'<span style="font-style: italic">Something is not right, the plants are frightened and do not sing for me</span>' The young red headed female hermit thought to herself. She had been in this city for a little less than a year and had set up a greenhouse of sorts. She didn't like it here, too much people, too few trees and wildlife. Yet she couldn't explain it, she felt called here...pulled and if she tried to leave she found she couldn't. Normally the plants would sing of their equal felt complaints of this city but at least felt safe with Minerva, that was up until last night. Something happened last night, something Minerva couldn't explain as anything normal but knew something of magical origin could well be behind this.<br/><br/>Minerva did go through and check each and every cranny of her Greenhouse though, to make sure nothing was exposed to the elements. She passed by some of her lucrative food plants and then on to the Roses. The Roses! Each and every one of her roses, particuarly the deep red, were dead! It's as if someone put a torch to them and burned them, and in the process sucked all the moisture from them! But yet no other plants were hurt and there were no burn marks around the Rose's planter. Though it was important to note that the sage and other herbs used for spiritual cleansing were unharmed. Minerva went to pluck some sage and hang it to dry while she took some already dried sage and prepared for a smudging ritual, particuarly around the roses. In the process of doing so she noticed one, and only one, living bulb that she could save though it was badly injured.<br/><br/>Once the smudging ritual was complete, Minerva took the time to heal the single rose with her magic and skills in botany before replanting it before she underwent the process of discarding the dead roses. Minerva didn't feel being outside in this city more than what was necessary. She had to take the time to calm and talk with her flora so that they would communicate with her once more. They were scarred and needed love. And Minerva was there to give them that love, a love she harboured for them and not another being. Time and love was what the flora needed to heal. That and in the back of her mind Minerva wondered what else she could do about this negative energy that was similar to a dark spiritual energy such as a haunting. However Minerva's greenhouse wasn't haunted, it was one of the things she checked from living in the woods. She wouldn't want to invade on someone's graveyard, their last home.<br/><br/>Minerva at one point had a cat living with her, but he dissapeared about a month ago. Minerva couldn't help but feel that perhaps one of the city's poor or even criminal had caught her cat when he snuck outside and harmed him in some way. She stuck around though due to whatever was here that was pulling her. She wanted to leave though, go back to her little shack in the woods, something which the city diminished each day. Taking at least 30 minutes to sing to and calm her plants, the emerald eyed red headed  Earth mage arose from her sitting chair when she heard a customer opening the door. He was a strange man, which from Minerva was saying something. His body looked sickly but by his tone and voice he was perfectly healthy. He was looking for some kind of poisonous herb so he could 'kill off the rats' in his storehouse and sometimes kitchen.<br/><br/>Though Minerva understood that rats were seen as vermin here, she never had a problem with the whiskery creatures as she found more companionship through animals and plants rather than people. Instead of giving him any sort of poison, as for one thing she didn't like the death of animals and for another she didn't trust this man with poison as he might take the time to poison others, Minerva instead gave him a mixture of mint and cat urine and recommended he get a cat. Minerva wished to have a cat again but worried how safe it would be. The man paid for the mixture and was told not to spread it on food but in some corners to discourage the rats by scent.<br/><br/>Watching the strange man leave while standing at her window, Minerva decided to read the daily paper. She wasn't interested in others day to day lives, but she was curious if other people were having strange things happen, bad things in particular, that were in some way magical and connected to her experience.