Daniel peeked out the window and watched his daughter standing next to a car, chatting with the young man who owned it. Though the day's outing was a civil protest against a factory releasing contaminated wastewater, he could see in the manner of the couple that there was far more than a sense of civic duty motivating their time together.

Though she was dressed in a conservative manner, it could do little to hide her natural allure. She had her mother's willowy, shapely figure, and the same natural grace. Her long, honey-blonde hair almost seemed an extension of the bright spring sunlight. Though she'd inherited only the slightest touches of her mother's golden skin tone, it served to make her absolutely glow — especially when she smiled.

Wildly conflicting emotions surged through him as he watched. His protective instincts nagged at him to call her inside immediately, knowing all too well the surging hormones of young men from his own youth. He swelled with pride, knowing that she was doing her part to make the world a better place for everyone. He felt twinges of jealousy, and even touches of amusement as he observed the awkward interaction between the couple.

Daniel chuckled as a frond reached out from one of the plants next to the door to caress his arm. The house was nearly a jungle after years of Xantina and Brina — or Xanbrina as they called her when alone — nurturing every plant they could squeeze inside. He'd happily installed larger windows and skylights to accommodate the plants for the reward of their smiles.

He knew the plant's touch was no mere coincidence, either. He could feel Xantina's comforting aura — and just a touch of her amusement — creeping through him as the leaves tickled his skin and raised goose bumps. His dryad soulmate was likely listening to the conversation outside through the nearby grass and flowers. Anywhere there was a plant, Xantina was there. Brina was probably feeling the same comforting touch of her mother's presence that calmed him.

Nevertheless, Daniel breathed a sigh of relief when the couple parted with a wave, rather than a kiss.

Daniel moved away from the window as Brina virtually skipped up to the house. He knew that she knew he was watching, but part of the game was for both of them to pretend that they didn't. When she walked in the door with a wide, bright smile, he asked, "So how did it go?"

"Wonderful, Father. The Mayor and the Governor both came. The man in charge had a press conference to announce that clean-up was already underway, and to apologize for letting it happen."

"Somehow I think he knew what was going on, and he's only reacting because he got caught," Dan chuckled.

"Oh, Father ... If he does what he says, then we should give him the benefit of the doubt. You're so cynical, Daddy."

"Maybe a little. You're ready for your test tomorrow, aren't you? I know this was important, but so are your studies. You need to keep your grades up so you can move on from community college."

"I'm ready. I really like that class, so it's easy for me."

"I trust you." He then laughed when a vine snaked out to tug on Brina's blouse. "I think your mother wants to talk to you. Go see her, tell her I love her, and that I'll be back from town in a couple of hours. There's a new contract that I need to look over."

"Okay, Daddy. I love you, too."

Daniel hugged her and said, "Run along. Love you, Brina."

She hurried to the side door of the house as he walked out the front door, hoping he could return soon. Though he'd only left her side a few minutes earlier, he already missed his beautiful mate despite her presence permeating the house through the foliage within.

"I like this boy very much," Xantina giggled as she emerged from her pool, rivulets of water running down her golden skin. She smoothed the water from her hair, the color of new leaves, and sat down on the moss while her daughter undressed.

Xanbrina's cheeks filled with color, but not from her partially unclad state, which was more natural to her than wearing clothing, as she was forced to do outside her mother's wood by the norms of society. She removed her bra with a profound sigh of relief, feeling the spring breeze kiss her unbound breasts. The pale, pink tips of her firm globes stiffened from the cool touch of air and her exhilaration. Her panties soon followed the brassiere into a neat pile, revealing her bare sex. This too she had inherited from her mother, and not a single hair grew anywhere on her body except the golden tresses atop her head.

She sat down and hugged her mother, after which Xantina touched her daughter's cheek. "The color is very pretty, but I wonder why it is there?"

"I like Gary, too."

"He is a nice boy. The world sings of his soul to me. He is very pretty, too — like your father."

Though she still felt little twinges of embarrassment, Brina was quite used to her mother's frank and honest nature by now. "I don't know if he likes me, though — at least like that."

"I think he does. I think you have found your mate, the one whose seed you will nurture within you to bring new life." Seeing her daughter shiver, concern crossed Xantina's beautiful face. "What is wrong, my Xanbrina?"

"I'm afraid," Brina answered, taking her mother's offered hand.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Xantina laughed. She pointed up into the trees at a pair of squirrels at play amongst the branches overhead. "They have mated, and share their joy. It is a natural thing. Why fear?"

"It's not like that out there," Brina explained, gesturing toward the edge of the woods, back toward the house. "There are bad people who do bad things."

Xantina pursed her lips and nodded. "Men are strange creatures," she admitted. "The one you have chosen as a mate is not a bad boy. The winds whisper his name with happiness."

"I haven't chosen him as a mate, Mother," Brina argued, casting her eyes downward.

A wide, knowing smile spread across the green-haired nymph's face as she gently lifted her daughter's chin. "Have you not?"

Those simple words unlocked a secret that Xanbrina had unconsciously worked so hard to hide from everyone — even herself. She covered her mouth with one hand, her cheeks growing even redder with the realization.

Xantina's joyful laughter filled the wood as she kissed her daughter's forehead. "Now, it's time to let him know. The sooner you both stop being silly, the sooner you can do nice things for each other."

"I'm afraid of that too, Mother. I ... I don't know what to do."

"Yes you do," Xantina countered. "All are born knowing how to bring new life into the world." She paused, remembering her own long education in the ways of mating in the world of men. Such things were not so complicated in the rest of nature, but she'd come to appreciate the result of those complications. "It is always good to learn, though. I will teach you about the nice things you can do for him."

"Will it ... Will it hurt?"

Xantina cradled her daughter's head against her shoulder and stroked the young woman's blonde tresses. "Shh — don't worry about it right now. I'll talk with your father. He knows the ways of men." She then nuzzled her face up against her daughter's head and said, "Come swim with me?"

"Okay," Brina replied, unsure whether she was glad for the change of subject, or disappointed that her mother didn't plan to continue talking about the nice things, as she'd always called what boys and girls did when they were alone. She did know that she loved swimming with her mother, and communing with the plants and animals below the lapping surface of the pool.

Both women stood as one, and then dived into the crystal clear waters.

"Oh boy," Daniel breathed as he lay talking with Xantina alongside her pool after making love to her. She often used these languid moments to wheedle favors from her mate, which he almost always agreed to without question. His mind wandered for a moment as he wondered whether the females of all species took advantage of how tractable their males were after sex.

"What is it?" She asked, hearing the surprise and hesitation in his voice.

"Xantina, I know you're not going to understand this, but that's just not done out there. Do you remember how I told you that I'm always uncomfortable when we're both here and naked?"

"Yes, and it is silly," Xantina laughed, rubbing her nose against his and then kissing his neck.

"Maybe, but Xanbrina has to live in that world too, and nobody out there is going to understand things like that."

"How is she to learn to do the nice things? We know how to do them, and she can watch us and learn, as I learned from others doing them here. We do the nice things very well." She giggled and traced her fingers along his flaccid manhood, causing it to twitch with new life.

Daniel groaned, feeling blood surging into his loins from her touch. Half of the men his age were starting to have problems getting it up at all, but Xantina managed to coax him to hardness several times a day. He didn't know if he was just lucky, or if it was just more of his mate's magic — and he didn't really care. "I just couldn't do it, Xantina. I don't think I could get hard with her watching, even if I could try. She's probably just going to have to learn the hard way, by trying things until..." He stopped and laughed. "Even talking about it is making me cringe."

Seeing that his cock had ceased to rise, and knowing even better from the genuine discomfort she could feel from him, Xantina abandoned her plan. Even if she didn't understand why, she knew now that it wouldn't work. She put on a pretty pout and said, "Don't think about these things any more, then. You are right about the ways of men that I do not understand."

"She'll be fine," Daniel sighed as Xantina caressed his family jewels, rubbing her thumb along his shaft at the same time. Once again, his softening cock reversed course.

Xantina already had a new plan in mind, one that would serve almost as well to educate her daughter. With a little grin and a lick of her lips, she slurped his half-hard cock into her mouth to take his mind off the whole subject.

It worked quite well indeed.

Brina kicked off her sandals to walk barefoot across the lawn, as she always did. There was much of her mother in her, and the direct connection to the earth always seemed to give her energy and peace. Gary waved to her, and she felt a tingle shoot through her entire body. She silently echoed her mother's thoughts, He is very pretty.

"Hey, Brina, what are you up to?"

Brina shrugged, "I don't know. I was supposed to go to the library with my study group, but I think they're going more to whisper and giggle about the librarian's assistant that's there today. It's too nice a day to be inside." Her heart beat fast in her chest, standing so close to him. She wanted to be much closer.

Gary nodded, the action looking a little exaggerated and nervous to Brina. "I was thinking I might go get a Subway and go study in the park." He paused for a moment. "You wanna come?"

She hesitated, wanting more than anything to agree, but scared to do so. The grass tickled her feet as she shuffled them nervously, and she felt the turmoil in her heart calm. "Sure, I'm a little hungry."

Looking almost surprised, he said, "Cool. I'll buy the Subway," and gestured for her to walk at his side.

Brina fell in beside him, unconsciously willing him to drape an arm over her shoulder, or reach out for her hand as they walked.

Xantina opened her eyes and let out a long breath. Reaching across the miles, too many of which were covered with concrete and asphalt, had been difficult beyond anything she's ever tried before. Since the revival of her wood and her joining with Daniel, she'd been able to stretch out her senses farther into the world, but this effort had proved exhausting. She knew that if she'd tried to touch anyone but her daughter or her mate, she could have never accomplished it.

She felt sympathy for another nymph she'd touched along the way, huddled in a tiny green space amongst the concrete and steel, her lifeforce so weak that she spent most of her time in reverie. Xantina knew that even that poor sister was a lucky one. Most of the others around her had withered away to nothing as progress paved over nature.

As her mate's bare foot touched the grass in the yard upon returning home, Xantina felt her strength surging. With her newfound energy, she reached across the miles once more, glad to find her daughter now within a stronger domain of nature — the park. She left a small measure of her consciousness watching over her daughter, and turned the rest to her beloved, who would soon join her in the wood, and her bed of moss.

"Xanbrina's home," Daniel mused as he relaxed with his mate along the edge of her pool.

Xantina giggled and kissed him. "I told you that you would know if you tried."

"She's also eager to see you, and thinking a lot about that boy she's seeing." Daniel stood and laughed. "I don't know if this is such a good thing for me to know how to do or not. I'm liable to find out some things I don't really want to know."

"You are silly," she admonished, crinkling her nose in such a way that Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "You should be happy that she will know the blessing of doing the nice things."

"In the abstract, I will be. I'm just not sure I want to know every tiny detail." He pulled on his pants and said, "So you think this Gary is the one?"

Xantina nodded. "He is the one to complete her, as you do me."

"And you me," Daniel responded with heartfelt affection. "I checked around a bit when he started coming around. He comes from a good family, he's never been in trouble, he's a good student, and a hard worker."

"He feels the magic of the Earth. There is only good in him. He will make her very happy."

Daniel finished dressing and noticed a gray hair on his shoulder that had fallen out as he pulled on his shirt. He plucked it up with a sigh and looked back at his dryad soulmate. She hadn't changed in the slightest over the almost twenty blissful years since they'd joined their lives. He knew that she never would. "Will you still love me when I'm all gray, bald, bony and crotchety?"

"You think about such silly things," she giggled as she kissed him. "I will love you for all time."

"Me too. I'll leave you two to girl talk. I probably don't want to know anyway."

He knew it was coming, but he still didn't manage to avoid her splash of water at him. She hadn't lost one iota of that skill since she'd started doing it when he was only a child with an 'imaginary friend'. It was as much a greeting and farewell between them as the kisses they shared.

He met his daughter skipping down the hill — literally this time — toward the wood as he stepped out into the full sunlight. "Your mom is waiting for you."

Brina paused to hug her father. Her face took on a serious, slightly worried expression as she asked, "Daddy, what do you think of Gary?"

"He's a nice young man."

"What if I started seeing him — you know — as more than friends?"

Daniel laughed. "Your mother approves, and I don't see any reason to disagree. A little late to be asking that question, isn't it?"

Brina blushed bright red and laughed. She couldn't manage to vocalize her answer, so she just nodded.

"Just remember, there are some things you should be ready for before you plunge in head first — like babies."

"Daddy!"

"I know. Believe me, I know," he laughed. "I'm no more comfortable talking about it than you are, but if certain things happen, take precautions until you're ready to start your own family. You both have school to finish." He gave her a final squeeze of her hand and walked away, ending the uncomfortable moment for both of them gracefully. "Go see your mother; she's waiting."

Brina glanced over her shoulder at her father. Despite the burning of her cheeks, she was glad he cared enough to fight his own discomfort and give his guidance. She then turned back toward the wood with the skip returning to her step.

"Did you have a nice time?" Xantina asked knowingly as her daughter stepped into the glade to do a pirouette as she peeled off her blouse.

"Wonderful. Oh, Mother, he's so sweet. We just talked and talked, and then he held my hand and I thought I was going to melt."

"And then..."

"You already know, don't you?" Brina laughed. "He kissed me." Her eyes fluttered closed and she moaned as she recalled it. "I don't know how long we stood there staring at each other, but people were whispering and giggling when I finally realized we weren't the only people in the world again." She let her panties drop to her ankles, and then sat down before her mother.

"Now, let me teach you about the nice things," Xantina giggled.

Brina's cheeks immediately warmed to bonfire intensity.

"Relax. Close your eyes," Xantina said as she held out her hands, palm up.

Brina did as her mother requested, though she found the first instruction far more difficult than the other.

Xantina reached out to the nature around her, drawing her daughter into the serenity of the spring evening. When Brina relaxed and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile toward her rosy cheeks, Xantina asked for a favor from the earth.

Knowing that her daughter shared some of her mate's uneasiness with such things, Xantina requested memories of the earth that did not involve her and Daniel. The world remembered all, in perfect detail, and Xantina asked it to show Brina the couples she'd watched as she learned the ways of mating amongst men.

Brina gasped as the images formed in her head. A beautiful blonde woman with a very outdated hairstyle kissed an equally out of date, handsome man. Their clothing lay scattered around the pool, and their hands roamed over each other's nude bodies in ways that both shamed and excited Brina.

The woman sat up as their lips parted, and Brina gasped again as the movement revealed the man's stiff organ. She had seen her father's many times over the years because of her mother's aversion to clothing, but she had never seen one erect before.

Xantina's voice crept into the scene, adding some of her own instructions in a manner as subtle as a breeze. Though Brina heard them, they seemed a natural part of the unfolding scene."

"See how she looks into his eyes? He will like that. Touch softly at first, it will make him want it all the more."

The people involved were as much a part of nature as the plants watching, and so Brina found her consciousness joined with the woman once her mother had shown her what she needed to know from afar. Brina could feel the stiff organ sliding between her lips and against her tongue. A burst of bittersweet flavor exhilarated her senses.

"When you do this nice thing well, he will become very excited. You must be careful, or his thing will go too far."

Her mother's instruction immediately preceded a tickle in her shared throat when the man's hips bucked upward just as her mouth came down. She halted before the mushroom tip could choke her, and wrapped her hand around the base.

The scenes continued, spanning the years, each showing Brina a new and different way to make a man groan with her mouth. The unique perspective of nature allowed her to learn far more than would have otherwise been possible. She knew the sensation to expect when a man's seed exploded into her mouth, how it would taste, and how it felt when it slipped down her throat into her belly.

Next, Brina learned about a man returning the favor of pleasuring him with her mouth. Her mother informed her about how to verbally and visually excite the man between her legs, in order to inspire him to greater efforts. She also learned how to subtly guide him toward those spots that would give her the most pleasure.

Then came the nicest thing of all, as Xantina called it with an excited giggle. She experienced the flash of pain in deflowering, the fullness and pleasure that followed, and the incredible intimacy of joining with the man she loved. She learned how to squeeze her intimate muscles, in order to enhance both of their pleasure.

By the time the lesson ended, Brina's apprehension and worry were fading, to be replaced by a steadily growing anticipation and desire.

Daniel pulled Xantina close as they stood at the edge of the wood watching over their daughter with her young lover.

He was wise enough not to directly think the word he more closely associated with what they were doing — spying. His dryad mate would never view it as such, and he felt no need to contradict her.

Xantina's magic hid them from view, ensuring that leaves and undergrowth always shielded them from the eyes of the couple sitting atop the hill, engaging in increasingly heavy petting. Despite having to avert his eyes as things reached a point where his whole face warmed, he still felt happy for his daughter. He could see in his daughter's eyes and in Gary's that they'd found the same thing he shared with Xantina.

Turning his thoughts away from things best left unconsidered by a father about his daughter for the sake of his sanity, Daniel drank in the green-haired beauty at his side. She'd never before ventured so close to the edge of the wood, and he could feel a hint of stiffness in her as she clung to him with unusual tenacity. "Are you okay, Love?"

She looked up at him and grinned. "Always in your arms. Tonight will be a joyful one."

"Because it's Earth Day?"

"Yes, but for another reason as well. You should stay with me this night."

Daniel's brow furrowed for a moment, and then his eyebrows shot upward. "Oh ... You mean... ?"

Xantina nuzzled up against her mate and kissed his neck. "Yes, she is ready. The magic of this night will bless them both." She kissed higher, and then suckled his earlobe, having recently discovered that such turned his knees to water. "It will bless us as well," she giggled.

Daniel shuddered from her touch and let his hand slide down to her firm, bare bottom. "I hope they're thinking about things."

Xantina tugged him back toward the heart of the wood. "Xanbrina agrees that now is not the time to nurture his seed in her womb. She must live in that world as well, so she must finish learning its ways."

"Good," Daniel responded, his eyes centered on his beautiful mate, who walked unerringly along the trail backwards, her body swaying sensually as she led him toward her pool and the bed of moss beyond.

Gary looked around and remarked, "Wow, you've got a lot of plants. They're everywhere."

"I like nurturing them," Brina responded, a little of the nervousness she'd thought gone creeping up within her again.

"I like it, it's different. The big windows and all the skylights are great. I bet you never have to turn on a light while the sun's up."

A tingle ran through Brina's loins as she gazed upon him, overwhelming the flash of hesitation she'd felt. She stepped in closer, and his lips found hers almost immediately. Her arousal now building, she kissed him hungrily, letting him feel her desire.

"So — uh — where are your folks?" Gary asked nervously.

"They're out for the night," she answered in a sweet, suggestive tone. Her mother had promised to keep her father busy until well into the morning. Her hand, resting on his hip, slipped forward until it rested over his manhood. Feeling him hard beneath her fingers, she squeezed him through his jeans and let out a gasp.

Gary groaned, "That feels good."

"Do you want to go to my room?" she asked, her hand still caressing his erection.

"Yeah."

Brina blushed and demurely cast her eyes downward as she led him through the house, but her smile was anything but shy. When she reached her bed, she turned back toward him and guided his hands to her blouse.

The couple slowly undressed each other, taking in every detail as their clothing fell to the floor. Gary's desire finally overcame him as Brina's panties slipped down her legs to her ankles. He leaned down to curl his tongue around her right nipple while his fingers crept between her legs to caress her folds.

Brina stiffened and arched her back, letting out a long, blissful gasp. She tugged down on his underwear, finding it difficult to coordinate her movements in her pleasure. Finally, she managed to work the elastic waistband over him to wrap her hand around his naked manhood. The feeling of him throbbing in her hand summoned up a fresh rush of wetness within her.

Gary released her nipple and leaned back with a groan, his fingers still between her legs and probing slightly between her nether lips. Brina looked down and that nagging voice of fear once more piped up in her head. He looked so big, and she couldn't imagine how he would possibly fit. A clear drop of pre-cum welled up from the purple tip of his frightening — yet enticing — organ, and Brina's mouth watered.

Brina looked up into his eyes, swallowed her fear, and smiled as she guided him to turn and lie down on the bed. He laid back, his eyes roving over her body with naked desire, and she climbed onto the bed at his feet.

Imitating the catlike crawl of a woman she'd observed in the lessons from her mother, Brina moved closer to his twitching phallus.

"You're so sexy," he breathed.

Improvising upon the crawl, Brina let out a moan that approximated a purr as she bent down to him. Her tongue flicked out, and she wetted his shaft from root to tip with a swift, broad-tongued stroke.

He let out a gasp and his cock twitched upward to press against her tongue as she lapped. The reaction evaporated the last of her fears. The knowledge that he liked what she was doing spurred her on with eager confidence. She locked her eyes with him as her mother had suggested, and wriggled her tongue up and down his cock. She ended with a kiss on the tip and asked him, "Does that feel good?"

"God, Brina — it feels incredible."

She kissed the swollen head once again, and then licked her lips before parting them wider to take him in.

A gasping groan erupted from him and his hips rose up toward her as she softly suckled his tip, tickling it with her tongue at the same time. Even the vivid impressions of her mother's dream teaching didn't compare to the real thing. Her senses reeled as he offered her another pearly drop of pre-cum, and the texture of his glans excited her beyond anything she'd ever imagined.

Brina took him deeper, drawing a groan from her young lover. She stroked him with her hot mouth while looking into his eyes to see intensifying pleasure in his features. She only broke her gaze when she wanted more of him, and had to change her angle to achieve it.

"Shi... 'Bout to come already," he growled, the sound half apology and half amazement.

Brina needed no apology, and knowing that she'd pushed him to the edge of ecstasy already spurred her to take him faster. Her honey-blonde hair bounced as she stroked her mouth quickly over his organ, her lips meeting her hand a few inches above the base with every suck. He twitched and thrust his hips toward her, only her restraining hand preventing him from pushing his cock into her throat. She felt his hand come to rest on her head, pushing her down every time his hips bucked upward. Brina increased the pace of her sucks, now hungry to feel him come in her mouth.

"Gonna come," Gary gasped out, the words broken up by gasps in time with her bobbing head.

"Mmm," she moaned around his shaft, feeling him swell between her lips. She maintained her pace, his vocalizations turning more primal and loud by the second. A growled scream erupted from him at the same time as his creamy offering.

Brina nearly choked as the viscous semen filled her mouth. She managed to keep her mouth closed around him and swallow, just in time for him to pulse and cry out again. Though the taste was a little off-putting, and the texture even more so, the knowledge that it arose from her bringing him to the heights of ecstasy made her tingle all over as she sucked him dry.

Gary pushed her away with a weak, trembling arm, unable to endure her sucking mouth any longer. Brina released him with a final slurp and a moan to sit up and smile at him.

"God, Bree," he gasped and pressed the heel of his hand over his softening organ. "That was incredible."

Brina blushed and giggled. She lay down next to her panting lover, her own needs surging within her. Her fingers crept between her legs to cool that burning desire, but she knew she would need more.

Gary looked over at her, and then at her fingers playing over her folds. He teased her left nipple with his thumb as she masturbated, and then cupped her right breast in his hand with a moan. When he moved his hand between her legs to her nether lips, Brina let him replace her fingers with his.

"Oh, Gary," Brina moaned, the sensation of his fingers teasing her need so different and far more exciting than touching herself.