Shoff couldn't get themself to approach the desecration on the other side of the small hill. They'd climbed down the tree, but they just stared into the forest. What could have possibly done something like this?

Why?

Shoff had never asked that question about death before. Death had to happen for life to happen. It was the energy, the momentum.

This, though, this benefitted no one. This wasn't death. This was destruction.

And now what? What was Shoff supposed to do? 

They looked up at the canopy above. Between the stormy cloud cover and the setting sun, the forest was nearly in total darkness. The rain settled to a slow, gentle drop, but a breeze rustled the leaves above and sent a shower of drops onto Shoff's already soaking body.

The forest here was quiet except for the rain; animals and insects had not yet returned after the attack. Even the trees felt as if they had retreated inside themselves.

Shoff had never felt quite so alone before.

The trees would wake up to mourn soon. Shoff decided they would join them. They would perform the ceremonies for their clan. It was the only right thing to do. They'd never performed one before, but they went to find the appropriate materials for it.

***

Shoff returned to the site late--some time halfway between dusk and midnight. A young chipmunk followed behind, holding the things Shoff needed for the ceremony in his mouth. Shoff and the chipmunk stood about the same height and the chipmunk was scurrying in circles around Shoff impatiently as Shoff toddled to the middle of the wreckage.

Once Shoff stood in the middle of it, as best they could tell, they turned to the chipmunk. "Thank you, friend." 

The chipmunk twitched with nervous energy.

"Can you leave those here for me? And please let me know if there's anything at all I can ever do for you."

The chipmunk deposited two cedar twigs, a cedar berry, and a cheek-full of lichen that glowed greenish-blue in the dark. He shook some of the dampness off his fur before running back into the night to find a hiding place.

Shoff inhaled deeply, then forced themself to look around. Shoff was most afraid that they would see a familiar face amongst the pieces of bodies strewn about and churned into the dirt. It would be like looking all of this in the face, and Shoff wanted to pretend like this hadn't happened. It had been so fast.

A few creatures had returned to the area. A mouse foraged nearby, and something disturbed a puddle several feet away with a "plop" sound. The tree roots under Shoff talked to each other. They groaned of broken branches and damaged trunks and reach out piteously to the large fallen tree, a parent tree to many here. They ached for its wisdom. It had been taken far too soon.

Shoff closed their eyes. This was not meant to happen. They felt it with their whole body. Something was wrong.

They took a deep breath.

Shoff pushed the cedar berry forward, away from the pile left by the chipmunk. "This is the beginning."

They pushed one of the cedar twigs next to it, this twig green. Shoff had asked a cedar tree to spare it earlier that night. "This is living."

They pushed the last twig next to the berry and the green twig. This one was dry and brittle, dropped by the same tree. "This is the end."

Shoff looked up at the sky, then down to the ground. "Thank you earth, rain, and sun for giving us life..." Shoff trailed off. They couldn't remember what came next; they'd only attended death ceremonies before this. "Um...thank you, again."

Shoff then looked at the small pile of lichen, glowing iridescently. There wasn't enough for everyone in their clan. There certainly wasn't enough to place a piece on every body part they could find, but Shoff could think of no other way to make sure everyone was released. A little bit of despair crept deeper into Shoff. Hopefully Mykel, the goddex of death, would understand.

Shoff absorbed a small piece of the lichen to move it and place it on one of the mysum pieces. It tasted strongly bitter, almost rancid, like it's entire purpose in life was to not be eaten. Shoff deposited it with some relief onto half a cap that lay upside down on top of some twigs as if it had been tossed aside. Shoff tried not to look too closely. They knew they should offer the dead more dignity, but if Shoff lingered too long, they knew they wouldn't be able to finish. The state of it all was undignified to begin with. All that Shoff was left with was horror. 

Shoff divided the lichen into six more pieces and placed them on the six nearest mysums. The rain continued to drip lightly. Droplets splashed in puddles and on leaves. Shoff found a little relief in this, knowing that the forest itself would always continue to be. Life would always go on. On the fifth piece, Shoff found what they dreaded. 

Fash's face and body looked up at nothing, cap missing. The clan leader's pursed lips lay open partway, light brown eyes sat dull and a little sunken. They were nearly cut in half up the middle, bright white innards contrasted with their yellowing skin. Exposed, the body had absorbed much of the rainwater falling and looked puffy, but slumped against the ground and spread out uncomfortably. Shoff trembled and tried not to touch them as they laid a piece of the lichen over one eye. 

There were so many things Shoff could have thought in that moment, but all they could manage was resentment. Fash would know how to do this, but I have to instead. 

Shoff kept going anyway.

When there was no more lichen, Shoff looked around at the carnage. The seven pieces of lichen seemed almost like beacons in the dark. Shoff inhaled to steady themself.

"Mykel, Being of Death, we, I and the forest, petition you to return the life force of these humble Bolets back to the earth so that life may continue in Kelunbar." Shoff listed the names of their clan, now trembling. "Fash, Pusho, Faf, Demfa, Muf..."

Somebody could be alive Shoff supposed at that moment, a spike of hope that felt disrespectful. Shoff shoved it away and spoke aloud every name, to make sure all who had died were returned. Afterward, they stood silent. Usually there would be others. Now is when people offered thanks for the life lost.

Shoff was struck with a deep sense of loneliness. There was no one who knew the ceremonies of their clan anymore. No one to teach Shoff how to pass them on to their children. When Shoff died, there would be nothing left.

Death with no life.

Shoff began to cry then, finally, like the pressure of a seed pod about to burst doing just that. Thier whole body shook with the weight of it. Shoff was alone. They wished they could scream loud enough for the whole forest to hear. For the wretched creature that had done this to hear and regret being alive when others weren't. Shoff had never hated anything before now, but they hated whatever had done this. They wailed until they couldn't. 

Throat sore, cap aching, they swallowed and blinked. They looked around again at the remains of their family and the wrecked trees and plants.

The seven pieces of lichen had grown to almost double their size, glowing bright and reflecting off of raindrops and puddles. Shoff frowned. That wasn't supposed to happen. Lichen--this kind, at least--simply didn't grow that fast. It would die as soon as it was exposed to the morning sun as well.

Shoff moved closer to inspect one of the patches. They could see it growing right in front of their eyes, completely covering the mysum cap it was on. Shoff stared in surprise, mouth slightly open.

A large puddle next to them shivered as if a breeze had blown over it, but Shoff felt nothing. They peered into the night, searching for a source, but there was nothing unusual about the forest.

A few raindrops pelted Shoff from the side and Shoff turned, surprised. They saw nothing and felt no wind, but the raindrops kept coming. More from the side. Some even from the ground. As Shoff turned around again, they saw that the water droplets were coalescing into a shimmering form, glinting faintly like a starry sky as it reflected the lichens' glow. The droplets swirled around each other in constant movement creating a shape as large as a badger. Shoff would have been struck with beauty if they hadn't been struck with terror. This looked like no creature Shoff had ever seen. It had eight appendages ending in bird-like claws that each held itself. It floated above the ground rather than use any of them to stand. Shoff couldn't see a face at all.

Shoff's mouth fell open and they shuffled backward, unsure of what or how this thing was. Perhaps it was what had destroyed the forest. Or maybe it was a hallucination brought on by grief. Maybe they had accidentally summoned something foul by performing the ceremony incorrectly.

The water form bent closer to Shoff, who kept moving backward as fast as they could.

A voice that didn't belong to Shoff spoke into their mind.

This death is not mine.

Shoff froze. The voice was deep and heavy. It made Shoff's body vibrate as if a mountain had just spoken to them. They sensed that whatever this was had power over Shoff no matter what they did.

Are you listening? The water form towered over Shoff, sending a few water droplets down on top of them.

Without a face, Shoff wasn't sure where to look at it. They closed their eyes and had to try twice to choke out, "Yes."

I do not want this death. It was brought to me by something wretched. I will not take them.

Shoff winced. Had a demon visited to call Shoff wretched? They knew their lichen offering was subpar, but this seemed absurd.

Kill the creature that offered your family to me, and I will take them. That creature was born of destruction and all it will do is destroy.

Shoff didn't understand what this thing meant. "What?"

A sharp breeze ripped by and the water droplets collapsed, raining down on top of Shoff and everything around them. Shoff coughed and spluttered. 

The light from the lichen winked out all at once, leaving the night in complete darkness.