The cave was not far from the village; just far enough to be a comfortable distance from people, but not far enough away as to be inconvenient for work purposes. They had almost made it there when...everything begun to change.
Everything grew greener, more vibrant.
But the change went deeper, too, for she no longer felt so tired, and...
She turned, throwing Rit a look over her shoulder, because she just knew he was the culprit. Whenever strange things happened, it was him. And after that debacle in the tower, she was coming to accept that more and more. This? This she could handle, more than anything else he had done. She didn't get this magic, or really magic in general; her people weren't mages. But this was something more within her range of understanding, because she had seen mages manipulate nature before.
...Just perhaps not to this extent.
"You just cannot help but meddle, no?" she asked as they walked, a wry smile on her lips. "Not that I complain."
Because not only was the forest now beautiful, but the fresh vegetation had brought game with it, hungry-but-energized animals venturing from their burrows to nibble at the fragrant plants. Unable to help herself, she plucked a zinnia flower and breathed its scent in deeply, then grinned and began to pick some more.
"We do not have these where I come from. Not these ones," she said, gathering a small armful of the blossoms and leaving the stems attached.
"Flowers bloom very..." She paused, trying to find the word. Failing, she shrugged. "They bloom very shortly there. Come!" And when she was satisfied that she had enough, she lead the rest of the way to the tiny cave, which was nestled in a mound by the stream's bank.