The fire had attracted the attention of the townsfolk. A stag thundered full throttle out of the trees and towards a bewildered crowd. A spooked man had raised his rifle towards the giant beast, but the shout of a different man held his fire:

"Jenny’s riding him!!"

The old woman was barely conscious, and upon hearing the shout of one of her friend’s, she fell off the stag, no longer able to bear the pain of her burns. The crowd was hesitant to run towards Jenny, with the large intimidating stag looking so tense. Sensing this, Rohan let out a frustrated huff, and decided to run out of view. It was up to them now to save his friend.

As soon as he was out of their sight, Rohan shifted into the form of a raven. He then dutifully watched the crowd, and followed the siren vehicle that took Jenny.

When he flew into the building the vehicle had stopped at, he became panicked at the attention he drew and how easily scared the humans were by the sight of a bird. He didn’t understand their reaction to this, as a bird wouldn’t attack them just because it’s inside concrete walls. A fly on the other hand drew no response, so for the third time in one day he changed form. The place was sickeningly busy and loud, but Rohan needed to fight through the bizarreness to watch over his favourite human.

After the many hours in surgery, they finally left Jenny and Rohan alone in a room. She had woken for a moment it seemed before the surgery had started, but Rohan came to the conclusion the doctors had sedated her to keep her resting. She wouldn’t be awake when he left.

Through the night, when Rohan thought nobody would look, he held her hand. It was more to comfort himself rather than her. When he felt ready to say goodbye, he sneakily took a paper and pen from the reception desk, and like he’d seen Jenny do so many times for her son, Rohan began to write a letter.

Dear Jenny,

I’m sorry you’re hurt. I’m sorry you nearly died. You’re nothing like what I thought you’d be like, I’m sorry to say goodbye. I could go on and on about the things I’m sorry for, but I want to let you know how grateful I am to have had you as a friend.

Keep going forward, and follow your dream. Never come back to the forest.