Mandroot and I had spent a significant amount of time strolling through the garden, which had a calming effect on him. He spent most of the time babbling on about the peculiar characteristics of certain flowers, such as the hydrangea that only attracted bees with an odd number of stripes or the chrysanthemum that "pouted" when it rained. It was clear to me that these details would escape anyone who was not as familiar with nature as he was.

Despite our limited time together, I was determined to talk with him about Kii, just in case. After a long moment of silence, I finally found my chance.

"So, if dryads can communicate through their aromas, does that mean if you are close enough, you can essentially sense each other?" I inquired.

Mandroot hesitated for a moment, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"... Yes," he eventually answered, turning his gaze to the forest's edge just a short distance away, "A-A-are you asking b-because of the g-g-g-g-girl out there?"

Perceptive little guy.

I nodded. "You'd be correct. I met her a few days ago and wondered if you guys might want to meet."

"No!" Mandroot yelped, causing me to jump from surprise. His eyes widened, and he raised his hands to his mouth before looking down. "S-S-Sorry! It's j-just... I f-f-f-felt so much... hate coming from her a-and it s-s-scared me so much, and I didn't like it, and it was so much and I even t-t-t-t-tried to h-hide from her and...."

"It's alright," I reassured him, trying to soothe his mini-panic attack. I was filled with regret for not having realized how deeply dryads were affected by the moods of others. It was a valuable lesson to learn, and it made me understand why dryads were considered one of the more delicate liminal species despite their strong magical abilities. "I'm sorry for bringing it up; I should have been more aware..."

Mandroot shook his head. "N-No, it's... okay. It w-w-was just... more e-emotion than I'm u-used to." He shifted a bit where he lay in the dirt. "H-How did you know about h-h-her?"

"I, uh, ran into her a few days ago," I answered, finding myself scratching at the scar on my left shoulder, "You're right about her having... issues, but that was fixed. Kinda."

"K-Kinda?"

I groaned, squatting beside him and wondering how much I should tell him.

"She... ended up getting hurt by some bad people." Who remained anonymous, frustratingly enough, which is still a damn shame. "It made her lose control, and we had to knock her out to heal her. She's fine now," I told him, cutting off the coming question, "But she's still... unhappy."

"I c-c-can t-tell that much," Mandroot spoke softly, looking back at the forest, "She's n-not as upset as before, but... th-there's still b-b-bitterness."

"You can tell that much just from her aroma?" I asked, impressed, "And from so far away?"

"Oh, it's not m-m-me being g-g-g-good!" Mandroot hurriedly said, waving his hands to dissuade me, "W-We can h-h-hold back if we w-w-w-want. I u-usually do. Sh-She... doesn't."

"Gotcha." I was learning more and more about mandragora and dryads, but none was from the Cultural Exchange. People over there must be doing something wrong! "So you don't want to meet her? She's only mad at humans, but she'd be pleased to see a dryad like you. Plus, she's pretty cute, too," I winked at him.

"Eh?" Mandroot blinked at me, his mouth slightly gaping before he blushed fiercely, "O-O-Oh, c-c-c-c-c-cute? Um, that is." He cleared his throat. "Well, m-maybe it'd be n-n-nice to s-s-s-speak to h-h-her... but just 'cause we're both d-d-dryads d-d-d-doesn't mean we'll get along...."

He was undoubtedly correct. It would be absurd to assume they would become close friends because they were both dryads. It would be like expecting me to be friends with another American simply because we share the same nationality. I wouldn't try to force a friendship, particularly since Mandroot would likely become even more withdrawn if I did.

That being said, I believed that Mandroot and Kii would benefit from being aware of each other's presence. I didn't think Kii would reject him, and having someone with a calmer disposition around would help to keep any violent tendencies in check. I also felt that Mandroot needed someone to talk to, as I couldn't always be around, and neither could Lala. Furthermore, there seemed to be a rift between him and Oosawa which made it difficult for Mandroot to open up. Thus, Kii was the perfect candidate; she was close by and easy to talk to. Although I had no idea how things would turn out, I hoped they could help one another.

"You never know until you know, you know?" I smiled, "No reason not to give it a shot."

Mandroot was still, his calloused hand hovering just above his beloved chrysanthemums. The white blooms approached him, their petals fluttering along his weathered skin. He seemed as if he could stay in that position forever, as if right here, right now, in this garden, was where he truly belonged. It was a feeling that was hard to put into words.

Eventually, it ended. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and he let out a soft sigh.

"I'll give it a go," Mandroot uttered as a balmy gust of wind wafted between us. His coconut-hued eyes looked fearful, apprehensive, yet hopeful as they gazed toward the forest. "What's her name?"

No stuttering, eh?

"Kii," I told him. He nodded.

"Kii," he breathed. "Okay."

Mandroot closed his eyes and sighed, his portly body swaying gently with the wind. A crown of leaves atop his head waved toward the forest. He began to hum a soft melody, and as he did so, tiny yellow specks, almost too faint to be seen, seemed to drift from him and away into the west, fading into the wooded darkness.

It was astounding to watch the dryads communicate with one another, and I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding. Liminals were wondrous creatures, and the thought that humans were now openly sharing the Earth with beings that could do the impossible, be the impossible, and were accepted as part of everyday life was truly remarkable. The sheer possibilities that this opened for the future were mind-boggling.

"She's talking to me."

Mandroot's sharp words jolted me out of my daydreaming. He was grinning yet still gently swaying. I thought I saw tiny green particles drifting from the woods, heading our way.

I couldn't help but grin widely, my face stretching in delight. His joy was so palpable that it was almost contagious. With an enthusiastic sigh, I rose and brushed off my soiled trousers.

"Are you gonna be good?" I asked him. After a moment, he peeked an eye open to look up at me and nodded.

"Y-Yes," Mandroot answered, "I think... w-w-we'll just t-t-talk a bit. S-S-See you soon?"

It was my turn to nod. "Absolutely," I said warmly, "I'll have my people call your people."

He chuckled softly at that. "O-O-Okay. Bye-bye, Aki."

"See you later, Mandroot."

Without another thought, I turned back towards the house, stealing one last glance at him as I did. To my shock, there was Zombina, standing at the door with her arms crossed, as if she had been observing us the entire time. Had she been there all along?

"Hey," she greeted, looking at me thoughtfully, "How do ya do it?"

"Do what?"

"That!" She gestured back the way I came. "Talk with people an' get 'em to open up so easily. That kid was good as mute before ya came along. Now look at 'em!"

I scratched the back of my neck and shrugged. "I understand how shy people feel, I think. There's no one-size-fits-all strategy for dealing with it, at least not for me. It took some getting used to the stuttering, but in the end, I just talked. I'm not sure what kind of answer you're expecting here."

"Hell, maybe I don't neither," Zombina sighed, already walking down the hallway, "Just ignore the brain-dead zombie, I guess."

Um. Where is this coming from so suddenly?

"Hey, Bina," I said quietly, hurrying over to her as I caught sight of Oosawa in the kitchen. Her yellow and green eyes quickly met mine before she looked away. "What's up?"

"Forget it," she replied, jerking her head to the kitchen, "Don't ya gotta do yer job?"

I furrowed my brows, perplexed by the strange behavior. She usually wasn't so dramatic, but that didn't mean I could expect her always to remain the same. I had some ideas as to what might be going on, but I had to prioritize my other tasks first and investigate those possibilities later.

Still, I rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle yet reassuring squeeze before releasing it and walking ahead. I hoped that my gesture would convey some comfort and understanding to her.

"Ah, Bando-san," Oosawa said, genially smiling as I walked into the kitchen. "How was it?"

"It went well," I told her, happily accepting the cup of tea. Glancing back, I saw Zombina hadn't followed me, which I tried to ignore. Putting on a cheerful smile, I returned to Oosawa and said, "He was much more talkative this time, and that's definitely due to his friend's visit."

"Oh, that's so good to hear!" she replied, clasping her hands in delight, "Did you dearies get to talk more, then?"

I nodded. "Yup. We talked a bit about his home, walked around the garden, and now he's speaking with a dryad that lives nearby."

Oosawa tilted her head curiously. Right, maybe I should explain that last bit more.

"Dryads and mandragora communicate by releasing unique pheromones," I further explained, "It's not conventional speaking, but more like a kind of natural WiFi connection that they can tap into without any external equipment."

Saying it that way made me think more about collective intelligence or telepathy, which didn't seem to be the case. Thankfully, Oosawa seemed to understand the concept quite well.

"I see," she murmured, nodding, "Well, it must be good for him to talk with someone similar to him, yes?"

"That was my thinking."

She nodded again; her smile tinged with a hint of sadness. "That's wonderful news," Oosawa said, "But it would be even better if we could talk occasionally."

"Why do you think it's hard for him to talk with you?" I asked.

She seemed taken aback by the question, yet she quickly regained her composure. "I'm not certain," she confessed, absentmindedly rubbing her chin, "I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong..."

I sipped my tea as I mulled that over. It was easy for him to talk with me, so why not a kindly old lady like Oosawa?

"Have you stopped trying? To talk with him, that is."

"I... haven't, as much, this last week," Oosawa answered, looking out the window, "Though I can't for the life of me think of a good reason why."

"I suggest that you keep trying," I said. "I think he's gradually getting used to being here. It's all unfamiliar, so he may need more time to adapt. Fortunately, his friend's visit was a great help. If it helps, why don't you ask him about the flowers, particularly the chrysanthemums? He seems to have a particular fondness for them."

Oosawa's smile returned, thankfully, in a way that felt less forced.

"I definitely will," she assured me, "Thank you so much, Bando-san. I'm so glad I asked the Exchange for your assistance. Not many people would be so patient and understanding with an elderly woman's issues."

"You're very welcome, Oosawa-san," I said as I finished my tea. "Thank you again for providing me with this tea. When would you like me to come over again? I'm available any day of the week, so just let me know when works best for you."

"Mm, today's Saturday, yes? Then... how does Thursday at the same time sound?"

"Sounds good to me," I nodded, "Well, I think I'll be off then. Need anything else?"

She shook her head. "That'll be all, dearie. You take care now."

"Will do."

At that, Zombina and I left. Our car hadn't arrived yet, but it would be there shortly, so there was no point in contacting the driver. We stood in an uncomfortable silence until I could no longer bear it.

"There's this one clothes place downtown that Miia always raves about," I started conversationally, "We should check it out."

Zombina grunted.

"Ooh, maybe they got a hoodie like I had back home. Grey and super fuzzy on the inside, real cozy. Had these two useless straps on the shoulders for some reason."

Another grunt.

"Hopefully, they got some dark jeans, too. My main pair got ruined after the debacle with Kii. And isn't there some festival coming up? Maybe I should look into getting some tradish formal Japanese clothes for it. The weeb in me has always wanted to try out a yukata, or whatever it's called."

"... 'Tradish'?"

Victory!

"Yeah," I said confidently, "tradish, Traditional. Let's cut out the extra syllables for simplicity's sake, do you agree?"

She gave me a strange gaze before I realized her lips twitched into a smile. Soon after, her face was illuminated with a wide grin, and her head shook with a light chuckle. The sound of her laughter was like a beautiful melody to my ears.

"You and yer fuckin' weird words," Zombina snorted, resting her hands on her hips, "I dunno where you keep pullin' 'em out from...."

"I'm proud to be one of the leading pioneers in developing the trendiest language and most creative catchphrases for the coolest people in my dimension," I said, puffing out my chest with pride.

Zombina let out a hearty laugh in response. Her body had completely relaxed, and a contagious smile had spread across her lips. Our eyes met momentarily, and she playfully blew a strand of red hair away from her face. She then turned her gaze toward the approaching car.

"Weirdo," she said affectionately.

"Cougar," I replied in the same tone.

To be continued...