Side story Dríade

Dríade waited patiently for Clovek and Voras to leave and for Tarakona to be free. She desperately needed the Dragons help and didn't know how else to go about gaining it other than asking Zeldi. The two of them seemed to be inseparable.

"You know you could just ask Tarakona herself. It's not like she would say no." Madu shoulder bumped the Dryad.

"She might." Dríade growled not reacting. "And if she says no then going to the Centaur wouldn't get me anywhere. Far easier to just ask her first."

[That would be a good idea. If it wasn't blatantly obvious you needed something from me.]

"D'où viens-tu?" (Where did you come from?)  Madu jumped at Tarakona speaking into her mind. "For such a big creature you'd think she would be louder."

[I am always watching little snake. And you Dríade. You should know I can refuse even if Zeldi asks me to do something.]

Dríade winced but tried not to let it show. "Forgive me Tarakona I just couldn't take the chance that you would say no."

[Now you have my interest. What do you believe is so important that you would go through Zeldi to ask me for?]

Dríade hesitated and in doing so Madu let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh get out with it. It's not like Tarakona saying no will actually change anything, it's only going to make it take you longer."

Dríade flinched but gave in. "I need you to lend me your strength as a show of force. There are three Dryad's not far from here that are open to the idea of moving and becoming my subordinates but they have each give me a different form I need to take to them that will prove I'm on fertile soil."

[And how does my strength help in your endeavor?]

Zeldi seeing the group congregation trotted her way over to listen in.

"It would effectively skip me having to do that." Dríade explained raising her voice just a little bit so that Zeldi could hear as she approached. "If I could prove you were helping me in any way then just living around you would guarantee them that I could provide."

"What she's not saying is that you are a big creature and that alone is enough to prove she has an endless supply of fresh fertilizer even if they wouldn't use it." Madu added.

Dríade didn't outright refuse that.

"Oh what about the old house?" Zeldi asked. "Wouldn't that be good as well?"

"I've already taken what I can from it. But even then, to be a true Grove mother I need to be able to supply a proper breeding ground for Dryad's and that means a constant supply of fertilizer." Dríade explained. She knew if it came down to it she would beg anyone she had to if it ment getting this outcome. "Explaining that I'm in a pocket dimension that has constantly rich soil isn't very believe. But a Dragon."

[Ah I see. Pretending you were living off my excrement would be very believable not to mention you would be outright admitting a Dragon is protecting the surrounding land. That would be hard for some to refuse.]

"Is that normal?" Zeldi asked.

[It is not unheard of. Before I left my mother's nest I was on somewhere good terms with her Dryad. In return for protection she would clean up after her and her hatchlings. That being said the Dryad never tried to become a Grove mother as Tithalia had a habit of accidentally burning her bodies and that wasn't a good way of advocating for the position.]

"Oh I see..." Zeldi said only for a wave of nausea to hit her. Thankfully Madu noticed before she lost her footing and managed to wrap her up to avoid Zeldi hitting the ground.

Tarakona was there in an instant looking over the prone Centaur.

[Are you okay sister?]

"I'm fine." Zeldi said pushing Tarakona's snout away. "Just a bit lightheaded is all."

"Are you eating well?" Madu asked using her tail as a makeshift futon as she recovered.

"I think I'm eating twice as much as I should be." Zeldi giggled back. "Don't tell Clovek that as I'm sure he's counting exactly how long those barrels of oats will last us."

"Zeldi Ma chère. (My dear) You need to have a balanced diet when you're pregnant. One type of food will never sustain the growth of a child." Madu chastised.

"I know, but Clovek has so much on his mind that I don't want to add to it. And I'm sure he's getting some seeds right now so it should be fine." Zeldi shook her head like it was fine.

[The seeds wouldn't be ready for some time sister. You should have said something.]

Zeldi just waved her away. "I'm fine. If anything I need to drink a lot just to keep up with my milk production. So eating is part of my job as a Livestock."

Tarakona growled deep in her throat. She knew Zeldi would not head her words, the Centaur was just too cautious of everyone else for her own good.

[Then take care of yourself. Madu do you mind helping her get to bed for a nap?]

"Of course. Come on chère." The Gorgon chuckled not quite pulling Zeldi along but definitely herding her towards the house.

Once they were both out of earshot Tarakona immediately turned to Dríade as frost started to gather around her.

[You have just lost the ability to be patient with these new Dryad's. We are going to collect them right now even if that means I have to drag their trees back myself!]

Taken aback by the sudden change Dríade could only offer a nod as Tarakona knelt as close to the ground so that she could get on her back. The Dryad did not hesitate for long to take the offer however and latched herself onto one of the spikes running down Tarakona's back with her tentacles.

[Give me a direction.]

Dríade pointed towards the sunrise and only had a second to brace before Tarakona jumped into the air gaining altitude at a rapid pace.

"Not that I'm ungrateful by why the sudden shift?!" Dríade yelled over the wind.

[You Dryad's can grow anything on your trees and Zeldi is in desperate need of diversity in her diet right now. I didn't think about it because my own eggs only need meat to grow, it wasn't till Madu said something that I realized my blunder. She is right about Clovek however, he is already trying his best to compensate for the carnivores on the farm that he has forgotten that Zeldi needs more.]

The ground beneath them moved at such a rapid pace that Dríade almost hit herself for not asking for help sooner. Days of travel gone in an instant.

"So you're hoping these Dryad's will be able to make up for that until something grows?" Dríade nodded to herself. That was easily done and if that's all it took to get Tarakona on board she would take it. It would also make asking for additional help easier if she knew what to ask.

"Just down there." Dríade pointed towards a thick part of the forest bordering a desert. It didn't need to be said that the only reason it was still alive was because of the Dryad's care. Without it the small forest would wither and die. Normally this was something Dríade would avoid but when you took into account the Orc warband slowly searching the forest for the Dryad's there wasn't really an option.

Tarakona dove the moment Dríade pointed with the Dryad thinking they were going to crash only for Tarakona to pull up at the very end to land. She only crushed a few trees in the process.

Dríade however threw herself off the Dragon's back happy to be on soil again. If she couldn't just recreate bodies she might have been terrified of flying.

[Dryad's! Come out, we will not wait!]

"What are you doing? I thought you were just going to help me." Dríade half growled half pleaded.

[You lost the ability to be patient remember? We have a time limit and those trees will be coming back with me regardless of weather they want them to or not. Persuading them is your job.]

Dríade couldn't argue and even if she wanted to the shuffling at the edge of the clearing they made was all the warning they had before three Dryad's came forward.

She would have liked to say she knew them by name but due to the lack of resources they had been under each of them was only using the most basic of forms. One that took next to nothing to produce but had the resistance of a newborn dove. It was almost a carbon copy of each other so telling them apart was impossible.

"Dríade?" The one in the lead asked coming forward while being weary of Tarakona beside her.

"Yes." Dríade responded moving closer. "While I would have loved to do your little challenge of bringing a different body here for each of you plans have changed. I need you to make a decision right now on if you can accept me as a Grove mother. I can promise you that you will not want for rich soil ever again under my care and that you will have my protection as well as that of Tarakona here."

They all looked towards the Dragon.

[Abide by our rules and I will agree with this. My protection does not come free.]

"We accept." One of the back two blurted out with haste. The offer of a Dragon was way to enticing to give up.

"Good then get your Trees ready now. We will be carrying them back with us." Dríade commanded already liking her new role.

"How?" Came the reply only for Tarakona to let out a growl.

[Did you think I was merely a decoration?]

Tarakona whipped her head to the left after hearing something.

[Get your Trees quickly. This is my last offer to carry them for you, unless you do want to carry them back to our home yourselves?]

With that she jumped back into the air to track down the sound.

"You really have a Dragon Grove mother?" One of them asked as they watch Tarakona depart.

"It is more truthful to say I work with her. Come let us get your Trees so that we can start on the creations of proper bodies."

That lit a fire under there butts as all three scrambled back into the forest for their trees. Dríade couldn't help smiling at that. True it wasn't by her own power that she was becoming a Grove mother but she was going to make sure both herself and her Grove were invaluable to Clovek. So much so he  would never even think about getting rid of her.

Even if that ment becoming a proper Livestock... Voras gained his favor by bringing along Madu. Maybe she could keep an eye out for other Livestock on her quest for more Dryad's.