ask and you shall receive

Hazel stopped humming as the sound of an approach reached her ears. She remained serene and completely at ease as the sounds untangled and became distinctly the pawsteps of three. Why worry? Had she not asked for something unspecified? The shape the answer took was completely outside of her control - not that she would have had the nerve to ask for specific things anyway. It was safe to assume that she knew nothing in the grand scheme of things so why narrow down her requests and risk the ripples of a poor choice?

The smoke swirled around her, filling her nose with the herbs' overwhelming scent and making sorting out the details of the strangers impossible. Hazel could tell neither their shape nor their species, nor anything else relevant other than that they each walked on four feet and were material enough to crunch leaves and send branches swaying. That didn't rule out the ethereal but it certainly made it feel less likely. Her companion, maybe, multiplied? She had asked for three things and three things were approaching.

She listened quietly, patiently, as the steps drew nearer. At last they stopped somewhere on the other side of her fire if Hazel had her guess. A heavy masculine voice reached her ears and instantly Hazel was overcome by a feeling of certainty. This was meant to be. She knew it in her bones. Of course she could only guess as to why, but she knew in her heart of hearts that the reason would be revealed in due time. "Evening, sir," she murmured back, the hush of the forest demanding nothing short of an intimate, reverent tone. "Do what you will; the choice is yours, but if you sit, when you rise you will not be the same." Synergy was a powerful thing. No matter how great or how small their interaction in some way they would both walk away different.