On the other side of the portal was a dense bamboo forest, stalks reaching up to twenty feet and beyond. The ground was cool and shady while the scent of cypress and pine mingled with the air's moisture. There was a path here, but it was overgrown and faded in places. In the midst of the bamboo was a long wooden post with a patina-coated bell hanging from it, acting as some sort of marker. "Here we are, the outskirts. My lab's further up ahead. The place's not too far from the city, but not too close that if something exploded it wouldn't be a problem. If we came here the conventional way, I'd risk getting you lost on the way in. Luckily for you that landmark acts as one of my shortcuts." Myouga explained proudly to her new 'assistant'. 

Waving to the purple-haired girl, she led them through the sea of stalks until the path widened and large flat stepping stones were present. Several yards ahead was an old sukiya-zukuri style house with two large stone lanterns flanking the wooden steps leading to the door. The house had no fence, but the bamboo forest did a good job of making the boundaries clear. Instead of going straight into the house, Myouga started walking around to the back. "Over here! I've already got the area set up for the experiment. Watch your step!"

Behind the house was a narrow passage through the thicket that led to an area that had been leveled to make room for the arcanist's experiment grounds. It was a large open clearing with a small wooden table present, and two ominous looking magic circles on the ground parallel to each other. If one had stumbled upon this place in the dead of night, it could've been mistaken for some kind of necromancy ritual or an attempt to open a portal to the underworld. The circle had been drawn with charcoal and paint, in various runes and symbols arranged concentrically around the circles. 

Allyria followed the arcanist closely, creeped out by the eerie setting. She took in Myouga's lab, wondering what she really got herself into.

"Myouga," she began, getting more and more curious (but also more and more frightened) by the second. "Where are we, exactly?" The emerald eyed beauty stumbled, half tripping over something, probably just a plant or stone.

She looked at her companion, who didn't seem as innocent as she did in Jasumin Lake…

Myouga seemed completely unperturbed by how unsettling the surroundings were. "Hm? We're at my lab of course! I had to clear this spot out to get enough flat ground to draw these. What's the matter? Don't worry, I've done the hard part already setting them up. Now all we need to do is put the ingredients in the circles." Snapping her fingers, on the wooden table present a potted sunflower standing two feet tall and glass bowl with a black and gold Tosakin goldfish appeared. She then pulled out the golden-leaved plants from Jasumin and placed them in one of the circles. Going over to the table, she picked up the sunflower humming, and placed it in the same circle as the plants. 

"Alright, we're almost ready. Now Allyria, I'll need you to take the bowl with the fish and put it in the empty circle closest to you. Soon, we will bend the laws of nature once again!" There was a manic gleam in the arcanist's eyes, making her cheerfulness feel much more sinister. Taking out her wand, she prepared herself to begin the ritual once the components were all in place. She would only have one chance to get this right, or else she would have to pay more silver for another one of those fish. As they were very rare among goldfish breeders, she absolutely could not let this go to waste.

Still unnerved by the current scenery (and shaken up from travelling through the portal), Allyria followed Myouga's slightly odd instructions. She grabbed the bowl with the fish into her shaky, pale hands. Deep breath in, deep breath out. 

Slowly, she began to set down the bowl into the circle. She was so frightened, a feeling she had a lot since she met her new friend. Usually, she was the over confident gossip, with no need for anything that didn't directly benefit her…

Yet here she was, with someone she hadn't even known for day, helping cast a spell without knowing what it was - or what it really did. Although, she supposed she was just about to find out!

Once the fish was in place, Myouga began chanting in an unknown language. The symbols surrounding the circles began to glow, throbbing with arcane energy. Magical power began to fill the air as the runes crackled, and the sky above began to darken. Then, the runes ignited and the ingredients within the circles began to glow as well. The runes from the circles started to move on their own along the ground, converging in the middle forming a much larger circle. As they moved, the glowing reagents began to lose their form changing into glowing lights that merged in the new central circle. Power radiated from the runes as the act of fusion was taking place, and the light quivered and squirmed as it took on a new shape…

The arcanist's eyes were now a bright malachite green, and the turbulence created from the magic whirled about her. Uttering the final phrase, she shouted and then there was an explosion! Then…everything fell silent. As the dust settled and the runes ceased glowing, Allyria could make out an unfamiliar shape within the large magical circle. It resembled the potted plant, but something was…different. Coughing and waving the smoke and dust, Myouga picked up her hat which had blown off in the process. "Whew! Ok, that's it! We've done! And now for the moment of truth…" 

When the smoke cleared, the result of the magical fusion of all the ingredients was a bizarre hybrid that resembled the potted sunflower plant which had been used. Except instead of green, the stem and leaves were a golden yellow. And in place of the flower was…a large black Tosakin goldfish with golden coloring at the edge of its fins. It wobbled and swayed slightly when the breeze blew against it. At the sight of the monstrosity, Myouga cried aloud: "Yes! Yeess! IT LIIIIIIVES!" Bringing her voice back to a more acceptable volume she ran towards it and pointed. "Behold! I give you, the goldfish plant! Instead of owning pets and having your own flower garden, why not have both?! It's the perfect thing for people who want to raise a pet but don't know how! All you need is soil, fertilizer, and water with a bit of sun, and presto!" So this was what she had been speaking of when saying they were going to 'bend the laws of nature'.

Allyria giggled gleefully. And to think, she was so scared of what was going to happen! The siren took the potted 'goldfish plant' from the arcanist, admiring the abomination of nature (no offence) in her now steady hands.

She let out another one of her perfect little giggle as she watched the little goldfish wiggle back and forth.

"Myouga, you my dear friend, are going to go down in history! The first success of binding aquatic and land life forms together - you're a GENIUS!" Allyria half yelled, surprisingly excited for someone who barely had any interest in magic or science. Grinning gleefully, she turned to her friend to see what they'd do next.

"Actually this is my second attempt. I wasn't sure if it'd work honestly, but it seems like I've got the right method down. I've got another one inside the house over there." She pointed behind her at the entrance of the clearing they were in. "I've got a few more samples of plants with the right colors that I plan to use for the next one, but I'd say we've done enough alchemy for today. Let's go inside and have some tea. Those tea snacks that aren't going to eat themselves!" Myouga was back to her typical whimsical self again now the fusion was over, and she skipped back towards her house.

Entering from the back, she pulled and rang the various wind chimes she had hanging from the roof and slid open the door. Though it looked like she was playing with her outdoor decorations, it was in fact a clever system she used to ensure unwanted visitors would not be able to come in. For thieves and bandits, an old house out in the middle of the bamboo forest could either be seen as a jinx or an easy target, and she wanted them to believe in the former than the latter. There was no telling what happened to those who attempted to enter uninvited, which was all part of the place's charm. Setting out a pair of slippers used for guests, Myouga took off her shoes and left them on the back porch. The house inside had smooth polished wooden floors, and there was a small rack with slippers of varying designs and sizes. "Take off your shoes before you come in and put these on. I'll get the water boiling. What do you want to drink?"

Taking off her shoes, and putting on the slippers Myouga gave her, she replied "I'll have whatever." She smiled her signature smile and began to look at the arcanist' possessions, wondering about them as she waited for Myouga to tell her to do something. Usually when she was in someone's house, she'd take what she thought was expensive and sell it for money, but she wasn't going out to do that this time…

"I'll get you something sweet then! Red bean cakes, red bean cakes~" The arcanist sang to herself as she entered the kitchen. It was very clean, as in hardly used. She wasn't the type to really cook for herself often, mostly making tea or snacks. The kettle was boiling away while she picked out some black tea and some sugar from containers hidden in wooden dolls. Checking her pantry she found some fruit vinegar–still good from being stored properly, some dried persimmon cakes, and a large box of  daifuku. Plating the dried persimmons and snacks, she arranged them artfully on the tray and set two simple earthenware tea cups beside the plate. Humming to herself, she poured the hot water over the black tea leaves and strained them, sprinkled a little sugar, and added a few shots of the fruit vinegar to each cup. Pleased with her display, she carried the tray out to the low table surrounded with floor cushions and placed it on top. "Let's dig in!" She chirped, taking one of the steaming tea cups and blowing on the hot drink. "So, do you have any plans on what you want to do or where you want to go? If you want to go sightseeing in Ataiyo I can send you into the city with a portal."

The interior of Myouga's house was neat, but also odd. There were various hanging scrolls of ink artwork on the walls, but they depicted scenes like cats dancing on their hind legs or anthropomorphic inanimate objects. There was a shoe rack beside the back door and the front door, and a few potted plants in vases. However at a second look the plants were fabric and paper replicas. The rest of the items looked like simple knickknacks, things you could easily buy at a market. But the most unusual of them all were Myouga's collection of wooden kokeshi dolls and masks. The wooden dolls came in various sizes and designs but all shared a round head with a somewhat rectangular body. They were arranged by height, with the taller ones in the back and the shorter ones in the front. Some of them bore an uncanny resemblance to the house's owner. If Allyria had arrived her alone, it really would have felt like a ghost house.   

"Oh thank you, um, yeah! Seeing the city would be nice!" The siren giggled again; architecture and histories were her favourite (and absolute secret) interests. As she took a delicate swig of the tea Myouga so generously provided, she let out a content sigh. "But first, let's get to know each other a little better, like, where did you come up with the idea to become an arcanist? And what's up with those dolls?"

Allyria was having somewhat of a staring contest with one of her companion's dolls - one that she swore looked exactly like Myouga. She felt as though the doll's creepy intricate eyes would follow her as she moved, but knew is was just paranoia, wasn't it? To be fair, she had always hated dolls, and girly things in general, whilst growing up - the hybrid would run around or swim with the boys until she was dragged away and scolded for being 'unladylike'. Since then, she had accepted that, as a woman, there were certain things her family wouldn't allow her to do. She smiled softly, if a little unnerved, and sipped her tea silently, hoping her friend would open up to her…