Passing the Time [Open][NR]

Demi's smile grew at Flynn's affection, and then she followed after them all, laughing softly. She was extremely happy to see how happy her entire family was. Once she too reached the clearing she stood off to the side and then happily flopped down on the ground, being sure to keep herself off to the edge and out of the way.

She sat there and prepared to watch the tree growing unfold. She glanced up at the bright sky, and then shaped the shadows around herself, casting her form into mild darkness. The sun didn't hurt her, but at the same time it didn't mean she had to like how bright it was, it would definitely take some getting used to again now that it looked like they'd be back on the island permanently.

Shadow Manipulation:

She took the golden seed, cradling it carefully and gently within her hands. She moved to the center of the clearing, not stopping until she was in the very middle. Digging by hand would have taken a little too long, she concentrated on the area in front of her, loosening the earth and causing it to rise up out of the ground carefully, until it all collected in a pile off to the right of the hole.

She then reached her arm down, the hole about a foot deep, and her arm almost completely disappearing down the hole. She placed the seed in the bottom and then concentrated on the soil returning back to the hole. She sat back on her legs and took a deep breath, fully concentrating on the seed deep in the ground. At first nothing happened, but simply because she was taking a moment to fully focus.

Once her focus was set she began to concentrate on what she was doing, urging the seed to sprout and begin to grow. After several long seconds it sprouted, and the very tip began to peek through the soil she had covered it with. She kept going, concentrating on it, urging it to grow taller and wider. After about thirty seconds it was already several feet thick and almost twenty five feet high. She opened her eyes, keeping her focus, as she got up off of her knees and backed away, giving the tree more room to grow.

It kept going, becoming taller and thicker the entire time. On and on, seconds turning into minutes as it continued to grow...

"Gogogo! You can do it!", she said with a giggle, verbally urging the tree to keep going: and it did, suddenly shooting up even higher and faster, growing thicker and thicker until finally... several minutes later, there the tree stood, Riley having backed away over and over again so she didn't end up stuck inside of the tree as it grew. To Riley it was perfect, but she turned her gaze to her father, wondering what he thought above all else.

Nature Manipulation:

Nanalie sat herself down near her mother, keeping her amber colored gaze on her sister. She watched her plant the seed and get the tree to start growing. Her mouth opened slightly in awe again as she watched the tree grow higher and wider as it went. It was completely amazing to her: more so because of how young her sister was, and how well she was making it grow.

When Riley finished she turned her gaze to her father too, wondering what he thought about what her sister had done. She glanced from her father to the tree and then back again.

A soft smile was all that he showed; the same he always wore around his daughters; unreadable without context of body language; which he was showing none of. He'd watched; amazed and humbled in a way. He wasn't so self important that he couldn't see, nor feel joy when he realized that children, his own at that, where infinitely more powerful then he was. To do this... first attempt, no break, barely a sweat? Amazing.

Still giving nothing away, he moved closer to the tree; an arm and hand lifting to press against the trunk; a single claw extending to chip away the outer bark and reveal the tiniest bit of the inner, living wood. Creamy gold, damp in the right ways, clean smell like apple and cucumber...

And the faintest hint of intelligence; he never did understand how he could feel the mind of the trees when he was forever cut off from the minds of other animals. He was born in an Ironwood... maybe that was it; a closeness with them that started from the instant he came into the world. Who knew, he certainly didn't; nor did he much care, really. His bond with the trees made his line of work easy; never having to want for materials for his weapons.

"Perfect..."

In the blink of an eye he'd moved to Riley; scooping her up and wrapping her in a hug that would make a bear jealous. "Thank you..."

Demtria reached out and ruffled Nanalie's hair as she watched Flynn bear hug Riley. Demitria sent out a single shadow to poke Nanalie on the nose: the poke itself would feel gently, even a litte fuzzy due to the consistency of the shadows. She then took the time to look over the tree, standing up from her spot on the ground in a single swift movement. She moved slightly closer, tilting her head back to get a good look at how tall the tree ended up being. She blinked a few times and then chuckled, still somewhat surprised at all of the things her children could do, and feeling very proud of the both of them.

"Hmm... "

Riley giggled happily as her father scooped her up and hugged her. She returned the hug happily enough, and more giggles bursts forth from her. "You're welcome, daddy. Now can we live in the tree, daddy?", she asked curiously. She really wanted to, and hope that they wouldn't have to wait any longer. She was super excited about the idea still, her excitement and happiness bubbling happily, her eyes even glowing slightly in her excitement.

"Can we? Can we?"

She stared up at her father, waiting and hoping for a "yes" for an answer. She wanted nothing more than to be able to climb up high into the tree and just stay there!

Nanalie giggled and fell backwards as her mother poked her on the nose with a shadow. She reached up, sneezing before she rubbed at her nose. "Made me sneeze!", she said with another soft giggle. She then sat back up, looking at the tree, but not bothering to get up yet. If her father said they could live in the tree right away then she would get up, possibly go get her things, and bring them up, if not, then she was a little too comfortable to move without good reason.

She took her time to stare at the tree, looking it over, familiarizing herself sight wise with the thing, while imaging exactly how they'd be living in it. Would they build something on one of the branches? Or actually live inside of the tree itself: it was fire proof after all from what her father had said to her.

"I believe we can; yes. The tree is perfect, and soon enough it will be as fully alive as any adult of it's kind." He was fairly sure that his words would be misunderstood; so he took the extra step of explaining himself. "Ironwood trees are alive in ways modern trees are not. They are... aware, sentient; as you and I are. Not as intelligent, not in the same sense of the word; but wiser, more... pure. They are the highest form of natural life the planet has yet created; and the loss of the species was... terrible. To have any alive again... It will be good to share the world once more. You have done very, very well my love."

"I would give it a day or so before we attempt anymore adjustments for this tree. Give it some time to settle in, awaken and get comfortable, yes? I know you are impatient... but there will be plenty to do then."

After a moment Demitria stretched skyward, more out of the joy of feeling her muscles pulled in such a way than any actual bodily need for the action. She looked off towards where the beaches and stuff were. "In that case, I think I might go for a nice long swim... or go visit Amaranth and see if she needs anything done around her lab... poor girl must be pulling out her hair from stress by now."

She poked Nanalie on the nose once more with the shadows before they wrapped themselves around her, swirling in such a a way that they would resemble some sort of cotton candy type material. "See if she has that werewolf problem taken care of...", she said softly before glancing back to the tree.

Riley glanced back to the tree and then back to her father, nodding. She yawned softly at that point, no longer able to hold back or hide her tired feeling. She rested her head on her father's shoulder, snuggling her face up to his neck as she closed her eyes. "Okay... I'm sleepy anyway...", she said softly. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, sleep beginning to overwhelm her almost at once.

Since they couldn't move into the tree right away she figured she might as well take a nice long nap and enjoy a break from all of the nature manipulation she had been doing recently. A soft little snoring sound came from her after a moment, indicating she was sleeping already.

Nanalie giggled at her sister passing out the way she did, and at being poked on the nose again. She stood back up and stretched too. "I think I'm going to go swimming for a while.", she said softly, not wanting to wake her sister up by being loud. She turned and skipped off, disappearing behind the wall of vines. She would swim some, and then probably go pack up her stuff, so that it was ready for tomorrow when they moved into the large lovely tree.

-Exit Thread.-

Soft purring; instinct now; it would help her sleep soundly. He merely waved to Demi and Nanalie as they left; his voice would wake Riley up easily with how she was pressed against him; too loud no matter how he tried to whisper. Or rather; just to much vibration; the purring was much softer and far more soothing.

An idea struck him; instead of walking around while she slept; go find one of the hammocks that the humans where always pitching around the island and forgetting; maybe on nicely in the shade. Riley could sleep as she wanted; and he could get a nap in himself. Didn't really need one; but he wasn't about to pass up a chance. And they where usually close enough to the water, or some form of shop that sold snacks; they could have a quick meal and a swim when she was awake before going to home to get ready for the big day.

Yes... that sounded nice. He'd do just that; a great way to spend the rest of the day.

-exit-