Tokens

Bard sat in comfortable silence as he listened to the voices of the wood. Kai sat outside the wooden bars that blocked them from wrapping comfortably together. His thoughts turned to the beautiful Dryad, Sen, who had been his unplanned companion the past few months. Her curiosity was what he knew the most, but now, he wondered what her hand had been in all this, seeing as she had found so easily after being surrounded.

“What have you done, Sen,” he muttered to himself. Kai grunted and Bard looked over. Kai was looking around at the trees.

“Ya, I sense it too,” Bard replied. He knew that Kai was looking around for what disturbance was flitting through the music of the trees. Everything was off. It wasn’t out of harmony, but there were some dissonant chords that fit together with the tune, but threw a grating eerie sense to the world around him.

He looked once more at the ceiling of his enclosure. The tree that had been asked to cage him was curious about him. He could feel that. Yet it hadn’t responded to his words. He wished for an instrument right now. Something to aid him in communicating to the trees and this world around him. He knew he wasn’t much of a singer, and without an instrument, he suddenly felt bare and alone. Perhaps the trees felt this way. Every interaction of the Dryads with the trees had been commands, not communication. It wasn’t the kind that a slave would hear, but it wasn’t kind either.

“Whatcha doing?” A cheery voice asked, appearing just outside the bars. Bard smiled at the sight of Sen, her floating hair moving about as she peeked between bars.

“Hello, Sen. Done speaking with whoever that was?” Bard asked. Sen's touch was gentle, almost reverent, as she sang a request to the tree. Her song was like a conversation, far from the commands Bard had seen, showing how dryads were supposed to treat nature as a partner, not a servant. It took a second, as if it was confused at the politeness of the song, before complying. She eagerly slid in and sat next to him. Kai grumbled as he watched the two of them.

“He wishes you could let him in too,” Bard indicated to Kai, translating for Sen.

“Well, he knows I can’t do that. I’d be in big trouble and so would you,” she said, looking up at him with big eyes. Her hair floated around in grace, but there was a hint of red that was near the roots. She stopped and looked up, wondering what he was looking at.

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes obviously not finding what held his gaze.

“Your hair,” he said at last, and she cocked her head to the side: the hair neatly avoiding running into either of their eyes, or face for that matter.

“What about it?” she prompted.

“It’s turning red,” he said, touching the part where it broke from hair to forehead.

“Oh!” she said quickly, understanding lighting her eyes. “It does that at this time of year.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, and she giggled.

“I suppose a teka like you wouldn’t understand,” she said with a playful smile, and he sighed. As much as he told her his race referred to themselves as ‘humans’ she kept insisting that it was teka. He supposed she had attempted to say it once, but it seemed that not all human words were easy to speak. That went without saying, as his tongue also found itself tied when trying to say some of her words as well.

“What wouldn’t I understand?” he asked.

“Your hair is dead and doesn’t reflect the life of the forest,” she said at length.

“Dead?” he asked. That was an interesting way to put it, he mused. He always thought of how her hair seemed to have a life of its own, but so did many of the Dryads, if it wasn’t bound and tied up.

“Ya, it is one color and doesn’t move. You also keep it short, really short,” she said, seeming proud that she was able to converse with him more easily. Kai’s ear’s twitched, and that brought Bard to alertness. Sen noticed his change in focus and looked about. Her eyes grew wide as her ears began to pick up the sounds of footsteps. She hastily walked to the bars, telling the tree to let her out. Again there was confusion, but more to the fact that she didn’t ask nicely like she had before. It reluctantly gave in, and she slipped out, but not before she was spotted.

“Sen!” a voice spake, and she ducked her head, but then quickly looked to where the sound had come from.

Several words were exchanged as an older looking Dryad approached them. Unlike others Bard had seen, his hair was like gold, flat and smooth, not alive and green like the others. From his head grew branches, not antlers, making him look like a wise, old tree himself. Kai began to growl, and Sen quickly looked towards Bard. He knew that expression and quickly came to the edge of his cell.

“Kai, calm down. It’s alright,” he said quickly. Kai looked back at the two of them and Bard shook his head.

“Marvelous,” he heard the Dryad say, and Bard quickly looked at the owner of the voice. His mouth gaping in surprise.

“Close your mouth. Is it really surprising that an old fellow like me should understand your language, lad?” The older Dryad asked.

“Grandfather,” Sen grumbled as she gave a small bow. The old Dryad laughed and patted her head.

“I… it caught me off guard, sir,” Bard replied, bowing.

“No need for formalities, I’ve come to question you,” the Dryad remarked. “And first your name,” he said. Bard shook off the surprise and took a serious tone.

“Bard, is my name, sir,” he replied. He heard the Dryad sigh.

“Just call me Elwood, Bard. None of that ‘Sir’ business,” Elwood said. “I must say, Bard is an interesting name. What is your last name,” he asked.

“I don’t have one,” Bard said, remembering Father’s warnings.

“Surely not. Every… human, uses one to distinguish families,” Elwood remarked.

“I was orphaned as a child, Father Tree was the one who gave me my name,” Bard said. Elwood’s brows shot up, and then a curious light glittered across his eyes.

“I see. I’m sorry to hear about your loss, but I am far more interested in this Father Tree, you spoke of,” Elwood said. He motioned to the tree and the bars left. A table of wood grew from the ground, the leaves carefully tucking themselves into the surface as three stools grew up beside it. Bard heard Elwood thank the tree.

Bard felt the nuzzling of Kai before he could even look over to see his companion. As he strode over to the stool meant for him, Kai refused to leave his side. Elwood watched with some interest, but mostly amusement. The three of them sat down as the questions began.

“So, who is this Father Tree?” Elwood reiterated.

“He is an Elder Tree of one of the forests in the north,” Bard began to explain. He had nothing to hide, and he felt that this Dryad was much more understanding than the others he had encountered, beyond Sen. Besides, Father Tree had always explained it was better to be honest and gain the trust of a Dryad than an enemy. “He took me in after my mother fled to his woods and died of her wounds. Then afterward, he raised me as his son, and taught me of a great many things.”

“Is he the one, who taught you about music?” Elwood prompted.

“Yes,” Bard answered.

“So, then. Why are you here instead of at home with him?”

“It’s sort of a long story, Elwood,” Bard said, his voice tinged with the weight of his journey and the memories of home.

Kai’s ears twitched, and he huddled closer to Bard. The calm was shattered by the approach of more dryads, their steps heavy with suspicion. Bard felt the air change, a storm brewing where once there was peace. A deep rumble, permeated Kai’s being and Bard touched his neck, quietly compelling his faithful friend to be still. Kai immediately ceased, but his eyes never wavered from the newcomers. Elwood sighed as he rose from his stool and stood between Bard and the other Dryads.

Bard picked up on a few words and understood that the others were challenging Elwood about his decision to let the teka out. They also demanded information, but he wasn’t sure what it was about. Elwood seemed to tell them to back off and leave him be, but the one who seemed to be the leader of this group shook his head.