Esena has changed! She can bless different blooms now just like Aisha and Elzira!

It didn’t take long for the news to spread across the encampment, the news even reaching Chantara on the outskirts who heard it from one of the Elidae who visited for a herbal remedy. While usually her visitors were more wary and nervous this time they were too focused on the news to care about the nocturnal herbalist and the rumors concerning her strange habits. So for once Chantara simply supplied the medicine while enduring a stream of words that continued on and on about how Esena had changed and surely the whole settlement would be invaded by earthlings and Kahi soon for blooms.

At least the next evening was quiet since no one needed her and it was that quiet which allowed Chantara to go about her work while pondering things. Chantara wasn’t exactly certain how she felt about the rumors of their mother tree being able to bloom hybrid children now. On one hand it was nice knowing that their tree was strong enough to thrive like Aisha, but it was also strange to think of Elidae blooms sharing traits with either the Kahi or the earthlings. Could they work with the Kahi, actually? Chantara tilted her head thoughtfully, the Elidae pausing as her fingers hovered in front of a twisting strand of ivy. Like most plants in her little green house, a separated hut from her own that she kept dark to grow more nocturnal plants where she could keep a better eye on them and kept them regulated by avoiding sunlight and damp by spraying water on the various plants there, the ivy was dangerous if directly ingested and she had been plucking the leaves to grind later to make more medicines to help anyone who needed to purge the contents of their stomachs. It was good for anyone who accidentally ate spoiled fish or meat or other dangerous plants that younger Sisters sometimes picked in the nearby jungle thinking that the bright red berries or vibrant mushrooms would surely be delicious rather than deadly. Unlike a Sister accidentally eating something bad they would have to purposefully go towards Esena to request blooms. “So strange.” Chantara murmured, her bright green gaze studying the leaf a moment longer before skipping over it to pick a larger one. But how could she judge when she didn’t even know how to handle relationships with her fellow Elidae? The only one she had allowed close in the last few years was Quiana and even she had decided to chase after some earthling, something that made Chantara’s own heart ache. She had fought against the feeling, knowing that Quiana didn’t want to break her heart as their ideas of love and partnerships greatly differed, but it did nothing to control her heart that swayed every time she saw the more playful Elidae.

Should she have at least asked for one tryst from Quiana despite everything? She had heard that the other Elidae had spent various nights with several Sisters in the past, never sticking around long to claim a partner and raise a family with another, but she was still fine with passing time together. “I suppose I was lacking.” Murmured Chantara, a pained expression dancing across her features despite the smile she tried to force. She knew it was because Quiana respected their friendship, not wanting to cross certain lines, but it still didn’t make her wonder if she could have done anything different to change their paths. But then Esena had matured like this as if blessing Quiana’s choice to go after the earthling, the very fact shattering any of Chantara’s hopes that things would be different in the future between them. She had gotten the sign then, finally accepting that she should focus on friendship rather than hoping for anything else. Maybe it was just her family's fate to raise daughters alone, passing on their studies and techniques from mother to daughter over the generations without accepting lovers? Though it seemed she had Aishan relatives, distant Sisters who had not joined the Extremists that she knew little about. Maybe they had large families, adapting even to the idea of joining with earthlings and having mixed children. The very thought made Chantara shake her head as she moved around the plants, this time not harvesting but rather sprinkling water on each plant to keep their soil damp in the various clay pots that they grew from. She was not quite so lonely to seek out an earthling for herself, the very idea made her feel as if she would be betraying her family’s heritage. But she wasn’t adverse to the idea of letting her Sisters love who they pleased, it was just a shame that the one she had decided to cherish didn’t see her in such a light. “At least she’ll be returning one day, if she wants Esena’s blessing for blooms.” Now that it was possible, at least that was Chantara’s hope because despite having an aching heart she wanted nothing more than to see her dear one be happy with the future that she so desired.

[865 WC]