"It's perfect! Ahhh. I can feel my worries floating away…" Not too far from the shores of the lake in eternal autumn, there lay a small mage atop one of the large lily pads.  Beside her was a small bundle of plants pulled out by the roots with a bit of dirt still on them. The gazebo had been a comfortable place for a picnic, and the giant lily pads were the perfect place to nap. Around her on other lily pads were small piles of incense burning to keep the flying insects away. The autumnal chill was the best temperature for sleeping, and all she was missing was a nice, cozy blanket. So far she hadn't run into anyone else while she was picking plants, so she had the place all to herself. She had her wand by her side as she watched the clouds move overhead.

Today they were in the shape of a giant turtle, slowly morphing into a geoduck clam. Her stomach gurgled and she told it to be quiet. It had been only a little while since she had her lunch and she wanted to lie around idly for a while. The reason for her visit was more than coming for the scenic view. Jasumin Lake was well-known to have some of the most interesting and unique flora in Parvpora that didn't try to kill you outright. Also, she wanted to pick some plants with famous regional golden color. She additionally planned to come with a net but one thing led to another and she was here without one. She'd have to buy some goldfish later at the market. Rolling over to her side, she kicked her legs back and forth as she watched the plants and trees sway in the breeze. Goldfish were pretty expensive, especially if you wanted the more interesting-looking ones. Myouga didn't want any of the boring orange-yellow ones, you could get those anywhere. Personally she wanted to buy some koi, but just one cheap fish was at least a hundred goldfish in silver. Besides, she could replace them more easily that way.

Sitting up on her lily pad the arcanist let out a heavy sigh. "I can't believe I got banned from the lab rooms at the college. They have much better equipment there than if I tried making them myself. What a bummer… I guess I'll have to do stuff the old fashioned way. I wonder how much I can get for these? Maybe if I find a seed and try to replicate them I could start selling these sprouts to Baltil. But if I do that then I bet those alchemists in Karith'll try to get in on the market too." Flopping back onto the leafy platform she loudly sighed. "Everybody's so focused on making money nowadays. I mean when you can make silver out of some bits and pieces it's not that big of a deal anymore. Well I think I've sat here long enough. Time to go back home and start working."

Ever since that unfortunate accident at the Irian mage's college, she wasn't able to conduct any experiments requiring greater precision. Some things like the glassware were purchasable, but others like foci and magical apparatuses were custom-made and worth their weight in gold. Progress had been slow on what would be the next revolution in alchemical synthesis. Myouga had been working on the creation of a new species that combined the powers of land and sea. She'd make sure the specimens would be sterile, of course, but it wasn't as if she was going to make a variant of the Arriese hydra or anything. The possibility of creating different hybrids with varying colors of foliage was the next step in the process. Imagine, being able to grow your own pet while having it come in colors from red to purple! So far the planimal hybrids she had made had green leaves, but that was going to change. She wanted to try using the blue glowing plants from Feeorin, but didn't want to risk her neck. Thankfully the discovery of a new place called Sidhiel meant she had a safer alternative. 

" Hey, wait! " A girl, with dripping wet purple hair and emerald eyes called out. She had been intrigued by the other girl's muttering; getting banned from the lab rooms at college? She knew there had to be a story behind that, and probably an interesting one too! If there was one thing Allyria loved almost as much as herself, it was definitely gossip.

Originally, she had set out to look at all the pretty plants, to remind herself the world wasn't all cold and death. She was hiding in the waterfall, feeling the rush of the river, which brought back (mostly) happy memories of home and childhood, and a mother she can't remember all that well. Then, she saw a stranger, through the glassy water, and decided to investigate. It's what she does. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, after all. She pushed soaked hair out of her face and half smirked.

Allyria sprinted to catch up, before prying: " What do you mean banned? And what are you working on? Maybe I could help you get some good equipment for cheap? "

Myouga turned around to see a girl run after her while looking somewhat damp. Had she gone for a dip in the lake? The arcanist hadn't expected someone to be around, and immediately found her purple hair to be quite the curiosity. Was it natural? If so, what would the girl's lineage happen to be? Clearly something other than human, unless they happened to drink that water from Feeorin or something. "Ooh, purple! What a pretty color it is! It even highlights your eyes too! Not that I'm trying to flatter you, but it's certainly rare." And rarities were one of her favorite things too.

When the violet-haired girl wanted to know more about the snippet pertaining to her ban, she answered casually. "Oh it's nothing interesting. Something moved out of place in a magic circle and then–kaboom! Nobody got hurt but it blew up the whole room." She found the girl's offer to help her obtain laboratory equipment as an incredibly innocent yet well-meaning gesture of kindness. If she knew what those things were going to be used for, she probably wouldn't have asked. Smiling Myouga placed her palms on the sides of her cheeks and looked bashful. "Aww–that's so nice of you! But that's ok, I won't be needing anything seriously complex right now." And when the girl asked what she was working on, she put a finger to her lips and winked with one eye. She wasn't going to just spill the beans to any old stranger, at least not without something in return. In fact, she had been looking for an assistant ever since her previous one decided he wasn't going to help her any more. Ever since Yabashira quit she was hard-pressed in finding anyone willing to be her lab rat–er, understudy.  

"Sorry, it's top secret! But if you really wanna know, why don't you help me with it?" Myouga knew the best way to lure a nosy unsuspecting person in was by playing up their expectations. Indeed she was telling the truth. Nobody, not even her old friend whom she badgered into assisting her with her experiments from time to time knew about this. If you wanted to make the alchemical breakthrough of the century, you didn't do it by spreading your hypotheses all over the place. She had all the ingredients: the plants, the goldfish, and hopefully a willing participant.

Allyria giggled - it was a light laugh that almost made her seem completely innocent. " I don't see why not! After all, " she let out another of her trademark giggles " what's the worst that could happen anyway? " She smiled at the arcanist in front of her, and linked their arms together.

" My name's Allyria, what's yours? " The halfbreed questioned as they walked through the ever beautiful Jasmin Lake, with a graceful smile planted on her lips. " Also, when do I start? "

"Well there's a fairly low chance of any accidents, but if something should go wrong at worst I'll have to set fire to everything." If that planimal hybridization failed and she made a new kind of monstrosity, she'd have to neutralize the experiment before it could get out in to the wild. Sometimes the best solution was burning it with fire. Myouga was pleased to see the girl took her offer hook, line, and sinker.

"Nice to meet you Allyria! Your name is pretty like your hair too! As for me, I am the great and magnificent Myouga! But just 'Myouga' is fine." With introductions behind them, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Now before we start, there's oooone more thing I need to do. BEHOLD!" Unlinking her arm from Allyria's, she stood in an open area and began doing some kind of dance consisting of short, quick poses. Raising her hands to the sky, she jumped in the air as a portal opened before them. It swirled with pulsating eldritch energy like a colorful whirlpool. Upon landing on her feet, the little arcanist shouted while pointing dramatically to the gateway: "To the lab!" Unbeknownst to Allyria, the portal would transport them to the outskirts of a forest in Ataiyo.

"Uh, your lab is in a forest?" Allyria was, undoubtedly, confused - not a completely foreign feeling for her, though. "That's cool, not exactly what I was expecting, but cool…" She continued to mutter underneath her breath. The green eyed girl peered into the trees curiously, unaccustomed to such a landscape.

However, the longer she stood there looking, Allyria began to feel more and more like she was being watched. There is no one there. She told herself, before turning back to her new companion.

"So, 'the great and magnificent Myouga', what now?" She didn't like not knowing what she was getting into; and to think, all she wanted was a little bit of gossip to liven her day…

"We go through the portal of course! After you, Allyria. I've gotta close this thing so I'll be right behind you." Myouga motioned for her newly-acquired partner in crime to enter the portal. Thanks to a little trick, it would drop them closer to the laboratory location than if they had simply started from the forest's edge. Making portals was one of the first things she learned as a mage, and boy was it useful. Travelling was so much easier, and convenient too. Checking to see that the plants she had harvested weren't wilted, she waited for Allyria to pass through. Once she too was on the other side, the portal would vanish.

Allyria closed her eyes; needless to say, she was nervous about going through the portal. She had never done anything like it, but, Myouga wouldn't do anything to her, would she?

Taking a shaky breath in, the hybrid took a step though the portal, her eyes still shut. As she went through, she felt strange and unfamiliar feeling take over.

Once she began to feel normal again, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, but kept her eyes closed. She waited for her new companion to come through…

Seeing Allyria was now on the other side, Myouga grinned gleefully and jumped in after her. Once she had passed through, the portal shimmered and began to shrink until it disappeared into nothingness. It was as if they had never been there in the first place. As both of them emerged on the other side, it was time to bend the laws of nature.