Arialla noticed Peter's gasp, his rapid movement, and realized that maybe she should have gone with a better greeting -- one that was actually a greeting. "Did I startle you? I apologize. My name is Arialla."
Then she turned her attention to the tree as his touch brought a giggle from it. Her eyebrows shot upwards. "Did it just ... laugh?"
Arialla couldn't help herself: she reached out and touched the tree as well, earning another mysterious giggle, one that she found contagious: she couldn't avoid laughing herself. Oh, this was strange, but it was the good kind of strange, the joyful kind.
"I didn't know that trees here could have sense of humor," Arialla said, her voice understated even as her eyes danced with amusement.
please don't take my sunshine away
