The next day Nillyna filled the watering can with the last of the revitalizing potion, then she graced Lily with her presence again, water can in hand. Though this time Lily wasn't overly hostile to her as she sprinkled her with the nutritious potion, and much to Nillyna's surprise, actually lowered her humanoid body so Nillyna could get to it more easily. But Lily eyed her with no less suspicion, and Nillyna showed no more emotion than she had after Lily slapped her.
 
 
After Nillyna finished sprinkling Lily with the potion she resumed the task of magically repairing her vines, still restraining them to the ground after finishing each one, though Lily made no move to retaliate anymore. The same process as the night before saw a good amount of Lily's vines restored, but the difference this day was that after Nillyna had drained her talisman it was on the very last vine, and that meant Lily was fully healed. She was ready to be released back into the world.
 
 
Nillyna was less than pleased at the thought.
 
 
This whole endeavor, as arduous as it had been, was the only interaction she could afford with Lily, and now that it was over she could not bear the thought of letting her go. She wanted Lily so bad she was beginning to taste it, and for a brief moment she considered leaving her restrained, keeping her prisoner here in her home. But the temptation passed soon, to be replaced by shame.
 
 
Nillyna would never do that to Lily.
 
 
She knew that.
 
 
“That's it,” said Nillyna in a voice she was trying to keep even. “Your body is fully mended now. I will find a new place where you can lay down roots, but it may take me a while. I will need to keep sprinkling you in the meantime.”
 
 
Yes, Nillyna still needed to find Lily a new home, and with how massive Pangaea is, it would take a while for her to find a place remote enough so Lily won't be distributed, as well having a teeming environment that can sustain her. In the meantime, Nillyna could still see her, even if it was just to water her with potion to keep her healthy. And she would need more of said potion, and that was going to take a day at the most to arrange
 
 
It wasn't much, but at least Nillyna still had time with Lily
 
 
Nillyna made her way to the exit, trying to keep her footsteps even, but was fighting the urge to flee from the cellar with her face buried in her arms, sobbing uncomfortably.
 
 
“What are you playing at?”
 
 
Lily's sudden question made Nillyna freeze in place, halfway to the door. “What?”
 
 
“Look at me.” Was Lily's response.
 
 
Nillyna turned and found, to her horror, that Lily was holding her Soul Contract out, her expression telling her that she had indeed read it, but wasn't any less suspicious of her. It would seem she still did not understand.
 
 
“If I did sign this, I would be under no obligation to give you any of the fruit you so desire,” said Lily, her voice aggressive and aggravated again. “In fact, as far as I can tell, if I do sign it, I will practically get pampered by you for as long as you live. What would possess you to offer me a bargain like this, when you wouldn't gain what you desire from it? You would get nothing from me if I sign this, so why would you offer such a deal when it practically doesn't benefit you at all?”
 
 
'Doesn’t benefit me?’ Nillyna thought bitterly to herself. ‘That's a matter of opinion.’
 
 
“Who's to say it wouldn't benefit me?” Answered Nillyna, turning back to the door. “As for why I offered you such a deal, what does it matter now anyway? You declined; there's no reason to go into it further. Tomorrow, I will begin searching for a new home for you and that will be that.
 
 
“We will never meet again.”
 
 
Nillyna began to leave again.
 
 
“OH, NO YOU DON'T!” Shouted Lily, Nillyna actually freezing in place midstep, cringing and involuntary shedding a tear, Lily's tone reminded her of the night she had slapped her.
 
 
“You claim to respect me, you claim you want to help me,” said Lily, huffing like a winded bull. “Well, prove it. Tell me how you intend to coax fruit from me with this honey toned arrangement.” Lily's scowl deepened, thrusting up the Soul Contract for emphasis. “I know you're only after my fruit, but I can't figure out what your plot to con it out of me is!”
 
 
Nillyna, it would appear, was not as strong as she would like to believe.
 
 
These words from Lily, hateful and full of spite, stung like cold knives impacting Nillyna's heart. Her resolve built up over the last few days buckled, and all the heartache she felt poured into her body like a flood. She could not help it; despite her doubt that Lily would even understand her feelings, she had to let it out.
 
 
“Why...?” She asked, tears flowing from her clenched eyes. “Why won't you understand?”
 
 
“Understand what?” Asked Lily impatiently. "As I have been saying, I can't figure out how you intend to swipe my…"
 
 
“THAT I DON'T WANT YOUR DAMN FRUIT ANYMORE!”
 
 
Nillyna's sudden outburst startled Lily enough that she receded back into her plant half partially, especially after Nillyna turned around and stormed up to her, her eyes gleaming threateningly as glistening tears streamed from them constantly. Lily tried to recede completely into her plant half but Nillyna forced her back out with her magic, her talisman clattering to the ground as she lost the will to hold it. It should not be possible for Nillyna to use magic at night without her talisman, but she was using the magic she usually held in reserve to transmute her wings into a dress; of course, without this magic her dress vanished, to be replaced with her elegant white wings once more.
 
 
Which also meant that Nillyna now stood naked before Lily, but she didn't care.
 
 
Lily herself was beginning to think it may have not been the best idea to antagonize a powerful Lepidopteran sorceress that had proven to be quite fluent in magic already.
 
 
“Please, don't hurt me,” she whimpered pathetically, slumping down as if trying to make herself look small and unthreatening, her earlier aggression washed away in a tidal wave of fear.
 
 
“Oh, I'm not going to hurt you,” sneered Nillyna, pushing her face into Lily's. “I'm not like you.”
 
 
From this close up Lily had a clear view of Nillyna's tearing eyes. For the longest time they just stared at each other, Nillyna being the one glaring instead of Lily for a change. She didn't know how, but for the first time, Lily could finally see that Nillyna was indeed being truthful. There was just something in her expression that left no room for deception.
 
 
She really didn't want her fruit anymore?
 
 
“How?” She asked, trembling, her vision full of nothing but Nillyna's eyes. “Eternal youth, immortality…? What would make you just give all that up so easily?”
 
 
“There was nothing easy about it!” Nillyna closed her eyes, her sneer morphing into a frown, turning away to try drying her eyes on her arm, but the tears continued regardless of her attempts to suppress them. “Do you remember what happened between us before you ate me? What you wanted from me when I arrived at your meadow?”
 
 
Lily had to think about it for a second before she realized what Nillyna was talking about. “You mean... when we had sex together?”
 
 
“Yes, that, what you asked for in return for some of your fruit,” said Nillyna, glaring back up from her attempt to dry her eyes. “Though, thinking back, it was obviously a lie.”
 
 
Lily didn't seem to notice the chide remark.
 
 
“What does that have to do with anything?” Asked Lily, some of her aggravation from before returning. “So you and me had sex. I've had sex with lot's of people.”
 
 
Nillyna did not like how bluntly and uncaringly Lily described what was, without a doubt, the most beautiful moment in her life, despite what had transpired afterwards.
 
 
“To you, it obviously meant nothing,” she replied, “But to me, it was the most powerful, most passionate, most beautiful moment of my life.”
 
 
Lily's expression became more confused than ever before. “I don't understand.”
 
 
“Of course you don't,” said Nillyna, turning away in a futile attempt to hide her tears again. “Something like that, it's obviously nothing more than a way to have fun for you, and, given the circumstances, just you playing with your food.” She gave a sideways glance over her shoulder at Lily again. “But for some people, nothing opens a path to their heart faster than what you and I did together.
 
 
“Nothing...makes them fall in love faster.”
 
 
For the first time in her life Lily gasped in shock.
 
 
“Are you saying you love me?” Asked the flabbergasted plant girl. “You... you can't be in love with me…it’s impossible...”
 
 
“What does it matter if it's impossible or not?” said Nillyna in a voice that carried every once of her heartache. “Something like you could never understand. You…" Nillyna couldn't suppress a sob by that point. "You have no heart!”
 
 
Lily gasped.
 
 
That comment…actually stung somehow.
 
 
Never before had anyone said such a thing to her. Despite all the people she had devoured over the years, all the desperation, anger, threat's, and pain she had seen in those she had consumed, nothing like this had ever been said to her. Nor had anything made her feel the way she did now. A sharp, retching feeling deep in her soul.
 
 
“How can you feel this way?” Asked Lily, her voice actually trembling, her strong predatory behavior gone. “After... everything I did to you?”
 
 
Even Lily was aware that if something ate you (like she had eaten Nillyna), the last thing one would expect was for the individual that had been eaten to develop feelings for the one they had been eaten by.
 
 
But Nillyna just scowled deeper at Lily's question and turned away again.
 
 
“I don't know,” she replied, “I have tried so hard to hate you for everything that you did to me, but I just couldn't. My heart wouldn't let me. Maybe it's because it was my first time, maybe it's because I have been living alone for so long that I didn't realize just how lonely I actually was, but whatever the reason, I know this.” She gave Lily one last backwards glance, a tear sliding down her cheek, glistening like a diamond in the light of the crystal chandeliers above. “I know my feelings for you will never change.
 
 
“No matter what happens now, I know I will love you forever.”
 
 
With that Nillyna stormed out of the cellar, breaking down into sobs before she was even out of Lily's sight, letting the plant girl hear her quiet weeping.
 
 
Lily's expression fell as she placed a hand over her heart. That emotional outburst from Nillyna had to have been genuine. She could have easily harmed, or killed Lily right then and there, but hadn't, and apparently for no other reason other than she just didn't want to hurt Lily, even enraged as she was.
 
 
Plus, Lily now knew how Nillyna was telling the truth. She had seen expressions like Nillyna's from the other people she had consumed; begging for their lives, claiming they would do anything if she just let them live, that they didn't want to die. No one lies in situations like that, which means Nillyna really was sincere about wanting to be with her...and for her, not her fruit.
 
 
For the first time in her life, Lily felt low.
 
 
There was a sensation in Lily's chest that felt like someone was ripping her heart out and she didn't know what to do about it. She had never experienced something like this before and she wished beyond measure she had been denied the privilege, for she never before felt anything so excruciating in her entire life. She felt that even if she had died in that fire it would have been preferable to this.
 
 
She didn't know what hurt more; being accused of having no heart, not believing Nillyna was being sincere about wanting to be with her from the beginning and for treating her the way she had for the last few days, or being baffled by the fact that, for the first time in her life, she was feeling something for someone else.
 
 
Nillyna loved her, and she had just cast her away. Why...why did she do that?
 
 
Was this guilt Lily was feeling?
 
 
It had to be.
 
 
It was guilt from three angles.
 
 
Guilt, that was something Lily had never experienced in her life, and it was the most horrible feeling she had ever endured and she knew if she didn't do something to ease it she would regret it for the rest of her existence. And there was only one way to do that, but how? After everything that's happened between her and Nillyna, how could she ever set things back on the path that Nillyna had wanted for the both of them in the beginning, and Nillyna resolve had been shaky and doubtful even then, obviously having little, to no hope Lily would accept her.
 
 
She looked down at the Soul Contract she still clenched in her fist.
 
 
Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a bad transaction to Lily after all, especially considering the remorse she was currently enduring at the moment. Plus, a lot was in it for her and not just all the privileges and pampering Nillyna was promising, but the emotional benefit as well. All Nillyna wanted in return was something Lily enjoyed herself, and if she was being honest, the whole consuming her partner after they were finished with their mutual exchange, while enjoyable, was secondary to the fun beforehand by a long shot.
 
 
It wasn't anything personal, she was a predator and they were her prey after all.
 
 
Lily continued to stare at the contract, contemplating.
 
 
She had never seen herself being the type for having a mate (her only equivalent to what Nillyna was asking for was her observation through rabbits, deer, and other such creatures that had inhabited her forest with her) but now that she thought about it, how different was it to what she had done with all the people that Shadow had lured to her over the years? If she just focused on those feelings that she felt before eating her mate maybe she could adapt to this kind of thing.
 
 
‘And... if it made Nillyna happy…?’ A small drop splashed on the rolled up, translucent contract, and when Lily put a hand to her cheek it came back wet.
 
 
Flexing the liquid between her fingers, Lily realized she was shedding tears for the first time in her life. Tears of regret, guilt...and joy.
 
 
Her emotions towards the Lepidopteran currently caring for her were changing. Once, the mere thought of her would just arouse her ire, but now…?
 
 
The next morning came too quickly for Nillyna as the rising sun awoke her from her sleep, her having crawled into one of her many four poster beds for an uneasy night's rest. Her face was covered in dry tears but she couldn't care less about them. She was going to be saying goodbye to the one she loves soon, and as one sided as it was, she knew every moment was going to hurt.
 
 
In the daylight pouring through the window, Nillyna channeled her magic and transmuted her wings again, though this time she chose to morph them into attire that was more appropriate for traveling; a simple tank top and tight hiking shorts. She needed to get more ingredients for the potion she was using to keep Lily healthy, and to acquire some, she was going to have to travel quite a bit. And she felt like she was going to need quality ingredients this time, and there was only one place she could go for the best quantity and quality of what she would need.
 
 
The Meadow of the Tetra.
 
 
There are people who excel at certain talents, such as sewing, painting, magic, ect. For the Tetra, as a race as a whole, it was bargaining and bartering. Resembling crocodile sized gila monsters with spiny backs, no other species possessed their skill in trades, and they were one of the unique who possessed intellect without having a bipedal form.
 
 
Nobody knows where they come from, for their home, wherever it is, is hidden for various reasons, nor is it known how they groom their exemplary skills for trading rare and coveted goods; either through exemplary craft skills on top of their merchant talents, or through other “unlawful” methods, but what is known is that if you ever need something that is hard to get or has to be better quality than usual, the people to see where the Tetra. And though their place of origin may be a mystery, they always conduct business in a place titled as The Meadow of the Tetra. An expanse of grassland as far as the eye can see, The Meadow of the Tetra housed the Tetra's main trading caravan at its heart, where all walks of life went to conduct business with them for whatever reason.
 
 
And Nillyna had her reasons.
 
 
Even though she was through restoring Lily’s wounds there was still the issue of finding her a new place to live, and with the amount of time that would take being uncertain, Nillyna was going to still need to sprinkle Lily with the potion that kept her healthy in the meantime.
 
So, with no other reason to put it off, Nillyna channeled her magic, then vanishing in a pop of blue light.
 
 
Obviously, Nillyna was especially skilled with teleporting, having done so from her house to Lily's forest effortlessly, despite being several leagues apart, but teleporting to The Meadow of the Tetra was a chore for any magic user, despite their skills. While not being anywhere near the distance Lily's forest was, The Meadow of the Tetra's had something that made teleporting there far more complicated. Some certain security measures, for instance.
 
 
The Tetra's were good at what they do, so, therefore, they were well aware that when you gather essentially valuable goods in one place, it's more than likely to attract people who feel entitled to help themselves to something free of charge, so, long ago, they commissioned a magical barrier to be erected around their place of business. Anyone wishing to enter through magical means must pass through this barrier, and as they do, it examines their intentions, and if it detects any nefarious desires... they will wish they had decided to steal from somewhere where the penalty for such things was just a simple arrest. Many would-be thieves had fallen victim to this ruthless magical protection.
 
 
Had Nillyna not taken this trip several times in the past, she may have been a little nervous, but she had done business with the Tetra's for years, so she was used to it.
 
 
Her essence zipped across the countryside as a speeding, formless mass, passing over lakes, farmland, even a major city or two. Eventually, the horizon became a dense forest, and passing over the trees eventually beheld a hilly, grassy landscape, Nillyna closing in on it at breakneck speed.
 
 
But, just before passing over the treeline, Nillyna's amorphous form halted in mid air, condensing into a ball of twinkling blue light, before being held in place by a sheen of shimmering air. This was the first phase of the barrier that protects The Meadow of the Tetra's. It was known as the Waiting Line, and it was amply named, for there were several other twinkling balls floating alongside Nillyna in a variety of different colors, resembling a cluster of rainbow fragments, all held in place by a similar sheen shimmering air.
 
 
Obviously, these were other consumers waiting to be admitted to the meadow.
 
 
Up ahead, past a vast assemblage of other twinkling balls, stood a massive, translucent dome of rippling magic. Every few hours, a cluster of about a dozen multicolored spheres passed through this pulsating barrier, and even still, they penetrated at a snail's pace before finally arriving at what lay beyond. It was a grueling process to go through, and fortunately for Nillyna, in her present state, she was not as affected by the passage of time as she normally would be.
 
 
Though, her one lingering thought was the strong hope that Lily wouldn't wilt while she was stuck here, in the "Waiting Line".
 
 
Eventually, after about a day in a half of just hovering among the twinkling queue, Nillyna was finally among the next cluster to be admitted. She passed slowly through the thick wall of rippling magic, the massive enchantment scanning through this group's consciousness, in search of any ulterior motives, other than to browse the wares as sold at the Meadow. But Nillyna was not worried for her own safety, she wasn't even here for herself after all.
 
 
Unbeknownst to Nillyna, along the way, three of her fellow orbs exploded out of existence with simultaneous flashes. Multiple charred bones littered the ground below, joining a massive amount of other skeletons, obviously more would be thieves of the past. It would seem no amount of warnings and rumors is enough to deter some people, especially if their greed overcomes their common sense.
 
 
And there is a heavy price of greedy motivation in this place, it would seem.
 
 
But none of this mattered to Nillyna, for, at last, she emerged from the protective barrier, thankfully unscathed. Once she was free of the pulsating sheen she and the other glowing balls sped forward and finally descended into the notorious meadow below. Every corner of the place was covered in large canvas tents, market stalls, and other various locations of trade. Several other things could be found here as well, such as, for people who were here so some associates of theirs could shop instead of them, but had no interest in being consumers themselves, there were multiple eating areas, jousting arenas, brawling arenas, even a stage for plays.
 
 
Nillyna and her group sped past all of these areas, some dropping down and descending into the crowd below, obviously having reached their destination. Finally, after all but three had departed, Nillyna herself finally descended herself, rematerializing back to her original form and standing on the grass among several stalls. She looked up as the remaining spheres she had shared airspace with sped off, heading to different sections of the meadow.
 
 
Then, looking down at her surroundings, Nillyna came to terms that she had reached her destination. If there was one thing she was grateful for at the moment, it was the fact that the Tetra's had the foresight to divide their meadow into sections. Otherwise, it might take days to navigate this place in search of what you desire.
 
 
All the stalls around displayed various ingredients and produce, all arranged by category, quantity, quality, and variety.
 
 
Taking a breath, Nillyna began to move into the cluster of canvas covered stalls. As she walked by, several Tetra's, testing their scaly forelegs on the counters of their respective stalls, called out to her, advertising their merchandise. But Nillyna paid them no mind, for she had eyes for the goods of a certain merchant alone.
 
 
At the very center of this particular section of the Tetra's meadow stood a large canvas tent, easily triple the size of its neighbors, and expensively decorated in lavish dark colors, and string lined with extravagant, multicolored beads. This appeared to be Nillyna's destination from the start, for without the slightest change of expression, she ripped past the entrance flap and into the interior.
 
 
The inside was just as lavish as the outside.
 
 
Crystal prisms hung from strong strings from the ceiling, where precariously placed holes in the canvas allowed small pillars of light to strike their faceted surfaces and projecting multicolored dispersions throughout the interior. Mahogany stands stood around, displaying various plants, and other types of ingredients, all obviously of the highest quality. It had to be, Nillyna only ever settled for the best.
 
 
"Well, what have we got here?" Nillyna turned to the source of the croaky voice, and from a shadowy corner, emerged an aged Tetra, her scaly hide hanging wrinkled off her bones like a burlap sack.
 
 
"Sylvia," greeted Nillyna in a dull voice. Nillyna, in the past, had always come to Sylvia for ingredients, especially recently, when she was gathering material for the eternal youth potion, as mute as that venture was now.
 
 
"Nillyna, my dear, it's been too long," said the Tetra named Sylvia, and if there ever was the best of the best when it came to
selling potion ingredients, it would be her
 
 
"Hasn't it?" said Nillyna with a hint of sarcasm, though it was hard to detect with her current tone.
 
 
A tone that Sylvia immediately picked up on, her eyebrow raising in confusion.
 
 
All her years of doing business with this Lepidopteran girl, she was always bursting with self-confidence and pride, but now, all that was absent from her persona. Instead, she carried the gait of a person who had been dealt a severe emotional blow, and now it took considerable willpower just to put one foot in front of the other. And her eyes…
 
 
...her eyes held such heartbreak, Sylvia could almost feel it herself.
 
 
And it made her smirk.
 
 
"Well, what's this now?" Asked Sylvia, crawling over to lurk beneath Nillyna's legs. Her smile only grew as she saw Nillyna's expression closer, an expression she knew well.
 
 
"Well well well, it's finally happened." Sylvia waggled her barbed tongue through the air, tasting the scent of dried tears wafting around Nillyna. "Nillyna, the most talented Lepidopteran sorceress around these parts, always so dedicated to her craft, has finally lost her heart to someone. And from the looks of things, whomever this may be, has broken it."
 
 
Nillyna only scowled. "I didn't come here to discuss my social life, Sylvia."
 
 
"No, I suppose not." Sylvia crawled over towards the counters that housed some of her products, "Can I interest you in some of my merchandise?" She gestured to a few bulbous plants. "Maybe you would be interested in these today?"
 
 
Nillyna flashed her teeth in a snarl, not finding Sylvia's behavior funny at all. And not just that, the ingredients on the counter weren't random. They were the prime ingredients for a certain potion.
 
 
A love potion.
 
 
"Knock...it off, Sylvia," groaned Nillyna, arc's of blue electricity dancing around her eyes.
 
 
"Okay okay," muttered Sylvia, "Jeez, at least your sense of humor hasn't changed." She slunk over to stand beneath Nillyna again, the Lepidopteran's height granted to her bipedal figure allowing her to tower over the Tetra almost intimidatingly. "So, what can I do for you?"
 
 
 
 
"In search of more rare herb's?" Sylvia's tail flicked, "A most peculiar list of goods you've had from this old Tetra over the last few months, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out what they might be for. I've seen enough potion ingredients to fill three lifetimes in my day, along with every potion they might be used to brew, but never before have I seen the ingredients you've been purchasing used in tangent with each other before."
 
 
That wasn't surprising.
 
 
Nillyna had been pursuing her goal for eternal youth diligently, and even obsessively, but she also made sure that the details of her quest didn't become common knowledge. After all, if word got out she was working on a way to remain young and beautiful for all time, it no doubt would have attracted some 'nefarious' crowds. And her reputation would have made it that much more tempting.
 
 
Cause, with her record of success, if anyone could unlock the secrets to such a coveted magic, it would be her.
 
 
And she wasn't about to divulge that information now, especially with what was currently residing in her house at the moment.
 
 
"It's of no concern of yours what I need those ingredients for, Sylvia," she pulled a piece of parchment from her travel shorts. "Besides, the ingredients I seek at the moment are fairly simple to acquire."
 
 
Sylvia's tail whipped forward and swiped the parchment, holding it before her beady eyes. Her expression became confused as she read the list of items inscribed upon it.
 
 
"Most peculiar," she said, intrigued. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you're brewing a common revitalizing potion, used to keep plants healthy."
 
 
"So what if I am?" Grumbled Nillyna, crossing all four of her arms. "It's a common potion with common ingredients, and it's easy to brew."
 
 
"Common and easy are the key words," said Sylvia, "Why are you coming to me for such rudimentary ingredients? Any common vegetable vendor could supply these. And, for that matter, why is a sorceress of your caliber even bothering brewing such a simple potion?"
 
 
Nillyna's patience was strained since the moment she arrived here, and Sylvia's interrogation wasn't helping. And she was uneasy about leaving Lily alone for too long, should she hurt herself trying to break her restraints. If Sylvia continued to push her, she couldn't be held responsible for what she might do.
 
 
But, she still needed those supplies, and Sylvia could not provide them if she wasn't... around anymore.
 
 
"I would rather use quality ingredients, if you must know," said Nillyna, deciding to let at least a particular truth out, if it meant getting Sylvia off her case. "The plant I need to sustain is... quite unique."
 
 
Sylvia seemed to become even more curious. So much for that.
 
 
"Quality ingredients for a unique plant?" Sylvia grew a knowing smile, "Oh, I know what you are about."
 
 
Nillyna had a brief flash of panic, "No...no you don't."
 
 
"Oh, don't I?" Sylvia tilted her head to the side to stare at Nillyna with one beady eye.
 
 
Nillyna tried to calm her rapid breathing, trying to tell herself there was no way in hell that Sylvia could have deduced what was currently happening in her life. Still, Tetra's were crafty by nature, and if, against all odds, the worst had happened, and Sylvia now suspected who Nillyna was harboring, who knows what could happen. What could happen to Lily.
 
 
No, Nillyna would not allow anything to befall the plant-girl.
 
 
Slowly as possible, Nillyna slipped her top, right hand behind her back, extending her fingers and letting arc's of black electricity dance between them like spider webs caught in the breeze.
 
 
"You carry the air of someone who's suffered a great heartache; you, of all people. And I can only think of one reason for you needing a vitalizing potion in such a situation." Nillyna frowned at Sylvia's conclusion. "I bet you're growing flowers, and I bet you're trying to woo whoever broke your heart by growing them flowers yourself, rather than just going out and buying some."
 
 
Nillyna breathed a sigh of relief, her offensive spell dissipating as she no longer felt it was necessary. "Yes, you might say that."
 
 
"Hmm?" Sylvia tapped her brow with a scaly claw," But what boy would be wowed by flowers?" She blinked and looked up at Nillyna mischievously, "Why Nillyna..."
 
 
"What?"
 
 
"I didn't realize you "swung" that way."
 
 
Now Nillyna was really losing her patients.
 
 
"So what if I do?" She growled, "Can I get my requested ingredients or not?"
 
 
Sylvia, it would seem, had finally grown bored with this interrogation herself, and so finally went about servicing Nillyna's needs. Finally, after a half hour of examining goods, Nillyna departed, laden with a bulging bag of fresh produce.
 
 
When she finally vanished through the entry flap, Sylvia dropped her humorous expression for one of extreme annoyance.
 
 
"Now will you finally take that thing out of my face?" Sylvia batted the open air with a claw.
 
 
A metallic ring tinkled through the air, and a silver dagger slid across the floor of the tent. Before Sylvia another Lepidopteran sorceress appeared in a wave of shimmering air. "I don't appreciate the cloak and dagger in my tent, Linda."
 
 
Linda.
 
 
She was a Lepidopteran with a jet black complexion, with a matching dress. Her eyes were blood red, giving her a sinister, unfriendly appearance, her expression mimicking the same message. A ring housing a giant ruby rested on the index finger of her lower, right hand, a nimbus of ruby glow swirling around the gem.
 
 
She scowled, bending over to pick up her dagger.
 
 
"Don't appreciate cloak and dagger," she commented, her voice deep, and with a cruel edge, sheathing her weapon, "That's an interesting statement coming from you."
 
 
"We Tetra's are sly and crafty by nature," said Sylvia, slinking back into the shadows of her tent, "But we never resort to threats."
 
 
Linda just grunted in response.
 
 
"Are you satisfied?" Sylvia groaned from the shadows, "So she's growing flowers for someone who rejected her affection. Big deal."
 
 
"That was your assumption," said Linda as she stormed out of the tent, "And if you knew Nillyna like I do, you would know that that's likely not the case, for whatever her sexual attraction may be, she was never one to demote even a fraction of her precious time to such a meaningless venture."
 
 
The only sound within Sylvia's tent was the rattling of the current, and until the next consumer arrived, all Sylvia had to say was: "Bitch."
 
 
Outside, Linda watched Nillyna's figure retreat into the crowd with intense loath; for she and her had a history.
 
 
Back in the day, her and Nillyna had attended the same magic school, and as expected of Lepidopterans, they were among the top students of the class in every subject. Nillyna and Linda were at the head of this aristocracy, but, much to Linda's chagrin, Nillyna was always ahead of her by a miniscule amount. At first, Linda thought she would eventually pass the white-colored upstart, but as their education progressed, Linda began to realize that she never seemed to be able to bridge the tiny gap between their potential.
 
 
And, as time went by, it grew from a slight annoyance to a full blown obsession.
 
 
Linda would sometimes spend hours pouring over spell books, potions, and the like, but no matter what she did, she could never one-up Nillyna in even the miniscule of tasks. Eventually, the end of their education came within sight, and it was without a doubt that the Outstanding Student Award had Nillyna's name all over it. And Linda could not accept that.
 
 
Years of clawing and fighting futility, Linda saw the OSA as her final chance to beat Nillyna at something, and would resort to anything to accomplish that.
 
 
Unable to best Nillyna at anything, Linda resorted to something forbidden to magic practitioner's. Treachery. So she devised a plan to steal Nillyna's graduation project and claim it as her own.
 
 
It proved to be her undoing.
 
 
Before Linda could even put her plan into action, Nillyna proved her superiority over once again and exposed her little plot, and she was busted before she could even get her hands on anything. The retribution had most swift afterwards. Linda had been thrown out of the school.
 
 
Her name was shamed, and even though she still amassed a great intellect during her studies, she hadn't graduated, and therefore, was still considered a novice in the magic community, and she was branded as untrustworthy, due to her actions during school. And because of that, all the luxury Nillyna was privy to was denied Linda. And after her expulsion, she had had to resort to the most violent, cruel, and degrading acts just to etch out a living.
 
 
She was reduced to a common thug.
 
 
While Nillyna lived in the sky on a grand estate, enjoying the fruit of her labors.
 
 
But that was not what angered Linda the most.
 
 
No, despite all her suffering, her current state, and all of Nillyna's success, one thing irked Linda more than all.
 
 
When she had first been caught, Nillyna could have been lenient on her and not had her expelled, but she hadn't. Nillyna had requested the harshest punishment for the attempted theft of her work, and it wasn't because she was mad, nor was it to dispose of the closest thing she had to competition, the latter Linda would have preferred. No, Nillyna had had Linda expelled because she viewed her as worthless. Nillyna looked at Linda and said all she saw was a weak, delusional girl who would never amount to anything, and therefore, had no place among magic user's.
 
 
The thought of that made Linda's blood boil to this day.
 
 
Not a day went by where she didn't fantasize about her revenge.
 
 
And it was sheer luck she had spotted her here in the Meadow of the Tetra's.
 
 
"I don't know what it is you are working on up in your heavenly paradise, Nillyna," sneered Linda, "But I will not fail this time. I will claim it for myself, and this time it will be you who will be viewed as worthless."
 
 
It wasn't going to be easy.
 
 
Despite Linda's hatred, Nillyna's magic talent was still greater than her's; she had a prestigious reputation for a reason, after all, and Linda knew that, in a confrontation, she would be no match for her. But she was still determined, and no matter what, she would find a way to exact her revenge. Looking to the side, Linda saw another Tetra vendor.
 
 
Displayed were a variety of different blade weapons, and judging by the sinister aura they extruded, they weren't normal weapons. Linda bit her lip. She knew what these weapons were, and they were dodgy objects.
 
 
But if she possessed one, she might have a chance at defeating her old foe.
 
 
As one-sided as that rivalry was.
 
 
After Nillyna returned home and brewed more potion she grabbed the watering can and filled it, contemplating on the fact that she now had to take Lily somewhere where she may take root. She made her way to the cellar once again, her clothes transmuted into her wings again, leaving her bare once more. She would sprinkle this next batch on Lily, then head back inside to research possible locations where Lily would be happy, even though that would make her the opposite. But there was nothing one would not do for the one you love after all.
 
 
Wiping away the latest tears she had shed in her anguish, Nillyna opened the door to the cellar and stepped inside, not really paying attention to what she was doing, having done this so often she knew the routine by heart. If she had been paying attention she would have noticed the lack of light in her cellar, despite the incredible luminescence the enchanted chandelier's above should have been providing, but was now inexplicably absent. But she did notice the door suddenly slam shut behind her.
 
 
The snap of the door made Nillyna jump, finally alerting her to the dim light of her cellar and when she looked up she saw, to her horror, that her chandelier's were obscured by multiple intertwining vines. She dropped the watering can, which clattered to the ground, spilling its amber contents over the stone floor, and turned back to the door, gasping in shock to find multiple other vines creeping over it and blocking it off.
 
 
Looking behind her, Nillyna saw that the spot where she had restrained Lily was vacant. Her slender plant body was still visible, but it was stretched all over the place, and the main part where Lily’s human torso should be located was nowhere to be seen. Which meant she was probably lurking somewhere in the shadows.
 
 
How was this happening?
 
 
Lily should not have been able to get free of her restraints.
 
 
“Lily?” called Nillyna nervously, backing away from one of the many thick coil's of Lily's plant body spread out over her cellar.
 
 
She probably should have remained silent.
 
 
Nillyna's foot caught on something, and when she looked down she found a vine coiling around her ankle yet again. The next second another vine coiled around her other ankle, then her wrists were bound and she was hoisted up into the air, spread eagle and began dragging her somewhere. It was somewhat familiar.
 
 
Nillyna grunted and struggled as she tried to break the grip of the vines, but their strength was more than she could overcome.
 
 
Her first thought was to use her talisman to access her magic to try and escape, but she didn't have it on her, in fact, she wasn't even sure where it was, having lost track of it when she ran from the cellar in tears the previous night. She was once again powerless against these vines. Suddenly, the dim light shifted and when Nillyna looked up she could see something silhouetted against what little light could bleed through the obscuring vines covering the chandelier’s.
 
 
It was vaguely humanoid, with the lower half receding into a large bulbous shape, which attached to the huge plant body spread throughout the cellar.
 
 
But Nillyna was not scared; she was well beyond that by now.
 
 
“I should have known you would escape somehow,” she said consentingly, glaring up at the shadowy figure that loomed over her. “Weeds will always find a way to be pests, as much as you try to manage them.”
 
 
The silhouette tilted its head.
 
 
“Just get it over with,” Nillyna groaned, “I'm done with this, and I am done with you, so if you're going to eat me, go ahead.”
 
 
Maybe Lily knew she would be trapped up here if she ate Nillyna, maybe she didn't, but Nillyna didn't care. She was through, with everything. If it ends like this so be it.
 
 
At least this way, she would be with Lily…
 
 
...in a way.
 
 
She felt herself being drawn up till she was level with the dark silhouette of Lily, who stood at least twenty feet tall as her root system elevated her up high. Then the plant girl began to extend her humanoid body out of its plant half on that long stem below her waist, until her and Nillyna were only a breath away from each other. Nillyna closed her eyes, expecting Lily to strike her, strangle her, or do something in retaliation for being held captive for several days...the last thing she expected was a gentle caressing on her cheek. She opened her eyes again and saw Lily smiling gently, her face just a hair's distance from her.
 
 
“What... what are you…?” Nillyna stammered, her body starting to heat up with Lily's close proximity.
 
 
She never finished her sentence, for at that moment, Lily changed from caressing her cheek, to putting her hand to the back of her head and drawing her in for a kiss.
 
 
Nillyna's eyes widened as she felt the same soft lips that had locked with hers so long ago return, bringing with them all the pleasurable sensations that, up till now, felt so far away. The vines holding Nillyna's limbs suddenly, but gently, forcibly positioned them over Lily's own body, her four arms placed over her shoulders and under her arms, her legs being wrapped around Lily's waist, then the vines released her limbs. Suddenly susceptible to gravity, Nillyna involuntarily tightened her grip on Lily, pressing their bodies closer.
 
 
Pressing their breasts together.
 
 
Nillyna's eyes widened even more as she felt her sensitive flesh pressed to Lily's galorious green orbs. They were even softer than she remembered. Then she felt Lily wrap her own arms around her back, under his wings, and though she only had two, the gentle caressing on her skin made Nillyna's tension recede.
 
 
It only got more pleasurable when Lily began to deepen the kiss.
 
 
Nillyna's eyes relaxed, then closed entirely as she began to return the kiss, passion beginning to overtake her mind as her lust took hold. The lips pressed to hers tasted so sweet, and felt so good. Slowly, now that her grip was stable, Nillyna began to explore Lily's body in turn, running her hands up and down her sides and back, wherever she could reach.
 
 
The plant girl moaned into her mouth.
 
 
Lily's back felt so smooth and cool to the touch as Nillyna ran her hands up and down her skin, the sensation even better than she remembered. Almost involuntarily, her tongue began to slink out of her own mouth and ran over Lily's lips, kindly asking for entry. Lily not only compiled, but used her own leaf shaped tongue to gently guide Nillyna's into her mouth like a welcome guest.
 
 
Hesitantly at first, Nillyna began to explore Lily's mouth, starting with the roof, then moving to her teeth, Lily's tongue caressing her's in turn, before moving into Nillyna's mouth itself. For the next few minutes Nillyna's entire existence was the soft body she was pressed to, the mouth attached to hers, and the gentle tongue she was wrestling with. Bliss flowed through her body like pure lifesblood.
 
 
Eventually, she was forced to separate from Lily when the need for air became too great, but Lily was panting just as much as she was as they held each other.
 
 
Once she caught her breath, Nillyna opened her eyes to once again meet Lily's, who only wore a gentle smile. Suddenly, Nillyna felt her body slipping into something, and when she looked down she saw that Lily was receding back into her plant half, and since they were intertwined, she was being taken within with her. Nillyna let out panicked yelp, the last time she had gone inside Lily's body it was to be digested.
 
 
“Easy Nillyna, easy,” cooed Lily gently, caressing Nillyna's cheek again. “There's no need to be afraid. This doesn't lead to one of my stomach's, or anything like that. It goes somewhere where nothing can hurt you.”
 
 
Nillyna didn't know why, but she calmed down at Lily's words. “Where... where does it go?”
 
 
“To a hidden chamber deep within my body. I call it my sanctuary,” explained Lily as they sank within her up to their chests. “It’s a chamber within my body that I can recede my human body into for cover when the weather's bad, or if there's danger, or just to rest.” She gently guided Nillyna's head to her chest and began stroking her long, white antenna. “Please trust me, you are in no danger.”
 
 
Something in Lily's voice managed to calm Nillyna again, and she merely settled into Lily's embrace. Before long, the leafy aperture closed around her and Lily and they both slipped down deeper into Lily at a slant, due to the position of Lily's uprooted body. To Nillyna, the only thing it was comparable to was when she slid down Lily's throat, but it was much more enjoyable.