The sun was high up in the sky now, and the morning chill was gone. I listened for any songs of warning from the trees, but thankfully there were none. We were safe for now.
“I think now would be a good time to take a break to eat,” I informed Brexl and he nodded in understanding.
We have learned to trust each other’s abilities. If I say there are no predators nearby, Brexl believes me. If Axon says he senses danger we heed his advice. If Brexl tells us to run instead of fight, we run even if it means leaving Brexl to fight a pack of beasts on his own. He knows what he can and can’t handle and he fights best alone.
“This looks like a nice spot,” Taylor commented as she sat down at the top of the hill.
“It’s a marvelous view,” she added.
“Is that the real estate agent in you talking?” Kayla teased.
“No!” Taylor pretended to be offended before she let out a laugh. “Look at it. There are teal and purple leaves, a purple river, mountains, rolling hills, sprawling grasslands. Valo Prime has it all.”
Kayla looked out over the horizon and drank in the view with a smile. “Yeah,” she agreed. “It is nice here.”
“What was Earth like?” I asked as I sat down next to Kayla and Brexl sat on the other side of me.
“Earth has green grass and green leaves with mostly dark rivers and lakes, but a blue ocean. I lived in the city. How would you describe a city?” Kayla turned to Taylor to help her describe their planet.
“Hmm, a city has shelters that are as tall as a mountain, but we use materials like metal and glass. Only smaller buildings like houses use wood.”
“Shelters as tall as a mountain?” Brexl could hardly believe it, and neither could I.
“Why so big?” I asked.
“Ego mostly. Males with too much money and time build massive structures in tribute to their manhood. It’s good for marketing too. If you’re the company with the biggest building, then everyone has the impression that you're doing well even if you aren’t.”
Brexl and I nodded our heads, but most of Taylor’s words were beyond my limited understanding of her world.
We ate our lunch and enjoyed the view until Brexl encouraged us to continue on our journey.
“We’ll make camp soon,” I assured Kayla and Taylor as the sun set in the sky. I had no desire to be out here without shelter when the darkness of night consumed the forest.
Kayla
“This is where we’ll stop for the night,” Drovo announced as he looked up at the circle of trees that surrounded a small area. He quickly got to work weaving vines between each tree like a leafy border.
I tied Jelly to a tree and fed him some food and water.
“Good boy,” I cooed as I patted Jelly’s soft dark purple fur.
“Keep this section open until I get back. I’m going to gather some firewood and do a quick patrol of the area.” Brexl informed us with his usual grim expression. I wondered if his jaw ever hurt from how tightly he clenched it every day. He held himself with such rigidity that he moved like an animated corpse, which didn’t help with his appeal any being that in his shifted form he resembled a bony grim reaper.
“Will do,” Drovo agreed.
After finishing the vine border, minus the one section Brexl had requested be unfilled, Drovo started working on our shelters. I watched with utter fascination as he called forth small spindly saplings from the ground. They rose up like the obedient foliage they were and wove together at the top,forming a dome large enough for two people to lie down in.
As Drovo continued to concentrate on his task, I couldn’t help but notice the nearly serene expression on his face. He was willing plants to grow at ten times their normal rate, and yet he didn’t look bothered at all by the effort.
I had to admit his skill at moving the forest at will was sexy. Drovo might annoy me at times, but no other man has forced a tree to bend simply to block the sun from hitting my face. My urge to argue with the dryad shifter was still ever present, but he was growing on me nearly as quickly as the trees he was growing from the ground now.
All I had ever wanted was for him to keep his word and now that he has, I could feel my annoyance with him diminishing. However, despite his flirtations, I sincerely didn’t think he liked me beyond friendship, which was a shame. I would have loved to discover what tricks he could do with those vines in the bedroom.
I pushed those thoughts aside and watched as the spindly branches continued to weave tightly together and sprout small teal buds that turned into a thick coat of leaves.
He quickly created a second shelter, the same way he had done the first. Spindly branches, woven together to make a dome and then filled in with leaves. Once he finished, he inspected his work and whispered words of approval, as if he were praising the trees themselves for their craftsmanship.
“All set,” he announced with a confident smirk, removing all doubt that he knew exactly how talented he was.
