Timber Spruce set down his electrical conductivity tester on the supply cart and stared at the well that provided Camp Everfree's drinking water. Not for the first time, he wished he could live in the city where he wouldn't have to worry about constantly checking the water quality to make sure he could drink it without getting sick.

Suddenly, a green light appeared and dispersed over the water before sinking below the surface.

“What on earth is that?” he asked no one. But someone answered.

“It's all right, Timber. I got this.”

Timber turned and stared. “Gloriosa?”

His sister glided through the opening in the tent that protected the well water from stray debris.

He took a step back, his heart hammering in his chest. “How are you floating? You're not a flier!”

Gloriosa spread out her hands in front of her, and her thickened, level-ended fingertips showed through the brown gloves she wore. “Nope. Still an earth aspect. Actually, I'm probably more of an earth person than anyone else on, well, Earth. It's just that I have so much magic that my bonds to the material world are a lot looser. Neat, huh?” She rose a meter higher over the concrete floor surrounding the well. “I think I just made all the contaminates settle to the bottom. The water at the top should be safe to drink, as long as I can stop stirring up the ground. I'm still trying to figure this new magic out.”

Timber shook his head in disbelief. “You caused that earthquake? How? I still don't know much about magic myself, but I didn't think earth people could do all the things you just did. And what happened to your eyes and hair and skin?”

“Oh, that? It's a side effect from gaining a new power. Magic seems to change hair the most, based on what I read on the internet. But to answer your first question, it all started last night. I thought that if we were going to lose our home, I might as well explore that old quarry while I still had a chance.”

“You went to the quarry alone?” Timber's eyes widened. “GD, that's dangerous!”

GD was Timber's nickname for his sister ever since he'd learned that her initials were an abbreviation for a profanity. At the moment he was using both meanings at the same time.

“Mom and Dad told us not to go down there for a good reason,” he added.

“Mom and Dad weren't alive when we got our super strength and all.” Her voice grew thick with emotion. “I'm sure if they were still here they'd be okay with it.”

Timber looked away. “That's a good point. But you should've told me. We could've gone together.”

“Honestly? I was upset at the time and I wanted to be alone. I found a cave at the bottom of the quarry – you can't see it from the top because the boulders are hiding it, but once I hiked to the bottom, the cave was in plain sight. There's this strange rock formation inside, almost like a petrified tree stump. The top had these different colored geodes embedded in it.” She held her hand under the bundle of crystals that hung around her neck. “As soon as I touched them, they just came loose. I was so surprised that I fell back, and then these vines came up out of the ground and caught me.” Gloriosa raised her other hand as if lifting an invisible orb, and her arm emitted a green glow. Thick vines slid through the tent flap.

“It was sorta like that,” she continued. “So I grabbed all the geodes because really, why wouldn't I? They give me a special connection to plants that lets me control them. I seem to have control over soil and rock, too, but not as strong.” She touched the unusually deep purple quartz in the bundle at her neck. The vines loosened enough for her to pull it out, and she held it toward Timber.

“You're the geology expert,” she said. “You might know more about these geodes than I do.”

Timber reached out and took it from her. It vibrated gently and gave off a faint light.

“It feels powerful.” He hesitated before adding, “It almost feels alive.”

“I know right?” she said loudly. “It's like it wants someone to use its power.” She held out her hand and opened and closed her fingers. “Now give it back. You've had it long enough.”

Timber moved his hands farther away from her. “Wow, are you going to start calling it your Precious?”

Gloriosa's mouth fell open, and she flew half a meter backward. “Oh, crap, I did go a little Jewelry Master just there, didn't I?”

“Yeah, you really did.”

She sank to the ground and stood like an earth person, although her hair was still teal and the centers of her eyes still glowed. “I'm sorry, Timber. It's just that ever since we lost Mom and Dad, I've felt so powerless.”

“Even after we got magic?” asked Timber.

“That was great at first. At least it made maintenance easier and faster.”

Timber nodded. “I can lift a whole cord of firewood over my head now if it's tied tightly enough. And you saw how fast I remodeled the tents.”

“It's nice to have super strength, but it's not enough to pay off our debt.”

“And these geodes are?” asked Timber, holding up the crystal.

Gloriosa's hand shot forward and snatched it out of his grip. “I've been thinking about it for two hours straight, and I realized something.” She returned the gem to the cluster around her neck. “Since I'm no longer bound to the material world, I'm not bound by its rules.” Her hair blew in an intangible wind as she floated higher above the floor. “Why should I have to pay back Filthy Rich? Mom and Dad were the ones who borrowed a hundred large from him. It's not fair that we should have to pay it off. And Filthy Rich is such an uncaring jerk about it, coming here in person just because we stopped answering his calls!”

“Wait, Gloriosa, I don't know if that's a sound line of reasoning.”

“Oh, really? What's wrong with it?” Gloriosa crossed her arms.

“What isn't wrong with it? To start with, just because Filthy Rich is a jerk doesn't mean he's wrong. He loaned that money expecting to get a return with interest.”

Smiling and shaking her head, Gloriosa said, “I'm not saying he's wrong, per se. I just decided that his problem is not my problem.”

“You . . .” Timber stopped and drew a deep, calming breath. “You can't decide to inherit our family's land and not the debt. That's not how it works.”

His sister loomed over him, her green eyes shining like embers. “You don't get to tell me what I get to do, Timber! I've worked all my life to preserve our camp and keep it as nature intended, and I'm not going to stop now just because Filthy Rich won't give us more time to pay him back. In fact, I'd love for him to try to take possession of this land.” She held her arms high, and they crackled with emerald static. The vines grew denser and taller in response.

“I'll be ready for him.”

Author's Notes:

Jewelry Master is the EG version of Lord of the Rings, in case the “Precious” line wasn't obvious enough.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Malandy for helping with the title and summary.

Update: This was tagged complete, but I changed it to incomplete after writing another chapter and a half on my laptop. Stay tuned.