The Secrets Garden

*Big Team Base after school on Monday May 6th, 2019*

Lily rocks herself back and forth impatiently. *It’ll be fine. She’ll be fine. Why wouldn’t she be fine?* She thinks to herself, too much time alone to worry about how Rhiannon will react to meeting her. Despite what she’s heard and what she knows - from Seth and Elle, from the way others on the Big Team have reacted in general - Lily can’t help but be afraid; she’d become so much more self-conscious since the change. Changes.

She tries to cheer herself up, to ease her mind, by reminding herself of where she is: the roof garden at the Big Team base. More specifically, she’s in her little corner of the garden, where she’s filled her plant bed with flowers and plants to represent all the new people she’s met here. A spider plant for Rani is directly overhead; fragrant lavender for Adria is nestled among Frederick’s pothos plants; Sam’s white clover pop up around the flower bed almost at random; Gwen’s purple elephant ears make a shady patch where Lily is hiding the purple datura she’s growing for Jaime, hoping no one will notice it and make her get rid of it. It’s an odd assortment of plants, but the Big Team is an odd assortment of people, and altogether they make Lily feel less weird on her own. Rhiannon would probably be just like the rest of them. *I should stop worrying, in case I make her a nervous wreck, too.* Lily chastised herself and turned, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, to face the stairs up to the garden.

Rhiannon had yet to visit the roof garden at the new Base. In fact, the place was so huge she felt like she'd barely been anywhere in it… As she walks up the stairs, the sorceress can smell the plants- the fresh life. Elle had said Lily might be getting in touch, and based on the description she sounded lovely! Rhiannon was thrilled to meet another of the new team members. New friend, perhaps? She never gets tired of those.

Cresting the last step and emerging into the garden, she looks around with a sense of wonder. It's beautiful. Even moreso than Carol's garden at the house. Rhiannon doesn't bother wearing her glamour around the base anymore, allowing snowy white hair to stretch down past her waist as her mostly bare feet pad silently along. Turning slowly, her eyes search until she spots what she came for. At first Lily's appearance is mildly startling, even knowing what Elle said. But still, her first instinct was right- lovely. A brilliant smile splits her face as she raises a hand in greeting.

Lily’s jaw drops and she finds herself unable to respond to Rhiannon’s wave, her mind racing in a panic. *Holy crap! I thought this was supposed to be Elle’s niece, why didn’t she tell me she was an elf?! Or a pixie? Definitely some kind of fairy, no way she’s not! Aaaaaah I’ve been staring too long, she’s definitely going to think I’m weird! Come on Lily, say something! You’re the one who asked her to come here, you’re on home turf Grayden, get it together!*

Lily is absolutely awestruck by the person in front of her, so distracted she is at a loss for words. So distracted that she doesn’t notice the change happening to her, the usual colouration of her body lightening; the range of greens shifting to wintery hues of blue and white. By the time Rhiannon is standing in front of her all Lily can manage is a meek “Hi,” and she cringes hearing her voice crack.

"Hello! You must be Lily? I have a big silly hero title, but you can just call me Rhiannon." The smile is still on her face as she approaches, but it falters slightly when she sees the colors shift to all too familiar hues. Was that- on purpose? A joke maybe? "Ah I see you've- heard about the tree. The colors look good on you! Can you change to whatever you like…?"

“Who *hasn’t* heard of the tree?” Lily responds with confusion. She wonders if anyone in Halcyon has managed not to notice the giant tree with a city on top of it jutting out of the harbor; she also wonders what colours Rhiannon is talking about. Looking at her arms, Lily jumps back as she’s startled by the new look she seems to be sporting. Thinking of the weekend just past, of how she woke up the morning after her birthday, she can’t help but think this must be some kind of aftereffect? *Why is this happening,* her head feels like it’s spinning, *why now? I-I didn’t do anything! No weird dreams! No weird places! Is it just because she mentioned the tree? I haven’t even been back there since…*

Lily hasn’t even finished the thought before she feels herself starting to cry again. Angry at herself for the god awful introduction this must be, she manages to choke out a sentence between the tears. “I’m sorry I look like this, I don’t mean to. I don’t know why this is happening, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.” She hopes that Rhiannon won’t think she’s making fun of her — Lily has a few guesses about how Rhiannon must feel about that tree.

"That's a fair point." Rhiannon chuckles at first before seeing Lily's reaction. The pleasant smile is immediately replaced by concern. "Lily, what's wrong? Hey, it's okay! You don't have to say you're sorry. I didn't realize it wasn't intentional, but there's nothing wrong with you looking like this. I think you're just as beautiful as before."

Instinctively, the older girl moves in closer to wrap her arms around Lily if she allows it. One hand moves to her head and begins to stroke her 'hair' soothingly. A crow that didn't seem to be there before is suddenly perched on Rhiannon's shoulder with a soft caw, bright blue eyes glowing slightly as a warm calming aura fills the air around them.

Lily initially tenses at the feeling of Rhiannon’s arms around her, but relaxes and eases into the hug as it goes on. The discomfort and guilt she feels about making this absolute stranger have to hug her melts away as she remembers how much she missed hugs. *This is like how mom used to, except for the bird.*

She finally looks up at Rhiannon, now with a glowing bird on her shoulder, and can’t help but giggle as she wipes her eyes. “Y’know, I always thought I’d find crows a lot scarier. Thought some part of me might be corn and I’d have an inbred fear of birds.” She shifts away from Rhiannon a bit and tries to make herself look presentable as much as she can. Her sweater is too big and hangs loosely on her torso, the sleeve cuffs are damp and sticky with the sappy tears from her face, which she wipes on to her already dirty pants from sitting in the flower bed. Knowing she must look like a mess in comparison to the snow elf in front of her, Lily musters herself before finally, formally introducing herself.
“Thanks, and sorry about this. I’m Lily, I know you know that already. I-uh… can I ask you some questions?”

"Well nothing to fear from Macha. She's the friendliest crow you'll ever meet! Never nibbled anyone." Rhiannon pulls back as Lily seems to be calming, giving a little wink and smiling warmly. "There's nothing to be sorry for at all. In fact I'll tell you a secret… I cried in front of Seth twice the first day we met. You met Seth on Friday, right? When you met Elle? Cute guy. Really cool. Yeah, I was pretty embarrassed about that. But at the same time- from what I've seen we all have a lot we're dealing with. So… it's okay to cry."

The sorceress clears her throat and sheepishly tucks some hair behind her lengthy ear. "Oops. Rambling. Happens sometimes, sorry… But you said you have questions? I'll answer what I can!"

“Well then, I guess I’ll start there,” Lily clears her throat trying to sound professional or authoritative or something, “Macha? You named your crow after tea? Also what did Seth do to make you cry twice? ‘Cause I *did* meet him, and unless he punched you I can’t really imagine what he would have done that was *that* bad. Oh my god did he fight you? Twice?” Lily has her notebook on her lap, pen poised to write, waiting for Rhiannon to start answering; hoping Rhiannon won’t notice she’s avoiding the important questions.

Rhiannon's musical laugh echoes across the garden. "Macha is actually one of three forms my crow takes. Each is named for an aspect of The Morrigan and they help me in different ways. They're like a part of me but also something… separate." The tips of her ears go pink as she answers the next part, clearly still embarrassed about it. "O-oh, no, Seth didn't make me cry and he certainly didn't fight me. He actually saved me. And really made me feel better later. I was uh-"

The smile fades as her eyes grow a bit sad and distant. "You met Narsus too? Do you know why you all went to the Watchtower that day…"

“I know bits and pieces, feels like I don’t have the whole story, but maybe you can fill in the blanks: Narsus is here from Montreal because… well, y’know…” Lily doesn’t want to say why. She knows Rhiannon knows — how could she not — but it feels like it would just be pouring salt on the wound to say it outright.

“Anyway, he’s up here now trying to decide how to deal with the situation at hand, and I think the visit to the Watchtower was a kind of diplomatic excursion. Y’know, come see our cool space base, see how nice we are, don’t destroy the city we love. Godspeed *did* ask us if we knew what Narsus’ leanings were and by the end of the day I think Seth managed to convince him to try to save both. After they fought, that is. I’m still not sure how that fixed things, but boys are weird I guess.” Lily points to the many notes she took that day in her notebook as she breaks down her understanding of things to Rhiannon.

“But you’d know better than I do: what am I missing?” Her eyes are wide with anticipation of new information, pen on paper ready to write.

"I'm not sure I know much more than you at this point honestly. Yes, I know why he's here… The day I met Seth was the day we found out." Rhiannon attempts another smile but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I heard that he might have finally gotten through to Narsus. I also have no idea how the fighting helped but boys are indeed weird… But I'm so glad. I didn't realize Godspeed is still watching so closely, but it makes sense. I haven't been talking about it much. Don't know if I'm supposed to, but... The tree destroyed part of their city and is somehow still causing damage. Draining it. Narsus' older brother Tidus is the one pushing for war and seems to have an army of strange- machines? Creatures? The Zodiac are on edge and ready for a fight if it comes to that. Even the League has said more than once that they're ready to step in if things go too far… And if it reaches that point, even more people are going to get hurt-" She pauses, voice dropping to barely audible. "Because of me…"

She regains some composure and her eyes refocus on Lily. "I think that about sums up all that I know on the matter I'm afraid."

“Can I ask you one last question? Sorry to dwell on this and I promise I’m not just trying to ruin your day. I just- I think it’ll help, but I totally get it if you don’t wanna answer it.” Lily’s eyes are clear and steady, staring straight ahead at Rhiannon, more eye contact than she’s made in the entire encounter to this point.

"No it's alright. I came here to answer questions after all. What's on your mind?" Rhiannon has a pleasant expression though it's obvious this situation has been weighing heavily on her. Her hand absentmindedly reaches up to stroke Macha on her shoulder.

Lily closes her eyes and takes a deep, intentional breath before asking. The white parts of her skin — bark? — becoming brighter and the blues more vibrant. “If you could undo what you did, would you? I don’t mean ‘do you want to fix it now’, I mean do you regret what happened? If you’d known about Montreal, would you still have saved Zodiac?”

She wonders if this is too much, if Rhiannon will leave now and Lily’s just blown her chance at getting the important answers, the ones she wants and fears the most. What if she *did* go to the Feywild? What if Rhiannon knows exactly what happened and knows exactly how to fix it? To make it like it never happened? She knows her one stupid problem is nowhere near the scale of Zodiac City, but if Rhiannon can focus on the positive outcome of her actions, maybe Lily could as well. Her transformation hadn’t been entirely bad; she had all these new weird and interesting friends, and more opportunities for investigation than she ever could have imagined.

Rhiannon's breath catches. Lily can see the thin facade crack- and then begin to crumble as large tears form in the shimmering icy eyes. She reaches up as though to try and keep them from spilling out, or like she's surprised they're there.

"Dammit…" She whispers, lowering her head. "I told myself I was done crying about this. All the tears in the world won't fix anything, I just need to fix- something…"

Rhiannon wipes at the tears and attempts to answer the question, doing her best to keep the tremble out of her voice. "Of course I regret hurting people… *continuing* to hurt people… Could I have let it fall? No. No I don't think I could. And the Zodiac are so happy now. They finally have something of their own. But if I'd known… if I'd just known they were down there… Maybe- maybe I could have found somewhere else? Maybe I could have moved it enough to not hurt anyone. Or come up with another solution. I would give *anything* for that…"

“Hey, it’s okay to cry, you said so, remember?” Lily pats the ground next to her offering Rhiannon the closest thing to a seat nearby. “Plus I didn’t mean to make you cry. Well, maybe- no. Look, I just wanted to see… it just feels like ever since whatever happened happened, everyone — myself included — has been acting like I just need to move on; like I just need time to get used to 'the new me' and I’ll be fine. And I know it’s not as big a pr-,” she stops herself from calling the Zodiac Tree a problem, “not as important as the Zodiac Tree, but I don’t want to just accept this and move on. Why can’t I try to figure out what happened? Try to change back? You’d give anything for a re-do? So would I. Sorry for sounding selfish, but sometimes I feel like my problem is so small, like it doesn’t matter, shouldn’t matter, in light of everything else going on. But it does, at least to me.”

"Yes, it's okay to cry. Just feels like that's all I do anymore." Rhiannon gives a rueful grin as she moves to take a seat next to Lily. Pulling her knees up to her chest, her hair is long and thick enough to practically be a blanket draping around her shoulders but pointed ears still poke their way out.. She listens intently as Lily continues, the tears slowly coming to a stop. "I don't think there's anything wrong with trying… Neither of us can turn back time, but that doesn't mean there's not still a path forward. I'm sorry it feels like your problem seems small or doesn't matter, but- if it matters to you, then it *does* matter. And don't let yourself or anyone else tell you otherwise."

The older teen pauses for a bit. "So this is pretty new for you then? You just changed and don't know how or why? I'm sorry… If I can help I'll try. Whatever you need. I don't think my friends' problems are too small." She brushes some of her hair to the side to look over at Lily with a nervous smile. "You know it may seem silly in comparison, but this is a 'new me' too. For a second time. Still trying to get used to it. I cheat when I can… Make myself look normal again."

“At least your normal is nice. Like, still a person. This is me 'cheating' too, and it still freaks me out. I- ughhhhh,” as much as she doesn’t want to go over what happened again, she wasn’t going to get any answers without telling Rhiannon what she saw, “when *this* happened, I was hanging around the Zodiac Tree. Not in the city proper or anything, I was down at the base waiting, looking for something interesting. I don’t even really know what that means anymore, I was just hoping something cool and big and weird would happen again so I could be there when it did. So I could tell the story.” Lily drops down from sitting to lying on her back, nearly knocking over one of the hollyhock plants with her head and briefly pausing her recounting to apologize to it.

“I thought I saw a Transformed person but… I don’t know, weirder? Someone who should have been up in the city was lurking down near me, so when they left, I followed them; I thought they might have some kind of cool hideout, or I could catch up and ask them what it was like living in the tree. They moved weird too, but I chalk that up to like being an animal person? Anyway, I was following them for a while and I kinda lost track of where I was and how long it’d been, so when I stopped to check I couldn’t tell. My phone must have died, but I swear it was at 100% when I left home! It didn’t feel that long! And I was in some kinda garden? It looked… well, kind of overgrown, honestly. More like a forest than a garden, but I don’t remember leaving the city, and there aren’t exactly forests like that near where I was.”

Lily looks over at Rhiannon to see if she is completely bored with the story yet. It’s been a while since she’s gone over all the details like this, laid out the whole series of events for someone. She told Dr. Russell. She’d tried to tell her parents. *I think she’s still listening. That’s pretty nice of her. Even if she wasn’t, it’s kinda nice to just say it all out loud; I can really focus on all the stupid stuff I did this way.* She was getting angry at herself just thinking about it. Orange lilies started to bloom on and around her, getting in her face and making her see red.

"I certainly don't blame you for wanting to be back the way you were… And maybe it doesn't help at all, but- I really think you look lovely like this as well. We'll keep looking though."
As Lily begins telling her story, Rhiannon simply listens. After the plant girl lies down she eventually follows suit, gazing up through plants at the glass roof. She frowns in concern at the turns in the story. It sounded like it would have been so scary… and she'd been all by herself. There's a pause in the narrative and Rhiannon asks curiously. "What did the forest look like? Was it… strange. With plants unlike anything you've seen here?"

Before she can get a response, the sorceress feels a sudden surge of unfamiliar emotion. She's been angry before, but never like this. Why? Why was she suddenly so angry at everything? Angry at Narsus for Montreal. Angry at the Zodiac for forcing her to make that decision. Angry at- herself. Too weak. Pathetic. If she was stronger, then maybe none of this would've happened. Her and her stupid magic always just broke things. She can feel her fingernails digging into her palms, the temperature around them beginning to plummet.

Suddenly Macha appears again, flapping in front of her face and cawing in alarm. There's an emotional clash that snaps Rhiannon out of the strange haze. She jolts back up to a sitting position and looks over to see Lily practically covered in aromatic orange blooms. The sorceress conjures a small wind to clear the air, face filled with concern. "Lily? Lily! Hey, are you alright??" She reaches a hand toward her troubled new friend.

It’s unclear whether it’s Rhiannon’s voice or the sudden drop in temperature that reaches her but Lily blinks a few times before the blossoms begins to close and recede, withdrawing back into the now wintry colours of her skin. Rubbing her face, Lily apologizes. “Sorry about that, it’s uh… that’s new. I didn’t mean to hit you like that. I didn’t really expect to get that mad.” It’s barely louder than a mumble and Lily struggles to make eye contact with Rhiannon. *Great. I hurt her **again**. Why is she even still here, I’m being the worst today.*

“Are you alright? Did I scare your bird too?” She sits up, curling her knees up to her chest, her hair falling loose out of its’ usual bun and draping down over her face. It casts blue and white in front of her eyes instead of the green she’s used to, and Lily can’t help but ask, “I’m the same colours as the Tree now, right? Did you do that? I promise I’m not trying to; I’m actively trying not to, but it’s not working. I wasn’t even thinking about the tree until a second ago.”

Rhiannon immediately looks relieved when the oppressive scent and emotion fades. "New powers showing up to do unexpected things, hm? Happens at the most obnoxious times, doesn't it…" She gives a soft laugh and flops back down on her back, breathing in deeply. Her tone is calm and almost bemused. "No harm done. Felt very strange though… I'm almost never that angry. I don't think Macha was scared, just concerned about us. She's very sensitive to emotional distress."

The crow hops across the ground to look up at Lily through the hair, tilting its head and giving a soft caw. As Lily asks another question, Rhiannon rolls to her side and props her head up with an elbow in the dirt. She ponders the question curiously. "Yes those are the same colors. Same as any trees I manifest these days… I certainly haven't done anything that I'm *aware* of. You've never turned those colors before? And if you're not doing it on purpose either… Hold on. Let's test. You were certainly green when I first saw you, so-"

Rhiannon scrambles to her feet and starts heading for the stairs, glancing back over her shoulder now and then. Macha stays by Lily, preening now and then.

As Rhiannon walks away, Lily sees the curtain of vines in front of her face turn back to their usual greens. She holds her hands up to watch them turn green and half expects her heart-rate to rise, this being so similar a sight to the first time it happened, but she feels oddly relieved instead. *Huh. Guess I got used to this.* She sighs, and calls to Rhiannon to come back so they can see if her presence does indeed have this strange effect on Lily.

Rhiannon hesitates. Lily is back to her usual colors now, so that means it's probably- She slowly starts to walk back towards the young plant girl. As the colors begin to shift again, her face fills with disappointment and guilt until she's standing dejectedly in front of Lily once more.
"I'm so sorry… I- I didn't know it was me. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can…" She trails off uncertainly.

Lily leans back, propping herself up with her arms, and squints up at Rhiannon; with the sun behind her she is just a bright silhouette. It isn’t until her eyes grow accustomed to the light that Lily can see the pained expression on Rhiannon’s face. “Actually, I think this is a good thing. Okay- maybe not *good*, but it’s something and I had nothing earlier. Nothing but guesses, anyway. This is as close to an answer as I’ve got so don’t feel bad.”

She stands to talk to Rhiannon at eye level, but finds herself towering over the girl, even taller than she usually was. Must be all the sunlight in here, she realizes; she’s been basking in the garden for a few hours now, of course she’d had to do something with all that energy. Lily rests a hand on Rhiannon’s shoulder and speaks softly. “How do you do what you do? I’m not angry anymore, see?” Lily spins in place to show that there are no orange lilies anywhere on her before continuing. “It’s fine if you don’t even have all the answers. Honestly, I’ll take whatever I can get.”

She smiles but can’t help but betray the anxiety she feels at the same time, the smile doesn’t reach the rest of her face. Of course she wants Rhiannon to be able to explain everything, but that’s not fair. This is even newer to her than it is to Lily and she’d already been so kind to a person she just met.

Rhiannon is a bit startled by how tall Lily is once she actually stands up. It's very unexpected. She relaxes a bit at the hand on her shoulder and the soft voice. The question is a bit confusing though.

"What I do? You mean… the magic? Hm that question is a bit layered… A lot of what I do and know are techniques that have been recorded and passed down through centuries. With my family and other arcane researchers. Sometimes I can simply bend it to my will, but it's usually more risky because of- well, the source. There were always legends that fey blood ran in the family. And that it was stronger in some, who would then 'Awaken'. Unfortunately the magic is chaotic, so- it rarely ended well. When I Awakened, it was the strongest in memory. Lucky me. It wasn't until *after* the- the tree that I found out."

Rhiannon pauses, taking a deep breath. "Hoooo, wow I haven't really talked about this much… I found out that, regardless of any previous possible ancestry, apparently my father is a pureblood fey. Like- a real one. From the Feywild. Also real. And… not the same man I grew up calling father. I've never even met him. But I am half fey, with all the magical power that clearly entails. So- that's the how anyway."

“Wow, it is real, huh? What’s it like there? I just want to compare notes, maybe it’s like the place I went.” Lily steps back and resumes her cross-legged position on the ground. The vines of her hair wriggle and snake back, weaving themselves into an intricate braid at the back of her head and leaving her face clear. No hiding now.

"Well I actually still haven't been there yet… Though I think I can go somehow, since apparently the Summer Knights can. Some of the others were there for a bit. That's a long story, but you should ask Elle sometime. I had dreams sometimes though… while I was in the tree…" Rhiannon grows thoughtful. "I'm not sure if they were real, but based on some of the others' descriptions I suspect it might be. Maybe- showing would be easier to compare? Would that be okay?"

“Showing how?” Lily asks apprehensively, curling up into a ball again. “I don’t wanna go back, thanks. Maybe not ever.”

Rhiannon looks concerned. "Oh we wouldn't be going anywhere. I just mean like-" She makes some curious motions with her fingers as a small violet arcane circle appears above her hand. There's only the slightest change as a large opalescent flower appears on the ground next to her, stalk and leaves moving and almost dancing on their own. She turns and moves her hand through the illusion, causing the image to almost appear like glowing sand between her fingers. It looks whole again once she stops. "Would- this be too much? I really don't want this to be painful for you either…"

“No, I think I’ll be ok with… illusions? Yeah, that should be fine. Yeah.” Lily nods, half to reassure Rhiannon she’ll be alright, half to convince herself. “Do I need to do anything, or do I just sit here and like watch?”

Rhiannon smiles. "For now perhaps watching is a good start. If you think of anything you want to do as we go, just let me know." She takes a seat next to the other girl again, moving close and offering her hand. "If you want me to stop at any point, just let me know. Alright?"

The sorceress' other hand takes up the motions again until the circle reappears, at which point she places her hand on the ground and the circle shows up there instead. Then it grows, expanding until neither of them could see the edge. Strange, fantastical trees and plants begin to form and rise up all around them, though not enough to hide the skylight. Rhiannon herself looks around with wonder at what she could only remember as a dreamscape.

First the colors are vibrant hues -red, gold, orange, green, pink- in combinations never seen on Earth.

After a time, the flora and colors shift around them to blue, silver, white, black, gray and a distinct sense of winter…

Finally another shift leads to a dark, swampy scene full of deep purple, navy blue, and hunter green. The light itself seems to grow dim, yet bioluminescent plants and life forms brighten the deeper shadows.

Though she initially raises an eyebrow at Rhiannon’s offer of a hand to hold, she instinctively grabs for it when the scenery around them changes into *that place*. That weird forest unlike any she’d seen before was suddenly here, in one of the few places she felt safe anymore, and a shock of fear runs through her whole body. The colours she thought she must have imagined, the strange forms she assumed she just hadn’t seen clearly, all of it was right in front of her eyes and then it starts to change. The icy hues of the Zodiac Tree, of herself presently, take over. It almost feels cold and Lily tightens her grip on Rhiannon’s hand; she didn’t have a hand to hold when she was really there before, and she sure as hell isn’t going to let go now.

Just as she assumes the voyage is over, it shifts again. It’s dark, and creepy, and looks… sinister, even for plants. There’s something moving in the distance that catches her eyes. Lily panics slightly and feels the need to defend herself, though she’s not sure what from; the rubbery vines that make up her body shift into rough bark peppered with thorns. Something to protect her from the perceived threat. “Stop. Please.” Her own voice sounds a million miles away, her gaze is fixed on the forest around her. “This is it.” Her thorns grow out further.

Rhiannon's eyes shift to look at Lily when her hand tightens. Maybe this really was too much… But that place is- difficult to describe, especially when you thought it was just a dream. Did she recognize it?

There's surprise and curiosity in her eyes as she watches Lily's form change from vine to bark. And thorns. She sucks in some air in surprise and pain when she feels the sharp pinpricks dig into her hand. As soon as the girl says 'stop', Rhiannon waves her free hand and dismisses the illusion without hesitation. It dissolves into millions of little glowing motes that swirl around like sand in the wind before disappearing as the air around them fills with warmth and sunlight.

She turns to Lily, face filled with concern. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, it was too much wasn't it… I wasn't sure which part you might have seen, so I was just going through all of them-" Rhiannon still hasn't let go of her hand. Not until Lily is ready.

As the illusion disappears, Lily shuts her eyes and shakes her head, as if to clear her mind. When she opens her eyes again, she’s back in the garden, in her plot surrounded by friends. Just the sight of them is a comfort. She feels the weight of Rhiannon’s hand in hers and her breathing slows as she’s reassured by Rhiannon’s presence. It’s not until she looks at her that Lily notices that, of course, she’d grown thorns on her hands, and they were digging into Rhiannon’s. She immediately lets go, pulling her hand back towards herself.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize- I didn’t mean- I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Lily exclaims, trying to dab at Rhiannon’s palm with her sweater. Her voice is unsteady, trembling from residual fear and the threat of tears. *No! No more crying! I’m not there, it’s not real. I’m safe now. I’m safe.* She retracts the thorns though her skin stays rough and cracked, still not fully relaxed. She sighs deeply before turning back to Rhiannon. “Are you *sure* you’ve never been before?” She almost manages a joking tone and smile for a moment.

Rhiannon winces slightly but tries not to show it as the thorns are pulled away and Lily attempts to dab at the droplets of blood surfacing. She gives a soft laugh. "We're both saying sorry a lot, aren't we? Really, I'm fine. Not my first time with thorns. I didn't mean to scare you…"

Her expression brightens at the joking attempt. "Not unless I was sleepwalking! Across planes no less." She chuckles then gives a hopeful look. "So- does this help? Knowing for sure where it happened? It's a place to start at least. For that path that might lead to your re-do..."

“Yeah, welcome to the ‘Crying and Saying Sorry Every 5 Minutes’ club. We meet here everyday, I’m the president, and on Mondays we dwell on our nightmares!” She laughs a hollow laugh, gesturing to the 'clubhouse' around them. “Now I just need to figure out how to reason with a magical forest and I’ll be great!”

She cringes at her own stupid jokes before thanking Rhiannon in a more serious tone. “But yeah. At least I know where to start now. Or- I have an idea of where to start? I mean, I don’t *actually* know what my next step is, but… thank you. For helping me get this far. I- it’s- it’s still scary, but at least I have someone to talk to about it? Someone who’ll understand?” Lily asks nervously, peering at Rhiannon out of the corner of her eye; she doesn’t want to put more pressure on the girl. She knows Rhiannon has way more important things to deal with, so many people already counting on her, she definitely doesn’t need the extra load.

Rhiannon laughs genuinely at the jokes. "Oh wow, I've finally found my perfect club! Here under my nose all along. Isn't that always the case." She catches the lack of mirth in Lily's laugh but decides not to press that further. Instead she gazes up at the skylight contentedly for the moment.

"I'm not certain I'll be much use or that I can truly understand what you're dealing with… But I do like to listen. Even if I can't fix the issue, if anything I say or do makes a friend feel even a little better it- it makes me happy. Sometimes it's perhaps the only thing I feel I might be truly good at… It's how I can help, even without knowing." Rhiannon gives a wistful sigh and repeats quietly, almost to no one in particular. "I just want to help…"

*Don’t we all…* Lily thinks to herself, in slight disbelief that even Rhiannon, with all her power and ability, could also feel useless. She thinks of the perfect thing to say, searches for just the right words to make Rhiannon feel better, but nothing comes to mind. She settles for putting an arm around Rhiannon’s shoulder. No thorns this time.

Rhiannon is surprised to feel the arm around her. For a moment her eyes grow wet but then she just smiles and leans into Lily, sliding her arm around in a side hug. She speaks softly.

"I think you're wonderful and beautiful just like this, you know… But I'll try my best to help you be whatever it is *you* want to be. And hopefully 'friend' is on that list?" The question sounds like a jest but there's a hint of uncertain hope.

Lily blinks, eyes wide with surprise at the mention of friendship. She still wasn’t used to how accepting all these people were. Are. A big smile breaks out on her face as she turns to Rhiannon, “Everyone here is so weird!” She falls on her back laughing, landing squarely on one of the ice plants she added to the garden for Seth; he’d be ok, he’s sturdy. Lily looks up at the sky, soaking in the heat and light of the sun, feeling at peace for a moment. *Maybe I’m exactly where I need to be. This is where I start.*

She sits up slowly and starts growing out her fingers, pulling them out into longer vines, smooth and pliable with small blossoms along their lengths. She weaves a flower crown, the flowers are different colours than she intended but actually go with Rhiannon’s whole colour scheme, snaps it off and gently drops it on Rhiannon’s head. “Friends sounds good.”

At first Rhiannon doesn't know how to respond to Lily proclaiming them all weird, but she's immediately put at ease by Lily's smile and laughter. She laughs as well when the younger girl flops onto her back. This is perhaps the least shy and mournful Rhiannon has seen her since arriving. *Good. Happy suits her better I think.*

The sorceress watches with fascination as Lily extends her fingers into vines and gets to work, happy to sit and quietly observe. When the flower crown is finished, Rhiannon is surprised to have it placed onto her own head but immediately breaks into a childlike wonder-filled grin. It brought back such good memories... The smile somehow grows even wider at the comment that follows and Rhiannon throws her arms around Lily with excitement and relief.

"Thank you…"

Lily isn’t taken aback by this hug, leaning into it and hugging back, resting her chin on Rhiannon’s shoulder. When she pulls back, she too has flowers dotted through her hair, but these are small and white with frilled and flared edges to the petals. Lilies of the valley; she knew they were there without even having to check. It had been a while since Lily felt this certain of anything, and though she’s still not 100%, but it’s a start.

“Thanks for coming here Rhiannon. I mean, it’s the whole team’s garden, you can come here whenever. I just mean thanks for coming here for me. Means a lot.”

"Any time. Perhaps you can visit Shady Glen's garden sometime. I'm sure Carol would love to show it off." Rhiannon begins to describe the manor and its garden to her new friend, emphasizing that she loves visitors and can send Lukas to pick her up. She also mentions that Elle, Rescue, Pulalu, and sometimes Gwen live there- in case that makes it more appealing.

Lily listens to the description of the manor and it’s gardens with dreamy wonder. Rhiannon wouldn’t know it, but she wasn’t doing herself any favours when it came to Lily’s impression of her; instead of an elf, she was now an elf princess in Lily’s mind. And here she is sitting in the dirt? Unacceptable! Lily stands and asks Rhiannon if she wants to go downstairs, where they have actual chairs, maybe get something to eat even though Lily herself isn’t hungry. She offers a hand to help Rhiannon up.

Rhiannon is perfectly comfortable where she is but doesn't mind the offer either. Accepting the hand up, she gives a big stretch and smiles before bouncing off toward the stairs with white hair streaming behind. Somehow her clothing and bare feet don't seem to have a speck of dirt sticking to them. She stops on the landing and waits for Lily.

Lily is shocked by the lack of dirt on Rhiannon, but only for a second. *Princess magic, I should have known!* She follows after Rhiannon but stops before she reaches her, running back to her garden bed. “I just forgot something, gimme a second!” She kneels in front of an empty patch in the ground for a moment, then stands and returns to catch up with Rhiannon. It’s a slight change, but Lily is a few inches shorter than before. She joins Rhiannon and the two descend into the base below.

Back in the garden patch, a new addition has been made: a few small buds have sprouted up in the shade of the elephant ears planted for Gwen. *Helleborus Niger*. Christmas roses. They’re still closed up, and wouldn’t bloom until winter, but Lily was sure they’d be a lovely addition to the garden, very fitting for Rhiannon.