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It was warm and wet. Almost uncomfortably so.
Sweat beaded at Jack's forehead and back. He continued his trek against the humid air, hoping his strict posture would help him resist the urge to shift his Gi and dampen his only set of clothes. He did not hear the rushing of a river nearby, nor did it appear it would rain any time soon. A convenient time to wash away his fatigue seemed out of reach, and so he journeyed on.
The desert would have been preferable to this wetness, he thought somewhat sourly. He had grown accustomed to walking the wilds of arid lands and the dry, bitter air that offered little relief under the blazing sun. The jungle he walked held many trees for shade and moist air for tasting, yet he found he cared for it even less than hot sand. The humidity was thicker than a sandstorm, somehow suffocating in its curl around his body. He had few defenses against it outside of keeping his dampening hair out of his face with his top knot. He noted with a grimace that some strands were coming loose.
Frustrated and exhausted as Jack was, he could admit that the melody of the jungle far surpassed the winds of the desert. He was hard pressed to find another environment teeming with so much organic life. Creatures had yet to appear before his eyes, but he did not need to see them to know that all was well in this land. A sloth could be heard languidly munching on leaves, uncaring toward the bugs buzzing around his body. A toucan squawked atop a particularly thick canopy, insulting its annoyed neighbors of parrots. A distance away, an elephant trumpeted triumphantly over its victory in a battle for territory.
Growing in his optimism, Jack's eyes wandered about the lush land before him. Though the animals hid from his human presence, it did not diminish the picturesque scene before him. Wild vegetation, too thick to slice with his sword, never ceased to amaze him. The roots of giant trees curled into fists of impenetrable foliage, overgrown with neighboring plants and vines making themselves at home in their protection. Some were dull green with age. Others were sapling green and just beginning to wind their way around the thickness of trunks and branches.
Jack sighed peacefully. Cities were noise. Deserts were empty. Jungles were alive.
A while later, another sight caught his eye. One so peculiar and out of place that he stopped mid step and found himself turning without truly acknowledging why.
What little light shone through the thickness of the trees seemed to halo on this particular vision. Jack almost didn't notice the clearing he had stepped into to bring the strange sight closer. Humidity seemed to evaporate from the air itself, and he found himself taking a deep breath of...cherry blossoms. He sputtered at the many petals making their home on his face and in his hair, confused by the sudden sensation of softness. He reached up to brush some away from his top knot, scoffing as he felt the last strands of his sticky hair come undone after a losing battle of control.
In his annoyance, he desired to turn right back around after the last of the petals left his face, until he remembered what had drawn him to this little spot in the first place.
It was a tree. A cherry blossom tree, perhaps. But not quite what he remembered from the many he had played under in his childhood. The scent was as sweet and comforting as his nostalgia allowed him to recall, but the look of it couldn't have been more different. Perhaps owing to the jungle it was surrounded by, many vines and roots were wrapped around the trunk of the thick, tall tree. It stretched far above the canopy, making him wonder if it could outreach the tallest skyscraper in Aku's cities. Branches of all kinds grew outward and upward from the trunk, and it was there he could see where the cherry blossoms nested.
Strangest of all was the color. The trunk was a soft shade of pink. The branches ebbed into a warmer rose. The cherry blossoms that floated down from the dizzying height were the loveliest lavender Jack had ever seen.
After taking a moment to drink it in, Jack heightened his focus and continued ever forward. It was important to stop and smell the flowers, but he could only stay in one beautiful place for so long. Wits and attention were required in his mission, and so-
He tripped with a yelp.
He did not hit the ground with an expected thud.
He opened his clenched shut eyes to find that he had landed in a soft bed of purple blossoms that had definitely not been there seconds ago.
Raising an eyebrow, Jack attempted to stand up and regain his bearings.
He could not.
Eyes widening, Jack felt around him to figure out what the problem was, realizing it quickly after a stretch of his legs.
A reed green vine was wrapped around his ankle. He gave it a small tug. It didn't budge. A bigger tug. Nothing. He strained against it with gritted teeth. The vine refused to give.
Jack breathed in through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, spitting out more petals while he was at it. Closing his eyes, he tried to keep calm. There was no need to panic. He had fought battles similar to enchanted trees before. This was no different to many he had already experienced. Cutting himself free with his magic sword would be a simple task, and the rest would come to him through the adrenaline of battle as it usually did. Warrior skill and instinct always worked for him in these situations, and he could already feel the Zen of Samurai intuition slithering its way around his body, better preparing him for-
His arms were bound.
The Samurai flexed his arms against the vines now surrounding his torso, keeping his arms at his sides and away from the sword at his back that could slice through them with ease. The vines continued to curl and grow in strength, slowly winding up from where they had started at his ankle. He gasped, having no time to wonder how on earth he hadn't noticed the danger ensnaring him in his attempt to formulate a plan. He tried once more to strain, only succeeding in barely wiggling his fingers underneath the binding. Strength would do him no good here. He needed to find a way out of this before it could get worse. His mind raced and his breathing quickened. There was always a way out, even it was only luck that could help him, he would take it if he could just escape-
The vines squeezed him. He gasped, expecting pain and suffocation. What he received instead was...bliss.
Tension eased out of his shoulders first, seeming to ooze into and out of his viny prison, seeping into the earth where it could no longer harm him. His arms, immovable though they were, fell limp against himself. The vines rewarded that with another comforting squeeze, and Jack found himself slumping into the ground, relaxed and utterly confused. The vines continued their ascent, sliding a friendly tendril around his forehead, not covering his mouth, nose, or eyes. It seemed to want to keep him from feeling threatened. It started petting at his unbound hair rhythmically. Jack groaned sleepily, opening his mouth to...question the motives of his captor? Demand release? What was happening?
"What...wha..." It was so hard to think when the vine kept lulling him with its lovely strokes. His eyes fluttered. He squirmed slightly on the ground he lay on, no longer intent on escaping, really just shifting his position to get more comfortable, as though he was cocooned in a soft blanket. He wondered if he should still be thinking about leaving. He did feel like he'd been in danger just moments earlier. Could that still be the case?
The barest bit of instinct crept on him, and he tried again to speak.
"I...who..."
Hush...
The scent of cherry blossom petals.
The taste of wine.
Jack opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) to find that he was looking up, up, up into the canopy of trees. Even so, he could not see beyond the tree he was under. Blinking slowly, he realized that he had been moved to right against the trunk. He felt no rough, scratchy bark beneath him, but a bed of blossom petals nestling under every inch of his completely limp body. The vines still bound him but felt more like a comforting hug than a prison of nature. Petals rained from above, the scent gently wafting into his nose and somehow bringing him even deeper. The vines squeezed his utterly pliant body in another gentle massage. Jack's eyes nearly rolled into his head. The sensation of good feeling and relaxation was almost too much for his honed senses to handle.
Hard as it was to think anything outside of (relaxed blissful safe happy heavy tired sleepy so sleepy) the trance he was falling into, Jack did still find that he wanted to know what exactly was happening. Who was doing this? Why? Did they truly mean no harm? His sharp warrior instinct was dulled into the soft feeling of curiosity. Warmth began to spread from head to toe. He was safe and sound, and he still had no idea who was responsible. His eyes glazed over with wonder.
As though sensing that his mind was regaining awareness, innocent as the thought process was, the vines once more gave Jack gentle squeezes. He groaned happily, nuzzling his cheek against the tip of it. It stroked his hair once more. Somehow it felt almost scolding, like a mother telling her sleepy child caught reading in the dark to return to bed young man, it is so late, and all little ones must sleep now. Jack smiled dazedly, an apology on his tongue. The vine gently covered his mouth, stopping him mid ramble. Then it wrapped gently around his head, as though telling him all was forgiven.
The vines vibrated the slightest bit, and through the soothing darkness of his trance, Jack thought he could sense amusement and tender love in the air.
So sleepy, aren't you?
He could taste nature and smell the jungle, old as the stars themselves.
You are safe here.
Safe. Secure. He'd forgotten the meaning of such words after all he'd been through. The ability to wonder what was going on no longer existed for Jack. He must have been a flower petal swaying in the breeze, not a care in the world. He fell and fell and fell.
Rest little one.
He leaned back into the makeshift bed, sighing in utter enchantment. Sleep beckoned him, and he would follow very soon. But he felt it was only right to share his gratitude with his wonderful new companion.
"Thank...you..."
Shhh. Sleep now.
He breathed.
XXX
His eyes opened to the gentle light of dawn.
It took quite a bit of effort to sit up, as he had never been so comfortable, but Jack managed. He flexed his arms, calmly noting that he was not bound. There was no gentle smell of blossoms, no beautifully strange tree. He was just outside the jungle, and very close to the bustle of a nearby town.
Jack smiled, feeling unusually well rested and ready to continue his quest.
He yawned and stretched, paying no mind to the purple petals fluttering off his hair. "Such a strange dream..."