I inspected the fauna before me, fascinated by its bright coloring and curious shape. It was about six inches tall, with thin filaments connecting the umbrella to the main stem. Most of it was a pasty white color, but the top section was mottled green and blue. Looking up at the forest around me, I eagerly asked, So what's this?

The leaves rustled. That... is mushroom.

Nodding, I returned my attention to it. It hadn't been long since the battle with Green. I'd learned a lot about how combat here worked - namely, that dimensional shifting and messing with physics weren't enough to win a fight. If I wanted to compete on even turf, I needed to get better at summoning physical attributes, like maybe metal. Metal wasn't too hard to make.

Naturally, instead of practicing said combat, I decided to check Dioda's forestation out. I wasn't the best at motivating myself to do something when I had an eternity to actually do it.

Poking the cap, I asked, So what does it do?

Dioda sounded confused. What does... it grows.

I leaned closer. What does that mean?

I... it grows. Becomes greater. Dioda's tone gave me the impression that maybe my question would be leading her in circles for a while, so I sat down and tried to figure out a better way to ask.

Okay, let me rephrase. How does it grow? Does it absorb reletic energies, or something else?

Dioda didn't speak for a while, which was fine. She didn't seem like the sort of person to talk quickly. The sun feeds.

I frowned. What's the sun?

Yellow ball.

Looking up, I could see the yellow orb that had been regularly appearing and disappearing ever since I'd arrived. You get energy from that thing? But it's so far away!

She didn't respond, although the leaves around me started rustling a little more agitatedly. I waited for a long moment, but when she didn't speak again, I tentatively inquired, Is everything all right?

No.

I stood up in alarm. What is it?

Intruders. They shout. Strike.

Dioda's manner of speaking was a little difficult to interpret sometimes, but I eventually got the message. There are people in your forest attacking you!?

No. Each other.

I blinked. Wait, so people came into your forest to fight... themselves? Why?

Don't know. Her voice was frustrated. Make them leave.

Are you sure this isn't a problem you want to handle yourself? It could be good for you. I gently pushed. I wasn't sure how much autonomy a forest had, but it was probably at least a little.

No.

She seemed satisfied with the one-word answer, and I settled for it. Okay. Where are they?

The trees around me twisted, and the leaves pointed forward. I couldn't help but be surprised. Wait, if you can move the trees, why don't you just get them out yourself?

Because.

I waited for the rest of the answer, but it never came. Evidently, the one-word reply was enough of a reason for her, which was fine.

As I walked in the direction the trees led me in, I asked, How are you doing now that Green isn't stealing from you?

The leaves around me bristled, which wasn't something I'd known leaves could do. I am fine.

If Skal'dryn had taught me one thing about societal expectations, it was that 'I'm fine' could more or less be translated to 'I'm not fine, but leave me alone.' It was alright for Dioda to want some space. It wasn't as though I was in a hurry, and she seemed like she could take care of herself just fine.

With a shrug, I decided I'd take care of the intruders first.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I pushed through the undergrowth, keeping an eye on the leaves as they pointed me forward. So, I asked casually. What are you doing?

Watching intruders.

I shrugged. Fair enough. Am I getting close?

Very.

I saw a flash of color through the trees and froze. Is that them!?

Two.

Was it just me, or were Dioda's sentences gradually growing shorter and shorter? I shook it off; time to meet new people!

The bushes in front of me were a little thicker than the rest of them, so it took a moment for me to get through them. Trying not to get any twigs in my eyes, I stumbled forward, tripped on a root, and fell flat on my face.

Lifting my head out of the ground, I saw two people in front of me. One of them was unfamiliar, a biped wearing clothes almost as fancy as mine. I recognized the other instantly.

Jumping to my feet, I threw my arms wide. Della! How are you doing? And who's your friend? She looks nice!

Della winced as I greeted her, and the other biped looked startled. She grabbed Della's arm and moved her face-hole quite a lot, to which Della opened and closed hers a few times. I still had no idea what in the world it meant when they did that, but I felt a little left out whenever they did it. It wasn't as though I could replicate the motion.

After a moment, the new person turned to me and bowed, folding her hands in a complicated gesture. The way she talked was somehow both confident and uncertain, as though they knew exactly what they wanted to say, but had to use unfamiliar words. Greetings, Old One. My name is Mina Durenson. I wish to initiate a contract with you.

My mind flashed back to Green's warning as I was leaving his clearing for the first time. I scratched the back of my head, feeling my tentacles anxiously wrap around my fingers. I'm not really in the mood to make a contract, if that's all right. A good friend told me I should be careful with contracts, and I trust him a whole lot.

Dioda's voice hissed in my mind. SHOLD'LER. INTRUDERS.

Oh, right. Hey, Dioda. I actually know these people! Well, one of them. Can you let them stick around for a bit?

No! Her voice was loaded with anger. They cut me! They build my corpses!

That's pretty morbid. If someone died back where I'd come from, we'd just sort of fold their body away in a safe place until they stopped by to retrieve it. I kept having to remind myself that dying was a more permanent thing here, which made it a bit more difficult to figure out what exactly Dioda meant by that. They cut... your trees down?

Before she responded, Mina straightened and asked again, Old One, I have come from far away to make a contract with you. Will you not grant me this honor?

I paused for a moment. Well... it couldn't hurt to at least hear her out, right? I want to know the terms first.

Her face-hole curved upward at both corners for a fraction of a second before flattening again. We shall be equals moving forward. You shall obey my commands without question, and shall follow me wherever I go.

I waited for the rest of it, but that seemed to be the whole contract. No wonder Green had been so adamant - these people were terrible at making deals. How exactly is that equal?

She blinked. I- what?

I pointed at her. You said we'd be equals, but didn't we start out as equals? I just met you. Unless you're somehow better than me right off the bat, then we're already on even ground. And doing whatever you want without asking anything? What if you ask me to do something I don't want to? And besides, I don't want to follow you all the time. It'd be kind of creepy. How about this...

I looked around for somewhere to sit and settled for the ground after a moment, folding my legs. After a hesitant moment, Mina copied me. Della stayed standing, holding onto her tool with an iron grip. Okay, if we are going to do a contract, I want it to actually be equal. So! I'll be your friend, you be mine. I'll help you out if you help me. No absolutes, no do-whatever-I-tell-you-to's, just hanging out. How does that sound?

Mina stared at me. It looked as though she was trying to put a puzzle together without all the pieces, which was just a torturous thing to do to someone else. May I speak with my sister for a moment?

What's a sister?

She seemed surprised by the question. My sister is Kaila. Haven't you already met her?

She indicated Della, which left me more confused than ever. You mean Della? Wait - do you guys have more than one name!?

That would make things way more confusing than they already were, but Mina was already shaking her head. No. She merely gave you a false name, so as to protect her identity.

She had a weird way of speaking, almost as if she were using words she wasn't familiar with. Getting back to the topic at hand, I asked, So she lied?

Mina flinched. Yes. Rest assured, she will be appropriately punished.

I saw Della - Kaila? - wince at the words, and I promplty shook my head. Oh, there's no need for that. I was just curious.

Dioda chipped in, and her voice was loud enough that both of the guests heard it. LEAVE NOW, HUMANS.

I stared at the trees in amazement. Humans!? They're called humans!? Why didn't you tell me that? Now I know what their species is! I can't wait to tell Green! Right after this contract, of course.

Do not enslave yourself to them! Dioda's voice was a roar, and the trees writhed in fury. I almost fell over from the force, and a mammoth tree anchor wrapped around my waist and yanked me backward. Similar anchors shot from the ground, going straight for Kaila and Mina.

My hand shot outward, and space started looping, keeping them safe. Dioda! What's wrong?

No trust for humans! Her voice is seething, venom dripping from every word. Vile things!

I put a full loop around both humans, turning to the forest. Calm down, Dioda. I'm sure we can talk this out.

She was quiet for a moment, and the anchors slowly retreated. The one holding me in the air put me down. No. We cannot. Her consciousness vanished from my perception, leaving me with a strange sensation of... loss. Dioda?

I didn't receive a response from her, but Mina jumped to her feet, clearly upset. What - what was that!? Why did you attack us!?

I raised my hands defensively. I didn't! That was Dioda! She doesn't like you very much. Apparently you cut her trees down?

Kaila's face paled. Who is Dioda?

I couldn't help but perk up - finally, she was talking to me! Dioda's the forest. She's really nice most of the time, but I totally get her being angry. Trees are a part of her, so would you mind not cutting them down for a while?

She stumbled toward me, eyes wide with panic. The Forest has a name now!?

A new voice joined the conversation, one I was pleasantly surprised to hear. Shold'ler, who are these people?

We all turned towards the source of the words, and I beamed at him. Green! Perfect timing. I was about to make a contract with these people! Could you help out?