Plant Problems [Tony & Nasya]

It had been a few days since the party and Nasya, while taking care of her tree, had remembered her meeting with the castle's funny librarian. Taking her Tree with her, she had left her room and, mere minutes later, she had reached the Library door. She pushed it open, entering the room, and tilted her head to the side.

Hum. This was not what she'd been expecting. While, yes, there were more than enough books for the room to be recognized as a library, there were also... oddities. Like the plant in the middle of the room, for one. And the hole in the ceiling, partially covered by a drape. She shivered. And it was cold, too. Not good. She wished she hadn't put on a sleeveless shirt, now... Well, no point in wishing.

She looked around, bringing her potted Tree closer to her. Now, where was that funny little guy...

Tidy this, tend to that... Tony had been as busy as ever, though such chores were mostly self-inflicted. Rearrange a few shelves, water the plant, clean up some spillage that someone didn't tell him about, and alongside all that, haul around the Voynich Manuscript that he'd been glued to lately. All was normal, the flower was tall and healthy, and he'd been making more progress on his cause than he had been in the past year.

Now, he'd taken to a break - that is, sitting at the reception desk with his face stuck in the book, desperate to see if he could decode the strange language. It wasn't until he peered up that he saw a certain familiar figure entering the room. It seemed she'd kept true to her word. He'd have smiled if he were able.

Slamming the book shut, he leaped up, and immediately scrambled towards her, wobbly and graceless as ever.
"E-excuse me!" he called, stopping in his tracks just a few feet before her.  "I'm so glad you came! Quite flattered, honestly - there is much to talk about!" There he was, just rushing straight into business, and she'd barely just entered the room.  He stopped to clear his throat. "Nasya was your name, correct?"
His eyes trailed off towards her tree, which he noted with quiet curiosity.

The sound of a book being slammed shut had the dryad turning towards the reception desk just in time to see Tony scrambling towards her. Well, he was the librarian. The reception desk was the place she should have checked first.

"Hello..."

She barely managed to finish her word before he was talking and she wasn't even sure he had heard her. He certainly was... energetic, but she liked how he did not beat around the bush. And he was right. There was much to talk about. She nodded to him.

"Yup. It still is, actually." She had an amused glint in her eyes, before she shook her head and focused. "And you're Tony, right? Is this plant yours?"

Alright, maybe her focus was not quite as good as she thought -she'd meant to ask him about tree diseases-, but that plant in the middle of the library was distracting. And, a little part of her muttered, there was the fact that she hoped her question would take his attention from her Tree. It was ridiculous, as she'd came here to work on finding whatever was plaguing it, but years of wandering had made her fiercely protective of her Tree.

It was nice to know that his memory didn't fail him. It rarely did, but he revelled in it anyway. "Tony Sharp," he corrected with a slight bow, before glancing back towards the flower. She noticed...! Well, it would be difficult not to notice, considering its immense size. He turned back towards Nasya, a proud tone in his voice. "Why yes, she is! She's quite beautiful, is she not?"

For a moment, he seemed distracted, simply gazing up at nothing as if the most wonderfully vivid daydream had whisked him away, but suddenly jerking himself back into reality. "Ah, yes, pardon, is that yours too?"
Even her question had not distracted him from her most peculiar companion, or at least, the kind that he'd never seen anyone else with. He thought little of it - merely glad to see someone with such an interest in botany as he did. As well as one who was the botany.

Tentatively, he started to approach her and the tree, desperate for a closer look. He may as well learn what he could about this student...

Beautiful? Well, yes... maybe. Nasya tried to find something complimentary to say about the plant, but all she could focus on was the fact that the... flowers seemed to have teeth. "It's... huge. And it seems.. healthy." Was what she finally managed to say.

But then he asked about her Tree and she sighed. Well, no use in delaying that any longer, right? She was there for that.

"Yes, yes it's mine. It's... well, you could say it's me, kind of." She frowned at the sound of that. It did sound weird, didn't it? Oh well. It was true, in a sense, so...

"I told you I'm a dryad, right? I'm a tree spirit. This Tree's spirit."

Nasya hesitated a moment before putting her Tree down between them. As long as he made no move to harm it, she would let him look at it.

Her compliment seemed to satisfy Tony, as if that were exactly what he wanted to hear. With a tiny squeak, he clapped his hands together, barely able to muffle his pride. And it was fortunate that Nasya had continued, for Tony might've been tempted to take the opportunity to boast even more.

Instead, he squinted at the plant of mention, and raised his head, intrigued at what she was telling him. They were one and the same? This... This could help aid his research so much, especially with his studying of the Voynich Manuscript. Though it was plain to see that they were obviously not the same, it was something, in comparison to nothing.

He was remarkably speechless as the tree was put between them. He trailed towards it, glancing to her briefly, before reaching slowly to trail his fingers against the bark.

"This is quite extraordinary... Can you feel it?" He looked towards her curiously.

She barely resisted rolling her shoulders when he touched her Tree. "Kind of. My back itches along my spine."

She looked down at him for a few seconds before huffing and flopping down to sit cross-legged on the floor. They could be there for a while. Why stay standing? Nasya twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers, looking at Tony. He seemed fascinated by her Tree... The dryad shrugged. She was here for that.

"It isn't growing anymore."

Hum. Maybe she should have brought the subject up a little more smoothly? Oh well. Too late.

"It's not my original Tree -or else I would not be yet- but it's still supposed to be bigger than that. It just... stopped growing a while ago."

Interesting... He let his vines drop away from the bark of the tree as she sat down beside him. It wasn't the most comfortable place to loiter, that was for sure, but for now, it would just have to do.

She was met with a look of dismay from the plant person at her following words. "...It's not?" His voice filled with concern, as he looked back towards the tree. And he'd thought it looked healthy! It was a shame he knew so little about dryads, but he was at least, not inexperienced with the growth of plants. Especially exotic ones.

"I... I can help you. I can help plants grow." He blinked to her. "I simply transfer some of my energy to this tree and, and it should..." Why was he nervous? Blinking, he gestured towards the plant in the centre of the library again, motioning towards its impressive size. "It works," he insisted. "I just need your permission."

His energy? He transfered his energy into the plants? How could that work! Oh. Maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. The link between her Tree and her kind of worked that way, it was simply not... unilateral. She frowned, shifting to get more comfortable. Maybe a boost in energy was what her Tree needed. But still. Could she let him 'experiment' with such an important thing? What if it backfired somehow?

"Could you..."

She bit her lips before opening her necklace's pendant. She tipped it over and a few seeds fell on her palm. She picked one, put the others back in and screwed the vial shut again. Putting on a confident font, she held out her hand, giving him the seed. A compromise. She could not let him tamper with her Tree, but he wanted to help -and she needed the help.

"Could you try on this first? I would not affect me as much if it didn't work, but I'm still kind of linked to it."

He stared inquisitively towards her, wondering whatever she was up to. Tony himself was assured that there were little risks - if there were, he certainly wouldn't have used this technique on his own plant. However, after peering at the seed, he nodded anyway and received it.

"Well, it would be far more easier if it were actually planted first, and I'd rather not use some of my energy reserves on a test, but, if you so insist," he said, mild irritation showing through his tone.

He clamped the seed between both hands, narrowing his eyes in focus. Carefully, he started to direct his energy towards it, willing it to grow. In response, his fingers began to thin out and shrivel to the point where they looked as if they could easily snap - the nearest extremities were always the first to go. He could feel the roots of the seed tickling around and digging into his palm. Soon, it began to rise into something of a flower... except the kind of flower that hadn't even opened its bud yet. He stopped the growth. He'd wanted to complete it, but he'd used enough of his energy - that was enough of a demonstration anyway.

He held out his palm flatly towards her, displaying the half-plant in clear view. "Here," he said. "Now may I try it on your tree?"

The corner of her mouth twitched at Tony's tone and she barely refrained from frowning. Did he not understand what her Tree was to her? If something went wrong... She shivered. But... It was more than possible that he did not know that. After all, she had not explained. Should she, though? She'd already given that knowledge to one person in the castle. Wasn't that enough?

Still wondering if she should explain the link between her Tree and her to Tony, she completly forgot about the seed for a moment. At least until she flinched. Throwing a wide-eyed look at Tony, she sat straigther. That... It had felt like someone poking you when you were about to fall asleep. Or at least how she imagined it would feel. It... woke her up, somehow, but faded quite quickly.

She picked up the tiny begining of a tree with more reverence than she knew she was displaying, eyes wide in wonder. That... That could save a dryad's life. Having someone who could make your Tree grow enough to sustain your life in a few seconds... That was incredible. Deep in her mind, Tony had gratuated from 'that funny little guy' to 'Tony Sharp, librarian'.

"That.. you..." Cradling the plant in her hands, she took a slow breath before trying again. "That was incredible. Thank you."

Without her even realising it, her protective stance near her Tree had relaxed.

"Yes. Yes, you can. Just... be careful."

As the tree was taken from him, he looked to his thin, spindly fingers with a frown. Well, they were effectively useless now. An inconvenience, but he was determined to put it out of mind.

"Do not concern yourself, Nasya, I am quite practised in this art," he assured, his tone brash with confidence. He peered at the tree, before experimentally placing his hands gently upon it. It was only now that the doubts had started to settle. It was true that he'd never done anything like this before. Though his flower was as alive as any sentient being out there, he'd never operated on a dryad.A thing of legends and myths! Fiction! His teeth chattered nervously, before he forced his energy towards it.

Both arms started to thin. The leaves around his neck shrivelled and turned brown. How much did he want to sacrifice? He had the complete loss of his arms now, what about the rest of his body? But there was one clear reassurance in his mind. This girl had answers. Answers he so desperately craved, moreso than his own body. His torso shrank, and his spine bent over, unable to support its own weight. His arms trembled with tension, and by the time he pulled away, both of them snapped clean off. Well...

He blinked at the tree. Had it even worked...?

She looked at him, wide eyed, as he prepared to give energy to her Tree. Then closed her eyes. That... She shivered. She was more awake, now, no doubt. But it felt somewhat... intrusive. As if her Tree -and herself- did not quite accept Tony's energy but used it up anyway.

When she finally opened her eyes, they filled with concern. He had lost his arms? How had that happened? Then she remembered his fingers when she had taken the baby tree. He had to have used a great deal more of energy for her Tree than for the seed. Speaking of her Tree... She looked down at it and brushed a concerned hand over it. It seemed healthy and a few more leaves had grown on it. There even seemed to be some flowers starting to bloom. It was not taller by any mean, but it felt... more free. As if the thing blocking its growth had eroded a bit. "You're better, aren't you?" she murmured absently. Calmed by the knowledge that her Tree was alright, she looked back at Tony. And winced.

"I'm sorry. You gave quite a bit of energy, didn't you? Will you be alright?"

Forcing his energy into the tree had felt like exactly that-- forced. Not like gently offering a gift, like it was with his own plant. This was foreign material.

He inspected himself. Okay... No arms. He could deal with no arms, for about a day, he supposed... wholly inconvenient as it was. His poise was much more suited to looking at the floor, annoyingly enough, and he had to twist his head to face some other direction. His hips felt a bit stiff, but he could still walk. Good. He didn't want to become completely immobile over a favour.

"I'm fine," he snapped. He looked towards the tree - there was notable improvement. It was always rewarding to see that his efforts had not been in vain... and he would personally make certain of it. He gave Nasya a side-glance. "I'm fine. But I do believe you owe me now, don't you?"

He squinted, not forgetting why he'd requested her presence. "I'd like you to answer me a few questions, if you don't mind... after we find somewhere to sit down." Adding little more, he turned and made way for the couches in the circular area of the library, tottering less than gracefully.

She blinked at him. Owing him? ...O-kay... If he said so. She'd have helped him anyway, after that. And if, as it seemed, he only wanted her to answer some questions, all the better. Still a little dazed at the foreign energy transfer, it took her a few seconds to understand that he was walking away and that she was expected to follow. She hurriedly stood up, scooping her potted Tree in her arms in the process. She followed, a few feet behind him, and stayed unusually silent.

Part of that was because she really had nothing to say, but it was also because she was growing a little wary. She would try to help him, honest, but there were things about her Tree and the link between it and her that she prefered not to talk about... When they reached the couches, Nasya sat down heavily, putting her Tree on the floor next to her feet. She looked at Tony, uncomfortable but determinedly waiting for his questions.

As he reached the couches, he realised that he hadn't really considered how he was going to actually sit himself on them without arms. Raising a leg as high as he could, he carefully slid himself onto the top of the couch, before turning to face Nasya, clearing his throat. At least she seemed to oblige without much question.

He pulled his legs up close to his body, sitting a little rigidly to be comfortable. "Now, I have been researching a very important subject... The questions I am about to ask you could help me greatly, so I must beg for your honesty," he said, pronouncing each word slowly and carefully as if he were talking to someone who had trouble understanding. "Would you be able to tell me more about your species? Or more precisely, their origins?" He blinked to her expectantly.

She watched him sit, still uncharacteristically silent. And waited. Nasya didn't have to wait long, though, and scowled at his tone. She would answer, eventually. But she was neither a kid nor an idiot. She made no effort to hold back the annoyance in her voice. "First, I'm not a kid, or slow, or an idiot. Do talk to me accordingly, please."

Her voice grew contemplative, then. "I'm not... sure about our origins, other than we dryads come out of Trees. My best guess is that there was an 'original' dryad for each specie of Tree, a dryad whose Tree's seeds brought the next dryads, and so on."

She looked down at him, pursing her lips. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more about the dryads origins... It just goes so far back that no one really knows... In Greek mythology, the Dryads just 'sprung form the trees', if that helps." She shrugged, leaning back on the couch. "I can tell you more about the Dryads in general, if you think it could be useful for you."

He’d barely paid any attention to her expression, so when the blunt words came, he turned to her with complete shock in his eyes. Was she even allowed to speak to an authority like that? Nevermind that, was she even grateful? He let out a spluttering noise of protest, but as the dryad continued, he found that he was forced to contain his frustrations. Or at least most of them, indicating by the way that his limbs (or at least the ones that remained) twitched.

“…I see,” he said. Maybe the answer was within the trees after all or--- no, he wasn’t a dryad, he wasn’t like this lady at all. But maybe-- “I suppose I assumed a live dryad would have more information than what human records say…” He raised his head snootily. “But yes, please do. I need to know all that I can about them.”

Nasya huffed, more amused than irritated, now. "All right." She lifted her Tree, setting it down on her knees before starting to play with a leaf.

"We dryads come from a Tree, as I said. When the Tree is high enough -old enough- we come out of it. We're basically kids, at that point. I've never seen a sapling, but from what I was told we look like 6 or seven years old humans. With a few... particularities. Like my hair. Or bark-like skin. Or green nose, fingertips and toes."

Nasya's hands settled on the trunk of her Tree. "Our Tree is... our anchor. Our lifeline. At that age, particularly. It is our Tree that gave us life and, once 'born', we are responsible for ensuring it's life. We care for it, bring water to it when needed, keep the bugs and illness at bay..." What I wasn't able to do...

She sighed, hands moving up and down the Tree trunk as if she was petting a cat. "Keep illness at bay..." she scoffed. What a great dryad she was. Not even able to heal her Tree. Or even find what was plaguing it.

The plantperson watched intently, squinting as she toyed with the leaves. Still, he listened to her explanations, exchanging his gaze between her and the tree. Peculiar. Very peculiar. And constantly, he tried to link it with his own species.  He knew in himself that he had no such bond with a tree, in fact, he was the tree. Could it be that a tree and their person could be the one and the same...? A tree-person...? How absurd could that notion be?  

Long after she'd finished talking, he was still gazing - not directly at her face, but at the nothing beyond it. Then he words registered, and he blinked towards her.  "Ah, yes! It would be very wise to care for plants in the proper manner, like I have done with my own. It's no use if they start getting ill now!" he tittered, aptly missing her implication. "Of course, it's no use sparing my energy on my every whim - on some days, I actually require the use of my hands."

He scoffed, hastily dismissing the last subject.  "Anyways, yes?  This tree is... your centre, yes?  What were to happen if you were to perish? Could you grow again?" He leaned forwards, still heavily interested.

The dryad sat straighter and glared at Tony when he went on about the importance of caring for plants the proper way. As if she didn't know. Her life depended on it. A sigh escaped her when he pressed her with more questions. He was like a child, she thought. Intent on one thing and disregarding the rest completely until he got what he wanted...

"Something like that. But no, I would not grow again. I'm much like any normal human on that point. If I die, I stay dead. My Tree would keep on living, though."

A glance at him almost had her smiling. Well, she couldn't say her audience was not intersested in what she was saying. Nasya almost volunteered more information, even opening her mouth to speak, before she decided to wait for his questions. The subject of her dependence on her Tree was not one she liked to talk about and, if it was to be discussed, she would not be the one to bring it up.

There was no reason for the glare, and Tony seemed notably surprised that he had received one at all. He had only been offering his expert opinions and advice, in his humble opinion. Essential knowledge. However, there were more important things to talk about.

"I see... So you're vulnerable in two ways. That's certainly a glaring flaw of your species, there is little wonder that they are so rare to be found." He nodded to himself as he looked at nothing in an attempt to mull it over.  "Nothing like my own, certainly...  I only have one vulnerability myself, and I can regrow as many times as I please." He sighed. "I wonder if links can still be drawn despite that..."

Yet still, a tree that could birth a human-like creature... there was something curious about it.  After a moment's thought, he shook his head. "I still feel as if there are answers within you that will aid me, but the questions I must ask to receive them are still unclear." Anxiously, he twiddled with his fingers. "I shall just be honest here... I am trying to discover the origins of my own species. I know not where I come from, or even how I came to produce my beautiful flower. I have learnt so much about the world, but I do not know much at all about myself, where to start, or how." His head hung slightly. "I had hope that you were one of my kind... but now I am more uncertain than ever."

Oh, yes, do please continue to twist the knife in the wound. Why don't you add salt, too? The sarcastic part of her mind chimed in, but Nasya did not voice it. He did not even look like he was aware that his... observations could be taken badly. Nasa bit back a sigh. If he had not impressed her so with the energy thing... As it was, she simply tightened her hold on her Tree's pot and sagged a bit more on the couch, listening to Tony.

Her head bobbed a bit after he was done talking. He was definitely not dryad, and she was not... whatever he was. But there were some similarities.

"You... could probably be linked more to the Trees than the dryads, actually. They can regrow, as long as they have seeds, and they transfer energy to their dryad."

The dryad straightened suddenly and narrowed her eyes at Tony. Yes, yes, he could be linked to the Trees. And maybe his flower would be a sort of extension of him, like a dryad was the extension of her Tree. That was interesting...

If there was annoyance to be had, then it seemed to evade Tony's notice. When she continued, his head raised with a new, sudden interest in her words. He remained silent, waving a finger in the air, as if drawing the connections into the air before him.  Then he gasped.

"Of course!" he said, snapping his fingers. "I-I would not divulge this easily to the common resident, but I myself am connected to a seed, of which I can regrow from. Perhaps I am more tree than being, perhaps-- perhaps even my wonderful flower is a dryad!"

It sounded ridiculous the moment it left his mouth. Upon looking at his flower, he could plainly see that it bore no resemblance to the woman before him. Upon realising this, his speech dwindled off into a thoughtful hum as he exchanged his glances between the two. "I'll need to look into this more, surely... What if you were to interact with the flower? What if there is a link there..." His tone made it seem like he were mostly musing to himself, but the look her gave her was almost expectant.

A seed? Yes, most probably closer to Tree than to dryad. For barely a second, after his plant-dryad comment, Nasya made a face. Nope. No way. Maybe an extention of himself, like a dryad, but not a dryad. She was most happy with the physical form her kind was born with and did not want to be the... the sister of a plant with teeth.

His next comment made her sigh. Alright. She had gotten the message. But after that, she'd leave. It was cold, and she needed to tend to her Tree. With another sigh, the dryad set her Tree on the floor and stood up, eye fixed on the plant growing in the middle of the library.

"Alright. Whatever."

It was even bigger up close. And so were the teeth. Really, she had no idea what kind of plant, exactly, that was. Nasya threw a glance at Tony as she stopped a few feet away from the plant. She did not know if she should hope for the 'experiment' to be useful or not. If it was, well, it would be useful. But if it wasn't, chances would be she would not have to 'help' anymore. Or maybe she would just have to come more often.

Pushing her hair behind her shoulder, Nasya took a deep breath and extended a hand towards the plant, aiming for a leave. She was not yet quite ready to... pet the flower things.