It was a lovely day in Eridanus. The plants had never looked better. No trace of plague remained in the forest. The black disgusting goop had been wiped clean and completely destroyed. The lights were shining bright and warm, almost as if the cave wasn't a cave at all. One could almost see the blue sky, if they even knew what a blue sky was.

Rift's front lawn was as beautiful as ever, lush and full of flowers and beautiful plants, well tended and cared for as if they were the cougar's very children. In a way, they were. He had raised them from seedlings, never using his magic in their process. It had paid off - they were healthier and more beautiful then if he had simply grew them immediately.

But the cat was nowhere to be seen. He was not checking his garden for any crushed stems or dying leaves. He wasn't watering them or lounging on a branch above. He wasn't prowling through the forest, healing and cleansing and watching for dangers. He wasn't doing anything he would normally do - he was lying silently under his tree.

His tail thumped occasionally against the ground, that and his twitching ear the only sign of his agitation. It had been growing for so long, festering like a disease he couldn't cure. Sebastian wasn't here - probably off in another cave doing who-knew-what. He remembered their confrontation and shuddered. He had promised to try and be more understanding and had given him his blessing to wander the caves. But the longer his absences went on, the less and less Rift liked this agreement. He wanted him here with him so that the days weren't as lonely. He wanted his brother all to himself.

Perhaps he was being selfish. But he had helped raise Sebastian from a cub! He had been there at his hatch! They had lived together their entire lives! Why did that all have to change? Why did Sebastian leave for Rift didn't? They had both sworn themselves to the protection of the forest and nature, but the black cat wasn't pulling his weight.

His tail thumped again.

Rift let out a long sigh, but didn't move from his place. His patrols and gardening had lost its charm. He did it so much, all day every day, that his lift just seemed to drag. There was nobody else, not since Pride and Amras. He had been alone.

He shifted and moved his head so that he was more comfortable, but his skin was itching to do something. But what was there to do that he hadn't done already? The thought that he should leave Eridanus and travel elsewhere popped into his mind for an instant before he immediately shoved it away. No, this was his home. He wasn't leaving. This was where he belonged.

After a little while longer, Rift could no longer stand sitting in his home. He had to at least get up and stretch his legs. Perhaps tend to his garden. The thought that, at one point, would have brought him joy only brought him a sense of boredom. His tail thumped one more time before he raised his head and struggled to his paws.

He instinctively turned back to groom his pelt but stopped himself just in time, blinking at all the things that were growing on him now. While he definitely loved the look of all the plants growing across his skin, the way he washed now was not exactly his favorite. He much preferred using his tongue to wading through cold pools to properly wash himself.

With a frustrated grunt, he rose to his paws and padded wearily out of his den. He brushed through his garden, letting the smells of the forest flow into his nostrils. He had been in this forest for nearly five cycles now and it was so familiar that the sense of wonder he once felt was now replaced by the lull of everyday life. As he padded on, he brushed right past the flower that the fluttermouse was perched on, not even noticing that the little creature was something more then a large moth. As he passed, his tail swung and bumped against the stalk, sending the flower waving gently as he headed towards his pond for a quick wash.

Rift was so intent on the dread of splashing into a cold pond that he almost didn't notice the tiny squeal that rose up from the flower. Almost. It just so happened to be one of those days that he had removed the leaves from around his ears and all the sounds of the forest were flowing into his head. Of course, by this time, he had become completely numb to it, his sharpened sense of hearing so normal to him that the background noises were a dull murmur. The tiny noise only passed through this barrier because it was a sound that he had never heard before.

At first, he didn't really register that he had heard anything at all. But then his good ear twitched as he realized something different had occurred and he turned his head back to look for what had made the squeak. And his eyes widened as they stopped on the tiny mouse perched on a flower on his back. For a moment, he simply looked at it, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Was it a mouse or a moth? Or maybe both? Had he accidently licked one of the mushrooms growing on his fur? Had it caused him to hallucinate? No, he was feeling fine. This must be real.

Then again, he had seen stranger things. A gigantic snake, a triple bird turning into one, and all the strange things that happened in Polaris. In terms of weirdness in comparison to the caves, this strange little creature was barely uncommon.

His neck starting to hurt, he laid himself carefully on the ground and curled his body towards him so he could look back easier. He wondered if there was a chance that the little moth-mouse could speak so he quietly whispered, "Hello?"

Even though Rift had spoken to it, he was still a little surprised that it had spoken back. He had never met a Greater Gembound that was so small and so odd looking. He watched with wonder as it opened its tiny wings and fluttered off of his back and onto a nearby tree. Slowly, so as not to spook the little creature, he rose to his paws and padded over, sitting down calmly in front of it, ear perked with interest.

For a moment, he forgot to answer the apology, instead wrapped up in the joy and relief of finding something new and absolutely not dangerous in his forest. He leaned forward carefully, whiskers twitching as he looked at the little thing. So wrapped up in his interest that he realized it was probably freaked out by him, being so much bigger and all. He leaned away, giving it space again.

"S-sorry," he whispered, "I've just never seen anything like you before!" He suddenly remembered what they had said earlier and his eyes widened. "Oh, and it's fine, the flowers belong to the earth, not me. I simply tend to them." For a second, a flash of pride ran through his pelt at the thought that someone thought that these were his plants. He had taken very good care of them, after all, and he seemed enough of a protector to have his own plants, apparently.

Rift's whiskers twitched. He didn't know this "Farrah" and wondered if there was someone running around his forest that he didn't know about. But from how the little moth-thing was talking, they didn't sound like so much of an enemy. Felina, he'd met, but she was okay. When they mentioned mouse, Rift suddenly realized that they did, in fact, look very much like a mouse, just very much the wrong color.

He nodded. "Oh yes," he whispered, without thinking, "I used to hunt mice." He suddenly widened his eyes as he realized exactly what he had just said, chastising himself for being so careless. "W-well, that was a long time ago. I switched to plants and fruits and now I'm on an all-sunlight diet." His tail flicked and brushed against his green fur. "That's why I'm all green now."

He watched as the little creature rose into the air and settled on a leaf just in front of him. He stared at the tiny feelers with interest, noting that he had never seen a mouse with little antenna like that. Nor one so yellow. Nor one with wings. Definitely not a mouse. "So, uh, what are you?" The question was a little blunt and he decided in a flash to back it up with a gentler question. "Do you have a name?"