A Time To Go

When they got back to the tree and examined the treasure, they found that the cloth was actually a eleven made archers armour. It was large but when put on it changed to fit Ferns body perfectly.

The bow also adjusted for her arm length and Fern was surprised to hear it's whispering within her mind. It told her how to use it and that a elemental power could be applied to its arrows through her spirital will.

Its current skills allowed it to provide a small shield that protected its user back from sneak attacks. In addition it would gain various skill ups based on its users needs and abilities.

Tasica then asked about the bearman's warning and Fern said it had confused her because someone was offering a lot of money for a person that could absorb elemental powers and use all of them as well.

Tasica replied that the use of all elemental skills was impossible because the elementals were long gone and their blended souls sometimes gave some singular person or beast a single or very rarely two elemental powers.

Humans wanted these powers but feared them just as equally, resulting and massive hunt to kill these beasts as well as searches for humans with these abilities. Those with abilities were very protected or abused and controlled by who owned them.

Tasica was instantly worried, "You must stop sending out your soul signals, stop calling the beast or the humans will come. If they come we will not be able to stop them , and both beast, and the forest will suffer because we are not strong enough to protect you.

I have come to think of you as my own child in the past six months you have gained a place in my life. Your death would kill me just as certainly as if, someone killed this forest.

Fern hugged Tasica and promised to not send out signals while within the forest any more and told her she loved the dryad as well. She asked the dryad to teach her how she could control or help tree and plants and Tasica was happy to show her.

Over the next several weeks Tasica showed her how to connect with her spirital senses and she slowly learned how to reach outward to the earth and plants. It was,something that was natural when she was born but she had started to forget.

Soon the feelings and strangeness went away and her understanding increased on top of this Fern could sense the numerous other elements that existed alongside in throughout the soil.

She soon realized that Tasica did not feel or have the abilities to see these connections, that ever thing was there all together even in the smallest things from aphids to trees these elements all existed and allowed life in what ever form be.

Late at night after Tasica slept she would silently sneak away and practice with the bow, shooting arrow after arrow until callouses formed on her hands and her arms strengthened.

In addition she ran a obstical coarse through the forest over rocks, bushes and up shear rock faces. Some times across ground and sometimes through the trees, even swimming across streams and lakes. Each day her strength grew.

The use of potions and pills providing great advances in her body conditioning and restoration providing her with energy and healing. She could distinguish the various items used to make these product but did not know how they were combined.

Each day her spirital senses increased and soon she was able to tell where the animals in the forest were at any given time. One day, she reach out to the wolves that had fed her and found she could communicate with them even over long distances.

It was easiest to enter the one's who she had healed but she found with concentration she could communicate with one's she had never seen before. Most beasts used pictures and primal emotions to communicate.

Some had very, very rudimental thought processes and could not cavay their thought beyond single pictures like food, or sleep. Others could even convey smell, taste, touch and sounds.

Fern tried to deplane it to Tasica but she could not grasp it and later when she tried to do it she gained nothing but frustration. Each day with Fern gave Tasica new experiences and allowed her to connect in a way she had never done before. Fern was a miracle, a wonderful child.

Fern was now about the size of a fifteen year old human and pretty much looked like one as well. By all the animals and Tasica could smell and feel how different and yet simular to all things she was.

Unfortunately the day Fern knew was coming finally came, a large group of humans were coming. Thoughts full of killing and gorging broke across her spirital senses, the pictures in her head made her ill.

Never had she thought in this way before, even carnivores only killed to eat and choose mostly the ill or old. Taken only what they needed to live and letting what they couldn't eat to those who could.

What was left returned to the forest and enabled a new generation of food to be produced to feed the new generation of animals to continue the process of life.

These being thought of the blood and pain they could inflect, the skins they could take home. Some even killed the small beast near them and just left their bodies behind doing so just to show off their skills to others.

However the group in front only had a single prominent thought to find the elemental and make it theirs. Boy, girl devil or Angel they would catch it and make it theirs to control, to master a new power like this would bring glory and riches.

Fern grabbed hold of Tasica's hand and they ran for her tree, Tasica kept asking what was wrong. On arriving Fern explained what was happening as she dressed in the elven armour, picked up her backpack, and grabbed her bow and arrows.

Tasica wanted to go to the animals and set up defenses but Fern begged her to stay and protect the tree that was her life. Fern assured her that she and the animals would lead them in circles until they would leave.

It was not till much later that Tasica found the note on her pillow saying goodbye to her and asked for her forgiveness. At the very end of the letter she called her mother and promised to return in the future if she was able.

With a final I love you Tasica's child was gone and even some of the animals of the,forest had chosen to go with her.

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