ORIGIN

One thing Mossie quickly learns is that every day reveals more about the world, and herself.

She feels empty of the magic that'd coursed through her a cycle ago, but something new, heavy and drowsy, is in its place. And she needs to test it on something.

The many-eyed bats winging lazily through the cave are a perfect target. If she could bring down those, , she could snag a meal and then set bait for a bigger piece of prey.

One's flying lower than the rest. Its wing is torn, and its low enough to the ground that it might be close enough to do...whatever this new Thing was.

The magic feels like it has something to do with her lungs, so even though she felt rather silly she stalked over, tail low to the ground, pads as close as she dares whilst still obscured by crystal, and breathes aggressively...

@Bacchus

The only thing that happens is a wheeze. She snarled, and the bat rapidly flapped away.

"Bet you taste sour anyway!" she huffed, stalking away.

Bacchus was searching for plants with unique properties at the moment. Dangerous properties, especially. In order to find such a plant, he was observing the lessers to see which plants they interacted with and which ones they avoided.

They find a blue flower that seems to be avoided, though it takes Bacchus time to recognize this because of an almost identical flower nearby it that lessers consume with ease.

Carefully, Bacchus start to collects samples of what he does not is called a Sapphire Blueflower, which causes nausea and vomiting.

To Bacchus, though, it is simply a blue flower that needs to have the effects tested.

He pauses his collecting as a fellow feline gembound comes into view. "Greetings," He says politely, with audible warmth.

@Mossie

Mossie gasps.

She's never met another fully feline Gembound before, and she pads forward curiously, heedless of their size difference.

"Hi!" She chirps, dipping her head. "I'm Mossie. What's your name, and what're you collecting that for?"

@Bacchus

This little feline seems more trusting of them than is wise, even without Bacchus attempting to reassure her of his good nature. She has entered his reach with only a greeting to know him by.

A purple gaze, though outwardly friendly as he looks down, assesses her. He could probably get her to test this plant for him with some misleading statements, but he is not sure that it is wise to do such without the backing of his future group.

He could mislead... Or he could tell some of the truth and see what results come about.

"My name is Bacchus. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mossie. Currently, I am collecting samples of plants to make a garden with," He warmly explained.

Bacchus paused, dissatisfaction coming over his expression. "The issue is, I am not certain what properties this flower might possess. The lessers were avoiding eating it, even as they ate a near identical flower, so the effects may be negative in nature," He spoke the latter sentence like a warning.

While he considers asking if the other feline has ideas of how he might test it, he decides he wants her to reach that thought process on her own. So he leaves it at that, for the moment.

@Mossie

Mossie perks up, curiousity instantly piqued. "Oh! A garden! How interesting... I've been trying to make something that's a bit like a garden, but for. Creatures. That sentence feels wrong somehow, but it's the closest comparison..."

Mossie's ears flattened upon hearing the other feline's plight. "Oh man, that's gotta be tough. I know the pain of not being able to find appropriate test subjects--BUT I can help, if my magic feels like cooperating today!"

The bats were a bust, so she dashes away following the scent trail of ol' reliable--those sparkly red mice. The trail leads away from the river, to within sight of the Spire; she barely notices as intent she is on following the shiny-clawed creature. Finally she darts just close enough to try a Leech...

@Bacchus

It slumps over, hit with exhaustion.

That's never gonna get old.

She picks the mouse up in her jaws and trots back towards Bacchus, setting the twitching mouse onto the ground before him with a dip of her head.

"It's exhausted and barely able to react now," she informs him smugly. "If you force the plant into its mouth and stroke its throat to make it swallow, you can test that way!

"Oh? So you are collecting creatures?" Bacchus inquired with genuine intrigue. He had never heard of such a concept, but he found it fascinating. Perhaps that was mostly because the idea of having creatures to keep and play with appealed to the leopard, but also because he felt it a unique concept.

He had not been expecting such strong sympathy nor creative thinking on part of this other feline, but that does not mean he dislikes it. Far from it, he is delighted with the captured lesser that is now at his mercy to use to test this plant out.

"You have my sincere gratitude," He informs Mossie, the leopard bowing his head respectfully towards the smaller cat.

Ever so carefully, he manages to get the mouse to swallow. If he can remove just the eye from a mouse, he can get a mouse to swallow a flower. The little mouse, tired though it is, has its body shaking... Trying to heave, Bacchus realizes. Hurriedly, he turn the mouse onto its side so when it vomits, it does not drown. And so it does not drown.

He is content to watch this reaction for a short time, until he catches a glimpse of the other flower, the edible one, in the corner of his gaze. With half his purple gaze remaining focused on the mouse's reactions in case its condition worsens, Bacchus plucks one of the near identical definitely-edible flowers.

"I wonder..." He begins to ponder aloud, before deciding to simply go for it. It is more difficult to force a flower down the throat of the vomiting mouse, but between the moments of heaving, Bacchus manages it.

Not long after, the mouse's bout of nausea is cleared, though its body still quivers some from the aftermath. "Oh, that is fascinating," He declares.

"My current hypothesis is that these two nearly identical plants grew to have properties that counteract the other. One causing nausea and the other curing it. Both would therefore be useful for a garden," The leopard proclaims, delight clear in his voice.

@Mossie

Mossie nods enthusiastically. At last, someone who understands her vision and doesn't just stare blankly like that rat. "I'm collecting them to experiment, and to harvest the toxins and dusts they shed. I'm trying to see if feeding lessers a specific kind of plant affects their substances..."

Woah. She's got gratitude now. She's totally nailing the whole 'first impression' thing. "It's no problem," she chirped.

Mossie watches the vomiting and then inexplicably healed rat with fascination. "Hypothesis. What a lovely word," she says. It reminds her of Tsetse. "It appears to be an accurate one, though of course it'll need more testing..."

She slides a sly glance to Bacchus. "It appears we have similar goals, then. A partnership may be mutually beneficial."
@Bacchus

The leopard's purple gaze is visibly interested in the idea of Mossie's experiments. "That is an intriguing prospect."

He notes the fascination instead of horror which Mossie displays, and he feels further intrigued by this smaller cat. At first, she did not seem like much. But now, however, she seems quite promising indeed.

"The more I can test, the more accurate of an assessment I will possess," He agrees. "After all, there are variables that I may not have considered yet."

A partnership. His purple eyes gleam with delight. "I believe that is a grand idea, one that I would happily take you up on."

Bacchus pauses in consideration. "I am a founding member of a recruiting group of what will be procurers. We could have use for your experiment results as a product, and I would be delighted to extend our partnership further in such a way."

"Of course, if you are not interested, we may work together only temporarily. It is only that I have not met one so similar to me with regards to thought processes, and our different yet similar focuses will result in a mutually beneficial arrangement," When the leopard says this, he is entirely honest.

He may mislead, at times, but he is not truly a liar.

@Mossie

Mossie blinks. Why did that group description sound familiar...?

"Wait!" she gasps. "I met the leader of that group a bit ago, and he recruited me...but I was zooted on dust moth dust the whole time because I was trying to experiment with it and accidentally got some in my mouth."

Her ears heated with embarassment. "I didn't remember most of the meeting afterwards, thanks for reminding me. I'd be glad to have a group that finds my experimentation useful. My friends just find it kind of unsettling."

@Bacchus

Bacchus looked thrilled that Mossie was already recruited, and that he could remind her of the original meeting. His purple gaze was pleased. "Ah, so you have already met Archimedes?" The leopard's tail lazily swayed with contentment.

"No need to thank me, I am simply delighted that you will be joining us," He reassured the smaller feline.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of friends finding Mossie's experiments unsettling. Then, a thought occurred to him and he resumed his previous state of happiness.

"If you would like, I would gladly be a friend of yours, one that does not find your experiments unsettling," He warmly suggested, then paused. "You do not have to decide that right this moment, of course."

@Mossie