ORIGIN - The Sand Reckoner

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He had assumed, after licking a flower, that nectar wouldn't be for him. But as he leaned forward to sniff from the little leaf-cup, he realized at once that this was something else altogether. He dipped in a tongue, hesitant--it was sweet, almost overpoweringly so. He took a few laps, and found himself quickly intoxicated by the delightful taste.

He drank nearly all of it, before blinking.

"Oh!" he startled suddenly, remembering. "Can you bring it here? I want to try something." He turned and bounded back to the anthill, though he glanced over his shoulder at Flit once he had arrived.

"It's very good, thank you. I don't know how I can pay you back for your hospitality and your help. Do you eat ants?"

@Flit

Flit watched as the rat drank most of the nectar he offered, quickly drainng it in a fraction of the time it had taken to gather it. It seemed for a moment there wouldn't be so much a drop left- but to his surprise Archimedes left a little in the bottom. The Flutterouse's ears pricked curiously as the rat called him over, and Flit took a moment to consider his approach- his paws were still holding the nectar, after all- before fluttering his delicate moth wings and hopping over.

"Of course! What are you doing?" the fluttermouse asked with interest; there was clear delight on his face about being involved with something new and potentially interesting. As he held out the bowl of nectar, Flit spoke again. "Do you need me to do anything else?"

Flit had woven his own nest with grasses and flower stems, and seemed entranced by the prospect of working on something else. Clearly, the little one was purpose-driven; he had a look in his eye of consideration and excitement as he tried to work out what kind of plan the rat had in mind.

His pollen-covered feelers whisked, then drooped in embarrassment, as the rat posed his next question, but he answered without even a moment of hesitation. He'd never eaten bugs. "You're very welcome, and of course not. There's no need to pay us back! It's no trouble!" He paused momentarily, although his whiskers were still twitching with delight. "I've never tried ants before, but I don't think I'd like them. I've only ever drank nectar and fruits," he added sheepishly.

"Speech."

@Archimedes

Archimedes came to a halt near the anthill, turning, sitting up, and listening to Flit. His whiskers trembled thoughtfully as the smaller pink friend spoke, and he considered.

"Just put it down there--a little away from the hill. I don't know if it'll work, but if they eat it it might lure them out. You could try one? I think I like them," he added. He definitely felt that tug of predatory instinct, though he'd thought himself to be prey. It had almost, but not quite, been what he'd felt when he first saw Flit. Was he a carnivore, then..? Was he meant to eat smaller creatures? Maybe that's what Rift felt, but ignored it?

He tucked that thought away for future consideration, and hopped a little bit back away from the anthill. He didn't want to scare the ants away, after all, and now they were mostly hiding after his little feast prior.

"Maybe just--spill a little a little bit away so they come out. And then we have to wait, maybe. Are there lots of bugs around here? Is it just ants?"

Archimedes looked around, thinking.

Now that his mind was engaged, and he felt a little less suspicious of Flit and Rift, he found himself swept up with ideas and calculations. Would the ants be attracted by the bait? Could it be extended to other insects? Did other creatures use bait like this, too? Was there perhaps a more efficient way to gather nectar--some way that would benefit Flit, maybe, as well?

His language, too, was smoother--less hesitant, the words coming more naturally. Apparently, thinking was his strong point. And, possibly, considering how much he was getting lost in it, a potential weakness.

@Flit @Rift

Flit did as he was told, placing down the leaf some way from the anthill, occasionally glancing up at the rat to ensure he was doing it right. The fluttermouse's feathery, still pollen-covered antennae twitched with consideration, feeling around, perhaps, for the scent of the ants. But, all they picked up was pollen. Even the subtle movements of the air were mostly beyond him. "I'll... give it a go!" the mouse said cheerfully, albeit a little doubtfully. He had a feeling they'd leave a bad aftertaste. At the rat's suggestion, the mouse dipped his paws into the nectar still pooling in the bottom of the leaf, and hopped over towards the anthill, rubbing it off onto the mossy ground.

Finally, he flitted back over to Archimedes, and began to lick the remaining stickiness from his small pink paws. After that, he allowed a moment to begin grooming, furiously swiping off the pollen from his whiskers, the fur fading back to its usual shade of yellowish-tan as the bitter-tasting powder came away. Finally, he used his paws to once again reveal the pink colour of his feelers. As he turned to groom the rest of his coat, his ears perked to listen to the rat's musings, and his questions.

"No, no! There are all sorts! Ants, beetles, spiders, butterflies, moths... you name it! There's probably a few here!" the fluttermouse thought about the creatures that could be found in his home as he continued to groom. "But try to stay away from brightly coloured ones," he advised. He remembered being chased by quite a few angry bees and wasps, after being drawn to their hive by the rich scent of honey or disturbing them from a flower. And something, perhaps instinct, told him to give many of the beetles a wide berth. "And be careful of spider webs. Some of them are really big."

"Speech."

@Archimedes

The young rat swept his paws in a little divot, as a sort of afterthought--a shallow pit to help further trap the ants. He then lay in wait, speaking quietly as he watched them emerge again, feeling about with antennae and long, black legs.

"No bright ones, and no spiderwebs, all right." His tone was dutiful; it sounded easy enough. He commited this to memory, but then peered up, a question striking him. "Is it because you like the colorful ones?" To him, it made sense; he couldn't really think of any other reason that color would matter, and Flit was nothing if not brightly-colored.

He turned his gaze back down to the anthill, whiskers trembling absently with each breath--but nothing really seemed to happen. The ants milled, and then dipped back into the hill, not going very far.

"Maybe just try and--grab one, to try it, if you like." He'd have to come up with some other sort of brilliant easy-food-trapping scheme.

@Flit

Flit shook his head, quite suddenly, at the rat's question. "No, no! When it comes to bugs, the colourful ones tend to be the angriest! They can have some pretty bad stings, so you really don't want to mess with them." The fluttermouse paused, thinking back. "Ah, but some of the stinging ones collect nectar, too! They keep it and store it, and make into a sweet foodstuff. One time I found a bee hive, and just the smell was enough to drive me crazy! I managed to try a little, but after that they ganged up and chased me off."

The fluttermouse paused, whiskers twitching. He was thinking back to the glorious taste of sweet golden honey, and wondering if there would be a way that the two could work together to get some in the future. But something else told the rodent that that would never, in any circumstances, be a good idea. They'd need to think about it a lot.

"Let's see..."

At Archimedes' suggestion, the fluttermouse crept closer to the hive, wings twitching at his back. His own antenna waved, flicking at the ground and feeling for the ants. It didn't seem like Archimedes' initial plan had worked, but Flit suddenly had another idea. His feelers straightened up, he sucked in his breath, and for a single, unusual moment, he was completely still, even in the twitching of his whiskers. He felt his antennae begin to elicit a warm white glow, and as he felt his magic flowing, they began to twitch again. Beneath the earth, something moved; perhaps a seed buried in a food storage chamber or just hidden. But the top of the anthill cracked, and Flit stepped back as a green stem emerged and grew. Its growth quickly slowed and then stopped- but the anthill had been disturbed, and its workers panicked.

Workers began to exit the hill, some of them carrying tiny white larvae and others simply running in circles. There was a frantic air about them all of a sudden- but now, Flit thought, they'd be easier to catch.

"Speech."

@Archimedes

The rat watched, and listened, learning from Flit's explanations. Brightly-colored insects were more aggressive, then, he noted. Next thing he knew, there was a sprout pushing up from the anthill, and the bugs were going crazy. He blinked, then darted forward, trying to snag a couple in his tiny paw-hands.

After a moment's clumsy scrambling, he managed to grab two--and he turned, presenting his hands to Flit.

"Careful," he warned. "Don't let them get away. But try them." The little pawfingers were still closed around the ants, and he waited for Flit to come close before releasing the bugs; he'd do his best not to just drop them and let them run off.

Curious, he glanced to the anthill. "Did you do that? --Make the plant grow? How long does it normally take, and how'd you do it?" Curiosity burned in him--when Rift had been casting, he'd been distracted elsewhere, and this was the first real taste he'd had of magic.

@Flit

Flit recieved the still-squirming bugs graciously- but couldn't help holding them at arm's length. His whiskers twitched over the ants, and he took a tentative sniff. The little one was briefly glad that his folded wings covered the fur along his back, which was starting to prickle upright. The mouse was unable to resist a shudder, his antennae whisking. He tried not to look too repulsed, although uncertainty clung to his every motion.

He held it close to his muzzle and just looked for it for a while, then, about to eat it, hesitated. This was a thing that moved. Sure, flowers were alive too, but Flit didn't even harm them by taking the nectar from them. Was it okay? He couldn't help but think this was somehow wrong, at least for him. Perhaps it was Rift's slip of the tongue, that had left a lingering fear of eating anything considered 'lesser'. Sure, it was only a bug. But so were the mice that Rift used to eat. And he was a mouse, too.

He shuddered, ears moving back slightly.

Trying not to think about it too much, Flit bit the ant's head off as quickly as he could. it was crunchy, and strange tasting. It was completely different to the sweet nectar he was used to, and it stuck in his throat as he tried to swallow it. He choked, trying not to let the distaste show on his face, but allowing himself a tiny cough.

After a while of trying, it finally went down.

Flit didn't know if he'd be able to manage the rest, and he had a guilty look on his face as he returned to look at Archimedes. He held out the rest of the ant, the last twitching motions racking its limbs. "I don't think it's... ahem... my thing."

He perked up visibly as the rat asked him about magic, and was more than happy to change the subject. He swelled, pleased, at the rat's surprise. "Yes, I did!" he said excitedly. "It's something called 'magic'! Usually plants take cycles to grow, but by feeding them a little magic, they can grow really fast. Rift taught me it! I'm not very good at it yet, but... I'm working on it. Rift says there are many different kinds of magic, and ours is plant!"

"Speech."

@Archimedes

Some vaguely-suspicious part of him wondered if perhaps Rift might be using Flit for his own ends--a magical slave, perhaps?--but he only stole a brief glance toward the big cat, and said nothing. Instead, he nodded to Flit, pondering this.

"I didn't know," he said, and then--embarrassed, because obviously he hadn't known, What a stupid thing to say, Archimedes! he spoke instead to Flit.

"Is that--rare? To be able to do magic? To--know it?" He reached forward, taking whatever ant Flit didn't want, and eating it with crunches of his jaws so enthusiastic that his eyes boggled out as he ate. It was good! He turned, glancing over the anthill and the plant still jutting out of it, thoughtfully. "So you grow plants for food? What else do you do?" A glance to Flit, and then back to the anthill; he shoved both paws about, snagging an ant here and there as he thought about Eridanus, and the fluttermouse.

He wondered what life must be like, for those not living in terror. Flit was tiny--smaller than him, even!--but didn't seem afraid of everything. Maybe his own home had just been--different..? "I had to hide a lot, at home. Because of things in the swamp. If you don't hide all the time, what is it that you do? Eat, magic, and--?"

@Flit

Flit's whiskers drooped guiltily at the response from his rat friend and the little mouse suddenly wished that he'd at least tried to finish the ant. But he glanced back at the anthill, and, seeing them fleeing this way and that, in rampant panic as they tried to evacuate their young and eggs from the depths of the colony only made the mouse feel worse. "Heh, yeah... I'm... sorry," he said with a slow, and ashamed droop of his antennae.

He was happy to change the subject on the outside, although his heart lingered on his perceived mistake for just a little longer. "Not at all! Anyone can do magic. Some of us are just better than others. With magic, Rift grew this entire garden!" Although his voice started off softer, it was quickly filled with glee. Clearly, Flit was just as fascinated by magic. "I'm not very good at it yet, but Rift is teaching me. Rift can grow flowers and move trees, and cover himself with them, but... I can just do little shoots like that."

He motioned with an antennae towards the anthill. "There are different kinds of magic, I've heard. Mine is plant, and so is Rift's. I've never seen any others!"

At the rat's next question, the fluttermouse grinned a broad and genuine grin. "Well, I do have to hide sometimes. But when you know this place and its secrets you can be gone a long time before danger arrives. C'mon! I think it'll be better if I show you!" The fluttermouse bounded off, fluttering forward a few steps and alighting on a stem a little way into Rift's garden. "You coming?"

"Speech."

@Archimedes

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