The Forest Prince

XIV. | "Chill, Dummy."

By the time night had fallen in the park, Gabriel had found himself within the confines of the organically-enclosed dryad communal. It was shaping up to be business as usual, with dryads of all shapes and sizes conversing amongst themselves and generally enjoying each other's company. Willow was off making her rounds, visiting talking circles and picking up on the latest gossip.

The Harvestchild found himself in a quiet corner of the enclosure, his mind racing with the events of the day. It was pretty eventful, to say the least. Reclining against the trunk of an aged, familiar Oak, the Harvestchild presented his sword. He twisted and examined the weapon, the verdant sheen of its enchanted coating gleamed in the low light.

"You're pretty flexible, ain'tcha?" He pondered softly as he examined the blade. With a quick thought, the weapon sprouted thick thorns. It was a move similar to the first night he acquired the sword. And with another thought, the thorns receded. Then, he shrunk it down to his traveling size before growing it back up. "Think I'm finally getting the hang of this." As he mumbled, the blade sagged into its vine-like state, just like it did a couple of hours prior.

"Hmm..." With the workings of an idea beginning to churn, Gabriel rose to his feet to face the tree he was resting against. Eyeing for a sturdy branch, the Harvestkid began swinging the vine in his dominant hand. "Whatcha up to, Bambi?" Willow surprised him, approaching the boy from behind.

"Striking an activity off of my to-do list." With his answer, Gabe threw the vine into the old Oak's canopy...only for it to fall back down at his feet. Willow couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's mishap. "Go on, try it again, Bambi." Even so, her reply was warm, curious, and motherly all the same. So with a second attempt, he cast the line back into the tree. On this attempt, it caught the closest branch and was able to secure itself around the bark.

"Cool." He muttered with a microscopic smirk. "Now if I can get it to extend like this, then..." He had a new hypothesis to test. With a securing tug, the line began to retract, ascending up into the tree. Quick to react, Gabriel gained a better grip before taking careful steps up the Oak's trunk. Willow's lips pursed with an impressed nod. "Clever boy..." She remarked with a raised eyebrow, keeping a careful eye on him all the while.

"I know, right?" He quietly joked back. Within a few seconds, Gabe was able to perch himself upon the targeted branch. With a grin, the playful nymph followed after, ending up beside the boy in less-than-half the time. "Ya still not faster than me, though." She boasted cheekily. "I'll get there one day," Gabe replied with another tiny smirk. The nymph jostled him a bit as she threw an arm over his shoulders. The two shared a chuckle as Gabe relaxed against her. With a satisfied sigh, he resumed his recounting of the day's events.

"Busy day, today." He began listing the happenings, counting them down with his fingers.

"Got jumped..."

"Bad thing." Willow shook her head.

"Got the hellhound outta your tree..."

"Very good thing." She nodded.

"Met another demigod for the first time..."

"Good thing...?" She wasn't too sure.

"And now I have a way to climb trees." There were clear strides being made on the boy's behalf. And even then, there was still this feeling of uncertainty niggling at the back of his mind, a lingering mental exhaustion that hasn't let up since he's been chased out of his grandmother's house.

"How're you feeling?" Willow asked a simple query that boy couldn't help but interpret in more than one way.

"Mentally, or physically?" He asked back, eyebrow cocked in search of clarification. "Let's go with both." She replied. With another sigh, the Harvestchild gazed out into the calming scene of the communal.