Steady and slow, in and out; deep breaths, one after another. Something hard and flat was braced against her torso, impeding her breathing somewhat. Her head, sidelong and tilted, now felt uncomfortably stiff in its present position, further aided by the sensation of something thin tickling against the tips of her nostrils. In intervals, it would stop and start, seconds at a time, lasting long enough to be annoying, and begin rousing the panda from her slumber.

Groaning, Erita dragged a hand against the ground towards her head. Like an anchor sluggishly being pulled along, Erita feebly raised, and dropped her hand against her muzzle, pushing away whatever brushed against it. Darkness then beckoned anew in spite of the discomfort, leading her thoughts to locations unknown; an exploration of her subconscious.

Another deep breath, in and out... and the distinct feeling of something brushing against her nose continued. With a groan, Erita forcefully, and tiredly braced her hand against the ground, and pushed. Throwing her weight into the motion, metal clattering about on her body, she rolled onto her side, then back, sighing as hit the ground again. The hard surface once braced against her front, was now behind her.

Erita sighed, sinking into the firm surface comfortably. The relief she felt in her neck and muzzle was immeasurable. What had brushed up against the latter, now was against her neck and cheeks; thin, pointed, and wavering about with the wind. Overhead, through the once darkness her vision had been consumed by, an intense yellow-orange light shined through. It refused to go anywhere, in spite of her protests, both audible and physical. Grousing, Erita dragged her arm up over her eyes, breathing in... and letting it out as her vision once more was nothing but darkness.

All around her, she could smell nothing but an earthy aroma. Soil, grass, and whatever else had been carried in on the wind. The clarity in which she perceived the moment that'd past meant that reality was returning to her conscious state of mind, reminding her of where she was.

Reality started to slip back to her conscious mind, reminding her of where she was. With another groan, Erita peeled her arm away and held up her hand in front of her face, grimacing as she fluttered open her eyes. Shapes and colors started to form; a blue sky was witnessed around the sides of her hand, presently shielding her gaze from the light high above. With a quick ruffling of the grass around her, parting some of the taller segments surrounding her, as well as a turn of her head, she could make out the expansive plains that she was resting upon, and the city that loomed in the distance.

Turning her head back, forward and skyward, Erita sighed. "I guess I dozed off there for a bit," she mumbled.

Resting her hands back at her sides, the panda shut her eyes, once more breathing in and out in a measured pace. Brushing her fingers against earth and flora, she extended her senses into their own, delving back into the network of roots beneath her. For kilometers they stretched, intermingling with one another and overlapping; the only natural network of signals and energy Ascerit had to offer. She'd lost herself in the expansive roots, seeing how far it stretched, and dozed off as her mind strained to reach farther and farther into its network.

It was a risky experiment, given how little she knew of her reach and range. But she was still here, conscious, present, and alive. Her little experiment had worked successfully.

Opening her eyes, Erita grunted as she sat up on the grass. Bleary eyed, she glanced around herself, witnessing the unintended results of her efforts. Around her, outlining her shape upon the soil, was grass, thinner, numerous, and not even half the size of the fairly sized field surrounding her for meters. Her attempts at reaching out meant that she'd pushed some of her own life into the earth, and this was the result.

Erita snorted, smiling. "I'll have to be a little more mindful next time," she said to herself. Running her fingers through the smaller blades, freshly sprouted and fledgling compared to its taller cousins for kilometers around, Erita reached out into it, seeing how far its roots went, how much it overlapped with the nature surrounding her.

At the edges of her senses, extended by the roots around her, something was making its way towards her. It trekked at a steady, unhurried pace, following a path that she too had walked before, and reinforcing the trail that she'd made through this field. They were looking for her.

Withdrawing herself from the network below, Erita put her focus back into her own body, and back to the immediate world around her. Easing herself up, and back onto her feet, the panda dusted herself off, fetching her mask from nearby, and slipping it back on. The world was viewed through a charcoal tint, and her identity was once more hidden behind a mass of carbon fiber.

Turning her head, Erita began scanning the plains for her expected company. In the distance, Janus loomed. The reason she'd adopted this mask in the first place. "I'm going to have to cover my tracks better for next time."

---

Edit: 2022/02/16 - Redid the story to something that matches the tone, peaceful and serene of a panda waking up from a nap.

Features the 'old' Dryad attire with the more armored, and thickly dressed outfit.

‣ Art by the talented Kierano over on Twitter - https://twitter.com/souldroids

‣ Dryad belongs to me

‣ Small story written by me