Tema had felt her fur stand on end, that inking of a feeling that something, someone else was there, watching. She had chalked it up to nothing more than the usual unease brought upon her by the Void, by Chaos, and so she had simply continued about her work, oblivious to the cougar above.

Another set of swings were aimed towards a particularly stubborn patch of ferns, still too close to the den for her liking, before a voice startled her into missing. "It needed to be done." She remarked with a shrug, or about as much of a shrug as a bear could muster, while she tried to find the source. They blended in well given their greens and browns, much like she once did when hosting moss once upon a time. Those memories seemed to grow more distant the more she interacted with the Void.

She eyed the gembound curiously, wondering just what kind of creature would approach a bear moving claws-first through the forest. "Are you... cleaning, too?" She couldn't really think of another word for it, but she also wasted no time in trying to determine the other's intentions. If they could help her, she would allow it. If they could not, she had another use for them yet.

@Rift

He was mildly surprised at the initial standoffish nature the bear showed to him. The pass-off of his compliment was unexpected and the violence with which she cleared the forest...necessary, perhaps, but still catching him off guard. He was quiet for a moment - he had thought to perhaps jump down from the tree and talk, but for now, he decided he'd stay up here.

He nodded at her question. "I am. I have been, for many cycles." It was a losing battle - it seemed the more he cleaned, the more they reappeared. The denser and more numerous the fungus became. As he spoke, he pulled fungus out of the tree he was upon, the spores set deep into the bark forced to emerge. Claws dug in as they were dug out and with a quick swipe of his claws, the fruiting bodies were cloven from the tree and sent tumbling down to the forest floor to die.

He looked at the structure that Tema was building, tilting his head. "Are you making a home? There is a sanctuary." His tail raised and waved in the direction of the Arborspire. "It is a safe haven, from the infection. From Chaos and Order both. If you wanted a place to call home, you are welcome there, if you bring no bad intentions."

@Tema

Tema made no attempt to correct her behaviour, perhaps hoping that keeping the other at a distance would prevent them from noticing or asking about her project. It was nowhere near as big as she would need it to be yet, but it was still shaped and sizable enough that it didn't look quite like a natural formation. She would have to fix that.

"Good! I am glad to see not everyone has left this place to die!" Her tone shifted more towards joy, genuinely pleased to hear that she was not the only one trying to reclaim the place. It was a shame such putrid filth had been left untouched for so long in her absence. Left to die... She may have been, but she would not allow the same to happen of the cave. "Could you help, then? That pile over there is filthy. All I can do is tear it up and replace it, not kill it, not really." The pile was a good few feet away from what would become her den, and would hopefully allow her to be a barrier between the cougar and her eventual home.

Ah... Spoke too soon. She almost laughed out loud at the idea of something, someplace even, being safe from Chaos. Order, perhaps- she had seen a bracer that would keep it at bay, and Order mould could be burnt and starved, but oil? Chaos? Oh it was everywhere. It seeped into you and took hold, showing you all you could be and more, showing you the truth.

But it wouldn't do her any good to lose her help now, would it? As she had said, if the other had a better means of killing mould, she could not afford to chase them away. not yet, at least. "Thank you for the offer, but I much prefer somewhere private. I have memories here." The illusion of sheepishness was better served with a half-truth, she decided. She did want the privacy, and she did have memories here. The cougar did not need to know that she was tearing those memories out one by one to remake them, and they certainly did not need to know that she was worshipping the very 'intentions' they hid from under the Arborspire. There was no hiding, and she would have to teach them as much later.

With nothing to hide anymore, at least not from one solitary gembound, she returned to her work while awaiting their answer. Unfortunately, trying to focus on two things at once was not a good idea, and she failed to do any more damage. Why were these ferns so stubborn?! Displeased, she focused back on the cougar. Perhaps they'd be a little less on edge now that she was behaving friendlier? "My name is Tema, by the way."

@Rift

He was quiet as he watched, wide-eyed from the tree. "Yes. There are a few of us working...yet it still seems to come back. We may not be doing enough." He looked over towards the plant matter she had already shredded. It was all infected, yes, but the plants had been ripped from their roots and the bed of dirt. Was there really much more that he could do to it?

"Hm, that is about as much as I do, really. You leave it in a place and allow it to die. Without sustenance, the infection dies with it. I am better about...regrowing. I am not much of a destroyer." He shivered, although he did not really know why. He turned back to the bear, head tilted and smiled softly. "That is alright. You are still welcome, if you bring peace. It is a safe haven." He was feeling a little more at ease with the bear becoming friendlier, so he did turn and carefully climb down the tree he was on, although he still kept his distance, in case.

As he climbed down, more of the spores routed deep into the tree were forced out and he quickly sliced them off, further curing the tree of that disease which had gone deep within its trunk. He looked at it for a moment, sadly, wondering if it was even possible to get this entire forest cured.

"I am Rift," he responded back, turning to look at her again. There was a pause, and he added, "I am a guardian. One of them, at least."

@Tema

Tema hadn't been sure, in truth, that the infected plants she had ripped up wouldn't release more spores as they decayed. She'd had plenty of experience with a wide variety of plants after all, and some of them really didn't like to die. "Thanks the caves! I worried it would still find some way to spread. Spores, and whatnot. Like mushrooms." She would be happier to see it die now rather than just allowing it to quietly rot away so close to her den, but she could always sweep the pile further away later.

She coughed to choke back another laugh. They did not know that it was Tema who was the destroyer, simply using what little time she had left with her magic putting it to good use. They did not know that if she had her way, she would be the very reason their safe haven would crumble to dust beneath her weight. "Guardian? Of that haven?" She prodded, gently, walking the line between past and present again as the title pulled on heartstrings. "Maybe we all have to do more. Tear it out from the root, burn it, starve it, whatever it takes. It has been here much too long." If nothing else, the pair did share a hatred for the foul-smelling mould that had infested the place. "You say there are others? Working to clear the cave?" She hoped these 'others' were few, or at least sharing in her position. She would hate to be found out this early, considering how weak she was. She would have to seek out more oil, and soon. She could not lose her momentum now.

Frustrated with the lack of fern-cutting, Tema turned her focus once more towards her den-in-progress. There was no sense in hiding it now, not from this one. Thankfully the shift turned out to be a good idea as new life sprang forth, the start of vines to cover the entrance with.

@Rift

He shrugged, glancing at the pile of already-destroyed white speckled plant matter. "Set it on a rock, away from substrate it could grow on. Or pile it together and keep it contained. It will starve itself." He had spent too much time trying to protect his garden from the constantly spreading infection, and he knew a little too much about how to keep it away. Not that that was something he had to worry about any longer.

"Yes, a guardian of the Arborspire. But also of this cave. Well, I was," he hesitated. He probably shouldn't go around telling everyone about his...history. "I was...away for a long time. When I returned, the infection had taken over. I have been fighting it ever since, but its tedious." He sighed, and although Tema's suggestion - to be more thorough, to burn it, tear out the roots - sent a pang of shock through him, he also quickly fell into resignation. He could do as much work as he could, but there simply wasn't enough power working to fight it back. Perhaps something drastic was called for.

"There are some. Active or passively clearing it out. But I think the task has become too much for some. The Sanctuary has rose to the task - be a place of safety from the infection that won't end." He looked down at his paws, sinking claws into the earth with a mild frustration. It was...painful, to face such powerlessness in his own home that he loved so much. When he pulled more fungus from the ground this time, he was much more savage in the way he shredded it, tossing it onto the already growing pile of mold and dying green.

It all left a bitter taste in his mouth.

@Tema

Tema nodded along, a visual indicator that she was paying attention even while facing away. She worked quietly, growing and shaping plants while listening to the familiar catch of Rift's voice. The plants did not respond this time, much to her disappointment. She needed to be better. Even her magic was starting to pull from her now, leaving her stuck in the in between; not quite her master's soldier, but not quite just a gembound anymore.

"I was away, too." She started, sparing a knowing glance at them before focusing back on her gardening. "When I came back, everyone was gone." She continued slowly, her voice a trembling mix of anger and grief. "But I found my purpose again. I found myself." She debated on going further, on inviting Rift into her world and giving them a new purpose, a better one, but she left it for now. Perhaps they would take it as a message of hope, or maybe they would prod. She would let them decide their fate as she had decided hers.

His savagery did not go unnoticed by the bear, but she made no mention of it. She knew the feeling, knew the need to rip and tear and- No, now was not the time. The more mould Rift cleared away the less she would have to. "You're still trying." She spared another glance at the cougar, letting it linger as she met his eyes. "Nothing would get done if you didn't try."

@Rift