Careful fingers plucked the flower from her palm and placed it before her with another sort-of bow. This was going better than expected..! She couldn't keep her tail from wagging idly, slow and swaying as she hummed to herself.
When she drew up, it was slow, thoughtful, with a paw held under her forearm to showcase the braided, thorny vine that grew from it. It twinned on the other side, though she hadn't unwound that one— it stayed tucked and tied by her wrist, a tight spiral packed and alive with clear familiarity to it. "There's only so much you can do with flowers. Pretty, important, but there's so much more." She could feel herself getting into it with each breath. "All of my plants are curated for me; I've been taking care of them for all my life, they're... a part of me. They're my sword and shield."
This was the part she was made for. Drawing herself up, Pollen held her arm aloft into the air, drama swelling within her as the Spire's light danced across her whip. "And, uh, I... like my garden, basically." The delivery was flat, but oh well. She just had to make up for it with her dance.
Dipping suddenly, Pollen grabbed a hold of the loose vine and twirled on one paw, the arc flying over her head as she used the full force of her muscles to slam the end forward. One loop— driven by magic, she'd practiced so hard— raced down the length and snapped the thin end above the crowd. The force shuddered through the length of the vine, echoed in her ears, silence cut through so audibly that she gasped.
Yes! She did it! Quivering with sheer excitement, she forced her vine to remain aloft, keeping it from hitting anyone as she snaked it back to her. Her arm snapped back with a flourish and soon the vine was coiling back around and tightening against her fur like a protective shield.
"Now," she started as she pulled back, hand at her collarbones, "spells like these, I guess most people don't really see as... set up for combat. Plants don't move a lot, right? But... I've always loved plants. Knowing everything about them, how to work with them... and how to use them."
One paw drifted to her hollowed out eye-socket, lingering for a brief moment while she breathed in. Talk of usefulness and magic struck a chord in her; she didn't have time to simmer in it though, returning to that full-chested enthusiasm in a heartbeat. "People, ah, underestimate plants, they're just pretty things, but they're what make us alive, right? Lessers eat the plants, we eat the plants; without them, there'd be no meat to eat, no food. Well, except mushrooms, but they're close enough." She spun in place slowly, pacing while emphasizing her vines.
"And, ah, well, who said pretty things can't also be cool?" Her pacing sped up for a brief moment, nearly tripping herself up while she used the momentum of her movement to start forcing out the honeysuckle from her skin, the crackling of bark growing underneath pushing them out to flutter to the cave floor.
Yellow petals caught in her mane, her tail, stirred up by her pacing while they danced downward, leaves and flowers shedding from her back. In its place, dark, dense bark covered her fur, encompassing her arms and neck, plating her hocks and curling into a helmet that hugged her muzzle tightly. "There's, uh, a lot of things you can do with plants. Not just eating or looking pretty. And that's why I'm a garden knight, 'cause I use 'em to protect and be cool."
Slowing her spin, Pollen stopped and forced a smile, the anxiety of so much attention settling back in. "... Thank you." She bowed again one last time, stiffer than before with the limited motion of the bark. And that was that; her part was complete, though she waited a moment before escorting herself back to the crowd.
@September
There were advantages to hibernating. One: everyone forgets who you are.
Unfortunately, the inverse was true; there were Gembound here he didn't recognize and new dynamics that he'd have to navigate. While he was likely to blend into the crowd, he didn't know the others' limits, didn't know what they knew either. Were they scanning for interlopers? No, no, that was that fear rising in his throat, soothed quickly and promptly ignored for him to focus on this task.
He made sure not to stick out, though. His pelt was clean, picked through and groomed to perfection so Mother's touch would be well hidden from the world, a habit left over from long ago. The only tell was his gem, and that was hidden well away between his teeth.
Pallas fit in. He was fine. Fine enough to where, upon making even brief eye-contact with another, he gave them a genuine-seeming smile with his eyes, an upward squint as he navigated to a nice, protected seating area. In for the long haul, Pallas settled down and tucked his paws beneath himself, keeping within the crowd as he watched the show.
Horizon had never been to Polaris before, and was instantly enamored by its- almost literally- electric atmosphere. Maybe that was just because of the Magicka Show, though. They had never seen such a large crowd before, and it was a little nerve-wracking to know all of these gembound would be watching them- even if most of them were here to compete themselves.
Horizon was absolutely fascinated by the first two performances [although they were rather concerned when September started choking on his own fire spell] and a bit startled to find out it was ALREADY their turn.
In their claws they held a couple of round, smooth pebbles. They'd fidget with them, rolling them around in their claws, as they figured out what to say. "Uh. Hi." They started. "I. Uh. Like magic. Its really cool and I'm pretty good at it I think." Very cool and good speech. Now lets get to the good part- the magic!
They'd toss the pebbles into the air one by one, and their magic would grab hold of the pebbles and toss them far higher into the air than they normal could. They'd juggle the pebbles between their hands and their magic, looping them through the air into elaborate shapes.