mixed Team POV (mostly Ariya + Kael + Jax) 🌲✨😂

They should've turned back the second the trees whispered.

Not the wind — the actual trees.

"Did that oak just tell me to 'unclench emotionally'?" Jax asked.

Lyra scowled. "Yes. Welcome to the Grove of Sentience."

"I hate it here."

Their task was simple: retrieve a pouch of Starroot berries, needed to heal a wounded village elder. Problem? The berries only bloomed under "sincere emotional openness."

And the forest wasn't subtle about it.

First, it made Lyra float every time she got sarcastic.Then it made Kael's armor vanish when he tried to dodge a question.

But the worst?

When Ariya denied having feelings for anyone… a tree straight-up dropped a branch on her head.

Jax wheezed. "Girl, even nature ships it."

Ariya groaned. "I will burn this entire enchanted forest."

The tree behind her whispered, "Liar."

As they set up camp, strange effects continued.

Jax's jokes echoed like song lyrics.

Kael tripped every time he looked at Ariya for more than three seconds.

And Ariya's flames turned pink every time Kael spoke to her.

"Just me, or is this forest like… emotionally invested?" Lyra muttered.

"Nope. Burn it down," Ariya grumbled, blushing furiously.

"No flames," Kael added. "We don't know what they'll attract."

Ariya scowled. "Right now? A therapist."

That night, they gathered around a campfire made of empathy logs. (Yes, actual name.)

Jax roasted starberries, dramatically narrating:

"And so the emotionally constipated knight and the fire girl full of rage stared longingly across the flames, both pretending to care more about snacks than feelings."

Ariya threw a berry at him. It bounced off his forehead.

"Direct hit!" Lyra announced.

Kael smirked. "You're not wrong, though."

Ariya stared. "What."

"About the staring thing," Kael added, glancing away.

The flames flared pink again.

"Stop doing that!" she yelled, flustered.

Jax sipped his tea. "I'm just here for the forest-approved rom-com."

Suddenly, the trees pulsed with light. A path revealed itself, and along it… the blooming Starroot berries.

Lyra gasped. "It worked. The forest fed enough on your collective awkwardness to reward us."

"You're welcome," Jax said, bowing.

"Remind me to never have feelings again," Ariya muttered.

"Too late," Kael said under his breath.

She heard that.

And she didn't deny it.

As they collected the berries, the trees sighed in contentment.

One whispered: "Finally. Took them long enough."

Jax cackled. "Even the trees are shipping you two."

Ariya raised a brow. "The trees also said you cried when your mushroom soup spilled."

"It was emotional, okay?"

By the time they made camp again, the team was exhausted — emotionally and magically.

But the laughter hadn't stopped all night.

Kael sat beside Ariya as the others dozed off.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded. "Yeah. This place is weird. But... maybe it helped."

He looked at her, eyes gentle. "You're allowed to feel things, Ariya. Even the messy stuff."

She smirked. "I know. I'm just better at burning things."

"We're working on that."

Their hands brushed.

The forest shimmered softly.