Level Up!

DANDY can't stop looking up and waiting for Yoshiko and Tamotsu to come back.

She already asked the two to find a way to talk to Kahaku. He asked him what he could do for the old tree near her flowerbed. Kahaku gave her something ordinary. But he said that it would help her. Puzzled as she may, she just followed what he said.

The two came back with a pail in their hands and a big sake bottle filled with water from Kahaku's river. Yes—that was what she asked from Lord Kahaku.

A pail full of water and a bottle of sake.

"What are you going to do with this?" Yoshiko said as he laid down for Dandy to reach the bag in his back where the two items were.

"Don't ask. Now find someplace where you can catch the moonlight and sunlight tomorrow. Take the bottle with you." She commanded at Yoshiko again. "And Tamotsu," She called. "can you please call Lord Kahaku again?"

"Your Grace, we cannot reach Lord Kahaku at the moment," Tamotsu replied. "The Sun Palace, where Lord Kahaku is, would be close to any other communication. And I doubt that he would be staying with His Highness Tsukiyomi."

Dandy pouted as she looked at the water then nodded. "Then we'll just have to wait for Yoshiko to come back tomorrow. I guess there's nothing we could do."

Tamotsu nodded and sat at one of the dandelions. Then they were quiet. Dandy was just looking at the tree before closing her eyes. It was then she saw the tree spirit sitting at the top of his tree, looking at the truncated tree.

Sadness was seen on his face. Tears of longing. Sobs of pain.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"You're here again! What do you want? I told you that I won't get involved with the likes of you! Scram!" He rudely said.

"But I cannot go further away from my flower bed. You see Lord Kahaku put a barrier—"

"That's what you get for hurting the forest."

Dandy pouted and sighed. "I know. But that shouldn't stop me from caring for all of you. And that includes you, good sir."

The tree spirit scoffed. "Care. Care my a/ss. You aren't even here when that happened." He whispered. The tree spirit then looked at her like he has a dagger in his eyes before he jumped down from his tree and disappeared. It might have gone to another place and Dandy just sighed.

During the days and moments that she was thinking about what to do to help the tree spirit, she managed to perfect her ability on tracking every life inside the lands of the forest. Thus, she knows where the tree spirit was going.

She then left him alone when she saw that she went drinking with the other spirit of the forest.

******

THE NEXT morning came and Yoshiko came back with what she needed. Pure water basked in the light of sun and moon makes a fine sake for heavenly and whimsical creatures like them.

Dandy's smile reached up to her ears. She was ready and faced the tree but the spirit was not there.

{He may not have come home last night.} She said to herself and tried to find him thru his soul trace.

Dandy sighed when she confirmed that the tree spirit didn't come back. "Tamotsu, please help me purify the truncated tree. Just splash water into it and offer some prayers."

Tamotsu didn't ask any questions this time as he always does. He just transformed into his human form and went over the truncated tree. "Yoshiko, please offer that sake to the tree also. Make sure that it is shaded from the sun. As too much sunlight would ruin the taste."

Yoshiko and Tamotsu stayed there as Dandy watched them. She sat on her flower bed facing the tree and hugged her legs. Hoping that it would suffice to have the tree spirit open up to her.

Dandy thought that the tree spirit might have felt that she was half-heartedly sympathizing with him. He saw her agenda on being close with him. But after hearing what the Old Oak tree said and how she saw him heartbroken every day just by looking at the truncated tree, she felt so guilty.

There she is, minding her release from this barrier. Just wanting to finish the task given to her, she had forgotten her purpose.

{And you were so focused on your purpose in your past life. How you don't want other spirits to experience what you had. Then look at you now. So inclined on getting out so you could play.}

Dandy sighed and buried her face on her knees. Such a shameless deity. "I hope mama didn't see what I'm doing."

"What are you doing?"

The voice o the old tree and a bit of commotion made Dandy looked up. The Old Tree came back. "Good sir!" Dandy shouted in her most chirpy voice. "Welcome home!"

The Old Tree spirit look at her and scoffed at her. "Is this your doing?"

"Yes!" Dandy gleefully shouted back. "I want to offer you and her something."

"We don't need it!" Old tree angrily shouted and tried to throw the water on the pail but it was all used up.

"Sorry, sir," Tamotsu said. "The tree trunk is big and it was all used up."

"Are you saying my darling is big and fat, huh?!"

"Oh, no, sir. I'm just stating a fact. And a big fat tree is better than a thinner one, don't you think?"

The old tree didn't answer and now looked at the innocent sake that sat down at the top of the trunk. Yoshiko looked at the Old tree and so as the latter. They both grabbed into it but Yoshiko was faster. He held it into his mouth.

Due to it being shaken, the light that it harnessed began to glimmer and glistened. Old Tree looked at it with amazed eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes," Tamotsu replied as he fixed his eyeglasses. "Our Lady made this thing possible. She wanted to offer it to you. And if it wasn't too presumptuous, she'd like to accompany you with your drinking."

Yoshiko then walked back to Old tree and offered him the drink as Tamotsu offered a teacup.

Dandy squinted her eyes to see it. As she remembered, she didn't ask Tamotsu to make or get one.

{Where did that come from?}

Old Tree looked at the two guardians. Looked like he was contemplating if he would get it or not. In the end, he grabbed the drink and the teacup before disappearing from their sight.

"This drink is better when the moon is full."

A smile tried to break at Dandy's face but she tried her best to hide it. It may offend the old tree. She didn't just reply and excitedly waved at Tamotsu and Yoshiko. She gave them a thumbs up before running back inside the Old Oaktree. She thought of the next Full Moon. And it'll be tonight!

****END OF CHAPTER****

uwu...

do you think he would soften to Dandy now?