Pyzis walked alongside Coran feeling the red and orange leaves crunch beneath her feet. The colors of the bright maple trees reminded her of her plumage in her Phoenix form. It had been months since she met Coran in the tiny Alchemist shop in Hoja Mesto. She had stopped renting out her little flat above the shop when they had decided it was time to expand her knowledge through experience. Pyzis had spent every waking moment pouring over the books that Coran gave her. She retained most of what she read and knew that he could see her candle light from his shop late into the night. Pyzis had harvested the famous Ghostlight pods three times now and learned to take care of Coran's small garden out back. She had learned to tell the difference between Horse nettle and real cherry tomatoes. Along with the names and uses of many essential herbs and a few of the rarer ones that Coran grew. 

As time passed she felt safer with Coran than she had expected; she could now handle his gentle touch as he guided her hand in the proper motions of preparing potions. He was still a closed quiet man who rarely spoke of his personal life. Though as far as Pyzis could tell there wasn't much for him to tell anyway. They had left the Walking City and decided the safest place to start finding new herbs was Jasumin Lake. The eastern side of the water was known to house some rare plant life. It was Pyzis' turn to discover new use for a plant. Coran had taught her the basics of everything he held in stock when he realized there wasn't more he could teach her there they had moved on. 

The lake was surrounded in a perpetual autumn season. The plants around it sported bright colors ranging from fiery red to dark glittering gold. The air smelled of damp earth and crunched leaves. With a smile, Pyzis gazed across the lake. There was a wooden pathway that spanned the entire lake with a pavilion in the middle. An enormous domed roof boasted of stained glass. Giant lily pads floated along the water big enough to hold a person. The sight was beautiful with the vast blue sky above in contrast to the reds below.

"What type of plants are we looking for? Is there something in particular or are there many that grow here on the shores of the lake?" she questioned Coran. She knew that if she didn't ask he wasn't likely to tell her since he was a private person. It was difficult to get used to, but at least the silences between them were no longer awkward. "I know you spoke of the Neverbloom flower, what does it look like so I can keep an eye out?" 

She pulled her long chocolate colored hair over her right shoulder and plaited it quickly. She pulled a length of cord from her pocket before tying it at the end. It was hard to search for things that grew on the ground when you had long hair that kept getting in the way. Pyzis rubbed her hands together in anticipation, it was silly that she received a thrill from finding a rare flower with mystical healing properties while others craved action in fighting.

The fall foliage surrounding Jasumin lake surprised and amazed Coran. He had never been to this part of the continent though he had read plenty about it. The magnificent plumage and colors of the plant life were incredible to read about but completely breathtaking to witness in person. As he and Pyzis walked he would point out various plants and quiz her on her knowledge. He had shared all the books and research discussing this particular area and she should we well read on the local flora. He pointed at a tree fifty feet to their left. "What tree is that?" he asked her. Her reply was immediate, "That is a yellowbark tree." Coran waited for more information from her. She continued, "Its bark fibers are used to make a soothing tea." He nodded, but added to her description. "Also," he said, "If you mix the fibers with mashed felberries, the mixture hardens and can create a watertight seal on any surface. It is most commonly used by poor fishermen to seal the leaking hulls of their vessels."

They walked along, bright colorful leaves above and below them. He quizzed her on several other plants they passed and she gave a passable summary on each. After a short while she asked him about the neverbloom rose that they were ultimately searching for. Although he had shared all the information he had about the rare flower, it seemed to him that she just wanted to talk. He didn't mind talking to her, they had actually become fairly close during the short time she had been his apprentice. Well, they became as close as he allowed. He still didn't like talking about anything personal and would always change the subject to something work related. "The neverbloom flower will be on the east shore of the lake. Noboby has ever recorded seeing the flower in bloom, hence the name. I have some personal speculation on the matter but to really research it could take years. Also, all recorded attempts to relocate or cultivate the flower have been complete failures. It is a fairly small plant with the blossoms only a few inches off the ground." He pulled a piece of paper out of one of the books he had been carrying. On the paper was a hand drawn picture of a small flower bud. He handed it to Pyzis. He continued speaking. "I am thinking that we might try finding the flower and spend a few days here and observe if any wildlife interact with the flower.  As far as I know the only known use for the flower is the stamen are used as an ingredient in some mana potions. Ideally, I would like to try to harvest a plant and try to take it home. If you have any ideas about how to do that we can discuss it."

They continued walking and discussing the plants. It would likely take them several hours to locate on of the small flowers. "Yes," he said, "Keep your eyes open and hopefully it won't be too difficult to find one."

Pyzis smiled to herself as she walked alongside Coran. She answered each of his questions promptly knowing it was a diversion from any personal questions. He wasn't the type to divulge unnecessary facts about himself freely. Even after spending the last few months working closely she hadn't learned much about the quiet man. It amused her when he changed the subject though. She made it into a game to see how uncomfortable she could make him before he talked about work. Usually it didn't take long so she would try again a little later. She knew she was bothering the man, but if he didn't get uncomfortable he would never open up to anyone.

With a smirk she turned her gaze to for ground to search for the Neverbloom flower. The rich dark soil was damp and her boots sank a little into the dirt. Brightly colored leaves scattered everywhere making it difficult to see any of the smaller plants. She was lucky that Coran was with her, she had yet to master the subtle differences between some plants visually. Coran's garden didn't have a huge variety of species so Pyzis didn't have a lot to go on since this was their first trip out of the City. 

The thrill of looking for a rare plant brought a flush to Pyzis' cheeks. It wasn't often that a person got to study a rare plant and she reached into her backpack to get out her sketchpad and a charcoal pencil. While they had a sketch of the plant it would help Pyzis memorize every detail if she spent her time drawing it herself. Also she had a talent for colors which helped when identifying something as common as a green plant.

"Coran, what do you think we may find out about the Neverbloom when we study it? Do you think that the reason it doesn't bloom is that it waits for some creature to interact with it? Or is it something else? Also what sort of properties to you think it will have? I know the stamen was used to mana potions but the bud could hold many unknown traits." she asked as she took a few more steps towards the eastern corner of the lake. She stopped for a moment and gazed at the huge lilly pads. What would it feel like to spend a day laying beneath the summer sun on one of those. Feeling the warmth all over ones body and being able to cool off in the lake if it was too hot. 

She shook her head to bring herself back from daydreaming and knelt on the ground. She gently picked up the red and orange leaves and put the in a pile. There was no way to see what was under them without moving them. Especially with a plant that grew so closely to the ground. Her leather breeches creaked as she put one knee to the floor and picked up a small snail. Sometimes it was things like snail slime that got forgotten. Alchemists looked for items from growing things and often ignored animal byproducts like snail slime. Pyzs let the little thing make its way across her palm before setting him down. She knew this plain snail didn't have magical properties but she was trying to open her mind to think like a scientist. Small brown mushrooms sprouted under some of the leaves but had blue speckles all over. The contrast in the colors was beautiful and she tried to memorize it so she could recreate it later.

"Coran, I'm not familiar with this mushroom, do you know its name or what it does?" she pondered as she carefully cleared around it. If she could keep it moist they could take it back to their wagon that had pots for keeping samples alive. She didn't touch it in case the little thing was poisonous. That was one of the first things she had learned and waited for Coran to tell her what he knew.

Serious thoughts were going through Coran's mind and he and Pyzis continued their search in the area close to Jasumin lake. They were searching for the rare Neverbloom flower and his mind kept imagining all the possibilities should they actually figure out a way to get the flower to bloom. "I don't know. It could be an interaction that causes the blooming. Or perhaps it would need to be exposed to different seasons. But, as far as I know any attempt at relocating the flower to any other region has been a complete failure. I'm almost convinced that because of the perpetual autumn in this area the flower will never bloom." He could feel himself getting more excited as he thought more about it. "Obviously the flower has magical properties, otherwise it wouldn't be used for mana regeneration. Perhaps if it was to bloom other qualities would present themselves."

Coran allowed himself to be lost in his thoughts for a time as Pyzis kept her focus on the plantlife. He was pulled back to the real world when she started asking more questions. "Huh?" he asked her, "Say that again?" He saw the mushroom that she was inspecting and got down on hands and knees to get a closer look. After a few moments of careful examination and thoughtful consideration he declared "I have no idea what kind of mushroom that is, I've never seen this color combination on a specimen this small. Do you have a jar for us to harvest some?" He waited a few moments as Pyzis dug into her pack and pulled out a small jar. He smiled at her, "Don't forget to wear some gloves, it might be poisonous to you, or you might be poisonous to it." He chuckled like he had told a joke. "Well, you know what you are doing, so Ill let you do it."

Pyzis felt herself swell with pride, she had found something Coran didn't know about. She finally felt like she was doing something other than reading books and handling the common plants that were back at the shop. It seemed as if she was finally progressing towards becoming a real Alchemist. Along with that he trusted her to collect the specimin herself! It had taken him weeks to let her touch anything other than his Ghostlight plants in Hoja Mesto. A blush reached her cheeks as she realized she was happy that he was happy with her and she looked down at the plant trying to hide it. She shouldn't be so pleased with herself, but it was a rare thing to make Coran happy. 

Pyzis reached into her tan backpack and pulled out a set of leather gloves. After she had them n she placed the glass jar next to the plant and pulled out a small spade. She made sure to dig the earth around the plant to get all of the roots before placing it gently in the jar and screwing the lid on. In her backpack was a wooden box with dividers the size of the glass jar and straw to keep them from moving around too much. She placed the jar in with the other dozen or so empty ones and replaced it in her backpack. Coran had given her the heavy box to carry, but she wasn't complaining. There was something about knowing you held rare specimins in your bag that made a smile reach Pyzis' lips. It felt like she could change the world with the research she was doing, maybe she would find a cure for a rare disease or some other equally important use for a new plant. She knew it wasn't likely, but she also knew that she had many lifetimes to collect everything she wanted. 

"Coran? If no one else has been able to preserve the plant, how do you think we will be able to do it? I know we have a few pots and soil, but don't you think this has been tried. Do you think we will be able to take whatever it interacts with?" she questioned. Pyzis was always too curious for her own good. That and Coran never really explained what his plans were until he absolutly had to. "Where are we going to go to next? I heard rumor that there is a tropical island that has a volcano on it. The locals talk about a rare fire plant that grows on its slopes that once the nectar is collected can make you immune to the burn of flames. Don't you think that would be useful? Especially since we work over hot cauldrons all day?" 

Absently she stood and walked a little closer to the lake. Despite the colors of Autumn the air was suprisingly warm. She knelt down and unlaced her boots, placing them in her backpack. She liked to feel the springy moist earth beneath her toes and since the weather was holding out there was no reason to keep herself confined in stiff boots. With a smile she waded into the water before turning her face to the sunlight. The warmth of it streamed down onto her face and she took in a deep breath centering herself. Quickly she turned back to her task of looking for the strange never bloom flower.