The Key Ingredient (Open)

[Avalon Salabim]

Gently flipping through the pages of her grimoire, Avalon looked over the spells she had carefully scribed, squiting at the ink glimmering slightly in the bright sunlight.  She had the formula for her next ability set, but if she was going to be at Cabal, she would need to find a way to get the components she needed.  One of those ingredients was the bone of a master weaver.

The search was not going as planned.  Several trees sported the shade she needed, but not the key ingredient, which left the mage the dilemma to keep searching other trees, or to climb the one before her in hopes she could find what she was looking for in higher branches.

"Let's see now."  She set her grimoire in the carrying case she carried with her, adjusting the strap before intending to grab one of the lower hanging branches.

Unfortunately, she was too short to reach them!  She circled the tree, peering up to catch sight of something that would make her attempt to get up worthwhile.

[Gene Sarda]

As Gene was enjoying her lonely picnic under a tree, she happened to look up and see a girl trying to grab a branch of a nearby tree. Gene jumped up and quietly walked up behind the girl, her curiosity taking ahold of her. 

Don't scare her. Don't scare her. Don't scare her, Gene told herself.

When Gene was near 10 feet behind the girl, she spoke gently and asked, "Hello, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. Do you need any assistance?"  

[Avalon Salabim]

Avalon was considering other means to get up into the tree when a voice from behind her broke her train of thought. The teenager blinked, tensing slightly at the unfamiliar sound before facing the woman - girl? - who looked a lot like someone who would have come from back home. Though she was small, her voice sounded more mature; Avalon figured they were closer in age than appearances suggested.

"Good afternoon. It's no trouble at all." She bowed slightly with a polite smile, hands clasping in front of her as she spoke.

"I was looking for spell components, actually." To most, this meant items to help channel or focus their qi, though she didn't think she needed to alter her phrasing. "The spiders her are rather elusive." The other girl was shorter than she was, but perhaps there was another way.

"Do you happen to have anything I could use as a platform? Or some sort of ability to do so?"

[Gene Sarda]

While the girl was talking, Gene guessed she probably wasn't much older than herself.

"Oh, I see! And yeah, as a matter of fact I do actually think I can help you. You're just trying to get into the tree, correct?" Raising an eyebrow in question, Gene stepped over to the tree and placed a hand on the bark. Slowly, a thick branch lowered itself to about three feet off the ground, making sure the girl would be able to reach other branches around to climb higher if needed. 

"As far as the spiders, I'm afraid I can't help you more than provide another set of eyes. Which I'll gladly do if you'd like, but otherwise I hope this tree serves you well in... providing spiders?" The last bit of her sentence was said with Gene's face scrunched up as she struggled to find the appropriate wording. Shrugging, she decided not to correct herself. 

"Oh, my name is Gene by the way! Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier." Sticking out her hand, Gene beamed a smile at the girl in hopes that she wouldn't think some crazy lady was trying to kidnap her or something. 

[Avalon Salabim]

"Oh?" Avalon stepped back, observing the woman as she reached out to touch the tree in question, providing precisely what she had asked for. She was surprised at how well it behaved to the other girl.

"I see. I appreciate the assistance." She stepped over towards the girl, pausing to reach out and shake the girl's hand with a light grip, though there was nothing limp about the gesture as they shook hands.

"My name is Avalon Salabim. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gene." Her hand returned to her side as she stepped up onto the platform provided, rising on her toes and reaching out with a cautious touch to search the branches.

"It's not the spiders themselves I need, but their protective covering. Usually you need younger spiders for those." She tilted her head side to side, gently prodding the greenery and finding no signs of additional life other than a startled bird.

"Nothing."  Shaking her head, she stepped back and down off of the boost she'd been given.

"I will not say no to your assistance, if you have the time."

[Gene Sarda]

"You're very welcome for the help. You could say that plants are good friends of mine! It was no trouble at all. And I'd be glad to help if you'll have me! I've nothing better to do" Is all Gene said. She stepped towards the tree again, but quickly spun back around to fave Avalon.

"Oh, and it's nice to make your acquaintance!" Gene cheerfully said, flashing another grin. 

"What is the spider's protective covering used for, if I might ask?" Questioned Gene, as she walked back over to the tree and placed her hand on it again. Slowly, the tree returned to its natural placement. 

[Avalon Salabim]

"It certainly seems ready to help." She was a bright and cheerful one, to be sure, but it was nice to be around.

"Many things, actually," Avalon advised. Perhaps if Gene didn't know, then she wasn't from Ayatlan as she had originally thought. They would know that already.

"I need the bone of a master weaver." She nodded in a new direction. "I haven't tried over there; shall we?"

[Gene Sarda]

"Oh, yeah! By far the older the tree the more kind they are. As.... Weird as it sounds, trees have been my best friends for a while. And that's way cool! I don't know much about that kind of stuff, but it's always interested me. It's one of those things I always wish I had the time to read up on and dedicate time to." Looking at the ground, Gene took slow steps and swinging her legs left to right as she does so. 

"Oh, oh you lead the way! This is for you, not me! After all, I don't have any reason to be searching for spiders." Commented Gene, shifting her gaze back to Avalon. She has a kind face, Gene noted. She seemed trustworthy enough, though Gene wasn't stupid enough to think that she could trust Avalon based off of how she looks. She's met plenty of people who weren't as they seemed, people who were hiding parts of who they are. People like herself. 

[Avalon Salabim]

"So you're an empath of sorts?" From what she understood of it, at least. Stranger things had been claimed throughout history, regardless of qi. Nodding with her attempt to understand, Avalon would lead them further into the campus, staying away from the training grounds dome.

"I am sure you could find the time to study it if you wished to." No scorn mocked in her tone, but rather an observation. "You may be behind those who have honed their craft for years, but in time you could likely find it a boon." She stopped and looked up at the branhes of an older tree, squinting as she tried to see a web against the sunlight that streamed into her eyes.

"This one should do."

[Gene Sarda]

"Uhm... I wouldn't really say I'm an empath. I specialize in plant manipulation, which just means I've spent a lot of time with plants. My father was a farmer, so as a kid I grew up around plants in every sort of way. Talking to them, growing them, everything." Gene added, walking over to the tree Avalon decided upon. 

Pressing her hand against the trunk of the selected tree, closed her eyes, and a large branch lowered itself for Avalon to step upon. 

"And, I would love to study it. I don't have the time as of right now, because I am actually in search of a teacher for my current occupation. I'm INTO to the academy this week, I was told to speak to someone specific and that he'll find someone. Instead of just... Hiding outside like the coward I am." Gene chuckled at the last bit. "Though... After I learn more about plants, horticulture and all of it, I think I'd love to learn more in your area of expertise." 

[Avalon Salabim]

"More familiarity, then." A sense of knowing that she'd heard others mention something along the same lines with their powers. She stepped up onto the branch that was in range, pulling herself up and sitting on the branch as she began to get a closer look for what she needed.

"You would have to make time," Avalon advised. If Gene was still looking for help with her current abilities, she was in the right place, but there was no reason to over burden her. "I'm sure there are others who are used to powers like yours, plus the classes they teach here. You would be wise to focus on your training here first. Back home, most of us study from the time we're children. Ah!" She looked up, eyes lighting up as she reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves. Pulling them on, Avalon revealed a length of spider silk from one of the upper branches. It looked like the exoskeleton of one, with a slightly larger spider with its legs curled up higher up on the web, like it was trying to keep warm or safe.

"Perfect." Mindful to not disturb the spider, she worked to free the remains from the string and added them to a small container within her bag.

[Gene Sarda]

“Yes..” Gene said, agreeing with her statement. “I know I’d have to purposely make time if I wanted to learn. And I’m sure I will, in the future. For now, one thing at a time is good enough for me.”

Observing the girl, Gene thought about the endless possibilities of who her teacher could be. Someone young, like her? Someone old? A mother or father? Someone wealthy, or someone trying to make ends meet?

“And,” Gene thoughtfully added, “I understand the training as a child thing. My mother and father did the same. We could not afford a private academy, so they taught me at home on our farm. As young as I could remember, I’d help them grow potatoes. Then bigger, like an apple tree. I did the same thing until I could perfect it. And then I moved on, until finally I was interested in medicine like my mother....” trailing off there, Gene decided that was all the stranger needed to know. After all, she didn’t go into her own personal sob story, so why should Gene?

[Avalon Salabim]

Avalon nodded with a small hum at the explanation. It seemed like Gene had an understanding that helped her more with her ability, which would surely help her. But she felt no reason to elaborate her own story to the girl. It wasn't one she said more than she had about.

"Where are you from? It sounds like a fertile place with so many plants."

[Gene Sarda]

Focusing her attention on the girl, Gene carefully chose her words. "I'm from Aedria, in the region of Ardhan. I was around plants so often because my father was a farmer and my mother was a healer."

"And what of you? Where are you from?"

[Avalon Salabim]

Aedria, one of the territories to the east. Avalon nodded at the explanation, noting the girl's sudden precision with how she spoke and assuming it was a subject she wasn't fond of. She removed her gloves, tucking them away before letting herself down off the branch and dusting herself off.

"I'm from Ayatlan, to the northwest." There was a mix of pride and fondness in her voice as she thought of the floating island she called home.

"That's quite a distance. You're a transfer from Zukunft, then? What do you think of this place?"