It is quintessential of nature to endure. To persevere. Outside of cataclysmic events or the intervention of other races, natural habitats change slowly, if at all. Pastures remain the same, mountains remain static and forests can thrive for thousands of years, with only minute changes in scenery being apparent.

It is in the heart of nature to be balanced and patient. And as the children of nature, so should too be the nymphs. The operational word here being ‘should’.

Melena paced back and forth, on the branch of a tall tree. Paced. It was such a foreign concept to her race, that it took quite a high number of steps, going back and forth, for her to realize what it was that she was doing. Pacing. Like… a human. Not that this realization stopped her. She still made her way up and down the branch repeatedly. This dawning, though, only added to her unease.

And she was uneasy. Yet… should she feel like that? If someone were there to observe her and not be immediately shot down by intruding on the nymph’s privacy, that someone might notice the normally stoic nymph changing her expression repeatedly, varying between worry and forced calm. And back again. Melena was conflicted. She had been given a mission. It wasn’t a mission that demanded much from her, in a sense. Indeed, it didn’t demand mostly anything. Her sole command was to stay put. To do nothing, except until certain conditions had been met, one way or another.

She didn’t have any right to disagree with her assignment, yet she wouldn’t have done so, even if she did. She understood its purpose, even if she didn’t glimpse its inner workings. She knew it was the right thing to do.

But then, why was it so hard for her to stay still?

She felt herself restless, for the first time since she had left Rosa’s side and gone to settle her own domain. Neda would have been in tears of laughter, if she had known the source of her internal turmoil, but to Melena it mattered.

She forced herself to sit down. There was nothing that she could do. She would not gainsay her orders. She had never been failed by them before and would not be now. Regardless of the outcome.

…right?

The nymph turned her head and looked on in the distance, as if peering at something only her sight could catch. Though, given the general nature of nymphs, the Skills they picked up over time and even the occasional magic, that might not have been far from the truth. She narrowed her eyes and for a second, her body tensed. But she didn’t do anything, except sight.

In her forest, monsters walked. She felt that, as clear as feeling an insect walking across her skin, now that she knew what to look for. She also felt the humans from the village, fighting back against their attackers. The same humans she had sworn to give sanctuary. The dishonor of becoming an oath breaker shamed her, but she would follow her orders. Yet she could also feel Jack, along with his small ratling friend, fighting there. The boy, though she knew he would have preferred the term ‘young man’, was fighting fiercely.

“Jack.” She muttered.

But he was untrained. Undisciplined. And his Classes… they were those of a human who had embraced the forest. Not one who had embraced war. She hoped he would live. Somehow. The odds were slim, but perhaps some of the villagers had Skills they had not yet used. |Hunters| perhaps, though she knew there were not many of them. Should she have allowed them to hunt in her domain? Perhaps strengthen their Classes? Too late for such thoughts now.

His Gift? But to use it… How to use it. A problem in and of itself.

To distract herself, Melena focused half her attention on tending to the tree she was currently using. She focused her will and something more on one of the closer branches. She could feel the flow of life within it follow her hand, making it grow in the direction she chose. Its bark hardened. With a little help, she knew she could make it as hard to pierce, as iron. She chose instead to make the branch grow longer, attach itself to another for stability. It was lengthening, thickening.

It broke.

Something startled Melena and disrupted her attention, making her weaving of the branch to go out of control and breaking it in the process. Yet she paid no attention to that. She paid her undivided attention to the case of her sudden worry. Far away, closer to the edge of the forest, one of the monsters stepped forth. Only… it wasn’t a normal monster. It was one that even she would have taken seriously.

They had no chance. Jack was done and his two friends were near him. The entire village was on their knees or worse. She wished she was there. She wanted to help them. But she couldn’t.

“Use it, Jack. Use your Gift.” She urged him, quietly.

She didn’t know why he didn’t use it until now. Perhaps the boy was afraid of using a power with unknown results. Or warry of spoiling such a great boon on a trivial matter. Both thoughts were wise, yet what choice did he have now?

She felt him raise a hand. And nothing happened. So that… was it. He was brave and kind, but in the end, it was not enough. That was the lesson of their kind, wasn’t it? Sometimes, it is never enough. Her soul was torn. Should she have gone to their aid sooner? To his aid? If she did, perhaps she could have gotten there in time. Now, all that was left was to watch.

To witness the end of a seed, before it had the chance to grow into the exceptional tree it should have.

“Goodbye, Jack.” She spoke and closed her eyes.

She opened them a heartbeat later, when she heard words being bellowed across her very soul.

“|Gift of the Bloom|!”

***

Jack watched, dumbfounded, at what was happening right in front of him. Whatever he had been expecting to happen, once he used his Skill, it certainly hasn’t been this. He had expected himself to grow in strength, maybe gain some nature-oriented combat Skill, like Melena had, perhaps even gain control over the unseen animals in the forest. He hoped he would get magic. Still, all he had thought of was centered around himself. This was certainly not centered around himself.

It was as if the forest had come to life before his very eyes. The first thing that happened was that the Rockhide pack leader, which had attached Jack, was caught mid-leap by something. Something which very strongly resembled a root, if roots had the habit of unearthing themselves, soar into the air and crush whatever it is they grasped. And it did crush the wolf. It only struggled for a few seconds, while the sound of cracking bones and desperate yelps could be heard. It seems that while a Rockhide’s wolf hide was, well, rock hard, its organs were still susceptible to being mangled.

Jack only had eyes for that, but while the monster was being crushed to death, other roots shot out of the ground to snare, trip or even directly grab the other monsters. It was the sound of that fight with nature that eventually managed to grab Jack’s attention. It took a while, since he still couldn’t take his eyes away from the gory carcass of his opponent. Of course, enjoying the satisfaction of vindictiveness may have also played a role in Jack’s reluctance at looking away.

When he finally did, the scene filled him with even more hope for their survival. And a fair bit of nausea. There was no monster in sight that wasn’t suffering. The Rockhide wolves had it the worst, since what happened to their pack leader also happened to them. And judging by their corpses, some of which lay in halves, they weren’t nearly as resilient.

“I is scared. Also, happy.”

“…yeah.”

“What- was that you?” Lola asked.

Jack really didn’t have an answer for that. He was the one who used the gift, but it wasn’t his power. It was Rosa’s. Then again, Melena did say that what the gift actually did depended on the user. Did he wish for this to happen? He wanted them to be safe, but did he want this carnage? He looked at Lola’s still terrified face. He looked at all the dead villagers behind him. And he got his answer.

Yes. He most definitely did.

“I guess it was. But, at least we’re safe now.”

Which was quite true, given that not many monsters had escaped the plantlife and those that did were desperately trying to flee the area. None of the wolves made it out alive, which wasn’t surprising, given that their reaction to the predatory roots was to snarl and bite at them. The Slime Hoppers had more luck, in that the more distant ones managed to escape in time. Some tried to use their slime to slip free of the roots, but they were swiftly pummeled into the ground. Only the rolling rock things escaped in any meaningful numbers, since they couldn’t be crushed as easily. Though, Jack still had the chance to see the innards of said monsters, more so than he would have liked.

Still. They were alive. His Gift was well spent.

The name’s kind of wrong, though. That didn’t have much to do with blooming.

He shakily got on his feet and helped Lola stand up as well. Mrk managed to do it on his own, though it was mightily unfair, since the ratling had an extra appendage.

“Jack…” Lola said.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry you had to see that. I hope you’re not scared of me… I mean, it’s not like I can do it again. Even if I could-“

He got cut off from his rambling by Lola’s hug. That, at least, reassured him.

The fact that his friend was grinning like mad, didn’t.

I’m not going to hear the end of this, will I?

“Hey, you! Come here!” Elia shouted.

Jack turned to see Elia waving them over. Of course, Lola might be alright with that blatant display of power, but that didn’t mean the others would be. He walked over, to stand before Elia, fearing judgement.

“I gave you healing ointments. Did you use them?”

Surprised, he shook his head.

“Good. Give them to the others. We have wounded.”

He complied and the others did as well. Once that was done, Elia turned her full attention to him.

“Jack, what you did… and I know it was you. I heard you shouting that Skill, before… that happened. I just want to say, thank you. On behalf of me and everyone here, thank you!”

She shook his hand and for a few seconds, all he could hear was those same two words, repeated by a number of mouths, in a number of tones, all around him. Some people muttered their thanks, while other were more forthright, though still reserved. A battle had taken place and there was blood all around him. People couldn’t afford to dispense with much cheerfulness, since they had precious little to begin with. Jack did notice that the Winnow’s weren’t among those who came to thank him.

“Did you see Mr. Veil?” he asked her.

“No.” she said, wincing. “Not since the village. I don’t think he made it, Jack.”

“Oh.”

…

“So, what now?” Jack asked, looking around himself.

“Now, we move on. We carry the dead back to the village and we bury them. We take care of our wounded. And we make other plans in case we’re attacked again, since it seems the nymph left us to rot!” she said, hotly.

If that manner of speaking would have won her hard stares before, now it seemed most villagers were in agreement. Melena didn’t come to save them, like she had promised them she would. Therefore, it stands to reason that if she had abandoned them, they would abandon her.

“Though, with that kind of power, I guess we can rely on you for protection.” Elia added, smiling. “Why didn’t you tell me you had this kind of Skill? It could have made the conflict with the Winnow’s much more toned down.”

“Uh, that’s because I don’t.” Jack winced. “I only got it recently, but it was a Gift, not a Skill. It’s like… a Skill that you receive, but you can only use once. And I didn’t know what it did, so…” he shrugged.

“A Gift? I’ve never heard of that. Still… that’s not good. With the nymph out of the picture, I fear more grim days are ahead.”

“Sorry, Elia. If I could use it again, I would. But I’ll try and help any other way I can.”

Elia eyed him strangely.

“You know, for a young man that was mostly belittled by this village, you sure are ready to help it.”

“…I guess?”

She laughed seeing his reaction.

“Don’t be so tense, Jack. I was simply thinking your heart is in the right place.” She grinned.

“I quite agree.”

That voice.

Jack turned to see Melena striding towards them, out of the woods. She looked like she did on the first day he’s seen her. Not physically. It was mad to think a nymph could noticeably change, physically at least, in such a short amount of time. But her expression was the same. Gone was the ironic, sometimes sardonic smile she wore. Neither was she disinterested. She was focused and grim. That was enough to tell Jack that something was wrong. And for the first time in his life, he actually thought before acting and decided being mad at Melena, for not saving them, would have to wait until after he found out what got her so serious.

Unfortunately, that didn’t apply to the villagers.

“Where were you?” a woman screamed at her.

Melena turned to answer, before noticing that the woman was holding on to a dead body. She walked on.

“You were supposed to protect us!” an elderly man, with a nasty bruised eye, croaked.

“My boy is dead because of you! Dead!” a man sobbed.

And still she walked towards Jack. At first, it was only a few among the villagers who cried out. Those who had lost somebody or who had been seriously wounded. Those whose pain was deepest. But that emboldened the others to speak out. Soon, voices were becoming indistinguishable from one another.

“We left your forest alone. You told us you’d protect us!”

“What will you do the next time this happens?”

“Useless green skin…”

“Whore!”

“Enough!” Melena snapped back. “What I did, I did for a reason. And it is not a reason for you to judge. This forest is still mine. This is still my domain. And you are all in it. Now, be quiet!”

Saying that, she took her final steps and stopped, standing across from Jack. Elia made to step in front of him, but froze when Melena glanced at her.

“…why?” he asked.

“I’m sorry this happened, Jack. Please believe me. I could not intervene.”

“But… why?”

“I was ordered not to. I was to wait and see what happened, be witness to this entire event, but never step in, no matter how much I desired to.” Seeing the same question start to form on Jack’s lips again, she answered him preemptively. “It was Rosa who gave me this order, Jack. I do not know why.”

“Who is this Rosa?” Elia asked, affronted.

It seemed that not even such an august personage like the nymph could completely put Elia down. A frown crossed Melena’s features, but this time, Jack beat her to the punch.

“A Dryad. She’s like… Melena’s boss. Or elder.”

“And who’s Melena?” she asked, uncomprehending.

“I am. Melena is my name, though before Jack none of you had been deemed worthy of hearing it.”

“Oh, but we have been deemed worthy of dying? On this Rosa’s orders?”

“She had not ordered your deaths, human. Only that I refrain from helping, come what may.”

“But… Melena, if Rosa ordered you to stay away, then she must have known what was coming. Did she-“

“She did not cause this, Jack. I believe she saw it coming, yes. This is the way of those as in touch with nature as our elder is. But she was not the cause of this horror. She would not have offered you her Gift, otherwise.”

“But… Melena, I still don’t get it. This is your forest. You’re supposed to help these people. Why would Rosa ask you to stay away? Why did she give me that Gift in the first place?”

“I do not know, Jack. It is not my place to question my elder. I can only obey.”

Jack saw that her firm expression was only a façade. He saw it, because that mask was in the process of crumbling, exposing the grief underneath it. His anger at her abated, until only helplessness resided in him. He didn’t understand Rosa. He didn’t understand why any of this happened. And the only one who might have a chance of explaining it to him was shackled by her devotion to the Dryad.

“Please?” he tried.

“I cannot, Jack. I’m sorry.”

“You can’t or won’t?” Elia asked. “These people were hurt. Some of us lost our lives. You own-“

“Elia.” Jack said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Please, let me.”

He took a look around himself. None of the villagers had moved from their spot, though some were busy tending to the wounded. Jack knew that they were all listening to their discussion. Which was not hard to notice, given that most of them weren’t even making an effort of disguising their eavesdropping. Elia was right. These people have suffered. Some have lost their loved ones. They needed to know the reason behind their misery. Melena owned it to them, if not to him.

“Melena, look at them. These are all people that you were supposed to protect. And you wanted to protect them, I can see it. I know you nymphs are all, stoic, warrior-women of the forest, but I can see how much you regret not helping us today. These people deserve to know why you didn’t do it. I know you don’t know why Rosa did what she did or why she gave me her gift, but can’t you… I don’t know… guess? Please!” he begged her.

That was probably the most eloquent way Jack had ever sounded, in his short, remembered life.

Melena looked conflicted. He expected her to glance at the villagers, but her eyes were steadily locked on his. She mulled on the answer, expression varying between eagerness and wariness, but after a while she sighed and gave in.

“I will tell you this again, Jack, I do not know why she told me what she did. As for what I think… On the day you have met her, Rosa saw something in you. I cannot guess as to what that was, but it was something grand enough to impress even someone like her. Her Gift to you was likely a consequence of that. As for what happened today, I believe it to be a test of sorts. Not the sort you have been subjected to by Neda” she hurried to say, seeing his expression change “but one that defined your character. I saw you too, Jack. You fought and strived to keep your friends alive. More than just them. You did it for these villagers, who are mostly strangers to you and some have even gone as far as to scorn you. But you fought all the same. And when danger proved too great to combat directly, you used your Gift. I believe… that the nature of your Gift’s manifestation mattered most to her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have told you, Jack. Her Gift can take many forms, depending on the situation and the recipient both. Yet, when you used it, you did not gain a new Class or become a great warrior. The power that came was focused solely on eradicating the threat and protecting the ones around you. Say what you will about wanting to obtain magic, but when the moment came, the Gift acted only to protect, not to elevate you to what fools would call a ‘hero’.”

“Wait… so, Rosa wanted to see… that? But it’s so stupid!”

The nymph frowned a bit, but did not touch on his remark.

“I do not pretend to fully understand her methods, Jack. Her reasons are her own.”

“Right.”

Jack was in as much deep thought, as his tired mind could allow. He didn’t get the reason, if that was the reason at all. Too many people had died and even if the majority of them didn’t, he knew most of them would remain scarred, whether physically or psychically. All that, just to see what kind of a person Jack was. It didn’t really make sense for him. But then again, he wasn’t an ancient magical walking tree.

His appreciation of Rosa dropped by quite a bit that day.

“I am sorry for what has happened, Jack. But there is more to say. I have approached you for a second reason.”

“Oh?”

“I have been instructed to return to my elder’s side. I am to leave for the ancient glade, as soon as we finish this discussion.”

Jack felt like someone hit him over the head with a rock. Judging by the rush of murmurs around him, he wasn’t the only one to feel this way. Though, his confusion only resulted in staring at Melena, not quite managing to gather his thoughts. The other villagers proved more vocal. Starting with Elia.

“So that’s it? You’re leaving us? You left us to die and now you’re abandoning us again?”

“That is what I have been ordered.” Melena replied, somewhat icily.

Voices rose around them.

“But you’re the reason our village grew so much!” a woman cried out.

“If you leave, we’ll be at the mercy of bandits!” another voice shouted.

“Or monsters! More monsters!”

“Please, we’re sorry if we’ve angered you. Stay!”

“It is not my decision.” The nymph said. “I have been told that I must leave and so I shall. There will be no argument to sway me.”

“Please, allow me to ask you again.” A melodious voice was heard.

Jack looked in its direction and saw Mr. Winnow approaching confidently, a warm smile plastered on his face. Human waste that he was, he seemed to be a decent actor. Interestingly, Mrs. Winnow and Louis weren’t anywhere that he could see. He guessed that once the threat was over, they hightailed it back to the village.

“I understand you have been given orders that you must follow. I completely understand. One must always fulfill its duties, to be worthy of respect.” He smiled at her.

Jack felt something prickling at his mind.

“I will not consider the use of that Skill a threat, human. Buy you will cease using it now.”

Mr. Winnow’s expression changed. Somehow. His smile stayed the same and his posture didn’t change. But somehow, the perception of the kindly man evaporated, leaving only the original Mr. Winnow standing. Jack almost took a step back. That was a Skill? Even he had been affected, though only moderately, as he had plenty of reasons for disliking the man.

“My apologies, Miss… Melena? Did I hear that correctly? Us humans lack the grace of your people, so I simply tried to make do with Skills. As I was saying, I understand the need for your departure. But perhaps, you may reconsider the time to do it? After all, whether intentional or not, your absence had caused great grief among our people. Perhaps delaying your departure, just until we manage to find our feet again, is not something too much to ask for.”

“I have traded with Djinn’s, human. You will not sway me.”

“I see.” He said, after a moment. “How regrettable. In that case, are you quite sure you will not |Reconsider| your decision?” he smiled.

The blow was so fast that Jack almost missed it. Melena’s hand simply extended out, not even properly hitting. And Mr. Winnow still flew off, landing on the grass, ten feet away, before being entangled by vines and pinned to the ground.

“This Skill, however, I will consider a threat. Still, too much death had already taken place for one day. I will let you live, human. Best not trouble me again.” She said, turning back to Jack.

As far as violence goes, that was a very small display of it. And yet it still managed to reduce even the most vocal of the villagers to silence. It could be guessed that everyone, from Jack to Elia, was thinking the same thing.

You don’t mess with the nymph.

“You were the one to stop these monsters, Jack. By right, their bodies are yours to make use of. I am not allowed to give you anything else, though I wish this would be different. No doubt, you will have challenging times ahead of you. Yet” she smiled slightly “my exact order was not to aid you with any gift of our kind. This domain, however, was of my own making. I name you its owner, Jack, as well as its protector. Whether you will use it as I have or choose to keep it for yourself, is your own choice. The magic that hides its animals will fade, yet enough of it will remain to keep out predators and all but the most persistent of monsters, for a time.”

“…you can’t do this!” he finally said.

“But I can.” She smiled, before raising her voice. “I name you Jack as the sole protector of my domain, my forest. This is my will. And there will be none to contest it!” she finished, looking back at the villagers and Mr. Winnow in particular.

That was enough to have some of them step back.

“Melena… no! You can’t do this. I’m not even talking about the going away part, but you can’t hand over your forest to me! I’m… I’m just normal human. I’m just Jack!” he begged.

He didn’t know why he was doing this. By all rights, up to until a day ago, he would have been jumping with glee at hearing it. But now… now he wasn’t.

She turned back to him and smiled. It was not a happy smile, not exactly, but it was the warmest she had ever given him.

“You are just Jack, yes. And you will do well to make that be enough. Farewell, Jack! May you live long enough for our paths to cross again!”

So saying, she faded out from existence, like morning mist under the sun. Leaving behind a bewildered Jack, staring at the place where she just stood. He wasn’t ready for this. He knew that. Everybody knew that. But what could he do?

The arguing started immediately after.