The warrior leaned against a tree and tried to catch his breath as a faint trickle of blood oozed out of his wound.  The forest stretched around him, calm and cool after his fierce battle and the terrible rout that followed their defeat.  The chieftain was slain, the shamans captured, and all of the warriors fled before the hungry spears of the victorious.  Many had fallen to the warrior’s blade, but the enemy was numerous as the grass, and fast as rabbits.  Now as the sun began to rest, he could also.

“At least I am alone,” he murmured to himself.  “My dishonor is without witness.”

“Who said you are alone?”  A tall woman stepped out of the growing forest shadows, gesturing with one long-fingered hand.  “All around you are the creatures of the forest, living their lives in the shadows of the trees.  They are born, they grow, and they die here.”

For a time, the warrior listened according to the woman’s advice.  As the darkness grew, he could hear far more than he had thought at first.  From the distant call of wolves to the chirps of insects underfoot, he could no more be alone in the forest than in a crowded bar, drinking with his lost companions.

“You are right,” admitted the warrior.  “A great multitude of beings surround us, but I was speaking of humans such as ourselves.  Our battle is lost and I am greatly fatigued, but it is a good thing to find unexpected companionship in this place.  Come, young maiden.  Sit with me while I bind this injury before it attracts the beasts of the forest.”

The warrior seated himself on a fallen log with a wince, drawing out supplies to deal with the bloody wound.  Thankfully, the spear had gone straight through the muscle and broken, leaving only a stub of iron and wood amidst the mangled flesh.  It was painful, but he had endured worse during his life and recovered, so he set to work with quiet complaints and muttering as the tall woman drew nearer.

“You are obviously a brave man,” she said.  “What matter of man did bring you to these woods in such a state?”

“War,” he grunted.  “It matters not the reason.  Men have always fought.  One chieftain is insulted by another, land fails to produce money so the poor raid the wealthy, the women of a village are barren so others must be captured.  At least I have human companionship tonight.”

“You are correct in many regards,” said the woman as she moved closer, “and wrong on the most important.”

She smiled with sharp teeth.