[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6J09G9E.png[/img][/center][@Emeth] [@Zanavy]

[color=ffec42]"Can't say I expected it either."[/color] Mara gave a humourless laugh. Listening to Felicia's advice, she nodded. [color=ffec42]"Heh, if there's a way to harness it, that'll be one good thing about this essence."[/color] Not that she knew whether to dare hope for such luck. [color=ffec42]"Thanks, that'll be great, so long as they actually agree to it."[/color]

She gave a worried glance at the ever-growing queue. Surely plant essences weren't [i]that[/i] widespread. Either way, if she didn't take her place quickly, there'd be little chance of a refund. [color=ffec42]"Uh, just a moment,"[/color] she told Felicia, heading over to the line.

It took more than just a moment. Mara's skepticism had proven correct, and she glared as scammer after scammer trudged away in shame. Conner, one of the few genuine plant essenced people, still had to be a total show-off about it. Mara folded her arms, inching forward with the line, trying not to think about the scorching heat. Or the idiot in front of her who dragged out his turn, insisting his retractable claws were in fact rose thorns. When he finally gave up and turned around, Mara noticed his sunglasses didn't quite conceal his cat eyes.

She sighed through her teeth. Her turn now, and getting irritable was something to avoid. She presented her ticket to the volunteer, who looked as tired as she felt, and hurried to the open space. The sooner this was over with, the better.

[color=ffec42]"Lemon essence,"[/color] she said simply. Already, that urge to shrink back from all these people reared its head. [color=ffec42]"Which somehow translates to this."[/color] She pulled off one of her gloves, inhaled deeply, and held her hand out. Her fingers tingled, tiny sparks dancing around them. The scent of lemon rose into the air.

She curled her fingers, the sparks vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared. She hadn't meant to pull back her torso, but now it must be clear her own essence unsettled her. With her usual scowl in place, she tugged her glove on and headed towards the volunteer.