"I am sure it won't be long now if we are seeing sunlight, from here" Eve replied as she still looked around at everything. She looked at the rays of sunlight, smiling as she couldn't wait to see the forest again.
"It's only a short walk from here!" Selene agrees, tilting her head back to appreciate the warm sunlight on her face as she skips up the stairs behind everyone else. The skylights in the stairs were a nice touch, and she gives props to whoever built this building, however long ago, for including them. Really... haha... brightens up the place.
Katherine is waiting for them when they reach the top of the stairs. She must have teleported up here rather than taking the slow way. It's significantly darker once they exit the stairwell, and Selene misses the sun already, but her sister at least seems more awake now that they're entering the cool, shadowy tunnels. The lighting is dimmer than in the main building, with lights set into the walls that are just bright enough to illuminate the passage. They cast long shadows along everything as they walk.
Selene takes the lead again, trailing one hand along the cool, slightly rough stone of the wall as she walks. "Two rights and a left, then up a ladder and we'll be right at the edge of the forest. Distance doesn't really work the same down here, which is convenient sometimes and very inconvenient at other times!"
She skips a few paces ahead, looking over her shoulder at the others. Katherine trails along at the back of the group, and Selene makes a silly face in her general direction. Sooo unnecessarily cautious.
"There are some good climbing trees not too far into the forest. That's probably where I'll go, how about y'all? Ever been there?" It's hard to remember, sometimes, that not everyone had to trek through the forest to get here. There's the river of course, or they could've grown up here. Oh, or the city! So many paths all leading to here and now. Speaking of, she takes the right path when they reach a fork in the tunnels, and waves for the others to follow her. They're a bit higher than the really big hollowed-out spaces, along the walking path instead of the more clustered common areas and bedrooms, so it's a lot easier to navigate.
She smiled as she followed selene and the rest "I went through the forest to come here." as she looked trying to see anything "It is really dark in here" she said as she accidently bumped in to katherine "Sorry to whoever I bumped" I can't see in the dark" she apologized following still.
Sakura had no idea what to make of the comment that distance didn't work the same, which was pretty obvious by the fact that she fell silent, mouthing the word 'distance?' to herself and shaking her head, trying to make sense of it. Eventually, she had to give up. There were just some aspects of the world that it seemed she might never understand. That was okay, though - that was part of what made it interesting.
"I've been in lots of forests," Sakura answered the question, "But... not this one. I've wanted to go for a long time, but I came from the other side of the city, and I wasn't sure how to get through. I was trying to make my way around the city without going through it, but then things got a little strange and I had to change my plans. I came in by the river way - it's such a nice river. I like rivers. They're like the wind, but wetter!"
Was she talking to much? Probably. Sakura hardly talked at all when there were a lot of people around, but this was just a few people, and she felt more comfortable... and was probably talking too much.
That was okay. She'd just be quieter later, to make up for it. "Who were the trees you climbed?"
She smiled looking at sakura, happy to see most of them were excited as she kept quiet walking, thinking to herself of when she walked in the forest, to hear the birds singing and to feel the wind "I haven't climbed trees in long" she said as she followed still keeping quiet.
Katherine doesn't complain when Eve bumps into her, but she does summon a lantern out of seemingly nowhere and offer it to the girl with a short comment of, "Maybe this will help you see better."
The lantern is of a simple design, a cylindrical frame with a bulb in the center that shines brightly and illuminates the passage better than the dimmer, embedded lights in the walls. As soon as Eve takes it, Katherine steps away again, walking a bit further away from her so that she isn't bumped again. Once is an accident, and all that. She can see perfectly well herself, but then again, she's never had any trouble seeing even in pitch black darkness.
Selene grins at the mention of the river, taking her hand off the wall to do a little spin. "Yeah, the river is pretty great! Swimming is so fun, and the water is so clear and pretty there." She giggles, thinking of the last time she visited it, which was a while ago, now. Maybe they could drop by. It's just a little bit out of the way. She'll bring it up once they're topside.
Sakura's question draws her up a bit short, though, and she blinks in confusion, tilting her head to the side like a confused golden retriever. "'Who'?"
Selene looks back at the other girl, as though looking at her will answer her question. And, in a way, it kind of does. "Oh, are you a dryad?" The flower name makes a bit more sense, in that case, but it's also common enough for names to be completely unrelated to species that she doesn't usually think too hard about it. "I don't know if the trees were dryads, too, or if they had names. Do most trees have names?"
While they talk, they come to an intersection in the tunnel, and Selene takes the right path without hesitation. Only a few feet down that tunnel is another branching path to the left, at the end of which is the ladder, right where she thought it'd be! She continues towards it, making sure everyone is still following her.
Sakura bobbed her head in response to the question about her species - she'd never seen any reason to hide it, after all. "All trees are people," she said, cheerfully. "Some of them are just our quiet cousins."
Well, that was the way she saw it, anyway. It probably didn't make quite as much sense to the others, since they weren't dryads themselves. But Sakura had always seen herself as a little bit person and a little bit tree, and so if people were people, then trees were also people.
"They don't have names so much as natures, I suppose. But you know who they are. Well... I do, anyway." The others might not, of course, but that was okay. Everyone had different strengths, after all.
She held the lantern so she could see as she said "Thank you" But noticed katherine had moved as she walked following. "I have never met a dryad specie before, mostly I have only met angels" Eve said looking at sakura, then facing forward as she walked.
"Oh, maybe you can introduce me then!" Selene beams, then covers her mouth with a hand, seeming to consider something before hesitantly asking, "Is it bad manners to climb a tree without asking? I guess it would be rude to just jump on a person, but I never really thought about that for trees. I've talked to dryads before, but I guess it never came up."
Oh no, has she been unkind to possible arboreal friends? She'd feel really bad if that was the case. She'll have to apologize when she gets there. ... if the trees can understand apologies? The ethics seem to wrap around on themselves, and so she sets the train of thought aside for a moment.
"Here's our exit," she announces, pointing up the ladder. She wastes no time in clambering up it and takes a moment to open the hatch at the top. The wheel is a little hard to turn, but eventually something gives and it pops open like a submarine door. Sunlight streams in, and she climbs out into a deserted road on the far outskirts of the city. The forest waits just beyond the cracked pavement, lush and green. She gets distracted watching a bird but remembers her companions a second later and peers out over the hole to call, "All clear! Come on out."
Sakura laughed about the climbing question, "No, no, it's fine. No one minds if you climb us when we're tree-shaped. Some people even think it's kind of nice. An honor, almost, that we've been chosen. It's like saying 'you're a good tree.' It's generally considered a compliment." She shrugged, then added, "We... think differently, when we're trees. It's not just changing the way we look, like some species. Everything is... distant, almost. The sun and the rain seem important, and nothing else matters too much. It's... hard to remember what it was like, not being a tree. The rest of the world seems more like a dream, like you've woken up to who you really are. That's why..."
Sakura hesitated, then supposed it wasn't worth hiding, continuing quietly, "That's why sometimes we forget not to be trees. A lot of times, someone needs to remind us again. When we're little, we're taught not to change unless someone else is around, to help us change back. For older dryads who are ready to settle into a grove, there's a Keeper of the Grove who stays human-shaped, in order to watch over them and help them change if they need to." It wasn't something that dryads talked about with others too often; their society tended to be... not necessarily secretive, but certainly quiet, and those that they told were usually those who knew to keep the secret - so a lot of the information that others did have on dryads was merely rumors, and many of them were very wrong.
Sakura thought it was funny, to hear all the ideas, and wonder what things would have been like if they had been true. Selene had announced that they had arrived, though, and Sakura smiled as the hatch opened above and the sunlight came pouring in. She closed her eyes for a moment, just standing in the sunbeam, letting its light suffuse her, then shook her head a little as if to wake herself at the all clear call, and followed her new friend up the ladder.
She smiled as she followed seeing the sunlight and the trees "It is good to be seeing the sunlight and nature" as she looked at sakura "That is very interesting" she continued to follow them happily feeling the breeze.
"Oh wow, I hadn't heard about any of that!" Selene comments, helping them get up and out once they reach the top of the ladder. "It is really interesting. You learn something new every day around here, seems like."
Boy howdy, does she love learning new things! It's like a little special treat that she didn't even know existed. Like a surprise! She loves surprises, too. Sparing a look around, she sees Katherine already waiting for them in the shade of the forest, leaning against one of the trees with the long-suffering air only older siblings can really perfect. She hadn't seen her climb up the ladder, so she must have teleported again.
Well, no use wasting daylight out here in the open. Once everyone is out, Selene kicks the hatch shut with her foot, watching as it falls and camouflages itself to look like just another patch of the road, just slightly discolored so they can find it if they really look for it.
"I'm glad trees enjoy being climbed. I think if I were a tree I would want to be a good climbing tree, like an oak. That'd be fun," she continues, picking up the thread of conversation once more. She starts skipping towards the treeline, stopping once she's under the dappled shade and turning in a round-off to use up the last of her momentum. She fumbles the landing and lands on her back in the grass, right in a patch of sunlight. She doesn't really mind the fall, but she has to shield her eyes against the glare as she looks up at her companions. Dang, it's really hot out in the direct sun. She's glad she chose to wear a tank top and shorts today, or she'd be all sweaty by the end of their adventure. "What kind of tree are you, Sakura? Wait, no, let me guess, are you a cherry tree?" She beams in anticipation, hoping that her excellent detective skills have led her down the right path here.
It always was, of course, but after having been indoors for a while, it felt even more perfect than usual. Sakura moved away from the hatch, watching as Selene closed it once more. It really was pretty well hidden, once it was closed. That was nice, she thought. It was a good little hidey-hatch. She went towards the forest, looking around at the trees, laying her hand on each one as she passed, giving them a little bit of silent encouragement to grow stronger, to leaf out, to let their roots go deep. The trees were content, and as pleased to see her as trees ever were. They understood one another, after all.
Once she had finished establishing the little grove, she moved into the sunlight herself, sitting down on the grass and closing her eyes, letting the grasses grow and the wildflowers grow up around her, morning glories climbing up her arms like a trellis, winding their way through her hair. Selene's inquiry made her open her eyes, and smile once more. "I'm a dryad. Ah... it's not really like that." She moved to lean back on her hands, her face towards the sun, then shifted to make a gesture that encompassed the grove. "When we root we usually take our nature from the land around us. It's... camouflage, I suppose? Because if you were the only palm tree in a pine forest, you'd be pretty easy to find - and also, it would be harder to grow that way. You need to be something that fits in for the climate. We can push ourselves to be something specific if we want, I suppose - at least, the younger ones can. It gets harder when you're older - we change less, then. But for the most part... something just feels right, so you go with whatever it is."
She combed her fingers through the grass, letting her eyes drift partially closed. "Somewhere like here... ah... I'd probably be a locust tree, I think. Someone older might be a hawthorn here, though, but those are a little less springy than I like to be." She shrugged apologetically, offering a smile. "I'm sorry... it all makes sense internally, but it's hard to explain. I'm probably not making any sense at all. So, um... goodness. I guess I've been doing all the talking, haven't I? How about you, what are you like? What do you like to do?"
She smiled as she felt a small breeze "It feels goood to be out in the open. That is also very interesting" Eve said looking at sakura, as she heard the questions and thought about it looking up at the sky and thought of flying again as she reminded herself of her broken wing, She closed her eyes listening to the birds and the sounds of nature.
"It makes sense to me! Or, at least, I think I get what you're saying, so it's all good," Selene reassures her with a bright smile, watching the flowers bloom along Sakura's arms and feeling herself relax more as the people around her become more comfortable. "I like listening to your explanations, you're good at saying things in ways that make sense."
Perhaps things would make less sense if she weren't used to the everyday oddness of different species and types of people, but she's lived in The Spire for long enough to stop questioning how or why things work. She's no stranger to just doing whatever feels right, since her powers are so nebulous, so she's not really one to judge.
"Venturing out was a good idea. It's a really nice day," she agrees in response to Eve. It's nice being out in the forest, where there are less people. Even if she isn't a very powerful empath, crowds are hard sometimes. It's nice to get away from it all for a bit. A breeze blows her hair into her face and makes the now-longer grass around her tickle at her skin, and she laughs and sits up, brushing grass out of her hair.
"Uhh, I do a lot of things. Besides the greeting and housekeeping stuff I do to help out around The Spire, I like to go adventuring in the forest or around the city, or sometimes I go play with the little ones in the daycare or the nursery." She pulls her hair back into a tiny puff of a ponytail to keep it out of her face, looking around and watching the leaves sway in the breeze, her lavender eyes lingering on every movement. She notices that Katherine has remained standing, still leaning against the same tree and keeping an eye on the surrounding forest. "You can probably tell that I'm not a dryad, I'm actually half demon. My mom was a witch!"