Chapter 1

Calida Baxenby suppressed her irritation as she stalked out of the seminar room, watched by one of the other students. The course she was taking – woodland management – as part of her ecology degree was such a muddle of common sense, misguided altruism and plain stupidity that she wondered how she was going to cope ... even whether it was worth coping. But Debbie and Steve would be disappointed if she just gave up on her official identity; to be sure, they'd put a good face on it, but...

The young man followed, fascinated both by her lithe grace and the passion she had revealed during the seminar. Dared he...

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained ... faint heart never won fair lady ... fortune favours the brave... ' He laughed inwardly and speeded up.

"Calida!"

She didn't acknowledge him until he was within a couple of yards of her and had called her name again; then she paused, looked round and raised an eyebrow, her expression otherwise neutral.

"I, um..." having gained her attention, he was unsure how to proceed. "Got time for a coffee?"

Calida wasn't really in the mood for socialising, but something about the appeal in his expression charmed her and she smiled, "I've time, Sean ... but perhaps I could have fruit juice rather than coffee?"

A smile spread across his face – a little like a sunrise – and he said, "Anything the cafeteria has to offer."

They sat across a table, each with a tall, cold, glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of them. "I love this stuff," Calida commented.

"I just like to watch the machine squeezing the oranges. But it does taste great."

"So..." Calida prompted, after several minutes of silent sipping.

"Oh ... yeah. Sorry. It's just ... you seem to argue with the Prof a lot. Not only that, you're... passionate about it."

Calida grimaced, then smiled a little. "Yeah ... you could say I'm passionate about trees. Prof ... he knows the ... obvious ... scientific stuff, but he doesn't really know trees. Trees ... are ... oh, I can't express it."

"Calida, are you ... a pagan? Wiccan?"

"Not exactly, but in a way. I believe there are spirits in living things. In some that we think are not living, like boulders, too."

"Wow. I've always wished that was true. I used to devour stories from Greek myths. You know, about nymphs and dryads and the rest. The system tried to knock all that out of me, but I still wish..."

Calida frowned and thought for a moment. "Are you up for a date this weekend? Do you like camping?"

"With you?" his voice rose, ending in a most un-masculine squeak. He gulped nervously. "Sorry ... are you serious?"

"Very. Have you a car? It's not far we'll be going."

"Yes. Got a tent and such, as well."

"Oh, we won't need a tent. That's a part of this. Pack a sleeping bag if you really want, but you won't need it." She scribbled her address on a scrap of paper and handed it to him. "We'd better exchange mobile numbers, too. Pick me up on Friday ... about six."

Poor Sean was bemused and didn't absorb much of the lectures for the rest of the week despite trying. His tentative approach to Calida had resulted in more than he would have hoped for. To say he was nervous and excited would be an understatement. He drew up outside our house in Rustlings Road with several minutes to spare and I opened the door before he could ring the bell. Poor lad ... confronted suddenly by his date's father.

"Come in," I smiled, "Calida's ready – she's just talking to her mum." I didn't judge him by his apparent inarticulateness – is that a word? But he was tidily dressed in clothes suitable for the outdoors, clean shaven unlike my trimmed beard. He looked like a decent lad and I trusted Calida to choose carefully. I had every reason to ... this was the first time she'd brought a young man home and I knew she was fussy about who she associated with. "A word to the wise, though," I went on, "you may find this a very unsettling weekend, and not something you'll be able to talk about to other people. They won't believe you, for one thing."

"Oh, I don't believe in talking about my dates, anyway," he said seriously – he got that out without hesitation. In view of his obvious nervousness, I was impressed.

"Good. Enough said, then."

"Giving Sean the third-degree boyfriend interrogation, Dad?" Calida's clear voice interrupted us. She was dressed in something that would have looked at home on a pre-Christian Greek vase. I thought Sean's eyes were about to pop out.

"No. You know I trust you, Sweetie. Off you go and give our regards to our friends."

"I will. You and Mum could come too, you know..."

"Parents along on a date? I don't think so. Besides, you know Ellie has her amateur dramatics this weekend."

"Oh, my. So she has. I'm sorry, I forgot. Give her my apologies, will you? I didn't want to miss it."

"I think she'll understand. We'll get the DVD anyway. Go have a great time."

I'll just comment in passing that Calida and I have a very good and rather unusual relationship. If you want more detail, read 'The Trees Are Alive' and 'Calida'; so between Calida herself and our other friends, I have no difficulty narrating this part of her story.

As Debbie and I prepared to accompany our younger daughter Elana, to watch her play 'Dorothy' in 'The Wizard of Oz', Calida and Sean set off for Padley Gorge.

"You look ... stunning," Sean told her, "but are you going to be dressed for the weather this weekend?"

"That's part of what this is all about," my daughter told him. "Sean, I heard what you said to Dad. Seriously, if you were to talk about this weekend and anyone did take you seriously, it would cause all sorts of problems. We're not going to be involved in anything illegal, but publicity could destroy something very precious."

"I don't understand."

"No, but you will. You're only here because I think you're one of very few people I think I can trust."

"Um, thanks..."

The rest of the drive was silent: Calida wondering if she was doing the right thing; Sean worried that he would do the wrong thing and wondering what was going on. They parked in a line of other vehicles on the hill leading down to the Station Café – which was closed – and entered the woods by the mill-pond. It was a stiff, uphill walk along an uneven path, clambering over large boulders of millstone grit until they came to a silver birch tree.

"Betula?" Calida called, "Father Quercus?" A pretty, silver haired woman; slim and lithe, smiling gaily, stepped round the tree.

"Calida! It's been weeks!"

"I know. I'm sorry. Is Father Quercus about?"

The silvery woman cocked her head. After a few moments, "He's on his way. Who is this?"

Calida pulled Sean forward. "This is my friend Sean Mullaney. He's ... a Seeker After Truth. At least, I think so. Sean ... meet my friend Betula..."

Sean stepped forward and took the proffered hand, warm in his. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"My name is Betula, Sean. No ceremony for me, please."

"Then I am privileged, Betula."

"Ooh, I like him already, Calida!"

An old man, gnarled and weathered, but clearly hale, appeared a short distance away and came up to them. "Well, well. So you've come back to us, Calida. It has been too long."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry ... I have been studying. This is Sean, my friend. I ... believe him to be a Seeker After Truth."

"Do you now?" He turned to Sean. "Why would Calida dub you Seeker After Truth?"

"I ... I don't know, sir. I just said something about the Greek myths, I suppose..."

"Myths, are they? If they were true?"

"You mean, for really true, not just conveying a true idea?"

"Exactly."

"Then, I would be very happy, I think."

"Very well, then. You know that whatever happens here, you cannot discuss it with anyone not of this world? The consequences, both for you and for ourselves could be destructive."

"I understand. I will check with you or Calida if I need to."

"Very good." He turned back to Calida, "My dear, I think it is for you to begin."

Calida dipped her head in acquiescence and held out her hand for Sean. Puzzled, he took it and followed her some yards off the path to a large, stately beech tree. She released him and laid her hand on the trunk. "This is my tree. Once, it was me – we were one. I will tell you the story one day, perhaps when Mum and Dad are there to fill in the gaps. Now, I want you to watch very carefully..." He gasped as her gown disappeared and she spun before him naked and very beautiful. "The first lesson is, naked or clothed doesn't matter. You see, I am only half human. The other half is dryad..."

"Human or dryad, you are exquisitely beautiful, Calida."

She blushed and dipped her head. "Thank you. I am glad you think so. This is the second lesson, though..." she turned back to the tree and pressed herself against it. Sean gasped again as she disappeared.

"Don't worry," Betula's voice behind him startled him. "She's catching up with her tree. They've been apart for several weeks."

It seemed a long time, but was probably about five minutes before Calida reappeared. She stood naked in front of Sean, a curious mixture of confidence and anxiety. "So ... now you know. Do you want to go home?"

"Why would I want to go home? You promised me a weekend camping with you." He reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. "You've brought my fantasy to life, Calida. I'd be pretty wimpy to run away from it. Besides..." he looked her up and down.

She giggled and blushed some more, stretched up to kiss him on the lips. "Later..." and twinkled at him. "Um ... Sean?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ... are you bothered about being nude?"

He coloured darkly. "I've never tried it. It's ... kind of embarrassing, you know?"

"Well, everyone will be sky-clad this evening."

"Don't you get cold?"

"Oh, no. Nor will you ... get cold or wet, unless you wish to. If there are outsiders around, we cover up, of course. You would want to duck out of sight, since you can't do what we can..." As he blinked, she was once more dressed in a flowing gown, one that stopped a few inches above her feet. "Just now, there are some other people I'd like you to meet. Let's go down to the river..." She held out her hand and, when he took it, led him along a path to the little, lively, brown river rushing over rocks. There was a place where the water was deeper, wider and slower, next to a level area covered in leaf-mould. It was surrounded in an incomplete semi-circle by a little cliff of rough rock; lichen and small plants nestled in ledges and cracks. It was a quiet, sheltered place, the only noticeable sound the moving water.

"It's a ... peaceful place. Calm. Serene." Sean spoke, unsure of what was expected of him.

Calida smiled, and he was immediately reassured. "There's someone to meet here," she said, then, facing the river, called, "Phoebe?"

Sean had thought he was beyond surprise by that point, but the appearance of a figure in the river, child-sized but clearly an adult, still managed to shock him. The figure, barely five feet tall, was brown with hints of green. That was okay. A pretty, elfin face, however, was topped by a spiky head of electric blue hair.

"Ooh! Calida! Where've you been? And..." the tone of her voice changed, becoming lower, richer and undeniably sensual... "who have you brought to see me?"

"Hands off, for now, Phoebe. This is Sean. Sean, this is Phoebe..."

"Who is a naiad," Sean breathed.

"Exactly!" Phoebe giggled.

"Though," Calida interrupted, "I often think some sprite has crept in at some point. Quite a lot of sprite."

"Oh, Calida. What sort of impression will this lovely young man get of me?"

"A true one, Phoebe."

"And here I thought we were friends."

"We are friends. I'm sure Sean will be friends too, if you don't overwhelm him before he has a chance to adjust."

"Er ... excuse me, ladies..."

"Oh, Sean, I'm sorry. Phoebe is lovely, and she is my friend, but she's ... uninhibited ... and..."

"And you're introducing me to a world I've longed for, but which is strange to me. I'm going to be very careful not to upset you..."

"You don't understand. I'm not worried about you upsetting me. At least, not with my woodland friends."

As they'd been talking, the naiad had moved out of the river and was standing next to Sean. She laid a soft hand on his forearm. "Relax, Sean. I won't do anything to hurt Calida, and I want to be your friend too." With a twist and a flip of her body, she was gone.

"Wow," was all the reaction Sean could raise.

They made their way back, away from the river, thought they could still hear it, and hadn't got far before they met a young man with a shock of orangey-red hair. He was slim and lithe, and gave the impression that he was ... flighty. Calida greeted him. "Hey, Rowan! Meet Sean ... I'm introducing him to the Woodland Way. Sean, this is my friend Rowan."

The two males exchanged 'pleased to meet you's' then Calida said, "Rowan, I was just about to take Sean to the Dell. Would you mind arranging some privacy for us? Until dusk, anyway?"

Rowan smiled a knowing smile. "Certainly, Calida. I think the bushes will listen to you, anyway, though."

"I've not had reason to ask, before."

They walked a little further before turning aside into a dip, perhaps fifteen feet across, lined with moss, but with some leaves and pine-needles scattered as well. Rowan stood at the rim. "Why don't you see what you can do, Callie? I'll step back."

Calida nodded and closed her eyes. Sean blinked, unable to process how a screen of bushes had appeared, surrounding the Dell. "Oh..."

"I didn't know I could do that," Calida sighed.

The two faced each other over a few feet of separation for some seconds; to both it felt a lot longer. "Calida..." Sean hesitated. "I..."

Calida took a step toward him and spread her arms so they were at forty-five degrees from her body. Her posture was saying 'Well? Here I am ... do you want me, or not?'

Sean closed the gap and suddenly they were kissing, totally involved. It was Calida who began tugging at garments so she could get at Sean's skin. Her own gown did not lend itself to such treatment – there was too much of it – and after a few minutes more kissing, as her hands stroked his cool, smooth skin, she stepped back, breaking contact. Sean appeared shocked, for a moment, at the abrupt movement, but then Calida stood straight and shimmered as her gown disappeared. He gasped, as who wouldn't...

She took his hands and guided them to her breasts, holding them there for a few moments until he began to gently stroke, tracing her curves; then she began to unbutton his shirt ... Undressing him took some time as they contrived to maintain contact, but eventually they were both naked in the centre of the dell. Sean lightly stroked Calida's cheek with his finger-tips. "What do you want from me?" he asked, gently, his eyes on hers.

She chuckled quietly. "Isn't it obvious?" Then, as he shook his head, went on, "I want to be friends, first and foremost. Whatever happens this weekend, I'd like to be friends. Right now, I want to make love with you, which isn't something I do lightly, despite how quickly we've got to this point..."

She didn't ... couldn't ... say any more, as he was kissing her and guiding her down to lay on the springy moss. When his mouth left hers, it was only to move to her breasts where the effect of his lips and tongue drove rational thought out of reach. She felt she was being lifted on a wave of pleasure until he moved to her pussy...

Her breasts, he thought, were perfect ... in shape, size and proportion. Firm, yet resilient, with nipples that grew and hardened in his mouth. He felt he could continue to explore them indefinitely as she expressed her pleasure in inchoate groans and sighs, but there came a point where it felt right to move to her centre. She was very wet and her pussy blossomed open as he gently teased her with his tongue. It only took a short time before the orgasm that had been growing from the moment his lips closed on her nipple exploded in her. The wave of pleasure broke and her body shook and arched up; a scream escaped her lips and consciousness fled.

She came to, seeing his face wearing a worried expression. "Wow. I mean ... just ... wow."