[SE] Ma-ia-hoo, ma-ia-haa, ma-ia-hii, ma-ia-huu, Ma-thair

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

If the screaming rain is any indication of what the Leafchange deity can do when she's mostly dormant and chilling, he does not want to see what it's like when she's actually pissed off. Taking the next skyship out to the Greatwood once he has the chance, it’s there that he encounters Lyra, off on much the same venture.

”So yeah, I soldier!” he concludes as they walk, flashing her an easy smile, his backpack swinging behind him slightly. ”What do you do?” Torchline is far too large to know everyone there, but he’s always happy to connect with someone there when he can. ”Oh, there she is!” he affirms, gaze flicking from Lyra to the grand tree, er goddess. He’s guessing she and Mateo have loads in common.

It’s from Mateo, in fact, that he’s received his offering, after mentioning his visit in passing. The seeds he’d intended to bring had been promptly slapped away (and he’s still finding them even after sweeping twice). Who knew plants could also wage war, but that’s what Mateo certainly implied when he labeled Kaisel’s choice as invasive.

---

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

Meeting a fellow Torcher on the trip to the Greatwood is a welcome relief after so long spent traveling amongst those from other regions. Lyra has nothing against foreigners - and in fact has learned a great deal from them - but there's something about meeting someone from her homeland that has her feeling warm and nostalgic, but only in the best ways. So she chats idly with the young man - Kaisel - as they travel, even going so far as to agree to accompany one another to the Mathair. Given how the Greatwood tends to change and shift around them, it seems only prudent to share in the journey. Besides, between the two of them - a soldier and a first responder - they should be fairly well prepared for whatever may come their way.

"I work in search and rescue," Lyra says in response to the query. She might have said more, but just then, the Mathair comes into view, and both she and her new friend seem to be quite distracted by the sheer size of the goddess. "Wow," Lyra comments after a moment, her voice soft with respect. "She's incredible."

lyra

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

code by sky

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

”Wow! That sounds like an exciting job, although I hope it doesn’t end up too sad very often.” The search requiring the finding, and the rescue being a challenge at times he’s sure. He’d love to ask her more, like if there’s stats on what sort of person needs rescuing the most, or what the most common bind people get themselves into is.

There’s always the trip back home to wonder at it, because the Mathair is an arresting sight and force, and he can feel her massive aura like something that could certainly threaten to rob him of his breath for good. ”Do you know much about her?” Kaisel asks, glancing over at Lyra as he swings his pack around and slides his arm through the zippered opening.

”Everything I know of her paints her as a right badass. Like, don’t get in her way or look at her wrong. She deserves hella respect.” He’s in past his elbow in his pack, which shouldn’t physically make sense, but does for the bottomless reach of it. He finally grasps his little bag of seeds and pulls them out, swinging the pack back onto both shoulders. ”So, I got Caido’s best botanist to hook me up with some prime seeds to plant in her honor. Like her, they’re more dangerous than some realize. Nightshade, which is toxic in high enough doses.” He holds the seeds up, observing them. ”Pretty wild tomatoes come from nightshade and we still eat ‘em. Although I don’t really get the name, because if it’s night…there’s already shade?” Kaisel shrugs, thinking perhaps however named them couldn’t agree on the proper word for dark or deadly so settled on both.

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

"Mm, it can be sad," Lyra admits freely, something flashing in her blue eyes as she remembers all the times she's failed. "But mostly I find it rewarding." There is nothing like reuniting families and friends when all hope has been lost. That's why she does what she does, going back over and over again to help others even when her own heart cries from the difficulty of it all.

But then they are arriving, and the Mathair towers over them. "Only the basics," Lyra admits. "She sounds amazing, though." Lyra begins to dig through her own pack, though it's not bottomless the way Kaisel's is. She pulls out a few packets of dirt from various regions across Caido, thinking that perhaps the Mathair's tree will appreciate the taste of far-off regions.

Kaisel rambles on about nightshade, drawing a charmed smile to Lyra's lips. He seems like a sweet kid. Talkative, but that's something she doesn't mind a bit. "Mm, they're pretty when they flower, too, aren't they?" she muses. "Like Leafchange - pretty, but can be dangerous." Curious, Lyra glances at the packet of seeds. "Just nightshade, or do you have any other prime seeds from your botanist friend?"

lyra

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

code by sky

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

Crouching down, Kaisel reaches out with a hand to carve away some of the topsoil with the side of his hand. He's far enough from the tree's base, giving her the space she deserves, and avoiding trampling any other offerings that are noticeably scattered around. Her roots rummage through the earth enough, her reach a mighty radius. "Most things are pretty when they flower," he notes, not rudely but with the observation that deadly or ugly, the petals give it a chance of beauty. "So, while I don't remember what they look like, I am sure the answer is yes," he says with a faint smile. Having trenched out a few shallow lines, Kaisel opens up the package of seeds and carefully sprinkles them in.

"I have no idea if he mixed anything else in here," Kaisel says with an unbothered air about it, trusting Mateo in all things plant-life. "Although, it wouldn't surprise me if he mixed something else in. He once gave me seeds that would grow up and turn into walking plants." He glances up at her with eyes wide enough to represent how truly uncommon this would be. "Except, they never did grow. So...maybe he just wanted me to water some jars of dirt as a prank." Although Mateo is immature in his own ways, pranks not necessarily being top on the list. "Then again, I don't have a green thumb, so maybe operator error." He scoops the loosened dirt back over his seeds, patting it faintly. "So I trust nature will handle this attempt much better. Mathair will likely watch over them."

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

Most things are pretty when they flower. Oh, so true, and what a brilliant metaphor for life. Lyra blinks at Kaisel once, twice, and then returns to spreading her little packets of dirt around the base of the tree. It's fascinating, she thinks, to see how they differ. A bit of sand from Torchline draws a current of gold; the loamy soil from Halo is a darker brown than what is naturally present in the Greatwood. And so on and so forth, until she's emptied all of her packets, spreading the taste of far-off lands for the Mathair to enjoy.

"I'm sure these will sprout just fine," Lyra agrees, standing and dusting off her hands on her pants, tucking away the little pouches so that she doesn't inadvertently litter. "As you say, Mathair will watch over them. And with the weather we've been having, it isn't like they won't get watered." And screamed to death, if the rain has anything to say about it, but fortunately, plants can't hear. (Or can they?)

lyra

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

code by sky

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

Mindful of the wind so as not to be dusted by her offerings like some ashy burial gone awry, Kaisel has stood from his planting. The seeds will sprout before long, and from there the saplings with continue to rise and grow. It might not seem the ideal season for planting, but as Mateo has taught him, certain things far better in certain seasons, not all of it need be the bounty of spring. Some things liked the cold and the wet and the struggle.

"That's a good idea," he tells her brightly after observing some of what she dumps out. "Like bringing the world to her now that she's rooted here." World spice, essentially. Overhead, the weather looms with the exact thing Lyra mentioned, clouds darkening as they gather. A few, fat raindrops begin to fall, some bouncing off Mathair and splashing into smaller sprays that flick over his arms and face. "Well, let's leave Mathair to her new goodies and get dry before the forest changes and keeps us out here," he suggests, more than aware of the Greatwood's trickery to changing routes. "Glad you're so eager to have them start growing!" Kaisel calls back to the goddess as he skips ahead, leaping over muddy patches and roots. Since he and Lyra are going back to Torchline, makes sense to wait together and continue chatting about their jobs.

[FIN]

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //