ORIGIN - the scar

Tuck was finally home. It had been what seemed like forever since he had stepped foot in the mossy, green expanse that was Eridanus. He had missed the smell of wet earth and greenery more than he thought was possible. And the first thing he had done when he’d gotten here was check on his home tree. It was safe, intact, and all his little treasures hidden in its roots were still there, safe and sound. That had caused him to breathe a sigh of relief. Even Garmer seemed happy to be back. Still, something was… different here. Not by his tree, necessarily, which was tucked somewhere near the western wall of the room. No, the disturbance he had noticed was towards the center, where the giant mushroom was. He had, while passing by, noticed a particular… smell coming from that area. And it smelled like smoke. It smelled like an accident. And it bothered him that he couldn’t see it right away because the lights were still off. (The lights being off in the first place bothered him to no end, but he had no idea that the lights were run by that giant thing in the river in Polaris. No one had ever told him what that thing was, and he tended to stay away from it because it was usually crawling with Golems).

Anyways! He at least had a new light spell, which he still had no idea how he’d gotten, but he wasn’t complaining! Not when it had come in so handily on his trek back here to Eridanus. He’d finally stopped running into absolutely everything.

But now, as he used the spell to light his way while he hopped through the trees closer to the Monarch, he wished he had never discovered the spell. His cast had been weak, which meant he had to descend from the tree he was on in order to see what was causing the overpowering, smoky smell. Though in his heart he knew only one thing could have possibly happened to cause this sort of smell to permeate throughout Eridanus: a fire.

As he picked his way carefully through the charred remains of smaller shrubs, trees, and the blackened ground, he felt himself saddening to no end. Sure, he didn’t live in the particular part of Eridanus, but it was still his home. And something had… had torched it! Luckily, somehow, the Great Mushroom herself (for Tuck liked to think of the giant fungus as a she) had escaped the blaze. Tuck stared up at the Monarch, somewhat dazed by this turn of events. Garmer stood by his side, rumbling unhappily.

What — who — had done this? And was there a way to fix it?

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes: It's AW, but I might be posting again, or just generally double posting. Tuck is prob gonna kind of ignore anyone who joins this thread bc he's in shock rn. Still, feel free to pop in!
words: 454

Without thinking anymore about what had happened — because what was that going to accomplish other than making Tukluk even sadder — he instead took his pack off of his back and reached a hand inside it without really noticing what he was doing. Normally, he didn’t wear his pack with him in Eridanus since this was his home, but the smell of smoke had made him wary so he’d kept it on in case there was an emergency. And, in his mind, this was an emergency. Part of Eridanus had died, and it was up to Tuck to fix it. So he decided to start regrowing this area of the forest.

His small pack (for it had to fit on his tiny five-inch body) could hold a surprising amount of seeds. Seeds were generally tiny, after all. And the first thing he pulled out was a Tamusen seed. He’d trained himself to recognize seeds by scent, which was good because his light spell had just sputtered and died. Not that the seeds themselves revealed much, though their colors could be useful.

He found a spot relatively clear of other burnt plants, cleared as much of the top layer of ash from the ground as he could, and then poked the seed into the ground, patting it down with the heel of his paw. He willed his Magic to make the seed grow into a juvenile plant, and it didn’t fail him. Even in the almost-complete darkness, he could see a darker shadow where the plant was, and it was sprouting tiny little leaves. That was good. He would leave it in its juvenile state like that, lest he overgrow the dead patch of Eridanus.

And then it was on to the next spot.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 294

The next seed out of his pack was that of a Rainbow Starleaf tree. He tended to avoid these as the one time he’d spent any time on one, it had left its pollen all over his fur. He got that that was how the tree distributed itself, but it was still a mess and it took forever to wash it all out, especially since Tuck hated baths! Still, these trees were just as important to the environment as any other plant, and he wouldn’t leave them out of the mix just for having super colorful pollen. He smiled as he poked it into the ashy ground, coughing for a few seconds as he accidentally inhaled some of said ash. When his throat finally stopped itching, he focused his Magic, and felt the pull on his Stone as it transferred to the seed, causing a small little sproutling of a tree to shoot up out of the ground. He called it ‘little,’ although it was much taller than he was.

When he was satisfied with its growth, he cut the flow of Magic and stepped back to admire his work (though he couldn’t see it, really) and then continued to the next area

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 203

The next seed he pulled from his bag was a rather rare and precious one to him, but he supposed if there was any time to plant it, it was now, when the forest needed it most. He closed his claws around the Magicka Flower seed for a moment, and then cleared some ash from the ground and poked the seed into the earth. But when he called for his Magic, it did not comply. He snorted. How ironic it was that he was trying to plant a flower that responded to Magic with Magic, yet his Magic was failing him. He sat down on his rump and sighed, determined to try again in a moment.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 116

Luckily, the second time Tuck tried his spell, it worked, and because he was using Magic to make the flower grow, it immediately reacted to him and its iridescent petals opened wide, aiming towards him the way flowers on Earth trace the sun’s journey through the sky. He smiled in the flower’s faint glow, and then stood up, now beginning to feel the effects of all this casting.

You should take a break, Garmer said, a trace of concern in his voice.

I will once I run my Magicka dry. Tuck hopped along the forest floor, looking for the next good spot to grow a plant.

That is not wise, the Kyte pushed. You will harm yourself.

Better I do that than let the forest sit dead like this forever.

The forest will grow back on its own in time, Garmer insisted. I implore you to see reason, Tukluk.

Leave me alone about it, Garmer, Tuck finally snapped. Even if something happens to me, you’re right here. You can just carry me back to the Tree. Let me do this, okay?

Garmer sucked in a breath through his nose and then let it out in an annoyed puff. Fine.

Tuck nodded and then began rooting around in his bag for the next seed.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 213

Tuck could tell from the sickly-sweet minty smell coming from his next seed that it was a Sacchiferous seed. The cloying smell that emanated from the sproutling once he had sent his Magic into the seed was enough to bowl him over for a moment, even though the tree was in its barely-sprouted form. Besides, Tuck was beginning to get very dizzy all on his own, so it wasn’t taking much to send him stumbling around. Garmer’s concern was quickly growing into alarm, and Tuck had to shove the kyte from his mind to keep himself from giving in. He had to do this. He had to help this forest regrow. Garmer growled low in his throat, but Tuck was still standing, so he didn’t leap into to physically stop him yet, even if he wanted to.

Tuck reached for perhaps the final seed. He didn’t know how much Magic he had left in him.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 161

Another tree seed — this one a Pucker Tree. At this point, Tuck was barely paying attention to what he was pulling from his bag, or where he was placing the seeds into the ground, as long as they were far enough apart to prevent the roots of one from interfering with the roots of another. Tuck was exhausted, but somehow his Magic didn’t fail him. He watched with eyes glazed over as another sapling stretched upwards, pushing past soil and ash to grow a foot or so off the ground. It would take many, many cycles for these trees to grow into adulthood, but the saplings were the beginning, and Tuck, despite his dangerous level of exhaustion, was happy.

When he reached into his bag for another seed, Garmer whined like a dog in concern. But the Bond that kept them together told him there was no stopping his Bonded on this. He’d just have to watch over him afterwards. He sighed as he watched Tuck pull out yet another seed. A Dormire seed.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 174

Tuck fell to the ground as the last of his available Magic left him, infusing with the seed he’d just poked into the ground. A tiny, barely viable green shoot of a flower poked up an inch or so above the soil and Tuck stared at it from his position on the ground, cheek pressed into the earth as he heaved for breath. His eyes fluttered closed. A weak cast. It had been a weak cast. He couldn’t… but he had do. Maybe if he just pushed a little harder, the flower would be a better one — bigger, stronger… He had to try.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."
This is Garmer.

tags: here
notes:
words: 103

The last tendrils of Magic left his body like invisible wisps, like spider silk in the breeze, and with it: his consciousness. He let out a long whuff of a breath, as if he’d been punched in the stomach, and passed out immediately afterwards…

GARMER’S POV

Garmer winced as he felt Tuck’s mental connection fade to almost zero, with just the very back of his mind still attached to the kyte’s — the part of his brain that was responsible for things that didn’t require thought.

Garmer was sad he had let his Bonded push himself so hard, and he was very, very worried about the marmoset’s safety. He’d never seen Tuck pass out from Magic Exhaustion before and he didn’t know what to think of it. Carefully, gingerly, he picked Tuck up in his talons, curling them around his body softly, being sure not to crush the poor tiny soul, and took off awkwardly into the air, flying as slowly as possible so he wouldn’t crash into anything.

Finally, he reached their Tree, and landed almost in a roll to avoid crushing his Bonded into the soil. He released the marmoset’s body onto the ground in front of the Tree, and then curled up around his body, intending to sleep until Tuck awakened once more, however long that took…

END.

Words: 220