He couldn't see the expression Forgraves gave when they reached the garden, but he could feel his tail thumping against his back. Happiness, then - it was a good idea to take him here. Hoping that he was holding on tight enough, Azrael bent over and picked the first flower her saw - a small dandelion - and carefully cut through the stem with his claws. He straightened up and lifted the flower so Forgraves could take it. "Lots of pretty flowers. You hold onto this one."

He began to step through the garden, keeping to the path as best as he could, though still stepping through the many weeds that had grown, approaching the tree. It made him feel very small (a feeling he wasn't exactly a fan of) and he wondered who on earth used to live here. "Look," he pointed at one of the roots of the tree. "Scratch marks. Others used to live here. The caves are old, older then memory. Perhaps this garden belonged to someone long ago and has been here for ages. Maybe it is only just grown only a few cycles ago. We may never know."

He stood by the roots of the tree for a moment more until Forgraves tapped at his shoulder. It was time to move on, then, to something else. He rumbled as he moved away, carefully stepping through the garden, until he thought of the next place they could visit. "I will show you the Monarch," he confirmed, and then went silent as he trundled through the forest, pushing aside ferns and stepping easily over roots that tried to trip him up.

They walked for a while until Azrael stopped at the center of the room, right underneath a mushroom as massive as the tree they'd just visited and looked up, pointing at the top. "This is the Monarch," he rumbled. "I know little of it, but I think some used to worship it, long ago. This is rumor only - I do now know them, nor if any are still alive. If the Monarch ever responded or did anything for them...that I also do not know."

Azrael turned his head the best he could when the fox tried to lean forward. He looked surprised and almost a little proud as the fox began to string more words together. "Yes. I will take you up there." He looked back up before crouching down, opening his wings. He paused and rumbled, "Hold on tight" before leaping as powerfully as he good and using his momentum as leverage to push himself into the air.

He wasn't good at taking off or building altitude swiftly due to his massive weight, but he prevailed, powerful muscles keeping his wings going. The ascent towards the top of the Monarch was rough, slow, and a little strained, but he rose in height bit by bit until they were above the top of the mushroom and Azrael was setting themselves down on top of it.

As soon as he set himself on top of the mushroom, however, spores puffed out of the surface, right into Azrael's face. He reared back, surprised, and let out a loud roaring noise as he accidently breathed in a whole breath and it immediately gripped his head.

He swayed, falling to his knees as dizziness and nauesea set in quickly and the world started shifting and tilting. He forgot about Forgraves in that moment as colors around him started blending together. Suddenly, a booming voice echoed in his mind. MY SON. White fungus began blossoming in his vision as the hallucinations started taking hold, Mother's fungus overtaking the entire head of the mushroom. He thought he saw Forgraves jump off his back into the fungus, only to be consumed with a screech. Azrael roared and reached forward, but the world suddenly went black and he fell unconscious.

Azrael was out - totally out, his dreams filled white fungus and Mother's influence, dark wishes tearing at the edges of the fabric of his mind, her crooning voice whispering in his ear before his rage filled the world and blazed bright as the fire that engulfed the hive.

But Forgraves sitting on top of him did nothing to rouse him. He only growled in his sleep, muscles tense as his dreams became nightmares.

After a moment of being completely passed out, his dreams shifted because something was happening. Something wet was touching his face. Was the fish creature nearby or something? Was Mother's fungus taking over his face now? Wait...was someone...licking him?!

He suddenly jerked awake with a loud roar, throwing himself to his feet and lashing out at empty air with his claws, as if an enemy was standing there. His headache still persisted and his stomach was tossing but he came back down from his adrenaline high a moment later and looked down. Forgraves was still sitting there and...

He blinked. There was still a cloud of spores, moving away and, without a word, he leaned down to pick the fox up, holding him out in front of him. "Are you okay?" he growled. "Did I hurt you? Did spores get you?"