Holy Water

Bard awoke to Kai shifting around.

“Kai…” He grumbled. He heard some shouts and peeked one eye open. Sen was moving about on the island in what looked like those moves she practiced in the silver woods. Was she training? She hadn’t done it much since they had left, so he wasn’t sure what to do. Sure, she had done some out of boredom in the house back at the village. But this seemed different.

“Oh! Morning Bard,” she greeted as she paused.

“Morning?” Bard greeted. What was going on? Wasn’t she still upset?

“Thought I would exercise this morning.”

She moved into her next routine, and Bard slowly brought himself to alert-fullness. When he got up, Bard stretched and then went to the water to splash his face. Was last night a dream? His imagination? Perhaps a hallucination from the heat.

“Morning Bard and Sen,” Paradise spake as he shifted for a bit. His movements seemed a bit more subtle than last time he was here. Sen frowned and stopped her movement. She was back to the same state last night in an instant. Bard felt a headache form. How long would she be like this? Supposedly, it wasn’t his imagination. He looked to Kai, whose ears were down as he ducked. Bard shrugged.

“Ah, you must be a Dryad,” Paradise hummed.

“Yes,” Sen said curtly.

“How fortunate. Then are you two forming a pledge?”

“Yes,” Bard answered. He walked a bit closer to Sen and noticed her pained look. “Is something the matter?” he asked. Sen straightened as she looked at him. Then she looked at Elder Paradise.

“Is he the only tree around here?” Sen asked softly as Bard came close.

“Yes. All the others are outside the walls. It creates a barrier against the encroaching sands. At least, that is what the catfolk say.”

“I see…” Sen seemed upset by that answer.

“Child of the forests, if you could do me a favor,” Paradise said in Asternum. Sen’s eyes flew wide.

“How?”

“Paradise used to have dryads in his oasis. But they opted for a more controlled environment and departed long ago. The catfolk have a working relationship with him instead. He would be dead if they hadn’t made the temple over there,” Bard said.

“Wait. Is this true?” Sen looked disgusted and horrified.

“It is,” Paradise answered.

Sen paused and then hastily bowed. “I’m so sorry!” she said quickly. Bard was confused, but noted that her unsettling energy was dissipating a bit.

“It’s quite alright. It would seem like the catfolk have separated me from my kin. But we asked each tree to serve where they were needed, and each agreed. Water canals were built to feed them and allow me to communicate with them still. It's a bit different of a structure to what your people typically choose.”

“It… is. I sensed the water was off. Was that why?” Sen muttered, looking towards the lake around them. Bard felt dumb at this moment.

“No. That’s because you haven’t been purified. It’s not normal water. I forgot to have you do that first. Sorry,” he apologized. The catfolk praised this water as sacred, claiming it came from the sun god Erasaphim. A gift from his temple.

Paradise also seemed to be in agreement, but Bard wasn’t sure. He was still skeptical, since he believed Father Tree to be the oldest on this land. He typically followed the Elders, and none had spoken much of a sun god. However, before swimming to the island, he had been part of the return celebration which include a purification ceremony. He recalled a chant from the catfolk that protected them from the sting of the holy water. Or something along that line.

“That is part of it. You have to be granted a bit of Erasaphim’s light so that the water recognizes you, otherwise it… well… that’s a story for another time.”

“But now, I’m surrounded by it. You can’t expect me to swim back,” Sen remarked with a little shudder. Bard’s head shrunk down into his shoulders. He felt like an idiot. Yes, it had been years since he had been here, but he should have realized her reservations and slight tugs when they entered the water was due to her discomfort.

“We would have to wait for Kihana to return anyway. That’s the next ceremony,” Bard sighed. “Perhaps we should have traveled with them…”

“Oh…” Sen paused. “Well, why don’t I work on getting my token, then? We are stuck here anyway.”

Bard half smiled. It wasn’t a bad option. And there were teachings both with and without the water. She could work on that. Bard looked up at Paradise, who shifted. Sen once again shivered at the sight.

“Sen, why are you so nervous when he moves?” Bard asked a bit impatiently.

“It’s… he doesn’t look like a tree, so it’s weird!” she nearly growled and shouted. Bard looked at her face and then Paradise, who was laughing.

“He’s a palm tree. Not all trees look the same.”

“He doesn’t have branches. And his bark looks so weird. It creaks and bends differently, too. How are you supposed to climb this thing?” she said, one right after the other.

Bard couldn’t hold it in, and laughed. This is why she was so shook up last night and this morning? Sen pouted. Bard reeled in his laughter and thought back on the first time he had seen Elder Paradise. He hadn’t had an adverse reaction, though he had thought he was strange. His trunk was so massive and so were the leaves. It was so strange that Bard had overlooked the oddity of Paradise’s shape compared to the trees Sen was more familiar with.

“Sorry. I hadn’t even considered it, so it… well… it’s cute,” Bard said as he wiped a few tears that had squeezed out.

Sen’s head rose as her expression turned complicated. She seemed shocked and embarrassed, but there were so many other emotions that he couldn’t understand it very well. She looked away and up at Paradise.

“Elder Paradise? What do I need to do to get a token?” she asked. Paradise hummed and Bard noticed movement across the water. He looked at Sen and hastily grabbed the wrap from yesterday.

“Put this on,” he urged. He placed it on her head and helped to tuck in her hairs.

“Why?” Sen grumbled as she worked with him.

“Catfolk are inordinately curious about Dryads. And right now… well,” Bard paused. Sen grabbed his hand as she held onto the wrap. Bard took one steadying breath. “I’m not sure that I want a whole city of them to become curious while you try to get your token, let alone get nosy about our journey.”

“Very well,” Sen shrugged. Of course, she didn’t know the troubles a curious catfolk could bring. Would it be all of them? He shook his head. No. Of course not. But a few was all it took.

“Keep your hair covered and under control. I’ll braid it tonight,” Bard said as he walked to Kai.

“Where are you going?” Sen asked as she watched him climb on Kai.

“I have to check with the temple of the suns. There’s something I need to figure out about. Shade stuff,” Bard answered with a slight shrug. Sen looked at him and then Paradise with trepidation. Bard couldn’t leave after seeing that. He climbed back down and approached her.

“Sen…” he pulled her into a hug, and she became a bit flustered. “It’ll be alright. I’ll be back soon. If not, I’ll send Kai and you can ride on him if you want to come.”

“But, my hair, and…” Sen protested, which surprised Bard.

“I know. But I trust you to take care of that.”

With that, Bard left and climbed on Kai. The large wolf jumped into the lake and swam across, the water calmly parting around him.

As he reached the other end, Bard looked back at Sen and waved before Kai turned and headed towards the temple.