Enka became quiet and still at Rift’s questions. Her ears flicked reflecting the rapid firing of neurons in Enka’s young brain as she struggled to describe just what it was it felt. Part of the trouble was that she was still so very young and inexperienced both in the world of magic as well as the physical world. Part of the struggle, though, was trying to come up with the words to describe something that, in essence, did not have words. How can you describe the faint touch across her senses that sensing gave? The subtle differences that the plants on Rift’s body had from the berry bush?

“I felt you ….” She held her tongue, stopping to rethink her words. “No, not you really. I felt your plants. They felt gentle, but blurry and shifting. They weren’t as nice to feel as the berries. They make my brain giggle a little bit!” She giggled a bit in emphasis.

Being reminded of the berry bush, she reached out for another mouthful of the sweet fruit. The juices ran down her throat, tickling in a similar fashion that sensing them did. Long tongue reached out to lick the juices that ran down her lips. “Yes yes! These berries are better!”

She stopped, spinning around to face Rift again. “Oh! But yours are nice too! They just confuse me!” She rushed to explain, hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings by saying that she liked something else better than his plants. It wasn’t that she didn’t like his plants. It was just that part of the information was hidden from her due to their dual nature of being half plant and half animal. This hidden part was distressing to her in a way. While the berries were simpler and more readily gave up their information.

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Tags: @Rift
Notes: Well that was interesting trying to describe! XD

Excitement tingled in Rift's spine as Enka began describing the sensing spell that he had so wished her to have. She did have the magic of plants, she did! Her love for the forest that she shared with him wasn't just a love - it was ingrained in her very gem. What he had to teach, it would be easier then he had thought. He had always tried to teach Sebastian the magic of the forest, but his element was so alien to that of the delicate growth of life that it had always escaped him. But Enka he could teach and pass his knowledge to.

His tail flicked with happiness and his whiskers twitched. "That's it! That's the one! You are blessed with plant magic! This is great news, yes, amazing! I can teach you so much about the forest and about your magic. Oh, this is so exciting!" He gave a small leap of excitement, wanting flowers to spring out of the ground, but he was so unfocused that his magic simply didn't work. No matter.

"So, Enka, where do you want to start? I could teach you to grow plants on your back or maybe awaken seedlings from the ground? Those are the easiest, but there's also moving plants to your will, growing flowers, and being able to digest them...although perhaps that last spell won't be of much use to you, since you can already digest plants, haha."

@Enka

Rift’s excitement was tangible and very much contagious to the young calf. She leapt into the air with a giggle. Rift was happy with her. She was happy. The world around her seemed happy in fact. Enka’s agathism way of life was once again being proven to her in small ways. She just hoped to continue pleasing him like this, though in truth, the idea of failure was rather unknown to her at this time. All she knew was that life was good. Failure, hurt, pain, none of that had existed for her so far so none of it could even be conceptualized. In short, the springbok calf was simple and good.

Rift gave her a plethora of ideas, each sounding more wonderous and magical than the next. Her head began to spin like it was on a roller coaster. Twisting and turning in her imagination in exciting new possibilities. How to pick? Where to start? It was hard to narrow the ideas down to just one.

“Uhhh…” A slight pause. “I like flowers. … And berries. Those berries over there were tasty. But flowers are really pretty too.” Her puzzlement could be seen in the flicking of her overly large ears. “But I don’t know if I wanna be a plant like you are.”

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Tags: @Rift
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Rift laughed out loud again at Enka's response. She was silly and young and had much to learn. "I'm not a plant, they just started growing on my skin. But I would understand if you don't want to learn to do that as well. I can teach you to grow things outside of your body. Like this!" He tapped a paw on the ground and a few small sprouts poked their way out of the soil. "You like flowers and berries. You can grow those, sure! However, growing plants is almost like speeding up time. The longer time it takes the more difficult it is to grow. There are three levels of growing: the sprout, the flower, and the tree. The sprout is the easiest - you are growing seeds from the earth to the earliest stage of life. Once you have mastered this spell, then I will teach you to grow the flower, the second stage in a plant's life. The final, and most difficult, is the tree. I only call it that for lack of a better word to describe it. All plants have a 'tree stage' even if they aren't a tree. This is where you'll be able to grow berries and fully grown plants. It's a very difficult spell, however, so we'll just start with this."

He touched his nose to the ground and closed his eyes. 'If you think it will help, use your sense to locate the seeds within the earth first. However, this forest is abundant with life. There will always be seeds beneath your feet here."

@Enka

The springbok gave a small gasp as small sprouts formed where Rift’s paw had tapped the ground. She lowered and twisted her head to get a good look at them. They were small and delicate, but they were definitely freshly appeared. It was amazing for her to see Rift work like that. And to think that she might be able to do it too? The idea made her heart aflutter.

Then Rift began explaining about the various stages of plants. Enka attempted to follow along, nodding to his words. “Three stages …. Seed, flower, tree … All have tree stage, but not all have trees. Wait, what?” Ears flicked while she contemplated about how plants have a tree stage but aren’t trees. Sometimes it was berries? So that bush was a tree, but not a tree? It seemed confusing to her.

It was then that she realized Rift’s lecture had a pause in it. When her focus returned to him, she saw that his nose was to the ground and his eyes were closed. What was this now? What was she suppose to do? Oh, right, first stage. He wanted her to try to make her own sprouts appear.

“Ahhhh…” Enka muttered softly, eyeing the ground. She tried to focus on the ground as a dark brown hoof struck against it. But her thoughts were in a bit of disarray. Between the idea of creating a variety of chromatic plants and trying to figure out what a tree was and wasn’t, she found that it was difficult to focus on making the sprouts appear in the first time. She huffed at the attempt, scowling a bit. “I’m sure I can do it!” She cried, turning towards Rift.

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Tags: @Rift
Notes:

Rift saw that his words were confusing the young springbok. Perhaps he should have been slower or chosen his words more carefully. Or, perhaps, he should change the name of the third stage to something other then 'tree.' It seemed that he would have to explain this another time. "It's alright. Everyone struggles with their first spells. Now, just focus, focus on the ground and the seeds bellow. Forget about the flowers and trees and think only of the children you are raising from the earth. Tiny things, from seeds into small green plants. It is their first stage of life. They know where they are going, you are only giving them the energy to move along. That is what this spell is."

He took a deep breath and on his exhale, his nose delicately touched the ground as he did what he was telling his student. More sprouts emerged around him and he blinked open his eyes, smiling fondly. "The plants will thank you for giving them life."

@Enka

The springbok was frustrated but comforted greatly by Rift’s words. In the back of her mind she had slight bit of worry that Rift would be upset or disappointed in her. She smiled a bit at him in thankfulness for his words.

Then her attention focused more strongly on his words. She listened to his guidance and tried to take it all in. “My children….” She thought to herself. It was a strange thought as she was still very much a hatchling herself. But it was a comforting one. In a sense she was helping these little seeds hatch from their shell just like she had done with her chrysalis. And she was showing them their first glimpse of the world just as Rift had done. A warmth filled her heart. It felt wonderful to be given such a role to these seeds.

Enka stood perfectly still in a way that prey animals had mastered with her eyes closed. Rift told her to forget everything except for the baby seeds. Her mind went blank except for what she assumed the seeds to look like (which in her mind was tiny green versions of them for she had not really seen seeds yet). Children of the earth she would help grow. It was almost unnerving to see the energetic and bouncy creature so still. But she, after all, what she was.

The springbok took a deep breath and lowered her head towards the earth. She inhaled the rich scents of the soil, of fallen leaves and stone and plants and worms. And then she felt the strange energy she had before when sensing the plants and berries. The green veins of her green and cream horn glittered as she touched the ground with her snout.

When she opened her eyes, she gave a baa of glee and sprang up with joy. For on the ground where she had touched it a few green sprouts had formed, tiny baby leaves unfurling to take in their first true glimpse of light. “Rift! Rift! I did it! Oh Rift, I did it! I made the baby seeds appear!”

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Tags: @Rift
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He watched closely as Enka stilled and concentrated. He was so proud of her, proud that he had a student that listened so well to the teachings he had to give, a student that understood, and, more importantly, appreciated the wisdom he had to give. She would learn well and there would be another acolyte of nature roaming the caves. Perhaps she would be braver then him, venturing out to spread the love of the forest to the other parts of the caves.

When the sprouts appeared, he purred loudly, his tail waving happily. "You did it!" His eyes shined enthusiastically. "You've helped them grow! I'm so proud of you, oh, so proud! When you practice more and more, it'll become almost second nature. Raising seeds from the earth will be as easy as breathing. Why don't you do it a few more times? It'll get easier the more you do it."

@Enka

Further prompting was unnecessarily. Enka was ecstatic by this new-found ability. All she could think to do was to celebrate and create more. Enka began to bound in a circle around Rift, creating a sprout here or there in those tiny moments when her hooves found the earth before being propelled airward once more. Before long a fairy circle of sprouts surrounded the cougar.

Finally, Enka stopped to breath, the horn dimming slightly as she paused. After all, using magic was tiring work. That broad grin was still pasted on her face though. Her tail flicked with excitement, her rump fur still up like a small furry fin. The excited energy slowly left as she rested there.

“I did it Rift,” she repeated, though a bit quieter this time as she caught her breath. As she paused, she lowered her head to look down at the little plants that were newly formed. They were so tiny still, just barely penetrating the earth. The later ones still had the leaves partially curled. But still they had formed by her doing. It was an amazing feeling to know she could affect the earth like that in such a beautiful manner.

She nuzzled the sprout closest to her, breathing in the scent of the baby plant. Then she turned to look over at the feline again. “They’re so small. Small baby plants. Will they be okay?”

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Tags: @Rift
Notes: Rift, you just had to call them children, huh? XD

Rift watched Enka with joy as she pranced around, growing sprout after sprout in a circle around him. It was one thing growing them himself, it was a whole different thing watching someone else do it, especially after his teachings. Every sprout, a new life bursting forth. Precious life, precious plant. Beautiful.

"Yes, Enka, you did it! And this is only the first step!" He also bent down to nose at the plant. It was young and healthy and would grow strong, assuming nothing came to hurt it. But who would want to hurt young plants like these? In that moment, Rift knew that the question had too many answers so he put it off so as not to become agitated.

Instead, he focused himself on Enka's question and smiled. "Everything starts small. These plants will grow, don't worry. Watch." He leaned over and gave a few of the sprouts a soft nuzzle and, at his gentle command, they began to rise and stretch, growing until there were little buds on the ends that got larger and larger until they opened into beautiful young lilies. "Even without my magic, they will grow into this, with time. This is the flower stage. You may try, if you like, but this spell is much more difficult to cast."

@Enka