She trusts her gut

Vivia sensed that this girl's presence so deep in these woods had to be illogical, and second-guessed her philanthropic impulse, retreating a step. Ever-wary, she kept her distance, cutting a path around the clearing and eyeing the tree more carefully. The girl—if she was one—didn't show much struggle, for all her professed predicament might impel one to try straining, and the makeup of her form only appeared stranger the more Vivia scrutinized it.

So she left the tree behind, not willing to risk her hide for a stranger's sake so readily. When the perfume scent no longer lingered in the air, she felt confident in her choice, recalling the odd tales of danger in these Woods.

Her course led her toward the eastern foothills, land rising steadily. Her knowledge of the region extended as far as those tales and the rough maps she'd found, legends of the adjacent mountain carrying even fewer specifics. But some high ground seemed beneficial for her search, so she went on until she found a rise without any tall trees obscuring the view. There, she noted the one in the clearing she'd passed, and saw an even larger one a good distance out beyond a gap in those branches before her. She'd been going the right direction, yet veered at some point. She surmised a route following the foothills would suffice.

A little ways on, another space in the canopy gave a peek at some faint wisps of smoke in the sunny sky. There was no settlement she knew of in the region, though it was widely unexplored. Wherever it came from, the rougher terrain of the mountain paved that route, and she would eventually need to turn to other way. She liked the idea of a potential respite to refresh herself, however; her water was low, and it always paid to be well-prepared.

As the meager trail came to a fork, she paused to weigh the decision. She had no certainty that the source of the smoke was close, or that the left path went there. On the other hand, the Zulgra tree promised to be a fair distance from here, itself... As she considered this, a rustle in the foliage on the left got her attention. She waited, but nothing showed up. After the earlier danger, she was wary, but the odds on some innocent forest critter being the culprit seemed highest. Still, she could never be too careful...