The white snake was hunting again. Hungry again. She hadn't eaten that long ago, really, but she'd grown so rapidly since her emergence that it had become difficult to sustain. She was a good ten feet long now, and while she wasn't so afraid of rats and the like anymore, it didn't make them any easier to find or catch. If anything, she was slower now, and she couldn't lift herself up to be taller so easily. Now she needed the support of other things like branches and stones to get any higher.

Desire flicked her tongue out, happy to be back in the ferns and mosses of her birthplace. Food was sure to be plentiful here, but... She flicked her tongue out again. There was something that smelled... incredible! The alabaster python slithered along, smitten by the aroma. But, wait... What was that? A small plume of smoke floated from something burning. It looked like a flower, she was certain of that, but was it a flower? She narrowed her ruby eyes as a tiny ember fell into the patch of dried ferns from which it seemed to grow. Uh-oh. She didn't know any magic that could stop this thing from burning. All she could do was make stuff grow. Desire scanned the surrounding area; she couldn't conjure up something wet, but maybe there was something that didn't seem likely to burn...? She sighed. There was some moss, which could hold plenty of water, but if she didn't put any in there- another ember floated from the flower, marring a leaf with a spot of black. She concentrated.

But nothing happened. It was as she thought; even if she could have created something, it wouldn't have worked, and so she was being stopped before she was ahead. The burning flower was worrisome, if anything, and so she stayed, feeling quite useless.

As Dragon's long muzzle touched the flower, it began to wilt, dry brownness crackling out from the point of contact until every petal was curling. The stem curled in on itself, petals dropping one by one, until the flower finally crumbled into dust. 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 alligator; feelings that were not his own. Perhaps Dragon would see a sight through the eyes of another; a burning flower growing in the maw of mosses. Perhaps he'd feel a sense of worry and a ravenous hunger, washing in over the mental link.

---

As Desire focused on trying to put the fire out of the flower, even though the magic appeared to fail, the flower appeared to burn brighter. And then, as if, of its own accord, it began to burn up. Petals crumbled into ashes, and the fire spread quickly down the stem. In a few short moments the flower had gone, the small pearl-like object that had been its core tinkling as it dropped lightly to the dry ground.

Meanwhile, a new feeling would wash over the serpent; feelings that were not her own. Perhaps Desire would see a sight through the eyes of another; a delicate pink flower growing alone in the maw of mosses. Perhaps she’d feel a sense of vague curiosity and caution, washing in over the mental link.

@Desire is now bonded to @Dragon , 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...

Dragon jerked as the flower fell apart; it wilted, turning brown and collapsing into dust. For a moment he scrambled back a few heavy paces, alarmed: perhaps it was a trap after all..? But no; the not-flower did not attack. Instead there was a quiet clink as the thing fell into the moss--was that a gem?

His thoughts, somehow, were loud.

WHAT IS THIS? THIS FLOWER--IT WAS LIVING? He huffed, nosing about until he found the thing.

AND WHY AM I HUNGRY? After a moment, he had an odd realization: the hunger was not his own.

Neither was the worry.

Had the three birds lied, after all? Could they control him, read his mind? He bellowed, hiss-roaring into Eridanus' damp air, and spoke aloud.

"WHO IS THIS? What are you doing?"

@Desire

Desire threw her head back as the flower combusted and fell to pieces, withered and black. She had hardly a moment of relief that nothing else had caught fire when there was yelling. In her head.

The python looked about as the questions roared in her mind, almost as if spoken, like remembering an old conversation and yet so loud! She scanned the area but found no other life. WHO IS THIS? What are you doing? What were these thoughts? They seemed intrusive, and their volume was atypical of her own mind. She looked down at the flower, suspiciously, for a moment; it couldn't have something to do with this, but the timing...

Desire spoke aloud, unsure if this voice belonged to some other creature or was merely a figment of her own mind, frightened and maybe magicked, though she had never experienced any magicking of the head before. How disturbing! "I'm trying to hunt," she hissed, fear and confusion gone to frustration as a pang of hunger growled in her stomach. She flicked out her tongue, gaze seeking; her eyes passed over the ground again and she caught a glimpse of the sparkling thing that had fallen from the center of the flower. Carefully, she nudged it, but there was no more excitement to be had from the flower's remains. "Hm."

@Dragon

Dragon huffed. He listened, and leaned down, scooping up the little flower-gem in his jaws. Somehow, he was receiving another's thoughts. And, in his typically blunt fashion, he continued to bellow directly into poor Desire's mind.

"I am Dragon!" he roared, and it was aloud, as well, the sound carrying through his little forested section of Eridanus. He rolled the gem to a safe spot in his lower jaw, and turned, waddle-limping back the way he came, heavy body thumping along the moss. "Who are you? Where are you? Our minds are linked. Are you the three birds? What are you hunting?" he demanded.

It sounded suspicious, to him. Was it something hunting him?!

Perhaps it is hunting me. The birds' game all along? Or perhaps it was this flower. ...IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS STOP LISTENING, he added, in his mind.

@Desire

Sebastian looked around with a frown, trying to find the source of the voice. He knew he'd heard something, and his ears didn't lie. But still, he couldn't see anyone, anywhere. The Gemling sneezed, having to lunge forward and catch the flower-orb-thingy before he could lose it.

There was no reply for a long moment, giving the puma time to wander up and down the area where he'd found the flower. But, to his confusion, no one was there. At least, that he could see. Maybe they were really small?

Sebastian walked back to where the flower had been, and crouched down, his muzzle low to the ground. "Hello?" he asked, squinting to try and see if there was someone tiny down there.

'Are you an imaginary friend? Hi imaginary friend! I'm Bremen!' There it was again! His head whipped around, trying to find the source of the voice. But, again, there was no one. Wait, they'd said 'imaginary friend' so, was it in his head? They couldn't see it either.

"I'm not imaginary!" he huffed, shaking his head. "If anyone's imaginary, it's you! I'm Sebastian. Where are you?"
And then the other creature was speaking again, and he tilted his head. A dragon? Flying manta ray? He didn't even know what those were! "I'm a Puma! What are you?"

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Sebastian frowned, looking around. Where was the voice coming from? Surely not from his head; only crazy people heard things inside their heads. And he, most definitely, wasn't crazy. Not in the least! 'I'm not confused! You're the confused one!' Sebastian huffed, ears flicking back. Now whatever-this-thing-was was just plain mean. He stomped his paw, growling. 'Beak and wings and fin and horn? That doesn't sound real! I have real fur and real legs and real paws and a real stone! Which of us sound imaginary!' he stomped his paw again.

He startled as emotions began to flow over the link, owe and discovery. What was the thing thinking now? After it spoke, disbelief flowed over the bond. 'A... ghost puma? I'm no ghost! And waterfall room? I'm not IN the waterfall room! I'm in Eridanus! Where are you?'

And then the thing was sending him thoughts again. 'A fox-dolphin-heron-cat-vulture? What even is that? Which of us sounds imaginary now?'

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The Puma cub scowled, ears twitching as he waited for the voice to speak again. It seemed to take an almost excessive amount of time for the other to answer, as though it had forgotten about him. However, he could still feel the emotions running through the bond, so he waited, playing with the orb between his paws in boredom.

Finally, however, the other responded to him, and he felt he'd missed something. So they were meeting up in Eridanus, then? Alright, he could do that. He knew where that was! He bent down to grab the orb between his teeth, careful not to crush it, before bounding off in the direction of the 'Big Tree'. 'On my way!' he sent down the bond.

-Exit Sebastian-

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

@Bremen

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

"I don't give a rat's a-- wait."Dezba cut off her own barking. She was in that weasel's head too? This thought amused her. "I'm in your head too?" She let a out a chuckle. "Well, in that case, tell me your name, if it please's you." She narrowed her eyes and grinned maliciously."Let us get.. better acquainted ."

A flicker of light from the ground caught Dezba's eye. She looked down to where the flower once stone, and lo and behold, there was gem. However, this gem was unlike any she had ever seen. It was smooth, round, and very beautiful. Dezba rolled it closer with her paw, admiring it's iridescent sheen. This gem felt different, but she could not explain it.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

"You're the invader here."

Dezba scoffed at their reply as she bent down to give the pearl a sniff. It smelled like any other gem, but why did it feel so different? She wondered if their sudden connection had something to do with the flower, with the pearl.

She rolled her eyes when the weasel piped up again, their shrill voice scraping her mind like thorns on rock. Annoyance bubble up in her chest, but she quelched it before it festered.

"Oh, now you want to know, do you? Why don't you take a wild guess, and see if you can get it."

"Fine," Dezba replied cooly. Disdain laced her voice. "Don't tell me, I'll just call you mouse-squeak." She couldn't help but smirk. It was fun toying with the weasel, especially since she had an unadulterated view of their insecurity. How could she not prey on that? "Please to properly meet you mouse-squeak," She mocked. "I'm Dezba."

Unfortunately, they also seemed to have the same, pry connection with her mind. The thought of them reading into her loneliness and other dark corners she dare not bring to light. Especially her greatest fear, being weak and helpless, vulnerable.

Could they sense that?

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC: