The crimson twilight had been replaced by a soft, ethereal gold. The giant flower hovered above us, silent and majestic, shedding a rain of glowing dust that drifted down like snow.
"It is... beautiful," Orla whispered, lowering the communication box. Even Muranu, still watching from the hologram, seemed at a loss for words.
The Dryad Elder turned to me. Her hands were still trembling, not from fear this time, but from overwhelming relief. She bowed low—a gesture of respect I had never seen a Dryad give to a human.
"Dhou hast saved us," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "Our home... our lives... we are eternally in dhy debt, Darya."
Well, the thing is, I was the one who started it…But I will take that…
I looked at her, then back up at the colossal flower.
To them, it was a miracle. To me? I squinted at the glowing golden dust falling from the petals. It smelled sweet—like honey mixed with vanilla and ozone.
In the previous world, I was always curious about pollen coffee. I never taste it, even make it.
"If you really want to repay me," I said, "Can I have some of that?"
I pointed to a pool of golden nectar gathering in the hollow of a massive leaf nearby.
The Elder blinked, confused by my sudden shift in priority. "'Tis but a byproduct..."
"I don't know that you said that. You are a dryad. Why do you call it its byproduct? Every part of a plant isn't a byproduct."
I looked at Varania, who was still on the air. "HEI! Can you grab some of those?"
"ARE YOU ORDERING ME, DARYA?" Varania seemed taken aback by my request.
"No, I am requesting you…Just take some of those and bring them over here."
Varania nodded, her wings shimmering in the sunlight as she flew over to the pool of golden nectar and carefully collected some in a small vial.
As she touched her feet to the ground, she handed me the vial.
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT?"
"Put some of it in my coffee!"
The Elder was surprised. "Dhy wants to put the life essences of plants into a drink? "
"Yeah…"
I saw that she was disturbed by putting the life essence of plants into my drink, as if I were murdering somebody.
"Nature being created surely has a purpose. Everything that is being created has a purpose. What I did is like a bee. As Varania took some of these, she was helping the plant with the cycle, the reproductive cycle…And the plant will have a new li—
"Hold on a second!" Orla cut my sentences off. "What do you mean by reproductive cycle?" She was surprised.
I looked around; everyone was surprised, even Muranu in the holographic screen.
"YEAH, AND WHY DID I DO THE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE? DO I HAVE A … " Varania stumbled. WITH A PLANT? "
"NO!" I interrupted. "You didn't have… relations with the forest. You were the vector."
THE VICTOR? " Varania puffed out her chest, looking proud. "YES! I AM ALWAYS WITH THE VICTOR!"
"VECTOR…V-E-C-T-O-R," I corrected. "Like a bee or the wind. You carried the energy that triggered the release. You didn't actually mate with it; you just helped the flower release its… material so it could create seeds."
"OH." She blinked. "I THOUGHT SOMEHOW I DO WITH THE PLANTS LIKE THESE PLANT LOVERS…SO AM JUST LIKE A BEE?"
"Yes, a very loud, fire-breathing bee," I nodded.
"Darya," Orla asked slowly, her face turning a bright, scandalized red. She pointed a trembling finger at the glowing golden vial in my hand. "Go back to the 'material' part. You said you want to put that... in your coffee?"
"Yes," I said, swirling the glowing dust. "It's high in protein."
"But... what exactly is inside that vial?" Orla pressed, looking like she was praying for a specific answer and fearing another.
"Biologically speaking?" I held it up to the light. "Well, since we just forced the forest into a blooming phase, this is the powder produced by the stamen."
I gestured vaguely to the biological process. "This is the male gametophyte of a seed plant. Essentially... it is highly concentrated, magical plant sperm."
The silence on the giant tree branch was deafening.
Orla froze. Her jaw dropped. She looked at the vial, then at me, looking like she wanted to faint.
"You..." She stammered, covering her mouth. "You are going to put reproductive material in the coffee? That is... that is..."
"Indecent!" Orla shriek.
"Oh my," a smooth, amused voice cut in.
Chis covered her mouth with her hand, her red eyes dancing with joy. She wasn't disgusted at all; she looked absolutely delighted by Orla's reaction.
"So Darya has a wild side?" Chis teased, leaning against the tree trunk. "And here I thought humans were prudish. But come on, Orla, you're behaving like a young woman who just saw an angel. It's just nature, isn't it?"
"IT IS NOT JUST NATURE!" Orla argued, her face burning. "IT IS... FLUIDS! IT IS IMPROPER FOR CONSUMPTION!"
Chis smirked, flashing a small fang. "Compared to that, a little plant dust is practically a salad. Don't be such a delicate flower."
"I AM NOT A FLOWER!" Orla yelled.
"Indecent?" The Dryad Elder frowned, looking offended on behalf of the tree. "It is the Sacred Dust of Life! It is the purest essence of creation!"
"It is plant jizz, Elder," Chis corrected helpfully, clearly enjoying the chaos.
"I know not this word 'jizz'," the Elder said, tilting her head innocently. "But 'tis the seed that brings forth the future. Why dost the human recoil from the miracle of life?"
"You don't know if you don't try it first," I said.
"I DON'T WANT TO TRY IT!" Orla screamed, her voice cracking.
"HAH!" Varania laughed, the sound booming like thunder and shaking the branch we stood on. "THE HUMAN IS SCARED OF DUST! HOW WEAK!"
"It is not dust; it is principle!" Orla shouted back, though she retreated behind the Elder for safety.
"Perfect." I patted my pocket, ignoring the bickering and securing the vial. "Now we are even."
I looked at the Elder. "Can we go back?"
The Elder smiled—a genuine, weary smile. She raised her staff one last time.
"As dhou wish."
She slammed the staff down.
THUD.
The wind died. The scent of ozone and flowers vanished. The bone-chilling cold was replaced by the warmth of a fireplace and the scent of roasted beans.
We were back.
The familiar smell of old wood filled my lungs. I was standing behind the counter, exactly where I belonged.
"Well," I said, "That was a chaotic day."