ORIGIN

Master Artio drifted past Rift's group last, and looked over their work. She paused, fingers idly clasped before her, and watched with the faintest tick of a smile at one corner of her mouth as plants grew into full bloom, healthy mushrooms began to coat the forest floor, and clusters of berries began to appear in a burst of bright color across a shrub.

"Well done," she offered softly, from her place in the shadow of the trees. "Gather the others and return to where we started, when you are finished."

She moved off again, doing a final circuit to examine their work with a more critical eye--the work of all three groups. Inwardly, she was pleased. It was work she could have done, but it would have taken far more time and effort. Together, the Gembounds had quickly and easily spread and grown the seeds, digging the holes for them, warming and watering them.

Whenever they returned to her, they would find her somewhat relaxed, and pleased. Her head tipped in a nod of acknowledgment, and one hand lifted as if in some benevolence or other. "You have all done well. You have all earned your rewards; I thank you personally. Choose what you would like. I will teach you any spell I know, or grant a boon of the forest upon your forms. As for who has done the best..." She eyed them all, letting the moment linger for a bit of suspense. "It was difficult to choose. You have all done so well. But I believe The Eyes were granted more life, if only by a little. Your group, therefore, will reap two rewards today." She looked to Maw, Larkspur, and Marigold, and nodded to them in particular.

Ahh, how good delegation felt. A job well done, indeed.

One by one, she considered their requests and granted them.

"The baths?" she queried Clementine, briefly puzzled. Tentative realization smoothed her features a moment later. "Ahh... Tunnel S? The hot springs, and the bathhouse? -Tram tracks?" and she smiled quizzically. "If you'll take my advice, you will gather a few military-minded allies and charge an entry fee. The baths, in prime operation, were always very popular. Now, as to your flowers..." A gentle wave of her hand, and a glittering cascade of what looked like bright green pollen drifted over the hybrid. "You will need to rest in your gemstone for this. Not for long; a pair of weeks, perhaps. You will awaken as you wish."

She drifted on, graceful, and held a finger to Rift at his request, as if to ask him for a moment's time.

She moved on then to Larkspur. "My magickal domain is not suited for healing, not particularly. There is this..." She swept down, kneeling before the little Swallow, and demonstrated: a twist of fingers, and grass sprouted, weaving and intertwining. There was a flicker of magicka with it, a Master's magical knowledge, so that Larkspur would grasp the spell, learning it effortlessly. "This, however, will do to close wounds in an emergency. Maintain the plant matter, or replcae it with something better. I advise seeking out Tenzin in his frigid pool if you wish to learn more of mending magic. And as for growth..." A flourish of power, a rising bloom, and understanding was granted. "Do you understand?" she asked, glowing green eyes flicking up to Larkspur's own.

"An easy enough request," was her response to Maw, easygoing. Two more demonstrations of magic were applied: the Master lifted a little flower to grow several feet high, while on one knee before the feline. A second flicker of magic, a wave of her hand, and the flower uprooted itself and lurched, not particularly gracefully, across the soil for a few 'steps' before replanting itself. "Well-earned rewards. Inform me if you need further explanation," she said, and there was a warmth to it--almost a smile--as she looked to Maw.

Fahl was given a gesture, back toward Larkspur. "The mending is as I mentioned. I will grant you the same--and make the same suggestion as to master Tenzin." But she knelt yet again, in a sweep of fragrant blooms, and demonstrated to Fahl the ability to Weave a wound closed... on the grass, anyway.

Last of all, Titanite, she stood before--there was no need to kneel, with him; he was large--and taught him with several sweeping, dramatic gestures how to shape the magic. The sprouts around his root-like feet rose high, and she studied him.
"I would have imagined you would take naturally to this, but it isn't your native element, is it-? How strange. But plants, on the whole, do appreciate their light." A grimace briefly crossed her otherwise placid features. "...if not Light's Master."

With the rest rewarded, she circled back to Rift, folding her hands delicately before her. She studied the green cat, and nodded once, inclining her head in a question. "Ask, protector." Simply said; then she waited.