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Don’t.

Nephrite hesitated, basically freezing mid-movement the moment Hawk spoke. Well, almost freezing. Her fingers were still wiggling longingly at the flower, but she wasn’t touching. Yet.

This time she hadn’t broken anything!

Ohhhhhh, so she was supposed to take the whole plant! She watched wide-eyed, having been clueless up until now, that Hawk could actually do magic. When he was done, she cradled the rare flower against her chest, despite the dirt (she was smeared all over by now anyway, so it really didn’t matter anymore), but wary of the thorns.

Speaking of thorns … If this flower was indeed so special that it was guarded and protected … wouldn’t the Garden be angry if she took it with her? Suddenly the surrounding thicket seemed So Much More Hostile.

She glanced up, to the small opening through which the last gentle glow of moonlight shone. ‘I think,’ she pondered, ‘I can get through there without too many scratches?’ She returned to her semi incorporeal state without much thinking, still holding onto the flower as her tail swished nervously, somewhat reminiscent of a veiltail goldfish, though the color was off of course … ‘I …’ She hesitated for a moment and cast down her glance with embarassment. ‘I’m not so good at taking stuff with me going through solid things …’

It wasn’t even that she couldn’t do it. She could, as long as she did focus.

Focus, however, was what she lacked, easily distracted and excitable as she was.

Translating as: Things going Splat! in a rather spectacular way on one side of the wall, while she found herself on the other side empty-handed and confused.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Neph declared, displaying more confidence than she actually had. But … Hawk had called her ‘my lady’ . Which made her feel rather flattered (sure, Amon and Kevin constantly called her ‘princess’ but she was well aware that was more of a nickname than showing her respect, so this was different), but also like she had to prove herself to him. She could do this!

Seeking her path with care, winding through gaps just barely big enough to let her pass with only minor scratches, she almost made it even.

Almost.

Only, when she’d almost made it through, those vile thorns got caught in her hair again, and – worse even! – she could feel her hairstick starting to slowly slip from her bun.

NonononoNO, that one had been a GIFT!

Well, all of her jewelry had been gifts, technically, but this one was one of those she hadn’t asked for, which made it special. The little fiend instinctively phased fully to get her hair untangled, remembering a tad too late she had been holding something.

… Woops.

But Hawk was already there, just in time.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured shyly, casting down her glance, her tail wriggling a little. She was definitely more than just a little embarrassed about her mishap. ‘It’s only scratches …’

Aaaaah, she felt so terrible she’d dropped the plant. Especially as it was a gift as well. Sort of.

‘I’ll take it now, thank you.’ She said, gently closing her fingers around the roots and the lower stem of the precious flower.

When Amon offered her back her robes, she’d only shake her head. ‘They’ll only get dirty if I wear them now,’ she pointed out, noting with dismay how the dirt and soil seemed to cling to her despite her mostly incorporeal state. ‘And I’d like them to be dry first too-’

‘A request~?’ Nephrite perked up. Something she could do? ‘Sure, what did you-’

“I’m quite sure you two can talk about it in the shop,” Amon cut into the conversation, giving the elder fiend a wary glance.

If Nephrite could have, she would have pouted. As it was, she only glared at her guardian. But, going to the shop did indeed sound like a good idea. She hated on the drizzle just as much as her guardian did – the only form in which she’d tolerate water was as a nice, hot bubble bath, scented candles and relaxing music included. Right now she wanted to be clean again, and wear something dry and comfortable, and – most of all – she really wanted to fix the awful mess the thicket had made out of her carefully styled updo! ‘What kind of request?’ she asked nonetheless. They could totally still talk about it while they walked/floated there, and she was practically dying of curiosity now.

Amon's one visible eye narrowed. Whatever it was, he was not going to get involved in this …

‘Oh really?’ Nephrite’s gray eyes widened slightly. Well, that certainly was a relief, to get to know that even a fiend all impressively grown up like Hawk sometimes had trouble with things.

“Why, thank you for remembering about me,” Amon mumbled. The Shadows definitely were at an advantage here, happily floating along and being able to simply phase through stuff. He shivered slightly as the moisture crept down his neck, and momentarily couldn’t help but wonder if the fiends even felt the cold. Or – come to think of it – if they could get sick at all. They could get hurt, obviously, he realized as his gaze lingered on Nephrite’s scratched arms with morbid fascination. He’d never before seen her get hurt, despite the girl being a terrible klutz at times.

He’d also never seen her tail, uh, ‘naked’ and unpatterned.

‘Ohhhhhh …’ More rare plants and herbs? Nephrite looked up at Hawk with open veneration. How come he knew about all that awesome stuff? ‘Amoooooon …? Can we do this? Please? Pretty please?’ Like a scavenger hunt, Hawk had said, which made it sound entirely too much like it was going to be a game, and fun.

“‘We’?” Amon quirked a brow. “If you want to get yourself into trouble so badly, do it on your own, please. I don’t remember having volunteered for any of this.” Of course he’d help, should she get herself into this in all seriousness – which she was very likely going to do. It was hard for him to not note her enthusiasm. But he wished she’d stop including him into her ventures so naturally.

‘Awwww, but Amon-’

“I’ll hear about it, once we’re inside, and preferably over a nice hot cup of black coffee,” Amon said, motioning at the line of buildings ahead of them. They were approaching from a different direction than usual, but he was familiar enough with the area to recognize the general outline. They'd made it there sooner than he'd thought they would, some sort of shortcut probably. They’d likely come at TWD from the back, he figured. All the better, he’d feel bad if they’d end up messing up the storefront.

“Before you say ‘yes’ to anything – and get me involved on top of it – I’d like to know just how much trouble it’s going to be.” An awful lot of trouble, he was guessing. And, knowing his luck, it was likely going to involve magic as well, he just knew it …

“I knew it …” Amon muttered under his breath. He kicked off his muddy shoes at the entrance, while Neph quickly whisked past him, looking about for some place to leave her precious plant. This ‘scavenger hunt’ had a very high potential to be at least as much trouble as getting that damn Dragonfyre had been, Amon thought, if not even more so. And why was he thinking of it as if he’d already agreed to the whole thing? Like hell he was going to-

“Erh. Neph? Not in the sink,” he said, catching onto what the young fiend was about to do just in time. He was getting better at this … this being a nanny thing. Not like he'd ever asked for it.

‘But-’

“Not in the sink, I said. Wait.” Shifting her robes and book to his left Amon hurried to open the cupboard. He didn’t exactly know his way around, as he generally avoided setting foot into the store whenever possible, but he had been to the back room previously. Like, once. When he’d been discussing the arrangements of Nephrite’s ‘day care’ with Athan.

“Put it in here,” he said, producing a bowl that looked about the right size. “And then get yourself cleaned up.” He didn’t have to say that twice.

“I’ll return the bowl,” he promised, wondering just what they were to do with that strange plant. They didn’thave anything even remotely resembling a garden, and something told him the window sill was not going to be a good place. “As good as new. If she doesn’t break it. Girl’s got a special talent.” The man cast a quick sidewards glance at Hawk before he went to put down Neph’s book and carefully spread Nephrite’s robes out on one of the couches for drying. They were merely damp, so it hopefully shouldn’t take too long …

Only once that was taken care of Amon would finally discard his own coat and allow himself to sit down with a breath of relief, but not without having helped himself to a cup of coffee prior. He was joined by Nephrite before long, a soft blanket wrapped around her body like a sari, bringing with her a hair brush and a … was that a first aid kit? Well, I’ll be damned. She actually wasn’t quite as thoughtless as she made it seem most of the time. Amon tried to not look too amused when he noticed the plaid pattern was starting to show up on her tail.

Nephrite set down the first aid kit in front of her guardian with a meaningful glance, before she nested next to him, starting to ferociously attack her silky black strands with the brush. Her hair was such a mess!

Amon certainly wished it was the same way back home – the amount of things Neph managed to break due to her thoughtlessness was … amazing still. He’d thought she’d learn her lesson about using doors instead of trying to phase stuff with her at some time, but apparently that learning curve was a rather steep one. Or, more like, it was simply that she forgot she had stuff with her that didn’t pass through solid walls as easily as she did.

“Thank you,” he murmured, for the pot of coffee as much as for the additional care of that weird plant. He’d never learned a thing about gardening himself, as his childhood had been … rather sheltered, mildly put. Fact was, he’d never been outside, lest alone seen or touched a plant until … age of fifteen? Sixteen? Seventeen? He could only guess, he had no idea how old he actually was.

He didn’t like the vanishing act the elder fiend had pulled, paranoid as he was. Neph did the same occassionally, but with her he usually had at least a rough idea of where she was. Still, he appreciated the coffee. Though, it made him wonder, how long was this going to take? He took a glance at his watch, as unobtrusively as he could. He still had time.

“I can take care of myself,” Amon replied, bringing up his leg to take a good look at the scratches. It didn’t look too bad, and – unless there was something poisonous about in the overgrown gardens, which he very much doubted – he’d be fine. Opening up the first aid kit he set to clean the scratches out the best he could in the dim light, and disinfecting. They weren’t deep enough to bother with bandaging even. “I’m listening.”

Nephrite merely nodded, her gray eyes bright with curiosity. As soon as she was done brushing her hair, she twirled it up and secured it by stabbing the bun with her hairsticks and comb. It was almost as if her hair was moving on its own accord, like in one of those Chinese fantasy movies where it was used as a weapon. Given she was all Shadow, the notion might not be too far off. As soon as she was done, she started eying her guardian’s hair …

“Not interested in gardening …” Amon muttered, but a certain someone sure as hell was. Next to him, Nephrite leaned forward, eyes gleaming as she listened enraptured about this ‘special’ garden Hawk was plotting.

Amon sighed inwardly. He’d been hoping Nephrite’s recent interest in botanics was going to be a fad, a mere temporary obsession of hers until something else caught her interest – but it seemed that was not going to be the case this time around. Damn.

‘But,’ Nephrite objected, despite her feeling quite flattered Hawk appeared to think so highly of her abilities, ‘I, uhm … only just started? I don’t really know all that much … Not yet.’ The young fiend shifted uneasily, clasping her hands, her slender fingers intertwining with each other nervously as she looked down upon them. She didn’t want to disappoint Hawk.

“But we do know someone we can ask …” Amon pointed out, ruffling her hair – something she absolutely hated him doing, and it promptly earned him an angry glare before she caught on to what he’d said.

‘We’re going to visit Mang?’ Nephrite asked, perking up. Oh-oh-oh, she loved Mang’s shop which was so full of wonderfully weird and amazing things. And of course she adored the tiny old lady herself.

“ … Maybe.” Amon himself wasn’t too fond of having to deal with that old hag again. He picked up his cup and took a careful look at the notes. Handwriting in general was rather hard for him to read, so this took a while.

Nephrite contently wrapped herself around Amon’s shoulders in the meanwhile, peering at the notes as well occasionally, though she couldn’t read them at all. Idly she toyed with her guardian’s hair while he kept reading. She liked how it got curly at the ends just a little whenever it got wet. Sneakily her left hand kept creeping closer towards the barrette at the nape of his neck …

“Don’t,” Amon muttered, slightly annoyed. It was hard enough to read in this dim light already, he didn’t need his hair to be in the way on top of it, no matter how much Neph might want to play with it. “Here, look, that one has pictures.” He handed her one of the notes, hoping that it would keep her occupied. By the time he was done reading (by the way, just who still used parchment for their notes nowadays?), his cup was almost empty and he reached for a refill. He’d been So. Very. Right. This did indeed look like it was going to be a lot of trouble. Not to mention it seemed likely there was going to be magic involved. The sheer idea of it was enough to make his skin crawl.

“I figure Mang might know about that ‘Lamia’s Sorrow’ at least,” he admitted tentatively, “because of its medical purposes. The rest …” He shrugged and handed the remaining notes to Neph for her to see as well, mostly because of the sketches and illustrations they featured.

“Payment?” He blinked, not really having expected to receive anything in return. Except, of course, compensation for all the trouble this was going to be.

‘Shiny things?’ Nephrite beamed.

Nephrite’s expression brightened. Hawk kept saying such nice things to her … She really wished Amon was more like that, he always was so grumpy and unfriendly.

What is he- Amon’s one visible eye narrowed when Hawk moved closer to briefly touch upon his notes before retrieving one, thinking it was rather odd. Could it be …? Nah. There was just too much certainty in the way the fiend moved about. Besides, written notes? Sketches? He couldn’t possibly be blind. Still, his gaze lingered upon the strangely empty seeming eyes a little longer.

“It absorbs magic?” Now there was something useful. Amon tried to not look too interested, but …

‘He doesn’t like magic much,’ Nephrite happily divulged, resting her chin on one hand, and waving around the notes with her other. ‘Can I keep those? For the pictures? And I really would like something shiny please. Something for my hair?’ Whereas gorgeous fabrics was easily found and robes commissioned to be tailored, it was infinitely harder to find hair ornaments which suited her tastes.

Amon frowned, wondering what he could possibly want from a Seer. Nothing came to mind, really. He was wealthy enough to not bother with something as stupid as, say, asking about lottery numbers; and the issues he might have wanted advice about were entirely his own to deal with, and no one else’s business. “As long as our expenses for this are covered …” He said tentatively. “If possible, I’d like to save everything else for later. Or else,” he added dryly, “I fear you might end up with quite a bargain, and that doesn’t seem entirely fair to me. A favor of proper equivalent value to call in at a later time perhaps?”

Nephrite made a face when she realized she couldn’t tell Athan about it. Woe, he totally had been right on top of her list (which consisted of only two people anyway), especially as she was going to spend the whole day in the shop once again.

Though … Suddenly a decidedly smug expression crossed her face. ‘Garden is for Athan~?’

“I … would like that,” Amon said hesitantly, drawing the notes about the Mirtoche Vine closer. Yeah, he’d definitely have use for it. Anything that kept magic from him was a good thing, thankyouverymuch. He gave Nephrite a distinctive glare when she snatched the piece of parchment from his hand. “Hey, that’s not yours!”

‘Is!’ Nephrite declared, and there was a strong sense that – had she a mouth – she would have stuck out her tongue at Amon.

‘Shiny for me?’ She was distracted easily enough by Hawk’s promise, but not enough to loosen her grip on the note she’d stolen from Amon, much to his dismay.

“Sounds acceptable.” Amon nodded. First and foremost he wanted Neph to be happy, and this was obviously something she very much wanted to do. If he’d get something out of it, all the better – even though the whole thing just screamed ‘TROUBLE!’ at him. “Deal,” he said, holding out his hand. He fortunately didn’t know s**t about certain … ‘contracts’, but a good old handshake would seal the deal just as well.

‘Ohhhh, surprise~!’ Neph nodded understandingly. Though surprises always were driving her nuuuuuuuuuuuts she enjoyed them immensely – and getting them spoiled was No. Fun. ‘Wont tell.’ She nodded.

Amon didn’t comment on the revelation, but there was a hint of a smile upon his lips, not entirely unfriendly. Well, a whole garden was certainly going to do better than a flower bouquet – not that he’d know about how to woo men.