Admittedly, it had only been a few days. Which perhaps was not a reasonable time frame to be returning, at least without seeming needy; but truthfully, Lichen was worried. The Mushroom-Friend had reassured her that it would be safe buried deep, but she had been unable to shake the concern, she'd laid awake next to Aurelle thinking about the Fungi-Friend, thinking of every possible way the organism could meet an untimely end -- both likely and unlikely.
The cave dragon snuffles low to the ground, trying to retrace its steps, though admittedly, their first meeting hadn't been on one of the easier to find paths. At least, she thought she was. Though, she was also fairly certain she'd walked in a circle.
With a huff, she focused...
...The mycelial network unfolded before her senses, it'd got easier in recent cycle; she felt for that odd not-quite-fungus among the network. Loud, clumsy, footfalls made their way towards where she believed where she'd buried that piece of amber.
Already, it had spread so far. The second tree was now hooked within its grasp and the tree that it had been planted under, to one that had a keen eye for nature and growth, might identify as being sickly. They had traveled quite a ways up its trunk before pausing. Perhaps a less intelligent fungus might consume this tree, kill it from inside out and devour the decaying matter left behind. But they were an intelligent one and they recognized this tree as their protector of sorts. A place to mark where they were and the heart of their network. If it died, it would point out an obvious ground zero.
They would keep it alive, let it heal, and feed more. This was logical.
The ground in this area was scattered with fruiting fungi at this point, not just at this tree but in the bushes and ferns and the roots of another tree nearby. Their infection had taken root of this place.
As such, they felt the vibrations approaching of a larger creature, and the tempr a voice that they recognized quickly. How could they forget, their first known walking-one, who had given them the chance to live.
Bright sounds traveled through the network as they reached for Lichen, excited to share their voice again, now that they had grown some.
this roll was supposed to be telepathy oops
Lichen, regardless of wiggling or not, wouldn't've been able to see the joyous wiggle. Her head rises quickly at the sound of calling, swivelling this way and that, as if she could pinpoint the sound; which naturally she could not, since it was in her head.
It's instead with gentle hands that she feels around for the Many-Mushroom, claws that barely brush the soil, in her search. Leaning on her elbows meant that movement was slow, and clumsy; but slow was good when you didn't want to trample your friend.
It did not understand why one who had eyes simply could not use them. Then again, it did not understand what it meant to have eyes. But that was no issue with this mushroom, for it, too, forged through this world with its own senses, its own means. It was impressive to them, however, that this walking one had been able to find them this place and bury them here without the advantages of others of their kind. They wondered if they would have been able to do that if that had been them...
Yet still they wanted to show this one how they had grown. They could feel where its claw was brushing the soil, pinpointed the exact location, the exact distance between it and one of their fruits, and with this great concentration in mind, it sent magic along the network. From one of the caps, it was freed, the arcane gently tugging on Lichen's claws to move it to the side. Like an invisible hand guiding her over, they aimed to let her brush gently through a large cluster of their mushrooms. There were over 20 of them here where she was led - small, mature caps growing in a dense group from the soil at the roots of the tree.
They sang with excitement and jovial victory, for they had survived and they were growing strong!
There was a sharp intake of breath as Lichen's hand was tugged; fungus didn't usually have hands, did they? At least not as far as she knew; it was an odd sensation, not quite a touch but almost. Then again, she supposed, this was no ordinary gembound. At least not like any others she'd met before.
It was difficult to be gentle with unwieldy claws that she couldn't feel the ends of, but it was try or potentially hurt her friend. The backs of her knuckles brush the growths, they seemed hearty to her; but then again, she couldn't see.
They delighted at Lichen's joy, indeed like a child that had been praised by a mother. They were proud of their growth - they had worked hard on it for days. It had been crucial for them to expand as quickly as possible, to protect the amber, and to begin setting the trail for the future. Now...they were addicted to the feeling. The expanding horizons, the growing intake of sensations. It felt right. It felt like destiny.
Lichen tilted her head upwards as the voice moved, not that she could see, but the direction of the voice gave her an idea of where to face. Not that she really thought that a fungus would care much for manners. She turns her head to the side, as if leaning an ear towards the voice. Perhaps unaware that it would make little difference.
The words however, were.. concerning. Her brows drew together to reflect as much. Not the growth, she'd thought it natural for anything to want to grow. But, the growing so large and fast. Was it good for one organism to grow so far and fast? Perhaps not. Yet, the Mushroom-Mate was certainly more careful than their less mindful counterparts.
After a pause to mull it over, surely if it was only taking what it needed, no harm would come to the surrounding area. It was harmless. It had to be, it sounded so.. excited? Could it feel excitement? Lichen hoped so. It was a good feeling.
And, if it was willing to share, there could be nothing nefarious about the expansion plans, naturally. It was a flawless logic.
It was also difficult to say 'no' to. After having contacted it while it was little more than amber and a few tufts, she wanted it to be large. To be able to protect itself. To see something once so vulnerable, not just living but thriving.
What could possibly go wrong?
@The Chorus
They did not detect anything odd from Lichen. It was not feeling for the spores that had scattered on her claws. Perhaps then they might detect the subtle chemical signals in her body that would betray her concern. But they saw no need for this - after all, she was a friend. She had helped them, she would help again, as they would help her, if she ever needed it.
Find it? Well, she could probably do that. Though, she had her lingering doubts when her Fungi-Friend was such a strange thing to feel through the senses. Not quite gem, not quite fungus, she doubted even her other friend's red sense could locate it. Not that it was impossible, just strange. However, that could entirely be just her.
Yet, it was the lingering uncertainty -- was it capable of uncertainty? -- that set her into action.
Lichen turns her head back towards the soil, to try to feel for the networks of her friend...
...The senses didn't paint a clear picture. Just enough to feel the network below. The sensation of having someone so encompassing, a friend you could stand on without noticing, it was going to take some getting used to.
She asked good questions of them and the Chorus considered, appreciative of the chance to truly think upon things. So much of their life so far had consisted of the increasingly stale day-to-day of being totally inanimate and extremely slow growing. They had such a small scope of experience at the moment and they desired anything more. Conversation was quite the appreciated break in their monotonous world.
They thought of the question, many voices chiming their opinion - of course they were strong! They knew, of course. No, no, they were quite weak and needed to grow stronger. How would they know if they were strong anyways? They settled upon an answer after a few moments.
Questions? It almost laughed. Some voices did, but the loudest one simply hummed thoughtfully.
@Lichen