The Last Goddess

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Green Thumb

Samara

After being astounded, time and again by Arcanum, I can honestly admit that arriving in Sky Forest was... underwhelming. I dare say, even a bit disappointing. I expected the deities of Sky Forest to live in an environment that was as vibrant and lush as Aryan described, but when we stepped off the platform, I found that this was not the case.

"Well," Aryan dragged out the word as he adjusted his backpack. "This place looks like shit."

Several people glared at Aryan's outburst, and I gently reminded him not to be so crass. "Aryan, maybe it is not a good idea to say that..." I said, smiling awkwardly at the others around us. After a few more seconds of glaring, they simply walked off, no longer interested in our affairs.

My familiar tsked at me. "I'm not going to lie. It's seen better days." He scrunched his nose up in disdain at the dead and dry grass, the loosely leafed trees, and the overall yellow and brown environment. "I mean, you would think Silas would at least try to keep up Izara's work."

I reflected on that for a moment. My thoughts returned to the god of darkness. Colton didn't participate in a single Festival event until he felt Zenaida's power—her soul—in Arcanum once again. "Maybe... he couldn't." I felt myself pout before continuing on. "Perhaps, it was too difficult."

"Or," Aryan shrugged. "The god of beasts just doesn't have a green thumb."

"Well, either way," I stared sorrowfully at the dead meadow ahead of us. It lined both sides of the path and continued into the nearby village ahead. "It's tragic to see."

My fingers itched as we walked on. Something inside me was begging me to heal this wasteland, and I found the craving hard to resist. Swiftly, I looked around. Everyone that exited the Arcanum Express was far ahead of us, and when I turned, I saw no one behind us. The train was even departing with a long-whistled goodbye, and from what I could tell, no one would be near enough to see me perform a bit of magic.

"What are you thinking?" Aryan asked as he side-eyed me.

"Hmm?" I replied, both my arms rising just enough to have the palms of my hands facing the dried meadow.

"You feel... mischievous. And not in the way that's fun." My familiar said drily.

I blushed slightly at his implication and smiled. "Wouldn't it be nice if I just..." I exhaled softly, my fingers tingling as they wiggled some. "...helped the foliage out a bit? A little something to help it grow?"

Aryan seemed skeptical as his brows pulled together. "I don't know. I think after the train incident we should keep a low profile for a bit. We don't know how receptive Silas will be with us. Or the villagers for that matter. Willow was nice, but if you remember, Ash Valley was a pain in the ass."

My head knew that Aryan was right, but my heart... it just couldn't resist. I let the wave of magic come over me and as I walked, I saw the yellow grass slowly change to a light greenish hue.

"There." I grinned up at Aryan as I skipped gleefully. "See no harm in—"

We both froze as the meadow began transforming quickly from that pale green grass to something altogether more pleasing to the eye. The nearby trees grew healthy, thick, and brown bark, and its leaves changed to be a menagerie of purple, green, and red. Along the path, marigolds and geraniums that ranged from orange to blue to pink bloomed. And finally, the people that were far ahead of us stopped in amazement.

One of them screamed in delight. "Lady Izara is back! Her presence is near. Look at how the meadow blooms again!"

As we neared, others murmured the man's excitement. "Perhaps the rumor of the goddesses returning is true."

"Yes! Yes! I heard from someone on the train. They attended the Festival of Light and Dark which had a similar occurrence before Lady Zenaida returned to them!"

They clamored at the flowers along the path, picking one as they smelled their uniquely fragrant scents.

"Heh!" Aryan began to laugh bitterly as he gave me a smug expression. "Yeah, you're definitely low profile, Samara."

I bit my lip and lowered my head, hoping that nobody noticed that it was me who healed the foliage. I couldn't take it if I was called someone other than myself. After all, while I accepted my fate, I wanted to stay me as long as possible. And should any of these villagers find out what I'm here to do, that would only complicate our journey.

Quickly, I grabbed Aryan's hand and pulled him through the crowd with me. For a moment, he just let me drag him along, but after a second, he squeezed my hand and walked beside me as we hurried towards the village.