A new life bared its face to the newly-awakened lights of the caves; or at least, new in the sense that one could have sworn it wasn't there an hour ago. Or had it always been present? It was difficult to tell.
Throughout the various caverns of Origin cave, mysterious flowers had sprung up in secluded alcoves and precarious positions, nigh impossible to find without guidance or a healthy dose of coincidence.

Petals bloomed in elegant heart-shapes from a shining core that might be a gem, appearing almost like a tiny pearl. Ribbon-like leaves curled into smooth spirals, giving each flower an ornate look, as though meticulously designed by some greater being. Even though there is no wind, each flower appears to sway contentedly, though if one looked close enough, they would have to admit that it didn't seem to be moving at all.

But loveliest of all, each flower exudes a tantalizingly sweet aroma which can be caught from miles around. To most creatures, the scent would lead to a dead end or they'd follow it in hopeless circles. But someone out there, somewhere close, will find themselves lead directly to a flower as it sits, softly swaying in wondrous harmony.


It would seem at a glance to be an ordinary flower growing by the generator, but its scent is heady, floral, and alluring. It's still unclear how it came to grow here, though, from the trunk of a fallen tree. @Mortis will find this flower close to the hollow where the cave rats once fed on a hallucinogenic fungi.


This flower trembles in a soft breeze. Its leaves and petals are more like wisps of cloud. @Sebastian will find it next to the fern trench, a soft breeze rustling the undergrowth around it.


This flower appears to be... burning? And although it reeks of smoke and ash, it's not crumbling. How odd. @Desire will find this flower growing precariously in a clump of dried ferns! Better put it out!


It would seem at a glance to be an ordinary flower, but its scent is heady, floral, and alluring. It doesn't look that out of place here, in this secluded clearing... The scent of this flower reaches out to @Dragon .


This flower trembles in a soft breeze. Its leaves and petals are more like wisps of cloud. @Aeroth will find it growing at the base of the Monarch, grasses around it softly rustling.


This flower is changing colour rapidly, as though trying to beckon someone over... @Dezba will find this flower at the base of a tree that a certain weasel once used as a lookout point, beside the trail leading to Astraea.

Event participants may now post their responses below!
Note: Characters taking part in this thread do not need to interact with one another, as flowers can be found some distance apart.

He'd taken only the shortest pause after the conversation with Astraea, and now he was resting, resting his poor, damaged leg in one of Eridanus' many little streams. He'd found that he could submerge himself fairly easily in even very shallow water, and that the prey here didn't seem to expect a giant maw of conical teeth snapping them down to their death when moving to drink.

The beasts of Cetus had always been more cautious--perhaps Aquarian's doing, or even his own. It was, for once, an easy life. But Eridanus was far... busier, than he was used to, and he found himself often lying silent as other, larger beasts--not prey--ran to and fro.

Now, though, something strange was happening. Normally he only found the odors of carrion alluring: the scent of blood and flesh, food. When that hit his nostrils, hunger rumbled through him. But now, there was something sweet--something that drew him; and this was strange enough.

Why, he thought, does this smell so good?

Slowly, he dragged himself with splashing steps through his stream, and began to follow the scent. His progress was not swift; his right hind leg still dragged after his long-ago battle with Raheerah, never having healed right. Still, after a few false starts in which he realized he was going farther rather than closer, he managed to find his way to a broad clearing. It was oddly quiet, and it was oddly empty, and for a long moment Dragon merely lay there like a log, staring at the delicate pink flower at its center.

After a long while, when nothing leapt out, or attacked, or even moved or breathed within the glade, he dragged himself forward again. His long and heavy body, ridged tail dragging behind him, reached the flower, and he sniffed it cautiously.


Sweet. Intoxicating. Meant to lure in prey? Perhaps it eats insects. He had seen some like that, in Cetus, but truth be told this looked nothing like them.

Cautiously he sniffed again, the pink petals bobbing off his broad, dark snout, pondering.

The putrid stench of rotting meat rose from the gully where the cave rats ate themselves death on the hallucinogenic. Their bodies had decayed beyond recognition, as brown, withered skin clung to the bone. Various fungi, mold, and maggots had eaten away most of the flesh, leaving behind partially skeletal remains. Mortis' deed here was done, their bodies would soon return to cave. He left behind his bed of fungi in the gully and shambled towards death's next draw.

Only it wasn't death this time.

A strange, sweet scent had enthralled its vessel. Mortis found itself following it, and it soon discovered the succulent aroma origins. In the gully's hollow, the most curious flower bloomed. The spindly foal approached it, and stared. Is this Sister's doing? The plant was rather beautiful, and Mortis felt its vessel's mouth water with the urge to eat it. Tis a lovely gift, Sister, I shall take it.

It pressed its muzzle against the flower, to wither it away with its strangling web of mycelium.




"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: // OOC:

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian laughed, barreling forward before leaping, landing paw-first on the ground. He growled in frustration as the beetle he'd been chasing dodged his paws, vanishing into the shadows. "Hey! I just want to play!" He whined, looking around to try and find it.


Unfortunately, the glittering beetle vanished from his side, and no matter what he did, he couldn't find it. However, something did catch his attention. A shiny black nose twitched, picking up something... oddly sweet. Putting his nose to the ground, he began to trail it, trying to find the source.


There were a few places where the cub was forced to double back, losing the scent. But, it wasn't long before he found himself nearby a fern trench. The cub saw a pretty blue plant, with white petals and vines. He lowered his head to sniff it, tilting his head curiously.

"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

A cold breeze tickled Sebastian’s nose as the youngster leaned in for a sniff. As the cub drew close, a sudden gust of wind ruffled the flower, leaning it forward just enough to touch the cub’s nose. The flower then began to disintegrate, breaking down into hundreds of soft and fluffy particles like dandelion seeds, which were quickly whisked away by a wind that seemed to have sprung from nowhere. In its place, the small pearl-like object that had been the flower’s core tinkled as it dropped lightly to the ground.

And in that moment, a new feeling would wash over the cub; feelings that were not his own. Perhaps Sebastian would see a sight through the eyes of another; a flower with burning petals. Perhaps he’d feel a sense of playful glee and wonder, washing in over the mental link.

@Bremen is now bonded to @Sebastian, and the two may now speak to one another, and share thoughts and feelings between these threads , or any!!

The flowers have left their cores behind! If they are not reunited within two cycles, then the cores will crumble, the connection severed and never to be reunited again, in this life or the next...

As Mortis lowered their nose towards the wonderful-smelling plant, the object almost appeared to reach up towards the horse’s muzzle to meet its fate… but that was impossible, right? At the touch, the flower began to wither, petals curling and rotting as brown swept in to obscure the bright pinks and greens. The small pearl-like object that had been the flower’s core tinkled as it dropped lightly to the ground.

And in that moment, a new feeling would wash over the skeletal foal; feelings that were not his own. Perhaps Mortis would see a sight through the eyes of another; a flower with trailing tendrils and mushrooms growing from its stem. Perhaps he’d feel a sense of playful glee and wonder, washing in over the mental link.

@Mortis is now bonded to @Splotch, and the two may now speak to one another, and share thoughts and feelings between these threads , or any!!

The flowers have left their cores behind! If they are not reunited within two cycles, then the cores will crumble, the connection severed and never to be reunited again, in this life or the next...

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

A sweet smelling aroma drifted into Dezba nose just as she was licking clean a small deer carcass. She paused, and sniffed the air for bit. What is that smell? It's... nice. She licked her chops and got up. The scent was quite lovely, as a matter of fact, it was the loveliest smell she had ever encountered. And I hate it! She thought begrudgingly. I don't deserve to smell something this wonderful!

Yet, curiosity tugged at her, and soon, Dezba found herself following the scent trail. She wondered what could give off such an enticing scent. Apart grew excited as she traveled across Eridanus in search of this wondrous, sweet smelling thing. Eventually she tracked the source to the base of a tree. A familiar scent lingered there that was as stale as rot, but that's not what caught Dezba's attention. It was a flower, but not just any flower, a very colorful one. So colorful, in fact, that was rapidly changing colors! At first, Dezba stared in awe. It wasn't every day she came across a plant like this! However, its light show got old real fast. The flashing colors began to hurt her eyes. Dezba growled and shook her head. It was starting to give her a headache.

Disappointment began to fester with her chest. She couldn't believe she travel all this way for an annoying flower. "That's enough!"She snarled, as anger boiled through her veins. "Stupid flower!" She snapped her jaws around the flashy plant with intent to shred it to pieces. Hopefully its death would quell the throbbing in her head.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: // OOC:

As Dezba ravaged the colour-changing flower, it would appear to disintegrate in her jaws, rapidly degrading into a fluid that was thick and viscous, tasting suspiciously like something that should have been alive. The small pearl-like object that had been the flower’s core tinkled as it dropped lightly to the ground from the jaws of the wolf.

And in that moment, a new feeling would wash over the wolf, feelings that were not their own. Perhaps Dezba would see a sight through the eyes of another; a delicate pink flower growing in the waterfall room. Perhaps they’d feel a sense of jealousy and insecurity, washing in over the mental link.

@Envy is now bonded to @Dezba , and the two may now speak to one another, and share thoughts and feelings between these threads, or any!!

The flowers have left their cores behind! If they are not reunited within two cycles, then the cores will crumble, the connection severed and the flowers never to be reunited again, in this life or the next...

The flower reached towards it as if to embrace its fate. Mortis thought this odd. Most living things would shy away from their doom. As it shriveled in rot and despair, a pearl-like object dropped from its withering corpse. In that moment, strange feelings washed over its vessel. Mortis almost could not comprehend them. They were of the mortal mind, but it made the rail thin foal feel something in returen, something it thought never it could.

Delight.

Sister? Mortis though that perhaps, its Sister had somehow reached out to it. It would have explained the mortal emotions. She always seemed to be more in tune with her creations. But the mystery only thickened, when a vision of a flower of fungus flash in its mind's eye.

In that moment, Mortis felt an overwhelming urge to seek out this strange union of fungus and flower.






"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Splotch // OOC:

SEBASTIAN

The Puma cubbed tilted his head, staring at the odd-looking flower. He'd never seen anything like it, and he'd seen some weird, and quite frankly, disturbing, things in the caves. As he leaned in to sniff the flower, wondering what it smelled like, he was surprised by a cold breeze. He looked around but, finding nothing that could be the source, leaned in close again.

"Oh no!" the cub gasped as, upon touching his nose, the flower began to disintegrate, breaking apart and vanishing in the odd wind. However, keen, rounded ears picked up an odd tinkling sound, and he looked down, seeing a small, rounded object on the ground. Had that come from the flower? Before he could try to investigate it, however, he was obercome with feelings of glee and wonder. And then suddenly, he was seeing something else, a burning flower disappating like his own had.

And then suddenly, he heard a voice. Well, not really heard, it was hard to describe. And it wasn't his own voice, and made no sense. 'Make what fly? Who are you?' he voiced across the bond without meaning to.

"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

@bremen

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba gagged as the viscid ooze clung to her jaws. She pawed frantically at her mouth, attempting to scoop it out. However, that only made it worse, as it now stuck to her feet. She began to feel panic take hold, and then, strangely, jealousy for something. This sour emotion wasn't her own. Images of a soft, pink flower and a waterfall flashed in her mind.

"Hey, that flower’s way cooler-"

Dezba froze. What was that? It sounded like someone spoke in her head, someone that she thought sounded familiar. She let out a muffled growl. Who was this? Dezba smacked her jaws, and forced herself to swallow the horrid substance. It sat in her belly like a rock, and she though she would be sick.

"Heeeey! Stop that! I want it!"

There it was again! At that moment, she felt that someone else was upset, their bitterness intertwined with hers. It all started to add up. The pathetic whining, the envy, that shrill voice, it didn't take long for Dezba to put the pieces together.

"Weasel!" She snapped "What are you doing in my head?" Dezba began to pace as she bristled with rage. "Get out of my head, now!"

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC: