The road was peaceful for once. No strange letters, no glowing cloaks, no mysterious watchers from the stars. Just birds, wind, and the faint creak of wagon wheels in the distance.
"It feels too quiet," Izumi muttered, glancing around.
"Don't jinx it," Rick warned, poking a stick at a pile of moss. "I like peaceful. Peaceful means naps."
They followed a narrow dirt path that wound between tall, sun-dappled trees. By noon, they reached a clearing that didn't seem to be on any map. It smelled of herbs and humming magic.
A wooden sign crookedly stuck into the ground read:
"Whispergrove: Home of the Listening Tree. Entry permitted. Mockery not."
"Mockery not?" Iuro read aloud.
"Sounds like a dare," Ishi said.
In the clearing stood a massive, spiraled tree, its bark etched with glowing runes and curling vines. The leaves shimmered in gentle hues of green and silver, and above them hung fruit-shaped buds that had yet to open.
An old woman in moss-colored robes waved cheerily from a small tent. Beside her stood a bashful, younger boy clutching a notebook. He looked like he'd been trying to hide behind a fern for the past hour.
"Welcome!" the old mage beamed. "We've been trying to make her bloom. But she only does when she feels something truly real."
"Real like... tears?" Rick asked.
"Or laughter. Or wonder. Even chaos, once," she said, smiling.
"She?" Lui raised an eyebrow.
"The Listening Tree," the apprentice whispered. "She listens to feelings."
"We should try," Yuuv said, stepping closer. "Right, Leafy?"
"You named her already?" Izumi blinked.
"Feels like a Leafy."
Attempts and Chaos
First up was Rick, who cleared his throat and struck a dramatic pose.
"Oh tree of wisdom! Behold my beauty! My voice! My... pretty purple eyes!"
He attempted a magical twirl, tripped on a root, and face-planted.
The tree's leaves rustled. A single, unimpressed leaf floated down.
"Rough crowd," he muttered.
Izumi stepped forward. "Emotion isn't everything. Let's apply logic."
He pulled out a scroll, listed elemental theory, and discussed magical resonance.
The tree was silent.
Iuro walked up with Tofu on his shoulder. "Hey Leafy. You hungry? Want a moss snack? No? Okay. Here's a joke instead. What do you call a flying carrot? A heli-root!"
A vine twitched. Nothing more.
Ishi approached silently. He stared at the tree. The tree stared back.
Everyone held their breath.
Nothing happened.
"Did... did something just pass between them?" Rick whispered.
"Probably a staring competition," Izumi muttered.
Yuuv tilted his head, thinking. He placed a hand gently on the trunk.
"You know... dreams are like leaf shadows. They move with the wind, but they're still part of something real. You get that, right?"
The tree shimmered faintly, like it was thinking.
Finally, Lui stood before it. He didn't speak for a while.
Then he said, quietly, "If you're really listening... I guess you know. I don't talk much about it, but they're everything to me. My brothers. All of them."
He looked back at the others.
"Even when they drive me crazy."
A small glow pulsed in the trunk.
Then chaos erupted.
Rick tried to pet the bark again, slipped, and knocked over Iuro. Tofu launched into the air. Yuuv reached to catch him, tripped over Izumi's scroll. Ishi raised a barrier too late. Everyone landed in a tangled heap at the base of the tree.
The grove fell silent.
Then—
A single bud bloomed.
It shimmered silver-gold and released a soft glow that lit the faces of the laughing, groaning Celestars.
The old mage gasped. "You did it! You actually bloomed her!"
The apprentice scribbled wildly in his notebook. "That was... that was amazing!"
"What did we even do?" Izumi grumbled.
"We were just ourselves," Iuro smiled.
"And apparently, we're very chaotic," Rick said, still lying on Yuuv.
Yuuv chuckled. "Leafy liked it."
As the sun dipped, the Celestars sat beneath the tree, warm breeze passing through silver leaves.
The apprentice handed them little leaf-shaped charms, softly glowing. "She remembers you now. These will glow whenever she does."
"So she's a fan," Rick smirked.
The tree rustled.
A second bud bloomed.