IC Date: 10/27/2025

A few hours of work in Elysia’s greenhouse had made it clear that this was going to be a substantial undertaking. Tempesti had no idea exactly how she would be able to manage it alone, frankly it seemed more and more likely that she would need to bring her mom in on this. And if she brought one parent in, she would definitely have to bring in the other. And that was going to be a whole thing, particularly considering that her mothers were more than likely to be just a wee bit miffed to learn that she’d kept something like this from them for so long. Just until she needed help only a botanist could provide. Hopefully the allure of alien plants and ancient art would be enough to balance out some of the inevitable anger with curiosity. Though there was no evading the tag team scolding she knew was coming and even if she didn’t tell them that her sisters already knew, they would definitely figure it out before too much time had passed.

She sighed softly. The scolding was hardly the worst thing she could anticipate, it was the disappointment. The sense of betrayal they’d have to feel learning she kept something this huge from them. The worry. Ugh. She was definitely not looking forward to having two more people fussing over the danger. The senshi chided herself for her selfishness, it wasn’t as though she was the wronged party here. They just loved her. That was the important thing to remember. That and they would most likely still love her even while they were mad. Still, she could get this greenhouse in something resembling order before asking for help.

She threw a brief glance at the pots she’d set out in what she assumed was some kind of reception area outside the greenhouse. The Tower’s library would have to have some books on plants, right? The reams of notes she knew Elysia had taken would have been the ideal and obvious choice for this particular collection, but unfortunately for her those memories never showed where the old senshi had actually kept them. So, some botanical guide would have to do.

Returning to the room full of plants, she resumed the delicate work of disengaging the mass of tendrils from one another, meticulously trimming back the stubborn tangles where separation was impossible. At least the clippings would be useful for study. Which was why she had them carefully separated into the sample bags she’d brought with her, each roughly labeled with a sharpie. It wasn’t the most scientific setup, but she had to work with what she had until she was able to learn about something better. For now she had what felt like an entire world of wonders before her, species she couldn’t put names to. Strains Elysia might have cultivated herself, if memory served.

Countless mysteries to solve, countless petals and tendrils to explore. Countless reasons to bring in the people she’d tried so hard to spare.