Sorry about the wait! Had a lot of things I've had to sort recently! ps. also not the best post in the world, but it'll get the ball rolling at least

Lucia had been trying to sleep for a while now. She had found that her nightmares seemed less likely if she slept during the day; however that had been somewhat of a challenge today it seemed. She had laid on one of the lower branches of a large tree for hours, staring blankly at the canopy of the woods. Birds had come and gone, one almost having tried to use her as a perch. The small creature hadn’t lasted long, now a crumpled heap on the pine-needled floor. Lucia was in no mood to play nice, though that was a rarity anyway, so it came as little surprise. The stupid bird should have known better… that was all she could think and feel. She wouldn’t allow herself anything different.



About to try again, Lucia’s attention suddenly shifted to the trees in front of her. She wasn’t sure at first, but after a few moments, Lucia could see the slender figure of another female. She seemed to be hugging a tree. This amused Lucia somewhat. Everything was so surreal in these woods, no wonder she felt no need to leave.



Swinging her legs from the branch, she landed on the ground with a small thump. Collecting her bearings, the dark female stood upright. At first Lucia considered walking away, ignoring the strange woman who had entered the place she called home, but the idea quickly vanished. Curiosity had got the better of her.



Walking toward the other female, Lucia’s emerald eyes flashed coldly. Why on earth would someone want to hug a tree? Was she crazy? Did she have a fetish for them? Thoughts raced through her skull. Stopping a few paces to the left of the stranger, a dark hand fiddled with the pouch that was tied neatly to the belt around her waist. Pulling out a cigarette, she pursed it between her lips and lit it quietly. She wasn’t sure if that had stirred the female from her activity, but it didn’t matter anyway. Lucia was curious, if not a little disturbed by the whole thing.



Inhaling deeply, smoke engulfing her face, Lucia parted her lips to speak. Wisps of grey drifted from her nose and mouth, her pinkish tongue tasting bitterly of nicotine. The woods seemed always so popular these days. Perhaps that was just fate toying with the fact Lucia wanted to be left alone. It would not surprise her if that was the case.



“Why, may I ask, are you hugging that tree?” The words were a blank canvass, no emotion or tone. They were almost robotic. Lucia didn’t want to seem weak to someone she had never met. If this woman was in fact crazy, that would be a very stupid thing to do. After all, nobody hugged trees… well, not literally anyway. “I very much doubt it will ever hug you back…”

Watching as the other female detached herself from the tree base, Lucia found a sliver of amusement in her wincing. This did not show, however. She knew better than to display emotions to a stranger. They could use it against her, or perhaps just bully her. Lucia was a paranoid soul, but she would not dwell on it.



Examining the frown on the lighter woman, Lucia half expected her own lips to mimic the expression. They did not. Instead, she remained empty of emotion. She couldn’t decide what was better. To laugh at the fact she had been corrected, or to frown at the fact that her companion had not found the tree hugging comment amusing. It was quickly decided that neither would happen. She would simply reply and be done with it. It was not a day for thoughtful hesitations.



“It looked like a hug to me,” She replied bluntly, not enjoying the fact that she had been corrected by the stranger. “But whatever… hugging or clutching, why would you do such a thing?” Curiosity crept into her tone as eyes studied the woman carefully. Lucia wanted to know what would make someone want to be that close to a tree. There had to be a good reason, right? That or perhaps she was just some crazy lady. For now, Lucia had picked the latter.



In mention of the cigarette, Lucia’s eyes travelled down to look at the stick. She felt a tiny, twisted smile form on her lips. It lasted only a second, but it would reveal that she was not in fact a robotic, hollow creature. She had a soul somewhere it seemed. But how far down into her abyss of dark thoughts and angry memories was this soul… well, that was another thing altogether.



“Oh, sorry...” Slight sarcasm, but she hoped it would allow for her to finish the death stick. Inhaling it once again, she made a note to try and exhale in the other direction. Lucia wasn’t as nice as to stop smoking entirely, but at least she was polite enough to try and get the smoke to go elsewhere. She hoped the female would be grateful. It wasn’t often she went out of her way for others these days.