Speaking to animals wasn't a hard thing to do--it was an innate ability of the druid to understand nature. Especially for me, who had royal blood.
But 'conversing' wasn't just about speaking to those animals. I had to converse with the objective of understanding their habit, their way of life, their movement, their psyche...
This was done so I wouldn't get culture-shocked during fusion and swept away by the animals' consciousness. Of course, normally, understanding that kind of thing would need a lot of time; but with Mother's blessing on the druid, we could converse through our souls and exchange minds, easily deepening our understanding with each other.
Another thing that I needed to converse about was consent. This wasn't just done by asking if they were willing to do it, but I had to explain what it really meant. What the process would be like, what the risk was, the whole thing. You know--like laying in terms and conditions.
