"Riiiight," Nita responded, partly sarcastic, but mostly serious.

(Fire, as an element, did normally trump greenery.)

She went ahead, stressing out most everyone else watching, and slowly let her mind open to whatever could be found of the tree's intelligence, or the vine's, or-


The hunger struck her first, rooting her to the ground temporarily with its sheer intensity. Nita gasped, mentally trying to reach for something else-

And the fear of the tree brought her to her knees, and her hands to the ground to steady the rest of her.