The Druid and The Dullahan | Lelianna

Whoops did Lelianna mess up with words again? Honestly she was more surprised it had taken this long before something she'd said hadn't done well. Did that mean she was getting better? One could only hope! Anyways, Caroline didn't want to talk about it more. So Lelianna only gave her a small nod and a hopefully understanding smile. Before she looked back at Skjorn, still watching, and it grew into a smirk with her laugh. "I'll admit Skjorn has a...He ah likes greeting people in his own way." Who didn't love a friendly mauling? "Which is why I need to make sure he knows who friends are!" This was pointed directly at the bear, who only grunted.

As a chuckle filled the air Lelianna's head turned back towards Caroline. She was chuckling again! It was actually really adorable. The smile on the redhead's face grew in warmth and she joined in laughing, dismissing Caroline's apology with a wave of her hand. "Trust me, it's funny enough." Even the hermit could admit that. "I just have to be careful because sometimes they mistake an ear for a flower." Yeeeeah that one hadn't been fun. She cringed a little at the memory but otherwise her smile remained.

Humor? Humor was just fine with the redhead.

Peace? Oh yes keeping peace was very important. "Well, I'm glad I stopped him from hurting you again." Ah, there was that worry again. Coming out to shine in the magi's eyes even if Caroline said she'd be fine. What did you expect? The cyborg had been hit by a bear! Of course she'd be worried! Most people would be knocked out from something like that. Or even worse. "Are you...sure you're ok from him hitting you?" Lelianna checked one last time. The redhead was feeling just a little bit guilty for the bear's actions now that she'd seen how nice Caroline was.

Good grief what a first impression.

Whatever Caroline responded with to Lelianna's previous question, Lelianna nonetheless brightened considerably when she agreed to see the garden. "I don't know about expert but...Arecia seems to like me. Although some days I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Shooting a look at the nearest tree, Lelianna could very well feel that gentle and aware hum at the back of her mind. The tree, on its part, just stood there innocently. Eventually Lelianna let out a sigh and, realizing she might be looking weird, cleared her throat. "A-Ah, but yeah! L-Let's head over."

With that she motioned for Skjorn to follow along if he wanted. After a grunt he simply laid down and rolled to face away from them. A frown creased Lelianna's face as she stuck her hands on her hips and huffed. "So what? You tire me out from earlier, nearly scare me to death, and now you're just taking a nap?" In response Skjron only curled up more before obviously settling. Lelianna puffed up, throwing her hands in the air with a noise of exasperation. "You're terrible you...you...big ball of fur! I should've named you Baloo!" Skjorn just laid there. "Ugh." Bears. Seeing as the grizzly wasn't going to grace the duo with his company back to the garden, Lelianna rolled her eyes and started off.

"Since lazy-bones over there isn't going to be joining us, we can just start off." With that done, she indeed set off. It wasn't too far of a walk actually to reach the edge of her garden. Once they did, the vegetation got remarkably thicker. More variant. Healthier. And , of course, more colorful. Maybe it wasn't going in full swing yet, but much of Lelianna's garden was starting to bloom and light up with color as the magi and the season worked on them. Fruit was starting to grow. Scents were wafting through from the flowers. Plants of all different shapes, sizes, and types lined the sides of the "path" the magi took the two through. The garden was dense with greenery, especially with spring coming quick.

Yet that only made it even more beautiful.

Once they got inside the garden's ground Lelianna instantly started walking easier. More confident. More relaxed. They were only by its borders at the moment but even that surrounded her in an air of familiarity and comfort. "This is the border. Ah, the vegetation here is a lot thicker than the rest of the woods so you'll know if you head inside." She admitted a little sheepishly. Was her obsession showing? Hopefully not yet. "But ah...there's a lot in here. I-If you want to see more of it, that is."

"Oh I'm sure Skjorn's fine." Lelianna reassured the other woman. "He's gone through a lot too. Besides, he's got a pretty head. I personally can attest to that." Skjorn was fine. Probably a bit grumbly that someone had lifted him and essentially defeated him so easily, but not hurt. The forest made him pretty strong. And like Lelianna said he had a thick head. If there really was a problem though, the redhead would care for him later. Likely away from Caroline so she didn't feel guilty for it.

She'd already apologized so much!

Glancing behind her, Lelianna wasn't at all surprised by the question. At this point she was more surprised by when someone didn't ask what she meant. So she was pretty patient with the answer. Hopefully she could explain it well. "Yeah. It's...it's kind of like that, yes." Wow, maybe she wouldn't have to explain too hard. "Mostly it's the plants around me but also this...over-reaching thing? I-I just call it Arecia because I know it's the trees and everything. They, ah, sort of talk to me. B-but not with words just...feelings and sensations, sort of? I-It helps point me where it needs me if something's happening in the woods that it would want my attention for." Which could be a very wide variety of things, as the hermit had come to learn over the years. "Although sometimes it's methods of getting my attention are...different." One of her hands almost instinctively went to her behind for a moment as she kept away from a bush and glared at it.

Yeah, different methods.

Once they were in Lelianna's own garden, she was much less paranoid about being smacked. Instead she merely walked and listened to that oh so familiar hum in the back of her head. Caroline really seemed to be enjoying it so Lelianna had no trouble slowing her pace down to allow the other woman as much time as she wanted to observe all the plantlife within her garden. The clear appreciation the other woman had for all of it drew another warm smile to Lelianna's face as she glanced her way. It was nice, really, meeting someone else who could so easily show awe for nature. So Lelianna showed no hesitation about taking Caroline further into her garden where even more color and variation awaited. While the other girl observed, Lelianna went from a few different plants and extended her magic to them. Growing. Shaping. Checking. Planting. She fell into a slow sort of routine to give Caroline more time while she gently touched and aided some portions of her gardens.

The question was what drew her out of it. Blinking, Lelianna removed her hand from a mulberry tree and walked over. Once she spotted the flower in question, she answered immediately. "That's Morning Glory." Dropping to her knees beside the patch, she gently ran a finger along the petals. They were doing really well from the looks of it! It made her smile strengthen for a moment. "They sometimes get scattered around; the animals will accidentally spread seeds. Usually when they break into my bags!" In other circumstances that could be annoying, but here? One look at the beauty of the flowers and Lelianna couldn't bring herself to it. She glanced over at Caroline curiously. "Do you like them?"

Wow. Wow. In a weird, twisted way the redhead was impressed. That gathering of words was almost as bad as what Lelianna herself sounded like. So similar in fact that she had to refrain from giggling a little and hid the mirth in her expression as best as she could. Especially when Caroline seemed to get self-conscious from the fact she was stumbling. With a gentle smile, Lelianna (a little hesitantly) reached out to pat the girl on the arm in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture. "No no, it's hard to understand. Even for me and I'm the one who feels it all the time." That and she simply wasn't the greatest with words. So explaining wasn't exactly a skill of hers.

To the Morning Glories though!

Lelianna smiled right back. Clearly Caroline liked the flowers. Which actually gave her an idea. "If you like these, then I think...There's something I want to show you. But it'll be a surprise. One I think you'll love, or at least I hope so." Being cryptic now, was she? Lelianna must have been feeling more comfortable around this woman if she was actually acting cryptic and not stumbling the whole time. It was an improvement! Really, she was proud of herself for acting...

...Well not like a stumbling, poorly worded mess of a hermit. She knew how to talk, she swore!

Now with a specific destination in mind, Lelianna's route got far less wandering and flitting. Instead they were heading in one general direction. The redhead really did hope Caroline would like what she had in store. If her earlier reaction had been anything to go by, then it was encouraging. Along the way she happily answered any questions Caroline might have, glad to have company that seemed so open to learning and exploring the nature around them.

Although maybe too open.

At one point Lelianna looked back and noticed Caroline spit something out. She wasn't actually offended or anything by the fact Caroline was eating from the garden. Hell at some points she even offered the girl fruit or berries to try. However as her gaze dropped down to see which berries hadn't been to her liking, green eyes grew wide at the sight of bright red. "Caroline no!" Immediately Lelianna rushed to her side, worry and a bit of panic consuming the hermit. "Those were yew berries! The seeds are extremely poisonous; they can kill you!" Good gods! She was not going to lose her new friend!

Even though she'd forgotten temporarily that she was a cyborg!

"Did you swallow any!?" Lelianna asked quickly. "I can make something fast if I run back to my home that'll negate it's toxins." Her words were coming out in a rushed stammer, nearly running on top of each other in their haste.

Yeah maybe Lelianna should have asked first or decided against it, but Caroline didn't seem to mind too much at the contact. Even so Lelianna didn't let it last for too long. Didn't want it to be awkward. Because apparently her offer was already doing that. Shoot, had she made Caroline nervous. If she really did seem freaked out, Lelianna would tell her. But she just thought it would be such a nice surprise...Fortunately Caroline agreed so Lelianna could breath easy. "I promise, it's a good surprise."

Or at least it would be if they got there.

It took a while before Caroline's voice got through to Lelianna to shut her up from her panic. She was already trying to think of the fastest way to run back to her cabin when she was informed Caroline didn't eat any. If that didn't calm her racing heart, then the fact the toxins wouldn't effect her anyways certainly did. Lelianna exhaled deeply, a hand clutching over her heart. for a second. "It's alright. You're alright. I'm just...Woo." It took her a second or two before the adrenaline worked it's way out of her system.

Oh yeah, she was going to need a hard nap in the sun after all this was done.

"I'm just...It usually effects others and I would hate for you to have died from berries." The day had gone by with Lelianna already thinking she'd watched a girl get decapitated (which technically she had) by a bear. Now she'd thought the girl have almost been poisoned by toxic berries. Yeah her emotions were in for a rollercoaster ride weren't they? "At least you're okay." It was the only good part about this. Gathering herself again, Lelianna took a deep breath and stood up straight once more. "Anyways...let's keep moving. I'll just...have to keep that in mind." A slightly amused, slightly emotionally tired smile had spread across her lips as she said it. With that, they continued.

At least she wouldn't have to worry too much now on what the other woman digested!

As they got closer to the destination Lelianna had in mind, she slipped into comfort again. That and a little bit of giddiness she couldn't quite hide. She loved every inch of her garden very genuinely. But this section? This section was wonderful. She only hoped Caroline would think the same. As they continued walking Lelianna eventually saw the break in the trees up ahead. A smile once more spread across her lips. Her flowers were reacting to her general mood, a few more blooming as she pointed ahead of her to Caroline. "We're here! I really hope you like it." The words were completely sincere with a mix of a hopeful tone in there as they finally stepped out of the trees.

She'd taken the other woman to the flower field section of her garden.

For the most part Lelianna's garden was a massive expanse of plantlife spread out to grow however it wanted with only the most subtle hints of there possibly being a rhyme or reason to it's design. Frankly there really wasn't; the redhead had planted the vegetation in whatever areas they had fit and seemed to grow healthily in with only the barest amount of planning. However this section was special, because it was actually devoted to one specific type: flowers. Hundreds upon hundreds of them were filling out the long expanse mainly devoid of trees but for a scant few here or there on the bumpy earth. This was definitely a spot she'd needed help from Arecia with creating. Yet for all the time and hardwork it had taken, Lelianna definitely deemed it worth every second of toil.

Color and flower of every kind was spread throughout the opening. Reds. Blues. Purples. Whites. Oranges. Even combinations. Really it was a blanket of color that didn't follow any pattern but nonetheless was beautiful. Green eyes stared out over the flowers quite happily for a few heartbeats before turning to the other woman. Hopefully she liked it. "You seemed to really like flowers so..." She shrugged, just a little sheepish and shy. She'd never really shown anyone this part of her garden before.

There was only silence to meet Lelianna's words. However one look at Caroline's face and the redhead knew that words weren't really needed at the moment. Smiling, she let Carloline head out first into the field before following along. The paths here were smaller as to give the flowers more room to grow. However the hermit showed no signs of worry walking so close to them. They were a lot more resilient than normal ones, thanks to Lelianna's obsession with growing them and Arecia's help creating the field.

Caroline's compliment did bring a bit of color to the hermit's cheeks. However her tone brought a smile with it too. "Thank you." Came her simple response. It was so nice seeing someone else appreciate nature this much. Especially flowers! The redhead sent a little thanks to the gods and Arecia in general for popping the idea into her head to take Caroline here. Clearly it was the right thing to do. Though there was only a brief moment of oh shoot when she noticed the tears. Yet Caorline didn't look sad so they must have been...happy tears?

Oh well those were okay.

Only mentioning them in passing so Caroline wouldn't have tear streaks stuck on her face, the redhead was more than happy to answer any questions the other woman had. She was glad to here that her surprise, as she'd hoped, had been a good one. In reaction the flowers in her own hair had grown and turned to be just as wild in coloring as the field they currently walked through. It made a wreath around her head that she'd most likely need to trim when she got back to her own home. Currently though she was in a great mood, with the sun giving her a bit of much needed energy though it also reminded her she still wanted a nap.

The redhead kind of marveled at the smile she got for taking Caroline here. Nonetheless she returned it with a sincerely happy one. "Thank you." She said again, standing up from her crouch near a patch of pretty blue. For a moment she looked out over the field before settling back on Caroline. She...surprisingly felt comfortable with the woman. Even after everything that had happened earlier. It was incredibly hard to fake tears like that which came so unexpectedly. So Lelianna shockingly found it easy to offer: "You know...If you ever want you can come back here." Someone who appreciated flowers enough to cry? Hell yes Lelianna wouldn't mind. "I have a feeling you wouldn't destroy any of it sooo..." She trailed off, joking a little but also being seriously. She highly doubted, after that display, Caroline would do anything to damage the field.

"Really, you can come back whenever you like."

Truth be told Lelianna didn't notice how wildly her hair was blooming or Caroline's stare at the flowers there. She was far more preoccupied by the colors laid out before the two of them on the grown. Caroline wasn't the only one getting a hefty dose of peace simply by seeing this place. It always did Lelianna's nerves good being here, and it was a wonderful place to meditate or sun bathe when she needed to.

Which Lelianna was extremely close to doing right now to be honest.

There was an aversion to Caroline's gaze that made lelianna simultaneously curious and a tad worried again. There seemed to be...something weighing on her? Lelianna wasn't the best at reading people, but they were close enough to animals that she could get a general gist. However Lelianna really wasn't about to push the girl for questions. That wasn't her place to do that. Especially if the girl was another hermit. Everyone had their reasoning. So instead she just smiled. "You won't bother me at all. Come whenever you like. Knowing I have a neighbor is nice enough in return." Particularly one who seemed so sweet.

Hooray for not being completely alone anymore! Sort of! Maybe?
Yeah she'd figure that out.

However the mention of recharge once again brought Lelianna's own creeping exhaustion to the surface. She gave something of a laugh. "Really? Funny you should mention that..." Already the magi started looking for a spot, moving off a little before turning towards Caroline again. "Cause I'm kinda the same so...yeaaaaaaah...." She had to stifle a yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. "Feel free to take a nap 'cause I think I'm gonna do the same." Her voice was a bit sleepier now as she was finally giving in to the demands of her body to take a rest. "So...um...it was great meeting you Caro. I guess I'll...catch you when I wake up? O-or, ah, some other time...Yeah..." With her drooziness starting to get to her, it felt like every bit of her previous confidence was just flooding out of her and making her embarrassingly loopy. Her cheeks started burning again. "Um....yeah." Considering she felt like she'd already made the most stellar send off to a first meeting she ever could, she turned to the flower bed she'd chosen and just...

Kind of face-planted into it really.

The plantlife reached up to help break her fall, but Lelianna was tired and just wanted to take a nap at this point. Sure meeting Caroline had been great but she'd nearly had a heart attack about three times after having to wrestle with a bear! Cut the girl a little slack. As she disappeared into the various assortment of red and purple flowers, the stalks grew around her so she wouldn't crush any of their petals. After they'd settled Lelianna had gone stock still, on her stomach, with her face turned to the side. It hadn't taken much at all for her to slip under.

The magi was out like a light.