The big cat was friendly, it seemed--at least on the surface. Still, Archimedes was hesitant. He looked around the bounty of the garden--he could smell fruit, somewhere, or was that the thing that Flit had called "flowers?" He hadn't managed to find much to eat yet, in his short life, and so that, at least, was an attraction. But he feared going in.

Something about the whole thing--stepping into the world of color and free food and protection--was too good. Too convenient. And he already had a suspicion that there was quite such a thing as "too good to be true."

He squeezed his beady dark eyes shut, and took a breath. Control, Archimedes, he told himself--though his heart was racing, and breath coming quick. He steadied it, and looked up again. He'd tell the truth, that was all. If this was a trick, they'd never agree to his request--and if it was, he might be safe.

"It's... nice to meet you. I had another little friend--a rat--in Cetus; but I think she was leading me to a bigger, talking Gembound, to be eaten. It was a trick. So-... I don't mean offense but-... Can I stay outside it? For now." The tremulous fear, stilled by barely-holding self-discipline, was clear in his voice.

He couldn't help himself, then--he glanced to Flit, and added, "What smells so good?"

@Flit

Flit appeared pleased by Rift's enthusiasm. "Yes! After a venture like that, though, I think I'll be staying here for a while." It had been a long journey, flit had been very far. And, truth be told, he didn't really like it out there. There were few plants and, from what he'd seen, fewer flowers still. There was barely anything edible, and just grey, colourless rock as far as the eye could see. Still, the fluttermouse did wonder if there was anything at the end; Archimedes had to have come from somewhere.

Flit remembered the rat talking about a place that was dark and swampy, and Flit didn't much like the sound of that. Perhaps, next time, the fluttermouse would go the other way. His antennae waved, considering, and he remained silent as Rift and Archimmedes spoke to one another.

As the rat turned back towards Flit, his antennae perked to attention. He didn't know if Archimedes had been talking towards him, but he drew in a deep breath anyway and sniffed, pink nose twitching. "That's probably all the flowers! There's loads here- and all of them have nectar! --You remember, right? It's that stuff I was telling you about!" Wings fluttering with glee, Flit realized something else he wanted to do- he had to introduce Archimedes to nectar! The fluttermouse doubted that the rat would be light enough to perch on the heads of flowers as he did. Flit had an idea of how to do just that, and it required a leaf or perhaps a flower petal; both of which were plentiful around here.

"Speech."

@Rift

Rift nodded, understanding the rat's predicament. He knew there were untrustworthy creatures all over the place and any bad experiences, especially with large predators would make it difficult to trust him. He was, after all, quite large.

He chuckled and nodded again, pressing his paw again on the ground. In front of him a bright colored, sweet smelling flower bloomed and arched its way towards Archimedes. Hopefully he would be able to reach it should he stretch enough. "Yes, my garden is full of all kinds of flowers and herbs and fruits. I understand if you'd like to stay at the edge. Feel free to make yourself a nest. You are welcome to explore my garden as much as you would like."

He took a step back for the two rodents to continue communicating and looked away,glancing around his field for the next plant he'd have to tend to.

@Archimedes

The rat listened, quiet, to Flit's words--and then to Rift's. He was growing a little less tense, a little less suspicious; Flit just seemed too happy to be planning anything malicious. Neither of them were being pushy, either, and though he had no idea how much food something so large as Rift might need, he doubted that waiting days or weeks for he himself to let his guard down would be worth the time invested.

He watched in surprise as the flower appeared, and then leaned forward, sniffing cautiously at it. It smelled sweet, indeed, though a careful lick at it gave him no joy. He shook himself, pulling back and blinking; it tasted, despite the pleasant scent, a little bitter. Sitting up on his hind legs, briefly washing his whiskers with his forepaws, he looked to Rift.

"Thank you. I might do that. Your hospitality is--very kind." He then looked to Flit, cautious; Rift seemed busy, so he turned his attention to the pink fluttermouse.

"What else--is there? In Eridanus, and elsewhere?" he asked--hesitant, but calmer, now.

If the two were actually not trying to kill him, then he owed them one, for sure.

@Flit

Flit watched proudly, swelling with happiness as he watched the cat call a flower from the earth- it was an art that he was still a long way from mastering, however much he had tried. He giggled as the rat gave the flower a tentative lick, but obviously found it a little strange, bitter even. The little mouse watched as he swiped his whiskers clean, and fluttered his wings open.

"I'll show you how to get to the nectar! Although, your nose might be a little too big. You've got to try it, anyway! Nectar is the best!" The little creature fluttered up from the ground and circled the nearby vicinity, looking for a leaf that was small enough to carry.

But alas, all the leaves in the nearby vicinity were just a little too big for Flit to carry safely. Most of them towered over the teeny fluttermouse, and most were big enough for him to land on- which he did, after a while, standing as high as he could with whiskeres fluttering at the air, antennae waving. As wonderful as Rift was, and as much as he loved his garden, Flit wondered if there was such a thing as taking care of the plants too well.

"Speech."

@Rift

His whiskers twitched with amusement as Flit looked for...something. No doubt something to carry and all of his plants happened to be full and lush and healthy (most of them, at least). Yes, his garden was prolific with large, beautiful plants and he could understand that Flit was having a difficult time finding one his size.

He looked up towards the tree towering over them. Not all of its leaves were fully grown in yet, many of them were barely out of buds so he silently called with his magic for it to lean over. It did, a branch bending down to meet them, but it was slow and Rift worried for a moment that the tree would be hurt. But it seemed to be alright, at least for now. "There you go, if you need a leaf there should be plenty of small enough leaves on here."

@Archimedes

He watched, and listened, but his mind was half-elsewhere. The sweet scent had made him hungry, and he turned, rummaging along the dirt beneath the foliage.

If there was food to be had here, maybe there was something he could eat. Nose to the ground, eyes up and whiskers twitching, he began to cast about.

He caught a scent, after only a moment--a little acrid, but meaty, somehow--and quickly followed it. His movements were jittery, swift, those of the hunting rodent. Flit and Rift were talking, but he barely heard them, so focused was he on his search.

It took him a few moments, and a false start or two, but after some circling back and dogged determination, he found it: a small anthill. In an instant he was digging, biting out small black insects, chewing and swallowing them with ravenous disregard for anything else around him.

@Flit

As Rift drew the fluttermouse's attention to a few small leaves growing on a nearby branch, he paused, surprise evident on his little face. Soon, the fluttermouse took to the air again to flit over to it. "Oh, thank you!" he squeaked as he did so, a hint of embarrassment on his voice. He didn't want to trouble the big cat if he could help it. "You didn't need to!"

Reaching the branch, Flit gnawed free a small leaf, just small enough to hold, curled in on itself with newness, and fluttered back towards the ground. When he had alighted back on the leaf and looked around for Archimedes, the rat was nowhere to be found. No matter; he was sure to be back soon.

It gave Flit the time to work, whilst he was gone. Clinging to the flower stem, Flit pushed his nose deep into its belly. The sweet scent surrounded him,clinging to him- and he felt powdery pollen sticking to his whiskers. Pushing a little further and he reached his sweet reward. The little mouse inhaled, filling in his cheeks with as much nectar as the flower had inside of it. After a moment he removed his face from the flower, and let a few droplets of sweet fluid drip into the centre of the leaf. With its curve, it stayed there; but the fluttermouse knew that a few droplets would be nothing to a hungry rat.

Clutching the leaf to his chest, Flit flew to another flower and emptied that one, too- and then another, and then the next... Until soon, there was enough to allow Archimedes a mouthful or two of sweet nectar.

Finally, he lit on one of Rift's leaves, and looked around to see if the rat had reappeared.


"Speech."

@Rift

He sat up, washing his face for a moment, the crunch and juice of the ants having satisfied that ravenous hunger--for now. He shook himself, the leaves around him rattling, and then looked around. He took two hopping little bounds back to where Flit had been--in the clearing--and called up upon spotting the bright pink speck.

"Flit?" he called up, hesitant to be so loud with the giant cat about, but a little distracted now.

Now, he had a plan, and he wanted to see if it would work.

"Can you bring me some of that--that... nectar?" he asked, trying out that new word. The ants were carrying food back to their holes. He himself didn't like nectar, but maybe they did. It could be a very easy way to find food, in the future.

@Flit

Soon spotting Archimedes reappear, the little fluttermouse pushed free of the leaf he was perched on and glided swiftly back down onto the forest floor.He alighted on the ground before him and in tiny pink paws held out the leaf- curled in on itself so that it could be used like a tiny bowl- it was fulled entirely to the brim with sweet-smelling fluid, and Flit found the scent almost intoxicating. It was hard to resist dipping his nose in it and starting to lick like a house cat in a bowl of milk- but he kept holding it out to Archimedes- it wasn't for him, after all.

With his paws taken up and no time to groom, the Fluttermouse was in a bit of a state- his twitching feelers and whiskers were coated with powdery yellow pollen, everything - from his delicate pink feelers to golden cheeks- was stained the same pale yellow. He smelled even more floral than usual, and sent little puffs into the air whenever he breathed. There were even a couple of flecks clinging to his large and mothlike eyes, though he didn't appear to notice for now.

"Here! I've been collecting it for you!" the fluttermouse offered excitedly. He couldn't wait to see the rat try it.

"Speech."

@Archimedes