After that storm (which I still say was big despite all of Tide's insisting otherwise), I grudgingly chose calm water. Chattering teeth were easier to deal with. Tide did her best to distract me as the days pa.s.sed. Then at last….

"We should reach Laurel's woods by nightfall," Tide called out to me as she appeared above the water. Her voice was nervous. My guess, she was concerned about trying to meet Laurel again. Her previous experiences had never ended well, at least those that I was aware of. Looking at her now, trying to set her nerves aside as she stared at the horizon, I was amazed at how dedicated she was to wanting to be Laurel's friend. She had put up with so many eons of rejection. I did not know how old Laurel was, but I knew that she would still think of me as young and I was approaching 1,000 millennia old.

"That will be good," I said, thinking about getting my feet back on the ground. Having Tide take me here was definitely faster, but those waves were horrible and she said they would be even worse on the way back. I quivered just remembering the first three days before we reached the current. I couldn't even bring myself to think about the storm. I think I will be walking home, I said to myself. But how was I going to tell Tide this? We had become friends during this trip and I knew she would want to help me get home. Turning down her help, I was afraid, would cause her to crumble…. Water doesn't crumble…. Freeze? However I would do it, I needed to wait until I was on dry ground. Her waves always got worse when she was upset.

I put that thought away for now. There was enough to deal with already. I was getting anxious as we approached the woods. The closer we got the worse my nerves grew. I could tell Tide was feeling the same way, no, probably worse than I was. Her waves had been steadily growing all day. "It really will be alright. I will make sure of it," I tried to comfort her. Tide only managed a stiff nod.

We continued in silence, both of us watching the horizon. I was relieved when I could finally feel the forest, but that did not last. "There is something wrong!" Tide called me out of my meditation.

"What is it?" I could not help but ask the obvious question, as I spread my powers further.

"Fire!" Tide responded with a stern voice.

These words shook me at first. Fire brought so much destruction and could even wipe out whole species. But I took a breath and thought back to my time in Laurel's woods. "I would not worry about it too much. Fire is something that Laurel's wood needs to be healthy," I said to Tide, but I had to admit to myself that part of it was to me.

"Fire, yes," Tide said, her face not relaxing at all. "I feel them many times as I pa.s.s her woods, but not a fire spirit. This is a greater spirit even." What? Why was there a greater fire spirit in her woods? I only managed to get this thought formed before a wave crashed over me.

"What are you doing?" I tried to ask while sputtering water out of my mouth.

"We need to get there as quick as we can," was all I managed to hear over the sound of the waves and the feeling of sickness that rushed over me. Though the more I thought about it, her words seemed to come through the waves and not over them. How could she make something so turbulent bend to her controlled will at the same time?

After what felt like an eternity I felt myself crash into something hard. "Come on, get up, we have to hurry," Tide said, dragging me onto dry ground.

The feeling of ground under me woke me from my seasick stupor. I immediately dug my roots into the sand, relis.h.i.+ng in the stability it gave me. A sharp tug on my branches quickly pulled me out of the ground and a wave of spiritual energy shot through me, forcing me back into my normal form. Though the dress was missing. Tide must have interrupted my spiritual energy long enough to force me to change into my natural form. I wanted to be impressed by this, but I did not have time to comment as Tide started pulling me along. "We need to hurry!"

Getting my feet back under me, I did my best not to be pulled over by Tide as she ran up the beach. After stumbling a few steps she slowed and looked at me. "Cocoa? Are you alright?" Her face was full of concern.

Taking a deep breath to try and recenter myself, I straightened up and said, "Those waves were hard for me."

"Here, let me help you until you feel better." She grabbed my arm with the strength only a greater spirit could muster. Before I could respond she plunged into the woods. But it was sad to say even in the forest a dryad was not as fast as a nayad. With the plant's help, I was still struggling to keep up. It hurt, emotionally, to count the number of times that I had to rely on Tide's grip to keep me from toppling.

We were a few hundred strides into the woods by the time I was able to fully process everything that had just happened. Why would a fire spirit be here? I sent out my powers searching the woods (manners can wait till later). And there she was. I 'saw' the fire spirit just sitting in a barely smoldering fire that looked like it would go out with the slightest rain. If it was not for what I saw over the rest of the forest I would not have been worried at all.

But looking further, what I saw caused me to be caught by Tide once again. There were great swaths of the forest that had been burnt to nothing. Even the soil was devoid of life. It was all killed off by the heat of the flames. Through my powers those areas just looked completely blank. There was no spiritual energy moving or life present. This had gone far past what would be considered healthy for Laurel's woods. It would take generations of trees to restore what was lost. I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face. These woods were hurting. Why would any spirit do this?

I continued searching the woods as we ran. I could feel Laurel's power way off in the distance. If I did not know it so well I might not have even felt it. Why would Laurel have let this spirit burn so much of her home? The answer to that question would have to wait as we were already nearing the fire spirit.

"Laurel's woods were so grand. How could this have happened?" Tide's words echoed my own thoughts. "I can't let that fire spirit get away with this." I could feel Tide's anger growing in the pressure she put on my arm, pulling me through the forest at a greater pace with every stride.