DEKA - BABYSITTING SPIRITS (APOTHECARY CHALLENGE)

Prompt #4 - An Ingredient Adventure

"What do you mean I have to go with HER?" Stella asked the merman in the cavern shop.

Ronin explains to Stella, "Well you two look almost like... family, so I can see that the both of you can work together."

"Can't I let Käreitär come with me?"

"Uh, your fiery friend might scare off the little inhabitants of the Grove of Spirits. Most of them are harmless, while some can be pranksters. If you want to not make them see you as a threat, you need to bring a charmer with you. And I think that woman with those bandages might be perfect for the role."

She was requested to travel with the only person who can break all laws. Stella had to go to the Grove of Spirits to harvest some spirit materials, ranging from flowers to saps, to barks... or even try and capture some little spirits for research and crafting. She walked with Lara Kai into the grove, who knew how to charm these little spirits to her care.

As Stella went to find some ingredients for herself, Lara Kai began to hum and sing. The little fires were blue in color, coming out of hiding from the white glowing flower grove. They giggled with the woman. Some of them harmonized with Lara's singing, while some just... made spirit noises as if a baby was asking for affection from a mother. Nevertheless, Lara Kai lets the spirits cuddle with her, and she cuddles back. They smell like sweet vanilla, or even some fragrant flowers.

The spirits somehow managed to prank Stella during her harvest of Spirit Saps. They took the saps from her, and wrapped her up like a burrito. Then they kept rolling her through the ground, as if it was funny to see Stella try to crawl away like a worm. Ironically, when Stella tried to crawl away, she finds Lara Kai just soothing the spirits as if they were...

Kindred?

"Look at these beautiful babies," coos Lara Kai, "how their lights bring such joy to visitors of this place."

"Can't you unwrap me?!" asks Stella.

"But the babies just want a little playmate. Also, you look... delicious in that sap."

Stella panics as the spirits around her just cooed and giggled around. They just find her adorable seeing her wrapped up like a child in her blanket.

~~~~~

Ah yes.

Stella Sora and Lara Kai, being the complex duo they are. To answer Animeiac's wild guess, I intended to foreshadow the 4th character's debut in PaperDemon by using Stella's full name (The hint I wanted to leak, but can't: Stella Sora). But then looking at the Spirit Points currency, I feel like hoarding all of them for every level up would result in a hundred spirits just wanting to make a family.