Been having a bit of a writers block so I hoped that having nymph girlfriends would help it haha; I love how these two are and how they can interact more in writing :D the one shot itself is a tad more choppy than I am comfortable with in my writing but yo, I decided to let myself off easy this time around
So nature spirit kimxliz ahoy
Liz laid dormant until the afternoon.
Blinking slightly, figuratively, she shook out her branches in a manner that mirrored the effects of the wind, even though a breeze was completely absent that day. For the time being, she couldn't see color, so her tree top shivered and felt out the sky; it'd been daylight for awhile now, she reasoned.
Detecting the vibrations of other dancing creatures with her roots told her that the forest was already springing with life, but she stayed within her body longer. The sounds that she heard were barely distinguishable, like they were traveling through sap, and she sighed at the peace of mind such a dampened environment provided. Liz wasn't ready for loud chirping, for noises that were too piercing. It was already tiring enough for her to prepare her materialized voice for gossip, though said gossip wasn't unwanted.
She willed herself away from the birch bark. The sun's rays reached her own skin for the first time that day. Liz saw her feathery leaves above, reaching out like fingers, and a small part of her still felt the ghost of midday warmth. But it was much more freeing to wander as a dryad around her meadow, like shedding a shell and stepping into another dimension. Touching her trunk once for good measure before she left, she followed the clear sound of the creek from an acre away.
What greeted her was a misty rainbow and a smile flashing through the droplets. It lasted for just a moment, vanishing quickly into the air before a naiad emerged in its place. Kim moved like a blur, hard to concentrate on until she stood still. Even then, there was always a part of her that flowed like liquid.
Arching down, trailing droplets after her in the air, she patted the soft grass beside the water, smoothing it out with a wet hand until her dear dryad sat down. The both of them dipped their feet into the creek, and Kim giggled joyously when Liz shivered slightly. The latter sighed contently after the initial chill wore off. Flowers speckled around the skin of her wrists grew more vibrant; the colors saturated, and the buds opened wider.
"You thirsty?" Kim said, sending a cheeky grin.
"Parched," Liz responded, flashing an equally formidable smile.
The creek splashed onto her lap. And neither broke their eye contact until a burst of cackles filled the air.
This was their familiar banter that Liz loved so much- the real drop of sunlight that she wanted to soak in all day. Kim's waters wrapped around Liz's ankles more closely, her apparition laid back into Liz's leaves that draped over her head. Once laughter died down, they began their loud chattering that would last them through the rest of the day.
A lot of what was said were things that the other had already heard of through other nymphs, like-minded and bodied beings who had no sense of secrecy. To hear it through the vine was more literal than human metaphor. Equally so, the babbling creek had stories that bubbled to the surface. And beyond all, there were whispers that the wind carried farther than where they'd first heard it.
Once they grew tired of gossip from the meadow's inhabitants, Kim draped herself over Liz's legs and told her all about the rich merchants that were a few days away from their woods- travellers that they could swindle. That bit of news got Liz more interested. They spoiled each other with riches they'd won as prizes, showered one another with silly hats and stolen trinkets. Rarely did they touch the people themselves, but they snatched small necklaces and conned away chests, sharing them with first friends, and then splitting it among themselves, hiding them away under Kim's steady stream.
A tendril of water reached up to pass along an earring to Liz.
"You think we can get another like this?"
Liz pretended to think. "Why get a match when we can just get a new set?"
"Fuck off, birch."
She hummed, "Make me."
Kim groaned and rolled from Liz's lap to the creek, plopping in and disappearing for a second before her head poked back up. Beckoning Liz in successfully, they splashed and bathed for the rest of their evening, plotting theft as two nymphs do.
As the sun began to set, and as the water grew colder, the two eventually moved back up to the banks for the dryad's sake. And she was sad to part with Kim's form, but she knew that her vulnerable state couldn't do everything she wanted. If only she were a weeping willow, to eternally reach for the waters and touch them with her roots and her leaves, always peering into the shallows for a smiling face.
But Liz knew that she didn't truly want that, nor did she need to be a willow to be with Kim. Maybe in another life, she thought. Or better yet, she could become a naiad and never need to leave.
Waving goodbye, she turned back to the woods, reaching her tree just as the last rays of light left her leaves. She touched her trunk and melted into her cocoon in an instant. It was like closing her eyes, blanketing herself back into the warmth her physical form had gathered through the day. She fell calm, dormant again.