With his newfound ability to fly the owl found that it was much easier to get around the caves. After depositing his items back at Canis he'd promptly left to see what new sights there were to see and what else he could learn about the world. He decided that today might be a good day to turn his knowledge inwards to his own abilities. It wasn't often that he practiced his own spells and after discovering his connection to the fungal realm he wanted to try something new. So, he flew towards the glowing center that he knew was Polaris and alighted in the midst of the tunnel that lead there. Up ahead he could see the blue glow from the core and behind was the place he'd come from. The area felt damp, a bit clammy and uncomfortable, but he ignored it. His comfort was not the prerogative here but his practicing was.

So, he alighted on the ground and spread his wings out. Eyes on the ground he focused on his magic and found that before him sprang up a few mushrooms. In the darkness he could see that they were glowing a bright green color that illuminated the area around them. In the darkness he was probably one of the few animals well adapted to the lack of sight but now, he could see even better with the light the fungi gave off. Incredible! He could use these mushrooms to supplement the lack of the light in the caves. Sure, they didn't give off that much light but it was more than enough for him.

How fascinating.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@GIGATSUHALI

Polaris was home forever. Not only was it the ever-important core to the caves, it was the core of her life. Still, every bird needed to leave the nest once in awhile. So, there she was, carrying herself only high enough that her wings didn't brush against the ground; the tips of her wings occasionally gave warning to go a bit higher. Rarely, though, which was good as it was already difficult to focus on her senses. Mostly, all she got was incoherent "noise," as every bacteria she approached tried to be overtly known. Thankfully, nothing seemed a threat, so she dropped her feeble attempt, just before something caught her eye. A ways down the tunnel, a soft, faint glow drew in her attention. It was quite pretty and very green; a compliment, she thought, to the glow of Polaris. As she came closer, she was able to see someone lingering around the source of the soft light. I bet they made the glow. I wonder how? So, Gigatsuhali landed a short distance off, making a point to not be quiet, for spooking a stranger held risk. "Hello?" she called, "My name is Gigatsuhali Yinehi... who are you?" As the large bird spoke, she walked closer, squinting into the low light. It didn't take too long for her to make out the youthful appearance, her feathers ruffling with a bit of excitement. It was always so nice to find other birds! So Giga did her best to look friendly; a sweet voice, kind eyes, and a smiling beak were sure to give off... something. Hopefully it didn't scream "creepy carrion eater." ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Tacitus

He focused on the mushrooms he made, attention buried deep into them as he tried to decide exactly what they were. Would he ever have a species name for them? He didn't know but for now he would just remember them as a bioluminescent species, something distinctly useful in the currently dark caves.

His attention was taken away from his mushrooms when he heard the sound of someone settling a bit away from him. His blue eyes rose from the green shrooms as he turned his eyes on the stranger. He could easily see that this was some sort of avian creature like himself. Ah, the first avian --that wasn't a mammal-- he'd met since Eleanor the duck... but this was no duck but nonetheless it was still pleasing to see her. He tilted his head to the side as he took in every detail he could about her with the aid of the green light. He'd never met a bird like her but somehow he knew that she was some sort of species of vulture, a carrion-eater. Perhaps he should have been disgusted by this as his species was more into fresh-kills but he found it useless to be biased against someone he'd never met before. It didn't matter what a creature had to do to live so long as they could be friendly and learned from which he was quickly finding that everyone --save for a very rare few-- could be learned from.

"Gigatsuhali Yinehi, I am Tacitus. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Here he spread his wings and gave a little polite bow. "I do not suppose that you know what exactly these mushroom species are?" He raised back up, using one wing to gesture to the glowing mushrooms before tucking both wings back at his sides. "I made them but it does not help me to know what exactly they are." Which was a mild irritation but one that he would either remedy now or later.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Gigatsuhali

The introduction was short and, frankly, quite adorable. The little bow he provided brought forth a little glee to her face, just before he redirected her attention back to the glowing fungi he'd produced. His question was one she wasn't sure she could answer, but wanted to give it a go, anyway. With some hard focus, Giga attempted to arouse the bacteria into inspecting the mushrooms for her, but all it resulted in was a repulsive shrieking into her head, a sharp pain occurring so quickly that nausea forced her to turn from the glow and vomit. A misfire in magicka - it happened sometimes. With a shake of her head, Giga took in a big breath to regroup, then looked back at the mushrooms contemplatively. A little hum was vocalized, then she sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't help you. I have yet to experience your element, myself. My own just..." she paused and glanced at the small result of her earlier mishap. "...backfired. I can tell you, though, that it brings to mind the term 'fairy fire.' Although, perhaps I'm biased in favor of the fair folk." A soft chortle came along, then faded as a dull headache remained in her head. Distracting, but short lived, as it then began to fade as well. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Tacitus

With his wings tucked back at his sides and his eyes turned to the bird before him, he waited patiently for to give her answer one way or another. He could tell that she did something but he could only speculate that it was something to do with magicka... that apparently backfired as she turned and vomited on the ground behind her. He turned forward, concern briefly lighting in his features as he peered at her. "My apologies." It was all he could offer for causing her tap into magick that made her react in such a way but he supposed it was one of the negative results of wanting to learn.

"Magicka is so unpredictable sometimes. It truly makes me wonder if one can ever master it or if we are all slaves to its fickle whims. The researcher in me prefers to think that skill and practice will tame the wayward effects of the magick but one can never know for sure, especially not I without proper studying." He shook his head, he could go on all day about such things but would hold his tongue in favor of something else. "But please, tell me more about... 'fair folk' and 'fairy fire'. What are these terms you speak of? Do they have something to do with mushrooms?" He was eager to learn all that he could about his own element and even more beyond it so if the vulture could expound further he would be all ears.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Gigatsuhali

What a bright young one, she thought, nodding in agreement with him. There was a certain kind of luck with magicka. She always felt it was like life and the universe; it didn't give you what you wanted just because it's what you asked for. Still, it was always nice when things came easier, so she would do her best to answer the questions he had. "Fairies are... otherworldly beings of a different kind of magicka. Some stories suggest that they make homes out of toadstools. I think fairy fire simply refers to the similarity to a fairy's own glow. Really, the legends and stories could go on until I die of old age, I'm sure." Giga smiled at her own joke, knowing well that old age didn't truly exist among the greater gembounds. She leaned into closely inspect the fungi again, admiring their glow. It really was amazing to see them so bright in such a dark place. It encouraged her to perhaps try to grow fungi on her skin like she did with plants. But what to start with? "These are quite beautiful, you know? Better than a bed of roses, I think." ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Tacitus

Tacitus listened to her, absorbing everything she had to say like a living sponge. So, what she spoke of was simply a story, a legend, he supposed. It wasn't actual fact but still there was enjoyment in the fiction and he nodded his head. "Then these 'fairies' are from stories, legends. Interesting, yes. I should like to hear more about them." He mumbled the last part to himself moreso than his company before giving his head a slight shake and smiling at her. "My gratitude for sharing your information. I'm always keen on learning whatever I can. Life should be filled to the brim with new information, in my opinion it is a waste to not learn what you can when you have the opportunity." Which was why he risked so much to question whoever he could whenever he could.

He smiled as she leaned in closer to examine the thigns he had created, complimenting their appearance. "Gratitude again, Gigatsuhali. I have never seen a bed of roses but I assume they must be a treat to the eye." He wondered then if he could make more mushrooms... He spread his wings again and then looked down at the ground, next to the group of glowing green shrooms he already made and focused within. Within moments more shrooms grew but these mushrooms were of a different variety being much smaller and with their glow centered at their stems rather than all over. He nodded to himself approvingly. "But these also seem practical and not just tasteful to look at. If we are to be purged in darkness then perhaps growing things like these will be beneficial to all."

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Gigatsuhali

She listened to him carefully, choosing not to speak. He seemed to be musing to himself. He was so very polite as well. It was so wonderful to listen to him speak, finding herself a bit more encouraged to follow her curiosity in life. Curiosity that led to her encouraging her body to bring forth a rose. It emerged from her shoulder, the second plant to ever grow from her skin. "Not a bed of roses, but a beautiful flower none-the-less," she said. "Would you like to have it?" It would surely pain her to remove the thing that came so easily, so beautifully. Still, she wanted to offer the gift to the one who wanted to learn everything. Perhaps he could learn something from this plant she had just created. Thorns and all. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Tacitus

As he mused aloud his thoughts he didn't notice at first the rose growing from the vulture until she spoke and drew attention to herself. In the green tinted light of the mushrooms he could see the beautiful flower that had sprouted from her shoulder. Intrigued, he leaned forward with blue eyes wide in wonder. Subconsciously he reached out towards the flower in a want to touch it, to study it, to do whatever so that he could learn more about it. He could tell that it was dangerous with the thorns growing from it and found it all the more interesting because of it.

"A juxtaposition of nature... beautiful and dangerous. I would love to have it." He looked at her now, eyes shining in gratitude. "I would love to study it and perhaps practice my drawing abilities with this flower. It would be a great help, my many thanks." He knew that plants had a tendency to wilt and to die but if he could draw it, well, it would be forever immortalized.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Gigatsuhali

Yinehi smiled again and nodded. To help him would be an honor. Even so, she hesitated to turn her head toward it, but did. With a solid chomp, the stem broke apart. A thorn found itself in her tongue. Painful, but she held onto it, passing it onto Tacitus with enthusiasm. Copper flavoring ran down her throat, earning a brief bitter expression to the equally bitter blood. A solid swallow didn't save her from it, either. "Do you intend to spring these up throughout the caves?" Her inquiry was accented by a wing passing over the glowing mushrooms, blue eyes falling onto them again. She squinted at them for a moment, inspecting all the details of the brighter of the two. As soon as her eyes closed, a pair sprung up on one side of her back, glowing as magnificently. She twisted her head around, eyes shining with glee at her success at copying Tacitus's own interesting discovery. She felt like some kind of beacon of light, now. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Tacitus