Oh-- oh, wonderful. Vargas wanted to come now. Warmth buzzed through the Zoisite, nodding with an honest eagerness. She scuttled ahead to lead the way, a new energy to her movements.

It was less the approval that she would seek with Master Vargas-- though such a thing was certainly a distant wish-- and more the mere chance to share the hard work, the literal fruits of their labor, with him. "It'll be time for the first harvest soon," she explained readily, with an enthusiastic clicking punctuating her words.

"Some of the product we'll use to get more seeds, but... the rest, I was going to preserve with my magic. So we can stockpile."

Her voice filled the travel time, Master Vargas's interest stirring a new wave of enthusiasm within her. It showed readily in her tone where little else would naturally come through-- maybe, just a touch, in the way she hurried out of the tunnel, up the natural pathway toward the garden.

She couldn't wait to show him everything they had done. Everything they were working toward. It was a sweet, sweet victory-- Master Vargas wanted to see what she wanted to show him.

@Vargas ; a late exit oopsie

- THE LEVIATHAN -

He walked alongside, quiet, attentive. Massive hammerhead tilted down to listen. Eyes remained trained on the Zoisite as she spoke, and Vargas answered only when she had finished.

"The use of such magics to create a food storage is ingenious," he offered--praise, encouragement, and it was genuine. He'd only ever seen such things used to create mementos--never something practical. So Zoisite's was a practical act--and more importantly, a resourceful one.

And so it would go: Vargas watching, and listening, paying full attention. Offering praise where it was do. Questions to provoke more words.

Threads of conversation, to form that tenuous bond--a delicate balance to tip a creature away from madness, without cracking his skin open and leaving flawed weak points for others to exploit.

He would allow himself to draw closer, to Zoisite: his grandchild, his family; just not too close. But what there was, he would hold in his mind, to remember.

exit Vargas; @V-Zoisite-One purely for visibility