You said to mostly not listen to you, and I'm not used to doing that? It's a little hard? Ents are trees which are people. You're worried this tree'll turn into a person but it won't, not even if I spend a hundred years getting to know it.

I'm not particularly worried the tree will turn into a person, I'm confused about how the tree is supposed to know if it's injured without nerves to detect injury or a brain to contain knowledge, and how it would detect intruders without eyes to see them or, again, a brain to identify them.

Magic?

Yeah, I just want to know what the moving parts of the magic are. You make it sound like the tree, qua tree, will do a lot of the work, rather than 'I'm designating this tree as a location for an intruder-detecting spell'.

My magic doesn't work that way. There's songs, which are sort of precise in the way you're thinking of, but the magic my mother does is much more about imbuing her territory with her so that it knows her and she can make it thrive and know everything that's happening in it. Maybe the answer to your question is that I put myself into the trees? But there's a lot of myself, so it's not like I'd run out.

Okay, that more or less answers what I want to know. Lemme know when you're done hugging the tree. Bella's got notebooking to do.

She'll take around twenty more minutes. It's very reassuring, being around trees again. She's about scared and delighted in equal mix and she's with this girl who casually mentioned she was going to sleep with a girl to get her wished into the timestream and trees are nice. Trees are great.

I'm ready to go.

Right then. Hang on, give me a sec to change, my non-puella-magi outfit is still 'hospital gown' default.

Bella scampers off into the underbrush and comes back a minute later wearing jeans and a t-shirt and sneakers instead of her fancy outfit. Her glowing gem is reduced to a tiny gemchip in a ring on her finger, she's holding a hospital gown and a wad of rectangular green paper and her car keys, and she leads Lúthien back to the car.

Her clothes are super weird, but she is not rude enough to comment or even stare. Much. She manages the seatbelt without help this time.

I don't think I have anything that'd fit you or I'd suggest you wear something less conspicuous yourself, Bella remarks, pulling back onto the highway.

I can make myself something but I've never seen fabrics like that and wouldn't know how to work with them.

I've got some variety but it is mostly denim and stretch cotton, and in clothes form not in bolts of fabric. You probably won't get stopped but you might get stared at. - Don't telepathy random people they'll be alarmed.

Okay. Can you teach me some phrases in your language so if they ask me things I don't have to answer in mine?

Sure. What do you want to say besides 'I don't speak English'? Which is - "I don't speak English."

"I don't speak English," she repeats carefully. Maybe 'where is Bella?' If we've gotten separated?

Don't pronounce that too well, or people will think you're lying; if you have an accent they can imagine you're from China or something. Most people won't know me by name and I'm pretty generic-looking in civvies... what's your telepathy range?

All of Doriath. The distance we travelled from the hospital here, definitely. Probably more than that but I'm not sure, haven't had much occasion to try - it'll also improve as I get to know you better.

Okay, so even describing me probably isn't going to help you find me if we get split up. Maybe something to authorize me to speak for you if somebody wants to confirm that you're not just confused or something.

Oh, yeah, good idea.

Like, 'my friend over there will explain' or something? How d'you want to put it?

You know what would sound normal to people from your world. That works for me. 

So Bella translates "my friend over there will explain" and for good measure "I'm just waiting for my friend, thank you".

Thank you!

You're welcome!

Where are we going now?