<<...Noted?  My friend wanted to know if you are doing okay.>>

<<Yes. I mean, I'm not fond of the droughts but I know you are doing your best.>>

<<How do you feel about... Paper?>>

<<In favor?>>

<<...okay? You... like paper.>>

<<Well, of course. You plant trees for it, don't you?>>

<<But then we cut them down?...Do you approve of whatever causes more trees, regardless of what happens to them afterwards?>>

<<Of course, it's not good to cut them down, but if you didn't cut them down they wouldn't exist at all. So paper is much better than the alternative.>>

<<...That makes sense,>> he says, doubtfully.

<<We had a war about it, ages and ages ago, you know.>>

<<The trees had a war?>>

<<Yes. Pheromones, defense chemicals, entangling roots with each other... it was vicious.>> The tree's leaves shake. <<Some of us worried that you hairless apes would destroy the forests... which you did. But the ones who won knew that we don't have hands and can't build starships, and you are the only ones who can plant our children's children on strange soils.>>

<<I'll do my best to make sure that happens.>>

<<Do humans object to being killed if you wouldn't be alive otherwise?>>

... That's a good question. <<Usually? But it does not come up much for us. Maybe it would be different if it did.>>

<<Probably it comes up less often if you have hands.>>

<<...it would.>> Hands and legs and things that kill faster than root entanglement.

<<You can take yourselves to the stars.>>

<<We're working on it.>> He really needs to get a high enough WIZ to get that boon.

<<Good luck, little wizard.>>

<<Thank you. I'll go let my friend know you are doing okay.>>

"If you were passed out for one more second I was going to call 911."

"That would have been a very awkward ER visit." All ER visits are awkward when your sister works at the nearest ER. "The tree is fine, and approves of paper?"

"Huh. Did it say why?"

"If you grow trees for paper, that means there's more trees."