Michael and/or Seal, spawn on a mermaid and a human man, happily sunning himself on the shore of Bouyan island, the waves washing over his bare, dolphin like skin as he waits for Moira and her siblings to return home, his belly full of fish. He's fairly certain the island is deserted.
"Wa-Wa-Water?" She mangles the word. "Water! Is it safe? Is it fun? Do you prefer Michael or Seal? Do you have a Mother? Or siblings? Oh, I've never met anyone else before! Are you a human? If you aren't, have you ever met one? Are they scary? Are they fun?"
She's talking a mile a minute, now that she has met someone, she wants to know everything, the world, the island, has changed so much since she was last awake, everything is different.
"Whichever one sounds better on your tongue! And the water is the funnest fun! And I have a mother! And loads of brothers and sisters! And I'm half human! But my mother is a mermaid. It's great!"
She giggles with pure, uncontrollable joy.
"Mermaids! Now those, I know. I shall stick with Seal, I have not spoken for a long time, let's be kind to my poor tongue. Well, the funnest you say? Let's see if I can handle fun."
She takes tentative steps in to the water, a little afraid but mostly happy, and once she's up to her shins in blue, she wiggles her toes and giggles, her eyes flashing green in elation.
Ariadne smiles at the boy, the water flowing between her legs. "Very. This is the most fun I've had in a very long time."
She shrieks with surprise and happiness, impressed by his trick, but she has a few of her own up her sleeve. A jungle vine comes out of the nearby plant life, grabbing her by the hand and lifting her in to the air. When she tells it to let go, she tries to copy Seal's body position when he did the 'cannonball', b ut it doesn't go so well and she somehow ends up hitting the water straight on to her stomach with a distinct smack.
She bursts from the water with a giggle.
"Thank you. Well, I am a Hamadryad, a sub species of dryad. Which is to say I am a..." She struggles to find a word to explain herself, but eventually finds "tree nymph. I am basically a plant with a human face, and I have the power to call on all of nature as my friend. I can also speak to all kinds of things if I try hard enough. Like 'Liquid Fire Man' on the other side of the island, but I don't do well with the heat."
She raises her face to the sky, basking in sunlight and breathing in fresh air.
"Miracle? Is that a human thing? If so, then no, I've never been human. I merely approximate something pleasing to their eyes so I can protect the plants and be their spokesperson. Many of my kind cover more ground, but I can't stray too far from Great Tree, our eternities are carefully intertwined."
Ariadne interlaces her fingers together, and while she is mostly mentally there, she is enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face as she has not for so very long. She's very stuck on this, especially because it tastes stronger than it used to.
"Ah. Not a Miracle then. Just a very weird plant girl."
She dives under the water briefly, coming back up to shake her hair a little drier.
She doesn't quite understand what he means by little, but she takes a general stab at it.
"Well, I am as old as Great Oak, we are both one, and yet separate. And Great Oak is a few thousand years old, it grew after it's predecessor, Balanos Oak burnt down and from it's ashes did I spring. But I have not spent more than a collective..." She counts for a minute. "I have been on earth and out of Great Oak for a total of 11 years, 10 days, and 13 hours."
"Oh, as in a small human!" She takes a moment to self evaluate. "I am physically at about the growth stage of a human 10 year old."
"That is fun. We can be friends. Can you go on land? Because then I may not be able to show you Great Oak."
"Oh! Of course. Sorry, it has been a very long time since mine have not been a tree trunk. Still getting used to it. Now, if you follow me, I can take you straight to Great Oak, the tops of my leaves have a great view."
She skips out of the water, hoping her new friend follows.
She goes with the flow of the roll, landing both of them back on their feet, another vine coming out of the jungle to wrap around them securely.
"Hold on tight, we're about to go very fast."
The vine pulls them so very fast through the jungle, weaving through the brush expertly before they make it to a very large oak tree.