Fears and Tokens

A few days passed with Sen conversing with perspective, going on rides with Kai and sharing about the world with the old bristly tree.

Some conversations were merely updates on what had transpired in the last few years since Bard was here, others were about how nature and the forest taught Sen about life, death, growth, perseverance, gratitude, love, joy, and peace.

Bard knew all these topics, and so it was interesting to listen to them as Sen struggled, grew and voiced what she learned. As Sen was sent off for another adventure with Kai to the top of the mountain where Perspective came from, Bard approached.

“Perspective? How long will it take Sen to get her token?”

“Hello Bard,” Perspective sighed. “She is quick-witted and is grasping the concepts well, though that is not really your question here, is it.”

Perspective’s green growth came in patches, so it made Bard inwardly squelch at the disjointed appearance. She was not a lush, even, or full growth sort of tree. She only grew in places that made sense to her continued survival, and it was small growth. It didn’t make her a beautiful tree, in the normal sense of the word, but she was a very hardy and strong tree. In some ways, she was more steadfast, but it was her… perspective… that made her different than Steadfast. Her line was ‘to see the world with fresh eyes, unburdened or unclouded’.

“It is not the heart of the question,” Bard admitted. Perspective very subtly shifted. A nest in her branches, was nestled there, and the mother bird had left earlier in the season.

“I know the concept of a pledge. It has been ages since a Dryad asked for a token from me. Be it my location or because the war twisted their perceptions of life, I haven’t given one out in a long time. And you worry about the coming snows, and your task ahead.”

Bard bowed, grateful she understood his woes, without explaining.

“It is a simple task, only in that it is a test, a challenge to see if you can adapt your perceptions about what is around you, not on your experience, but on the experience of that which you look at. Which Sen is grasping, though she does like to go back to how she thinks things should be,” Perspective answered. Bard knew that. Sen had been reactive to the destruction around Steadfast. It had partially delayed them, and he was grateful for the training with perspective as he was able to overcome his own perspectives that would have built a bit of a wedge between them. But it would come up again and again, so long as Sen kept her view on how the world should function. It would be especially difficult among the humans, if that really became their route. Let alone, if they traveled into the abandoned cities, then it would be even more perilous to hold onto those perspectives. Being adaptable was very important while traveling. Something Bard was trying to apply to the troubles with the snow.

He sat under Perspective, puling out the long strand of rope he had made. Well, rope was too strong of a description. At present, it was thicker than the thread you would use for clothes, but not nearly as thick as a good strong rope. He located the two ends and carefully began to untangle them as he lined it up. He would double it up, spin it together, and make it stronger than it was now.

As he made it to the middle, he looked up at perspective and noticed how she shifted a single branch out that didn’t have a bunch of growth on it. Bard smiled and placed the middle around that branch and then began to walk away, keeping the rope up in the air. As he came to the end, he began to spin the ends around so they would naturally spin against each other and force the string into a single spun strand of rope.

The weight and force grew, and when he felt he couldn’t do anymore, it slipped together and the pressure eased, making it possible to continue until it was spun together. The new strand of rope was much shorter, but its strength was exponentially better. He finished the end and removed the rope from Perspective’s branches, thanking her for her assistance.

Sen appeared shortly after, and Kai was the one who looked exhausted. Bard fed them as Sen took her turn sharing what she had learned and what she thought about. Perspective offered her more insights into the value of getting higher and seeing farther when you had an important decision to make. Figuratively and physically. Height could be made metaphorically when you gather information, different perspectives, and when you refused to only make a decision on your lived experiences. Sen was fascinated by Perspectives stories that she shared and Bard put himself to bed after making sure everyone was fed.

“Bard! Come on, you’re going to miss it!” Sen called down to her sleeping companion. Bard grumbled and peeked open one eye. These early mornings were starting to get on his nerves.

“It’s too early to be climbing,” he shouted back in reply.

“No it’s not. You’re just being lazy!” she said back. He opened both eyes as he looked for her lithe frame. She had indeed climbed up Elder Perspective and was looking down at him.

“I’m not lazy!” he retorted back.

“Then you would be climbing already! Come on, you’re going to miss this!” she said as she looked back to some view that he was ‘missing’. He grumbled as he sat up. He was a lot of things, but lazy? No. He would never stand being called that. He brushed off a few twigs and rocks that had clung to him and yawned as he trod over to the base of the tree. One thing he knew, that Sen knew, was that he was not the best of climbers. Before meeting her, he would have called himself decent, but she was a master climber. To her, this was nothing. To him… well, that is a very different story.

He reached up to a somewhat low branch and used his arm muscles to haul himself up. One after the next, he began to climb. Sen was entrapped by the view and didn’t offer any advice for getting up. The task took quite a bit of his time and energy till he came close to where she had stopped. He still had a glare in his eyes and a terrible attitude till he looked out at the view.

His breathing stopped as the morning light shone over some low clouds. The morning mist glowed gold and a light breeze billowed around them, shifting the mist till it dispersed. The sounds of birds and the song of the waking world humbled him and made him feel grateful to be alive and to share this sight with Sen. Even if she had to coerce him into it.

“Told you,” she said softly, and he looked back at her. Her face was a few inches from his, and he smiled ruefully.

“Yes, you did…” he said slowly, returning his sights to the view.

A loud, yet kind, bark was heard below and the two’s attention was drawn downward. Bard quickly looked up and gripped the branches tighter. He was still a stickler about heights. This was not so bad, but it still was enough that his heart hammered in his chest and he felt weak in his arms and legs.

“Bard?” Sen asked with her dryadic tones coming through. “Are you alright?” Bard shook his head as he tried to get down, controlling his breathing as best as possible. Sen followed after him, though her gaze held deep concern. Bard took an easy breath as his feet hit solid ground. He reached up and helped Sen down, who looked shocked at him. She grabbed his face and peered deep into his eyes. He pulled back and let out one long calming breath before looking at her.

“Bard?”

He bit his lip.

“Sorry. I… got scared,” he admitted, and Sen’s head tilted to the side, her hair swiftly moving out of her line of sight.

“Scared? About what? Wasn’t it pretty?” she asked. Bard nodded.

“Fear is a future emotion, Sen,” Elder Perspective stated, listening in.

“I was afraid I would fall…”

Sen looked even more confused.

“Wouldn’t Perspective protect you? Catch you?” Sen asked, and Bard felt even more embarrassed. It was possible, but after experiencing falling from a high spot, he hadn’t gotten over the irrationality of it.

“It’s not that simple, though those lines of thought do help. I am slow, so it’s possible he could have fallen and I wouldn’t have caught him. However, this stems from a deeper perspective. I’ve taught you about that,” Perspective said, and Sen’s eyes lit up as her mouth formed an O in understanding.

“You’ve fallen before?” Sen asked. Bard nodded.

He told her of his adventures in the abandoned cities and how one floor fell out from under him and had Kai not been vigilant, he would have gotten fairly injured.

Kai sat as he looked proud of himself.

“But this is a tree, not a buil ting floor… what is a builting floor? And why would it collapse?” Sen asked. Bard chuckled at the absurdity of the question, though it was a very normal reaction for her.

“Unlike when you sing a tree into a house, the houses in the cities were built by teka hands and many dead materials,” Bard explained, trying to use words she might understand better.

“Dead? But why would you build with dead materials,” She asked, looking between Perspective and Bard. At least, she was asking lots of questions. It reminded him of the conversations they had when they first met.

“Because teka song doesn’t command or speak to the trees.”

“Is that why you said you can’t sing?”

“What? No. Nope. That is a completely different topic,” Bard said, and Perspective laughed.

Sen looked even more confused. And Bard was struggling to explain it.

“Why don’t you take this, visit the cities he is trying to tell you about, and ask your questions there where you can see what he knows,” Perspective said as her branch slowly moved over, shedding a bit of wood as a token. A full token, not just approval.

Sen stared in surprise and Bard smiled as she took the token and then ran over to him, excited. He celebrated with her and then bowed to Perspective. The old tree was wise and helpful, like always.

The two packed up Kai and despite it being the middle of the day, they left, trying to get as far as they could before the snow stalled them.