It had emerged about 20 minutes before, fighting out of a diamond chrysalis to an empty cave - where its parent had gone was...unknown, if it even had one, but the space was small and cramped, even for its juvenile size, and so it had fled at earliest convenience, barely small enough to squeeze out of the narrow crack in the wall it had come from.

Now it wandered Eridanus, aimless. Surprisingly well camouflaged here, with its green-tinged white blending into the strange fungus that grew everywhere. This fungus had momentarily piqued its interest, curious nose sniff sniff sniffing at the exterior of some of these growths but not daring to actually inhale some of the spores. No, that seemed like a bad idea. Still, it poked and prodded harmlessly at them. It sat back a little awkwardly and took one of the larger ones and carefully stripped away at it, like a child taking apart a fallen leaf. It didn't smell like anything. How strange.

An odd sight in the endless, infested forest, this strange beast carefully pulling away fibers of mushrooms with spindly, dexterous limbs.

She had been exploring a bit, enjoying the sights and finding herself in a very strange and infested area, one that made her scrunch her nose up slightly. She didn't dare touch it, but she did notice another off in the distance, they seemed to be interacting with the weird fungus. What is this stuff?

She called out, hoping that this creature would know something about it. What are you doing to it? Should you really be... touching that? She lifted a paw slightly as she came to a stop a few feet away, not wanting to touch the weird things around them, but wanting to know why this creature was so comfortable doing so.

@Druid

The creature looked up as someone called, claw pausing halfway through peeling away another piece of the fungus. Peridot eyes locked on the approaching wolf and it immediately found itself more interested in her then the fungus. As soon as she was in range, it was moving - the mushroom dropped from its grip and it was getting right up in her space, long neck and head snaking forward to get right up close, nose already working hard to pick up the scent of her. Clean and fresh and a little bit spicy. Mmmm, it liked that smell.

"Hi, it breathed, almost awed by this new arrival. "I don't know what it is. I was playing with it." It backed up about a foot and, without looking away, snatched another off the ground and began to shred it in the same way it had the others, although it didn't look down - its unblinking gaze was locked on Daphne. "What is "should be"? Nobody has stopped me. Are you here to stop me?"

@Daphne

She gasped softly as the creature suddenly moved closer to her, much too close for comfort, and though she flinched slightly and tensed, she didn't pull away. Her lips curled slightly in the faintest hint of a snarl, but for the most part, she remained still and let them sniff her. It was only once they pulled away that she seemed to relax a little, letting out a soft breath of relief.

However as they seemed to have zero care for the possible dangers and continued to tear at the mushrooms, she furrowed her brows, wincing slightly. I'm not going to stop you, but have you even considered the effects that thing could have on you? Do you even know what it is or what it can do?

She would take her own step forward now, sniffing faintly at the item in it's hands before pulling back to speak once more. What if it makes you sick, or kills you, or worse? She wasn't usually one to be so cautious, but something about this gave her the heebie-jeebies.

@Druid

It didn't seem to notice any hint of snarl or hostility or even much shock. It didn't find anything wrong with its complete invasion of personal space and scooted closer to Daphne as it looked down, shredding the fungus carefully. It blinked as it considered her questions and her caution. "It hasn't done anything to me. I don't know what it is!" It repeated loudly, but it didn't sound annoyed that it was repeating itself but rather thrilled!

It looked up at her suddenly, a grin spreading across its face, lips curling back to reveal too many teeth in a terrifying delight of a smile. "If you don't know and I don't know then maybe nobody knows! How do we know, then? How do we get to know? Do you not want to know things?" It raised a slice of the fungus, as if holding it up to the light. "Will it make me sick or kill me or worse? Does anybody know? If nobody knows then we could be the first to know!" It leaned it again, all of its movements sudden and almost jerking. "Do you want to know with me?"

@Daphne

She hesitating for a moment, cocking her head to the side as she looked down at the creature, her eyes widening for just a moment. You know... they had a point. Was it a smart and carefully thought through point? No, absolutely not. Was it a fun and interesting point? Absolutely.

A sly smile crossed her lips as she snickered for a moment, finally nodding. You know what? Why the hell not. Let's figure it out together. She was certainly not a responsible adult and should never be left alone with a child, but here they were, doing something probably dangerous and she was only assisting.

She leaned down slightly and sniffed at a piece of it, cocking her head to the side. What do you want to do with it?

@Druid