Welcome to Gaia! ::

Wren cocked his head slightly at Cheri's response. He'd have to tell Lum he met his cousin once he got back, he noted, though that was going to take a bit more time to fully wrap his head around, he admitted to himself. It did all but confirm Lum was a Channeler whether the man knew that, himself, or not.
When Ergane began to grill him about his presence and what heaimed to learn, his partners and more, he paused for a moment, likely seeming as if he didn't have an answer for a moment.

"Actually... It sort of 'spoke' to me, if that makes sense? I'm a crafty person as it is, especially when it comes to plants. See, I own a business that specializes in fertilizers and I've always had a penchant for making my own products from scratch." He explained. "It just felt right."

As far as the Pokemon he had to work with? "I'm not the most knowledgeable about them but I understand that 'biomaterials' are often made from organic materials as alternatives to traditional items that are harmful tot he environment." He continued. "I only know of a few Pokemon that can produce such materials but I currently have four in my possession I recently learned of a fifth that can be found here in Paldea, actually. I intend to go out of my way to acquire one while I'm here." He continued. "Specifically, I have a Pumpkaboo, a Shiinotic, a Skiploom that should be evolving shortly and my primary partner is my Cacturne. The fifth is called 'Smoliv', I believe."

He was counting each Pokemon off on his fingers as he listed them, making sure he remembered each one. "As far as what I intend to make... I'm not entirely sure yet. I had intended to do some more research on these biomaterials. But if nothing else, I know I can make cotton and silk from two of my partners."

Wren had to admit to himself he wasn't sure what to make of Ergane. She seemed rather gruff perhaps a bit too ready to quiz people on their choices but he also had to admit she had a point. He needed to pur some thought into what he wanted out of this new Artifact. He had some ideas for things he wanted to try but nothing concrete had come to mind just yet. For the moment, he decided he would let nature take it's course as he went. That had always been a philosophy he lived by. Let nature takes it's course but help it along the way when it gets stuck.

Arturo's announcement that Cheri was planning a trip to Cortondo caught his attention and he turned his focus back to the Commune's leader for the moment. "I'd be happy to join!" He announced. "If, of course, I'm welcome to." He added, looking to Cheri. She was already practically vibrating with excitement as he did, giggling and clapping cherrfully, extending an invitation and accepting for him all at once.

As Moro announced his departure, Wren gave him a curious look. What in the world were they talking about? Shroomies? Reading? Her could infer the other Channeler meant mushrooms but what did reading have to do with them?

Regardless, Wren waved to them as they left the building, turning back to Arturo as he began to speak again. “Oh, thank you!” He replied, standing up as Cheri waved her own goodbye and got up to leave. It sounded like he would have a full day tomorrow so he figured it would be better to head on to bed for now and try to get some sleep so he could get up early. If Cheri would be busy in Cortondo tomorrow and he was going with her, then it was likely he wouldn’t be learning much about crafting an artifact until after their return. So he wanted to be certain he was well-rested enough to still be fully lucid by then.

He’d find his way to the room he had been directed to and opened the door, finding a room full of Arturo’s various projects and equipment likely used for working on the many things he and the commune made. He did end up needing to shift a few things around before he found the guest bed tucked against the wall and a small bedside table with a few drawers in it beside it. “How thoughtful.” He stated to himself. He assumed Arturo didn’t entertain guests often so to keep something akin to a small dresser and a bed in his home for company like this was certainly something he hadn’t expected. He was thankful nothing needed to be moved out of the room but it did end up taking nearly an hour to get things situated well enough that he could get in and out of the bed with ease. At one point, Arturo still occupied with cleaning up after the party, he ended up wandering just a bit in search of the bathroom.

After emptying his bladder, he returned to the guest room and got ready for bed. It wouldn’t take long for him to fall asleep after that, laying on the bed without bothering to retrieve any additional blankets or sheets. He hadn’t realized how tired he was and it was that time of year when the temperature was just perfect for sleeping without the extra accoutrements so he’d found himself just comfortable enough practically the moment he’d laid his head on the pillow.

Wren awakened in the morning, shirtless, slightly chilly and extremely groggy. "Ugh... I must be getting old. I wasn't even up that late, was I?" He asked himself as he ran his hand through his dreads. Taking a moment to stretch out, he headed to the kitchen to see if Arturo was up, finding a tray of muffins and a note. "Looks like he's already off taking care of his own business." He noted, picking up a muffin and taking a bite. These were good! Why was he surprised by that? Arturo was an attractive, seemingly single man from Paldea. It would be strange if he didn't know how to cook, too. Men like him seemed like they always had a knack for the necessities and it always seemed to pay off for them.

Quickly finishing off the muffin, the Channeler made his way back to the bathroom and got himself cleaned up for the day, depositing his used towel into the hamper once he was dried and dressed again. Taking another moment to stretch his muscles out once more and making sure he had his possessions all together, he grabbed a second muffin on his way through the kitchen and headed outside to see if Cheri was waiting for him or not. She hadn't given him any specific time or location to meet her so he stopped by the Rindo tree, offering the large flora a soft pat on it's trunk as he looked around. If Cheri wasn't out here already waiting for him, he'd end up heading over to her cabin to see if she was ready to go yet or if he should kill some time and meet back up with her later.

When he finally found her, wherever that ended up being, he offered a wave in greeting, his silken bracelet still tied around his wrist with it's large flower in full bloom. "Morning!" He greeted, eyes wresting on the flower for a moment as he did. He was going to miss that once Arturo showed him how to craft a more fully-developed Artifact. "Are you ready to go or...?" He finally asked, trailing off as he implied he should possibly leave for the moment.

Wren greeted Cheri with a cheerful wave. "Good Morning Ms. Cheri!" He couldn't help noticing her Cherrim, fauning over it for a moment. "I don't believe I've ever seen a Cherrim in person before. It's adorable!" He told the woman.

When she mentioned the distance to Cortondo, he smirked. "Why don't we ride?" He asked, pulling out a Nest Ball and releasing his own Sawsbuck, winter form. Looked like Asphodel was lagging a bit on his seasonal change this year. "I can ride my own Sawsbuck and we can enjoy the scenery along the way." He suggested. "Besides, I need to learn my way around Paldea and I'll never do that letting someone else do all the driving." He laughed at the implication for a moment before climbing onto Asphodel's back. "Ready to play a game of 'follow the leader'?" He asked his partner, pointing to the other Sawsbuck.

"Saaaaw!" Asphodel agreed, giving a nod.

Wren couldn’t help but grin at Cheri’s excitability over seeing his own cervine Pokemon. As she fawned over the deer, he saw the Sawsbuck’s eyes sparkle with pride in his coat. Once Cheri had calmed a bit, taking a moment to get a lungful of air filtered through Asphodel’s wintry coat, he climbed onto the Gass-ype’s back. “We’re following our new friends here, ok? Try and keep up with them.” He instructed, finding himself a comfortable position as the deer began to walk, following Cheri and Figy. The Channeler had to admit it was equal parts concerning and endearing how her family obsessed over berry-themed names. Not that he had much room to speak since nearly all of his own Pokemon had a theme to their names as well. It made him realize he should probably branch out a bit more.

As the group began to travel Westward, leaving the verdant greenery of Artazon behind before long, he attempted to build a mental map of this area, watching the way the landscape changed around them to dry earth and bare stone. “There’s clearly a cutoff for where the effect of the Commune’s efforts reaches…” He noted to himself. Only a moment later, Cheri asked him how long he’d been in the region and he realized he had to pause for a moment and think How long had it been now? One week? Two?

“About two weeks, I think.” He told the woman. “I actually haven’t been keeping track.” He laughed. “I got a bit lost in the Uva-Naranja library after I got to Mesagoza on my third day…” He admitted. “I’m fairly certain that’s right, though.” He’d look back at her to see her response at that point, not wanting to seem rude.

Wren nodded to Cheri's commentary on the academy's library and listened intently whenever she talked about the local environment. The known reasons for the lack of vegetation here could prove useful knowledge for his own quest one day, after all. Riding along on Asphodel's back, he was able to absorb the local scenery alongside Cheri's conversation. He'd watch a small herd of Skiddo with their Gogoat guardian wander the wastes in search of the sparse grasses scattered about the area.

Passing between the rock formations at the edge of the wasteland, he took a brief moment to admire them before turning his attention to the new, far greener fields and gently rolling hills of one of the region's southern provinces. He hadn't quite gotten the lay of the land here well enough to know exactly which one this was but if he recalled the map he had looked at back in Mesagoza, they should be just East of the city itself. Cortondo, if he remembered right, was on the West side of the city. Teleportation would be much faster. Or one of the flying taxis. But using either of those, one couldn't enjoy this view of nature.

"So what's your hometown like?"

He was pulled from his reverie by the question and paused for a brief moment. "Life in Lentimas is hard." He admitted. "It's an arid, dry town at the base of a volcanic mountain range and resting on the edge of a desert." He explained. "The Unova Pokemon league actually assists the town by sending shipments of supplies that are hard to get through the local airfield. Nearly all commerce in town comes from trainers on their journeys and locals. There are almost never visitors for any other reasons." He continued, thinking back. "Thankfully, thanks to a lot of hard work and study on my part, I managed to get a thriving garden growing on my parents' land. They use it to help keep the locals fed with fresh produce." He admitted. "I also learned how to make a really effective fertilizer using the local volcanic ash and few other things that let me start my company. My parents help me keep it running, too." He smiled as he thought about them. "I should pay Ma and Pa a visit soon, actually... It's been a while since I heard from them last."

He'd shake his head at that point, getting himself back on track. "It might be easier to understand if you came to see it, someday. Artazon before the commune's efforts to revitalize it was probably pretty similar, if I had to hazard a guess."

Wren blushed slightly as Cheri's praise. It always felt strange to him when people praised him just for living. It wasn't anything special, to him. It was just life. When she spoke about Artazon, however, he quickly returned to form, nodding along with her. "That's my dream, actually. I want to revitalize the city and bring life to the barren landscape around it. It's part of what pushed me to becoming a Channeler, though I suppose that was more a happy accident than anything." He admitted, going on to explain how he'd happened across Granny Bloom at the Abundant Shrine all those years ago. "I didn't even know I was channeling for years, though." He noted afterward. "The old woman never told me it was a Channeling Artifact when she showed me how to make it."

About that time, Cheri pointed out the small settlement of Los Platos and he suddenly felt priveleged to have grown up where he had. "I think Lentimas might even be bigger than this place..." He muttered, following Cheri's lead as he climbed off of Asphodel's back, scratching the Sawsbuck's neck and thanking him for the ride. "We can all use a break for now." He told the Grass-type as he recalled him to his Ball. Folllowing Cheri into town, he'd find it was a bit bigger than he'd initially thought but only just barely.

Hearing the woman's offer of ice cream, he nodded and offered a smile. "Ice cream sounds delicious, actually." He approached and took a look at the menu.He felt torn for a moment between the Mint Chocolate and the Nacli Salted until he caught sight of an interesting looking flavor he hadn't heard of before. "I'll take the fizzy!" He told the vendor, receiving a scoop of bright blue ice cream with a rainbow of rock candy-looking bits mixed in. He stepped aside afterward so Cheri could pay, taking a bite of his ice cream to find that it make his mouth crackle along with the chill of the frozen treat.

Wren followed Cheri as she walked around the town, noting not just the architecture but the local flora as well. There were a number of sub-tropical palms he wouldn't have expected growing around the small settlement as well as a variety of similarly subtropical shrubbery decorating the lawns of the few small houses and permanent businesses he could see.

About the time he started to ask, it seemed Cheri had caught onto his curiosity about it. "Yeah, it really is." He admitted to her question, listening as she explained how these plants didn't just live but thrived here. It made perfect sense when he thought about it. Trap the warm ocean air in a lower part of the plain with a steady source of water, the many lakes and ponds they'd seen scattered across the Southern province provided that, and quality soil and you've got a perfect environment for these plants. The last part lead him to take off his backpack and pull out his small soil test kit, taking a moment as he finished his ice cream to collect a small sample of the local earth for testing as they finished their walk around the circular central street of Los Platos.

He was so absorbed by his curiosity at that point, he almost didn't notice Cheri had continued speaking to him after her explanation. "Oh! Yeah! I think fixing the water problem would help regulate the temperature in the local climate, too." He admitted. "The desert heat makes it difficult for a lot of plants to thrive without a lot of work but it only gets that hot because there's no water table to disperse the heat." He reasoned, looking at his test kit as he did. "As for the soil... that's been my biggest focus for years. I've been testing soil from countless locations now to try and figure out what I can do to fix the soil quality with so much of it being rock and sand." He explained, pulling out a notebook and beginning to write down the results of this test. If she looked, Cheri would notice it was about two-thirds filled with notes by now and the cover had a large "4" written on it.

Tucking his kit and notebook back into his bag, he would take a look around and notice they were practically back where they had started as he put it back on. "Wow... it really is small." He told himself, reaching toward his belt as Cheri asked if he was ready to get going again. "I think so, yes." He responded, grabbing Asphodel's ball.