The Heartwood re-restart

The lightbulb turned on when he rephrased the question, although she still felt like he was being a bit purposefully wordy. She reminded herself not to judge so quickly, so she put on her smile and did her best to be friendly... well, as friendly as she ever got. Well... yeah... I mean, this whole wide world is pretty big. Bound to run into others on a pretty regular basis. She gave him a teasing wink. It probably wasn't the answer he was looking for, but it was the one she gave, so he'd have to deal with it (or ask better questions).

How long before this forest becomes inhabitable again, y'think? she asked idly, looking at the few saplings that were sprouting up here and there. It wasn't entirely dead, but the ground still smelled of ash and smoke in places. It wasn't a good place to settle now, but in a few years time, she could see it becoming quite nice.