Fury in Sundor

Chapter 9

Eon was woken by a murmur of whispers around him. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to ignore whatever was arousing him. Most likely another pack of pixies coming for his sanity. He rolled over to his side when he heard a collective group of giggling. Eon furrowed his eyebrows.
"I'd appreciate it if you all would leave me in peace this time. Lest you want to rip my pants off bare as well." Eon gruffly dismissed the clamor. The voices hushed quickly. A moment flipped by when he startled awake yet again by a crowd of bellied laughter. These voices weren't high pitched or unintelligible. Pixie voices resembled nothing of the ones that surrounded him. Either way, Eon hasn't rested for an exhausting amount of time. Whoever disrupted him now was no exception, regardless of species. Their canny tittering was his final straw. Eon picked himself up to sit down and get a clear look of his audience. As he blinked into focus, six figures cleared up: Three cottonwood tree fleshed girls, one hackberry tree fleshed girl, one wisteria fleshed girl, and one willow tree fleshed girl. Drydads, they were. Each and every one of them sat around him in a circle as if sisters were looking at their new baby brother. Some were curious, others enthralled.
"We don't get many cryptids around here." One cottonwood girl murmured. Her branches rustled gently as she cocked her head at Eon.
"Especially not snow owl ones..." The hackberry girl sitting directly behind Eon chimed in. Their voices were honey thick but gentle and reassuring. Each had a slightly different accent, although it was hard to pinpoint what exactly was different about them. Each had a personality and voice that complimented their outside appearance.
Another cottonwood girl reached in to pull one of his wings out. Eon's forged "pin" must've fallen out in his sleep. He gasped and twisted his head around out of shock as she expanded his wing, examining the feathers and flesh beneath. The hackberry girl clicked her tongue as she leaned in for a closer look on her palms.
"Shouldn't you be in the tundra, boy? Plus, you haven't done a good job at caring for your feathers. They're quite the eyesore to look at." The cottonwood criticized Eon gently. The rest of them murmured and shook their heads out of sympathy. The willow tree sitting diagonally right to Eon crossed her arms. One of her fingers tapped against her forearm, creating a deep, subtle knocking sound. She sighed.
"Girls, leave the poor child to rest. We clearly disturbed him. From the looks of your clothing and the expression you wear, I take it you haven't been in the wilderness before. Let alone seen a drydad. Which is unusual for an owl cryptid... where is your parliament?" A wisteria tree leaned in to take a good look at him while the willow tree girl spoke. Eon blinked twice at her and moved to rub his eyes and responded as he did so. This wasn't exactly how someone would expect to be introduced by a new species.
"Well, I'm not exactly from..." Eon dropped his hands and crossed his legs, eyeing the dandelion next to his feet. The women watched him closely. "Remedial Island." Eon blinks at the wisteria drydad, unfazed.
Eon is not unfamiliar with the feeling of discomfort when family is brought up. After all, a person cannot miss something they never had.
The treeborn women go quiet and completely still. A few of them out of Eon's peripheral vision exchange glances knowingly. The three cottonwood ladies brought fingers up to their mouths in synchronization, politely displaying their shock. The willow tree felt a flood of qualm. Eon feels the urge to explain himself. How else could this conversation continue? Everyone felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles.
"I-I was cared for by an experienced Mifonlia all my life. I'm not completely disconnected from this world." Eon chuckled and looked down at his dirtied boots. "Yes, I was raised in a human kingdom. If that's what you all were thinking of. Please, I really don't mind the fact at all. No need to approach me delicately. I've grown accustomed to these topics... Anyway,"
Eon feels a sudden kick to itch at his neck.
"I came to sleep in your grove because I have a request to ask of you all." He looked up nervously at the ring of drydads.
Seeing as how Eon didn't mind the "uncomfortable" topic, the girls felt a little more at ease. They switched moods almost immediately. Smiles plastered across their faces faster than they left. Some of them even shuffled closer, giddish and ready to tease and entertain themselves with Eon.
Drydads are nurturing by nature, that is not a lie. However, they also have a playful personality. Often instead of charging clients gold or rare items for their healing, they charge stories, songs, or even secrets. They are simple creatures. Some upper level drydads even have fortune telling abilities.
The hackberry girl stood up. Dryads are as tall as their trees, so their height is unmatched in any case. Since they can control the wood and plants around them, it's easy to manipulate their height to fit according to their surroundings. It makes articulation much easier. The hackberry one moved with grace and elegance. Her arms moved like branches in the breeze. The hackberry girl exclaimed softly, glancing at his neck. "Healing, yes? Your neck is in need of..." She tapped her chin lightly when one cottonwood drydad stood up and plucked a small purple fruit in the shape of a raisin from the bush behind her.
"Frune! That's a good idea, Eloise." The willow girl exclaimed as she took the small fruit from the cottonwood drydad, Eloise. The hackberry girl next to her picked a flower from the crook of a tree branch, exclaiming proudly at her plant.
"This should do as well." The hackberry smiled at the willow.
"Yes, you both did excellent. Now, Maryin," the willow drydad turned to the other cottonwood girl next to her. Maryin took the two ingredients with both hands, showing respect.
"Grind these into a small green powder please. But don't put them in the pouch, jar works fine. We know what went wrong last time that happened." The willow and Maryin chuckled as she departed into the woods. The willow sighed shallowly and grinned at Eon, slightly intimidating him.
"My name is Juniper." said the willow.
"I'm Eloise," Said the first cottonwood.
"I'm Jhude," Said the second cottonwood.
"I'm Peyton," Said the hackberry
"And I'm Arine. The other girl that just left was Blight." Said the wisteria.
Each exclaimed their names counterclockwise around Eon, almost seeming rehearsed. After the final drydad said her name, they all stared fervently at the boy in the middle. Eon hesitantly pointed at himself in question. The other drydads nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm Eon."
The crowd suddenly burst into applause and joyous laughter. The sudden excitement sparked the air around them. Eon cracked a smile in embarrassment. He felt as though this was a little over the top. He also had no wish to interrupt their merry time. So, he sat taking in the sound of their wooden hands knocking against each other.
"Now, I believe we should offer service to the boy whilst we wait for his medicine to finish brewing and grinding." Juniper spoke out first. The rest of them nodded along. Peyton threw her hands up in excitement, "What if we do a palm reading for him?" She eagerly recommended it. The rest of her companions nodded along.
"Arine," Peyton called out. "Your sister does palm readings, correct? She should take a look at this young man's hands." At this, everyone began standing up in preparation. Arine agreed with a smiling face and urged Eon to follow her.
"Where are we going?" Eon asked the general crowd.
"To Luretta's tree of course!" Arine smiled and held out her hand for Eon to take. As he put his hand in hers, Eon winced unexpectedly. The bark was rough indeed, but it was also surprisingly warm. It was almost as if Arine knew he would feel this way, so he only gently laid her palm up for him to hold onto instead of rashly grabbing his wrist.
Arine worked her way through the forest like it was her own house. Technically, it was.
The other girls followed closely behind in a neat, single file line. He heard some whispers and murmurs coming from the cottonwood sisters behind him.
"What do you think his...", "No no I believe...", and "That doesn't seem accurate..." are the kinds of phrases that arose from the conversation he could hear. They seemed more conserved about whatever their conversation was than when they accidentally made Eon bring up his past living situation. It felt very ominous and all the more worrying for Eon.