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vomit

Ever since they had travelled far across the caves to end up in a place of darkness, Zoisite daydreamed of the cave just before, made of warm light and babbling creeks. Now that the clutch was growing larger, they were allowed some independence, and the Zoisite was nearing their adult size now. Almost rivaling the size of a leopard, but longer and with two nasty ends, the six legged creature stalked through the grasses and reeds with head held low.

They couldn't see, but they had stopped bothering trying to see where they were going. Their carapace was strong now, and their pincers were a good defense should they ever need, if not the hundreds of quills on their underbelly. They instead followed the smells in the air toward the sweetness of flowers, listening to the way the wind rustled about them. Though they could not feel through the hard armor on their back, their bristled fur could sense changes in vibrations in the air and their talons led them on a steady path forward.

Even with their head low, they could at least see just in front of them-- the ground, at least.

And they noticed immediately when they found the wildflowers, stopping dead in their tracks as one of their limbs nearly crushed a bright orange blossom. The Zoisite winced, retracting their limb, and slowly tilted their head back to see the wash of beautiful, natural colors that danced like an ocean up and down the meadows before them.

It was enough to make them fall still. Minutes passed.

They were overwhelmed by it. They had grown up in dusty, dry; and now lived in dark, slick and oiled; but just beyond their home was a place of true beauty. They wanted to remember this sight, leaning back on their haunches, middle limbs propping them up further while their front talons gingerly reached out to one of the bright orange flowers.

A feeling came up in their throat, like a lump they couldn't swallow. Their quills rattled, their heart racing. It was almost like they were... Scared? But why? Doesn't it remind you of something? They asked themself, trying to clear their throat.

They gagged on it, having to turn away from the beauty to retch. Their spittle fired like a shock to their jaws, sparking back up their face and sending little sparks across the ground that quickly died out. They winced, shivering down at it.

I think its home, Zoisite shuttered, I've been feeling sick. Or... tired? They didn't know, but they reached out their hand to smear the electrified spittle through the dirt, flinching at the secondary jolt that ran up their arm and made their fur stand on end.

The journey had been a long one, and they hadn't quite kept up with everything that Master Vargas had said. They wanted to chase away those thoughts for now, though. Pushing away from the bile on the earth, a yellow stain they had left, they carefully picked their way through the flower bed. Each step was delicate and careful, ensuring that they didn't crush any of the wildflowers under foot.

So I needed to get away for a little while, they thought, there's not any rules against that. Why did they feel so nervous, then, like every hair stood on end?

Each breath drew in a new scent. Before long, Zoisite was able to identify each kind of flower by a different scent, their gentle brushes against their limb calm and reassuring. The orange wildflowers smelled faintly like citrus, while the pinks were more delicate. There was a white that was almost honey-sweet, and another that smelled simply clean. The rush of the wind through their ears grew louder, drowning out their thoughts.

They could feel even the slightest change in temperature as the breeze brushed across their hide, and they didn't even realize that they had stopped again to absorb it all.

Zoisite wanted to stay there forever, lost in a perfect moment where every detail was so crisp and clear. If they could share this with Chaos-Two... Their jaws opened, drawing in another deep breath and tasking the scent of the rainbow of colors swaying underneath them. For a moment, they found peace.

... maybe I can... The words drifted up beneath the magical moment they were lost in, ... bring some of this home? And share it with the others? Would mom-- would-- would-- would--

Their Overseer... understand?

... maybe mom wouldn't understand, but some of the others might. Maybe they would like the gesture, as useless as it was. Standing in that field of flowers high on magical dopamine, they started to see the almost souls of their family. Little faint impressions and connections were made,

The orange ones reminded the Zoisite most of Garnet-Epsilon. Maybe there was a light blue flower was more appropriate, with their blue pawpads-- but the seven delicate creamy petals surrounding a seedy, dark brown center made them think of Epsilon, someone who Zoisite had only really seen in passing. Epsilon had watched over them, and taken care of them, all while keeping a healthy distance from them.

How come the Garnet's don't have any offspring in our clutch? Do they have any children? The thought occurred to them, and they pondered it as they reached one sharp talon out to the nearest, perfect blossom in orange-and-black.

A warm yellow glow bled off of their talon, flowing into the flower and surrounding it before gently fading. I think... If it was like the baubles the glowed forward, maybe the flower would live forever, too, with their magic. They didn't know for sure, of course, it was something new to them. They gently cut the stem with one claw, then delicately nestled it into their bristly, stiff fur.

Could they bring home a flower for everyone? They might be laughed at. But the sight was so pretty, and New Home was so... uncomfortable.

Well... if Zoisite had a flower for Epsilon, then they had better get one for Delta, too. Thinking of Delta brought on the impression of red, deep, blood red. Between their sharp, watchful eyes, and the... well. Garnet-Delta brought home food on the regular, that was most often when Zoisite saw it, when it wasn't hawking overhead.

There were taller flowers, ones that shot up into the air like bunny ears, with a long tubular shape covered crimson blossoms. It looked almost fuzzy, from a distance-- but Zoisite crept forward toward it, careful not to crush any other plant underfoot.

This one would do for Garnet-Delta; they could only hope that the gesture would be understood and appreciated. If at least one of their family recognized what the Zoisite was trying to share with them, it would be worth it... wouldn't it?

Another delicate raise of talons. They leaned back on their back two sets of legs, taking one front foot to gently cup and support the blossoming flower, and the other to cut the thick stem, imbuing their magic into the plant at the same time. This one had to be nestled carefully as it was a bit larger, so they tucked it away closer to the end of their tail, where it would bump into less.

Zoisite thought next-- perhaps because Garnet-Delta and the owl would sometimes pass each other and actually speak where others would ignore the Doctor's assistant entirely; whatever history they had well beyond the bug-kaiju's time, but it recognized that they had some sort of... Connection-- of Kethri, the owl.

A white flower, simple and clean like the bird tended to be, clean, drew their eyes.

The zoisite didn't know Kethri well at all. She tended to injuries (some, self inflicted) but they had never been injured to the point of needing healing. Really, the only thing they knew of the owl was that she was pretty and white. She wasn't even really part of the family, as far as the Zoisite knew; no one else had white or soft downy feathers, so...

But it didn't feel right leaving her out, so Zoisite clipped the flower, put their magic into it, and tucked it into their neck fluff, and moved on.

There was still Orthoclase-Alpha (their sibling, Ruby-Beta) and Vargas, but the Zoisite shied away from deciding on their flowers just yet. Instead, they turned to thinking of their clutchmates, mind churning over each one as they looked around at the sea of shifting colors.

There was a bright, brilliant blue, not too far off. V-Zoisite-One was drawn to it in an instant, shuffling carefully through the field toward the patch that stuck out like a hole to a sky they would never know. The blossom was round, with a hundred little petals, turning lighter and more vibrant around the outside, but closer to the center becoming a dark, black core.

The rich blue made them think instantly of Labradorite, the first of the oily, gooey black siblings. (Perhaps the nicer of the two, as well.) They lingered over the color for a moment, remembering distinctly how jarring it had been to almost lose Labradorite on top of Bloodstone, all in one day.

Zoisite was grateful mom had found it, and brought it back. They didn't want to lose a sibling, they still missed Bloodstone like a hole in their chest. Reaching out a talon, they touched the stem of one of the deep blue flowers, and--

The petals wilted in response to the deep ache they felt, curling inward, turning black and wrinkled. Zoisite pulled back as though they had touched an electric fence, wincing at the sudden change. Their tail snapped behind them, slicing through a dozen flowers behind it.

They froze there, pollen smeared across their tail, withdrawn and unable to look away from the black, shriveled thing they made.

Zoisite stayed still for several long seconds. Their thought process churned slowly. Did I hurt it? They thought, flowers don't feel, do they? Not like we do. They don't breath or bleed or move. I couldn't have hurt it.

... but I ruined it. That, at least, they understood. They took a breath, the sweet smell of wildflowers still thick in the air that surrounded them. The other flowers didn't flinch away at the decay of one. That didn't happen with the other ones. Still, the Zoisite checked, finally breaking its statue-still performance by tilting their head down to make sure the other flowers nestled in its fur were still alive. They were.

Bloodstone, the name entered their thoughts. Before their eyes, a faint glowing yellow orb grew into existence on top of the wilted black flower, bobbing slowly up and down in place. They blinked slowly, realizing why the magic had gone wrong, I was upset. And more than that, I miss them. They reached forward to touch their jaw to the glowing light, closing their eyes and feeling the faint warmth on their exoskeleton.

They didn't want to give up on their plan.

Try again, Zoisite's own voice patiently encouraged. Okay. They wanted to see if they could keep the flower they had ruined, but not for anyone but themself. They'd get another flower for Labradorite, but first... Zoisite let the orb above the flower fade, before reaching down to touch it with their snout.

Deep breath. They tried to channel their magic. For Bloodstone. A memory, a keepsake. They closed their eyes and tried, but they couldn't seem to... Get their magic into the dying flower. It crumpled in response, and slumped to the ground.

But, okay, maybe they didn't... Maybe they didn't need the flower. Maybe they could find another flower to remind them of Bloodstone. While they were still upset, though, they couldn't make this work. It was a nice thought, but it wasn't meant to be.

Zoisite instead scraped at the earth bellow the flower, and nudged it into the hole, and covered it with dirt. The insectoid didn't believe that plants lived in the same way they did, but it was still a gesture of respect, to some degree. At least, the motion felt like one. No one would know besides them anyway.

Regardless, Zoisite needed to be more careful with their magic moving forward. They took a deep breath, and shuffled a half-step over to the next blue flower. Sorry if I mess up, they thought pre-emptively. Zoisite raised a talon to the blue flower, and cautiously tried to let their magic flow into the flower.

A trickle of energy flowed through them, not enough to take hold in the flower-- but they were being extra cautious at this point, trying not to damage the flower. They didn't realize they were holding themself back from actually preserving it with their magic, even as they cut the stem and tucked it into their fur.

There was a good chance they wouldn't even find out, anyway. For now, they were oblivious, and simply happy to move away from the blue flowers in hopes of finding another flower that reminded them of another sibling.

That was Labradorite, and naturally Nidhogg came next.

... Nidhogg, was black, and green, and bit at everything. He did not inspire the concept of a flower in the slightest, and looking around at the vast array of colors... Plants came in green, flowers did not. So Zoisite ambled their way to the edge of the flower fields, looking for something... that wasn't technically a flower at all.

At the edge of the flowers, back in the grasses, it found several plants, including a few pink flowers. These were different than the delicate wildflowers, though.

These stood out to Zoisite, because the 'pink' 'flowers', were covered in a billions spines, spiky and jagged. It definitely had pink-purple petals at the top, but it was mostly a long green sheath of spines.

Definitely Nidhogg. Defiant, reversing expectations... but still, family. Zoisite gripped it with a few talons, slicing it free from its base, the flow of magic a bit more confident once more. It was easy to nestle among their crimson fur, snagging like velcro to the bristles.