Glen - Food, hot air, and flowers

I sit on a rotting log and watch the sun rise above the horizon with tired eyes. I was unable to sleep or nap a wink throughout the night, due to numerous sounds echoing throughout the area and countless things moving in the distance .
At some point in the night Ami went to sleep, and has recently awakened. Sarah got up shorty after her as well, and wiped off various crude images that were drawn onto her face by a certain bored Kitsune...
We eat a light meal before heading out.
"Nothing beats some fresh fruit~" Ami proudly announces before putting an apple in front of her mouth and munching on it.
Sarah scoffs at the fox girl before taking a bite out of some dried beef, "I can name a lot of things that are better, like beef and other meats."
"Meat's ok, but it's not on the same level as fruit." Ami drools slightly and begins to blush, "I'd do anything for some peaches and honey."
"Not on the same level? Well of course they aren't, since meat is so much better." Sarah begins drooling heavily, making a small pool in very little time, before wiping her mouth with a smile. "I'd love to shink my teesh into shome fresh and bloody shteak..."
I look at the two of them while taking a bite of stale bread, before speaking up in a flat tone, "Both are very good, you know? It all comes down to preference."
Ami tilts her head, "So what's your favorite thing to eat?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah." The Fox and Dragon say in unison.
"Tomatoes and potatoes, but mostly potatoes."
".....Huh? What's a tomato?" Ami scratches her ear in confusion at my words. "..." Sarah doesn't say anything, and shakes her head while giving me a disgusted look.
"....." I don't say anything more and just groan in frustration.

---


After a few hours of walking, we make it to our destination earlier than anticipated. Before us is a extremely grand and lively forest. Countless trees, plants, and plant-like creatures surround us. They range from enormous trees that stretch their limbs into the heavens, to small bushes bursting with prismatic berries, to Alraunes of various sizes sitting in sunny areas with a jolly expression on their faces. There are even countless faeries flying about through the air as they giggle and play. This place is full of life.
"Wow~! So this is the Forest of Spirits~!" Ami looks around this absurdly green, and fairy infested, forest with eyes full of dazzling excitement. She walks around in circles, checking every little thing she sees, before she runs out of sight while gibbering. She's most likely looking for treasure, or at least something valuable.
"And there she goes once more... Should we follow her?" Sarah speaks up while flicking away a fairy that flew too close to her face.
I move my head from left to right as a small group of fairies get tangled in my hair, "Let her have some fun. For now, lets see if we can find anything ourselves."
The Dragon girl to my left turns her head towards me, "Are you sure? She might get lost, or fall in a hole." I shrug at Sarah, "Then we'll find her or help her out later."
??
A little fairy with medium length messy hair, that makes it look like she just woke up, flies up to the two of us and begins energetically flying back and forth while waving at us. "Hello! I heard you two were looking for something? I can help! My names Inep! What are your names?!" The tiny girl with glowing bug wings circles through the air and asks us numerous questions at high speeds, not even giving us time to even answer them. I very gently grab the fairy by the waist with my pointing finger and thumb, preventing her from flying around without hurting her, "Slow down, you're talking and moving around too much."
"Sorry, I had a whole pot of honey recently~!" The fairy speaks up and rapidly taps her fingers against my thumb with a jolly and toothy grin. I release her from my hand and watch as she goes right back to flying in circles rapidly, before asking her a question, "So, can you show us to around?" She stops momentarily before bobbing up and down in the air, "Of course I can, mister!"
"Can we hurry up? All this constant movement is irritating me!" Sarah yells out in agitation as she grinds her teeth. I forgot she really hate things like that... "S-sorry!" The fairy flies up and plops down on my head before pointing in a random direction, "Let's go!" Sarah and I begin following our new fairy guide's directions. She takes us to numerous locations throughout the forest.
First she guides us to a large pond filled with glittering and crystal clear water. "This is a pond full of mana enriched water! It's very delicious, and it will heal you!" Inep explains things in an energetic fashion while wearing a tiny pair of glasses. There a a few questions going through my head about the glasses alone, but I'll keep my mouth shut. Sarah walks up to the pond and takes a drink, before turning to us with a grim look on her face, "It's like millions of people and living things are being tortured to death in my mouth..."
Next we're directed to a group of floating balls of fluff. "These are a special type of mushroom that only grow in this forest! They release spores if you touch them, and the spores cause you to get extremely dizzy, so watch out!" Inep explains the sight in front of us in a not-so-energetic fashion. Those are mushrooms? ...A nearby fairy flies into one, and begins to move around oddly with her eyes open widely and a huge smile.
We're directed once more to a large grove with a gentle and warm wind blowing around us. "This is where Sylphid used to reside, before a man with yellowish hair came by and made a contract with her!" Inep raises her hands into the air, "Can't you just feel the magic in the air~?!" I extend a hand out, but can only feel air blowing around it, "I can't feel any magic. Anyway, so the spirit isn't here?"
"Yep." Inep immediately responds.
"Well this certainly explains why I didn't sense any sort of strong being once we entered..." Sarah puts a hand to her chin and gets lost in thought. It is peculiar, that's for sure. Either way, Ami is gonna be down once she hears about this.
Inep brings us to a large tree with an odd looking sword stuck in it. "This is some sword stuck in a tree. It's pretty boring." Inep explains with a bored expression on her face. I walk up to it and yank it out from the tree in one pull. It's short but extremely light, and has a super thin black blade. White marking run all over it, making odd patterns upon its ebony surface. It's somewhat neat but there are problems with it. There's no hand guard, the blade looks fragile, no sheath or scabbard, a very dull edge, and a tacky pommel. Overall, it's not very great.
"Greetings, young one!" A deep male voice booms out from the sword.
?!
I hold up the talking weapon and stare at it in disbelief, "A talking sword?"
"Yes! I am the legendary and magical Aero Blade! I have spent countless years in this forest, waiting for a proper wielder! In that time I acquired a soul and consciousness from the magic saturated air! I can summon a fierce wind capable of slicing up entire battlefields, or a barrier of wind to protect you from even the mightiest of projectiles! Now throw out that worthless blade of yours and Wield a true weapon like me, young one!" The sword continues shouting at me, and even insults my sword.
....
I snap the thin blade in two against my knee. It shrieks loudly before going quiet.
"You didn't want a talking sword?" Inep speaks up from atop my head in a confused manner.
"It's not that I don't want a talking sword, so much as I didn't like his attitude. Besides, I'm pretty atached to what I have now." I hand the sword pieces over to Sarah. She quickly swallows the two pieces of a once whole magical sword, before sighing and patting her stomach. "Do you feel any stronger?" I curiously ask the silver scaled Dragon girl. "Yes, I do. There was a lot of energy in that sword. At this rate, I might be able to fly again soon!" Sarah begins smiling and puffing her chest out proudly. I crack a smile as well, and try not to blurt out how cows might have to worry about attacks from above in the future.
We are guided by Inep to a large area populated by Alraune and Dryads. "And this is our last area! It's where Alraune and Dryads mainly stay in this forest! All of them are extremely friendly and nice!" Inep shouts out with an aura of vigor and friendship. The numerous plant girls around us greet us and talk amongst themselves.
"Hello!" An Alraune with rose red hair, a bob-cut, and red flowers in her hair waves at us despite being three feet away.
"Ara, would you like some nectar?" A mature looking Alraune with dark green hair, large breasts, and numerous flower covered vines offers us nectar while holding a hand against her cheek.
"Where am I?" A Dryad with messy green hair, and fruits growing from her branches, lazily speaks up after waking up.
"Heya!" An extremely short Alraune with light green hair with clovers sprouting out of it pats at my shins.
"Greetings." A very tall Dryad with extremely long reddish brown hair greet us with an expressionless face and a flat voice.
Countless others greet us, while others giggle and point at me.
"It so nice having a visitor after so long." An Alraune with braided hair and thorny vines greets me with an extended hand, as if she wanted to shake hands, "You'll be here for a while, yes?"
I awkwardly grab her hand and shake it, "We're only going to be here for a little bit, before heading out."
"Oh, I see. But you wouldn't mind a little chat before you guys leave, would you?"
"I fine with chatting."
"Good." The Alraune gently puts her hands together and smiles heartily. I then spend a few hours talking to the various plant women, while Sarah stood behind me and glared at any that got too friendly.
They had various things to say, and were very happy to talk to a new face.
"You look tired, maybe you should rest?" Says an Alraune with a short pony tail.
"I wish I could go out and see the world too~" A Dryad with lavender colored hair pouts.
"Have you ever thought about settling down? This place is quite nice all year round." The Alraune with the braid from earlier asks me a question with a blush.
"I wish my husband would visit soon and make me feel like a woman again... Maybe you can tell him to visit me more often if you two ever meet? He's an adventurer with poofy hair and a mustache." An Alraune with white hair and thorny flowers describes her husband.
"I still find it hard to believe that someone made a contract with one of the Elemental Spirits. Maybe it's a sign that something might happen soon?" The Dryad with the blank face says something mildly interesting in a flat voice once again.
"I can't believe I got turned into a monster and now have to live in the woods like some animal..." A young looking Alraune with pink hair hangs her head.
"I once heard about the continent to the north of this one, and how it's a horrible place full of constantly shifting climates. I also heard it's full of crazy nomads who eat people and shout out important words for no real reason." A Dryad with bright green hair and a cowlick makes me remember a very horrible period of time.
Once we were done, I thanked Inep and said goodbye to everyone. On our way out, we ran across Ami, who had gotten herself stuck in a hole. She says she got lost before getting stuck...