[@Zeroth][@Stabby]

Femus listened carefully as the wild pixie came and took the flower crown and flew off to its next amusement.  Distracting the creature had been fairly easy.  Unfortunately, Nira had gotten herself… socially entangled.  It could be dangerous to break the two pixies up but it would be far safer for the two to relocate.

The green wisp remembered that there was an even larger tree closer to the center of their little patch of forest.  It might prove to be a worthwhile place to visit, now that his homey hollow was no longer secret.  But, he would need to either linger nearby until Nira was free or help her outright.

First, however, he needed to get ready.  He gathered three more Blue Yill flowers, being careful to keep their roots attached if possible, and a small piece of thin vine which he used to tie them together into a slightly stronger circlet of sorts.  He hoped that this would be an easier way of carrying them.  With this circlet on his… top… he did his best to dim his glow and avoid making sound as he prepared to slip outside.

Then he had an idea.  Cultivators frequently made use of formations to gather ambient energy when the local concentration was too low for them to use.  This Old Kao Tree had a little more magic than the surrounding trees.  It might not be enough, but it could be worth trying…

Femus pulled at some of the tree from inside the hollow while trying to amplify his Lesser Force with more mana.  He was hoping to gain a few pieces of living wood as well as some sap which he intended to use to coat the pieces of living wood before wrapping them in fresh leaves from the same tree that grew from a low branch just outside.  Maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to use these components to establish a lesser weak mana gathering formation somewhere near that bigger tree.  At least, he might get a start on the skills needed to make something like that work.

He tried to hurry as much as he could while preserving the quality of the components.  If he fell below half mana then he would stop to meditate until he was over maximum again before continuing.  Once he finished gathering, he would slip out and move up into higher branches without being seen or heard.  If a chance to get Nira’s attention presented itself then he would take it before continuing up.  Moving through the leafy branches would probably be safer than further down.  However, pushing himself up higher would take more mana.  He was certain of that.  So, if he could, he would push up to the target elevation before meditating back to his accustomed, higher than maximum, mana level.  Then, provided that he was hidden, he would wait for Nira.