Fruit of The Fallen Ocean Goddess

It was during the time of the day where the sun was peaking out, starting to warm things up a bit. The day so far had been spent training in the hospital, working in it, and ultimately he only had a short break for food in the morning. Haraka had hoped that by spending extra time there, they would be less pushy about him planting frost dragon fruit for the use of medicine. That was his hopes, so how did he end up outside looking for the land marked for him to use? Because... it backfired. He had used a dragon fruit in some medicine for a fever and it worked too well. He was glad it was so effective, but it also accidentally reminded the doctors of a certain plant that used to be used often in medicine... until the area that knew how to grow them without destroying or freezing an area. Omaras just happened to originally be a native of that very country. This was all his own fault and there was no way around that fact. He summoned a frost dragon fruit, looking at the fruit for a moment with a frown. "Fine, I get it. They want it and you've wanted it for a long time. I've made you wait long enough, I'm sorry." he spoke at the fruit as if it could respond to him. It was a strange thing, but it really did feel sometimes like he could feel the wills of the plants that had trusted him with their hidden names. Blue eyes paused in their search, finally finding the marked area.

He dropped the thick skinned fruit on the ground while walking to the spot. There wasn't really a lot of people around the plants, so it didn't really feel like an issue at that time. This allowed him the time and focus he needed. The first step was pouring a fermented juice mixture in the area he was going to use. This was something he did his best not to mess up on. The next step was to spread a little cooked rice around the area. Both could be called superstitious in action and thought. There had to be something to it though, otherwise other countries would have grown it before it's total extinction. Now... he grabbed out a ball of pounded sticky rice before making a seed. It was tiny and easy to wrap in the rice. This action was repeated until there was a ball for every hole he needed to dig. Well, at least he had a tiny hoe to help with the digging. A little later and all the holes had been made. He had basically totally forgotten about the fruit nearby existing at this point. With a deep breath, he put one sticky ball into a hole, then started focusing on making that tiny seed into a full grown big adult icy looking cactus of a tree. This really did take a lot of focus, but at least it seemed so far everything was going smoothly. It was making the area colder, sure, but it wasn't exactly going wild. This was a good sign. It continued to do good through all the stages.

After it reached adulthood, haraka turned, internally cheering. It was then he remembered the frost dragon fruit existed and thus started moving to grab it. It had to have taken half an hour to grow that one tree! Nobody better have grabbed up that fruit!

Yona had spent days looking out her bay window towards the ocean, her view almost blocked out the market square and docks, filling instead with the expanse of beautiful beach and plantlife. Still, on her last day of punishment from being able to access her lab, Yona yearned to see more of the island. Over the past two days, she had managed to navigate near reaches from the guild within a few hours walk, exploring the area. She was able to always find her way back to the guild and a hot meal, naturally able to find her way like a living compass.

The green haired woman wore light blue pants, her white boots which were strangely resistant to the dirt and dust that Yona's adventuring made them endure, and her usual wraps over her chest. Her coat was secured around her shoulders, but the sleeves hung baggy by her waist, unused, as Yona instead used the coat more like a cape. She had climbed for a few hours each day, the terrain easier each time, and today she was heading for a strangely shaped mountain that she had seen. Yona had paid to borrow a local man's mare, a grey spotted horse with blue eyes and a well brushed silvery mane named Doll. Yona rode the path she had found in her journeys before until she got to the mountain. Then she moved the horse up the easiest path she could find. About half way up the mountain, the terrain got too steep and she climbed down from the beast.

Yona led the horse with the leather reins through the mountain in a zig zag, approaching the opposite side not long after. It was there that Yona noticed a change in the natural community: instead of tall trees and various sized plants, the green haired woman found the area to be more frequented with shrubs, nettles and low brush, with a few spotty clumps of hardy looking trees. There was plenty more wind here and by the smell of brine in the air, Yona knew it was the seaward face of the mountain and it faced drier climate and colder temperatures. She pulled the horse closer and tied the mare off to a strong looking branch of a tree.

"I'll be back soon, Doll," Yona crooned to the horse, feeding her a pear gently from her hand. Then the nineteen year old made her way around, curiously seeking further novelty on this side of the mountain. There was another clump of hardy trees with thick bark and moss. The ground was hard and Yona bent to brush her fingertips against it. It seemed there was a person nearby, a two legged humanoid just around the trees. She could also tell that the soil was low in nutrients, the moisture pulled out of the ground from the high wind of the area, and slightly acidic at that. Only hardy plants would be found here, perhaps unusual or rare species at that.

Yona thought to go see who else was on this mountain and stepped around softly on the mossy mountain floor. She saw first a strange looking fruit beside her feet, and made a soft 'hmm?' before bending to pick it up. She tossed it from hand to hand, looking it over, testing it's weight. What the heck was this thing? It was unlike any plant she had seen before, but that didn't mean it didn't belong here. She looked straight up into the trees calling them out by name, just to be sure this fruit or nut could not have come from one of them. "Larch, Bald Cypress, Juniper.." Yona was oblivious to the fact that the male who had been there had turned around and was heading towards her now.

The demon frowned at the presence of the person, tossing around the fruit like it was their belonging. What should he do? It seemed like she was trying to identify it. Maybe if he taught her about it, she would be more willing to hand it over. While it wasn't exactly poison, over concentrated medicine wasn't exactly the wisest thing to chew on. "That is a frost dragon fruit, from the dragon fruit cactus tree. I am planting some per request of the hospital near the guild. This area was specifically marked by them so that I would plant these trees. I dropped that fruit while focusing on the process of preparing the ground for the trees, one mistake and they will destroy the area. I would advise handing that fruit back over, or traveling to the hospital and handing it over to there. It's not safe to consume without having it processed in some way." He wasn't in a rush, not yet in a panic over the person holding it yet.

The young looking male had seen her before, but they had never actually even been introduced to one another. The only thing the young looking man new about her was that they were both members of the same guild. He was sure that anyone placed in calm circumstance need only talk and be patient to avoid conflict and make sure things don't get messed up. Nobody would eat the fruit raw, the trees would be completed, and everything would be nice. "One of the trees have finished growing, you can look at it if you want." He had already said one mess up could destroy the area, so he doubted the girl would tamper with things not known. A lot of questions would be okay. His posture was a bit loose still from all the moving done before growing the one tree, the posture a bit relaxed. His own clothes were currently his work ones, white dress up vest, white dress pants, black shoes, and a grey dress shirt.

Of course, the guild pin was on the vest in plain sight. It wasn't really the sort of clothes that looked good for working in dirt, but he didn't actually look dirty. He had a big white bag slug over a shoulder, but at the moment all it really held were some empty glass bottles. Actually, he should start working on the second tree. Would it be possible to focus on a conversation and the tree? ...maybe.

Yona pursed her lips at the male who interrupted her. When the male paused in his approach she felt more at ease, and she listened to his words with curiosity. He was advising her to hand it back to him or to walk it all the way back to the hospital and hand it over to them. Yona considered her options. The guy didn't look strong enough to take it back and from everything that she had seen, Yona was pretty sure he was one of those "I avoid confrontation" types. It was unbecoming of most people to just get mowed over by others' demands and desires. If you wanted something in this world, generally you had to take it- not ask permission.

Her interest in the fruit was passing more than anything, as she had come to the area to explore anyway, it was the tree that was more interesting to her by far. A tree could produce fruit, and beyond that, seeds. "I have never heard of it," Yona confessed after a long moment, looking back at the fruit in her hands. She ran her hands over the skin of the fruit, feeling the hard skin. She flicked a nail over its side and noted it would be pretty easy to peel some of the skin back, pretty easy to break open if she tried. Maybe it was ripe, or maybe it was just soft. "I think I would like to see the tree. Can I hold onto this for now? I find it fascinating," She asked with a glamorous smile.

Let him think he was in control of whatever he was doing, that was always the key to actually getting what you want. Because now if he asked for it back, or demanded it, he would like he didn't trust her, like she was going to break it or hurt it, or like he even thought of her as beneath him in his ability to handle plants. It could not have been a secret that the green haired woman was a plant based mage and Yona doubted that Haraka would have the guts to insult her and risk her "getting all mad and aggressive". Having a reputation at the guild was not such a bad thing. Her goal here would remain hidden of course; her beautiful smile was like that of a siren's: otherworldly, seductive, and very few people who were not mages had ever been able to refuse a request made by her.

Yona certainly had his personality type down. The young demon would often would do things he wasn't all that happy about for the sake of avoiding confrontation. Right now he wanted to snatch the fruit away, but it would be a rude thing to do, so he would never do it. This didn't mean he trusted Yona to just let go of it, it felt more like the opposite. Finding something fascinating normally means someone will refuse to let it go. He already asked her to let it go, asking again so soon would be rude for a number of reasons, demanding it would be worse. 'Maybe telling her more about the plant itself will cause her to see reason and quench that curiosity.' "As long as you hand it back to me eventually and don't ingest it, it's fine." He started walking, the strides calmly moving against the ground with care. "A normal dragon fruit is a cactus fruit found in a very different climate. A frost dragon fruit is very different in both color and properties. It originated from my home country. Most soil there was created by children of DezLovaas, our god of earth, structure, and order. He and our Sun God HahdrimAl were both foreigners, to before the law and order of DezLovaas, or the fires, reincarnation, and trickery of HahdrimAl, it was a country that held only plants, the ocean waters, and ice as the elements supporting life.

The original two gods of our land was GulBekif, the Goddess of the ocean and medicine, and GliiwrWelun, the goddess of the moon and culture. At one point long after the two gods arrived in the country, the culture had changed from one of equality and freedom to one with a complicated hierarchy system and the majority of the people were treated as like servants, slaves, or captives. To try to try to break this system, she tore out her godhood and made a vow with the guardians of the unseen dephs. What was once her godhood and a piece of her essence became a seed that she dropped into the ocean and it sunk like a heavy iron ball. It was now the symbol of her devotion to helping her people. The frost dragon fruit was created from her blood after that point during the years she fought in rebellion. A horrible sickness had swept through the country, and she could not bear to see her people whom she felt as family suffer and die over something like being unable to afford medicines. . . So she made a child with the essence of dragon fruit trees and put a piece of what remained of her dragon essence into it. It became a medicine that only common people and herself knew how to grow and who uses involved combining and using it with common and cheap ingredients. It is one of the reasons why, even after loosing her godhood, people still prayed to her loyally."

At this point he stopped walking, now standing in front of the frost dragon fruit tree. It's presence was cold enough that he knew that he should start on the next tree right now. "This is also why the plant went extinct after the country fell into the ocean. Within a a few generations, I was the only one left who remembered the culture of the country on a personal level, let alone how to plant this cactus tree. It destroys the area when not planted right because she didn't want others to take from the common people that they needed. It is her wrath blended into plant form as well as her love. Like the ocean and medicine, it is something that cannot be consumed without being processed into something gentler. Do you understand?"

Yona listened to him talk, but after he left the topic of the fruit itself, she zoned out a bit. She caught snippets here and there about the some myth, another world, deities and fruit worship. She heard something about how it was an incredible and useful medicine. Yona considered it, finding the idea of a potent medicine quite intriguing. That would be something that could make her a lot of money. Yona considered the viability of the fruit in her palms until Haraka stopped walking. She looked up at the tree holding the fruits and feeling an odd cold temperature. Were they called frost dragon fruit because they needed colder temperatures to grow? Her eyes were wide with the idea of profit and new discovery.

Yona pulled her own coat a bit closer with one hand and then flicked her eyes back to Haraka. He was looking at her with expectation, as if he had asked her or said something that she had ought to respond to. Instead of asking for clairification, Yona gave him a smile and nodded. She had a fifty-fifty shot at nailing it by simply replying with, "Oh yes, thank you." Her fingers pressed on the leathery skin, a thumbnail skimming over the edge of one of the peeling parts of the fruit's skin. When she looked back up at the tree, Yona could see a multitude of the bluish dragon fruits. They were smaller than the ones in her hand, but still potentially viable. She slowly approached the tree, walking around the trunk with her head raised up to the branches.

Yona lifted the fruit in her hand to her nose, sniffing it. Potential and strong medicine, and it smelled sweetly too. Yona plucked a dagger from her side out and leaned her back against the tree. She knew Haraka wouldn't have wanted her to damage the fruit but as he had plenty growing above her head, well Yona just had to open it up. Her blade easily cut the fruit open. Inside, were many many seeds. She reached in with her fingers, plunging them into the flesh and drawing out a handful of the seeds. Yona put it into her pocket for her own studies later. Then she sniffed the fruit again, enjoying the tantalizing sweet smell. "There are a lot of fruits up there," She called around the tree, "That's a lot of medicine."

The nineteen year old was fairly sure that medicine was non-harmful and perhaps even a bite of the fruit would give her extra strength or magical ability. Yona had no idea of the dosages but she was not in the least concerned; fruits with sweet smells were made to be eaten by organisms in order to be spread organically around a region. Basics of plant reproduction, and Yona knew her plants. Well, maybe not this one in particular, but regardless.. how bad could it be? Yona, ever the curious and ever the experimenter, plucked a smaller handful of wet fleshy fruit from beneath the cut skin and pushed it into her open mouth, ready to taste the sweet insides and ready to see what sort of cool abilities she might have gotten from the medicine in its purest state.

He knew that he should stop that youth from biting, snatch up the fruit, yell, something... But deep down, he was a cynical man. He had already tried to warn her, she didn't listen. He had already tried to stop the brat from not trying to rob guild property, she has clearly decided to not listen and that she knows more than a doctor about a certain medicine that she just learned the name of. There was no denying the fruit, the flesh of it was soft and tasted very good, but there was a very good reason it was treated with care. 'this might actually be perfect.' Blue eyes watched Yona eat the fruit, keeping the smile on his face. He didn't speak until it looked that she had finished eating. A strange patience? "You should have listened, the effects will last at least a week." The fruits flesh feeling cool may or may not have been attributed to the coolness of the area, but he expected soon enough she would realize the mistake. Of course she hadn't listened to anything he had said before, would she now? Haraka had no idea. The effects of raw and pure frost dragon fruit was simple: uncontrollable shivering and sneezes. It wasn't deadly as long as one found a way to keep warm, but it was certainly a deterrent from eating it raw. It wasn't something a person could just grab up and eat.

"Did you think I survived for thousands of years without being able to tell when a kid has no intention of handing something back?" Omaras looked back at the tree. Certainly not the tallest of trees, but still it stood as a cactus tree. All looked almost as if it was carved out of a blue and white ice, all but the soft and small looking undeveloped fruit hanging on it. "If you had listened to what I said than you wouldn't have been stupid enough to take a bite in the first place! Did you think you were greater then GulBekif? You probably didn't even hear that make when I was trying to warn you before, did you? Too busy not listening! This trees species didn't evolve, it was created by HER. It's one of the bits of proof my country had that she did exist. This plant was created to CURE people, to TREAT them, to SAVE them! It was also designed that you would need to be taught how to grow the fruit and handle it, otherwise it's inedible and will not grow." If it was possible for him to get mad, he would be. Still, he was very irritated and annoyed. There were things spoken that would have normally been held back. But... at least eating the fruit wasn't dangerous. At best, it would likely leave her feeling cold and annoyed for a time. The only job related thing it would effect would be stealth, can't exactly sneak anywhere when stuck sneezing.

Yona had no idea what Haraka was talking about. She barely knew his name, didn't know his station, and didn't know his past. She had no idea what experiences he had, if he was a doctor, if he was just a mage, if he was a scholar or a fool. And what reason did she have, what incentive did she have to trust him just because he said so? Yona didn't believe in deities, of ultimate goods and profound evils. Yona believed in power and various amounts of ethernano, of strength from within a person. There were no gods in this world and there was no next life. It was all a bunch of hoopla, excitement over fictional things to get people to feel bad about themselves or to get people to feel righteous about wrongdoing. It was dishonest and a fool's heart who fell for that nonsense.

As she stepped around the tree, tossing the opened fruit aside, Yona cleaned her dagger on her pants and put it away. The green haired woman noted Haraka's consistent smile. She didn't care if he knew that she opened the fruit or ate some of it, it was already done with anyway. When he spoke, she wrinkled her nose, "Effects will last a week? What effects?" She frowned at him, feeling suspicious and a bit on edge. "You said it was medicine." It was more than an accusation, he lied to her. She could feel it now, a slow inching cold creeping up on her, moving from her stomach and throat linings, to the rest of her small form. She swallowed hard and shivered, tossing her hair over her shoulder in an exaggerated effect to hide the shiver from Haraka. The nineteen year old had been used, manipulated into eating the fruit. If he knew so much about what she would do, why hadn't he stopped her? He had wanted her to, he had wanted to see her suffer. And then, he had insulted her. Mentally, she was preparing for a fight.

"Survived a thousand years huh?" Yona said to him tersely, her eyes narrowing on him. She flexed her fingers, trying to use movement to stave off the chill. "You say I am a kid, and a stupid one at that but you're the one trying to fake your age! Nobody lives that long. And there is no such thing as a GulBekif or any other god. You've been had, you fool." Yona approached him slowly, touching a tree as she went, drawing out her Blade of Thorns. The Blade of Thorns was dark green all over and in the shape of a scimitar. Whether she planned to use it as a threat or for a real attack was not made clear as she spoke to him. Her beautiful face, her stunning eyes, her silken voice all used to try to captivate his attention: men were always easier to manipulate when she used her lineage on them. It took nearly no effort to walk as if floating on air and to move as if she were liquid passion, and Yona's words were seamless from her form. "You should not have lied to me. You should not have poisoned me." She licked her lips lightly, feeling a soreness over her skin where the cold was settling in like a bird in a roost, causing her to tremble again.

Considering it was a well kept secret, only Johann knew about her incident with the chef- but Yona thought if she deserved a beating for trying it out, then so did this guy. And then she would tell Johann on him.

The man kept his eyes on the cactus tree, but that was because of the temper raging in him so badly. It was probably a good thing that he didn't actually have the capability to feel true rage and anger. The emotions of upset, offense, and annoyance were still very good substitutes. Those were certainly on high for him right now. It was strong enough that his female side came out, the womans eyes gaining a cold and lifeless expression. It was just too hard to hold any fake expressions on, even if they hid the lifeless expression he was often stuck with under it all. There was a heat inside that was bothersome, something he knew wouldn't be cured by fever medicines. "IF YOU LISTENED TO A DAMN THING I SAID THAN YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD ME TELL YOU IT'S FEVER MEDICINE! YOU SHOULD FEEL GLAD THAT IT'S EFFECTS ARE SO TAME WITH IT UNPREPARED!" Her female voice cut through the air. It was very different in tone than before. Even when raising his voice, the mantis shrimp had always put a gentleness to the voice. That tone had been one of the many cues that said the person was harmless, but now it lacked all softness. "MOST MEDICINES ARE TOXIC TO SOME DEGREE! It's because they have compounds that are only supposed to HELP you in CERTAIN SITUATIONS! If you had a dangerous fever, Then I can guarantee you that it wouldn't have ANY negative side effects in the slightest! DO YOU HAVE A FEVER?!"

There was a cold upset in her voice, seething through like the cold in the area. "GulBekif WAS A  REAL PERSON! Her old spell is the reason I exist! Thousands of years ago when my country existed, most of the population had magic due to a spell that involved work from all four of our gods, including her! Children of GulBekif commonly gained horns, demonic features, and holes in our souls, as they were physical features she had around the end of her life, besides the demon part. The demon part is due to the weakness the hole left her with. We were called her children, water, ocean, and ice magic were common among her 'children'. A real person artificially created the frost dragon fruit plant, she put the last bit of her soul that held ice dragonic essence in it into that plant in order to SAVE the MAJORITY OF my homelands population! A country that hasn't existed for thousands of years! The spell that allowed people like me to be born died off THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO! IF THERE WAS A WAY TO GET RID OF MY LACK OF AGING I WOULD DO IT! It feels like I'VE BEEN CURSED!" Her body shifted a bit, the cold expression moving to finally aim itself at Yona. "You can claim it's poison all you want, but any medical professional in this area would know it's a fever medicine. You can bitch in an upset all you want, but you brought this on yourself!"

She was past the point of charm, past the point of pretty eyes, Haraka had snapped. She was too upset to be male right now, too upset to be charmed, too upset to feel all that forgiving. "What were you expecting me to do after warning you so many times, knock it out of your hands?"

Yona listened to him as he went on and on. Gods, how his panties were in a twist. She had seen children react less-- then she frowned at herself. Yona looked down at her weapon drawn, whether for threat or real use, she had not fully decided. The fact that she had drawn it was still the very thing that she was annoyed now with Haraka for. The green haired woman swallowed hard and felt another shiver rising up in her body. Her whole body shuddered so hard she dropped her Blade of Thorns. Her green eyes considered the dark blade on the ground and mentally shrugged. She didn't really want it anymore anyway, and not her anger either. Both fell away from her.

The nineteen year old was fairly annoyed but feeling of frost crept into her skin, into her bones, making her feel sore and achey all over, making her swallow hard again. The horse she borrowed was aways back to walk to and she wasn't sure how good she would be at riding Doll in this condition of consistent shivering. She doubted the mare was well behaved enough to take her consistent fidgeting and follow her every direction as a rider. Yona decided then as well that it was not important whatever this weird guy thought or believed. The main fact of the matter was that now she was suffering for her curiosity and was fairly certain that if what he said was true, and it wasn't poison, then it was still him she was going to blame for her misfortune.

"I don't know about all that stuff. I'm not some religious person who believes in deities or other worlds," Yona said cautiously. Her words were slower so that her shivers would not interrupt her. "But what I do know is I am an expert in plant physiology, plant identification, and my gardening skills are superior to most regardless of if they are human or whatever you are. I know basic herbal medicines, basic poisons. You think a nineteen year old would know as much as a medical professional?" She questioned, her demanding tone sounded less demanding when a clatter of teeth came with the hasty remark. She pulled her coat closed and tighter. "That's an unfair expectation. And sure, I got curious, I like plants. I wanted to know what it smelled like, tasted like, an you said it was medicine." Yona frowned at him.

"You know what happens when you put too much aloe on? Nothing. You know what happens when you eat a whole entire clump of kelp? A little belly ache, and nothing else. You know what happens when you take the compounds from a willow's bark? You cure fevers and too much might make you sleepy." Yona crossed her arms, though if it was for warmth or out of anger, it would be hard to tell. "A magical plant from another 'realm' and the word of a stranger saying it is medicine is not enough information for any person to feel danger. I think biting a small finger-full amount..." She shook her head and then swore out loud, rubbing her arms together harder. She just felt so damn cold.

It was partially her fault, for being so curious and for assuming when a stranger said medicine he meant it was safe for human consumption. But she was nineteen and had never traveled or even believed in other realms. She had never met a demon, that she knew of, saw only a few shape changers, and well... she guessed there was that one dragon lady. Still. As mystical as it all might have seemed to a real civilian, Yona was on the low end of the spectrum for knowledge about magic and belief in other worlds. It seemed pretty unfair for Haraka who knew nothing of Yona to assume she would not be tempted to taste the colorful, never before seen, wonderfully fragrant and fascinating new fruit. Yona gave him an indignant and surly expression. He let her eat it, he knew she would eat it, tempted her with it, and wasn't like 'oh hey, you eat that and it's dangerous'. He had only told her 'it's medicine'. No other warning, no other foreboding information.

Harakas blank expression continued to look at Yona, the aggravation and annoyance not really gone. The more she spoke, the more he was reminded how young she was. It meant he shouldn't expect her to be as knowledgeable, sure, but it didn't mean she had the right to act as he had before than try to wiggle out of the punishment she fed herself. Maybe he should give her another chance to understand exactly what she did. "You don't need to believe in gods to believe in the four gods that made my country possible when it existed in this world thousands of years ago. They were flesh and blood creatures, even the two ice dragon sisters. The fever that the plant was created to defeat was called the cold death, it still existed in the country even when I was a kid. Back then medicine was less evolved, there was no known way to find out how disease spread... Ironically, before my home sunk to the bottom of the ocean, a lot of countries had been worried it would escape to other countries. The fear was as real as the sicknesses devastating effects. I witnesses its effects first hand, no willow bark or aspirin would have cooled that fever fast enough or strong enough to save anyone from it. It ate away the life from the person, magic and non magic user alike. The more it ate, the hotter it got. When it was finished, it was either because they had taken properly prepared frost dragon fruit, or it had been a few days or a week and had thus...

had eaten the remains of that persons life, leaving only a burned cold husk. Even with the right medicine, the fruit was not effective enough to save everyone. This was why she put part of her soul into creating this plant. After after her first life death, like all the other gods of that country? They were born again and again in my country after their first initial deaths. GulBekifs original death was the only one described as it was viewed as treasonous and removing her godhood made it hard for priests to find her reincarnations... Nobody dared stand at the side of the gods to aid them, and her job included tasks far too great for one person to ever handle alone without eventually breaking. In the end, she decided that the lives of other were more important than her identity as a god, or her identity as a dragon. My adoptive grandmother was an ice dragon and she was of the same family as GulBekif and GliiwrWelun. Though... with the country gone, I suppose now they can only be reached by summoners." Was there any point to feeling this upset at a kid? That thought caused the demon to look back at the tree, temper calming a bit and gender changing back to male. Shouldn't he give this person a chance to prove they can listen? Then there would be no point in the current punishment. Right, try to calm down. This was Omaras first time feeling anything like it, but it didn't mean he would let the heated emotion take him.

The answer was in the tree perhaps. What did it want? Well, it wanted what the hospital wanted. "You are a young person, even if I dislike how how you ignored warning simply because the term God was used." She had a clear interest in plants. The plant weapon she had, did it mean she could use plant based magic? Maybe things could work out without either of them holding grudges. "I might hand you something to nullify the frost dragon fruits side effects... If you are willing to help me work." Yes, the seeds were still wrapped in sticky rice, the soil was still soaked with the juice. He could still get work done today. "If I don't finish growing these seeds within a certain time limit, what I did to prepare the area for the trees will fall apart and I will have to start all over. Would you be willing to lend me a hand? It's a job that requires patience, if a tree grows too fast or too slow, the temperature of the area will dip down too fast and make it harder to grow the remaining trees."

Yona backed up in the clearing, shaking her head, her long green locks bouncing around her. She felt the back of a large boulder near the edge of the clearing and sat on the ground, leaning against it. She wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to spread her core warmth around as Haraka continued longwinded about four gods, a fever and the death of his people. She knew she should care and be respectful and from what he was saying, despite her non belief, clearly Haraka believed in it. Yona supposed it was possible but she really had no interest. As he continued going on and on about GulBekif and a family tree of deities and being related to an ice dragon, Yona put her face into her knees.

She was so cold. All she could think about was how cold she was. It was like that time when she fell through the ice in the pond, back as a kid at home. Her father had rushed her home and put her in front of a hearth, covering her in blankets and rubbing at her until she felt raw from the woolen fabric. What she wouldn't give for a fire now. She swallowed hard and looked up at Haraka as he went on. He talked far too much and his eccentricities would not be forgotten either. If Yona suspended belief and ignored her doubts, her scientific and natural drive to understand kicked in. Who cared really about where these trees came from or if he was related to a dragon or not? If she could respect his beliefs and not argue or debate dumb things like that, perhaps it would not be the worst friend she tried to make.

Well, considering how cold she was and how much she wanted to just beat the little worm into a pulp, maybe friend was the wrong word. Maybe "guild member whom she was able to see without fighting" was a start. Johann would certainly kick her rear again if she didn't at least try and he found out about this. "I'll help you in exchange for the antidote you have, but you can't go telling the VPs about what happened here. I'd rather freeze my ass off, then beat the stuffing out of you before getting humiliated in front of Ruvel and Johann again. Do we have a deal?" She spoke hastily, trying to get the words out before erupting into shivers again. In fact, Yona was extremely good with plants and growing. Informing Haraka that she had tended and helped run a greenhouse from her toddler years on and condescending to him about how much she probably knew compared to him was not the way to earn a favor though. Yona frowned, unhappy about the situation, but it could have been worse.

The demon thought a bit more, glancing at Yona. It was a good reminder how different the two were. He was born on a country build on ice and snow, and she was feeling the freeze from a fruit. Then again, why didn't he ever get that cold from eating one raw when he was a kid? Maybe she was just extra sensitive to the cold. "We have a deal as long as you keep true to your word." Now, what was his part of it? Ah, yes. She couldn't help well that cold, it would only get colder as they continue on. Haraka reached into the underside of his vest, pulling out a small bottle full of a cloudy white liquid. "There's the antidote, its just some herbs and juice." He wasn't going to say which specific ingredients just in case she got the idea of going for the frost dragon fruit again. The young looking man had a feeling that the youth wasn't feeling up to grabbing anything from him, so he carefully placed it on the ground. After that? He moved to one of the sticky rice coated seeds in one of the dug holes. The ground was still soaked with the fermented juice from before, that was good. Maybe she wouldn't notice that he basically had to pour alcohol on the ground earlier? Eh, it didn't matter at this point. The seed begun to slowly grow as he begun to focus on the plant. Now... should he try to say something? It might get awkward if they are both grumpy the entire time. Maybe say something not connected to a god?

It felt like, even if only remotely related, she didn't like the term. Some people were just that way, and that was alright. "Would you like to get to know each other? I wont push if you don't want to." 'I don't want to be on negative terms with someone from the same guild.' He thought quietly, though his eyes never turned from the plant that e was working on. Not too fast, not too slow. Find the slow balance within the cactus tree.

The green haired female leaned over to her right and plucked the vial from the ground with a shaking hand. She downed it, pulling the bottle open without a word and ending her shivers and sneezes immediately. Yona rubbed her arms and watched him for a minute. She wasn't sure what he wanted her to do, seeing a plant grow before him but having not seen any seeds. She saw wet splotches on the ground but merely blinked back at Haraka when he began speaking to her.

"Get to know you... well I guess if you want to share. No more religious stuff. Just tell me what I need to do though," She gave a single shoulder shrug. "I gave my word but I don't see what you need me to do."

Ah... This was... a very good reminder how unlike seeds the seeds looked right now. "Sorry, I guess its less obvious where the seeds are when each one is coated in a ball of sticky rice. Don't remove the rice, its one of the precautions to keep it from destroying the land while it grows in its earlier stages. Pick a seed and start making it grow with whatever means your magic does. With mine... I am not a plant magic user, I can merely use any plant I have the hidden name of, or that just wants to allow me to." Despite that, Haraka was still causing a tree to still slowly grow. Tiny roots had started to dig into the soil. "Try to find the Goldilocks in its growth speed, too fast or too slow will cause it to make the area colder faster. In a worst case scenario it will start creating ice and destroying the soil." Why did he need her? Well technically, he didn't... but with an extra pair of hands? This could go a lot faster. The faster this all went, the easier it would be to get everything done. This would make the work feel a lot less boring and long. For him at least though, it would still require a lot of time of focus on single spots. So, how does one get to know a kid that considers anything that mentions a god as religious stuff? Never mind that gods are looked at as different things in every culture, never mind that she knew not of his people culture. 'Calm down, remember, shes a kid, you aren't supposed to be upset at her anymore.' He reminded himself, internally chiding the internal grumpiness.

Where should he start? Probably at the start. "When my country existed, it was mainly of ice and snow. It had a spell on it that kept the land from melting, but it also gave most residents magical abilities." Okay, probably not that far back. "...At one point it was attacked and... most of the residents dead, as were the man eating trees that-" She probably didn't want to know about the man eating trees. "-Lets just say a lot died and those who did survive left the country. As a result, the spell faded and the country melted, its parts sinking into the ocean. At that point, honestly I was waiting to grow, age, and die. Everyone and everything I had ever cared for was gone, and those who did it were still alive. But... I didn't die. Other survivors eventually did... with enough generations, their decedents forgot all about their families old roots. Historians that knew who I was started acting like I shouldn't treat my memories like something private, as if time would make it less personal. I have a hole in the emotional center of my soul, it doesn't mean I lack all emotions, it just means I lack some and there are things that I can't feel the same depths as others." Try to sound less depressing! Something. "So... what got you interested in plants?"

Yona had nodded and soundlessly moved to grab a sticky rice seed thing. She pushed her hands into the wet soil and molded the earth around the rice ball like a sculptor and her ball of red clay. She listened to him like he was background noise, resting just one hand on the ground and sitting cross-legged next to the seed. What he called work was so easy it nearly bored Yona. She simply called the plant upwards and towards the light and like a little child running to his parent, so the vegetation came.

The guy was odd, like a historian crossed with a cultist. His beliefs were so ingrained in his emotions it sounded hard for him discuss anything else. What was with his attitude towards the past and his grip on reality? Plus, had he no idea how to speak to a stranger? A woman? Talks of death were far less entertaining than the man eating trees causing it. And the tragedy of being an old soul, like a foul tempered old man surrounded by intellectuals and young ones who wanted nothing but to look for the future and to seek out innovation... well Haraka came off as both tragic and boring. To talk about his lack of emotion and dredging up these old stories must have been important to him and Yona considered the fact that maybe he had never talked to anyone for real before.

When he asked her about her interest in plants, it was a good effort. But for the nineteen year old, it reminded her of sad things too. The conversation was far too serious for two people who did not fully know each other, in her opinion. They should be talking about the weather, current guild gossip, the recent emigration of redbirds to the small islands nearby; not about death and pasts and emotional philosophies. She grabbed another one of the seeds and got to work on a second one, letting out a brief yawn. She hadn't really needed much guidance and was able to work quickly enough. "My family ran a small business selling salves, potions, dietary supplements, that sort of thing. I swear I was even born on the floor of our greenhouse- that's what my father always said. We all had the green thumb from birth."

The plant grew faster than it should have at such orders, reacting to the speed by releasing a layer of snow from itself and reacting to the soil coming up so fast by pushing it from some of its roots with ice. But it did not ruin any of the nearby soil, the plant did not react badly for the speed or Still, the sudden multiple layers of snow blinded Haraka, completely shutting off his focus. His tree rapidly grew, tossing its own layers of snow out as it grew, but the snow that was put near its roots by yonas tree prevented it from getting upset enough to make any ice. The blue grey skinned person started wiping the snow from his face and head, spotting the newly adult trees after vision returned. He sighed internally, but didn't actually say anything about it. The demon had never actually told her how fast too fast is. "That's okay, I let myself get distracted. Neither tree got upset enough to destroy any soil, and now there's snow to use for the other trees. They are used to snow or ice around their roots, so it will make growing a bit easier." He started gathering some of the snow, stuffing it in one of the dug up holes until it was filled enough for him to feel satisfied. This was all he would need for an easier and faster time growing a frost dragon fruit tree. After a few pats on the snow, he started working on growing the next tree. "That sounds very cozy Yona."