[b][u]Coco Bean[/b][/u]

... Her leaves rustled the moment she recognized the words. [i]Forest of Symphony[/i]. That was her home. And rogue mages were in there, doing Xiah-knows-what. When the briefing was done and her decision was made, she looked like a cactus. A rather... Soft and brightly colored cactus, that was for sure, but her leaves surely stood on end, sharper than they had ever been in her life before. With maybe the exception of the demon attack... And the time the Syphis hunted her... And that time she accidentally touched something she wasn't supposed to touch on a fleshling.

She didn't have much in the way of material possessions, and the only one of such things she truly cared about, was the spear that Alaira had given to her, months ago. She grabbed it as soon as she had reached her spot in the gardens. It had been leaning against the wall of the overgrown cottage, with a small box of clothing next to it. She dug through the wooden box and pulled out a pair of leather pauldrons. She tied the pauldrons to her shoulders, carefully placing them over her delicate and fully blossomed shoulder pads, with laces that went down her chest and all the way around her ribcage. When both pauldrons were secure, she grabbed the spear and straightened her back. She rolled her shoulders a bit, then turned around and leaned against the wall. 

Her leaves pressed themselves against her head and neck, left hand fingers brushing against the smooth surface of her communication rune. 

Then she walked. 

Minutes, accompanied by the silence of the gardens and then the stares she felt from other students, passed. She found herself nearing the West Gate, as instructed, where she was able to pick up several familiar scents. Grey was the first one. She hadn't talked to him enough, and she was always curious about fleshlings. Plus, it seemed like a good time to socialize and take her mind away from the Forest, Foreas and the Great Tree. 

[b]"Oh! Grey, right?"[/b] Coco said, in her uniquely chipper way, even though the rune wasn't able to change its voice's tone, her body language was another thing. [b]"And..."[/b] she flicked a finger at the pointy metal end of the spear, [b]"you're collecting papers? What are they about? You're a Guard, right? I know you were there in the briefing. So why is a Guard coming with us?"[/b]

She knelt down near Grey and put her hand on one of the papers, then grabbed the page and passed it to Grey, hand soon free to wave Althalus a greeting. As silent as the man was, Coco had learned to recognize his scent.

[b]"Actually, that's a silly question,"[/b] She muttered, then perked up, facing Grey, [b]"have you ever visited the Forest of Symphony?"[/b] And there she went again, mind back to home and its troubles.