[center][table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/S9h0xQG.gif[/img][/cell][cell] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220822/8009e9cec9b2a9db356c54f51de96bc2.png[/img]
[color=#2e2c2c]x
x[/color][/cell][cell] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Xlv2zHG.gif[/img][/cell][/row][/table][b]| Introducing | [/b] Lead Instructor [color=8493CA]Marjorie "Quickshift" Crowne[/color] & Professor [color=BC8F8F]Meagan "Gaia" Browning[/color]
[b]| Time | [/b] 11:50 AM
[b]| Location | [/b] Devilwood
____________________________________________________________________[/center]
[indent][indent]Marjorie Crowne was knelt down in a small clearing within the wood by Cypress Grove. She examined a herbaceous plant that did not belong in this area of the world. The white asphodel was native to the Mediterranean area, commonly found in meadows and heathlands. It wasn't like this plant couldn't grow here, so long as there was moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun. She enjoyed the history of the aphodelus albus, especially in Greek mythology, but to have it appear in a place where no flowers had been before. A place strictly off-limits without supervision. To have it appear out of nowhere, randomly, without cause or justification. That only made the happenings as of late even more unsettling. 

Did this connect to the fire or was she looking too deep in a simple plant? 

Damon had approached her a couple of hours ago saying he caught a new scent and he was the one to lead her here. He expressed that this wasn't here yesterday which only meant overnight, the flower of the world appeared from nothing or there was a villain hiding in plain sight, warning the school that in Crystal Peak there was no god and something was coming. Millions wandering aimlessly, all the lost souls wondering who they are, the ghosts of this world already halfway to their destination and that was Asphodel. It could've been any plant. Any plant could've appeared but what was growing in Devilwood was something Ancient Greece used for mourning and death. 

The white asphodel aided in the transition for the dead to the afterlife. If she wasn't raised to protect perhaps this wouldn't come off as threatening, but the Academy was her responsibility. The Academy was the place she and her family made to be a refuge for those like her, a port in a storm so the youth, the world's future, could grow into their own and take her place. She knew well enough the sands of time could not be stopped. Years pass, whether she wanted them to or not, and though her brother, Ambrose, was a phenomenon of a man, who could be a teenager one day and an old man the next, she knew like their grandfather, and their grandfather's grandmother, his life too was only that of specks of dust. 

Marjorie delve her fingers into the soil and separated the earth from the ground so that a small portion was now in her grasp. She let it fall through her fingers, like sands of an hourglass seeping down. Contemplatively, she watched in silence. Eventually, everything hits the bottom, as does one's life. Glancing up from her hand, she peered through the trees to see her invited company. The shrewd woman picked herself up. Not bothering to wipe her hands clean, Marjorie crossed her arms and gestured with her head toward the plant. [color=8493CA]"I hope you brought your supplies from the lab. I want you to conserve this plant. Study it and the soil surrounding it."[/color]  

[color=BC8F8F]"This is..."[/color] The botany professor emerged from the dark of Devilwood and into the light. [color=BC8F8F]"... I swear I didn't give anyone permission to plant anything, Mrs. Crowne."[/color] Anxiously, Meagan quickly went to the plant and placed her spade down. She only had enough supplies to gather a soil sample. She would need to study the conditions to make sure this white asphodel was ready to be transplanted. The plant with a hundred leaves had one of the earliest recorded histories, with a detailed description by Hesiod in the 8th century BC. It wasn't only a plant for mourning. It was a plant of regret and back in the day, people would plant them near tombs. 

Examining her surroundings, hoping she wasn't disturbing something doormat, Meagan placed her hand near the plant on the soil, her hand glowing gold. She gathered a quick reading of the environment and sighed in relief when she couldn't feel any sadness or complete nothingness. She couldn't feel a grave. [color=BC8F8F]"I'll see what I can do, it wouldn't hurt to get Genevieve here. She can pick up the history of this plant to see if this was a natural or unnatural cause. All I can do is study the properties and—"[/color] 

[color=8493CA]"I'm aware of your capabilities, Professor. That's why you're here. As for my youngest daughter,"[/color] Marjorie's expression strained in annoyance. [color=8493CA]"We both know how difficult it is to get her to come home when she's on one of her expeditions."[/color] Grabbing her antique [url=https://d17anp2eo56k6j.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/7716e03146c5e1ed78d1c678462d3861/f/r/french-belle-epoque-guilloche-enamel-pendant-watch-necklace_2_60-1-10045.jpg]pocket[/url] [url=https://d17anp2eo56k6j.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/7716e03146c5e1ed78d1c678462d3861/f/r/french-belle-epoque-guilloche-enamel-pendant-watch-necklace_3_60-1-10045.jpg]watch[/url] [url=https://d17anp2eo56k6j.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/7716e03146c5e1ed78d1c678462d3861/f/r/french-belle-epoque-guilloche-enamel-pendant-watch-necklace_6_60-1-10045.jpg]necklace[/url] hanging from her neck, dangling on the long side, she checked the time. [color=8493CA]"Thank you, I know things have been busy for us. I hope your table is handled?"[/color]  

[color=BC8F8F]"Oh yeah! I made sure Holly was situated before heading over here. Maybe this year the gardening club will have more than just like three people!"[/color] Meagan excitably exclaimed. Her passions were clear as day and thanks to her, the Academy was able to maintain its charm, with the gardens that bedazzled all those that walked campus by beauty and craftsmanship. The Academy looked like it was meant for a story book, a lost heaven to give the students inner peace and harmony. The town itself looked particularly gorgeous at night by the lake, where the grass gently move with the wind, dancing to its own rhythm, and the moonlight kisses the lake, making it glisten and glow, like newly lovers becoming one for the first time. 

Marjorie was no longer present in the conversation, which cued Meagan to start her task. Her superior was a strange woman whose cogs were constantly turning. There wasn't a day that Marjorie Crowne rested, always looking ahead and thinking of the smallest of moments. Marjorie was a woman who knew better than most that each life was a pebble and once dropped into water, there ripples spread. Don't ever underestimate the ripple effect, for actions of individuals have effects that not even the Crownes could prevent. [color=8493CA]"I need to check on my granddaughter, see if she's okay."[/color] 

[color=BC8F8F]"I'm sure Eliana has it covered!"[/color] Meagan called out, as the older woman was already walking prominently back into Devilwood, [color=BC8F8F]"You raised her well."[/color] [/indent][/indent]