As she walked behind Renkai through the dense fog, the path stretched on in silence. Time felt strange, heavy and slow, before finally, rooftops broke through the haze.
Lira's heart lifted at the sight of the Academy's tall spires. Home.
Renkai came to a halt.
"I shall always be near," he said softly, "to lead you to our grove."
With a flick of his fan, he vanished into the mist.
Lira blinked. Our grove? she wondered. What does he mean by that?
Tired and aching, she made her way toward the Great Hall. The smell of warm food pulled her in like a magnet. She stopped at the school's dining area, grabbed a hot meal, and sat down.
All around her, students turned to stare, her clothes were stained, streaked with dirt, a few twigs still tangled in her hair. Fluffy was no better; his once-white fur was now a mess of mud and leaves. But Lira was far too exhausted to care.
She ate slowly, letting the warmth fill her again.
Not long after, Maelin appeared, eyes wide. "Oh my, Lira, what happened? Are you okay?"
She sat beside her, worry written on her face. Lira looked at her and smiled faintly.
"I'm glad to see you. It was a long journey. Tomorrow marks one week since the last market and I found the flower for the pouch."
Maelin's eyes lit with interest. Lira, seeing that, reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bloom.
White, almost glowing.
Maelin frowned. "But... he wanted red."
Lira nodded. "Yes. But it is said, this one could turn red in a special moment."
Maelin looked at it, clearly intrigued, and they left the dining hall together, talking softly as they walked through the familiar corridors.
At Lira's room, Maelin stopped to say goodbye, making sure she was truly alright. Lira stepped inside with Fluffy. They both made their way into the small enchanted bathing nook, where warm water poured down in a gentle magical stream, washing away the traces of the forest.
Clean, warm, and at last safe, they curled up in the soft bed and drifted into sleep.
As morning light filtered into the room, Lira slowly opened her eyes. Fluffy yawned beside her. When she glanced at the small clock on the wall, her eyes widened, half the day had already passed!
She jumped up and dressed quickly in fresh clothes. Fluffy shook out his fur, and together they hurried down the Academy corridors, their steps echoing on the stone floor.
They made their way through the bustling halls and down to the Academy market. Soon, Lira stood again in front of the cluttered little table. Behind the mountain of trinkets and strange objects, some rustling and muttering could be heard.
Lira cleared her throat and said softly, "I'm back."
From behind the clutter, the peculiar man peeked out, his giant glasses slipping down his nose. He blinked, recognized her, and shuffled around the table with a gleam in his eyes.
Lira reached into her pouch and carefully pulled out the strange white flower. As soon as he saw it, the man's eyes widened. He snatched the old red one from her hand without a word, holding it up like a priceless jewel. His attention was entirely absorbed, inspecting its transformation.
Without looking at her again, he reached into the chaotic pile and pulled out the small pouch.
He handed it to her wordlessly, still fixated on the flower.
Lira took it, a bit surprised. He said nothing more, already turned back toward his collection. She opened the pouch and reached inside, her eyes widened.
The space inside was impossibly vast. Magical.
She gasped in awe. Testing it, she dropped in a seed. Then, thinking about it with her hand inside, she reached in again, and the seed appeared in her fingers, just as she'd imagined.
A truly special pouch.
Joy swelled in her chest. She could carry herbs, crystals, anything she needed for her adventures. She felt so full of energy and excitement that there was only one person she wanted to tell, Thara, in the greenhouse.
Lira's heart still thrummed with excitement as she made her way toward the greenhouse. The soft glow of morning light filtered through the glass domes, painting the leaves in gold and green hues. Inside, the rich scent of earth and blooming petals wrapped around her like an old friend.
Thara was already at work, carefully tending to a row of young sprigs, her hands gentle and precise. When she looked up and saw Lira approaching, her face broke into a warm smile.
"Back so soon?" Thara asked, wiping soil from her palms.
Lira grinned, pulling the deep green pouch from her satchel and holding it out like a precious gift. "Look what I got. It's magical. I can put anything inside, and it never gets heavy or full. Perfect for carrying all these seeds."
Thara's eyes sparkled as she took the pouch, turning it over to admire the runes embroidered along the fabric. "Incredible. That will make your work much easier."
Lira nodded, feeling the weight of possibility settle in her chest. "I want to try planting them today. Especially the big, stubborn seed."
Thara's expression softened. "It will need special care, patience, and maybe a little energy, if the old stories are true."
Together, they moved deeper into the greenhouse, past vibrant ferns and delicate orchids, until they reached corner — a small plot that was seed sanctuary. Lira knelt, fingers trembling slightly as she pulled the wrapped seeds from her satchel.
As she prepared the soil, she whispered, "Let's see what story you want to tell."
Lira knelt on the warm stone floor of the sanctuary, the light from the overhead glass filtering in soft and golden. The greenhouse domes had quieted, the usual rustling of students gone, leaving only the creak of old wood and the slow breath of plants.
One by one, she'd been planting her treasure, a pinch of each mysterious seed into its own little clay pot. Some had wriggled oddly in her hand as if aware of their new home. Others seemed still as dust.
She murmured soft greetings to each, a mix of instinct and half-remembered spells from dreams.
A fuzzy blue seed with thorn-like curls she nestled in compost with a gentle hum. A glassy pearl-like one she set under a bell jar, unsure if it wanted air at all. A shimmer-slick seed, light as snow, floated into the soil like it had known the place before.
The sanctuary shelves soon filled with labeled pots and scrawled notes, her satchels lighter, her spirit strangely full.
Only one seed remained.
Wrapped still in its square of velvet, it lay in the center of the table like a sleeping heart.
Lira stared at it, fingers hovering just above.
It didn't belong here, not under glass or next to clever tags. She could feel it, this seed wasn't meant for walls or warmth controlled by levers. It pulsed with something deeper. Wilder.
She stood and, without fully realizing, found herself tucking the velvet-wrapped seed into her pocket.
Lira held the velvet-wrapped seed in her pocket as she left the greenhouse sanctuary behind. The warmth of the greenhouses faded with each step, replaced by the cool hush of approaching fog.
She made her way toward the forest's edge, where the old path to the ruins began, the one rarely taken by students, swallowed often by mist.
As soon as her boots touched the mossy border, he was there.
Renkai stood waiting, his fan half-opened in one hand, his long silhouette blurred by fog. The corners of his mouth curled into that familiar, fox-like smile.
"Welcome back," he said smoothly. "I can feel it… You carry something interesting."
He flicked his fan closed with a snap. "Shall we?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
Turning gracefully, he stepped into the thickening fog, his cloak catching the light like shadow made silk. Lira hesitated only a breath before following him.
The world hushed as they walked, fog weaving between stones and under her feet like curious spirits. Renkai led her through crumbled archways of the old ruins — silent witnesses of a time long gone — until they reached the hall's end, where the warping portal shimmered like disturbed water.
Without a word, they passed through.
On the other side, the grove opened like a hidden dream, ancient tree towering above, branches laced with glowing threads of fungi and soft lights that moved like drifting stars.
They stepped close in silence.
Lira's hand found the seed. She pulled it out, unwrapping the velvet carefully.
It gleamed faintly in her palm, pulsing, warm, and quiet.
Renkai stood beside her now, expression unreadable, the fan closed at his side. For once, he didn't speak.
Together, they looked at the seed.
The mist curled around their feet. The tree watched.
They stood in stillness, watching the seed glow gently in Lira's hand.
Then, Renkai broke the silence.
"What are you waiting for?" he said with a soft laugh. "Let's plant it."
Lira turned to him, surprised. "Here?"
Renkai gave a theatrical sweep of his fan across the grove. "We have space. And here, her plants grow in abundance, stronger, wilder, with deeper roots. Everything connects better here… to the Spirit Tree."
"Spirit Tree?" she echoed, blinking.
He nodded, his smile widening. "Of course. This grove is protected by the Spirit Tree, and at the same time… it connects to you."
Her mouth parted slightly, eyes widening. "To me? How?"
He laughed then - a light, lilting sound that echoed through the grove like wind chimes. "You'll see. With your memory."
Lira frowned. Another riddle. Her memory?
She looked back at the seed in her hand, heart stirring with something she couldn't quite name, like déjà vu, or energy half-remembered.