Thistle and Weeds {Apple}

[Raziel Och]

There were many reasons why Raziel liked the forest, why he adored spending as much as time he could away from home among its misty air and copses of trees. Simply taking in the sights was one of them, with bird-watching being the second. The forest hid so many species—ones that didn’t dare past its protective threshold into the noisy city of South Isle, ones that weren’t seen in suburbia. Raziel could live with the annoyance of mosquito bites, and the threat of stumbling upon a bear if it meant he could spot a few birds in return. Not that he wished to rouse a sleeping grizzly or walk into a swarm of mosquitoes. Frankly, he was hoping quite the opposite, but the dampness of the air brought the insects out in droves. As for the bears, well, he was hoping wouldn’t find out about that one.

He had brought his staff just in case (the forest was notorious for hiding creatures as well as the rare birds), but wore nothing but a plaid button-up shirt and a pair of jeans complete with tattered shoes—attire he figured would be comfortable for hiking in, even if the jeans were not the best decision. The trail he found himself on was long, winding and filled with steep inclines that made his calves scream in protest. The blond giant was determined to make it to the top of the hill, at least before he succumbed to the way his legs were burning with the desire of surrender.

By the time he accomplished climbing the steep path, he allowed himself to rest. At the peak of the hill sat a convenient boulder that looked like the most comfortable thing in the world. And he did not entertain thoughts of staining his pants, so sitting on the side of the path was out of the question. That boulder was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert. Albeit, a lumpy, hard oasis still drying from the earlier drizzle.

The dirt path crunched beneath his sneakers as he debated prolonging his break to include a snack. There could be in harm in stopping, he figured, what with the day still ahead of him. With a sight, he sat down and slipped his backpack off, staff clattering to the ground and bouncing against the heel of his foot. Glancing around him, he took note of the thick patches of deciduous trees which rounded either side of him, the way the sky that was filled with clouds. They brought the promise of more rain, something he was not warming up to.

Raziel shoved such thoughts aside, opened up his backpack and peered inside.
”Where did I—I thought—“ He sifted through the contents with disappointment twisting his mouth into a frown. ”…I thought I packed the trail mix before I left this morning.” Realization dawned upon him. Then Raziel groaned as he remembered his dog Princess Cinnamon Paws devouring it before he could stop her. The Burmese mountain dog got into everything of his. Especially his favourite trail mix, it seemed.

“God grant me strength, PCP…” As far as Raziel knew, he was all alone, and free to talk to himself out in the open. It wasn’t like he had company whom would judge him for it.

[Apple]

The forest! For Apple, it was like being in a room with your family. She knew each tree and greeted them all as old friends. She would touch the bark, brush her slender fingers against the leaves, feel the weak sun filter down through the gaps. It was paradise. Apple loved the forest like a second home, breathing in the carbon dioxide. Like any tree, she didn't breathe in oxygen. The thick deciduous shook their leaves in the faint breeze, and Apple could smell the rain on the way. She was so happy, she felt like she would burst. She loved rain. In the midst of a full storm, she would dance and feel the water in between her toes, something she was glad she had a human body for. It had been slightly drizzly earlier that day, but Apple craved a full on storm. The rain against her skin was so refreshing, and she eagerly awaited the coming precipitation. In any case, it had been so warm and dry, her tree was feeling a bit wilty. The water would do her good.

Apple continued up the hill, clambering up trees and leaping on rocks. She was infinitely glad her tree was close enough for her to explore the forest - thankfully, the restaurant that had been built around the apple tree was near the edge and thus allowed the young girl to be one with nature when the city became too loud. She loved the city, but it could sometimes be a bit disheartening for flora. Too much concrete.

Apple scuttled up a poplar tree barefoot. Today, her clothing was perfectly suited to climbing trees, if not actually going out in public - tatty shorts, incredibly bright orange leggings, a large baggy sweater that slipped off one shoulder. It was teal with red stripes. Apple was terribly fond of it, although most people agreed it should have stayed in the 80's. Her short, dark hair was full of brambles and leaves, but Apple didn't much care. Her feet were dirty and mildly scratched, as were her hands. She looked nearly like one of Peter Pan's Lost Boys, if the Lost Boys had worn horrible sweaters from the 1980's.

As she climbed, she heard the birds gossiping. Someone is here, they were saying. Someone large, someone large. At the top of the hill, top of the hill! They trilled. Apple paused her climbing and addressed a goldfinch nearby.

Who is here? She called.

Human, human came the reply. The finch had seen someone at the top of the hill. Apple thanked the bird and dropped from the tree, landing in a crouch. She straightened up and dusted her hands off unconsciously, her mind elsewhere. "A human!" She said with some satisfaction. "I didn't expect to see anyone here but me!" With that, she began walking up the hill.

Apple never used the trails, and so climbed with much snapping and rustling. When she had nearly reached the top of the hill, she found she was blocked by a dense patch of plants. She pushed through anyways, and it tugged at her. Needless to say, the epimeliad got caught on some twigs, her sweater catching fast. She pulled, yanking with all her strength. Her sweater suddenly loosened, and Apple tumbled backwards out of the copse. She rolled to a halt, pushing herself up onto her knees and hands. "Well!" She said to the bushes, who giggled in the back of her mind. "That was certainly tough!" The bushes sent her pictures, mental images of how silly she had looked as she had rolled about. Apple smiled, chuckling to herself and shaking her head. She rose and ran her fingers over the leaves of the bushes. "I suppose you found that funny," she said with mock seriousness. "Next time, I'll land more gracefully!"

[Raziel Och]

Apple had erupted out of the bushes, all smiles and quiet chuckling. All brambles and leaves and twigs in her black hair that was cut short. Green eyes, large and innocent stood out against her bangs, and she was dressed in clothing that was three decades out dated. Raziel wasn’t sure if the (apparently) young woman had even noticed him or not. Or if she did, if she just ignored his presence.

The trail mix, or rather the lack thereof, was shoved to the back of his mind as he gave the stranger a once over. He couldn’t help the heat that rushed up his neck and onto his cheeks. How much did she hear? How long was she hiding in the underbrush? Suddenly, Raziel felt extremely silly for having talked out loud like he had. The blond had to look away, focus instead on the toes of his worn sneakers and their tatty laces. She spoke then, with a tone full of mock seriousness. Who she spoke to, however, was lost on Raziel. Apple didn’t address him, didn’t even give him a cursory glance. Why it almost seemed as if she was talking to the bushes, for she brushed slender fingers over their leaves. But that couldn’t be right, no…

”I didn’t find it funny.” He said, blinking. What with the way she somersaulted backwards, he was sure her back must have been protesting. With rocks and branches sprinkled over its surface, the dirt path wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to land on. ”Actually, it kinda looked like it hurt.” He added, adjusting his glasses that sat on the bridge of his crooked, crooked nose.

There was a water bottle, frozen and made solid that sat somewhere on the bottom of his bag. He had half a mind to wrap it up in his plaid shirt (he wore a tank top underneath it) and offer it to Apple, though he assumed she didn’t truly need it. Raziel was someone who over-prepared, someone who took things too seriously regardless of how simple the circumstance truly was.

Remembering his staff that laid beside his heel, Raziel made a grab for it. Today, he wasn’t up for explaining why he carried a weapon with him, in the middle of the forest where one was virtually unneeded. Somehow, Raziel was sure a wild tale about bear wrestling wouldn’t go over too well, let alone even seem plausible. (Being a part of Heaven’s Gate was a secret he kept very well.) Awkwardly, he leapt to his feet and shoved the staff behind him and the boulder with his backpack hiding the edge of it. Raziel wasn't sure if she had already seen it or not, but he did hope she hadn't. It would make things so much easier if it was kept out of the conversation.

What could he say, if she were to question him about it? That it was his "walking stick"? That he normally walked around with a red short staff?

[Apple]

Since her mini-conversation with the bushes, Apple had moved on to mud pies. She had dug her hands into the squishy earth with relish, sitting on her knees and wondering why she didn't play in the mud more. That was a reason why she loved rain - it made the dirt so much more fun, espeically when it oozed between her fingers and toes. At the sound of Raziel's voice, however, she remembered why she had come up to the hill in the first place.

She could feel the boundary pushing at her. It was so close to her - just on the other side of the boulder that Raziel had been sitting on. She had never ventured so far away from her tree, and the prospect was as thrilling as it was scary.

Apple carefully toddled over to where Raziel stood, smile lighting up her face. She was dirty from the knees down, feet covered in muck and hands stained with earth. There were smudges of mud on her face, and Apple nearly radiated happiness. Unabashed, she offered Raziel her hand to shake in greeting. That's what humans did! She had seen that before, in the restaraunt, although she had to admit it didn't make much sense. "Hello! I am Apple," she said in a clear, high voice, unaware of the large gloops of mud that fell off her hand. She didn't quite get that normal humans didn't usually enjoy that.

While she was near, she gave the human a look-over. He was tall and built like an oak - sturdy, a tree that didn't bend with the wind. He had short blonde hair, and two different eyes. Apple didn't know that this was rare, and thus did not comment. She liked his shirt - plaid was very "in"! Or, at least, she had seen a lot of it, although he looked much cleaner than those she usually saw. He was also very handsome. Apple turned a light shade of pink, becoming suddenly bashful. "What are you doing in the forest?" She asked, shyly. The epimeliad wasn't really a flirt (the word wasn't in her vocabulary) but she did go a bit mushy when she met human males. Any human male, for that matter - brief infatuations that never lasted long, fortunately for them.

The finch flew overhead, and Apple heard it call, human, human. On our hill, birdsong laced with questions. Apple pointed at the small bird, following it with her hand. "They wondered what you were doing here. You can hear the question in their songs," she said matter-of-factly, as if talking to birds was natural.

[Raziel Och]

No, she definitely didn’t even notice his form reclining on the boulder, much less his mad dash for his stave. Apple was much too preoccupied in the making of what Raziel had to assume where mud pies. He did nothing but watch her awkwardly as she dug into the earth with child-like abandon. It took no genius to tell a certain naiveté surrounded the girl, why it practically emanated off of her in waves. A few moments later, as if delayed or made an afterthought, did she look up and finally take note of his presence. With a strained expression, he tossed his hand in a half-assed wave. He couldn’t take his eyes off of those hands of hers, which dripped with grime and mud.

Apple was a thin girl. Really thin, and with a height of a model to boot. And here she was, all knees and elbows and goofy grins that spread ear from ear. Mud streaked her face, but she couldn’t have been any more delirious than she was now. Raziel would have found it absolutely adorable if it wasn’t for the fact she expected him to shake her mud covered hand. He warred with himself, debating whether or not he should reach out his hand and shake, whether or not she’d even be offended if she was snubbed. But those large green eyes and unconquerable cheerfulness made him reach out, and reluctantly shake it. He was sure he could hear the mud squish audibly. Why, he could feel the small bits of gravel dig into his palm. It took every inch of his being not to pull away prematurely.

”I—I’m… Raziel.” He shook his hand at his side, trying to get most of the mud off of it. Unobservant as he was of other people, he never noticed the light blush that dusted her cheeks. Besides, he was much too busy trying to render his hand clean.

”What am I doing here?” He repeated, finally succumbing and wiping his hand on the side of his jeans. As he did so, he shot her cursory glances. ”Bird-watching, mostly.” Raziel admitted, crossing his arms. His attention was torn from Apple when he heard the telltale song of a finch above them. Something of a smirk started to grow on his face, then Apple claimed to understand it, that it was actually saying something. To her.Her expression betrayed nothing of the sort that made him think her joking. She was so adamant about it, so certain that the bird was truly curious what some dumb male was doing in the middle of the woods.

”You’re kidding, right?” Traces of the smirk remained on his features, unable to comprehend her statement. ”Why—wait, what. Bird songs are exactly that, bird songs. There are no ‘questions’ in them.” Raziel began to wonder who this girl truly was, and what exactly she was doing out in the middle of the woods, alone and unarmed. By herself. It seemed… well, a bit suspicious and a tad worrying. Did she not have a companion?

[Apple]

"Oh, no! I'm not joking!" Her eyes wide with seriousness, Apple took no time to answer Raziel's statement. "Welllll," she drew out slowly, looking at her feet, "When we sing, we can sing questions, can't we?" She clasped her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels, now staring Raziel straight in the face. "Why can't birds? In any case, most birdsong is territorial. 'Who are you? Get off my lawn!'" Apple brought her (still muddly) hands up in what she invented as a universal get-off-my-lawn gesture: hands open, level with her shoulders, and palms facing Raziel. She smiled again, dimples in her round face.

"What birds have you watched?" She asked, interested. "What have they been doing?" The concept of birdwatching was a bit foreign to the dryad - why watch them when you could go have a conversation? Although watching them fly was an excellent way to spend a day - Apple thought it would be terribly fun to fly.

Of course, being Apple, she immediately had to share this new idea with her new best friend. "Do you ever wish you could fly?" She asked dreamily, staring beyond Raziel and becoming lost in a daydream.

[Raziel Och]

When Raziel sang—he used to be in a choir—he did not sing “questions”. He sang hymns, Latin verses, songs stuffed with religious overtones and warnings. He mulled her seriousness over, chalking it up to obliviousness and a die-hard child-like sense of wonder. It was as if she wasn’t taught better, as if life hadn’t crushed said sense of wonder out of her yet. It was either that, or she was really, really good at deadpanning and playing serious. If it was the latter, than Raziel was a fool. A big one.

”Most birdsong is also not meant for us, but for other birds.” he said dryly, watching her still dirty hands as she said ‘get off my lawn’. Apple seemed to have this irrepressible cheer and optimism about her. It showed on her face with her near-endless smiling and display of dimples. He speculated where it all came from, this bubbly disposition of hers.

”The forest has mainly small ones, like the finch that just flew by. Think sparrows or swallows.” He shrugged, doing his best not to seem overly excited about their current topic of conversation. Raziel could go on about and on about birds, regardless of company. It was something he had to watch himself with, like his tendencies towards irrational anger. Most people gave him blank looks if he spoke too long about them, asked him openly if he really didn’t have anything better to do then sit around all day watching sparrows. ” Fly and eat and fight for mates, I guess. Well, what else would birds do besides?” He responded, a touch vexed. She asked the strangest questions, this girl. Apple was never failing to make Raziel wonder, what with her inquiry of whether or not he wished to fly.

”If such a thing were possible, it would be fun. It would certainly get you to places faster, wouldn't it?” The blond admitted, giving it some thought. A bit of a smile played upon his lips. Apple had begun to stare off into some middle space past him, lost in a daydream. ”Do you? Wish to fly, I mean.” Who was he kidding, she probably did. It struck him as something she’d fancy. But now that he looked at her more closely, he realized the very faint green to her skin tone, just how young she looked. Raziel would peg her no older than seventeen, if that. A little young to be wandering the forest alone, he thought.

"Hey,"He almost snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "Are your parents at camp? Do they know you've wandered off?" A rude thing to ask, a part of him knew. Raziel looked past Apple and into the forest undergrowth, as if searching.

[Apple]

She had met many humans over her life, but Apple hadn't quite met someone with such a lack of imagination. She studied Raziel, almost with pity. "Birds sing to whomever they chose," she said sadly. "It isn't their fault you can't understand them." Apple understood the birds perfectly fine! She didn't see how humans could be so inventive while at the same time so closed off from so many natural wonders. It baffled her.

Especially when it came to what birds did. Apple had known quite a few birds in her time, and didn't hesitate to elaborate. "They make homes, raise children, sing stories. Have you heard bird stories before? They're awfully good." A bit abstract, mostly detailing quick brushes with a cat or what a forest looked like from a mile up, small instances that had stood out against a short life of quick flight. One crow had explained to Apple, in vivid detail, a berry bush he had found: the juice that dripped down his beak, how sweet the berries were, how sunny the day was - it smelled like hay and dry wind and summer. Apple loved that story most of all, and whenever she saw that crow she begged him to tell it again. She rather thought he had got a big head over it, but she had whiled away many an afternoon talking to the birds.

"Faster?" Apple said, as if it hadn't occured to her. "I'd just want to break free of the earth for a moment...sail away, unrooted, free to go wherever I wished, up in the wind and the, the clouds." It was a very attractive idea to a tree, who would be tethered to the ground for its entire life.

Apple was confused. This human switched perfectly good topics quite fast, didn't he? How impatient! Apple was having so much fun thinking about flying, too! She gave him a troubled look, but the biggest creatures were always the ones who cut to the chase (sometimes literally). Raziel seemed so unhappy, all scowly! Apple made a mental note to try to cheer him up, and also made a mental note to remember the mental note. She had problems with that.

The idea of parents was very much lost on the dryad, and athough she sort of got what he meant and had heard the word before, she was still a bit lost. "Camp?" She echoed. Was that a city? "No. Where's Camp?" She smiled again. "What a funny word! I did wander off, a bit," she conceded, "But I can't go any further, so it's all right!" More smiling.

[Raziel Och]

As to be expected, whoever possibly may have accompanied Apple to the forest did not pop out from the thick outcropping of trees and yell ‘here I am!’. He tore his attention from the forest’s trees, and back to Apple. Of course, only someone like Raziel would think walking along the forest trail at the age of sixteen was dangerous. But then again, he was wont to believe such things and often came across as more than overbearing because of it. It was bred from his desire to keep everyone safe, however horribly misguided that was. Apple was not exempt from this, what with the way he inquired about her parents. He couldn’t help but feel just a tad creepy as he did so, given their (supposed) five year age difference and his misfortune to look older than his twenty one years suggested. Most normal girls may have reacted adversely to him asking such things. Apple struck him as far from that.

”Well, yeah. Camp is where—“ She found the word funny. Raziel had half a mind that the word ‘parent’ would, too. That it would feel foreign and strange upon her tongue, so unused to it she was. Apple had successfully stupefied and worried him at the same time. She didn’t seem like she knew much of the world, or that she really wanted to. With a shake of his head, he continued.

”You can’t go any further?” That insinuated there was someone else with her, that she wasn’t simply left to her own devices in the middle of nowhere. Raziel did know the forest almost like the back of his hand—he could offer to take her back where she had come from. Who knows, maybe her parents or guardians or whatever were looking for the girl?

”Look,” he said. ”I can show you the way back to where you came from. If you’re lost.” Raziel rubbed the back of his neck, thinking his offer over. The only real problem would be his staff, which could easily be explained away as some sort of fancy walking stick. They would just think him ostentatious and silly, nothing more. And he could live with that.

She was always smiling, as if nothing could ever get her down. Where she found all of this endless cheer was beyond him. Though the perpetually grumpy blond did his best to return Apple’s smiles in kind, however strained they may have been. He wasn’t really used to smiling, or laughing or being so carefree. It just wasn’t in him to be like that, however naturally it seemed to have come to Apple.

[Apple]

The air was getting thicker, denser with moisture. It wouldn't be long before it truly began to rain - the clouds were almost upon the two. Apple watched the sky, staring at it with big, green eyes.

"I can't go further," she said, almost sadly, "or I'll be in great trouble." Her smile slipped slightly, becoming wistful. Apple longed to see the world, to go as far as she liked, but the tether she possessed made that impossible. The epimeliad turned back to the blonde, staring at him in a way that would make most uncomfortable. It wasn't just that Apple had no idea about personal space or polite actions - it was the way she looked at you, really looked. It tended to make people feel awkward. And she wouldn't stop staring.

"I'm not lost. I'm visiting old friends. It's sweet of you to worry, though," she said. Maybe Raziel was truly very kind - he had an open, round face that was fairly honest. Apple wondered why humans had so much trouble meeting others. No other animal had any problems. They didn't create rules for themselves like humans did - it was fascinating to no end to the dryad.

She walked backwards. "Care to join me? I was just about to start heading back." A walk through the woods would surely appeal to such an outdoorsy human. Apple could tell, because he had a walking stick. All humans who hiked owned walking sticks. Apple pointed at it. "That's a very nice walking stick. Much better made than some I see. Some people even...rip them off of living trees!" She looked horrified at the thought.

[Raziel Och]

Raziel would have been lying if he said the way Apple stared at him so didn’t rattle him. With his brow furrowed in agitation, he did his best to swallow back whatever caustic comment had surfaced—he’d rather not snap at someone like Apple for such an insipid reason. Maybe there was something on his shirt, or his face? Was his hair out of place? Were his glasses sitting lopsided? He raised a hand self-consciously to his glasses just to check, now more unnerved than irritated. Those large green eyes pierced right through him, he didn’t like the way they made him feel so vulnerable and exposed.

He broke eye contact. He had to.

By then, Raziel had assumed Apple had those “old friends” of hers waiting for her back from wherever she came from, and for quite some time now. And that was why she couldn’t have gone any further, for she’d risk worrying them sick, more than she already had. Hence the “great trouble”. It wasn’t unusual for the particularly wealthy to make log cabin retreats, or even cottages that lined the shore of the lake the forest bordered. But he couldn’t quiet shake the feeling he was rationalizing the circumstances to make himself feel better, to make sense to him. Apple was no ordinary girl, it took no genius to discern that much. Yet how unordinary, he couldn’t have said. The man couldn’t place his finger on it, what made her unique.

“Then we best not keep those friends of yours waiting any longer.” He did his best to smile, though it turned out to be more of a grimace than anything. Raziel needed to practice his smiles. “They must be wondering where you have gone off to, surely.” So he agreed to join Apple on her trek back.

And then she pointed at his red oak quarterstaff. “Oh, that.” He waved his hand dismissively, tried his best to be nonchalant as he grabbed his back pack and weapon. “It used to be my great grandfather’s, actually. He passed it down to me.” Though what family made it a point of passing down walking sticks as inheritances was beyond him. Maybe Apple would just think his family was extremely serious about their hiking.

“I can’t tell you how it was made, but it is oak.” He commented, taking note of her mortified expression. It was as if ripping branches off of still-living trees was akin to kicking a sick puppy. Then it occurred to him that for her, maybe it was. “But I don't think he ripped anything off of living trees.” He added hastily. Raziel did not like the thought of accidentally upsetting her.

[Apple]

If Raziel was worried about the strangeness of debating the finer points of walking stick ettiquite, he needn't have worried. Apple knew nothing of human customs. He could have said that it cured him of veneral disease and she would have believed him. In any case, Apple took what he said at face value. "That was kind of him," she said cheerfully. Humans were certainly nice! Apple had never inherited anything and was fuzzy on the principles of it, but gifts she could solidly get behind. Especially if they were being given to her.

The girl slipped one slender hand into the crook of Raziel's arm, walking by his side as pleased as could be, steering him gently toward a path that would take them down the hill. Apple had seen friends walking like this a number of times - and since Raziel was now her newest friend, it made sense to walk like so. She enjoyed his company, although she didn't abridge any of her habits for his comfort. She was blissfully unaware of any discomfort the blonde may have had. She was thinking, maybe he'd visit her at her tree, and they could order drinks and pastries like friends did. Apple's eyes crinkled as her face was lit by another smile. "How nice to have a walking companion!" Apple said. "I don't often see many people up here. It's usually just me and my friends." Apple gestured at the trees on the path, lightly touching her fingers to the bark of a near branch. "They can't move like I do, but they make good companions all the same. Dancing is difficult, though. I do love dancing. Do you da- ah!" Apple broke off, leaning on Raziel for support as she lifted her left foot. She had stepped on a particularily sharp rock - there was a small dent in the arch of her bare foot, a small dot of red among the dirt and mud. Not nearly enough blood to worry about - but Apple had never been cut before. Apple stared at it curiously. "Why is it crying? Crying red tears. Can feet do that?" She asked. "Raziel, what is this? What happened?" Apple continued to stare. She had never seen blood before. Her experience in the human world was incredibly limited.

[Raziel Och]

They left the path and entered the forest’s underbrush, twigs tugging and snapping at them. Apple placed her hand in the crook of Raziel’s arm, leaving him feeling a tad discomfited at her minute invasion of his personal space. He did not voice this, however. He hadn’t the heart, and really, it wasn’t that hard to bear. Why, he could barely even tell her hand was there at all, she held on so gently. For a while, they were quiet, but it wasn’t long before the ever-chipper girl shattered the silence.

“I’m used to walking by myself, most times. But this is a nice change of pace.” Raziel spoke genuinely, though it may have seemed otherwise. As quirky as Apple may have been, as weird as he may think her, it got boring hiking everywhere by himself. His dog was too rambunctious to take farther than his front yard, and he’d be damned if he could ever convince his mother to join him. The odd friend or two he did have expressed little interest in anything remotely outdoorsy. Twigs snapped beneath their feet, and besides that and Apple’s voice, there was no sound. The forest was quiet. The birds didn’t sing anymore, a tell-tale sign of the storm to come.

Raziel let Apple lead them through the forest, and listened to her speak politely. He didn’t mind, it meant there were fewer expectations on his behalf. “No, not many people do—“ Wait. She… was speaking about the trees beside them. She stroked the branch of a maple like it was the face of someone she loved. The trees were her friends, she claimed. Her “old friends”. Whoever she was, it wasn’t anyone to be worried about. She was much too innocent to mean any harm. He made a face then, but she sidetracked his questioning by her talk of dancing, and how the trees weren’t very good at it.

His suspicion was raising, and fast. Raziel wondered where this girl came from, and who, exactly, she was. Suddenly, Apple stopped mid-sentence and snapped him from his thoughts. She lifted her foot then, having stepped on a sharp rock. A dot of blood stood out against the dirt and mud that covered the bottom of her foot.

“What do you mean you’ve never seen this? Your foot isn’t crying, it’s just a little blood… have you never cut yourself before, Apple?” Why wasn’t she wearing shoes, anyway? With a sigh, he broke away from Apple and bent down to her foot.

“Here, let me look at it. You know, if you wore shoes you wouldn’t be injuring yourself.” Raziel gave her a cursory glance before inspecting her foot. He tsked as he did so, mumbling about one thing or another. It wasn’t anything to get worked up over, but he did have band-aids he could give her, to stop it from getting a minor infection. It would never stick for very long, he knew, but there was gauze he could tie around the arch of her heel for that purpose.

“You just stepped on something, is all. Stand still for a moment, I can fix it.” Raziel slipped his backpack off his shoulder and rummaged through it for the band-aid and gauze. He took a bit of water to clean the bottom of her foot off, and had her bandaged up in a matter of seconds. “There. Better now?” He asked her, getting back to his feet.

[Apple]

Wiggling her toes as the gauze covered her cut, Apple watched with interest, unusually quiet. Raziel finished bandaging her foot with the white bandage, and Apple patted it with her hand. The process was absolutely alien to her.

"Better? What does it do? Is this magic?" Apple asked. "Does it stop the red? Is that blood? What's blood? Is it like sap?" Indeed, Apple had never cut herself like this before. She had been fortunate up until this point. Usually she did wear shoes, but when there's mud that sticks in your toes and makes delightful slorp sounds, you simply can't stand by and not jump in with bare feet. Apple had abandoned her shoes early on in the forest, and had no desire to find them. At least, until she cut her foot.

The dryad looked worried, staring up at Raziel. "Is my foot going to fall off?" She whispered, horrified. "Am I going to get sick? Am I going to die?" She sniffed, blinking back fat tears. "Am I? Am I dying?" Apple's face screwed up in misery, and she sat down heavily on a nearby log. She rested her bandaged foot on her right knee, looking at it protectively. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked, frantically. "Can we stop it?" She blinked back tears, looking suddenly happier. "Of course! If I get back to my home, I'll be fine! I'll be safe! Can you take me back? I don't think I should use my foot if it's broken, so...can you give me a, a, whatsamajigger, a piggy-back ride?" She looked up at Raziel expectantly, her expression ernest and urging. "It'll be fun! I see people do it all the time! Not pigs, though. Why do they call it that?"

[Raziel Och]

((...why are my posts so damn rambly. orz ))

Not knowing what to say to her questions, Raziel grew silent and deadpanned. Where ever did she get these wild ideas of hers? Did her parents shelter her that much for her to think blood was sap, and bandages were magic? He shook his head, hand on his hip and teeth tearing at his bottom lip.

“No, it’s not… magic. It’s just a band-aid, and some gauze to stop it from falling off. It just makes sure your cut doesn’t get infected from dirt and such— and no, blood is not like sap.” Exasperation was eroding his patience, and he sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was under the impression that whoever her parents were sheltered her horribly, and to her detriment. “Blood is… blood’s just the stuff that runs through your veins and carries oxygen and nutrients throughout your body… picture an extensive road of sorts, with the blood cells being the cars and your body’s other cells the houses and stores they go to.” Admittedly, it took a lot of self-control to stop himself from growing irate with Apple, who really didn’t deserve his petty anger. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t know these things, he was beginning to think.

Logic was not the route he should have chosen, it seemed. Tears welled up in Apple’s bright green eyes, despair reigning over her round face as she sat herself down on a rotted tree trunk. He wasn’t sure what he should do, or what he should say. Raziel really hadn’t encountered someone like Apple before, had never met someone who thought stepping on a rock spelled their demise. But she was so genuinely distraught, Raziel felt compelled to do something.

Then it occurred to him: placating Apple was his best course of action. With a bit of a huff, he dropped to his knee in front of her. Raziel was never good with comforting other people, always had the misfortune of coming across as insensitive and detached in the worst of circumstances. At a loss of words, he mulled his options over with a slight furrow in his brow. With a tiny smirk, he did his best to be kind.

“No, your foot will not fall off. It’s staying put, all right? And of course you’re not dying, and you won’t get sick from that tiny little wound.” For once, his voice was gentle, held no hints of annoyance. Her tears did the trick in washing away whatever aggravation he may have felt earlier, and a part of him truly did feel bad that she was so upset. Raziel raised his hand then, considered patting her on the knee, then thought better of it. Of course, by then she was as happy as a clam. It was a relief to see her cheerful again.

“Your foot is far from broken, Apple.” He told her, giving her a pointed look. “Though I suppose there is no harm in indulging you this once, but you’ll have to carry my backpack for me.” He could just stuff his staff into his backpack. Having it poke out wouldn’t hurt anyone, it was short enough. Raziel set his backpack and staff to the side, turning his back to Apple. “Semantics of the English language will drive you nuts. Jump on when you’re ready, and I’ll carry you home.”