Sara walked slowly, singing her song to the forest. She already felt rejuvenated, the often drab sensation of being among humans for extended periods of time was dulled to a bearable minimum. Not that Nik hated humans. Not any more, at least. There was a time, the samovila remembered, but that time had gone and she'd learned to distinguish between the humans deserving of her friendship and grace, and those that were not. Sara loved her human friends. Like Joyce. Humans were fascinating, intricate creatures that more often than not didn't know themselves very well. Which was why, in Nik's opinion, they fought amongst each other so much.

	Of course self-improvement and soul-searching was something that even vilas did. Otherwise Nik would still be in the throes of blind rage, directed at the humans who butchered the forests and killed trees indiscriminately. Sara always tried to search within herself first for answers and solutions to problems. Immortal as she was she knew that personal growth was indispensable, if she were to survive eternity with her mind intact.

	As Sara was walking and singing, tending to the forest's needs, she felt a strong pull towards something. Or maybe someone. She wasn't sure. But she felt helpless to obey the urge and answered the call. Slowly she followed the strand of essence she felt drawn to. She was so in tune with nature, the forest and its inhabitants, her voice soring high and far, that she didn't even register the increased pain and burning in her wrist.

	Nik kept following the mysterious call, her pulse quickening and her heart beginning to hammer excitedly in her chest. Her nostrils flared and her song became slow, husky and almost sensual. She didn't notice the change, nor did she pay any mind to her now throbbing and aching wrist. She was so focused on the ethereal presence that was like nothing she'd ever felt in any of the planet's forests, that she'd tuned out almost everything else.

	Suddenly she stopped, eyes wild, chest rising fast in labored breaths, and her singing came to a gradual whispering stop. The sensations in her wrist made themselves known with a vengeance. Sara raised it and stared at the tattoo, glowing wildly and pulsing with a constant, almost crippling pain. Nik had no idea what it meant. It had never done this before, and nothing in her research explained these sensations. She looked at the appendage as if it was not hers, but a foreign entity. And then she felt it again. The presence. Dizzyingly stronger than before. She felt lightheaded, stumbled a bit and stretched out a hand to the nearest tree for support.

	As soon as her palm made contact with the bark of the tree her being was filled with it. The elusive, mysterious presence. She gasped, or moaned, or both. She placed her other palm on the tree and this time did moan. [i]I've never felt a connection like that with a tree before. It's almost as if it's...[/i] Nik looked slowly up, eyes searching for something that should not have been there. When her gaze fell on the woman, tucked between the branches of the tree, she inhaled sharply.

	"Who..." She stumbled back, unable to finish her question. The situation so surreal even her supernatural brain had problems dealing with it.


[@KahleenCuthald]