Oka was in Polaris. For some reason. They'd never been to this cave before. Any cave, really, aside from Eridanus. And that strange tunnel with the inverted colors. But Oka didn't want to think about that. They wanted to explore this cave. Bask in the pale bioluminescence of the mushrooms and crystals that flooded this cave. The greenery upon Oka's shell shifted and whispered as they roamed. They came to a stop.

A crystal ahead of them hummed with power. A soft aqua glow. It was small, small enough for Oka to touch. Oka's dark eyestalks leaned forward. Oka reached out a tentacle to grasp it. And gasped. The crystal burned their hand, and they could feel the tentacle shrivel in response to the heat.

It was..so powerful. So beautiful. Oka wanted to take it back. Oka could not hold it, but they needed it. Wanted it. Wanted to bring it back to Eridanus, to their den. Their nest, where they could hide it, covet it. Or show it off, perhaps? Maybe Qiziux would think it cool.

Oka wandered off from the crystal. Oka could follow their slime trail back. They didn't worry about the possibility of losing the trail. Their mind was focused on the task ahead. That cool crystal. They wanted it. Wanted to move it back to their den.

Would it keep them warm? Did it give off warmth, or did it just glow? That bright, blue color. They needed to find something to move it with. Excitement spurred the snail on, and it trundled faster. In its excitement it traveled for minutes. Searching poorly--not concentrating enough on any one spot to search thoroughly.

It missed many things that could help it. Vines and stones. Abandoned bits of useful things, left near the spire. "Where," it began, trailing off. How odd of it to have not seen any vines. It mulled over its actions in thought. Oka wouldn't have thought it this hard to find a vine. Come from Eridanus, where vines were as plentiful as dirt.

As it turned out, Polaris was pretty different from Eridanus. Oka had slowed in their search, yes, but still no vines. Perhaps vines grew differently in Polaris. Oka bent her eyestalks, lifting a stone with a hand. Did they grow beneath rocks? Plants needed light. This they had learned, after weeks and cycles of caring for them. But perhaps, surrounded by all this magic, the need for light was lessened.

Could plants grow from magic, they wondered. A seed of an idea planted itself in Oka's head. One that would germinate and grow. The thought was shoved to the back of Oka's mind. Oka wondered how these plants grew. Did it rain here? Was there water beneath the ground? Oka touched a tentacle to their face. And slithered off, deeper into the cave.

Oka's travails took near the heart of Polaris. Their eyes glittered in the light of the Spire, looming above them with such majesty. Like the blue crystal before, but magnified. A million times the size. There was no way Oka could haul such a thing back. So they sat there, a quiet few minutes, watching the humming shape in awe. They nearly fell asleep next to the bright glow. Movement shifted in the corner of her eye.

Was that..? It was bright blue, as the spire had been. And it was definitely a crystal. But it...moved? Disturbed, Oka made to move. As they turned, their eyes caught their prize. A vine, growing over crystals. Not the pale blue of the spire, or their crystal, but a safe color. They tore the line of vine, and hung the length on the back of their shell.

The birds on its shell twittered and showed desperation for their homeland of Eridanus. Right. Oka should head back. Back to the crystal, and then Eridanus. Oka turned, and began the slow, meandering return over its slime trail. It paused. Grabbed a small rock, to knock the crystal over with. Then continued on its way.

Getting back to the crystal took long. Longer than Oka would have thought. Did they really travel that far from the crystal? It hadn't felt that long, when they wandered away, sightseeing in Polaris for the first time. When at last they returned, Oka breathed out a sigh. The crystal looked so diminutive now. Next to the breadth of the spire, it was a twig to a trunk.

Oka brought out the rock. It tapped it nervously against the crystal. No burn. Oka was safe. Oka sighed, once more, and began to enact their plan. They settled the rock in a position they were sure would not cause them to lose their grip. And then pushed , its whole weight behind it. The crystal tipped over with a thunk, and then it was free.

Oka turned, grasping the vine from their shell. And then, with the length of it in both hands, eyed the chunk of spire. She realized, suddenly, maybe she should've tied the vine around it firstly. Oka's eyes shrunk in discontent. Perhaps they could get it around... without burning themselves once more

Oka picked up its small stone, wedging it beneath the ceystal. Eyestalks shrunk, body leaning away from the tentacle. As if they expected it to strike out in fury at any moment. Oka sighed, relieved, when the task was done. They wormed the vine, leaves still attached, beneath it.

Their tentacles felt too close, at one point, and they feared the small thing would burn them. But it seemed they were safe. With the length of vine around the fallen crystal safely, Oka pondered how to carry it. Surely if they pulled now, the vine would simply move without the crystal.

Their mind went to their spiral. Perhaphs like that? Oka set about their work, worming the vine repeatedly over and under, like a spiral, till it was wrapped firmly. They tucked one end under a loop of rope. Tugged it. The vine held. Relieved, Oka attached an end to a spoke of its shell. And maybe, as thanks for the vine's help, it could attach it to its shell. Magicka hummed, and Oka felt the vines spread roots within its spoke. It hurt, but as it was learning, beauty tended to do that. Oka slimed off, back to Eridanus. Home.

;Exit Oka