... there are more important things than teaching you right now … the forest here weeps as you can see. A disease has swept though this portion of the wood and soon will spread out. The labs have been experimenting again and I am afraid that I have been exposed already so my attention will no doubt be shifting towards that end ...

Aegir considered this for a moment. He really wanted to learn to tap into the minds of plant creatures and Night hinted some time agao that they were just on different brain lengths. Birch had no reason to help him either … he drove him away once but he thought about the effects of this disease. The labs wouldn't be testing it if there were not a cure that they were intending on using soon. Birch's exposure must have been unintentioned. His ability to phase through one tree coming out in another probably exposed him in some way that he did not truly understand so he might have gotten diseased by passing through diseased trees. He was uncertain how the chemical worked.

And if I were to find someone that can rid you and the plants of this disease> He had the advantage of knowing that the plant was fairly sheltered and didn't pay too much of attention out of it's sphere of influence. Aegir considered this carefully.

I will consider what you proposed but certainly not while my attention can be better spent elsewhere.

Aegir nodded. Then I will find help ... And he slithered off searching for just that ...

Meanwhile, a dorm room not so far, far away...

"What do you mean, 'sick'?"

"Sick. Ye know...Ill. Not well. In poor heal--."

"Don't treat me like I'm two, Fiona, I know what sick means. What I mean is, how can a forest get sick? I thought only humans and animals get sick."

"A forest is a living thing, Sara, just like humans and animals. The trees, the flowers, the very earth we stand on...It's all alive, and it's all connected. Anything that lives can get sick. And I never said the whole forest is sick...but at the rate this disease is spreading, if there is nobody or nothing there to stop it, then it's only a matter of time..."

All the while the two girls talked, Fiona was busy hurriedly preparing for her trip to the woods. Sara's eyes were darting back and forth as the fired-up redhead buzzed around the room, quickly gathering the many tools of her trade and carefully stuffing them in her pack. Most of the items the young Scotswoman packed would most likely never get used at all this day, but Fi was not one to leave anything behind, just in case there was a slight chance it might actually come in handy later on.

"And just how, pray tell, do you plan to 'stop' this disease?" Sara asked sarcastically, still looking on as Fiona gathered the last of her supplies into her sack before fastening it shut. "Are you going to sing a song, perhaps, or maybe sprinkle a few magic herbs about?"

The red-haired priestess paused as her hand reached for the door and turned to the short-haired brunette staring at her from the bed and with her characteristically bright smile, she replied confidently, "The Great Mother will show me the way, cousin. She always does."

Before the woman could protest any further, Fi stepped quickly out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind her...

Moments later, the elevator doors on the first floor slid open and Fiona immediately ran for the entrance, the double doors slammed open and shut as the increasingly urgent redhead bulled through the main entrance. Students scattered as she plowed through, shouting apologies as she pushed and shoved her way through, accidentally knocking one or two class-mates on their asses in her haste to reach her destination...

Eventually, Fiona made it passed the courtyard and picnic area, and before her stood the entrance of the magnificent enchanted Shokushu forest. There she closed her eyes an took a few deep breaths, slowly beginning to relax as she turned within herself, the druidic priestess silently communed with the Earth Mother, sending a quick prayer of guidance to her patron deity.

As if in answer, the wind suddenly began to pick up, and Fi's eyes opened to the rustling of leaves brushing against her bare legs, tickling her fair skin as the cool, gentle breeze drew the red-haired woman's green ceremonial cloak tight against her otherwise naked body. Overhead, a flock of birds flew towards the forest in a near-perfect v-formation.

Confident that she was being shown the way, Fiona bowed her head in thanks and brought the Tree-of-Life pendant to her lips, kissing it for good luck before setting out on a narrow, winding path that the young Scotswoman was certain would take her where she needed to go, blissfully unaware of the potential dangers that lay ahead...

That had been two days ago since he had his talk with Birch. While he enjoyed the forest it was clear that Birch enjoyed it more. He was uncertain if Birch was always from this planet or brought in but they had a few encounters in the past. Fighting over prey on occasion but never to the point that there were any real hard feelings over it for Aegir had allowed him to harvest before driving him off from Pia.

That was probably the only reason why he had considered doing this now. Birch of course was more interested in curing the forest and himself though lacked the skill set to doing that.

Aegir possessed them of course or could easily get them but he was having no real luck. His probing of the scientists mind had told him that the effect on Birch was accidental and that they had not know he had or even could be effected by passing through infected trees. It was as if the creature had collected an STD through such simple contact.

Aegir quickly realized that the few scientists he had contact with did not have any sort of cure and while he believed that one had to exist it was simply not within their grasp.

Using the skills he had gathered in his years he was inspecting some of the damaged trees as if that could press him on the right course of action. He was most interested in learning how to tap into the mental abilities of plants.

But humans, well they were all to easy to read. He felt one approaching now, alone in the forest … he scanned the surface thoughts to get a sense of who this was. He simply did so out of reflex, not out of any means of stalking her, fortunately he was too busy at the moment, even if she was a prized red head that he would have to pass up on. He pulled her image from her mind as she saw it in the mirror each morning.

A rather attractive red head at that. Inwardly he sighed. His priorities we different today but then he was curious as to why she was coming out here. There was a quiet confidence in her step as if she had not been victimized before yet she was asking for it by heading deeper into the forest it seemed. So he flicked through some of her memories. Had she been attacked before?

His mind could do multiple tasks at once and while he figured he could look her up later he did so now out of curiosity until he snapped upright, having a greater sense of some of her unnatural gifts regarding plants.

Certainly his interests might bisect here! He searched that mind for other matters connected with that skill as he diverted heading in the direction she was approaching from. He pondered his usual disguises and non seemed to suffice so he invented a new one as he approached swirling himself in an illusion Disguise.

His methods of approaching this would change a little, he was hoping that she was familiar with the inner workings of the island, that would make it easier though he had other methods in which to draw from too.