I Do Believe In Magic | Druidic Training

It was surreal, standing in the home of a goddess given flesh. As if Locke had walked straight into the watercolor pages of a storybook, the warm delicate hues of the greenery around him seemed unreal, and in taking in the scene he hadn't realized that he simply stopped breathing. Huffing out a pitiful gasp of air, the pheromoo silently thanked his penchant for wearing sunglasses to most occasions, as he was making his best effort to look absolutely Anywhere but the goddess in front of him. At some point, Cybele had graciously taken his offering, though he wasn't sure when due to the ringing in his ears, just that his outstretched hands became lighter after a point and those wandering eyes caught it lovingly resting on the table beside the fertility goddess. However, there was something that Cybele had explained that swiftly snapped him back to reality, eyes darting up to look at the goddess with a sort of wide-eyed slack jawed look that no shades could ever hope to protect him from.

"...Magic? I- No, I'm sorry, you've got the wrong guy- I don't know the first thing about magic and I- I could never-" A half truth, as Locke found himself the type to be wrapped up in all matters of fantastical, but only in the stories on the page and those within his own head. Any Practical knowledge on these matters was lacking, sure, but if there were Any truth in fairytale he had at least a crumb of an idea. Not to mention the clicking of hooves and handwaving as he tried to will special powers out of the ether as a child when he was alone, but he'd rather take the fact that he still performed as such on occasion to his grave.

"On your own? No. Pheromoos like yourself can't harness the energy of the natural world by themselves like the gods can. But-"

Warm hands take his own still outstretched ones, cupping them in her own as she leans in, offering a smile to the nervous pheromoo that felt like a warm hug. His heart skipped a beat, a fluttering in his chest as the ends of his ears grew rosy, a stain that likewise blossomed against his cheeks.

"That's why I'm here to help."

This has to be a dream. At some point I'm going to wake up, my alarm's going to go off any minute now and I'll laugh to myself and go back to my normal life. It's always this way it's not like I haven't had dreams like this before. Never felt so, real before though-

But he never woke up. Not in the hours he spent in the company of Cybele, attempting to muster the energy or the,, Something inside him to make the plants sing alive with his touch. Standing at the window, focused on a particularly full planters' box, holding a hand out to the overgrown vines that draped into the abode he offered metered breathing and let his eyes drift closed as he tried to feel for something that wasn't there. Beads of sweat pearled along his brow, hand trembling slightly as his focus broke. Gods, I'm making an idiot of myself. In front of goddess Cybele no less. Letting out a dejected sigh, he dropped his hand and unclenched, not realizing just how terse he was in the moment until then as it felt his muscles snapped back like a rubber band. Removing his glasses to pinch at the bridge of his nose, he shook his head, shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry, Miss Cybele. I, told you I wasn't a right fit for this- apologies for wasting your time..."

The goddess, having moved from standing beside him as he worked to sitting at a nearby table with her attention to him as to give the pheromoo a bit of space, met eyes with him unobscured for the first time and cocked her head to the side a little with a soft smile, unshaken with his insistence on giving up.

"How about I get us some tea? You've been working up a storm, maybe it's time for a little break to rest the mind."

Staring at the loose leaf tea swirling idly in the teacup he had been so graciously given by Cybele, waiting for the temperature to cool enough to take a tentative sip. Once the tea hit his tastebuds he visually shivered, a body more robust than he had ever had before.

"Do you like it? I harvest the leaves myself." Cybele offers with a soft bubbling laugh, resting her own cup down on the saucer that accompanied it.

"..Why are you still trying? You've been too kind, really but- Honestly this is more I could have ever hoped for as is it's Okay-"

The question seems to take the goddess off guard for a moment, blinking a couple times at the pheromoo who at the statement began to curl inwards, knocking his knees together. With a gentle smile, she rests her hand against his knee, leaning in and meeting his gaze.

"People don't just seek me out for no reason. You're here, right? Then you must be here for some purpose. Why else would you go through the trouble if you didn't, even if you don't realize it yet. Something inside your chest led you here." Leaning back, and taking another delicate sip, Cybele punctuates. "You have a lot of self doubt.. It's clouding your mind, of course if you're focusing too hard about not being able to do something it's all you'll see."

Setting her teacup back down, Cybele's hand grazes against something. "Oh! Would you look at that-"

Where Cybele had laid the offering Locke had gifted to her, moss and lichen had since spread out from the terrarium to creep along the wood finish. Lily pads crowded the vase itself, where new lotus bulbs bloomed. In shock, the pheromoo's hold over the teacup wavered, clattering to the ground unceremoniously to punctuate the realization, thankfully the ceramic holding strong enough to not shatter.

"I- you did that- right?" Cybele shook her head. "No I- seriously Miss Cybele you don't have to spare my feelings like that it's okay-"

"The forest for the trees- turns out all you needed was a change of subject. Come."

She beckons the pheromoo over and he tentatively obliges, standing in front of the now overflowing terrarium with his hands outstretched. Thoughts empty, he's led by instinct as hands gingerly cup one of the new buds. Exhaling, and allowing the terseness to leave his body, the water lily responds in kind, graciously opening itself to full bloom. Relieved, and a little in disbelief, Locke offers a bemused chuckle, the lily pads waving in conjunction to his reaction. His heart swelled with pride, Cybele putting a comforting hand to his shoulder, positively beaming.

After spending some time with the lilies, promoting them to wiggle and grow, and letting the moss overtake Cybele's side table (though considering the plant life that erupted everywhere else from her cottage she clearly didn't seem to mind the addition) the day began to grow late; A sign for the two to wrap up any lesson for the time being. Packing up, Locke offers a cursory bow, heading to the door to begin his trek home.

"Thank you, Miss Cybele, for everything."

"Wait-" the goddess chirps, drifting her way over to the pheromoo, hand nestling against his temple to tuck something behind his ear. A water lily.

"This one I think would find a better home with you. Will you take care of it?"

"I-" Reaching his own hand up to delicately touch the blossom, he smiles warmly with a nod.

"Of course, Miss Cybele."