The Dryad 30 The Tree

The tree was glowing a faint yellow color. During the day you could not notice it, but now that night fell it was there for the world to see. The yellow color of the glow was somewhere between the golden shade of the leaves and the pale color of the flowers. The glow was was not strong but allowed you to tell the difference in the colors between the flowers and the leaves.

In the soil where I was working earlier, I found a small colony of bioluminescent fungus. Since fungus was not really a plant, there was no way to merge it with the tree. But that did not mean I could not help them form a beneficial relationship.

Fungi were not as easy to work with as plants but I still had some power over them. I had wondered in the past in there would ever be a fungal sprite. But since it has never happened I guess they were considered a quasi plant and were in the realm of dryads.

To help the new plant and the fungus work together, I modified the relationship between the two. After my adjustments, the tree would secrete proteins and sugars the fungus needs, while the fungus would protect the tree from harmful insects. This way they both benefit. And the symbiosis results in a beautiful glowing tree that shines through the night.

We all just sat there and watched to tree for some time, with only the crickets and the sound of the fire breaking the silence. It was beautiful watching the glowing leaves sway gently in the breeze. Each time the wind blew it would excite the fungus a little, making it glow slightly brighter. The movement of the branches caused the tree to shimmer in the night. This gave the tree an ethereal beauty. It seem like the tree did not belong to this world (not that I knew of any other world, but humans thought they existed).

Ivy was the first one to break the silence. Maybe it was because she did not have any social experience that she did not realize that it might be awkward to be the first one to speak. "How did you do that? I was watching you the whole time and I only saw you combined two plants. Neither of which would glow. And you did not make the change in them yourself to cause them to glow."

"You are right. I only combined two plants." I said feeling more satisfied inside than I probably should. A smile started to appear over my still tear streaked face. Though I had a feeling the tears still on my face and the tension in my cheeks probably made my smile look more like a grimace. I tried not to worry about my appearance as I continued, "But there are more ways to get things to work as a whole than just turning them into one ent.i.ty. Actually combining them is the hardest way. Causing them to be symbiotic with each other is much simpler. I caused a thin layer of fungus to grow on the surface of the tree. The fungus protects the tree while the tree feeds the fungus."

"So that is what you were doing at the end. I could not understand the reasons for those changes you were making." Ivy said, satisfied with her epiphany.

"To think that you were capable of making such a thing. Are you really sure you are not a G.o.ddess?" Leafia said her voice full of amazement.

I gave her a soft jab in her side with my elbow before leaning my weight on her again. "You are not allowed to call me a G.o.ddess, Leafy. You are only allowed to call me Laurel."

"Does that mean I am not allowed to come up with a nickname for you?" I could tell she was feeling slightly mischievous now.

"I have rights to veto any name you come up with."

"How is that fair? I did not get to chose Leafy," she said in mock consternation.

"If you don't like the name, talk to Emily. She is the one who gave it to you." I said glancing to the other side where Emily was sitting. "Anyway, I am your G.o.ddess so I get to make any rules I want."

"But you have said several times that you are not a G.o.ddess."

"Istan doesn't seem to believe me, and you are not convinced half the time yourself." My smile might have turned a little evil here, but I promise I am still a good spirit. "So either you recognize me as your G.o.ddess and follow my rules or you stop considering me as a G.o.ddess."

"But your rule as a G.o.ddess was first stop considering you as a G.o.ddess and second you get to chose your nickname?" Leafy was getting a little confused by the logic of my statements.

"Don't worry Leafy," Emily said. "If you follow rule number one, you no longer have to follow rule number two. That means we can call her ~whatever we want~." Emily's smile became even more evil than mine. "Isn't that right, Old one?"

"That might be right. But I am also the one teaching you. Guess what! I just came up with your next a.s.signment!" Emily was instantly crestfallen. I was not really upset. I was going to give her this task anyway, but it was more fun this way. "You need to cause a few flowers of that tree to seed. I need you to get two viable seeds from the tree."

Emily's task took her less time than I was expecting. It looks like she was really making good progress. She came back and handed the seeds to me.

"Thank you," I said to her.

"I was only doing my task," she responded. I could tell there was some slight curiosity as to why I was thanking her.

"Not just for this. You left your home to help me out. You and Leafy were here for me tonight when I needed you." As I said that I pulled her into a hug. I soon felt Leafia leaning on my other side. When I looked over I saw that she was resting with her eye closed. It was later than we normally went to bed so it is not unexpected that she would be tired.

"We should probably get to bed. We should be heading through the forest tomorrow," I said, to which Emily nodded. After a quiet, "Goodnight," she headed off to her tent with Gray. Istan silently went to his tent with a complex look on his face. He was probably trying to figure out how to deal with my insecurities. He had been even more reserved than normal this night. Leafia however, just wiggled herself into a more comfortable position. Since I was sitting on the ground as was my normal, she laid her head on my lap. It seems she was already mostly asleep. I saw no reason to wake her so I simply asked Ivy to grab her a blanket from her tent.