As Attikias made his way back in, he pressed his hands together to cup the mud into a little ball, straining to pulse his magic through it. It took a second of focus, before mud fell away from a caked green gem. He's still got his touch. Shaking off the gem, he held it up to Pollen before placing it in the mortar, cracking it open with the pestle.

As he ground down the gem, he made conversation, ignoring Melody's discontent in the back of his mind. "Probably." He glanced up to her outfit, then down to her bag. "I could do some more with this too, but-- mh." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, quiet in the sound of rock running against gem. It took a bit to get it down to a powder. He hoped she didn't want conversation, but she didn't seem to be big on it right now, not wanting to talk about the, uh--

Attikias glanced back up. The geode scar was right in view- could you blame him? His gaze lingered before he looked back down to his work, setting aside the bowl. That was done. "Start taking off the overalls and.. mm.. kneel or lay down, either one. Feel free to grab a chair?" He nodded across the table to one of the wooden chairs set up for his family. "I'm gonna get water and bottles."

Sweeping away, Attikias approached a corner by the oven with a cluster of items, reaching for a covered bucket. The contents sloshed inside as he picked it up and set it on a counter, popping it open for the water inside. "I'm gonna be glad when the well is finished. It's a pain having to get water all the time." He chattered to himself, turning back to Pollen for a second before scooping up water in two bottles. "I don't know how much dye I'm gonna have leftover, but I like to have them bottled up nicely and stuff."

The vials were delivered back to Pollen's side, gem dust deposited in one and shaken about. "... I'm thinking of doing the charcoal without mixing it with water. It'd make a nicer blend, maybe look nice as a fade on your back rather than a huge blotch. What're your thoughts?" As he asked her, the vial of Oil sat close, and he tried his best to not look at it. Don't think about it. It's gross. She wants that on her body. ... ugh. Attikias's hand tensed on the green dye he'd made, lips drawn tight as he stared down at the Oil, lost in his own moral quandary about being the one to apply it to her.

Pollen was already taking off the top of her clothes at 'probably', shuffling her arms through the straps to let them drop to her waist. She didn't need clothes- everything was hidden by fur, but it did make her feel a bit more natural. Maybe she could get armor. Hm- no, it would conflict with whip using, wouldn't it? And she wouldn't wear it all the time. It's not like she went into battle all the time anyways.

He'd need to get to her back. "Okay." She could just drape across the table if he wanted her to. It's not like he had any sort of tattoo artist's chair, so the next best thing would do. After swinging out her legs for momentum, Pollen hopped off the edge of the table and dragged a chair around to face Attikias. She was a bit short for it, but that was fine enough- she could still perch her arms across the back of it and sit backwards in it, back free for Attikias to work on it.

"Like this?" Pollen turned her head to watch Attikias, swiveling it the other way when he got close to the table. "A fade, yeah. And the sigil with straight lines." She turned halfway back to look down at the sigil one last time, her gaze lingering.

She glanced up to Attikias. He was hesitating more than she was. "... I'm ready when you are." She rolled out her shoulders before turning back again, crossing her arms on the chair and resting her head on top.

Attikias was hesitating. He didn't like this. He didn't like using Oil to paint yourself, special or not. Still, this was important for her, and so he set his jaw, taking a hefty pinch of charcoal in his fingers. "That's good," he responded, letting her get settled before pressing the black at her back. "I'm gonna kinda massage this into your fur, and then work on the sigil."

His fingers stained even more as he spread out the charcoal from a center point, the medium falling from her back where it didn't stick. It was like a cloud had impressed on her back, spreading to the back of her shoulders and down her torso, creating a faded saddle for her saddle. "How far do you want the black to extend?"

Taking a break, Attikias rocked back on his feet to check his work. Hm. He went in and added more even edging, before flicking off the rest of the charcoal back into its bowl. "That should be good for the backdrop." It'd begin to set in for dye, he hoped, and not mess up the lines of the next one. Speaking of- egh. he had to take care of that now. Still flicking one hand, Attikias grabbed the vial of Oil with another and cringed at it as he popped the top from it. It smelled bad. Caves, he hated chaos. Sticking out his tongue between his teeth, the elf poured the contents into the green dye, taking the bottle with his other hand and coalescing his magic into it.

A faint glow began as the Oil and dye mixed, a neon, chaotic green coming to life. Yeah, that was green, alright. "Is this a good color?" Attikias held the bottle up to Pollen's left side so she wouldn't have to turn, swirling it a little to get it to mix.

When Attikias's fingers touched her back, Pollen flinched forward despite expecting it- maybe she was a bit jumpy now. Swallowing down the realization, she forced herself to relax again, ears pinning to her back.

Actually... this wasn't bad. As the charcoal was massaged into her back, Pollen let out a hefty sigh, her muscles dropping. Oh sweet Creator, that felt nice. She was immersed in the bliss enough to miss it when he pulled back his hands, turning to look at what he was doing. "... how far did you make it?" she eventually managed, struggling to look over her shoulder. "I think that's good enough."

She dropped back forward, eye on the offered dye when he showed it to her. Her ears perked. "Yeah, that's good." She nodded once before setting back into place, plonking her head on her arms once more. "It's perfect." Here she was, getting something important on her, doing something that had meaning to herself! She couldn't resist flicking her tail in a minute wag, a proud smile on her face. This was going to be so cool.

"Thank you, Attikias."

Attikias nodded as he pulled back the bottle, setting it aside. Alright, then! Leaning to the side, he picked through his various implements before landing on a thin-haired brush, dipping it into the dye and carefully making a precision line across her back, mirroring the sigil. It clung to her hairs, dragged some charcoal along with it- he winced at that, but there was nothing to do to help it.

Still. He was a stickler for precision in his art. He took his time with the angular lines, leaning in close to get the perfect angles, even laying his free hand on Pollen's shoulder to contort himself this way and that. It ended up fairly even, the mark glowing against the charcoal. That was a good decision. Attikias lifted the end of the paintbrush to his mouth and he chewed it thoughtfully, reaching forward with a fingernail to smooth out the edges. It'd get mussed up with her fur, but if he affixed it it'd look pretty good.

"Hold on, before you move," he warned, reaching to the side to place down the paintbrush and cork the bottle. He kept his other hand at her shoulder. Now, just magic- something sparked under him, but it didn't pulsed all the way across the dye, barely touching it. Would she notice? "Stick around for a little bit, for it to dry," he spoke after a moment of decision, nodding. "You can move around, just don't smudge it."

He stepped away to give her room and to put up his supplies, returning them to whence they came. "Let me..." He rummaged for a second before producing two warped mirrors, handing one to Pollen and holding the other behind her. "Can you see it? Does it look good?"

He'd just have to keep trying to affix it while she moved, he figured.

Pollen watched the house as Attikias painted across her back. How long would this take? He was doing work she couldn't see, and she wouldn't be able to see the sigil at her back often, but just the knowledge stuck well with her. It was different than being massaged (slash petted), and she couldn't feel it as well, but she did give pause when she felt his finger against her. Was he close to finished?

Pollen almost turned to glance back until he warned her to stop. Alright. Rolling her eye back as best she could, she watched him from the edge of her vision, bouncing her back paw against the chair. "Okay." He moved about, and she watched him still, turning her head as he put everything away. "Can I.." Oh. She held her paw out for the mirror and positioned it, turning her head to look over her shoulder. It was blurry, but...

Elation filled her head at the vision of the tattoo. "It's-- amazing!" Pollen's breath escaped her as tears dotted the edges of her eye, turning the mirror this way and that to see. "It-- it just needs to dry?" Her tail wagged hard as she looked over her shoulder, grinning back at Attikias. "I can go set up your tree- yeah, it won't take much, just show me where! Oh, maybe in the middle of the field? Or would that be in the way? Uh- ooh- maybe by the lodge, so it's easy to harvest it? Fresh apples are really good!" Her mouth ran a mile a minute as she hopped off the chair, taking the seed and rushing outside.

Fresh air hit her back, and she inhaled deeply, holding her arms out jubilantly. Yes! She had her purpose, she had her direction, she was ready to take on the world! "C'mon!" Jumping out of the threshold, Pollen surged to the field, ready to begin her payback.

Attikias was briefly taken aback by Pollen's excitement. There it was. He smiled as she took it in, holding the mirror in place.

He blinked hard when she mentioned the tree. "You really don't have to-" he began, but she was going on and on, and he couldn't stop her. Guess he's getting a tree? He took the mirror he'd given her as she started off. "Wait-" She was already gone, rushing out the door.

"Hold on! Don't get too far-!" Pushing the mirrors to the table, Attikias ran after the half-derobed muta, leaving the door open behind her as he caught up. "I didn't tell--" He huffed out. Where would he even tell her to put it? Glancing from side to side, Attikias eventually strode forward to the field, making sure he was in front of her this time.

He stopped in the center, turning on his heel and nudging it down into the tilled ground. "Would it hold up well here?" He did plan for this to be a pasture first, field second... If he had it in the center, it'd be good for any potential animals, good shade for them. It wasn't like the Voidlight out here got very hot, but the thought was there anyways.

Pollen skidded to a stop when Attikias rounded on her, her enthusiasm curbed for a split second. ... Right. She held the seed close as he decided, following close at his heels at a respectable distance. Hm. This would be a nice field for... something. A tree would make it stand out. Too bad there was no pretty hill to make it a prominent feature, a mirror of the Grassy Knoll that the blooming tree rested on.

Maybe the act of planting it will make it its own feature. That'd be nice. The Elenyas could tie things up in it, make it all pretty... It almost made her wish for a tree of her own, her own private thing to take care of, not for the Palace or the Forge or for even the elves. Maybe some other day.

Pollen slipped up her overalls once more as they came to a stop. She watched Attikias, looked down to his foot, then back up to him. "Good enough," she confirmed with a nod, kneeling down into the dirt. "Lemme..." She dug in with her paws, carving out a little area for the seed. It was the first time she'd ever grown anything this big, but, surely she could make it work? Satisfied with the depth of her hole, Pollen placed the seed right in the center before covering it back up, planting her paws on either side.

When she tried to pull her magic into it, it drained her somewhat- but nothing came. Damn. Pollen huffed down at it, staring, before turning her head to Attikias. "... maybe back up? I don't know how big this'll end up," she warned. She didn't even know if it was a viable seed. That could be reason enough for its failure, maybe.

She did want it to work, though... She could try again on her own terms. He didn't need a special magic transcended seed, anyways. She had a spell that could grow one just fine.

Attikias had loomed over her as she dug, unsure if he should help. He should, right? He tilted his head, holding his hands on his knees to stabilize himself as he watched. Maybe he should take payment for his work? It'd be pretty sick to have a tree about the place, definitely.

Shit, speaking of magic- he glanced to her back, worry rising when she slipped the overalls back on. It didn't seem to smudge under there, having dried, but still. He should work fast. Drumming his fingers on his knees, Attikias bore holes into her pelt, feeling nothing stirring up for him, either. Wow, it's almost like someone who doesn't do magic really shouldn't do the hard things, now should he?

He tried anyways, and he failed. At Pollen's behest, he took a few big steps back, standing up taller with his hands at his hips. After a moment, he held an encouraging thumbs up and a nod, ready for her to do her own magic.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

graphic themes

Pollen was rather unaware of Attikias's own failings, only focused on herself for now. She breathed in deeply, centered herself, and dredged up her magic, closing her eye as she brought it forward.

Sharp pain flared across her arms. Latent seeds resting within her, vines laying deep in there sucked the magic that she brought together, piercing into her muscles and breaking from her skin. Red blood broke through in blotches, slick over the thorny material as it snaked out of her and drained her.

Pollen screamed. It was high-pitched and pained, curling out through her clenched teeth as she shoved away from the buried seed. "FUCK!" Her voice broke out over the ground as she clutched her arms, sitting in place and shaking with the pain. Her vines returned to her, and in the worst possible way.

Flowers and leaves bloomed across the ivy, flowers she typically trimmed, and it gathered at her hips as the roots took hold in her skin. The bleeding was staunched by their mere presence, but such a return to the norm was painful- she couldn't even move her arms. She'd typically kept it growing how she wanted. This- this was the plant consuming her.

It stopped, and Pollen shook, her eye wide with fear and tears rolling down her cheek. Not again. She couldn't die again. She couldn't go in her chrysalis again. Oh, Creator- she clutched her arms closer into her chest and doubled over, spine shaking with sobs.

She hated Chaos. She hated Chaos, so much, even if-- even if she owed her very existence to it. This was awful. This was so, so bad- another influence of the Creator over her, another finger around her throat at His discretion. He was showing His control. Terrified fanaticism blinded her as she squeezed shut her eye, breathing in deeply, letting the pain set in.