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I feel them before I hear them. Being a dryad means being in tune with all the living things you watch over. Their energy is high, and they’re disturbing animals and plants alike with their presence. I pull myself out of the hole in my home oak and set off in the direction of the disturbance. As I near the tree line that borders the country road, I make out two young people, one vampiric, both magicians. They’re both very agitated, and I sense I’m going to have a busy day tomorrow putting to rights whatever damage they’re sure to cause during their visit. But why are they here? The tall, light-skinned vampire magician is walking deeper into the forest, while the shorter, more frantic boy chases after him, leaking copious amounts of smoky magic. Smoke is a bad omen. Smoke equals destruction in a forest like this, even during the wet season.
I keep my distance and try to determine their motive. The tall one is clearly in emotional distress, and the frantic one seems to have no idea how to address the situation. Humans are so bad at emotions. Greedy things. They have just reached the fairy ring when all of a sudden, the vampire stops, slides a thin stick from his sleeve, and lights the trees around him on fire! I wince as I feel the pain and panic of the tall pines around him.
I have seen a few suicide attempts in my day - creatures seem to favor the darkness of my forest for these unfortunate acts - but this one is certainly the most dramatic. I’ve learned enough about vampires to know that they avoid fire at all costs, presumably because they are far more susceptible to burning than pine trees. The smoking magician seems hardly bothered by the flames that have now begun to climb the trunks around him. He follows the first boy to the ground and gets right up in his face, despite the vampiric nature of his companion. Perhaps they both have a death wish. I sincerely hope they don’t die here. Freshly released spirits are a pain to contend with.
I climb a nearby tree to see above the rising flames, and when I look back down into the circle, these two crazy creatures are lip-locked in what is probably the most passionate kiss I have ever witnessed. This can’t last very long if they don’t do something about the flames. The vampire must have the same thought, because he pulls back and attempts to spell away the fire, but it’s no use. Another thing humans are terrible at is cleaning up their messes. He pauses, then tries a second time, and suddenly every flame is snuffed out at once by the most powerful spell I’ve ever felt. I shiver and cling to my branch, hoping more fervently that these invaders will leave soon. If they can do things like that, who knows what else they’re capable of?
Leaving does not seem to be their first priority, however. They have returned to kissing passionately, with not a care in the world for the destruction around them. Eleven tree trunks are blackened, and the forest floor is dusted with ash. I sigh. How inconsiderate, not that I expected anything different from the likes of these two. I climb back down and make my way to a nearby resting spot where I can relax without leaving them entirely unsupervised. I curl up in a bed of leaves and close my eyes to rest.
I must drift off because the next thing I know, I jerk awake to another wave of strong magic wafting through the trees. I know immediately that one of my deer is in danger. I flit quickly through the trees towards where I left the boys, but they’re not there. By the time I find them, it’s too late. The vampire has killed and is now draining a beautiful doe. I consider revealing myself and kicking them out of the forest, but I stop myself and take a deep breath. Predators will visit my forest, and as much as I hate watching creatures die, it is not my place to interrupt the natural order of things.
The two boys depart soon after, much calmer than when they arrived. I trail them to the road and watch them climb into their robot vehicle. As the noise of their presence fades into the distance, I sigh in relief and return to my realm to clean up their mess. The faeries are going to have something to say about all the ash in their ring, and the deer population will be in mourning for at least a week. Despite all this, I do hope that those two lost boys find a way to love each other, and that it keeps them from destroying other forests in the future.