How lovely are your branches

-set about the time of the wedding-
Rhythm walked slowly over the once familiar ground, though it was years and years ago that she had been here. With her time in Abaven she had decided to spend some time with the bride to be. Vail was a sweet girl, and had much more in common with Rhythm than she would have liked. The girl was also blind, though she carried that disability since birth. She seemed to be knowledgeable in her craft of healing too, another reason Rhythm had wanted to steal some of her time. 

Her screech owl companion led them away from Abaven, through the falls and into the mangroves. She might have appreciated this place much more when she was sighted. Rhythm tried not to think about what she was missing when she heard Notch call out. Vail didn't dart away so she had no doubt they were in for a surprise rather than trouble. 

She was drawn to a tree, though she couldn't see it the scent was vivid here. The mangrove held mostly tropical plants but as she drew more near this one was obviously a spruce. The scent was warm and homey, a stark contrast to the promise of winter's cold. "Can you see anything special about this tree, Vail?"