The sun was shining and the slightest of breezes caused the trees of the Madin shrine to move ever so lazily as if they were waving, beckoning to him in his morning rounds through the grounds. He had grown quite accustomed to the routine he set for himself on his first day at the Council. Kyle would first have some breakfast at the central hall where many elementals gathered to break their fast in the morning. After his breakfast, he would make his way to the shrine where he would first inspect several of the larger trees in the grove. He would reach out and touch them, connecting to them and sensing their state. He had grown comfortable with the feeling generated by each of the trees in the grove and would know by now if something were out of balance. From there, he would make his way clockwise around the shrine, inspecting some of the other, smaller trees and shrubs before making his way back to the center of the shrine where he would practice transitioning into his morph. He had made great strides in his progression and could transition between his form of choice, a live oak, and his human form easily.
Today was different though. Linnet had arrived the night before and the pair of them had shared dinner together. The central hall was quite full, as it normally was for dinner, but the two had caught up on the happenings of their respective summers to that point. Linnet had been at the Chatoeil for a large portion of the summer and Kyle had spent the majority of his here at the council. They had stayed well past the appointed hours for dinner, but the other members of the council had no issues with their remaining in the hall. In reality, the hall never closed. While the kitchens were not available for food services, elementals could spend time there, meet with each other and just relax in the hall rather than in the shrine should they choose to do so. After several hours of talking, the two had bid each other farewell and retired to their rooms. The next morning, Kyle followed the same routine, finding himself in the shrine before he even knew what was going on.
Kyle made his way to each of the trees and had found that one of the shrubs was showing early signs of decay. Reaching down, Kyle began working the soil with his hands. He felt the shrub and knew instinctively what was ailing the plant. Focusing on the injury the plant was fighting, Kyle reached into the plant with his consciousness and placed his hands on the base of the shrub just above the root bulb. Closing his eyes, Kyle spoke softly "MADIN ADAUGESCO" he could sense a change in the status of the plant. While it was not a complete reversal of the condition, he could tell that something had changed. He would remember to bring the plant to the attention of one of the Acolytes after the completion of his time spent in morph. Moving back to the center of the grove, Kyle began to clear his mind, intent on removing thoughts of the injured plant from his mind before diving into his live oak form.
Closing his eyes, Kyle knelt and began pushing all thoughts from his mind. He began to focus only on the earth, the essence around him, the feeling of each plant, of the animals of the soil. It was then that he felt the presence of another elemental. It was one of his fellow discipuli, that much was certain. Kyle had come to know the feeling of each of the senior members of the council who spent their summer here. He could tell who it was by the feelings that radiated from them as they entered the shrine. This feeling though, while not one of the senior members, was one that he could have known from miles away. Linnet had come to join him here in the shrine. Keeping his eyes closed and feigning continued concentration, he heard Linnet cross the shrine and come to a stop next to him. It was then he heard her voice. Kyle opened one eye and looked over at her, "Excuse me ma'am, you are interrupting a very special ritual." He couldn't but laughing as he closed his eyes once more. After faking as long as he could, Kyle opened his eyes and moved from his knees into a seated position. "I would love to join you for a walk, the day is quite nice and I could use a little shake up to my normal routine." Standing up, Kyle offered Linnet his hand and waited for her to take it. It was nice to get away from the main center of the council, especially with so many other elementals that could notice how much time the pair spent together.
