The Call Of Nature (Intro/Open)

With one final punch to the creature, the purple haired woman would cease her assault and simply stare down at the animal, her head tilting to one side. It was a kind of a lion although judging by the fact that it also seemed to be part goat and snake, a chimera was probably a more accurate description. It was a large beast and had fought ferociously but it just had nothing to answer the strength of the woman who had defeated it quite handily. She had battered it around with mostly just her fists and there were only a couple of scratches on her, although her hands were absolutely saturated with blood. The animal had attacked her for no reason and she had simply reacted on instinct, butchering it until the monster stopped breathing. It was neither cruel nor barbaric, simply what happened when two forces met in combat. It was a concept that she understood well enough although the honest truth was that the fight itself had done little to stir anything within her and there was not the slightest hint of adrenaline or anger in her blue eyed gaze.

Turning away from the beast, the woman would then continue her trek through the jungle, seeming to be almost unaffected by the hot and sticky conditions. She had tolerated far worse in her time and a little bit of humidity was certainly not going to bother her, although the mixture of sweat and blood was soon starting to attract mosquito, which were slightly more annoying. However, she would simply bat them off, managing to kill a fair few with her accurate swipes. There was something about this jungle that seemed to attract her attention in some way, almost like a voice that was pulling her towards the centre. She did not why or for what purpose but as the woman had so little in her life to go on, why should she not simply follow it and she what would come of it? No possessions, no goals and a life that she had only just been able to finally start, after so many years of torture and experimentation.

Eventually, she would leave the canopy of tress and come across a large lake and without any thought or care about her own modesty, Menka would strip down to her bra and panties and just wade straight in, leaving her clothes by the side of it. The water was just right, temperature wise and the tall, purple haired woman was soon swimming laps across the lake, washing away the grime as she did so. She did not have a care in the world about the possibility of predators being in the water, as she was more than strong enough to beat the living daylights out of anything that tried to have a go at her. She was actually quite enjoying herself and although she had trouble expressing anything on the outside, there was a brief glimmer of joy in her blue eyes as she swam back back and forward.

(510 Words)

Lily smiled as she looked up at the blue heavens and stretched herself, slender fingers reaching upwards towards the sun as if branches welcoming the sunlight. She could feel the earth spreading out far and wide beneath her bare feet, and she could also feel how many little creatures burrowed their way through the earth while the roots of many plants and trees wove a net more complex than any made by man. Now that she'd been in this jungle for some time she'd become familiar with the various lifeforms that inhabited it, which allowed her to feel the presence of most things as if it was her own body they were walking on or digging into with their roots.

For the most part this just meant that she had an intimate awareness of the jungle around her, but it also meant that she quickly picked up on when something new entered the area. Her smile was replaced by a frown when she noticed that in the distance one of the more aggressive predatory creatures had been slain. Closing her eyes briefly she focused on that distant sensation, feeling a single pair of feet hit the dirt with an even rhythm while the battered remains of the unusual animal began to cool down and lose what little blood still remained within. Shaking her head she ignored that one: the carrion eaters would take care of that, and after that the fungi and the other little recyclers of nature would finish the job. What was more interesting was this outsider. A bipedal gait usually indicated a sentient person, and those rarely came with some kind of motivation.

It didn't take long for Lily to head out towards where she could feel that the outsider was moving, their footsteps causing the most minute vibrations to travel through the earth that for the green-eyed girl was like a bed, like a home, like her own body if she allowed herself to sink away. The outsider was rather sensibly heading towards one of the bigger water bodies in the jungle, which made it easy to keep track of her. Placing both hands against a nearby tree the dryad waited only a second before she stepped forward straight into the tree.

---

Several seconds later one of the trees near the edge of the lake began to display curious movement near the base: the wood swelled up and extended outwards before the protrusion took on the image of Lily, who stepped out of the tree as calmly as if she was stepping over a little stream. Looking around she first verified that she was in the right location before she stepped towards the lake and placed one foot into the water, her eyes closing as clear ripples expanded outwards from the golden-brown limb.

It looked like she had stepped out near to the outsider, but with still some space in between them. That was good: that meant that Lily could approach the stranger without them feeling alarmed at the green-eyed girl's sudden appearance. Not that Lily saw herself as looking particularly threatening... With a mental shrug she walked over towards where the outsider was swimming in the water, studying the partially submerged figure. A female, and if she was any judge one of respectable proportions. She was at the very least taller than the dryad herself, although practically every human had been so far.

Lowering herself to the ground Lily rested her back against the trunk of another tree, making herself comfortable as she pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around her knees while observing the stranger. Given that she could just fall into the tree if things got dangerous she wasn't too concerned, especially since before this woman could attack her she'd have to either come out of the water or use some kind of attack which would give the leaf-clad nature spirit time to react.

There was not much of a response from Menka at all, at least at first and the metal slayer was quite comfortable with simply continuing with her swim. She was aware of the other figure but given that there was no attack or aggressive motion, there was no need for her to react and the woman had no issue with being watched. Being watched was something that she was so used to that it almost gave her a sense of nostalgia, although that was not quite as pleasant as it might seem. She was somewhat curious of the figure that was surveying her though and her eyes would occasionally glance towards the woman, which could be spotted it the figure was watching her closely enough. There was an almost plant like vibe to the girl, which fascinated her to some degree and she briefly wondered to herself if perhaps the voice she had been hearing had come from this female.

Eventually, her curiosity would win out and Menka would stop her lap swimming and instead make her way towards the plant like woman. The pace of her swimming was neither threatening nor all that fast, an attempt to not possibly spook the woman away from her and she would come to a stop, a short distance away. She would then stand vertically in the water, with the depth of the lake enough to cover the bottom half of her body, leaving the only visible clothing on her for the moment to be her white bra. Her lack of clothing did not cause her any embarrassment and honestly, she was quite comfortable in simply being like this. The weather was far more humid than she was used too and although it was not bad enough to affect her on the outside, she did feel the slightest touch of pleasure as she stood in the water, to fight off the stickiness. It did not seem to bother the plant like being at all, at least from what she could see. A female clearly although the metal slayer was unsure if calling her human was the right word.

"I mean you no harm and by the fact that you have not attacked me, I assume that you do not mean any to me either," she would say, her tone of voice almost machine like in tone, "My name is Menka and I have been following a call that refuses to leave my mind."

In truth, she was in somewhat of a bad spot if the other woman did wish to attack her. Metal and water obviously did not mix all that well and many of her attacks would simply cause her more harm than the plant woman. However, Menka was confident enough to believe that there would be no need for that. Her words were sincere when she spoke of not wishing harm and deception was something that she was simply incapable of, beyond her skills.

She did not intend to say anything else at the time but her curiosity got the best of her and as she looked at the other woman, the slayer asked a question. Menka did not mean to cause offence but was perhaps a little blunt with her way of speaking, "I have never seen a woman like you before, are you some kind of plant life form?"

(561 Words)

(Total WC: 1071)

Given that the weather was good Lily had no objections to taking her time and waiting for the other woman to react to her presence. Of course for a dryad the perfect weather wasn't necessarily the same as for humans: a jungle like this was a heaven for both plants and fungi, but for the animals the combination of heat and humidity would be rather tiresome. Still, it looked like this outsider was doing pretty well.

As Lily could sense both the earth, the plantlife around her and the water of the lake she could get something of a feeling of the woman swimming about, even if the information she was getting left her with more questions than she started with. While this person definitely had water inside of her just like animals did there was also something a lot less common, something which the green-eyed girl couldn't actually directly sense. It didn't feel threatening, but it definitely made her wonder what kind of person this was.

That question and more would potentially be answered soon as the female outsider finally decided to greet Lily. She raised a hand to give a wave in greeting when Menka swam towards her, her expression peaceful and relaxed as if she was meeting an old friend rather than a complete and total stranger. She also didn't show any real sign of embarrassment regarding the other woman's state of undress, although it might be a mystery for others whether it was because she was a dryad or because she just wasn't the kind of female to be bothered by another woman's naked (or half-naked form). Hearing Menka's voice she blinked, clearly surprised by it, then after a slight tilt of her head her smile widened as she happily responded. "Hello Menka! I'm Lily Ambrosia. I'm glad you mean me no harm since I wanted to meet you and talk a bit. Not a lot of people from the civilized world move this deep into the wilds without a clear purpose."

The declaration of a call which persistently urged Menka to come to this place was a curious one, and the dryad's brow furrowed slightly and briefly as she considered it before shaking her head. "Sorry, I don't really know anything about that. This area is ancient so there's a lot of things hidden so deep that even I can't find them immediately. Do you have any idea why it might be calling you to here?" The best she could think of was that it might be a leftover from the malicious spirit which had once inhabited the ruins deeper into the jungle, but she wouldn't mention that until she had some verification that it was related.

While she was open and friendly Lily was no fool, and because of that she quickly noticed the way she was being looked at. Still seated at the base of a tree at the edge of the lake she nodded and raised a hand, the golden brown of her skin extending until a branch had formed from the back of her hand, several flowers blooming from the branch. "Kinda! I'm a dryad, you could call me an oak which became able to walk and talk." She returned the curious gaze, green eyes with amber sclera travelling across Menka's body without any shame or judgement. "I noticed that you're also not completely made of human stuff. Are you also not fully human?"

The friendly tone of the plant woman's voice was enough for the metal slayer to move closer towards her, although she was quite comfortable with simply cooling off in the water for now. "A pleasure to meet you, Lily," she would answer to the woman's introduction and although her tone would remain as metallic as ever, the purple haired woman was sincere with her words. Menka did find it somewhat awkward to speak to people, partly due to her lack of contact with others and partly because of the the simple fact that she more often than not came off as intimidating, even if she did not mean to be. It puzzled her as to why but she was at least content with the fact that Lily did not seem to find her that way, which was refreshing for the barely clad.

She had to ponder for a few moments when asked about the call that she had been following and attempted to rationalise the sensation, which was somewhat difficult for her. "I wish I did know as to why the call had brought me here but I truthfully do not understand why myself. It has been in the corners of my mind ever since I started my journey as a mage, although mine has been rather short compared to most. All I know is that it is stronger, now that I am in this jungle than it has been at any other time. It is is if there is a purpose for me being here but I just do not know what." Perhaps it was simply her muddled mind playing tricks on her and it was something that she could not fully dismiss from her mind. The damage from her childhood years had left many scars, both mentally and physically.

Menka watched with interest as the dryad answered her question about whether she was truly fully human and rose an eyebrow as her new friend made a small display with her abilities, "That is a beautiful gift that you have there, Lily. Is that what drew you to this jungle? The call of nature that I am guessing that you must feel more than anyone else?" She was asking personal questions again and part of her realised that but it was just something that Menka could not help but do. Her inquisitive side that had been suppressed for so long just wanted to come out and in a way, it did comfort the slayer just a little. To be able to feel anything at all was always a moment to relish and the human part of her wished to make the most of it.

Speaking of that, the next question that was posed to her was something that caught her by surprise but probably should not have. It was only fair that she should return the favour by revealing a little about herself and so, she would turn around in the water and reveal her scarred back to the dryad. "I suppose you could say that I am the opposite of a dryad in a way. Where as you are a woman of nature and life, I am one of metal and machinery. It is probably fair to say that I am more metal than woman now, both inside and out."

She did not go in to details at that point and her mouth closed rather quickly but she did at least show a hint of her own powers, by turning her right arm in to what would like a blade. "I am afraid that my powers are not quite as vibrant as yours."

(606 Words)

(Total WC: 1677)

If someone were to ask why Lily wasn't more on guard towards this strange person with the unnatural voice the answer would be pretty straightforward: from Lily's perspective almost everyone was a bit strange, due to most people being animals by nature while she originated from the forest itself. Of course Menka was still a bit stranger than others due to the metal, but even so that wasn't cause for the green-eyed girl to become wary. Especially since in combination with her open mind she also was very good at getting a feel of people, and Menka didn't give a hostile impression.

"It's a pleasure for me as well. There aren't a lot of people here so it's always fun when a friendly face comes along." She smiled happily, but also leaned forward a bit to listen attentively as her new friend tried to explain what the call was that she had been talking about before. Her friendly and welcome expression slowly was combined with one of mild puzzlement and deep thought, the dryad tilting her head and placing a finger on her lower lip. "So you're saying that it began when you started out as a mage? Maybe it has to do with the nature of your magic?" She didn't actually have a clue, but she spoke her thoughts out loud as she went through what little she know about situations like these. "I think it's possible for someone to be fated to do something, but wouldn't there need to be something or someone pushing you in that direction? Or can fate itself be a force which pushes people without the use of an entity to relay the message? Is fate even a real force or is it just another name for what is going to happen?"

She blinked and blushed slightly as she pulled her hand away, realizing that she'd begun thinking out loud. "Oh! Sorry about that. I don't get to use a full vocal language too often so I can get a bit carried away when I have the opportunity." She gave a bit of a sheepish giggle before nodding in thanks. "But thank you for the compliment. I'm pretty proud of what I can do. As for the call of nature... kinda? I mean yes but no... As a dryad I have a strong affinity and attraction to nature so you could say that I permanently feel the call but on the other hand it doesn't really pull me in any direction. I don't think it's the same thing as what you're feeling..." She began to look thoughtful again but this time managed to snap out of it before she began another tangent.

While she was aware that Menka was definitely not your default human Lily hadn't been prepared for what would come next. Seeing the scarred back her eyes widened before she hastily pushed herself onto her feet and stepped forward into the water, wading over to Menka without a second thought. "That looks like it must have hurt. Are you all right?" While the arm that turned into a metal blade managed to make her blink her priority currently was the marred skin that her friend was showing her, the dryad reaching out until her fingers were less than an inch away from the scars, although she didn't close that last gap.

"I, uhm... I could try to heal the scars. I don't know much about metal so if it's a big part of you I might not be the best at repairing your flesh without the metal getting in the way, but unless you've also got metal in your skin I should be able to get rid of the scars at least." On some level she also wanted to offer to get rid of the metal, but she honestly wasn't sure if that would be the right thing to do. From the way that Menka had been talking about herself she didn't appear to be very enamoured with her metallic nature herself, but on the other hand... If she'd become used to it the offer to remove the metal might still rub the wrong way. That and Lily couldn't guarantee that she'd be able to safely remove the metal without harming Menka.

"Do you want me to try?"

Listening with interest as Lily shared her thoughts about fate and the voice that Menka had been hearing, she briefly pondered along those lines herself. It was a difficult philosophy for her to understand, as she had become rather used to simply thinking in terms of fact, instead of beliefs. She did not truly believe that there was a being that controlled fate or anything like that although perhaps the source of her magic was calling out to her? Her knowledge of her own magic was sadly minimal and besides the basics, she was some what in the dark, "I wish that I knew the answers to those questions but I have been able to discover much in the way of facts when it comes to this. All I know is that something or someone has called me here. I am unsure if it has to do with my magic, my beliefs or even if it is simply my mind playing some kind of trick with me." She paused briefly and then added, recalling the little information that she knew of her powers, "All I know of the nature of my magic was that it was inserted in to me, rather than taught."

She would fall silent then and listen as Lily spoke about her powers, appreciating the chance to change the subject, as talking about her child hood was somewhat difficult for her. She could talk about it but there was a pang of discomfort in the back of her mind every time she did so, as though her repressed emotions were trying to break through the metallic shell that she had surrounded them with to protect herself as a child. Blinking a few times and wishing to get her mind off of her past for a moment, she would then ask another question, her tone still as metallic as ever, hiding her moment of sensitivity, "I am curious to know how you came to be here then. If you did not feel the same pull that I did then what encouraged you to come here? Or has this jungle simply always been your home?"

The dryad's reaction to the revelation of her scars surprised Menka slightly but she remained still and allowed her to come close, while deactivating her metal blade, now that it had done its job. She would remain shock still although her gaze was most definitely focused on where Lily's hand was. It was not as if she was worried about any possible pain but more about the idea about what would happen if the dryad did touch her scars. There was a question mark in her mind regarding that and she was more concerned about her new friends well being then hers. It would seem that she would need to speak about her past after all.

"I am not sure whether they can actually be healed or not. Whenever I touch them, I feel this sensation in my hands, almost like a static shock. I do not know if that is because they are magical or just an unpleasant reminder of what has happened to me." Briefly looking at Lily, she would pause for a moment and then open up a little more, "You see, I was raised as little more than an experiment to be tested on, by a man who claimed to be a scientist and who wished to push humanity onwards by use of science, as well as magic. I do not know why he chose me but all I remember are his tests, some of which have led to what you see on my back. When he force fed me the lacrima, I was able to free myself from the bonds and escape although I made certain that he would not be able to test on anyone else again."

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(Total WC: 2317)

Lily quickly shook her head when Menka stated that she regretfully didn't know the answer to any of the questions the dryad had been spouting after she'd temporarily been consumed by curiosity rather than concern. "No, that's fine, I was just babbling anyway since your situation made me curious. I honestly don't know enough about this kind of thing to tell you what is pulling you here either. Although I doubt that your mind is making it up: you look sound of mind and the journey to this place must have taken a while, so it can't be momentary insanity either."

The information that Menka's magic had been implanted in her rather than being something naturally grown or trained was useful to know, although Lily's lack of knowledge on that subject still left her in the dark on what that could mean. The dryad was wracking her brain but in the end had to conclude that someone with more expertise would be needed to solve this puzzle. A small, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her lips before she focused on the next topic, namely the question where the green-eyed girl had come from if she wasn't lured here by some kind of call. "Oh, I wander a lot. There's a lot of things to see in the world and many wonderful places to visit so I usually don't stay in the same place for long. I think it's just a coincidence that I happen to be here at this moment that you also arrived." She smiled. "But even if it's a coincidence I'm glad for it, since I enjoy being able to talk to you."

The story Menka told of being little more than a labrat, used for experiments without much freedom, was definitely a sad one. But Lily was also aware that no matter how uncomfortable it might be to listen to it, it must be much worse for the other woman, who had to live through it and now had to relive those memories while retelling the story. "I'm sorry for dragging up those memories. I know that the civilized people are driven to discover new things but..." She wasn't even sure how she was supposed to finish that sentence, so instead she studied the scars a bit more thoroughly with her eyes. "I can't immediately find signs of them being magically charged but that's not really what I'm best at either. But I still would like to try if you'll let me. You can think of it as my way of saying thanks for sharing your story with me even though it can't be fun to remember it." She still hadn't touched the scars, her hand stubbornly hovering there on the line that separated contact from non-contact. "Will you let me try? Please?"

Depending on the raven-haired slayer's response Lily would do one of two things:

If Menka assented to the dryad's request the green-eyed girl would gently brush her fingers against the scars, first tracing them to get a feel for them while closing her eyes to instead focus on what she could feel of the marred skin and flesh, and how they possibly were mixed up with the machinery hidden away inside her newest friend. Due to her own skin and flesh holding some wood-like qualities she was unlikely to be hindered by some static shocks unless they were a lot stronger than Menka's explanation had led her to believe. She wouldn't do anything but explore Menka's back until she'd gotten approval from the metal slayer to proceed.

If Menka refused Lily's request the nature spirit would apologize and pull her hand back, not wanting to make half-naked woman any more uncomfortable than she must already have been, showing off old scars like that and retelling the story of how she obtained them.

In truth, Menka was unsure if she would ever actually find an answer to the mystery of the voice in her mind and so when Lily spoke openly about her apparent babbling, she neither took offence nor was disappointed. Actually, the metal slayer found the dryad's curiosity to be quite refreshing and just being able to speak about her conundrum without sounding like she was out of her mind was comforting for her. The plant like woman was easy to talk to and Menka appreciated that, even if she was unable to express that out loud at the moment, unable to quite find the words and express herself in such a way.

She was quiet for a fair amount of time and as Lily spoke about her own wanderings, Menka simply nodded her head in answer. It sounded like she had seen her fair share of the world already and the metal slayer hoped that in time, perhaps she would be able to explore in the same way although that way of life did clash somewhat with the more mechanical part of her mind, which wished for order and routine. It was a balance that she had not yet managed to find but was hopeful that in time, she would be able to do so. All she could do for now was learn all she could  and experience as many sensations as possible, so that she could grow and develop while making up for those years spent in the scientists lab.

"You do not have to apologise, Lily," she would eventually say after revealing her story to the dryad, "The honest truth is that I struggle to feel much of anything emotionally and I wish that I did feel something when thinking back on my past. Anger, sadness, joy, anything would be better than feeling empty, I imagine. I should hate that scientist for using me in such a way but there is just nothing and that only confuses me even further. I am just thankful that my curiosity has remained, if nothing else." She would fall silent again but could not help but notice the shift in tone as Lily asked again to try and help with her scars. Menka was still unsure about the safety in doing it but the dryad seemed so eager to try that it seemed to reach the metal slayer in an unexpected way.

She would briefly shift her gaze away from her scars and focus on Lily's eyes, noting the sincerity and desire to help in her distinctive green orbs, before nodding her head, "All right, if you truly wish to try then please do so. I.....trust you but please be careful." Given the fact that she was unable to change the tone of her voice, it might have sounded insincere or as if she mocking Lily's talents but that was not the case at all. She meant what she said and even if Menka did not understand it at the time, she had just made a little bit of progress towards her quest to feel human again, right then and there.

Remaining perfectly still as the dryad would begin to gently examine her back, Menka pondered to herself about what could actually be done. She was no healer herself and had next to no knowledge of such arts but the slayer was comfortable enough now to at least give Lily the chance to try and help. The blue eyed woman was pessimistic about the chance of her body ever becoming purely scar less though and was realistic. Her back was frankly a mess, with the shards of metal embedded in numerous areas, from practically the base of her neck downwards. She had never once asked the scientist why he had focused solely on her back and to a smaller degree, her legs as well but even if she had asked, would he have answered her or just silenced her? He had never once answered anything that she had asked him and now the unfortunate truth was that the answers had probably now died with him.

Briefly coming out of her thoughts, she would then ask a simple question, "Would it be easier for you if we came out of the water and I laid down?" Menka had no issue with doing such a thing at this point and would leave it up to Lily.

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(Total WC: 3050)

The idea of someone who couldn't feel was a strange one for Lily, who had a strong empathic bond with all living creatures. It also sounded worrisome, although she could imagine that there would be people who would want to not feel anything. Emotions could be both good and bad after all, although she herself would definitely prefer having both negative and positive emotions than no emotions at all. So she shook her head as Menka said that she had trouble feeling anything. "I'm sure you also have feelings and they're just buried deep right now. It'd be strange if having some metal inside you would remove your emotions, wouldn't it?" She tried to sound comforting and encouraging at the same time. "I don't know how long you've been having trouble with feeling emotions, but I'm sure they'll come back to the surface eventually. You're still alive after all."

Lily's eyes were a vibrant green, a shade which one would be hard pressed to find in either humans or any other folk. In fact the observant would note that her eyes appeared to hold onto the light they caught, the dryad's eyes gathering sunlight in the same way as a tree's leafs did. Around those irises of green her sclera were amber, the colour of treesap. If someone failed to ascertain her nature from her foliage-like hair, the golden-brown skin the hue of which was reminiscent of oak or the leafs that formed her clothes, those eyes would be the last possible hint one might need. They were also quite firm, gazing back upon Menka without hesitation or embarrassment.

As the raven-haired slayer gave her assent for the dryad to try and remove the scars Lily smiled in both joy and gratitude, and quickly got to work. First she'd inspect the scars with her fingertips, getting a feel of the patterns and what lay underneath. Noticing that there were shards of metal buried in there which didn't appear to be part of any real machinery she frowned. Metal with sharp edges should dig into Menka's flesh every time she exerted herself. While her friend wasn't showing any sign of discomfort or pain and there wasn't any sign of persistent harm the green-eyed girl couldn't just dismiss it. More so than removing the scars she'd be trying to at least remove the pieces of metal which didn't appear to have no real purpose to them.

A part of her wondered if she might also try to remove the machinery that the scientist had put inside Menka, but the majority of her mind was aware that would be a bad idea. For one thing, she couldn't say with confidence that she could remove the machinery and restore Menka's body to normal, and if she couldn't do it with confidence she shouldn't do it at all. Second, while it was clear that the woman in front of her wasn't happy with what was done with her the damage was already done, and it wasn't like removing the physical remnants of that time would also remove the memories or the mental scars. If Menka asked her to she might think differently about it, but until that time Lily thought it better to let Menka decide for herself how she'd deal with what the scientist made of her.

"Oh yes, that would definitely help. You're quite a bit taller than me." Given her treelike nature Lily wasn't exactly bothered by the idea of remaining standing, but it would be easier if she wasn't constantly reaching upwards. Taking Menka's hand the green-eyed girl guided the other woman out of the water and onto a soft spot on the edge of the lake, motioning for her to lay down onto her belly after which Lily herself would kneel down next to her and continue her work. "There also seem to be shards and slivers of metal embedded into your back without any real purpose, so I want to try and remove those as well since they might end up giving you internal bleeding in the future. Given the state of your back I also think that it might be easier for me to remove most of your skin and regrow it entirely, so I'll be using some weak poison to shut off you sense of pain and touch in that region. I could also only remove the sense of pain but having your back regrown might feel uncomfortable even if it doesn't hurt."

The metal slayer wished that she could explain about what her mental state was like in a better way but it was just so difficult for her to do so. So, instead, she simply tried to take comfort from her friends encouraging words and hoped that Lily was right. It was a hope of hers anyway, to one day be able to at least be able to express something, regardless of what it was. The only positive that she was able to take from her sense of numbness was that she bore no hatred towards the man who had worked on her nor sought vengeance towards those who may have allowed him to work. She was able to leave the past where it was and attempt to try and move forward. Perhaps it was unnatural to feel such a way but Menka was anything but natural now, or at least, that was how it seemed to her. A half breed, not quite human and not quite machine but wishing to develop and to perhaps become more than the sum of her parts. A simple goal but it was one that pushed her on. In the end, a simple answer came to her, "Thank you Lily. I hope that one day, I will be able to feel human again."

When Lily offered her hand, Menka gently took it and followed her out of the water, almost like a child being led by a parent. It was an odd sensation for the blue eyed woman but she obediently followed the dryad out of the water and once they had reached a good spot, she would then lay down on her front, revealing the full extent of her back to the plant like woman. In honesty, she was not all that aware of that magnitude of the damage and given her numbness to most sensations, the pain had been something that she had simply ignored or suppressed. Menka did not interrupt and allowed the dryad to complete her analysis and decide on the course of action that she wished to take. The method sounded severe to her but the slayer was quite willing to allow her new friend to try, both as a sign of her faith in the dryad's skills and also simply because of her trust in her as a person. Truthfully, the thought of being able to to even have her back partly healed was something that she would appreciate and perhaps it would help her not just physically but mentally too. The woman was unable to lay on her back at all as it stood and although she was able to shield herself from the pain, that did not mean that she enjoyed having a back made of shards.

She considered Lily's plan for a short time but in reality, both her human and mechanical parts of her mind seemed to see the logic of the plan and she saw no reason not to agree to it. "Just being able to lay on my back would be a source of relief and if that means that this procedure will cause discomfort then I am more than willing to go through that," she would say, speaking her thoughts aloud and wishing that she could show some emotion in her metallic voice. "I honestly believed that those shards were there for some purpose and I have no explanation as to why he would place them there. He refused to even acknowledge me, let alone explain his motives. If they serve no purpose then please remove them."

"Proceed," the slayer would then say simply, stretching out slightly to find the most comfortable position, before becoming as still as possible.

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Lily sincerely hoped that Menka would be able to recover those emotions that she believed to have lost. Although she herself wasn't a human and therefore wasn't immediately aware of why humanity itself might be important, as a dryad she was painfully aware of the importance of life and all that came with it, including the passions and feelings that drove living things to grow and explore, to push themselves and struggle for survival rather than allowing themselves to fade away into oblivion. If for humans that was represented by humanity then she'd hope for Menka to once again become aware of her humanity.

But right now the more pressing issue was the raven-haired girl's back, filled with metal shards and scarred beyond what could be considered reasonable. The more Lily studied Menka's back the more she was convinced that whoever it was who had done this must either not have been completely right in the head or their work was interrupted before they could finish it... although how that would have helped...

"I'll do my best to keep the discomfort to a minimum." She promised even as she began to secrete a fine powder from her fingertips. With much care and gentleness did she begin to spread the poisonous powder across Menka's back, making sure to rub it into every square inch of bare and marred skin while calculating in her head how much she needed for it to penetrate deeply enough without it reaching so far as to hinder the functioning of important organs. Menka would at first feel a tingling, which would quickly expand into a great itching as if she'd fallen into a bed of nettles. That itching would then be overcome by a numbness, as if her back didn't even exist.The only way she could still feel Lily's hands moving about was through the way that the paralyzed skin applied pressure to the body below when the green-eyed girl's hands moved across said skin.

"You said you put a stop to his work, right? Maybe the shards weren't part of his plan but you escaped before he could remove them." From what little her new friend had told her the odds of this researcher being kind were slim to abysmal, but it was very much possible that the process of merging the girl's body with machinery had resulted in the shards as a side effect but he'd never gotten around to removing them. That or he'd hoped that they would get in the way of her functioning to make it easier to keep her captive...

Now that Menka wouldn't feel any pain Lily swallowed before she gathered her courage. The next part would be even trickier than using the correct dose of poisonous powder. She'd have to remove the skin and the flesh beneath to fish out the shards and then regrow it all in perfect condition... and Menka had to survive the process. Even for a dryad, someone who controls life and eagerly nurtures it, this kind of procedure was no joke. "I'll get started now. Please don't move." With that she motioned with one hand towards the lake, a small portion of the water rising up and floating over to the two women. Shaping the water into a sphere Lily released a much more dangerous substance than the paralytic powder: some of the strongest acids the wilds were able to produce. Mixing the acid with the ball of water she carefully lowered the mixture until it spread out across Menka's back. The effects were almost instantaneous: even with the water diluting the acid it still quickly got to work eating away at Menka's skin.

With furrowed brow and intense concentration the dryad got to work slowly eating away at the entirety of Menka's back, at the same time also using droplets of pure water to apply pressure to any big veins so the blood wouldn't begin flowing out and endanger her friend's life. As long as blood loss was kept to a minimum living beings could endure immense amounts of injury.

There was a part of the metal slayer that wished she could believe Lily's theory behind the shards but it just seemed so unlikely. Menka could not see any other reason why the researcher would have planted them inside her besides either to test her endurance or to simply keep her further contained. If there had been any kindness inside him then she had never seen it. He had been the coldest of men and unfortunately, that was view that had somewhat become a part of her. Humans so often were willing to say and do the most horrific things to each other and seemed to cause more harm than good, most of the time. It was a rather depressing truth but one that Menka found difficult to put aside and in a way, perhaps she was fortunate to not be able to feel the full plethora of emotions that humans generally did. She was neither cruel nor vindictive and simply viewed the world in her own and slightly odd way, which perhaps gave a more tolerant personality than most.

When Lily began the procedure, she would become as still as possible, making her almost appear as machine like as she felt. Menka took nothing for granted and was aware enough of the danger that would no doubt surround this operation. Yet, her faith in her new friend was strong and she believed the dryad's talents. She reasoned with herself that continuing to live with the shards would no doubt be a worse fate then whatever possibly outcome could come from the procedure failing. Yes, the chance of her death was possible and the logical part of her mind was certainly repeating that message inside her mind but the other half was saying something else. If she was ever going to truly develop, then she would have to be able to put her aside logic when necessary and instead rely on her more instinctive traits, which were buried within her. The fact that she had been able to accept Lily's offer was something that she had perhaps not been able to do, just a short time ago and now she was laying there, allowing her friend to perform a life threatening operation. How quickly things were already changing inside her mind.

At first, she felt very little as Lily went about her work but that would soon change when the acid started eating away at her skin. Yes, the pain had been numbed by the poison but it was still an uncomfortable sensation and Menka did clench and unclench her hands once or twice. It was the response that she generally gave to discomfort. She did not utter a word of complaint though and continued to lay still but it was an early warning to her about what was going to happen. She could have turned her head to watch what was happening but she decided against that particular move. The slayer was curious about what was happening but she did not wish to put Lily off by staring at either her or her work and so instead simply closed her eyes for a moment, trying to put the discomfort to one side.

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Lily had no delusions about what this would feel like to Menka. Even with the paralytic poison removing her sense of pain and touch on her back having your skin and uppermost layers of flesh be eaten away by a strong acid wasn't something that any living creature was built to shrug off. She was impressed by how well the black-haired woman was handling the situation but that didn't mean she wanted to drag this out any longer than necessary. It was, however, also of utmost importance that she didn't hurry this. If she wanted to give Menka a fully regenerated and functional back with no metal shards embedded in it she would have to be thorough, even if that meant her friend had to endure the discomfort for longer.

"Everything is going good so far. Just try to relax if possible." She couldn't blame Menka for the tenseness in her muscles, the clenching of her fists, but if she tensed up too much it might get in the way of removing the metal shards.

The dryad remained wholly focused on her work, with great care slowly moving the acid around above the metal slayer's back to slowly strip away layers of skin and flesh, until she finally began to encounter metal shards, reflecting the light of the sun and sticking out like sore thumbs amidst the bloody red organic parts of Menka's body. As she kept the acid liquid steady with one hand she held out the other, her fingers lengthening and hardening until thumb and forefinger had turned into wooden tongs. Strengthening the fibers to resist the acid she moved her hand into the liquid. After testing that her wooden appendage would hold up she grabbed the first metal shard and pulled it loose, using the acid to further eat away at the flesh around it to help loosen it up. Once the metal was freed she quickly placed it on a bare patch of ground to the side before moving to the next shard.

Like this the green-eyed girl continued her work, removing shard after shard while controlling the acid to help loosen up the flesh without eating away anything more. Once she could find no more metal she'd have the acid move a bit lower to see if there were more shards hidden deeper into Menka's body. The procedure was somewhat hindered by the fact that she couldn't actually sense the metal directly, but she managed to compensate by instead getting a feel of the way life flowed through her patient's body and then figuring out where the gaps where, where the dead metal was in the way of life's flow. It was a good thing that even though her primary affinity was plants her bond with life itself was strong enough that she could at least figure out the composition of a flesh and blood body if she got the opportunity to calmly study it.

That said, Lily wasn't getting out of this operation without her own share of stress. She wasn't the one under the metaphorical knife, but the knowledge that a slipup could easily kill her friend meant that there was a lot of mental pressure. Even her optimistic nature couldn't completely negate the effects of that.

Unless anything interfered with the procedure there'd eventually be a point where the dryad couldn't find any more metal shards. Checking again to make sure she hadn't just overlooked it she briefly hesitated about how to proceed. So far she'd been able to pull it off, but maybe she should hurry with regenerating that which she'd stripped away. She didn't know how long Menka could withstand this...

"You've got an affinity with metal, right? Can you tell if there are any shards I've missed? If not I'll begin closing up your back now."

Doing her utmost to remain calm and collected, Menka would attempt to relax her body in order to help Lily with her work. That being said, it was an incredibly difficult task for her and the discomfort that she was soon starting to feel was at a level that made her want to do more than simply tense her muscles. She was thankful that the pain was absent but the discomfort was almost as bad and the thought that a sudden movement from her could be disastrous made the situation even more trying for her.There was little in the way of reaction by her expression but that was simply how she was in general. Inside was a slightly different story and the numbness of her back was unable to shield her from the memories that were beginning to surface within her mind. The scientist had often kept her concious while performing on her although she had assumed that it was simply as a test of how well she had managed to suppress her emotions or more likely, whether his previous tests had actually increased her endurance. They were memories that she did not wish to recall and yet she was unable to stop them.

The procedure was a horrible experience for her but in order to keep herself from losing control, Menka would simply replay the conversation that she and Lily had previously, which did a fair job of getting rid of her unpleasant memories, as well as the discomfort. The thought of being able to do simple things such as being able to lay on a bed without puncturing the sheets was a surprising comfort to her and so she focused on the positives. She could only imagine what Lily was going through though and Menka briefly pondered about whether she had perhaps been selfish by accepting the Dryad's offer to do this. They had only just met and here she was, laying in front of her new friend, with her back wide open. The logical part of her mind, however, was quick to reason that the decision was one that had both agreed to and that they had both known the risks of this, mentally and physically.

By the time that Lily had removed what appeared to be all of the shards, Menka was almost shaking inside although she had the strength to keep it from showing on the outside. When asked about whether she could detect any more hunks of metal, she would briefly use her metal affinity to detect if there were any. A few seconds would pass before she answered, her metallic tone of voice somewhat masking how she was coping with the procedure, "I do not detect any more shards and from what I can tell, all of the useless pieces have been removed. You have successfully removed them all, Lily."

She would fall silent for a short time, before adding, feeling that something more had to be said "I apologise for putting you through this."

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As trying as this was for the both of them Lily wasn't about to throw in the towel. If she stopped halfway through the procedure she would be doing Menka more than just a disservice, she'd be inflicting grievous harm on her friend all because she couldn't stomach doing what she could for someone who clearly had lived a harsh life and could use someone supporting them and helping them out. She also hoped that Menka herself could stay in control: the raven-haired girl was aware that Lily was doing it for her sake, but even so the discomfort must be immense, even more than the pressure the dryad was feeling from the knowledge that she was risking a great deal by opening her friend's back like this.

She was grateful that Menka managed to stay on top of things and keep herself still. She assumed that being part mechanical would help with that: while her knowledge on machines was abysmal she did know that because of their cold metallic nature their movements tended to be abrupt and deliberate, with very little of those little automatic movements that most animated creatures possessed. Even if this was stressful for her it was still much worse for Menka, paralytic poison or no. She was honestly impressed by how well the metal slayer was enduring, as she had yet to notice a single twitch or groan coming from her friend even as her back was torn open and metal shards removed from where they pierced her flesh.

Having Menka confirm that there were no metal shards left was a huge relief, the dryad nearly sighing before stopping herself. She didn't think Menka would appreciate the green-eyed girl showing any kind of weakness or uncertainty right now. While the metallic voice was difficult to read the dryad was quite confident in the belief that Menka wasn't having an easy time of it, so she wanted to finish this quickly now that the worst was over with. When her friend actually apologized she couldn't help but blink, a soft giggle escaping her lips as she shook her head. "I was the one who offered to help, and I'm not the one having their back regrown. I'm just happy that I can be of aid to you."

With that said she procured another sphere of water from the lake, this one purified and sparkling as it reflected the light in a myriad ways. Moving with more confidence now that she was no longer fishing for metal amidst the flesh the dryad replacing the contaminated water with the pure alternative, the new liquid smoothly taking over the pressure that helped keep Menka's blood in her veins. Once the raven-haired woman's entire back was covered in non-acid water Lily began the actual growing process, quickly warning Menka beforehand. "This might tickle a bit, but it's probably still better than the first part."

Drawing power from herself, the earth beneath them, the water hovering on top of Menka, and Menka herself, Lily guided a strong stream of life force into her friend's body while also guiding it in the right direction to be used for regrowth. Of course given the fact that humans usually didn't regrow entire lost body parts she also had to take a bit of Menka's blood so she got a good understanding of the makeup of the woman's body so she could control the regrowth process. Amidst the bloody red mass that was Menka's back, now devoid of irregular metal shards, veins lengthened and nerve networks expanded while new flesh flew forth as if water escaping from a hitherto untapped well. With the template of Menka's body perceived through the drop of blood she'd extracted Lily had a relatively easy time moulding everything, although there was little she could do about the fact that those new nerve endings would begin sending signals that weren't halted by her poison.

A giggle was not the response that Menka had expected after her apology but in a way, it did help her to relax, knowing that her friend was in complete control. She could not detect any sign of worry or panic in the dryad's voice, which was a comfort to say the least. The slayer knew that the pressure on her friend must be immense at this point and she wished that there was more that she could do to help. However, besides laying there as still as possible, she could not think of anything at the time. Words could only do so much and accidentally putting Lily off because of her speech would only end in disaster and so, she kept silent for the majority of the time. Fortunately, her tolerance for pain was at such a stage that she was able to continue to remain still although she was aware that there was a limit. Menka was half machine and maintaining the balance between her biological and metallic sides was the most difficult part of her existence.

She was thankful for the warning about the next part of the procedure and as her nerve endings began sending signals through out her body, the slayer became aware of it incredibly quickly. It was another barrage of unpleasant sensations that Menka had to fight incredibly hard in order to stop herself reacting too. She could only imagine what it would have felt like without the poison and even with it, the slayer had to close her eyes after a while and focus inwards. It felt like a non stop barrage of short shocks to her system, numerous and unpredictable, causing crackles of discomfort at various points. Staying still became even more difficult but the slayer forced herself in to remaining where she was for just a little longer. The worst might have been over but Menka was not foolish enough to just to conclusions just yet and continued to follow Lily's original instruction.

As this latest part of the operation was taking place, she began to feel the voice that had drawn her here to begin with once more, gently encouraging her to hold out. That was not the message that it had delivered before and Menka was somewhat puzzled about why it chose this moment to reappear. It was as if it was more than simply a voice but the discomfort was simply too much for her to think about such things and instead she just used it as a crutch, to keep her from losing her mind or giving in to the pain. She would note later that it was an almost human thing to do but perhaps that was what she needed, to be pushed to the edge, in order to draw out her long buried emotions.

Her head would eventually turn and look up towards Lily though and found herself having to speak, her blue eyes saying what her lack of a vocal tone could not, "I do not think that tickle is the right word for this." Understatement of the year.

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Even as the nerve endings formed at rapid pace and veins interwove and branched off into smaller and smaller pathways Lily formed the flesh that was flowing forth as if it was wet clay, not using her own hands but instead the water that was covering Menka's back and preventing any filth from the outside world interfering with the regrowth process. With how much effort the dryad was putting into this and how precise she was working to restore Menka to a pristine condition that amount of knowledge she got about the woman's body was immense. But at the same time, perhaps even more so than before, the green-eyed girl was focusing every ounce of concentration she had into perfecting the procedure. So much that even when her friend looked up at her to comment on the uncomfortable sensations the dryad could do little but nod while her eyes stayed glued to Menka's back. If she was an animal she'd probably have been sticking out her tongue, but instead her movements had become nearly minimal.

The sun shone from above, the water of the lake glittered as it reflected the light, leafs of the trees towering above and beyond rustled as the wind brushed across their thick exterior. The ground was soft and smelled of dirt which hadn't been disturbed for years aside from the careful movements of jungle critters and now the two magical folk. Even as she concentrated on the task at hand Lily felt herself becoming more aware of the world around her, her toes and the tip of her tail buried in the ground as if to take root while her hands stayed stuck in their position hovering above the pure waters that protected Menka's back. Time felt like it was passing a lot slower than normal, she could hear every sound of the jungle around her distinctly.

However this moment couldn't last forever no matter how hard Lily focused, so eventually time flowed onwards. And further onwards. Minutes and minutes of careful work passed before the healer finally began to form the final layer of skin, that bloody red of living flesh finally disappearing beneath healthy new skin which had yet to be blemished by anything. While this entire idea had begun with the desire to remove those scars in the end it seemed almost like an afterthought, a little victory to finish off a taxing task which had turned into something much more invasive and complicated. Still, Lily couldn't say that she wasn't happy with what she had done. From what she could tell Menka's back had been cleansed of any metal shards, and there were no signs of mistakes or flaws during the regrowth.

"Sorry for taking so long, but I think I'm done now." After checking to make sure there were no veins she'd overlooked Lily withdrew the water, for the first time allowing fresh air to touch Menka's behind since her healing process began. With gentle movements she lowered her hand and brushed her fingertips against the raven-haired slayer's skin, moving them around as she felt how tiny hairs brushed against her brown fingers. "can you feel this?" Of course even if everything looked fine there was still the possibility of error, so first of all she had to test whether her patient could feel things through her new, flawless back.

There was something about the look in Lily's eye as she worked that stopped the metal slayer from saying anything else while her friend completed her work. A look of pure focus which Menka certainly did not want to ruin by saying anything unexpected. It was fascinating to actually be able to watch, despite the fact that it was her own back that was being repaired and although the discomfort was still there but it would slowly began to disappear, as the nerve endings and layers of skin continued to grow. The worst of it had passed and the purple haired woman was now able to appreciate the sensations of not only Lily's work but the jungle around her as a whole. She had been so determined about finding the source of the voice that she had practically ignored her surroundings for the most part and it was only now, when moving was out of the equation, that she could appreciate it for what it was. Perhaps exploration was in order, once the procedure was complete and all ready the mechanical part of her mind was beginning to plot and plan the most efficient way of doing that although it was quickly brought back to heel, reminding herself that rest would surely be needed first.

It was when Lily removed the water that had covered her back that her attention snapped back to the here and now although thankfully, there was no further discomfort. In fact, just being able to feel fresh air tickling her back was a pleasant sensation and her body would completely relax for the first time since the procedure had started. She would stretch out her long limbs across the grass, taking up a slightly more comfortable position. A smile might have crossed her face if she had been capable of it but as it was, her expression remained as neutral as ever although a hint of joy in her gaze could be noticed in her blue eyed gaze for a few moments. She would just allow the air to lightly tease her back, appreciating just having the opportunity to feel such sensations on her back again.

When Lily brushed her fingers against her, her body would twitch although it was not in an unpleasant way, "Yes, I can feel that, it tickles." She did not want to jump the gun, so to speak but the metal slayer could not help but feel that the procedure had been a complete success, despite the thought in the back of her mind, warning her not to jump to conclusions. Her gaze would then return to Lily and after a few moments, she would add, "Are you all right, Lily? That must have taken a lot out of you." In truth, she was more concerned about her friend's state of being than her own and as she asked the question, her back would gently twitch once or twice more, as the slayer became used to having a fully functional back again.

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Hearing Menka's confirmation that she could feel Lily's touch without any issues the dryad gave a released sigh, stroking the woman's back a bit longer before pulling her fingers back and finally allowing herself to relax. "That's good then. If you can't find any other problems or possible flaws I think we can call this a success." Taking a deep breath Lily smiled, shaking her head when Menka asked if she was all right. "Don't worry about that. I mean it did take a lot of effort but if it worked then it's completely worth it." Most of the stress Lily underwent was mental anyway, given that she had to focus her magic to make sure nothing went wrong and also had to bear the knowledge that if she messed up Menka might end up paying the price. However the green-eyed girl was nothing if not upbeat, so now that the danger of failure was gone she was already recovering quickly.

"I was worried that I might mess up so I can't call the actual work pleasant, but I'm happy that I was able to help you out." She glanced down towards the metal shards which were now gathered in a pile on that same patch of soft ground that she'd been depositing them on, gleaming where they managed to catch the light. The dryad couldn't see anything special about them, but then again she had no affinity for metal or technology so the best she could say was that they were definitely not natural. She looked back towards Menka, wondering if her friend would know more about these things. "So... can you notice anything about these shards? They look like normal metal to me. Should we bury them or something?" She wasn't sure if Menka wanted to talk about the metal shards already, although on the other hand it wasn't like those things had done her any wrong. It was the man who put them inside of the raven-haired girl who had done her wrong, and she'd already taken care of that one.

"Also, do you have any idea what you want to do next? You said that you felt something calling you to this place, but it's a pretty big jungle. Unless you can pinpoint where that call wanted you to go you could end up wandering for miles. Unless you think that whatever called you simply wanted you to live here..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about that possibility, then shrugged. While not impossible it felt a bit odd that something would call Menka all the way here just so she could loiter about without some specific goal or purpose. "I kind of doubt that last one, but it's not like it'd be a bad thing right?" She smiled again, pulling her tail free from where the tip had embedded itself into the ground as she leaned backwards to where she could support her upper body by placing her hands on the ground, taking a more relaxed position now that she wasn't busy with life-threatening operations.

"Thank you, I appreciate what you have done more than I can say," the slayer would answer, struggling a little to find the right words but delighted with the results of Lily''s work, all the same. Slowly, Menka would shift position and end up in a cross legged sitting position, deciding that it was probably not wise to test her back too much yet by laying flat on it. The relief that she felt from being healed was impossible to describe and the temptation to run her back over the freshly regrown skin was a difficult one to fight off. Pondering to herself briefly, she believed that even if she did not find the source of the voice that had brought here then it would not truly matter, as meeting Lily had opened her eyes to something important. Yes, the the procedure had been uncomfortable but the friendship and trust that had been created between the dryad and her was more than worth the discomfort.

When Lily mentioned the shards, Menka would gently reach out and take the closest one in to her hand. It was a rather strange sensation to be suddenly holding something that was covered in her own blood but she was able to see past that and focus. The blue eyed woman would close her eyes and turn her attention on to the shard, allowing her affinity for the material to come forth, slowly moving her hand across it. At first, she felt nothing from it but after thirty seconds or so, she would feel a sense of familiarity with it, which caused a theory to start forming in her mind. Without any further thought, she would briefly wipe off the blood, before taking a bite out of it, knowing full well that she would be safe, given her previous experiences. The taste was awfully familiar and after a moment of thinking, she would speak out, "I believe that these shards were made from the same substance that the lacrima was made of, which seems a little too convenient for my liking. As if the scientist was deliberately using this form of metal when working on me. Perhaps these shards are actually from a creature of some kind rather than being typical metal."

She would fall silent for a while and ponder but it was not until Lily's next point that seemed to put two and two together and after some further thought, she would speak again, "I wonder if maybe the voice and the shards are connected, with them coming from the same creature, trying to aid me in my goal to regain my humanity. It is difficult to see past logic but there is a part of me that wants to understand that there is more to life than that. As for what to do next, I am wondering if perhaps I was brought here for the sake of starting again, free from the human norms and values that I do not understand. I know that it sounds illogical, a creature of metal, living in a land of nature but I wonder if that is what the voice is trying to encourage me to do."

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"You're welcome, really! It's good to see you in better condition." Menka had stated before that it was difficult for her to really feel the same way humans normally did, so Lily understood that it would be difficult for the raven-haired woman to express herself. And it was quite difficult for even most 'normal' folk to express their feelings and thoughts accurately, so it wasn't anything to feel ashamed about either. For the dryad just those simple thanks were already more than enough, together with seeing that her attempts at helping her new friend had worked out so well. She watched as Menka slowly pushed herself back into an upright seated position, trying to find signs of discomfort or pain and finding none. Of course Menka was pretty good at hiding how she felt, but Lily chose to believe that the lack of signs was another indication that the procedure had been a resounding success.

She'd have liked to say some more, but she noticed that Menka had quickly reacted to her question and begun focusing on the shards. Not wanting to interrupt the metal slayer's concentration Lily remained quiet, instead using this opportunity to restore her own self to pristine condition and absorb some energy from the earth below and the sunlight shining down on them from above. Like a plant she refreshed herself, silently enjoying the world until Menka spoke up again, at which point the green-eyed girl looked and noticed that her friend was eating the shards. "The same metal as what your lachrima is made of? Hmmm..." Frankly Lily wasn't sure what to make of that, although she listened attentively when Menka suggested that maybe the shards were remnants of the creature the lachrima was made out of. "Well, there's that imitation magic you civlized people use, right? Where you use the power of magical creatures to fight those same creatures? I've heard things about people using that kind of magic to fight dragons and demons and gods..." She frowned before holding up a finger. "I don't know much about it, but couldn't that kind of magic be best made by just taking the power of such creatures and inserting them into whoever you want to enhance that way? Maybe those shards and that lachrima are the remains of a metal creature or something." It was, at best, a bit of a rough theory, but it did kind of make sense to Lily. Take the power from something you knew to be strong, and try to put it inside something else to add that power. It'd be a very... mortal thing to do, as those civlized folk did like to enhance their own powers with external sources, be it tools or contracts or... this, she guessed.

"Well... I admit I don't really know the answer to all that. It might be that whatever creature these shards belonged to is calling to you, although I've yet to see any sign of a metal creature in these parts." She gave a smile as she placed a hand on Menka's shoulder. "However no matter where the voice is coming from and for what reason, I don't think it's strange that you might want to try living here instead of in the civilized areas. You're not even the first one in these parts." She pointed towards deeper into the jungle. "There's other people here who wanted to get away from the cities and all those other big places filled with people. If you want to stay here for a while, whether it's to try living in nature or to find out the real source of the call, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you stuck around. They've already got a kind of lair set up so you don't have to worry about having to set everything up by yourself either."

Her knowledge of magic was rather weak and most of what Lily spoke of regarding imitating the abilities of creatures was new to her. It was a curious notion and she pondered to herself for a few moments, although the majority of her thoughts were more concerned about why the scientist would do such a thing to her, rather than the limits of the magic. Menka had no craving for power and besides her natural intrigue, she did not feel much towards her abilities at all, as with most things when it came to her. Lily's theory did make sense though and the logical part of her mind would begin to put two and two together. She would take a second metal shard and swiftly take a bit out of that too, to confirm her original statement about the taste and it did seem to have that same taste. "It would explain a great deal if that is the case," Menka would answer, "There is little that I actually know about my own magic besides the fact that it stems from metal although I would like to think that whichever creature created this magic is still out there somewhere. I could not begin to fathom what the body of a god or a demon would compose of but perhaps there is a way to consider the idea of whether it is a dragon?" She would gently pick up yet another shard and place it close to the dryad, "Do you think that you would be able to use your affinity with nature to detect whether this shard is actually a dragon scale or at least, some kind of reptile's?" As she continued to ponder, a second method began to blossom in her mind too but for the time being, it would simply sit in the back of her mind.

She found Lily's words about the voice in her mind and wanting to live in the jungle comforting, even if she was a little uncertain about just what the dryad''s gesture of putting her hand on Menka's shoulder was about. Menka did her best to appreciate anyway though and nodded her head in response. The revelation that there were others living in the jungle was intriguing and seemed to help fill in the gaps of just why she had been called here, or at least, opened up a possible reason to her. She was curious enough to ask a question though, "Who are these people who live within the jungle? I have certainly not seen anyone besides yourself while travelling through although I would imagine that they are probably far more stealthy than me." That was somewhat of an understatement, given that the blue eyed woman had the subtlety of an elephant having a bad day. It was a comforting thought though and as her curiosity continued to return to her, she briefly pondered about Lily herself and asked a second question, "Have you had any dealings with this group, if I may ask? I would appreciate anything that you could tell me about them, before I try and seek them out."

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"Whatever creature that shard came from might still be alive: those mythical creatures don't die easily, and even a fragment of their body would already hold plenty of power for the civilized folk." Although Lily was talking as if she knew those mythical beings personally she was mostly going off of what she'd learned throughout the years. Dragons were some of the strongest beings in existence, about the only creatures born from this realm who could fight off powerful entities from other realms on their own. Even gods and demons were supposed to take dragons seriously. As for said gods and demons... well, part of what made them problematic was their sheer persistence. Lily couldn't say she was fond of either side either, as she would rather they left this world alone rather than treating it as a playground and a battlefield at the same time.

"The easiest way to check whether you've got that type of magic would be to talk to someone who is known for possessing the power of some magical creature and asking them if they can feel the same kind of power inside of you." When Menka asked her to study the metal shard to see if she could make any sense out of it the green-eyed girl nodded and picked up the shard, ignoring the blood as she closed her eyes and focused. After several seconds of intense concentration, nearly half a minute, she opened her eyes with a loud sigh and shook her head. "Sorry, I can't feel much from this. It's definitely not normal metal and there's lots of magic in it, but I've never met metal creatures before so I can't say for sure whether this belongs to one of them. I THINK it does, but I could easily be wrong." She gave the shard back to the raven-haired woman with an apologetic look. "Sorry again."

As the topic of other inhabitants of the jungle was breached by Menka the dryad lightened up a bit, pointing towards the depths of the jungle with her free hand. "Oh, they're a lot deeper than this. There's this old stone palace left behind by a civilization which has been gone for years, so they all settled into it. Much easier for them than to build a new home out of nothing. As for what kind of people they are..." She folded her arms as she thought about it, then smiled. "They're nice people I think. At least they allow me to come and go without any trouble. I was there when they settled into those ruins, and I often visit them to see how they're doing. Just like you they seem to mostly be here because they couldn't feel at home back with the other civilized people. If I tell them that you're my friend they should be friendly to you as well."

The thought of the creature still being alive was an intriguing one and it gave at least a possibility, which was something for her to go on at least. The more that she heard, the more sense it seemed to make and the gaps in her theory were beginning to be filled although it was by no means a fool proof one. Her knowledge of gods and demons was pretty much non existent and besides coming across the occasional religious person on her short travels, there was very little to go on. However, given that she had no sense of religion herself and that those who did seemed to rather obsessed in their ways and could come off as rather hostile at times, especially when their beliefs were challenged. "I would like to believe that my powers stem from a dragon rather than the other two, as the thought of inheriting the powers from either a god or demon seems unsettling to me. I have no wish to be either worshipped or feared and I from the little I have heard of those beings, that is what they seem to crave."

She would fall silent as Lily attempted to find the source of the shard, watching with a curious blue eyed gaze although hoping that she would not break her friend's concentration. When the dryad sighed and shook her head, Menka assumed that she had been unsuccessful or at least partly so. However, the metal slayer was slightly encouraged though when hearing that the possibility of it belonging to a dragon was possible. "You have nothing to apologise for and I appreciate the fact that you at least tried, Lily. It is something to go on at least and there is at least a possibility that it stems from a dragon, which is far more than I knew before coming here. I consider that to be progress." Taking the shard back in to her hand, Menka would briefly wipe off the blood, before devouring it. She was uncertain as to why she kept doing that but somehow, it seemed as if she was getting closer to the source of her magic, each time she took a bite. A foolish notion probably but at least for her human half, it seemed to make sense.

Tilting her head in curiosity as the dryad would then go on and speak about the people who had moved in to the jungle, Menka would briefly ponder her options. From what Lily had said, it was well worth visiting although the metal slayer would at least like to know a little more before  proceeding. Her views on life and the world as a whole were still developing but there was at least a foundation deep inside and she would not go against that, "If they are an nice as you say then I will gladly meet with them although I have to wonder if they would accept me. I am hardly a woman of nature, as you are. In fact, I suppose I am the complete opposite of that." Perhaps she was assuming again but her mind was drifting to the idea that this group were probably quite primal in nature and if that was the case then how could she possibly fit?

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