was special.
I strode into camp, realizing how little had changed in the few days I had been gone. Other than the leaves on the ground it looked just like it had before I left. These woods looked the same as they had every year for the past hundred years.
Studying the lovely trees, with houses hollowed out of their trunks, my thoughts solidified. In the last hundred years, nothing had changed. The houses and residents were the same. As a race, we had only had enough children to replace the ones who had died. As a people, we were stagnant. We hadn't changed significantly in the past thousand years. If we weren't so long lived, the race would have collapsed.
I had always considered myself an intelligent man, but for such an intelligent man, I felt rather stupid. Why had we thought the world's changes wouldn't affect us? We used our magic to encourage trees to grow so we could live in them, at peace with nature, but nature was disappearing in many places.
I walked into my small house, still remembering when I had moved out of the tree I had grown for Sylvia and myself. I'd wanted to stay, but every moment in those walls became a reminder of what I'd lost. This dwelling was small, and didn't bring up a single memory.
Everything was still in its place. The small bed was neatly made, with the bookshelves rising around it. Beneath the window, opposite the bed, was a small reading area with two chairs on either side of a round table. There was a small area, behind the front door, where I could cook.
I peered out the window, checking on the seedlings I had planted; they were in good health. Looking at them, I had inspiration for a new project or two. Walking outside, I took stock of the plants, needing something special. There was one that would work, and be willing to work, for my current need.
After cleaning a shallow pot from behind the house, I filled the bottom with all the right things for this little evergreen before coaxing it out of the ground and into its new soil. As soon as it was settled, I talked to it. This took time. Trees, even young excited ones, don't communicate on the same scale that most people do. Hours later, I was sure it understood what I wanted and would grow with minimum fuss.
Michelle
I fished my phone out of my pocket. "Oaks Consulting." I was terrified that this would be bad news. I really didn't want any more of that. I'd been making the rounds with the Cobb and Cherokee police since eight, but had been in the station at seven. In the ten houses the police had scouted I hadn't sensed anything more dangerous than a pot that prevents over-boiling, but we weren't finished yet.
"It's Jones."
"Hey, how's the map working?" He sounded amused, which could be good, but I had a feeling it wasn't.
"Oh, it's working. It's working a little bit too well. I don't know how much trolls and humans have in common, but the whole thing is lit up like a population density map."
"Clearly, I need to work on the parameters. Could it wait until tomorrow? I'm doing an all-day thing down here in Cherokee. I could be there at eight." I didn't want to search more houses, possibly clean up whatever was down here, and then drive over to Forsyth.
"The department will spring for a hotel, or have someone bring you, but they want this done today."
Sighing, I answered, "I can't blame them. Send the driver; I can sleep on one of the cots in the precinct. They get the best of both worlds, they only need to drive me and I'll be there tomorrow to fix anything else that goes wrong."
"Done."
"You were hoping I'd say that, weren't you?"
"Yup. Bye, Michelle." The man had sounded entirely too smug, but he knew I was dedicated to my job.
"Are you ready?" Jerry asked.
"Sure." I closed the car door and waited for the parade to get moving. The road, or lack of one, made me grab the door handle and seat, clutching my kit between my ankles. "How do people find these places?"
He navigated through a tricky part of the road
I strode into camp, realizing how little had changed in the few days I had been gone. Other than the leaves on the ground it looked just like it had before I left. These woods looked the same as they had every year for the past hundred years.
Studying the lovely trees, with houses hollowed out of their trunks, my thoughts solidified. In the last hundred years, nothing had changed. The houses and residents were the same. As a race, we had only had enough children to replace the ones who had died. As a people, we were stagnant. We hadn't changed significantly in the past thousand years. If we weren't so long lived, the race would have collapsed.
I had always considered myself an intelligent man, but for such an intelligent man, I felt rather stupid. Why had we thought the world's changes wouldn't affect us? We used our magic to encourage trees to grow so we could live in them, at peace with nature, but nature was disappearing in many places.
I walked into my small house, still remembering when I had moved out of the tree I had grown for Sylvia and myself. I'd wanted to stay, but every moment in those walls became a reminder of what I'd lost. This dwelling was small, and didn't bring up a single memory.
Everything was still in its place. The small bed was neatly made, with the bookshelves rising around it. Beneath the window, opposite the bed, was a small reading area with two chairs on either side of a round table. There was a small area, behind the front door, where I could cook.
I peered out the window, checking on the seedlings I had planted; they were in good health. Looking at them, I had inspiration for a new project or two. Walking outside, I took stock of the plants, needing something special. There was one that would work, and be willing to work, for my current need.
After cleaning a shallow pot from behind the house, I filled the bottom with all the right things for this little evergreen before coaxing it out of the ground and into its new soil. As soon as it was settled, I talked to it. This took time. Trees, even young excited ones, don't communicate on the same scale that most people do. Hours later, I was sure it understood what I wanted and would grow with minimum fuss.
Michelle
I fished my phone out of my pocket. "Oaks Consulting." I was terrified that this would be bad news. I really didn't want any more of that. I'd been making the rounds with the Cobb and Cherokee police since eight, but had been in the station at seven. In the ten houses the police had scouted I hadn't sensed anything more dangerous than a pot that prevents over-boiling, but we weren't finished yet.
"It's Jones."
"Hey, how's the map working?" He sounded amused, which could be good, but I had a feeling it wasn't.
"Oh, it's working. It's working a little bit too well. I don't know how much trolls and humans have in common, but the whole thing is lit up like a population density map."
"Clearly, I need to work on the parameters. Could it wait until tomorrow? I'm doing an all-day thing down here in Cherokee. I could be there at eight." I didn't want to search more houses, possibly clean up whatever was down here, and then drive over to Forsyth.
"The department will spring for a hotel, or have someone bring you, but they want this done today."
Sighing, I answered, "I can't blame them. Send the driver; I can sleep on one of the cots in the precinct. They get the best of both worlds, they only need to drive me and I'll be there tomorrow to fix anything else that goes wrong."
"Done."
"You were hoping I'd say that, weren't you?"
"Yup. Bye, Michelle." The man had sounded entirely too smug, but he knew I was dedicated to my job.
"Are you ready?" Jerry asked.
"Sure." I closed the car door and waited for the parade to get moving. The road, or lack of one, made me grab the door handle and seat, clutching my kit between my ankles. "How do people find these places?"
He navigated through a tricky part of the road
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