Action. Thought. "Speech."

Polars had become one of forgraves favorite places.

he could get to any cave he needed to from here, or atleast find a steady path to one. the buzz of magic beneath his feet, a force that once scared him, now fascinated him. he was a guest in this cave, he did not live here, but he could appreciate it just as much. the spire stood tall in the center of the room, the energy nearly visible with how thick it was, as if he could reach out and touch it. it might kill him if he tried, so he wont, but he could.

he laid down a safe distance away from it, resting his aching paws and his tired head on the cold stone of the floor. he appreciated being able to rest, if only a little bit, with how much work he'd been doing. he missed azrael... and banshy...

where were they?

he sighed. maybe he should try talking to people again. he hadn't seen anyone from the edenfolk in forever....

he sighed.

Oliver was only passing through, but when he did so, he often made a stop near the Spire. There was so much history, here, and sometimes he'd just sit and stare up at the glowing rock, and think about it: past events of the caves, past personal incidents that had touched him more directly.

He was sort of hobbling, and not at all quiet as he approached: three limbs shuffling along the rock, and a clumsily-woven basket hung over one feathered forelimb's wrist. This was empty; he'd been heading to Pegasus, hoping to have a closer look over some of the plants there, to see what might fit back in Canis.

Oh-... But the Spire wasn't empty, today. That was okay--in fact, that was nice. Oliver liked meeting new people. He couldn't remember if he'd seen this one before, but his memory wasn't exactly the most keen; he lived day-to-day, sweetly friendly more than sharply attentive.

"Oh--hey," he called over, drawing up a little distance off. He didn't want to scare the stranger. "I'm Oliver--I'm not interrupting, am I? -Your fur's really pretty," he added, and it was a note of genuine admiration, with a sort of innocent gentleness to it, rather than some weird declaration of intent to steal Forgraves's pelt or something.

Oliver noticed, then, what he took to be possible melancholy: the way the fox had been laying, head low. Concern flickered up in him. "Um--are you okay?" he asked, and hesitated; maybe it was nothing. He didn't want to be a bother.

@Forgraves

Action. Thought. "Speech."

The fox startled back to his surroundings. he could hear shuffling but he assumed it was just the casual gembound passing through, he didnt seem to expect anyone to ACTUALLY come and talk to him. but he smiled after a moment, a bit taken aback by the compliment. aside from azrael, nobodied done that before.

"a-ah, no, you're fine! t-thank you, wow, heh" he chirped, shaking a bit of dirt off as he turned his head up to look at the dog. dog? bird? dogbird? he's seen weirder. "um- yours too! im Forgraves, nice to meet you?"

"its nothing, just tired mostly. missing family. stuff like that." he said. "just resting. what brings you out here, oliver?" he asked, pushing his spectacles up to see the dog better.

@Oliver

Oliver beamed at the compliment--he didn't smile, exactly, but it was there in the straightening back, the lifting of tufted ears, the happy expression that crossed his face. Just words, but they clearly had an immediate impact.

"Oh, thanks!" (Nobody'd ever really complimented him before, either, it seemed.) Carefully, he drew a little closer; he didn't impose on Forgraves's personal space, but he didn't hang twenty feet away awkwardly shouting, either. He came up to a few feet off, carefully setting down his empty basket and settling himself on the rock with a slight huff. "It's nice to meet you too! Forgraves is a pretty cool name--does it mean anything?" he asked, with an openly curious glance the fox's way. His voice was soft, eyes round with interest.

Oh. Missing family. The bird-dog sagged, a little, sympathy crossing his features openly, evident too in his voice. "I know what you mean--about missing family. I'm sorry," and he was going to go on, but hesitated. He couldn't exactly ask if Forgraves's family was dead, or something. If the answer was "yes" that wouldn't go anywhere, so instead, he offered a more tentative, "If you wanna talk about it at all--I mean I know we just met, but I try to be a good listener."

Forgraves's question had him turning, peering up at the Spire. He lifted foreclaws, brushing his feathers into place absently. "Me?--Um, passing through, mainly. Going to get some seeds for a garden," he explained, looking earnestly back to the white fox. "But I pass through here a lot. I stop and look at it sometimes, you know? -I think a lot of people do. It's... pretty impressive, huh?" and he squinted back up at the tallest point.

@Forgraves

Action. Thought. "Speech."

he smiled. thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "no, i don't think it does? i dont even remember how i came up with it, really. random syllables." he chuckled. "but thank you."

he looked up. he didn't realize until now the implications without the context. "oh, um- theyre not dead, i just... i know theyre there, my dad atleast, but every time i have the time to visit, i just... can never seem to catch him. my brother? no clue. i don't know if he still lives with dad, or if he's off doing his own thing. its weird, yknow?... they were the only people i knew for a long time." he chirped sadly, pawing at the ground. "its.. fine, though. aslong as theyre alive i'm okay. don't think i could handle that.."

very impressive! the feeling of being here and just looking at its amazing.. he chirped. after it registered in his mind, though, his ears perked up at the mention of a garden. clearing his throat, he spoke again. "wait, a garden, you say? how interesting!"

he hummed. "me and an old friend, we were- well, ARE part of this group? kinda? its like a little town kinda thing, though we haven't done much yet. we were going to start a garden once we moved to pegasus, all kinds of plants, fruits, other things we'd need. it was originally going to just be for medicinal herbs, but we figured we'd need a garden anyway, so we mixed everything in." he rambled. he kept speaking, obviously excited about this certain topic. "we had been experimenting for a good part of an entire day finding plants and seeing what they did to a gembounds body. you see, i wanted to be the towns medic, but i dont use magic, so i had to find out somehow what plants did what. luckily i didn't ingest any poisonous ones, but i did get a good grip on the kind we'd need for certain things, like painkillers or sleep aids or numbing, it was all so-" and thats when he stopped. cheeks red, embarrassed, he smiled and laughed nervously. "o-oh dear, im sorry, it seems i rambled a tad, didn't i? forgive me, i don't talk to people much."

@Oliver

On the topic of names, Oliver laughed. "Me, too. I mean--mine doesn't mean anything, either, I think. Yours is a good name, though," he added, though he didn't explain by what measure he had judged it.

And on the topic of family, he gave a little wince, and his voice dropped to a near murmur. "Ahh, I'm sorry. That's sad--it must be kinda frustrating not being able to run into them. The caves are pretty big, yeah..."

Ahh, but on to gardens. Oliver's ear-tufts pricked back up, eyes widening as he listened; by the times Forgraves finished--and apologized--Oliver was sitting bolt-upright and rapt. "Huh? No, don't--apologize, tell me more!" he blurted, enthusiastic and seemingly deeply invested in Forgraves's explanation. "I'm a medic, too! And I grow plants! -I already said that, uhh--I mean. It's interesting? You said it's in Pegasus? I didn't even know plants could do that, and I've always grown them," Oliver said, in a tone of surprise. "I mean--I grow 'em for food, and uh, bandages and--stitching? Kinda? I mean, I use magic to make them close wounds, but painkillers... That's so cool?" His words came in a rush, as intensely interested as Forgraves had been. "Can you--I mean, if it's not too much to ask--can you describe some of 'em for me? Oh--do they have seeds? I'd love to learn about them!" Blue eyes blinked, and he remembered himself, much as the fox had done moments prior. "Oh! And if you ever want a hand, um--not that plants aren't enough, or anything? But if you need magic-medic stuff too," (how very scientific he was) "I'm happy to help! It's... really tiring but I can make wounds mostly close and um, cleanse infection and stuff. Oh--do you make lights for your plants?" he added, scooting a few inches closer as his words came out in a rush. "I guess Pegasus doesn't need it--how'd you find out how they all work?" His voice was full of awe.

This was a game-changer, really; Oliver'd never thought to use plants that way, and the possibilities now opening before him held him nearly captive with curiosity.

@Forgraves

Action. Thought. "Speech."

he smiled. another medic? and he had to admit, having knowledge others didnt was a great feeling.

"it truly is fascinating! i didn't know they could myself until one day, while i was exploring eridanus, i stepped on a prickly plant type thing, my foot felt numb for a few hours afterword, and the day my friend and i were experimenting i remembered such, and wondered hey! if that could do that, could it be used to help people? and i began trying to figure out what OTHER plants did!" he chirped, smiling so brightly you couldve sworn he'd never been sad in his life. "i had an injured foot at the time, so i took turns testing different plants on it. some helped, some made it worse, i ate a few and they also helped that way, its a whole different world of combinations and methods!! i dont recommend self-testing all the time, though, plants dont talk and arent magic, we don't know what theyre going to do if anything, so its better to test it on a lesser if you dont have another way of knowing like i do." he said, holding up the flask he had tied to his waist. "i got it from the collector, as much as i regret it! its very helpful, it changes the color of mixtures inside of it to show what they do, for example, if a mixture turns pink, that means it'll make you halluecinate or incredibly dizzy, or if its orange it'll give you a burst of energy! the colors can also mix, like if its light blue and green, its soothing and regenerative! black means poison, so i avoid that, but ive also gotten a share of red mixtures, and i haven't the slightest clue what they do, i haven't tested it yet." he said. "theres only one, and it has minor side affects, but i don't mind lending it to ya if you're ever curious!"

he smiled. "i don't mind at all! im still experimenting with the plants myself, but i have loved a few! ive been collecting the seeds for them since i was able to find their sources, if i can find where i left them, i'll give ya a few to try out! i found all sorts, one of my favorites from that day in specific was a plant with a very minty flavor, if you chew or mash it into a paste and apply it to a wound, it'll numb the pain, it'll even make it feel a bit cooler! it helped with inflammation, too, it was incredible! with the sheer range of existing plants in the caves they can be used for medicines, food, even for making things! im sure you're aware you could make things like dyes out of flowers, but theres another plant i found that creates this incredibly stick substance i often like to use to stick things together, its very cool!"

he smiled somehow even wider, "and for the magic, of course! the group is always in need of more hands, and plants can only do so much! i prefer the exact science of plants simply because im afraid of my own backfiring, but adding magic to the mix doesn't have to hurt! i admire your ability to do it, if anything, you sound like a talented gembound!" he chirped enthusiastically.

"i would need to look into the lights! some plants grow better in the dark, but obviously i'd need to see them to examine them, so its possible i'd need a larger agrea of space near a wall of sorts to allow for cave-gardens, bauble a few items to hang in corners! you're a genius, Oliver, truly!" he rambled, happy as a clicking dolphin.

he giggled. "oh its so nice to find someone who thinks its as amazing as i do! every time i talk about it people think im crazy for not just going down the magic route!" he cheered.

@Oliver

Oliver listened to the entire long speech with both eager fascination, and happiness--not for himself, but for Forgraves. The fox had morphed entirely, it seemed: from slightly morose and a little... nervous? Upset?--to incredibly bright and enthusiastic, himself.

In wide-eyed silence he listened to the tale of stepping on a prickly plant, his eyes straying down to the fox's paws. The method of trial and error sounded fascinating to him, though he blinked a little at the idea of using Lessers for experiments--not that it was necessarily cruel; maybe it was just medicine? He hoped, at least. "It doesn't hurt them, does it?" was his only interjection, and that at a murmur.

The description of the flask had his eyes popping even wider. It sounded amazing, to him, though he wondered why Forgraves regretted it. He'd heard his own rumors about the Collector, of course; but what had he asked in return for this gift? It almost sounded too good to be true, really. When Forgraves finished, he blinked--taken from his own thoughts--and hastened to reassure him. "Crazy?! No, that's so--good! There's so many times my magic's failed that I'd have loved to have something like this! And like--I have no magic for helping with pain, only the injuries so that's really helpful. Or helping someone sleep-?" he added, and quickly shook his head. "It sounds great! If you ever do need magic--before I forget to tell you--I'm uh, usually around... Canis, in the grove there. I grew it! Or in Eridanus and so on. There's some plants I check in on in Monoceros, too, but they're mostly okay, I think." He paused, and blinked. "Oh! If you ever want to see how I grew my gardens, maybe we can like--teach each other tricks? I had to purify water, and like--form water--so they had something to drink. And make lights--like, uh--let's see if I can..." He squinted, and peered upward for a moment--but nothing came, and the bird-dog gave a little laugh. "See, that's why having a non-magic way is good! Smart. Because magic's kind of uhh... unreliable," and his tone, and mischievous squint, made it sound like he was finding a better word than something a little more rude, like, perhaps, "shitty."

"Can I ask why you regret getting that thing? It sounds amazing; I'm wondering if there's more," he added, nodding to it.

He thought, for a moment, squinting as he studied Forgraves, his bird-dog head cocked to one side. "Hey, have you thought about... recording all this? Like-... I know this sounds weird--bear with me! But maybe... carving or... painting on a wall? Like, you could draw the plant, and maybe its seeds, and then underneath it mark what it does? So other medics can learn from it? You could even put a picture of yourself under, to say who did it all!" he added, enthusiasm sweeping his tone higher in pitch. "Unless you've already done something like that?" His eyes were bright--this was such new and interesting stuff, with such possibilities coming to mind!

@Forgraves

Action. Thought. "Speech."

he shook his head. "from what ive seen, most plants that could cause immediate or lethal damage make themselves known for it. before i do tests i try to make sure i cant gather an idea of what it does from external observation. if it doesnt look like it will, then i use my flask. but without something like it, its definitely a good bet to just do consistent observation of how the local lessers and other life around it interacts with it. if they avoid it, or it seems to display outward negative affects, i take the warning! some substances can change affects if under certain preparation, aswell, so its just a matter of experimentation! if i am sure it'll hurt a lesser, then i avoid it if i can. if im not sure, then i find another way." he reassured.

as they continued on, he smiled again. "magic doesn't do everything, and as i said, i prefer the specifics of plant science! if you have a good idea of what it'll do beforehand, then its likely it'll keep doing that same thing! unless you have some sort of negative reaction to it? i once saw a lesser eat a specific sort of plant and it had no affect, tons of them were eating it, but when i tried it, i was the sickest i'd been for days, truly not a favorable experience. it depends on the creature, though ive learned that if it kills one thing, its likely it'll kill something else, hence the observation technique i mentioned." he chirped.

he perked up again. "my father lives in canis! it never hurts to visit there again, and its not a terrible walks away from eridanus, which is where we've currently set shop up until we move. eridanus has a lovely plants supply too, given the fact alot of it IS plants, so much variety, and the garden there? magnificent for resources, as torn up as the place seems to be nowadays. pegasus is good too, but eridanus has so many corners and nooks that you never come away from it without finding something new!" he said, "and the fact you managed to grow a GARDEN in a place like canis? absolutely incredible! i cant imagine how difficult it mustve been just getting good soil there, let alone any form of moisture, its amazing! i'll have to go find it sometime, and i would always be sure to visit you too!"

"i'd love to learn from you! and yeah, i wouldn't mind that! trading techniques and all that, i mean. you know alot more than i do it seems about stuff like bandages and stitching- i'd never even thought of stitching! i could definitely use a hand there, and i can teach you about the wonders of plant medicine! that'll also help with the fact you obviously know how to grow plants, an relocate them aswell, that'd be important for moving plant supplies to areas that would otherwise be considered inconvenient, such as other caves or new soil, really! you and i would make a great team im sure!"

he paused. "i hadn't thought of that! another brilliant idea, oliver, my friend! i'd need to find a good way to store the information, as you never know when someone could come up and wash it all away, maybe some kind of log, i'd have to find something to do that with... maybe on big leaves, paint images on there and keep them together? that could work, keep them somewhere people could find?" he brainstormed idly.

he came out of his brainstorm session though at the question about his flask, frowning slightly. "well, my trade with the collector didn't outwardly go wrong, but i believe i was tricked in some way. i was told to pour some sort of liquid onto that massive meat pile in fornax? i didn't think it'd do anything, and i almost got eaten by someone else who lived there, and i still dont know what it was for, but after hearing what other people experienced? shady deals, horrific enchanted items? one of my friends from the group told me of the time they needed a harness, but it was cursed with the memories of the gembound it was made from's final moments and death, so whoever wore it was forced to relive it! how terrible a thing like that is, to give to a parent just trying to carry their child safely...." he huffed. "sometimes i wish i could go back, especially given my lack of appropriate means to do things at times, but it'd be going against my morals to allow the suffering of another gembound, let alone possibly be the cause. i'm meant to help people, and what would i do if he asked me to do something awful in exchange? i wouldnt know what to do with myself.." he sighed. "b-but as i said, you're free to use mine if you ever just ask? aslong as you dont break it, though you're free to see if the collector has anything similar, though i would advise being careful if you DO take that risk, i wouldn't judge you for it either." he added on. "he's shady, and his actions are rarely the same every time."

@Oliver

His intent listening became studious, brow drawing down as he did his best to commit everything Forgraves spoke of to memory.

From his explanation of looking at a plant's basic appearance, to observing its effects on various Lessers, to noting that it might affect different creatures in different ways: Forgrave was covering a lot, and it was all really useful stuff. So how stuff looks, how things react--but that still might not show everything, he noted to himself, nodding along. But if it kills something, it'll probably kill everything. Okay. Noted! Forgraves's assertion that 'magic doesn't do everything' earned an amused snort and a nod of agreement from the bird-dog. It really did fail, sometimes, and there was so much it couldn't do--stuff it sounded like Forgraves had gotten down!

Oliver was realizing, too, that he'd somewhat underestimated the little fox--or, at least, misread him. Maybe it was that he was smaller, pale, and had looked sad--but somehow, Oliver had pictured him as quiet, even timid. What he was proving to be was outgoing and quite intelligent, and Oliver immediately found himself admiring the smaller Gembound. "You've put a lot of work into this," he observed, his tone displaying every bit of that admiration.

"Oh, your Dad lives there?" Oliver asked, perking up. He briefly struggled with his own memories, his own father, and pushed that back for now. "Maybe I know him? But yeah--you're welcome to visit any time! We can both grow stuff there, if you want! In my garden? Or--wherever," he added, amiable and happy. "And yeah! There was--a fire, in Eridanus, a long time ago. And at the time none of the other caves were really, uh--green? Like, nowhere else had plants, aside from Cetus and that's mostly dark, smelly swamp. Pegasus hadn't been opened yet," he explained. "So I figured if there was another big fire--'cause that one hadn't even been the first--we might lose all the plants. And then lots of plant-eating Gembound would have nothing to eat, too, like-... Everything might die. So I started taking lots of good dirt--the smelly stuff!--into Canis, basket by basket. And there's water there but it's like... gross? Slimy, metallic, stale. So I used magic to fix it, but that was pretty awful--it kept backfiring, and black stuff would come out, but in the end I got it. I made light, and heat--I can make a whole cave like, daylight, if I need to. Then little plants, then once they were all there, big ones--ivy, ferns, fruit bushes, even trees!" Oliver paused, and took a gasping breath--he'd gotten too excited, and ran about three sentences without breathing in. He looked quite happy, and even a little proud of himself, at the compliments Forgraves was offering. "But the gardens are for everyone, so you can come by! Maybe we can visit your Dad," he offered.

He considered the rest of what Forgraves had said. About teamwork; about marking his findings, and about the Collector. He chose to address the last one first--because it was the easiest and, in his mind, maybe the most urgent. Canine-like face was abruptly concerned, eyes widened once again. "Oooh. The pile's for, um... Aquarian. The Children of Rot--they're a group, there--my Mom's with them--they catch food and lay it out for him at the water's edge. He's a Master, and they say some of the Children of Rot are his kids. I don't know if that's true," he added, in a slightly quieter, more conspiratorial tone--Dragon and his ilk hadn't ever looked much like the giant sea serpent to him. "But I wonder what he had you put on it..? I've heard he's, um. A little 'off.' The Collector, I mean. So--it's interesting but I'd have to think about it. Thanks for the warning," he added. He debated, too--should he ask his Mom; find out if anything had come of it? Assuming she wasn't sleeping again, of course. "Can I ask about how long ago that was?" he asked, as an afterthought--if it'd been very recent, maybe there was still time to warn them. "He sounds horrible. But I don't think it's your fault, like--don't feel bad--you didn't know?" he pointed out, worried and reasonable all at once.

"Anyway, uhh--I'm more than happy to help you move stuff! You've done incredible work--I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing stuff like this before. I can help you move plants and seeds, make water and lights, if you ever need. And uh... I wonder--Let me just try something."

Oliver looked down, studying the rock beneath his clawed feet, for a moment. He could make rocks glow--but could he refine that glow? He'd never tried to, before; but if he could make specific markings, well--it'd be real hard for someone to wash that away.

It didn't work--and he was disappointed, to say the least; nothing at all game. He sighed a little heavily. "I keep trying magic, but it just doesn't wanna come," he lamented softly. "I'll try again in a second but I'm thinking--for markings? I have magic that can make rocks glow. Maybe I can make glowing symbols? This way, it wouldn't get lost, or wiped off," he explained--and looked to Forgraves hopefully--as if really hoping this might be helpful.

@Forgraves