Fusand sat cross-legged in the cultivation room of Elua’s small house while focusing entirely on his internal state. He could sit for hours playing with Projections, ditating about his past and future, or just siphoning essence into his field. But he had always really disliked the thods of physical energy cultivation.
The crystallized amber shavings he had consud hours ago still churned in his stomach. They were a very dense source of energy waiting to be properly converted. His master’s lecturing voice had stressed repeatedly that this was nothing like the crude thods taught at the Youth Guild.
She had espoused that it wasn’t efficient and - he had to admit that even after barely practicing the techniques that calling her assessnt ’right’ was like calling the sun a ’candle’.
’And the look she gave when I just *asked* about what happens if I waste too much of it...’
An itch began at the back of his neck that he assud to be nervousness from that mory. He reached up to scratch it absently, not wanting to break his focus on the careful accumulation thods she had shown him. The reincarnator’s spirit tracked sothing happening on and underneath his skin.
"Interesting... Nohre, why don’t we go practice your water control? There’s a new exercise I want you to try."
After his friend departed the room with an illusion of their master, the sandy haired orphan maintained his ditations. The physical energy inside of him started to feel different than usual. More vibrant sohow in a way that was difficult to explain.
The itching spread like wildfire down his arms, legs, and back the mont his Physique ’stabilized’. He had finally broken through into becoming a physical Enchanter at his late age.
His eyes snapped open and he noticed bands of green forming around his wrists. Thin veins near the strange patches were also changing color and creating strange patterns under his skin that made him think of leaves.
"Master?"
His voice cracked in slight panic as his imagination took hold before his mouth could stop himself.
"Am I turning into a tree because I ate amber?"
The corners of the ancient cultivator’s lips twitched. If she had a letter written to her for every ti she heard such an ignorant question or... was told about a young cultivator’s misunderstanding about how an Aspect ca into being - or worse yet, an older one thinking they could ’change’ what neophytes ended up with based on how they ’raised’ them.
’Then I might have as many letters stored away as I’ve sent to Qat!’
"No. Though this is an Aspect that is a bit more... visible than most."
The door burst open as Nohre returned ’unexpectedly’. The illusion she was unknowingly listening to in the other room had inford her that things were over. Her eyes widened at the sight of her friend’s partial ’transformation’ as Elua *conveniently* rged the sense of her present location between the pair of orphans during the distraction.
"Fusand! Are you- Sothing feels wrong. Are you hurt?"
The braided haired teen paused when her spirit tingled strangely. It was a little different than with Zyris, but it was still the first ti she’d felt such a reaction and could only assu he was also ’injured’. She started to lant that training to use nd had not progressed.
"He’s perfectly fine. Just a little... green around the limbs."
Their master inford them both once again in a flat tone. She told herself to rember to tell the attempted Plant joke to Qat. The teenager liked puns, so that one would probably kill! It certainly didn’t do anything to the pair blinking at her.
"Congratulations on your Plant Physique. The chlorophyll production should stabilize soon and you’ll stop itching."
"My what?"
Fusand stared at his wrists.
"I’m actually becoming a plant?! You said-"
"I made an attempt to *dissuade* you from the notion that eating any certain thing, pulling essence from any certain area, or thinking about any particular thing while ditating had *any* known effect on your unlocked Aspect."
Her lecturing voice was rather severe. It was not the first disciple that blad her for sothing far out of her control and she wanted to make it abundantly clear.
"The amber did not ’do this’ to you. Whether you had your breakthrough five years before or five years from now, you would have had the sa Physique. Understand?"
The pair of orphans nodded mutely at her intensity, realizing that - despite the invitation and the great opportunity... she was not in as charitable of a mood as it appeared! She stared back at them silently for a bit before gesturing to Fusand, knowing he had more questions.
"Uh. I’ve... never heard of this one before. What does it do?"
"To put it in basic terms, you’ll be able to cultivate so physical energy from staying out in sunlight now. Slowly. Very, very slowly. But it requires very little practice and is honestly beyond perfect for soone like you."
"What do you an soone like him?"
The tone of defense out of Nohre was no surprise... and Elua almost wanted to ’giggle’. But she held herself back to keep things more professional today. She wanted to get back in the practice for her upcoming branch position.
"A person who would rather give all their food to the girl he has hanging off of him than spend the effort on using the consumption and conversion techniques he had been taught."
Her answer ca off a little harsher than she ant... and also a little too suggestive about the ’relationship’ brewing in the pair. Even if she’d said nothing untrue or very different from how they had told their own histories to her. She was really going to have to get used to being ’professional’ again!
"Imagine being able to just read books outside while slowly gaining the strength to punch a hole in a wall and the lifespan increases as you travel up the realms. *Every* cultivator might not be jealous, but I’m sure most mortals would be."
She sighed theatrically.
"So... will the changes always be this visible?"
Fusand’s fingers traced the leaf-like patterns spreading beneath around his wrists and ankles. If he could see the banding around his neck, he probably would have been rubbing it, too! Relief at understanding what this Aspect *did* fought with concern about the nature of how it *looked*.
’It almost looks like a strange, poisoned bruise...’
"The initial manifestation of any Phyisque is usually the most dramatic during breakthroughs. You’ll learn to control it with practice and hide it if you feel it is necessary."
"Can you teach that?"
The sandy haired boy asked her after a mont.
"Well, not exactly. Like other physical traits, this is done with Limited Reforge and that ans you’ll have to work hard to cultivate a certain density of physical energy first."
The brunette bounced her head from side to side. It was better to hedge her promises on things she only partially understood. It was another tactic she learned from the past disciple bla ga.
"Though even then, so physical signs may remain when you’re actively cultivating in sunlight."
"Can he not hide it completely any sooner?"
Nohre’s question ca quickly, her protective instincts evident. The illusionist could tell that she was just worried about him getting picked on or looked at strangely... but couldn’t help but want to tease the both of them.
’There has been an obvious sort of tension ever since he asked those questions at the beach.’
"...You don’t find the green to be an attractive color on him?"
Their master’s tone, smirk, and the way she flicked her mint eyes between them made both disciples flush and sputter. The boy’s blush took on an interesting muddy brown tinge thanks to his new Physique.
She pointed at his face with academic interest, dispelling the smile she had wore just monts before.
"That’s actually a useful demonstration of a way that physical changes cover even unexpected areas. The bits of green pigntation that are appearing throughout your skin will turn everything about your blushing far more... tan."
As she spoke and as Nohre realized sothing ’new’ was happening, the protective little water-deer shifted closer to examine the effect herself. Her face ca inches away from his and their eyes t after a couple seconds.
The braided-haired teen quickly stepped back when she realized her proximity was making the brown colors grow even more intense.
"I... It- it’s fine. I an it looks okay. I have no problem with... I... I just ant it might draw unwanted attention!"
The ancient cultivator crossed her arms and nodded sagely.
"A valid concern. You might want to avoid gardeners until you master it."
"Master!"
Both disciples looked at her blankly. She could tell that they understood she was joking but really couldn’t figure out if they were supposed to laugh. Her cheek twitched and temple throbbed with annoyance.
’I’m funny! Why won’t people laugh at ? It wasn’t even that macabre!’
As every plant joke she could co up with flowed through her head... from him turning into his own family tree, to how he would be *growing* stronger every day, and even a potential teasing joke to her fellow possessive hearted disciple - about how he could now literally feel that his ti out on dates was sweeter when he travels in the sun with her (due to making his own sugars)...
The pouting heiress felt that she wasn’t quite ready to be entirely professional after all.
’If I can’t even maintain professionalism with my disciples that I actually like, then dealing coolly with that liaison until I can trick soone into falling for her flirtations will be almost impossible.’
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