Very rarely did Nis ever spend time on the little wooded strip of land that bordered the lake she called her own. It had always been too depressing to look out and see the dead and ruined landscape. But something had changed. She wasn’t exactly sure what or when, but her Wonder was slowly coming back to life and she felt called to sit quietly and watch. She’d even daringly plucked a leaf from one of the trees to examine. Well, maybe leaf was the wrong term given how fir-like it looked. But since the tree itself hadn’t been particularly fir-ish, she felt safe in calling the strange frond in her hand a leaf.

The smell of fresh, clean sap still clung to it and it was a mix of pine and citrus that cleared her sinuses and brain marvelously. The leaf, frond, whatever was supple and certainly had been alive. The soft blues and deep greens were flecked here and there with the occasional freckle of shimmery white and overall, it made Nis think of the night sky.

Apparently, I will never escape from the star theme, she thought wryly. Not that she minded. Not really. It was amusing and helped to keep her grounded in the face of what was, quite seriously, some form of miracle.

A soft rustling distracted her and she allowed herself a tiny smile as the little wisp that had adopted her wriggled and rooted through the scrubbly underbrush. It seemed happiest when they were here and frankly, Nis couldn’t blame it. She was happier here too.

“I wish I knew what your deal was,” she complained good-naturedly before turning her attention back to the bit of tree in her hands. It was a soft, almost furry feeling and she was delighting in touching it carefully as she examined it. She hadn’t seen anything other than living plants, though she’d heard soft whispers of sound in the woods and caves. The sounds in the woods had been almost cricket like, but more musical. Like tinkling bells or windchimes.

And she hadn’t brought any windchimes up.

Was it her? Was that why things were coming back to life? She couldn’t be sure. All she knew was that she’d been given the distinct impression in the beginning that the Wonders and homeworlds were dead and beyond repair. And now, that clearly was not true. Maybe she’d understand one day. She hoped so. With a tiny snort, she thought that Almadel would likely know. But why waste what amounted to a favor or trade for something that she would probably figure out on her own given enough time. No, that little calling card wouldn’t be used for something like this. She was saving that sucker.

Sighing a little, she absently brushed the leaf against her cheek and stood up. She still had some things to do in the caves and the sooner she got them done, the better. She could go back to admiring the plant life after the chores were completed.

Word Count = 507