Zapdos — Roleplayer Guild

Entering his room at the inn after his talk with Lillianna, Adam's original plan was to go straight to sleep. However, the sight of an empty pot with a dead flower in it piqued the plant magic user's interest. Not so much for the dead matter, which he discarded, but for another flower he could grow within the soil.

Thinking back to his instruction under Glee earlier that day, the younger Druid recalled what had transpired.

"Adam, try growing something you're familiar with." The trainee obliged and a large red pine tree rose up from the ground, being quite different in size from the small plant he had grown earlier.

"Very good," the half-orc said, "now how are you connected with this type of tree?"

A barrage of memories rose up like the new timber had moments ago; after taking a split-second to consider what needed to be told, Adam provided his answer. "Very much so. These were everywhere, where I'm from."

"Right. And you've never even heard of the firaga rose until today. So you have virtually no connection with it. It is amazing you could create it like you did so quickly at all, really." The younger Druid didn't agree, but he wasn't about to argue about it. He would rather let Glee finish speaking and learn from his elder counterpart. "You need to really know the plant to be able to create it. Truly connect with it, whether that be through books, experiences, or whatever else, and then you'll be able to grow it whenever."

Back in the present, Adam felt a connection to what he was about to create. The half-orc wasn't just a mentor, he was also a friend. One who had taken the time to help someone he had never met before grow as a Druid based in part on seeing him use his abilities to grow one of these. And what the red-eyed man had learned would not be wasted tonight. He focused his energy on the task at hand, willing the torch flower into existence with his magic. And it was complete in a way the man didn't feel like it was when he first tried it. Not only because it looked nicer, but because he could feel the firaga rose, and he didn't get the sense that it would explode immediately. 

Adam was satisfied at his progress, though he wasn't sure what drove him to create this flower specifically instead of one with more combat potential. However, he was too tired to think about it much, so instead he decided to go to bed. He would wake up the next morning to the sound of a plant bursting away from existence, satisfied it had lasted as long as it did but still wanting to improve on it further.

Adam and Lillianna

To say things had been exhausting for the day was an understatement, or so Lillianna felt as she sat on the roof of the nearby inn. It was just outside of her room, but the part of the roof there had been flat-ish enough, she figured, to at least climb out without the risk of falling for the most part. Simple as that. All the same, though, she figured surviving a fall from the roof of an inn was going to not be the worst thing she had happen to her in the last 24 hours alone perhaps. Two party members dead before she’d gotten the chance to know them better, committing the electrical equivalent of self-immolation against a cyborg water ninja, and outright just getting stuck in a hellscape filled with spirits of the dead who had apparently accumulated there quite a bit by the time they’d arrived. What else? Nearly killed two hospital staff, got patched up somehow before that, and had learned about her own sleep-talking coming back to bite her at some point during the last leg of the trip to Valheim. Still didn’t even have the full story on after she’d nearly died either!

Yet alongside the MacKensie-led shopping trip, finally getting the cube off of their hands, and getting to the Church of Iris in time…it felt almost ‘safe’ to say that sitting and watching the stars from where she was right now was helping that weight slide off a bit. At least a bit. New world, new people, near-death experiences, and other new things that couldn’t even be imagined by those back on Earth as anything but fantasy fiction were enough of a thing to try to process already. It was as absurd and terrifying equally as much as it was somehow all still a bit exciting at the same time. It was…how could she describe it in words? Like feeling a big swirl of clashing things all at once inside of herself, though at least not overly overwhelming to her in the acute sense right now. 

It had been quite a day for Adam Phillips. Not that today had been objectionable, but what had happened the day before was still weighing down on him. 

Navigating the maze from Hell, fighting awful creatures and somehow surviving before finally getting rid of the cube…it was a lot. And now the Druid had returned to the hotel and noticed Lillianna Steiner on the roof. It was time for what the man thought was the most important thing he could do today.

After a quick stop in his room, Adam joined Lillianna on the top of the building. He didn't know if she had heard him climb up there, so he figured he should speak up to avoid startling her. "Hi Lillianna, do you mind if I join you?" 

The mage’s head slightly turned in Adam’s direction, silent for a second before she gave a silent nod to him. After this, the Druid sat down next to her and continued speaking. It was best to start with the apology so she would know he was sincere. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for what happened in the Hillocks. If I hadn't led you all there, you wouldn't have had to electrocute yourself, we wouldn't have had to fight the centaur, and Arthur and Clive would still be alive. I know my words can't make up for the fact that you had to be carried by me to the hospital, but I do hope you'll let me know if there's anything I can do for you." The man's tone was one of regret and guilt; it was clear that he felt terrible about what happened and blamed himself for everything.

“Your fault? For all of that? You are blaming yourself entirely for what happened?”

Lillianna let out a small, but audible, sigh before she turned her head to look at Adam properly this time. Her tone of voice was a bit unamused, but likewise seemed to question what Adam had just told her audibly to an extent. Her deep, blue eyes then swiveled over to look back at the man’s face almost blankly for a moment…before she raised her left hand up like she was going to chop something and-

BONK!

-she…lightly hit him on the head? Nothing with proper force behind it, just chopping at the Druid’s head silently with a lighter touch than normal. After this, the mage would retract her hand before speaking again. 

“Don’t be an idiot! First you remain silent when the group votes on what mission to do, and now this? 

Your fault? It might as well be my fault instead, then, for toying around with the stupid cube and alerting the enemy to our location in the process by accident! We could have taken our time better if I hadn’t messed around with it…or would you like to blame yourself for that as well?”

Blue eyes turned into a distinct glare of mild frustration as the mage let out a small huff, all as her tone would shift into something of a lecturing voice.  

“We had no idea what any of us were getting into, and there were things out of our control as well I feel. A lot of things are out of our control for that matter…and I’ve not even managed to get the entire story of things yet to boot. 

I chose what I did after getting impaled, and that was my decision alone regardless of where we were or when. A pitiful, stupid, selfish action that I had hoped would take myself and the enemy out at the same time and keep the cube out of his hands out of sheer spite. My actions likewise brought trouble on us anyways in some capacity, so wherever we would have been on another path someone was likely coming for us anyways. 

Not to mention my screaming likely didn’t do any favors in keeping other monsters away from us…if I had to take a guess about why this ‘centaur’ you mention arrived. Because I don’t remember it one bit, frankly. 

Likewise, none of us knew the true dangers of the Mazy Hillocks back there. Sure it wasn’t my decision, but there wasn’t a perfect answer there either. None of us have even been in this world for more than a day or two at best, for heaven’s sake! Had we taken another longer or ‘safer’ route, the enemy might have acquired the cube or caught up sooner while our backs were turned on some peaceful hike. At least as we were already fighting monsters at the time, and so, we were all already in the mindset to try to do something about it and could react in some capacity.”

The chop on the head didn't hurt, but it was unexpected so Adam couldn't help flinching in response. It was a more than fair enough punishment for what he did, really. The white-haired mage seemed to not blame him for what happened, and really it seemed that he was alone in assigning it to himself. Maybe it was time to stop doing that and just focus on being the best version of Adam he could be.

"You're probably right," the Druid responded. "It was a tough situation for all of us and we did the best we could. Myself included. Oh! Let me tell you what happened after you lost consciousness." The man wasn't happy about the events themselves, but he was glad he could help Lillianna know what had happened.

…

…

…

"...and so I carried you to Valheim, where we took you to the hospital. Then we waited for you to be healed and, well you know the rest." It really had been a tough situation for the newly named Second Chance. Hearing it from himself out loud did help Adam not blame himself a little, at least. There were a few questions he had for the woman though. "How are you feeling now? Is everything okay?"

The mage pulled a hand up to her own head. Adam hadn’t pulled any punches in telling her, but at the same time it was still a lot to process. It did at least confirm things about that ‘centaur’ the younger man had mentioned, which was certainly better than her own suspicions alone in vacuum for sure, though the fact Clive had gone down as he had and Arthur had gone out swinging were still things to process she supposed. She hadn’t been as attached to either as say MacKensie or Adam or especially her Uncle back home….she hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to them properly at all, and it made her feel a bit guilty as well about the whole thing to boot. They were human beings and people who had died…it was sad and depressing enough as it was with that alone. No one deserved to die so soon after getting a seemingly impossible second chance at life either. 

Though at least Adam had seemed to perk back up a little bit after her scolding. Maybe that would be good for him in the long run, she hoped. Make him one day better than she was feeling some about herself still at any rate…

“Thank you for carrying me, Adam….not sure I could have made it myself at any rate, unconscious and nearly dying and all.”

A small sigh would escape her lips, however, as she did feel a little stressed still in the aftermath of hearing everything the Druid could tell her. At the same time, it was somewhat of a relief to know the truth. Painful as it was, she at least was happy to know the truth about it all if nothing else. No odd questions to haunt her in the coming nights about the things no one had told her in her life, at least not again in this case. 

…A-At the same time, she also had to ask something else important. Majorly important. Something that could define the century levels of importance even. 

“Did, ah, d-did I happen to s-say anything as I slept?”

She would not tell him what James had told her already. No. She needed an unbiased opinion. The mage could not make a fool of herself by mumbling in her sleep where people could hear! It was so horribly embarrassing…

Lillianna didn't really answer Adam's question, but based on the tone of her voice, she seemed somewhat distressed over the information he had shared. And maybe a little embarrassed at the end? The emotional state was understandable, given the circumstances, so the man knew he would do his best to be supportive if needed. "No problem, I'd do it again in an instant. Not that I want you to be unconscious, of course" Adam sincerely responded. He then paused to think about the mage's question. "Hmm…oh, right!" The man's face lit up as he remembered that little detail. "You said something about an uncle and tacos. Was that like a family recipe or something?" The tone of the question was conversational and curious, not at all derisive or amused at the woman's expense.

…Uncle? Tacos?! Seriously?!?!

The mage’s face turned a sudden shade of red as the Druid, rather genuinely and innocently to her mind, tried to ask about a non-existent family taco recipe on her part. At the same time, the heat going to her face was certainly something to take note of on her part as well.. Adam was certainly not judging her or being derisive, but at the same time her sheer embarrassment and flustering she felt at the confirmation of having been heard sleep-talking as she was near death was certainly something that filled her with a sudden burst of emotion. Her sudden emotional state was likewise seemingly enough to get her body seemingly generating a little electricity in the magical sense, a few small ‘cracks’ of the stuff visible as they arced slightly across her body in a few spots at a sudden and increasingly faster-paced frequency. 

“I-I-I w-we….a-a-ah….um….MyUncleJustLikedGettingStreetTacosAlotNothingMoreThanThatWeHaveNoTacoRecipeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Oh no. 

Into the night sky of Valheim, a single streak of lightning would shoot up into the darkness with a brief flash of light as it escaped up into the heavens from somewhere on the roof of a particular local inn. It was likewise gone as fast as it could have been seen, and the sudden ‘crack’ of it echoed in the aftermath for only a moment. A magic student goofing off in public or testing a spell at night? A sudden storm near the area? Locals of Valheim who had noticed would likely be left wondering, though it would likely be forgotten by locals soon enough.

Lillianna, meanwhile, would sit silently for a few moments as the trails of heat and smoke dissipated in the air around where she sat on the roof. Her clothes were oddly ok, something she still didn’t understand in this case, though she felt glad she’d managed to point a hand up in the sky to unleash the lighting at the last second after realizing it. Well, barely realizing it. Maybe. Somewhat. Er, thank goodness she hadn’t hit the building or Adam though. Or anything and anyone else…well, not this time at least. Even so, her left hand was still up in the air with a finger pointing at the sky as her body froze up in place and her face was now distinctly beet red and even redder than it had been not long before.

…The mage would then slowly lower her arm back down and pull her legs in, wrapping her arms around her knees and not looking Adam in the eye as she buried her face in her pulled-up legs. 

“S-S-Sorry…..”

Adam felt concerned for Lillianna as he saw her face become the same color as his eyes. Did he say something wrong? No, it just seemed like she was very embarrassed…and exuding a little electricity from her body. And then she spoke quickly, and the amount of lightning increased at the same rate. This could be dangerous, but the Druid did not flinch or flee. He knew her well enough to know the mage wouldn't harm him, and if she was willing to face a water ninja to help her friends, he could face this. "It's okay" he started to say, but the man was cut off by the electricity that Lillianna shot into the air.

It was an impressive display of magic, really. However, what caught Adam's attention more was how awful the white-haired girl seemed to feel. It was extremely obvious that she was not in a good way, and this time the red-eyed man wanted to be more supportive than he was in the hospital. Wrapping his arms around her in a hug, the Druid calmly spoke. "It's okay. We're all figuring out what we can do here, I think." He thought for a moment, then added "oh, and I don't know your uncle, but tacos aren't the worst thing to like. Mine just liked getting drunk."

Lillianna felt awkward enough with the sudden hug, the lightning, everything really, but once the hug was done she would let out a small sigh of trying to cool her nerves. At the same time, the Druid’s words would catch her ear a small bit as she tried to somewhat compose herself. She had to keep in mind that ‘this’ sort of thing could happen with her magic, but the word ‘drunk’ certainly made its way into her ears as well. Drunk? Sure her uncle had liked a sip or two here and there, but he’d always been serious about not getting ‘drunk’ and got very serious when talking about such things. She hadn’t been able to ask him exactly why, but she had respected his privacy enough to also not ask after seeing it likely came from a very personal place in his life. 

“He did quite like his street tacos….his favorite food truck was closest to the center of town, only ever closed at points during the year if the owner or operators were deathly sick. If they were, he’d even call them to see how they were doing and if he could help them at all. Made friends with them, even, and I babysat the owner’s youngest a few times to help out amidst those efforts of his.

But….drunk? He disavowed getting drunk, and when he spoke of the topic he would become more serious than I had ever seen him otherwise. Always something sad about his eyes during the few times he mentioned such things to me. I-…I never asked why.”

The words felt as if they rolled off of her tongue, without giving much time to think about shortening it all down for the sake of conversation. It still felt a little awkward, but it was better than silence perhaps. Talking. She could talk, but…even then sometimes it was a little harder than she’d like to make conversation. Depending on how she felt of course. 

When Lillianna seemed to be fine, Adam finished the hug and sat down next to her, listening to her talk with interest. His neck of the woods (a literal and figurative phrase, considering where he lived) wasn't populated enough to support a food truck. He had to wonder what her life was like, but he had already figured out an important part of it. "Your uncle sounds like a good man," the red-eyed man responded as she described his good deeds. He nodded in acknowledgement of the white-haired woman's point. "My father never drank, so the few times we saw my uncle were kind of strange. I don't know your family, but my relatives had their reasons for what they chose. I'm sure your uncle did also. Good ones, from what you've told me." Here, the Druid's voice sounded kind of sad when he described his own family. Changing to a more resolute tone, he continued. "I want to be a man my father would be proud of though, so I'm not going to start." He awkwardly added at the end "not that I'd judge you for it or something," hoping he hadn't offended the woman.

The mage let out a small sigh, relaxing a bit as the awkward feeling of the sudden hug was gone. Not that it was ill-intended, and she appreciated the intended kindness of the gesture as well. But, ah…ahem. Anywho. Lillianna would nod lightly back at Adam’s comments about not judging her for having a drink. Actually, now that the mage thought about it, hadn’t he not been at the bar the prior night either? Made sense then. 

“You are perfectly fine. I’ve known those who drank a great deal too much, those like my uncle and only had a little, and those who have abstained from drinking for personal or religious reasons or otherwise. Et-cetera. So I hold not judgement over you for doing as you believe in that regard either.”

Adam smiled and nodded at Lillianna, happy his statement hadn't been taken the wrong way. She was a nice woman; a quite verbose woman at times, but nice all the same and he was glad he knew her. He could imagine her lecturing at the Academy nearby, citing books from the library and-

The library! The Druid instantly remembered something Glee had spoke of.

"I just thought of something. A new friend of mine mentioned 'cloud elves' and how they live in cities in the sky. It was only in passing, so that's all I know. Anyway, that sounds like something that could involve Air magic. And that's one of your elements, if I remember right. Maybe if you look into them, you could learn some new magic? It's only an idea of course, but it might be worth something."

Heh, now who's verbose the Druid couldn't help thinking to himself.

Air magic? Well, lightning was usually associated with the sky and such, so it felt like it made a certain amount of sense to the mage. She hadn’t really gone to get anything she knew how to do classified as of yet, though, but it was perhaps worth a shot? Cloud elves living in cities in the sky certainly sounded like something most curious and interesting. Like a little movie she had enjoyed back home, or something straight out of Gulliver’s own adventures. It was certainly enough to at least get the intellectual mage to raise a tentatively curious eyebrow at what Adam was telling her. Indeed, it was enough to get the ‘scholar’ in her to surface to a certain extent as well.

“Well, that certainly is a peculiar topic if not an interesting one. I can certainly take a look into them once I get the chance, if the Academy has a library or such on its premises. Would want to think so after what we got to see of it when bringing them the Cube.”

Yeah, that little tidbit had turned out to be quite relevant. Adam had assumed Lillianna already knew where the books were. And that dovetailed with something else he should mention to her, unless he wanted everyone to think he vanished.

"Before I forget; tomorrow morning I'll be going on a small hike up a mountain, Kragstone Peak. I won't bore you with the details, but it will be a good opportunity to get stronger. I should be back before our mission starts. If anyone asks, please let them know. Anyway, back to the subject. There are libraries by the Academy, divided by 'elements' or whatever you want to call them. The useful place for me was the Earth and Fire one, here's how you get to that area…"

The Druid explained the route to the Mage. It wasn't a long or difficult trip by any means, but he was sure to be detailed since she wouldn't be able to ask him any questions about it tomorrow.

Raising an eyebrow briefly as she listened to the Druid talk on about how to get to various libraries, though it certainly was a curious way to organize things on their part then. Then again, the more she listened on it also made some amount of sense as well when looking at the logic of it all. Dividing areas of study for focus and so forth, etc. It would at least help explain things whenever he would seemingly disappear, so she’d promise to at least keep it all in mind to tell the others later if they asked about him. 

Albeit Lillianna herself was more or less not the type to go on hikes deep in the woods or on mountains, admittedly, though as an adventurer she wondered if that might change things for her in that regard. At least when going from place to place and such….maybe she could learn how to teleport them around eventually though? Maybe. Depended on the school of magic and such, perhaps, or maybe being bound to enchanted items or the like? Maybe it was a group thing, even, but before she got too distracted in those thoughts the mage would visibly perk back up a little bit by the time Adam finished talking to her.

The two spoke more for a little while longer before Adam felt he should get some rest for his hike tomorrow. After saying as such to Lillianna, the man left the roof and headed towards his room. It felt good having that burden of guilt removed, though if he was being honest with himself the Druid still didn't feel good about the circumstances at the Hillocks. Death wasn't a pleasant experience, after all. Still, he was glad he had talked to the white-haired mage, and felt closer to her now for having done so.

The mage would nod in assent as the Druid dismissed himself to get some rest. However, she would sit and wait a while longer outside to look at the stars. She would think a bit about the conversation the two had, then, and then let out a small sigh after it all. Once she was done, though, the mage would swiftly retire back to her own room for some rest as well. There was a lot to do moving forward in the coming days, after all…

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