I curse loudly, picking up my belongings one by one from the floor.
“Stupid discount backpack with zero support,” I mutter, tossing the torn backpack against a tree. “Go kiss a tree.”
“Now, what did that tree ever do to you?”
I jump at the new voice coming from the forest. I hadn’t smelled anything; how could someone sneak up on me like that?
“Who is there?” I ask, brandishing my hairbrush as a weapon. “I have teeth.”
“What a coincidence,” the words are wind blowing against my ear, “so do I.”
I jump again and turn around. A boy is standing behind me, eyeing me with amusement. He has dark black hair and eyes as green as the forest surrounding us. He didn’t look much older than me, and his expression seemed relaxed, but some deeply ingrained instinct in me screamed d
