Beast watched Clover with concern, observing as she seemed to go from distraught to peaceful, wavering between the two. Her answers, though, were honest and kind, and a moment later she was asking him about his garden. He brightened up at once, standing and turning, padding over toward the plants with a flick of his tufted tail. "Not--names, no... but I try to keep them happy. I don't know if they have names. They like light, and water and soil, but it has to be rich. And they like being left in peace, to grow and bloom." Here he paused, glancing back with a smile at Clover. "I like it here. It's peaceful. I try not to eat too much," he added. Here he turned, nibbling at a few leaves, the way a deer might graze. He picked at a branch here, a berry there, as he led the way into the garden, and there was a bloom of magic about him as he went--a sense that there was something other allowing him to do what he was doing, to grow and eat the food. He nudged a berry bush as they went, glancing back at the doe, bright-eyed. "This one's one of the first I ever grew. Vazi wanted berries, so... But he ate almost all of them. I had to hide a few away, to plant later. This was one that made it." He gave the bush a playful paw, and then led the way along a narrow path that twined through light-dappled greenery, explaining how that grass came from just near the Throne, and this sapling, from an Eridanus tree. He seemed content to babble, lost in his little world, but clearly happy to have a friend to share it with. It was quite possibly the very first time. ______________

@Clover

She listened with a smile, knowing that the quiet words they offered, the soft happiness they shared, was a gift, something special to treasure. It was something that Vazi tried their hardest to stomp out with a vengeance, but Beast just kept it hidden underneath the surface, waiting to grow with the right timing. It was beautiful, and it brought small pricks to her eye that she quietly rubbed away when they weren't looking.

She listened to the fact that their plants loved light, and she smiled softly. "Maybe...maybe I could help with that?"

Slowly, she looked around to little patches of flowers and saw one lovely stone about as big as her head resting nearby, almost covered by grass, and she very softly moved towards it, breathing in and out slowly, carefully, feeling the familiar slow build up of magic within her. She kissed the stone, her eye half-lidded, her gem glowing softly, and when she stepped back, the buildup of magic was left within the stone, and it glowed with a pure, lovely, warm light.

She smiled at Beast. "I hope this is a nice gift for the plants, my dear."

Then she walked around, choosing four more such stones around the garden to imbue with the same warm light, till the whole place shone with a beautiful inner glow, like soft spotlights towards the trees and the flowers, soft just like Beast's purity.

"Thank you....thank you for showing me this. For trusting me with this." She said to them. "I know it must take a lot, and it means a lot to me. I won't take it for granted."

@Beast

Beast flattened his ears, moon-shimmer eyes half-closing as he glanced back at Clover. It wasn't a fearful look--it was as close as a lion could get to a smile, utterly relaxed and pleased. She had made a stone glow, and he turned, ears pricking back up. His eyes widened, again, in amazement. "What is that?" he asked, softly, raising one huge mitt-paw to gently prod it. Then, remembering the light-orbs that decorated the tunnels and caves, he lifted his gaze to the doe. "Are you the one who makes all the light in the caves...?" His tone was choked with awe, as if he'd just been told that the creature visiting him were in fact royalty--no, a goddess. Did she hold that much power? Was she the Light-Bringer for all of Origin Cave?! The young white lion padded closer, dipping his head in respect, lowering himself to his haunches as he awaited a reply. It seemed best to treat royalty with such respect, he thought. Maybe that's all Vazi was--a retainer, a bodyguard, for the Goddess? It wasn't like Beast to think in such terms--he was generally engrossed in his plants, and not a zealot. But suddenly this bright, almost ethereal creature was presented to him as what might be a Creator, and he had no idea how to respond. So he just bowed his head, trembling a little (for once, not out of fear) and waited. ______________

@Clover

She laughed softly, seeing their awe and reverence in their eyes and their posture, thinking her the center of the world, and she paused. She didn't want to crush this moment for them, this moment of happiness and wonder for them; she knew Beast had near to none of them in their life thus far. And...they looked happy. So she spoke quietly, softly, with a small smile.

"I woke when it was still dark in the caves - when there weren't any lights at all." She said, settling herself down in the grass, next to the stone she'd set with a glow, the one Beast had been shocked at. "I woke near a lake, and the only light came from me, and that was the only thing I had to go by. It was....difficult. But I had someone to help me not be afraid of the dark, someone who controlled it. They were sweet and kind, wordless but expressive. I miss them very much."

Saudade came to her mind with their cocky grin and their confidence she never had as a small child. They were her shield when she was young, and she was sad she lost them to the Bonebound and never saw them again.

"The lights came on once I discovered my magic. From what I hear, it took a great amount of effort to turn the lights on. Golems, foreign and old technology, danger all around..." She said this in an excited whisper, as if she was weaving another story to tell - but from what she understood, it was the truth, and that was more exciting than anything she could weave. "I've created lights for as long as I can remember."

She wasn't lying per se....but she would let Beast take their own conclusions. Beast needed a hero, someone to look up to, and if she could be that person and be sweet and kind, she would do her best.

@Beast

The lion listened with fascination, moonshimmering eyes widening. "It was dark? And you... made light?" His voice was soft, and awed. "How?" He wanted to do this: he wanted to make light, the way Clover did. He wanted to glow, to bring hope, to bring joy. To push away the darkness. "I will learn how. I'll... I'll show you light, the next time you come," he promised softly. It would be his thank you--his gift back, such as it was, to show how much he appreciated their short time together. How much he appreciated what she had given him. Clover had shown him kindness, where no one else ever had. She'd shown him mercy, and patience, and gentleness--she was the opposite of Vazi. She was good. Beast lowered his large head to his paws, gazing gently at the glowing stone. He would build a garden around it. A refuge. He would protect it. And he would learn to bring light--the way Clover did. ______________

@Clover ; exit Beast!

She just smiled, her head tilting a little, gazing at the beautiful plants all around. "Why, just like how you ask these plants to grow. Its just the same. I just ask the light to bloom. I'm sure you can do it, if you really try, my dear. And when I see you again, I'll make lights with you. I'd really like that."

Then she stood, and gave Beast a very soft kiss on their forehead. "I will see you again."

Vazi would probably be looking for her by now, and she should go before they found this place. She wanted Beast to be safe here, and she wouldn't lead Vazi here, not for anything.

Quietly she left, feeling....clean. Whole. Herself.

[exit Clover]