The soil weighed down on my secondary roots when I woke up the next morning. The root systems of trees are composed of the taproot and horizontal roots. While the taproot dug deep and acted as a backup in dryer weather, the lateral ones helped anchor and forage for nutrients. During the winter, the taproot also worked as a food storage. If a pesky fairy happens to damage you, your trusty root has your trunk!

  The grey mist of mana had condensed into a single droplet by now. Activating mana sense, the weight on the soil formed into the shapes of small flowers. The flowers were neatly arranged, spelling out “Sorri.” Did she do this while I was asleep?... I already forgave you, you bozo. Is sorry spelt that way here? Or is Vila bad at spelling? Both are equally plausible.

  There was an attempt to pick up Vila’s tableau…an attempt. There was a bigger problem at play that I couldn’t leaf alone. I was in a bind. My arms would not listen to me. The morning dew that usually came off with ease stayed static. Was this another prank by Vila, tying my leaves in a knot? I tried shaking whatever was on me off.

  Then it registered. Faint coal wisps emerged below one of my bound leaves—barely three centimetres in diameter. What are you?

  Within seconds, rapid tapping like miniature jackhammers permeated through. Whatever that was around me tightened. As the scurrying stopped, eight points of contact came to a rest. There’s only one animal family that has eight legs and is small enough to make me their torture victim: Arachne. Named after a mythical Greek weaver, these things trap most of their prey like this. But this was not Earth, who knew what was on me at this point?

  “Inconvenient,” spat the thing. Its voice was a guttural struggle, dragging itself across forgotten cement. Despite this, no murder attempt was made on my vegetation. If there was, there was no way of stopping it. I can work with this.

  I still had one leaf left. I’d reach out but I can’t risk getting webbed again. I guess this is my life now. I’ll wait for Vila before I try anything. By midday, I heard my usual greeting.

  “Hey, Sally!... Did you get my apology?” asked a remorseful Vila. Her green cacophony of mana was a welcome sight. “Woah!” she yelled, “Where’d you get this costume?”

  “More flying ones,” said the black creature.

  “Eh, who are you, little one? Why didn’t I sense you when I made my apology drawing last night? Hmm, maybe Vehyr will know a little something more about this,” Vila said. Ya know I still need a little help here. A binding of mana later.

  “Isn’t it great waking up like this?” I chortled. The nightly figure had perched itself directly opposite Vila. “Vila, you mind explaining to me what this thing is?”

  “Erm, well, it looks like a spider. Its eyes are so cute! Awww, they’re staring at me. I don’t have any food for you. Sallix I wish you could see this, its two front legs are waving at me. And he’s giving me a big smile!” she cheered.

  “…I think that’s a defensive posture,” I muttered.

  “Plant, speak?” it asked.

  “Yes, plant speak,” I replied.

  “You, grow with me?”

  “Hey hey hey, Sallix is growing with me, no one else!”

  “I mean, the more the merrier right-”

  “I eat this butterfly.”

  “Just try it! You might be cute, but you still strung up my friend! Untie him or face the wrath of the forests,” Vila declared. Seconds of bonding were ruined in seconds. What a tragedy.

  “Woah what happened to the peace? But please, can you untie me? I can’t grow without proper space. You’re suffocating the leaves I got. I don’t have many after a certain incident.”

  “I told you I was sorry!”

  “Yeah, that’s why I said incident,” I laughed. Despite being two hundred years old, Vila had the mentality of an elementary schooler.

  “I untie, you eat me?” it asked.

  “No. If you try to eat me though, you’ll have to find a new home. I promise you, we can work together without eating each other. This place is scary, isn’t it? I almost died to a squirrel-”

  “Easy prey.”

  “…But I’m still here, growing. And without the help of my friend Vila, I wouldn’t be where I am. So what do you say?” I asked.

  “Work together,” it replied.

  “Perfect! Well my name’s Vila, a caretaker of the grove and this fine plant is-”

  “Sallix, now will you kindly untie me…what would you like us to call you?”

  “Don’t start naming things, you’ll get too attached,” interjected a low voice. For the first time, I could see who Vehyr was. Compared to the raging green inferno of Vila, Vehyr’s mana was a primordial lavender ocean. It swirled ceaselessly through her limbs, she was a sun raised in a tiny vial. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the unlovable goblin.”

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  “Enemy” declared the spider.

  “Not quite. I told you to keep to yourself and look at you now, meandering with some buddies huh?” replied Vehyr.

  “Eat you,” it replied.

  “Oh please, Vehyr, can we keep him? I think he’ll do very well with Sallix. They can keep each other company when I’m out for the day!” Vila said.

  “You know we’re not pets right?” I answered.

  “That’s beside the point, do you know what this thing is?” Vehyr asked. “The monster that has made your body its temporary home is a Nighthaunter. By my estimates, he’s probably the sole survivor of this year’s birthing cycle. It’s a miracle he hasn’t died yet.”

  “Haunt…” it echoed.

  “What are they?” I asked.

  “Exterminators. They are nature’s trash can, cleaning out places wherever they go. Eventually, they’ll starve to death,” Vehyr said.

  “Oh well, you can’t blame him for that. Look at him all confused and weirded out by the words you’re using sis,” Vila laughed.

  “Regardless, if you wish to continue having him be an honoured guest, just know that he’ll be killing all that he meets.”

  “Not unlovable. I am Haunt,” he said.

  A deadly hunter had made himself home in my space. It’s a gamble. I can’t survive in Himavanta and Krailas if I don’t make any allies. Haunt could be a good companion. I think he’s smart enough not to eat everything he sees. His body remained dangling along a leaf, far away from Vehyr.

  “Well, what do you say Haunt? I’m fine with you living with me, but please don’t eat everything indiscriminately,” I asked.

  “Purple lady?” Haunt asked.

  “I’d like to see you try—”

  “No, you can’t and are incapable of doing so,” I replied.

  “Inefficient but can accept. Need to learn.” The bonds of my cage finally loosened. The tight strings came apart and disintegrated in the ground. “I go hunt. Green girl better than purple.” Haunt disappeared into the nearby trees, leaving the three of us behind.

  “Did he really think he could bruise my ego? How na?ve,” Vehyr laughed. “Now, what to do with you two troublemakers.”

  “Hey, Vila is the troublemaker here,” I replied.

  “Yeah! I just visit him from time to time! Wait, why am I a troublemaker?” she asked.

  “Sallix,” she said, landing on top of me, “You’ve managed to survive thus far. Vila can’t stop visiting you either. I think it’s time you learned how to defend yourself properly. The western flank has more than animals to deal with…if the wandering human comes in looking for kindling, you’d be perfect.”

  “I’m not good for kindling, you need dry twigs and branches, not healthy saplings,” I replied. A light pinch nicked my leaf. “BUT, you never know huh? Vehyr, please teach me everything you know.”

  “Vila, go help your sisters with the growing rites. I’ll be predisposed this afternoon,” Vehyr barked.

  “Eep! Okay, okay. Please don’t bully Sally!” Vila burst through the air and vanished.

  “It’s just you and me now,” Vehyr laughed. Despite the torture I would be undergoing, this was necessary. Coddling myself in this meadow being a passive observer in this world is not the life I want. I want to be better.

  “Let’s do this.”

  **********

  “What did I tell you? Each spell has its parameters. Light is a circle, it’s a circle evoking the mana into light. Now make a triangle and let’s start again,” she yelled. The past gruelling hours of spell history were drilled into my head. Mana sense trained unendingly. If I ran out, Vehyr would inject more into me. Another dull motion croaked in the air.

  “Is this any better?” I asked. A small triangle inside a circle formed in the air. Mana bounced around inside. Each time one travelled to a tip, it would bounce around, threatening to break its enclosure.

  “Now insert your will. Every spell consists of the design, fuel, and will. You design a spell based on your intended outcome. Circles are the basis, you must contain the mana for your intended spell. The more designs you add inside, the more intricate you intend the effect to be. Now choose your fuel,” Vehyr said.

  The small beads of grey mana I had managed to condense and refine over our training flew out and into the cast. “It’s not going to last long,” I choked.

  “Good, concentrate on it. Normally you can manipulate the surrounding mana instead for your spells. But no good magic caster would solely rely on their environment! Train those reserves intil you drop dead,” she replied.

  I was clenching hundreds of exploding bullets begging to be unchained. There was a final step left. A will.

  “This is where you can add your own flair to it. The designs help the outcome, but your will is the final determining factor. What do you want your design to do, and was the fuel enough for your wish? What do you want here Sally?” Vehyr asked.

  “Fire.”

  Cinders erupted in the air, flying a few meters away from us.

  “Well done Sallix,” Vehyr said. After countless tries, I managed to cast a simple firebolt. “Would you like to see the damage?” she asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean—”

  I couldn’t even register Vehyr’s total cast time before her spell came to fruition. The world came to be. I could finally see it. The meadow filled with lion’s mane was laid bare before us. I stared, stared at my surroundings. The young trees and stream lagged beside us.

  Vehyr’s face beamed with joy. “Well, how’s the view? Sorry if it’s too much, first-time treants get disoriented trying to figure out sight, much less depth perception.”

  “No, it’s perfect,” I said. I glanced at Vehyr, her orchid dress swayed in the wind. What expression was she making? Looking back at my work, a few meters away were the once-living remains of a patch of grass.

  “Keep that up and you might be able to burn something dangerous,” she laughed.

  “…Thank you for teaching me Vehyr. You didn’t have to do this.”

  “And leave it to Vila to teach you her janky methods? I respect any effort made to live. You and Haunt both share that characteristic,” Vehyr said.

  “Can you teach me that sight spell next?”

  “Maybe next time. At such a young age, relying on sight to live would be an intentional crippling of your learning. Now let’s continue, five more drills,” the demon said.

  By the end of the day, there was no mana left to even maintain basic senses. In my semi-state of consciousness, I managed to witness Haunt and Vila come back.

  “What happened to the grass?” she screamed. Vila was in hysterics rocking Vehyr back and forth.

  “Loud talk waste energy,” muttered Haunt. He carried a silk backpack with a menagerie of half-digested animals. Straying pieces of fur and bits of broken beak gave it extra flair.

  I will be strong for them.