Scene: "The Verdant Reveal"
Location: Forest Path, approaching a still glade deep in the wilderness. Time: Early Afternoon.
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The woods around Oliver and Fern rustled with life. Sunlight filtered through the high canopy like a river of gold, dappling the mossy floor in delicate fractal patterns. Birds called in the distance, and vines lazily crept across the underbrush.
Oliver glanced at Fern as they walked, her long green hair gently swaying with each silent step.
> "So… I've been thinking," Oliver began, brushing aside a low branch, "about your dragonic form. Is it… like a big lizard with wings and fire breath, or more like a vine-beast or…?"
Fern gave a rare chuckle—soft and dry, but real.
> "It's leafy. And… pretty big, yes. My wings are more like layered petals than leather. When I move, pollen sometimes trails behind."
Oliver blinked.
> "Wait, that actually sounds… beautiful."
Fern tilted her head slightly.
> "It's not meant for beauty. It's a form of ecological balance. I don't use it unless I must."
They stepped into a clearing—quiet and open, with no large trees overhead. Fern lifted her druidic staff, and at once the air shimmered with green energy.
Vita began to pour out from her staff in radiant pulses—soft, sparkling, almost like fireflies. The soil trembled faintly as grass erupted, ferns unfolded, and small white flowers bloomed instantly beneath their feet.
Oliver took a small step back.
> "You can feed them directly?"
Fern nodded, eyes glowing with that faint natural light.
> "Plant physiology manipulation. I don't just grow plants. I awaken them. I can pulse Vita into seeds, roots, even spores—and they'll rise. That's the core of a Druid."
The flowers around them shifted toward Fern slightly, like reaching for her presence.
Oliver crouched beside a patch of newly grown ivy and touched a leaf. It was warm, full of energy.
> "They're… aware of you."
> "Everything is," Fern replied. "Plants listen. The forest isn't silent—it's just speaking in ways few bother to hear."
Oliver stood again, and walked beside her quietly for a moment. Then—
> "You mentioned before that different types of forests exist. Not just the normal kind. What did you mean?"
Fern lowered her staff slightly as the Vita faded, though the new greenery remained—thriving.
> "There are many forests throughout the world. Sacred woods, cursed jungles, synthetic biogroves… but Enchanted Forests—they're the rarest."
She tapped her staff on the ground and projected an image in green light—a tree, shimmering with golden apples and white roots spiraling through a night sky.
> "They grow across two realms. The regular world… and the Umbrith World—the realm of dark energy and reversal. Where light folds backward and time drips like ink."
Oliver's breath caught.
> "So… two worlds sharing the same forest?"
Fern nodded slowly.
> "Yes. The trees exist simultaneously in both dimensions. Some trees you can only see from one realm. Others bleed into both. Enchanted Forests are… places of paradox. Dangerous. Profound. Living bridges between light and dark."
Oliver looked thoughtful.
> "And you've been there?"
Fern gave a slight smirk.
> "I was born near one."
> "Of course you were," Oliver muttered, still amazed.
They kept walking—steps light and unhurried, the forest whispering around them, alive and watching.
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