Welcome to Gaia! ::

Upon her awakening, Amaryllis greeted the world and those within it with a bright smile and sparkling eyes full of wonder. Despite all that she knew upon waking, everything fascinated her and the desire to learn and absorb was so strong that it was difficult to keep the child away from any books that would give her the information she craved. When Amaryllis wasn't reading, she was gradually wandering outside to see what was within the protective dome. While she understood that most of the flora was completely different from that which she read about, she had to wonder if there were any similarities at all that would make this planet's versions close enough to their old homeworld's.


She had recently been reading a book she found about flowers and plants that could be used to make various types of tea blends. Tea, she had learned, was a drink that was made from the dried leaves, petals or even fruits of certain plants that were steeped in typically boiling water in order to draw out their essence and flavor. Sometimes it was used for medicinal purposes, sometimes it was merely for the pleasure of taste....but either way, Amaryllis was fascinated and wondered if there was anything around this place that could reproduce or create unique types of tea. She had wandered out of the quarters and had only just stepped outside, tea book in hands and open as she looked among the pages; there had to be something like this around here. The sudden voice made her jump with a startled gasp, eyes blinking at the strange boy before she smiled brightly. "Hello! I've never seen you before...you're not a genome, are you?" The question was both curious, fascinated and almost joyous. Seeing another type of being her age that wasn't another genome was interesting.

"A native? Wow...you're the first one I've met so far." She smiled at him, quite tickled that she actually got to meet a native...but then he seemed to sound sad when he mentioned there aren't many other natives in the dome and that he hadn't met any others yet. "Oh....well, that doesn't mean you never will though, right? I'm sure there will be others...and when we can get out beyond the dome, there may be others out there, too!" Amaryllis hadn't had the chance to meet any other children yet but she knew they were around. She had just...holed herself up with books rather quickly after her awakening.

The scaled boy then walked up closer and around her as he seemed to be studying her, the girl wondering what it was that he found interesting and honestly feeling a little sheepish. Her cheeks were about to turn pink when he pointed to the book she held, her bright smile returning. "Oh absolutely! I actually was looking for ones that people would use to make a drink out of. I...well..." Amaryllis looked at the book, wondering if he might think she was silly for her idea. "I was...actually hoping I could find plants similar to those out here so I could try to recreate that drink. I know this world is different but...I mean...if it sustains life like this, then there *has* to be something, right?" She was trying to sound hopeful despite her hint of doubt. Maybe, since he was a native, he knew more about this than she did and would laugh at her idea.

It was both surprising and nice to see that he wasn't judging or making fun of her idea. He even knew what she was getting at when she mentioned a drink made from plants and her smile seemed more relaxed at this fact, holding the book against her chest lightly as he went on to mention that there were a lot of plants and that they might be able to find ones that aren't poisonous. "That's true! The likelihood that all the plants on this planet are poisonous is pretty small, right?" Ok, that sounded kind of dumb when it left her mouth but too late now. "I'd love to look for plants together! It might be easier with two sets of eyes working than just one." Amaryllis knew that their explorations were limited to what was within the dome but there was still a pretty decent amount of plant life inside of its borders. They still had a decent chance.


"Oh!" That was right; they kind of skipped over initial introductions. "That's a nice name....I like it. I was given the name Amaryllis, like the flower back in the old world. Speaking of flowers....we could try to start off with something a little simple to see if this theory has any merit." She opened the book and flipped through some pages before she found what she was looking for. "Ah....chamomille. This flower was often used in teas and other things to soothe and relax people, usually before bedtime." She showed Kanja the page that had the detailed illustration of the chamomille flower.

Hearing that a lot of plants grew around the lake made her excited and Amaryllis couldn't help her brightening smile. "Yeah! That sounds like a fantastic place to start!" She was so excited at the prospect of finding potential tea plants and bringing back one of the comforts of the old world to those who remember it...and those who don't.

"Oh, it's really pretty. It looks kind of like a star." She smiled back at Kanja, wondering if she might have a reading buddy now. He seemed like he was fun and could be pretty smart.

"That sounds like a good plan. I know the plants for tea were usually dried....I think because the hot water rehydrated them and extracted their flavor?" Was that what the book said? Either way, she was excited and practically bouncing in place the more hyped up she grew from his words. "Yeah, we will!"

"Oooh, a basket is a great idea! I can probably find one...I think.." Amaryllis also was thinking out loud, looking up at him when he mentioned getting plants from below the water. She tilted her head to the side, fascinated by his gills and smiling at him. "Sure! You can do that and I can go back in to find a basket real quick." She really was excited to not only possibly discover something like this but also to have help...and maybe a new friend.

Amaryllis grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "See you soon!" She didn't want to miss much, so she turned and hurried back into the ship...practically running. Aw heck, she DID run; it was just too hard to resist! She dashed back into the ship and eagerly looked around for a basket of some kind she could use. She even started asking around till she remembered something...

Rushing back to her quarters, she pulled things out and searched till she found it; a basket she was storing books she had planned to read later. She emptied it, placing the books on her bed, then dashed back out of the ship towards the lake. The thrill of this discovery seemed to fill her with boundless energy.

As she made it back to the lake, she could see Kanja was resurfacing. "I got one!" She called out, waving to him from the edge of the lake. Seeing how full his arms were, she knelt and held the basket out for him to put what he'd gathered into.

She grinned and started to giggle once she heard him laugh, nodding without even the slightest hint of sheepishness. "Yeah, I didn't know how long it would take you so I wanted to make sure I got back in time." Amaryllis was still grinning and giggling softly, looking in the basket at all of the plants he'd gathered. They looked so strange and colorful...so pretty....how many other pretty things were in the lake?

"Hm?" She looked up at Kanja when his question pulled her from her thoughts, blinking blankly for a moment before that bright smile found her once again. "I think this is a great start! We probably don't want to overdo it. Hm, maybe there's something in the ship we can analyze them with? A lab of some kind? We should dry them out, too....might have to ask someone to help..."

There she goes, thinking out loud again.