"This stick figure has round hair and is shorter than the other stick figures. Maybe this is supposed to be Merumeru." Fufi pointed a wing at one part of the tablet with a bunch of stick figures that had smiles on their faces. "Or maybe not..."

  Bob chewed a carrot and stared at the tablet. "Hmm, first off, thanks for the new set of clothing Alex. Also, I have no idea what these chicken scratches mean."

  Martha chided her husband, "Dear don't speak with your mouth full please."

  Alex looked down at the table and away from everyone. "I swear, we should change that girl's name to Ramona. She is always running off and getting into trouble."

  "Ramona? Is that some kind of inside joke Alex?" Fufi clucked the nymph.

  "Yeah, it is a series of children's books. Anyway, what do you think of these two rectangles of different sizes with feet...I think they might be feet sticking out of it?" Alex pointed at one of the images.

  "It almost looks like a squat table. What would feet sticking out of a table mean?" Martha asked.

  "I dunno," Alex looked over the tablet again.

  "If that is a table, then why is there another one on the opposite side of the drawing that has a head sticking out of it? This makes no sense at all." Fufi turned her head upside down to look at the note.

  "I'm pretty sure those are just squiggly lines." Martha pointed at something on the bottom left corner. "But this seems important." She pointed to a small section in the middle. "There are the same number of stick figures as us. So at least I think that means she isn't leaving for good."

  Alex and Bob nodded in agreement. They were worried about the possibility of losing Merumeru, as her presence had proven invaluable to the team. In the three weeks since Alex's arrival on Terre, the petite slime girl had outshone everyone else in terms of productivity and accomplishments. Her contributions were staggering, from rebuilding part of the adventurer's guild and fixing the town fountain to creating a new well for the farm. In stark contrast, Alex had initially struggled with even basic tasks like making a fire.

  "I have faith she'll be back," Alex’s tone was filled with determination.

  "So who is this person?" Fufi pointed at the rge rectangle above everything else.

  "That is just a shape. It could just be the ceiling for all we know." Alex sounded exasperated. "There is too much going on here to make any sense of it. Well one thing is for certain: if she is going to be writing notes we need to teach her some letters."

  Despite their diligent efforts, the group struggled to decipher the note left behind by Merumeru after her mysterious disappearance. They meticulously scrutinized each line, yet a definitive interpretation of its meaning remained elusive. As the night wore on, they eventually retired to their beds, their minds still grappling with the enigma.

  In the depths of the night, Alex embarked on a surreal dream journey through a mystical forest. Kaede, standing beside a figure that resembled a dryad, a captivating woman who seemed to be as much pnt as human, captured Alex's attention. In this dream, everything appeared more vibrant and lucid than ever before. The aspen-filled grove served as a sanctuary for several nymphs, including the bark-skinned woman. Her curly hair resembled the leaves of aspen trees, and her skin was as pale and smooth as the bark itself. Although they had never met, Alex intuitively knew her name: Sakura, the enigmatic mistress of these enchanted forests.

  "My child, why won't you come to me? I will relieve you of your doubts, your burdens. We share the same goals after all." The dryad's voice flowed through the grove like the rustling of thousands of leaves.

  Within the ethereal dream, Alex emerged as a nymph, her body adorned entirely with vibrant, living pnts that served as her attire. As Sakura, the dryad who governed the entire forest, stood alongside her fellow nymphs, a profound silence descended upon them. This silence induced a state of paralysis, yet Alex's consciousness remained fully awake. She yearned to respond to Sakura, but found herself unable to utter a single word. The weight of the dryad's authority forbade a newborn nymph like Alex from speaking out against her mistress. As the dream reached its conclusion, Alex awoke with a sense of unease, the lingering silence still echoing within her mind.

  The next day the group tried to address the elephant in the room at breakfast. Bob wore his new outfit. It fit him well.

  "Ladies," Bob tried to break the ice. "We've been searching the woods around here for days and haven't seen much. Well, there was a rge rock flying through the air that crashed into some nearby trees but I'm not sure that is reted. Anyway, none of us are scout csses and I'm not sure even with Fufi looking from the air we are going to do much more than waste time. You and your friends are welcome to stay here with us and help out around the farm but Martha can't tend to the pce by herself. We really need to get back to doing farming stuff." He finished talking in a serious tone.

  "A nymph can't go too far from her tree. For the time being Alex has to remain in the forest." Fufi stated pinly.

  Alex mustered up the courage to speak up, "Also, I think that Kaede isn't who is in charge. The nymphs of the woods are ruled by mistress Sa.." Alex didn't mean to say the mistress part. "Mistress Saaaa," Alex tried again. "The dryad of the aspen grove is the caretaker of this pce." Alex sounded a bit shaken that saying Sakura without adding ‘mistress’ before the name was impossible.

  Alex and Fufi looked at each other. "Just say it how it comes out Alex. I think this is making more sense now." The bird urged.

  "Mistress Sakura." Alex murmured, looking defeated, eyes downcast.

  Fufi let out a sigh, "Alex, why would you add mistress to her name? Wait, you can't say her name without adding mistress before saying it can you?"

  The apple-leaf-haired nymph nodded.

  "Ugh, that is not a good sign. We might have no choice but to go and seek this Sakura out. Maybe she is the magical girl in the forest. Though I wonder where her familiar is? Fmingos are sociall." Fufi turned and faced Bob. "I suppose that it might be better for you and Martha to sit this one out. Things might get a little dangerous. Sakura's able to slowly overcome Alex's resistance while in her domain. However, leaving the forest isn't possible because the apple tree is here."

  "Can you repnt the tree?" Bob asked.

  Fufi shook her head. "Yes but like all pnts uprooting them is a big risk. Also, where would we pnt it? The best nd is in the forest and the farther out areas are wastend where the soil is tainted with demonic miasma. We could find a spot maybe but it would take weeks to get there traveling by cart."

  "I guess that leaves us with two choices. Either we stay here and hope for the best or go ask her nicely to release Alex," Martha said.

  "We should go ask." Alex sounded determined. "If I stay here I might bring trouble for everyone. If she is also a magical girl then maybe this is just a misunderstanding? Besides, somehow I think I might be able to find her. Maybe it is just me losing my mind but the forest I get a feeling from it. I don't know how to expin it." Alex pointed in a direction. "It is like I am supposed to go that way to find… mistress Sakura." The st pair of words came out like a choke.

  "Is trusting in dreams and feeling the pn?" Bob asked, looking confused. "I don't like it but I'm just a farmer."

  "I believe I can sense her now after seeing that dryad in my dream st night." Alex sounded unsure though.

  "Well, if Kaede can navigate the forest with no tracks left behind they maybe Alex can find her or this Sakura. Though I would suggest waiting for Merumeru to get back before leaving. She's very helpful." Martha suggested.

  "Alex, let's get the cart ready to head out. We shouldn't need supplies for more than a day or two I hope." Fufi offered, then looked to Bob and Martha for approval.

  "That's fine, nature's been good to us here. We have more than enough to share." Martha spoke.

  Bob nodded in approval.

  As the hot summer morning sun beamed down with a gentle breeze, Fufi and Alex began their preparations. Alex and Bob diligently filled water barrels, while Martha meticulously filled burp bags filled with fresh produce.

  Suddenly, noises from the chickens near the surrounding wall disrupted their work. Rushing to investigate, they discovered an unexpected sight: a diminutive slime girl garbed in a plumber's uniform descending from a rge stone pipe protruding from the ground.

  "That's so weird, that pipe just goes straight into the dirt. Who knows what that trouble maker has been up to. I'm just gd she is back though." Alex decided not to overthink it.

  Merumeru leapt at the group, her expression all sunshine and smiles. After having the pn to help Alex, the slime girl nodded with a look of determination and a simple, "Meru."

  Alex put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug. "I'm gd you're okay Merumeru."

  A group consisting of a nymph, a fmingo, and a slime girl departed from the farm, their wagon den with supplies. Bob and Martha waved goodbye as the trio wound up the cart and ventured into the woods. The distance to Sakura's grove remained uncertain. Alex, guided by intuition, pulled the cart in a direction that felt correct. Fortunately, the clockwork mechanisms made the cart easy to maneuver, as Nymph Alex's diminutive form could never have moved it alone.

  After hours of traveling through the forest, they stumbled upon a clearing where the sun was setting. The forest opened up for several miles before the trees resumed. In the distance, barely discernible against the reddening sky, stood a dense collection of aspen trees. Their branches crisscrossed, creating a natural barrier as formidable as any palisade, albeit with the distinction of being alive.

  "This must be it," Alex addressed Fufi, "How did you not notice this from the sky? It seems almost like some kind of castle built with living pnts."

  Fufi shook her head slightly and whispered something about fey magic.

  "Well, I guess I better go get changed and bring Lilypad just in case. No teasing." Alex put up a curtain and changed into the +2 cuteness dress.

  Fufi's eyes widened at the sight of Alex all dolled up. "You look fabulous Alex. Your sewing really has improved. Though the shoes could use some work. Those wooden sandals don't fit well with the outfit."

  Alex just ignored the fmingo and awkwardly stepped down with three dolls in hand. New footwear would be nice.

  "Meruuuuu!" Merumeru cheered Alex and the three dolls on.

  The trio approached the wall of trees. Alex tried knocking on one like a door. The pnts shifted and pulled apart like a curtain.

  "Let's stay close to Alex. Remember she tried to separate Alex from us before." Fufi expined to the slime girl.

  The three of them stood close together, nearly touching. Merumeru extended her hand, pointing toward Lily. Alex allowed her to hold the archer doll, which she clutched tightly and smiled happily.

  They entered Sakura's grove, surrounded by a lush carpet of green mosses. As they walked through an arch made entirely of flowers, they emerged into a clearing. To one side, a rge aviary constructed from wood and vines with sprouting leaves caught their attention.

  Two girls stood before them. One, dressed in an eborate gown entirely made from leaves and flowers, resembled Sakura from the dream but with a more formal attire. A throne of pnts, adorned with cascading vines and delicate blooms, rested behind her. The other girl, recognizable as Kaide, wore a collection of vines arranged like a maid uniform in various shades of green.

  "H-hello there," Alex spoke nervously, holding Rose and Edelweiss close , "I'm looking for… mistress Sakura?" Alex asked meekly, again choking out the ‘mistress’ part.

  Sakura smiled brightly, "Hello little Alex, you brought friends. I'm gd you accepted my invitation. After all, we share the same quest." The tone sounded polite but somehow still creepy. The dryad had a very inhuman quality about her.

  Fufi crossed her wings and gred indignantly. Her tail feathers bristled. "You must release my partner. Alex doesn't want to be a nymph."

  "Release? I don't understand. Being blessed by a forest spirit should be a great honor. My nymphs and I are reciming this nd and purging the demonic corruption. If anything this child seems more troubled than the other humans I've saved." Sakura tilted her head slightly as if she didn't know what she was being told.

  "But you are a magical girl. Where is your familiar? Why didn't she tell you that what you are doing is wrong?" Fufi spoke up, with conviction in her high pitched voice.

  "Familiar?" Kaide spoke up then looked at Sakura before looking back to Fufi. "What do you mean by familiar?" She paused for a second as if waiting for an answer.

  Sakura answered in a sing-song voice, "You mean Fumi? She was being a bit frantic the past couple days so she had to be put in time out" The dryad gestured to the Aviary. Another Fmingo who was a different shade of pink poked her neck out of the bars looking ashamed.

  "Fumi? What is going on here? No one has heard from you in so long." Fufi spoke while keeping her distance from the dryad and nymph.

  "Fumi found me when I was a young sapling. She offered me a contract and I accepted. Luna gave us the same quest all magical girls have, to defeat the demon queen." Sakura expined calmly and politely as though talking about the weather.

  Fumi shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Fufi. I know we are not supposed to make contracts with spirits but when the demon queen's army came through here Sakura was the only girl who helped me after I got injured fleeing. She is still my partner but I never expected things to turn out like this."

  "I see...well, it would seem that she made a mistake choosing you. Release Alex now please," Fufi pleaded.

  "I made no error. I am strictly adhering to the contract and the quest. It might take centuries, but like the forest, we will persevere and outst the demon queen. The demons are like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything in their path. When there's nothing left, they will perish. It seems that you, Fufi, will have to join your sister until you can calm down as well." Sakura sighed deeply. "Now, Alex, please approach me. You carry a troubled soul, and I will relieve you of your burdens. Come and sit beside me."

  Alex's body jerked involuntarily and took a step forward.

  Merumeru's face twisted into a frown. She took several steps toward Alex and grasped the nymph's hand, pulling back. "Meru!"

  melchi

  Sweet Georgia Brown

  If anyone is not familiar with the song there a link.