Arialla noted Peter's embarrassment and gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. She didn't mind talking about home -- sometimes it made her sad, but other times it felt like the only way to keep her home alive in her mind.
"I never actually saw one, but everyone knew a friend of a friend who'd gotten cursed by one for carving their name into a tree or cutting one down without leaving the proper offerings to appease them." It never really occurred to Arialla to be skeptical of her homeland's legends, to wonder if some of them were simply tales -- not after she'd personally met one of their gods. "Let's see, if I recall correctly ... There were dryads, spirits of a single tree, and hamadryads, who embodied an entire grove. Then you had naiads in the rivers and springs, river gods, and Nereids, nymphs of the sea ... We didn't necessarily refer to such things as 'magic' at home; they were simply part of the natural world."
Trying to reciprocate his interest, she added, "Stone trees? I've never heard of such a thing."
please don't take my sunshine away
