Chapter -143: The Leaf Whisperer
After the rather stress filled last few days Sarajin was content to not rile up any other trouble in other Tribes for the time being, settling on just enjoying and learning at his own pace in the places he had gone to so far.
So the day after he had finally gotten through to Johnathan, he decided to make a return visit to Tanglefae and visit Carmine.
Naturally he was at the usual spot, napping alongside the majestic Ividae.
Today though Carmine suggested they take a bit of a walk through the forest. It was an out of the blue suggestion but a welcome one to be sure.
It was just the two of them, Justek had wanted to take a breather at home given how hectic things almost got in Oreore. But that's fine, Sarajin felt they could use the space for now.
So him and Carmine made their way between the trees and bushes, taking in the sights, the colors heightened by the rays of sunshine beaming through the canopy.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of this!" Sarajin said ecstatically as he bent down to sniff a flower that went up to his hip, with petals arranged like a cup.
"You've acclimated to our environment rather well, Sarajin." Carmine said in his quiet voice.
Sarajin popped back up but didn't notice a bit of yellow was on his nose, slowly fading away. He smiled as Carmine put a hand over his mouth and tried not to giggle.
"Huh, what's so funny?" Sarajin said, the yellow now gone.
"It's nothing," Carmine then slowly waved his hand towards himself and began to turn away, "Follow me, there's a new fruit I want you to try."
"Oh?" Sarajin kept his eyes wide open and followed Carmine like a cow being herded.
With a wave of his hand Carmine parted a large thicket of thorny bushes, or perhaps it was Ividae who was lending a hand. Either way beyond that lies a strange type of tree Sarajin hadn't seen yet.
The wood looked like it had layers that were peeling off and the leaves on top were big, not that different from the coconut trees planted in Aquamoria. But these were reaching up towards the sky, however, not big enough to breach the canopy.
And wrapped up in this great big bunch on one branch were these long, yellow fruits, of which Carmine lowered with a gesture until he'd be able to pluck one off.
"So what's this one?" Sarajin asked, leaning out ahead of time to get a closer look at it.
"This is a banana," Carmine handed it off to him atop both his palms, "You peel it open to eat it."
"Like an orange?" Sarajin remarked.
"A little." Carmine replied with a smile.
Sarajin took the banana and noticed the peel was soft in some parts and firm on others. He pinched the top and pulled back, unpeeling the whiter stuff within.
"Heh, so many fruits cover up the best part!" Sarajin couldn't wait to dig in and so only peeled the rest of a fourth of the way and then bit down.
While he was chewing his expression went from excited to puzzled. The banana itself had this weird texture, like a combination of slimy and rough. And the taste was...something.
Yet Carmine was eagerly looking on, about as much as he tended to let it show anyways. Sarajin felt bad but when he swallowed and the question was put his way, "Well?"
He had to crack an awkward smile as he replied, "I...don't think I care much for bananas."
"I'm surprised. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like a banana." Carmine said, rubbing his chin like this was unnerving him.
Sarajin shook a hand out and remarked, "I-I'll still eat it all the way, since you gave it to me..."
Carmine raised his brows and remarked, "Oh, you don't have to do that, Sarajin."
"It'd be really rude if I didn't." Sarajin said with half a smile.
He then stood there and slowly peeled away at the rest of the banana, eating it until all that was left was the peel. He then laid it on the ground for Ividae to deal with, patting the dirt with a quiet remark of, "Sorry I didn't enjoy it."
The dirt shuffled around and buried the banana peel for compost.
Sarajin then lifted his head up and asked, "Where do you want to go next, Carmine?"
"...Can we keep walking this way?" Carmine said, his tone oddly on edge.
"Sure!" Sarajin proclaimed, "Just lead the way, buddy!"
Carmine smiled and then turned and walked off. The two of them were heading towards a more open view away from any tree.
"Isn't Aquamoria over there?" Sarajin thought, seeing what appeared to be the coconut tree trunks in the distance.
"Sarajin," Carmine suddenly remarked, making Sarajin flinch upright, "Are you feeling ok lately?"
"H-Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"Well I didn't want to say anything at the time, but I noticed your palms looked a little bruised when you arrived." Remarked Carmine, looking over his shoulder.
Sarajin glanced down at his hands and sure enough they were a little brown-ish in some spots, "O-Oh, I didn't even realize."
He hid them away in shame and then remarked, "I must've gotten them from working hard in Oreore."
Carmine stopped and turned around, a thick looking leaf with itty bitty rivets growing out from under his sleeve, "Here take this. It's aloe vera, it'll help your skin heal."
Sarajin kind of had to have the leaf forced into his hand and in doing so, cracked a halfway decent smile as he said, "You got to stop giving me stuff, Carmine, I feel kinda...bad about it."
"You've paid me back more than enough, Sarajin." Carmine said with a smile, helping to wrap Sarajin fingers around the aloe vera plant.
"Have I?" Sarajin tilted his head.
"I really appreciate the stories you've shared about the rest of the world," Carmine closed his eyes part way and his tone got melancholic, "I've only ever known the hospitality of the trees."
"Well I'm glad to share, but..." Sarajin felt a little bummed out himself, "Has everything I've said about my home really been that exciting?"
Carmine pulled away with a disarming and continued walking forward. After a shrug Sarajin broke off part of the plant and rubbed the gel that oozed out onto his palms. It felt cool and seeped into his skin quickly.
"Much better!" He proclaimed, tucked the aloe vera into his pocket for later.
The two then made it to the edge of the forest and Carmine completely stopped, like he had been rooted to the ground.
Sarajin stayed beside and joined him in just staring out towards the sandy shore beyond. Carmine was smiling but his expression looked forced.
Sarajin was worried he was in a vegetative state until he blinked, and then cocked his head towards him, "There's something else you can do for me, Sarajin."
"Sure, buddy, what?" Sarajin patiently waited to hear him out.
"I'd like to try a coconut for once. Could you fly up to one of those trees and get one for me?"
"I could but...why don't we go together?" Sarajin said with a smile.
Carmine went silently and then tried to take a step towards the bush bordering the two Tribes. The bushes' leaves rattled violently like a person would be if they shook their head enough. Alas, Carmine stepped back and put his hands down.
Sarajin looked at the bushes and wondered on a whim, "Is this your doing, Ividae?"
The bushes "nodded" their leaves.
"Why won't you let him come with me?" When Sarajin asked that the leaves seemed to sag, and with the bad vibe in the air that followed there was only one answer he could guess, "...Is it because of the Rot Walkers?"
The leaves slowly "nodded".
Sarajin heard a sigh coming from Carmine and looked at him. His head was wilting like a leaf and he murmured, "You learned about those since the last time we met, huh?"
Sarajin stared at him with a vacant expression as he turned and looked him straight in the eyes, "Ividae suspected you might not have known due to your place of residence in the sky."
Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and hesitantly remarked, "Can I tell you more about that later?"
When Carmine nodded with a halfway decent smile Sarajin turned to the bushes and asked, "It's just a few steps, Ividae. Let him come with!"
The bushes shook and Sarajin wondered aloud, "Well why not?!"
Carmine put a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's not their fault...I'm mostly to blame."
"Huh?" Sarajin looked over his shoulder and saw Carmine with a dour look on his face.
"I really, really would like to go see what lies beyond the forest, but...My body gets stiff whenever I'm close to the border, like a tree that's been firmly rooted into the ground."
"It's too dangerous for brittle folk like me to leave the protection of the forest. But when I see what lies beyond the trees and it just leaves me feeling...hollow."
"..." Sarajin's eyes began to narrow out of sympathy towards Carmine's plight, as he could feel the tightening of the boy's fists in his own body.
"Wait right here." Sarajin urged in a haste before leaping right over the bushes and running straight up below the nearest coconut tree.
With a second pause he used wind to propel up to one of the coconuts and plucked it off right as gravity brought him back down.
He endured the hot wind just a little while longer and then ran right back to Tanglefae, falling hunched over and catching his breath.
He then extended the coconut to Carmine and was left feeling satisfied by the surprised look on his face, "I-I know it's dangerous out there...Between the Rot Walkers, and the War..."
He faced the pessimism of the world with a grin brightened by the sun's rays and stated then and there, "But I plan to bring all the Tribes back together someday, Carmine. And when the world's a safer place for everyone, I hope you and I will be able to visit the beach together."
He then thrust his arms out further and Carmine took the coconut from him.
Carmine's smile returned in full as he closed his eyes and whispered, "I hope so too, Sarajin. But...Thank you for doing this."
"Anything for a friend!" Sarajin gave a chipper reply.
He opened his eyes and remarked, "Now, let us return to Ividae."
The walk back was more or less quiet, though Sarajin did have to wonder one thing separate from the topic of what they were just talking about, "Couldn't you have just...asked Ividae to make you a coconut?"
"I didn't want to burden them when they do so much for us already." Carmine remarked.
"Ah." Sarajin put his hands behind his head comfortably and looked up at all the trees surrounding them. And this was barely one part of the whole forest.
But after all this time being in the forest, he still couldn't hear its voice like everyone else. He's napped among the flowers, eaten its fruit, and watched its insects flutter about...
"It's really impressive how much work has gone into this forest," Sarajin got a little melancholic for a moment, "I wish I could interact with it like you do, Carmine."
"..." Carmine stared at the side of Sarajin's face for a moment and from there the two made their way back to Ividae.
Still resting in the same old spot, only moving to jostle some of the bugs resting on its antlers, it greeted them with its gentle moan.
"Sorry if I worried you, Ividae." Carmine said, petting his friend on their leafy frame before taking a seat on top of it.
Sarajin sat down beside him and the two looked at the coconut with anticipation. After a long while staring at it Sarajin looked at Carmine and remarked, "So...how do we eat this?"
"...I don't know, actually." Carmine said, smiling out of embarrassment.
A lone root rose from the ground and wrapped itself around the coconut. Carmine let it go and watched as two more roots rose up and wove around and around itself to make two tight bowls. A separate branch extended out from Ividae's neck, growing into a cylindrical shape above the coconut.
With a quick and hard knock, Ividae split open the coconut and let this liquid spill out into each bowl. It then turned the wood into a scoop to get the white stuff within into both of their bowls.
It then passed the bowls over, which they took with bows of respect. And then as one more gesture of good will, the Titan gave them a smooth wooden spoon each.
"Well..." Carmine raised his spoon aside and smiled, "This'll be a new experience for us both."
Sarajin clacked his spoon against his and smiled back, "Yeah!"
The two then dug in, making sure their first bite would have both the liquid and the fruit.
When the spoons entered their mouths Sarajin's expression quivered while Carmine's froze with eyes as wide as they could go, and it looked painful for him to do it.
Sarajin chewed the food around a bit but it was like there was this watered down milk taste wrapped around the hard, fruity flavor.
Carmine was the first to pull his spoon out and squeezed his eyes shut, beginning to laugh heartily.
Sarajin popped his spoon out and said, "A-Are you ok...?"
Carmine smiled and said, "This tastes awful, ha ha ha!"
Sarajin grinned and laughed himself silly, the two just comfortably putting their bowls down atop Ividae so it could dispose of the rest of it.
"Oh well..." Carmine eased into his usual relaxed state of mind.
Ividae then let out a long moan which rattled its woody neck and seemed to draw Carmine's attention away for a while.
"Hmmm? What's that?"
The two had a conversation that, from Sarajin's perspective, consisted entirely of responding to hums from Carmine and the occasional moan from the Titan.
Where it got intriguing for Sarajin, however, was when Carmine briefly looked over his shoulder and then remarked, "Ok, I'll ask him."
He then turned all the way back around and leaned in towards Sarajin to say, "Sarajin, you mentioned something about bringing all the Tribes back together. How do you plan to do that exactly?"
Sarajin kept a curious look in his eyes as he crossed his arms and replied, "I was thinking that if I went around to all the other Tribes and learned from their cultures, I'd be able to share that knowledge and show the other Tribes that there's no reason to hate each other."
Ividae rustled around a bit and Carmine glanced up, then back down, "That might be a little tough if you only have your words to go by."
"Huh?" Sarajin flinched and then upon giving it a little thought realized, "N-Now that you mention it, I guess it would be a little tough to show the other Tribes what Nature is like unless I brought them stuff from the forest."
He closed his eyes and sighed, "And I've taken advantage of your generosity enough as is, Ividae..."
"Well Ividae thinks you've shown a proper understanding of what it means to live among Nature," Carmine said, then began to narrow his eyes, "You've tried not to step on even the smallest buds in the ground and taken only what's been given to you by the plants."
"But now the question remains, Sarajin..." As Carmine continued speaking Ividae had twisted its head around and was looking at him too, "Does this mean we can trust you?"
"Trust me?" Sarajin inquired, pointing at his chest.
"Even after experiencing the worst the world has to offer, is your heart pure enough as to not be tempted by the power to change it?"
"...I-I don't know what you mean by that exactly, Carmine, but..." Carmine put his hand flat against his chest and took in a deep breath, "I want to make the world a better place, not just for myself or my friends and family, but for everyone who lives in it. Nobody deserves to die for nothing. We all should get a chance to share this world and its wonders together, in harmony."
Carmine's smile stretched and he gestured his hand forward to say, "...I like that answer."
He then leaned over his shoulder and asked, "Ividae? How about you?"
Ividae craned its head towards the canopy and their bodies trembled. Carmine's eyes briefly widened and he said, "We should get off."
He hopped down and Sarajin soon followed, as the mighty Titan stood at the apex of its majesty, unearthing a massive hole in the dirt beneath where it slept.
And entangled in the dirt were hundreds upon hundreds of rows of roots, all of them connected to the base of Ividae's hooves.
The roots pulled apart like a herd of worms wiggling through the dirt, slowly opening the way to a hollow pit deep within the ground.
Ividae's moans shook the leaves throughout the forest as from this hole, a faint green light began to emerge. And the light only grew stronger as it was carried up into the open by a pedestal made out of an eerie white wood.
The light was spherical in nature, constantly pushing outward yet never escaping certain boundaries. Just by being in its presence Sarajin felt the warmth of Nature flowing over him. The light sang with a subdued hum, pulsing like it wanted to be free. But it meant no harm to anyone.
Sarajin's mouth gawked in awe as he murmured, "What...is that?"
Carmine walked up beside him and said softly, enraptured by what he was seeing, "That's the Wellspring of Nature, where all the power of the forest was said to have been birthed from."
"Wow..." Sarajin had no other words for this phenomenon, as his awe had carried his mind away to a place higher than the heavens.
"Ividae told me it's been entrusted to guard the Wellspring since the day it, along with this planet, was born. And now..." Carmine turned to Sarajin with a smile, "It's willing to entrust part of its power to you, Sarajin."
Sarajin's spirit was brought crashing back down to reality and he turned to Carmine letting out a gasp, "W-What?"
Carmine brushed his hand out towards the glowing orb, "When you touch that orb, you'll be able to use the elemental energy of Nature."
"...I-I." Sarajin went from looking at Carmine to the orb, biting his lower lip and feeling tension in this moment, yet awestruck all the same. Staring at that power in the Wellspring left his heart beating hard and slow, temptation and eagerness whispering in his ear.
"Are you sure this is ok?" Sarajin whispered.
"Ividae says so," Carmine replied while the Titan rustled its leafy fur around, "If you're hesitant to do so though, then..."
Sarajin shook his head and steeled his eyes with determination, a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek, "I-If I'm going to bring the Tribes back together, then it'll probably be easier with this power."
He started moving towards it, his hand slowly rising towards the light, as it too seemed to reach out towards him with a hand as ethereal as a cloud.
Sarajin heard no sound as his fingertips grazed the side of the Wellspring. His vision went shot as green light filled his eyes and his veins popped with a dark green glow. The Wellspring seeped into his body, leaving him feeling warm and tingly all over.
His brain was fried and for a moment left his vision blackened and his other senses numb.
The last thing he felt being his body collapsing towards his back, and a ghastly whisper in his ears...
When he awoke he was still in the forest as evidenced by the trees above him. But he felt tingly all over in this weirdly warm sort of way.
His body felt as light as a leaf and despite some soreness in the back of his head he was able to sit up without any struggle.
He groaned and rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head, hearing the voice of his friend beside him, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
The last minute felt like a blur, but Sarajin recalled what had happened. He had touched the Wellspring, and then went unconscious.
"I'm...alive?" He murmured.
"You were never in any danger, Sarajin." Carmine chuckled.
"Then why do I feel funny?" Sarajin murmured, trying to pat himself over with his over hand.
And that's when he heard rustling coming from him, prompting him to look down to find his poncho was now made out of an assortment of different colored dried leaves.
Not only that, his shirt was replaced by this splitting pair of large upside-down red petals that curved out past his waist, with the sleeves made of big, hollow and flexible stems. His pants were untouched in terms of texture but were now light-green.
"Aah...!" Sarajin recoiled and planted his hands on Ividae's back, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest.
But the surprises didn't stop there, as Ividae raised a reflective wooden panel from the ground, allowing Sarajin to see that his hair color had changed to be the same as Carmine's.
After he calmed himself down a little he leaned in and tugged at his hair. It felt the same. So did his skin, and his sense of taste, his ability to smell, everything felt the same...Yet different, and he couldn't quite pin why.
He tried to close his eyes and take a deep breath. While he exhaled, he felt something flow over him. It was like the wind, but quieter, so quiet in fact that it was almost silent.
He widened his eyes and turned towards the ruins surrounding Ividae. There, a pair of irises reached up towards the sun, gently swaying in the breeze.
Sarajin pulled away from the Titan and laid his hands by his sides, getting closer to the two flowers and feeling this strange urge to say, "They're...smiling."
"They're smiling?" Carmine echoed in a curious, prodding tone.
Sarajin's spirit slowly lifted as he extended his hand towards the flowers and said, "I think...they're trying to say hello."
"Well," Carmine chuckled, "Say hi to them back."
Sarajin awkwardly waved his hand at the two flowers and smiled, "H-Hi there."
He felt that weird flow across his body again, gently caressing his heart with warmth. He laid both his hands over his chest and began to smile.
Turning to face Carmine and Ividae, his hands began to tremble with overwhelming excitement, "I...I can hear the plants speak now..."
"Not only that," Carmine smiled and then brushed the back of his fingers out, "Hold your hands out and try thinking of a fruit you've liked."
Sarajin put his hands out before his waist and pulled his head back in thought. He imagined a bundle of grapes, so nice and juicy and green, and concentrated really hard on that.
Then, with warmth sliding down his arms, he glanced down to see light green glows coming out of his body towards his hands. He kept thinking about the grapes while trying not to lose himself to awe, a struggle that ended in failure as the energy dispersed and hit him with a fuzzy feeling of recoil in the head.
"Aaah...!" He gasped, pressing his fingertips against both sides of his forehead.
"Heh heh!" Carmine giggled, "You almost had it."
Sarajin slowly put his hands down and lingered on that feeling of energy flowing through his body. It was like controlling the wind, he was doing it like it had always been a part of him.
"..." Yet his eyes sagged with disappointment, with him putting his arms down by his hips and looking Ividae in the eyes, "I thought I'd have power like yours, Ividae."
Ividae moaned and Carmine echoed his voice, "You only took a fraction of the Wellspring into you, Sarajin. So right now you're only as good at controlling the power of Nature as a baby."
Sarajin squeezed his fingers in a couple times and then wondered, "Will I be able to control the elements as well as you two can someday?"
"If you keep practicing, probably," Carmine remarked, "The Conduit Form you yield grows over time with use."
"Conduit...Form?" Sarajin said, looking up puzzled.
"Yes, it's what caused your body to change in appearance," Carmine explained, though the mature wording made it sound like Ividae was feeding him what to say, "And as long as you're in that state, you won't be able to use your Wind element, so remember that."
"I see..." Sarajin took that knowledge to heart but after a while of staring blankly into the open he uttered, "Uhhhh, soooo, how do I change back then...?"
"Just focus on the memory of Wind elemental energy inside of you and you'll be fine. And when you want to access the Nature Conduit Form, do the reverse."
"Ok...?" Sarajin took a deep breath in and focused on himself and the feeling of the wind that was as natural as breathing to him.
It didn't take long for a flash of white light to surround him and pop him back into his normal appearance, poncho intact and all.
"Cool!" Sarajin proclaimed, pinching his poncho for good measure.
He then looked up at Ividae in reverence and bowed his head, "Thank you very much for this gift, Ividae, I promise not to let you down!"
Ividae moaned happily and rustled its head around. Then, after Sarajin raised his head he remarked, "Wait, would this mean all the Titans are guarding a Wellspring?"
"Yes," Carmine answered, "If your goal is to unite the Tribes you'll probably want to seek out the Titans of each Tribe and partake in their trials to prove worthy of their Wellsprings."
"Trials?" Sarajin tilted his head curiously, then cracked a smile and proclaimed, "Alright, I will! Oh, and Carmine?"
"Hmm?" Carmine poked his head up.
"I want to try and figure out how to use Nature myself but..." Sarajin gave him an earnest look and requested politely, "Will you help me out if I need it?"
Carmine closed his eyes and smiled wider, "Of course, that's what friends do, isn't it?"
For now though, the two decided to just lay down and enjoy a nap on Ividae's back. When it got around to night time Sarajin returned home and had dinner.
Though he was excited to have this new power, he didn't feel comfortable showing it off to his parents yet...Not until he could control it better.
So the first thing next morning he set out to the edge of the village where he and Nimus would normally sit around and chat, and activated the Conduit Form of Nature to put his beginner training to practice.
He once more tried to manifest grapes from memory and a decent amount of concentration. He was sitting around for a couple of hours attempting to do so mostly due to recovering from the recoil of failure.
He took a break to lay on his back and sighed, "If it's this hard to make grapes how am I ever going to make other plants?"
With a huff he sat back down. The sky was presently filled with birds flying in a flock and a couple of the ballooning sheep, playfully bleating as they wiggled their hooves around.
Their activity put him in a better mood and so he closed his eyes and tried to put his hands out again, repeating the same process regardless of whether failure or success awaited him.
He could feel the energy flow into his hands, the lumpy, smooth texture of many grapes forming atop his palms. He was antsy at the possibility of success but had to remain focused.
There was some feedback, a type of fuzzy feeling along his arms like touching the back of a caterpillar. But no pain in his head this time.
He cautiously opened his eyes and right as he was in full view of a bunch of grapes in his hands, he widened his eyes all the way and almost recoiled onto his back.
His grin widened with a very constrained giggle and he paddled his feet in the air.
"I did it!" He shouted, tossing his hands into the air and in turn, throwing the grapes out of his grasp.
"Gah...!" His eyes and mouth froze open as he watched a bird fly on by and snatch the grapes out of the air, where they then got into a fight with another bird over them.
"...A-A-Aahh!" Sarajin's brow twitched like a spasm.
He then had to take a few minutes to remake the grapes, this time curbing his enthusiasm so as not to lose them.
He plucked one off and ate it, the juices spraying out all within his mouth and all the rich, succulent flavor that went with it.
Having made the grapes he decided to stop using the Conduit Form for now and relax, enjoying the literal fruits of his labor.
And while he was enjoying the moment, a familiar voice approached him from behind, "Hey hey cotton puff, how can you sit there eating my favorite fruit and not offer me any?"
Sarajin peeked over his shoulder and saw Nimus walking up with a cup of fresh milk in his hand.
Sarajin swallowed his fill and then smiled merrily, "Hey Uncle Nimus!"
"Again with the...!" Nimus briefly bit his teeth down and then chuckled, sitting down beside him, "Ah whatever. You gonna share?"
Sarajin looked down and realized that all he had left was the stems. He pinched them and dangled them around in the air.
"Aww bummer," Nimus faked a pout, "I told you I loved grapes, how could you be so cruel?"
"I-I'm sorry, I guess I couldn't help myself." Sarajin chuckled in embarrassment. Nimus then ruffled his hair around and laughed.
"Ah I'm just jabbing ya, kid, I can fly down and get some anytime," He then took a sip from his milk and remarked, "So when did you go down to Tanglefae this morning? I didn't see you leave."
"I haven't been down there yet today."
"Oh? So you kept them in your pocket until now just to spite me, eh?" Nimus said with the most faked offended tone possible.
Sarajin puffed his cheeks slightly and said, "If you want grapes so bad, I can just make some more for you!"
"Ha!" Nimus shook his head and laughed for a good long while before tipping some more milk into his mouth, "You're funny, cotton puff...Making grapes...Heh!"
Sarajin closed his eyes and concentrated on activating the Conduit Form of Nature. His sudden shift in appearance led to Nimus looking out the corner of his eye and then lunging his head forward, spewing his milk right off the edge of the city.
"Ghh...Khhh, gah...!" He coughed viciously like he was choking and Sarajin stared at him punching his chest to loosen the last few drops.
Nimus' pupils shrank and he uttered this very powerful word Sarajin never heard before called "Fuck!" before slowly regaining his composure and laughing it all off as, "Whew...! M-Milk went down the wrong pipe there! Ha ha!"
He then carefully put his cup down and laid the hand on his lap, gesturing it towards Sarajin with a remark of, "S-So...What's with the uhhh, clothes change?"
"It's called a Conduit Form. I got it from the Titan of Tanglefae."
"N-No kidding?" Nimus cracked a shaky grin and then asked, "Could you uhhh, demonstrate its power for me real quick? I just want to make sure you're not uhhh, trying to pull my leg, cotton puff."
"Ok...!" Sarajin sat himself properly and held his hands out towards Nimus. Now that he got the groove of making grapes he was able to make this third bunch on his first try.
He then opened his eyes full of pride and remarked, "There you go, one bundle of grapes!"
Nimus stared and there seemed to be this tenderness in his eyes that reflected sorrow. He cracked a quick laugh and then reached out for the top of the grapes, plucking them into his grasp.
"Kid I just..." He stared at the grapes and had to take a bite out of one. He chewed it for a while and then when he swallowed, he immediately had to gasp in awe, "This is incredible, you know that?"
"Isn't it cool?" Sarajin closed his eyes and grinned, only to have his uplifted mood taken when Nimus put a hand firmly on his shoulder.
And he kept holding on, staring him straight in the eyes while adopting a stern and somewhat concerning tone of voice, "Am I the only one you've told about this?"
"Y-Yes?" When Sarajin said that he watched him close his eyes and huff out a sigh, "Nimus...what's wrong?"
Nimus patted him on the shoulder before withdrawing, "Nothing kid. But in the future, you probably shouldn't be so eager to show that new power off."
"Huh? How come?"
"Just cause we're in this fabricated peace time doesn't mean the Tribes aren't preparing for war to start up again. If they find out there's someone out there who can control multiple elements they won't hesitate to capture you and keep you as a potential asset against their enemies."
Sarajin stared at his hands and felt some dismay over this information.
"You're definitely stronger now, kid, but not strong enough to tangle with the adults," Nimus smiled and pinched the side of his goggles, "So if you take any of my advice to heart, please listen to me on this one. I'd really hate for something bad to happen to you."
"Alright..." Sarajin said following a weighty sigh, "I'll try and be careful."
"Heh!" Nimus put his goggles over his eyes and then stood up, turning around and leaping backwards off the edge, "Good luck with the new element, kid!"
Sarajin tried to follow him down but he was gone yet again.
He was left to reflect on his words and fell onto his back, stretching his arms out as the cool breeze and sunny rays kept him relaxed and focused.
"So I have to be careful using my powers...?" Remembering how the likes of Lulu handled fish and water with ease, or what Justek being even a little bit reckless with his strength caused to a cave, Sarajin closed his eyes and felt like he might have just added a lot of undue stress to his mission by accepting the Conduit Form...
"Guess there's a lot of responsibility involved when you're strong." He sighed, deciding that for now, he'd just enjoy a brief nap before resuming work on bettering his use of the power of Nature...
Next Time: Working Hard to Get Stronger