Laurel followed the two dryads back to their home with a heavy heart and her mind in a true daze. She wanted to tell them about his former life as a male human but what would the use be? What would be the point? She had acted like a jerk, both in his past life and her new one and now she would havre to pay the price. A high price. A price she sorely regretted but Laurel knew that all the regret in the world would not help her. She cried and her snivelling got her two new best friends to pat her and hug her. It felt... good. Especially as they did not even actually know her. Would she have been as generous? Probably not, in all honesty. What would her life be like, now? What did dryad do all day long, for crying out loud? Escape the unwanted advances of lecherous guys? Hairy, disgusting males? And to think she had envied their full throbbing and erect penises and tried to be pals with them... What a moron she had been... Why could she not have been sent to be a satyr by that twisted Merlin warlock guy? Then he'd have had fun. Real fun. But instead, no, he had been on the receiving end of those horrible satyrs instead...And it hurt in all possible ways... Was she as bad as a man? Well, first, his penis hadn't been as impressive so he couldn't have hurt girls as much at the parties organized by the other jocks at school. He'd had sex and they were happy. Except when they cried or were not in the mood and he made them drink beer to change their minds. Even if they only smiled and didn't exactly say they were know willing. He was better-looking than those satyrs too, so it wasn't the same thing. But being molested by two male gods would be the same, truth be told. Laurel frankly doubted Olympian gods would care more about her than the satyrs had. And these goat-men must know that she;'d end up pregnant once their fun was over. They left without informing her or wondering how she would cope with the short or long term effect. And she had never done that as a human! But she quickly realized her excuse was just that: a paltry excuse. As a football player, he had bragged about his female conquests but had never cared to enquire about the girls he'd had intercourse with or if they loved him or resented him or not. And after having had torrid sex with a cheerleader all night and amusing himself with her months on end, she'd told him she was pregnant. It was known all through the school that they were dating, reaching the stratosphere in terms of popularity. But to avoid facing responsibility and paying anything, either for the future brat or the abortion, he'd claimed that the time of sex during conception, she had had intercourse with all guys at the parties. His teammates all backed him and since they were more popular and important than her alone, everyone had sided with his version of the story. Everyone relevant, of course. The girl had left school and rumors had it that she'd had an abortion in another state. Or something. Happy to still be a free guy, a free very popular guy at that, he'd pushed the nasty story at the back of his mind. After all, she could very well have had sex with other guys be3hind his back so technically his version of the story was no lie. She should have proven him wrong and since she could not, then he was in the right. And then there was college to think about, and all the frat parties and football to play and hot girls to see. But now... She was in worse a condition as a dryad... She was sure to get pregnant... With twins! And she had to learn an entire new way of life! He'd all used them as tools for sex to be forgotten and discarded. Just like she had been by the satyrs. She was getting a taste of her own medicine and it was very, very bitter.
Laurel was so lost in her own thoughts that she did not notice the woods changing. She did not know it yet but she had reached the safest parts of the woods for nymphs. The trees were bigger and their roots and branches attacked anyone male and bent on harming nymphs. They then reached a wall with hedges and vines and thorns. The nymphs glided into the thick hedge as if it was nothing at all. A bit apprehensive, Laurel imitated them and the hedge pulled aside to let her pass, like a soft waterfall. It would never do so for anyone that weren't nymphs. But Laurel crossed the boundary with no problem and the sight that greeted her eyes was a balm to her heart. The scenery was beautiful. The houses were grown on the trees themselves, truly part of the plants themselves, streams gurgled happily, trees were laden with ripe, juicy fruits, animals grazed or chirped joyfully and everything was peaceful and quiet. It was like an eternal summer in a garden worthy of paradise. Other nymphs were around, working or frolicking, dancing or set on different tasks. A few children were there and Laurel flinched at the sight of infants and children with goat-like features. But they were innocent infants. Harmless, surely? Depending upon their nature, nymphs tended to reside near streams, trees or having fun in swings. Maple and Sycamore were greeted warmly and other nymphs gathered around to listen to their foray and travel outside. Nymphs did this to gather seeds, animals, plants and to help other elements of nature. Risky but necessary. And sometimes it was interesting too. Sycamore and Maple recounted the meeting with the satyrs and explained what had happened to Laurel. Laurel did try to explain she used to be a human male not too long ago, but her two companions just made movements indicating that they thought she was a bit slow and harbouring strange ideas. The others nodded in agreement. They were not mean about it, not like Matt and his friends would have been, but Laurel still felt quite stung. Everyone took her for a just grown sapling that was not right in the head and that ended up in a situation that was expected. They still said it was a blessing of the gods that she was safe now, amongst her kind so she could recover and become a nymph like any other. Some whispered that Laurel was not so much an oddity. After all, it could happen that a sapling just born was left to be raised by the plants or nature around her because her mother was killed or left or was kept from her maternal duties. Raised and growing up away from other nymphs could result in mental disabilities or grave misconceptions. It was not unknown to happen, if rare. Others still did ponder about Laurel having been a human male. Such a transformation, done by gods or very powerful beings, could happen as well. But it was such a rare occurrence... The last true event of this sort had been confirmed and recored eons ago... The most probable explanation was that she was merely a slow young dryad. Laurel was offered a good vegetable broth and stew. She was then showed a laurel that morphed to become a cozy little vegetal grotto. She was told it would grow into a true comfortable home in time. With a wool blanket to add to her new mattress of leaves and a fire to listen other nymphs talk and tell stories, Laurel slept all through the night. She was just too tired to be worried about the next day.
And over the next moons, Laurel got accustomed to her new life. She did one thing at a time, which allowed her to not dwell too much on her human past and become depressed. Luckily, some. nymphs were really knowledgeable and happy to share their experience. Laurel was nice and willing to work, if all agreed she was an oddball, no question about it. To her horror, Laurel learned that performing an abortion was impossible. It would kill her without fail. Also, her babies, the twins, would be satyrs or fauns if male and dryads if female. Of course, as twins, she could give birth to both, with one boy and one girl. Also, the girl; could be born as a female faun but it was very rare. The baby satyrs would be raised amongst the nymphs until they turned twelve, just before puberty and becoming lots of trouble. They left and rejoined the communities of their fathers. The girls stayed with their mothers or found themselves a new home in the world. As for the very rare female fauns, well, they could choose either way. Some did go to male fauns and satyrs, an odd choice but that was respected all the same. Apparently there was one of those strange female faun creature in the secluded garden but she was off on a journey. Laurel decided to never leave her beautiful shelter. Not only was it nice but she had seen enough of the outside of this world. Besides, every day she had to do tasks like watering plants, helping in preparing meals, wash clothes, helping with the children. Dancing to music and learning skills like the flute or playing with others were pleasant too. Much more than she would have realized. The roughing and tumbling of football and the crass pastimes of her human life would have brought such bad memories and she wondered what she saw in them in the first place. She had been such a jerk... How could she make up for it? Would she never have changed if she had remained a human, leaving just misery and upset and sadness in her wake?
As her belly swelled, she hoped the babies would be dryads, or rather, girls. Like that, they could stay safe where she was all of their lives. If the babies were boys, they'd be satyrs and destined to harass and rape girls. Same as their mother. Or the nymphs surrounding her. Her son or sons could really be the ones to destroy the lives of the kind nymphs around her, or unknown ones that had not asked for anything. She'd be giving births to rude louts, uncouth brutes that joked about groping females. But then... Maybe she could kill her male infant? Smother him fast, or break his neck? Smash his head against a wall or a tree trunk? The idea was horrible, nauseating, but what about what the future held for any female that crossed his path? But in truth, as time went by, the idea was simply abhorrent. Laurel knew she would never have the strength to do that. Never. So hoping was her best alternative. She had talked with shame about that to a nymph who had had a baby by a satyr, the goatling toddling around, so innocent for now, and she said that such thoughts were utterly natural but that as soon as she laid her eyes on her baby, she'd think differently and accept things as well as taking things in stride. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't her baby. The best she could do was what she was doing, namely trying to raise her son as being better than his father had ever been. The advice really seemed judicious and most sensible. Laurel resolved to do just that. And to offer a big basket of fruits to such a good listener as that nymph was. Needless to say, as Matt he would have found her a real dweeb and sappy. When she was kind and intelligent. Indeed, as Matt he would not have cared if his wife had been pregnant, only being interested in the result, that is a boy. He hoped a girl of his would be pretty but she'd be boring either way. Then again, he would not have cared about his son until four or five when he'd be interested in football and boy things. The screaming and dirty diapers were good for the mothers. How she thought differently now. As the babies moved and kicked, she promised to them and herself to keep them safe and sound. She had washed and changed the babes of other nymphs more times than she could recall by now. Nothing shameful and it had to be done. It was better than leaving babies dirty and unhappy. She just hoped for the best but prepared for trying times if the twins were boys. Then again, the birth promised to be trying in of itself. And she could not be more grateful to being surrounded by women to help her out. Happy to being surrounded by females in an utterly non-sexual way. But she would not have it any other way, considering the circumstances. The kindness and empathy, as well as the relaxed conversations not revolving around virility and matters of status and violence, was something welcome and that she wished she had discovered much earlier. Virile interests were so masculine that they were now uninteresting, stupid and useless in the long-term. Like toys she would have outgrown. She had the feeling she could be herself now, in ways that a college frat would never have offered her. It was more demanding, sure, but a lot more rewarding and certainly made more people happy. As it happened, more nymphs with kinder hearts happy. And they deserved it. Much more than adult groping satyrs or moronic frat boys.