Tree was not having a good day. Queen Bitey was harping on him. How many can you make a day? How much mana does this take? I don’t know, a lot? Was not an appropriate response. Ugh. It was like being married all over again. Tree vaguely remembered being married. Tree didn’t like it at all. Right now Tree was sulking and trying to hide. But Tree couldn’t. Tree was the biggest thing for miles around. And worse, Tree could hear everything everyone was saying. Tree tried its best to ignore it but something always snuck through.

Kendra was looking for me today. There was screaming and yelling this morning and it grossed me out. I wasn’t answering her calls in her bedroom. I knew this was a long term losing proposition but I couldn’t help myself.

“Treebo.” Kendra shrieked. She’d made her way down to the grand gallery. I wasn’t going to be able to hide in here. Stupid head I made down here.

“Oh, hey, Kendra.” I greeted her. I decided to pretend I didn’t hear her. “I was distracted by some experiments I was running down here. Didn’t hear you calling.”

“Uh huh.” Kendra’s eyes tightened.

Success. I had fooled her. “I know you can hear me anywhere in your domain.” Kendra replied.

I had not.

“Sorry. Things up there were a little tense.” I answered. Maybe honesty would be my refuge. “I was freaked out by all the stuff. You know.”

“No I don’t know.” Kendra replied. “What is this?” She asked as she pulled a basket she had been holding behind her back.

“A basket.” I tried honesty once again.

“What else, Tree?” Kendra asked.

“I don’t really know what to say. Maybe that’s also a blanket.” I replied. This honesty was not working.

“It’s a baby.” Kendra said as she uncovered the little girl.

“Congratulations, Kendra.” I said. “Do you know who the lucky guy is?”

“Motherfucker.” Kendra muttered under her breath. I decided to ignore this. “Why does the thing that came out of me look like a root? Did you do something to me Tree?”

It had finally come to this. I had noticed something off about the pregnancies a few weeks ago. They were going too fast for one. And two, the children I sensed didn’t feel like humans. They kind of felt like me.

“Well, this is a high density magical area.” I began. “Magical accidents are bound to happen.”

“Don’t you start with me.” Kendra menaced. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”

“It was the meowbies.” I blurted out. “I didn’t think about it at the time. But the meowbies were, uh. Well they were designed for my flowers. You know the ‘bee’ part of their name. I was trying to make magical honey and I needed nectar. And then all you guys really like the meowbies. And no one was really wearing any protection. And my pollen got all up in your flowers.” I hurriedly explained.

“My what, you did what?” Kendra was very upset now.

“You know, your lady garden? The fruity papaya?” I continued.

Kendra was rendered speechless at this point. Only small incoherent mutterings escaped her mouth.

“So the meowbies were up in my anthers. And they got covered in pollen. Then the meowbies played with you everyone, and there was some cross pollinating going on.” I explained.

“I most certainly did not cross pollinate with any meowbies.” Kendra was redfaced as she said this.

“Well, I think that was the high density magic area thing kicking in.” I continued on. “Once I realized what was happening, everything had already happened. Once the pollen was in range of a receptive ‘petal,’ the mana in the pollen brought them together. No further action was required.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Kendra stated flatly. “Everything is fine.”

My dangersense went off. I decided not to say anything.

“What do we do now?” Kendra asked. “I have no idea how to take care of a root baby.”

“She looks like the little mandrake from Harry Potter and the whatever book it was.” I said. The memories of the past world were sometimes a little hazy. I think Tracy was contaminating me with her weird thoughts.

“Also, I think root baby is wrong. That doesn’t sound right. They are seedlings. Maybe saplings. I don’t know yet.” I said as I thought. “That’s it. They’re seedlings. Have you tried planting her in the ground?”

“What?” Kendra asked.

“Yeah, have you tried planting your little seedling?” I asked. “I could make a little nursery for the seedlings. I could even call it a --”

Kendra interrupted me. “If you say kindergarten, I’m gonna scream.”

“Well not now.” I said. “But I could totally make a little garden plot for them.”

“Them?” Kendra asked.

“Uh, yeah.” I said. “You said everyone was pregnant. And the meowbies got everywhere. When I say ‘receptive petal’ I really mean everything fully armed and operational got pollinated. Mana-polinated. Mana-lanated. Mana-nated. Yes. It’s that one. Mana-nated. The meowbies mana-nated everything.”

“Holy shit.” Kendra said as she turned and ran up the ramp. “I gotta warn everyone.”

The grand gallery was silent for save for the rustling of the little seedling. Finally Queen Bitey broke the silence.

“I told you they would react like this.” Bitey told me.

“Yeah, you were right.” I said. “But what’s mana-nated is mana-nated. Can’t change it now. Let’s get this little seedling planted.”

Queen Bitey just shook her head.