113 Los

"Wait, did you say distraction?!" I cried out at Fume's words. How would Fume be a distraction for me? Was she meant to get me away from my pond? Could I have just heard her wrong?

Fume cowered at my outburst, "I think that is what he said. But fire is noisy, so it was a little hard to hear," she quietly replied.

"This is not good," was all I managed to get out before I spread out my powers around my woods. I was so far west in my woods that I had to concentrate hard to even sense my pond. Anything beyond that was practically out of reach.

As I searched around my pond my skin immediately paled. I am sure if I was not sitting down I would have fallen. Even then I was struggling to keep myself from collapsing. Blight was spread over my pond. There was no sign of Maximus's presence, but evidence of his twisted power was everywhere. I could feel Ivy but the strength of her spirit seemed much smaller than it should be. And Mist…. "Mist?" I called out to no one, pushing my worry throughout my woods. Maybe she is still too weak for me to feel from here, I thought, trying to give myself some hope. But the only response I got was a weak scared response from Ivy.

Did Mist dissipate under Maximus's attack? Why could I not feel her? My body started to shiver remembering Mist nearly evaporating when we confronted Fume. I could see my hands cradling Mist in the bowl as she continued to unwind. Ivy could have only watched helplessly as Mist vanished. I could see tears running down her face as she tried in vain to help Mist. But why did he not take Ivy? Was she so injured that she too was going to evaporate? I thought they would be safe at my pond. But they weren't safe. It was because I was not there. I did not protect them.

Why was this happening? I should have just turned around once I saw that Cocoa had things under control. I never should have let them talk me into coming so far. I am sure Tide put them up to forcing me to come all this way. It's their fault for not listening to me and meeting me partway. I would have been able to feel Maximus then. But since they forced me to come all this way I was not able to sense his attack on my pond. I glared at all of them in my anger. My powers started to swirl around me. Mist was gone because of them.

Fume was petrified at the anger that was rolling off me. "I did not know," Fume cried, her flames completely disappearing. "I didn't want to hurt anyone."

I continued to glare at her. Not wanting to cause trouble was no excuse. Because of her I had lost a large part of my woods. And now Mist was gone and Ivy was so weak she could barely respond. My anger swelled within me as I fixed my gaze on this intruder.

Suddenly Fume jumped. Her surprised movement caused me to jump also. It seems that Cocoa had put a bark covered hand on her shoulder. Fume's face moved back and forth between the hand on her shoulder and Cocoa's face. Why is she acting like this is the first time she had ever been touched?

This question echoed in my head with astounding force. She probably had never been touched. At least if you do not count that one kick I landed. I felt the edge of my anger soften. It really was not Fume's fault. I was the one who abandoned her at that vent five thousand years ago. If I had taken better care of her then, she would not have been so desperate.

I glared up at Cocoa and Tide, and they also seemed to wither under my look. It hurt having them afraid of me. I really was a monster. I had nearly erased Fume a few days ago. And this time I was about to lash out at all three of them. One of them had been my friend for millenia. I let my powers go and slid off the log, curling up into a ball on the ground. "I am such a worthless dryad," I found myself murmuring. "I was about to attack one of my oldest friends. Though I guess Tide would have stopped me. She always has been good at getting in my way. Though I would have been grateful this time for it. I guess that would make her happy." I laughed at myself in derision.

"Ivy is scared and probably hurt. And I could not even keep Mist safe. The great dryad, the forest mother, that is what everyone calls me. But I can't even keep track of one little sprite." Tears fell like rain from my face. In the silence that followed someone sat on the ground next to me and placed her arm around me. I sat there and continued to cry leaning onto her shoulder for strength.

After a long silence Cocoa finally broke the silence. But her words did not come from my side as I was expecting. "Who is Mist?" I did not have the strength to respond to her. I continued to lean on Tide. Where was Mist? Did she collapse? Did Maximus take her? Thousands of questions rushed through my mind. I was not going to admit it, but having Tide here was oddly comforting. It reminded me of when I was just a few centuries old and was still trying to figure things out.

After a minute of silence it was clear that I was not going to speak. So Fume hazarded a guess. "Is it that water sprite?" I gave her a small nod in response. It seemed that the explanation was lacking for the others so Fume explained, "When Laurel confronted me she brought a water sprite with her. The sprite pushed too far and hurt herself. But that is all I know."

"You have a water sprite in your woods?" Tide asked. She had been silent for such a long time that her sudden words made me look over at her. She was still sitting there with her arm around me. I do not know why I did not pull away from her, but I just stayed there. There was a mix of hurt and hope on her face. I could understand her feelings but I did not want to delve into them right now.

"I have been with her ever since she formed 100 years ago," I said softly. "She is one of my best friends. But now she is missing also." I watched Tide for a moment. The look of betrayal slowly faded from her face. Her expression hardened into firm resolve.

"Laurel, get up!" Tide's sudden words shook me just as much as her hand on my shoulder did. "Sitting here is not going to solve anything. Let's go to your home. We can figure it out from there."

"Yes, let's go to your pond." Cocoa said. "We need to see what that dryad can tell us. And we're going to find Mist."

She was right. I needed to get up and find Faun and Mist. Sitting here was not going to do anything. I stood up, dusted the soot off me and turned to the other spirits. "I am going back to my home now." I had to get to Ivy. And I would not give up until I found Mist and Faun. I steeled my determination as I gave the spirits all one last look before I set off.

"We will be coming with you," Cocoa's words lifted a weight that I did not know was pressing on my heart. I would not have to do this on my own.

Tide nodded resolutely. Complex emotions rushed over me. She was finally here in the way I needed her. I wanted to give her a chance. Still, one time was not enough for me to think that she had changed. But Cocoa cut me off before I could say anything. "Tide is even stronger than you. You can use the help, especially to find a water sprite."

She was right. If Tide and I can work together I do not see how Maximus can stand a chance. That still did not make me like the idea. But I decided to give up for now.

"Fume…" I said looking at her. I didn't really want her coming into my pond, but the thought of leaving her unattended was even more aversive. "Can you come with us without burning down the forest?" She seemed to take my perfectly valid concerns personally, as she stood up from her log defensively.

"I have been living off of scraps for thousands of years," she grumbled. "I can make do with the litter."