It was a hell of a thing, trying to put words to concepts that you barely understood, let alone creating concepts to try and comprehend the universe around you.

He knew, now, the idea of green, and the idea of warm moisture--pleasant humidity as opposed to Cetus' chilling mists. He knew the odor of soft dirt, and the sweet smell of flowers, and the chaotic symphony of birds and insects. He knew now the smell of bones, and that of carrion--and they had only been in Eridanus a few moments! --yet he knew the words for almost none of these things.

Nor did he know what they meant. Were the calls of those birds a signal of danger, high above? Perhaps not; they reminded him of Flit's musical little chirps. What of the damp soil? Was this dangerous--was its smell? He didn't think so; it was like Cetus' dirt. He put that aside, categorizing it mentally simply as "dirt," though of a different sort. The trees were more leafy, and there were more places to hide--yet it all seemed to constantly shift and move in the wind. Cetus, by comparison, had little undergrowth--and what there was seemed often eerily still. This place was alive in ways Archimedes had never seen before, and it kept him constantly nervous. Was that fern's twitch merely the result of a blowing breeze, or did it conceal some great predator preparing to leap out? Was the canopy of rustling leaves harmless, or was it the sign of a storm coming, shrouding the approach of hawks above?

He kept to cover, pausing and listening with wide eyes, skittering in swift bounds from one patch of foliage-shadowed earth to another. He kept, too, as close to Flit as he could. It was good that Flit was a very bright and noticeable color, because he'd never have been able to keep track of him otherwise.

"Is this--Eridanus?" he squeaked out, as quiet as he could while still able to make himself heard. "It is-... large, impossibly large--I would not even begin to know how to measure its size," he marvelled.

Indeed, he felt his world had expanded, along with his mind--his former knowledge was nothing, to this. Hell, he'd have to invent a wholly new system of measurement merely to grasp the vastness of this place.

@Flit

Flit drew in the scents of home- all the more powerful, and almost intoxicating, now that he was finally home. He occasionally fluttered around Archimedes joyously like an excitable butterfly, mostly taking off ahead, but occasionally alighting on a stem or leaf to wait for him. As the rat spoke, the fluttermouse flitted back, and lit on a broad and shiny leaf, which barely stooped to his weight. His wings folded against his wings, standing bright against the myriad of greens.

Clearly, he knew how to stay safe in his home, ears constantly perked and whiskers twitching. He listened to the bird calls, and kept half an eye on the sky. "It is, isn't it?" he said proudly, with a twitch of his antennae. "And we're only a short way in! The plants get thicker the further in we go."

Flit pushed off the leaf and glided onto a flower stem. He wrapped his tail around it and scrambled up to the flowering head, where he pushed his whiskered muzzle into the centre of its petals. When he removed it, his whiskers were covered in droplets and an odd, yellowish powder.

"My home is still quite a walk. I live in a garden looked after by a big cat- he's big, but kind. If you talk to him, I'm sure he'll let you stay too!" The little mouse flitted onto the ground before Archimedes and began to clean his whiskers- a sweet scent clung to him. After a moment though, he paused mid-brush as though realizing something. "And- don't worry. I was quite scared of him at first, too. Cats are... I don't know. Frightening. But he put me at ease. He doesn't eat animals. Only plants! He was fascinated. He said he'd never seen a talking mouse before!"

He resumed grooming. "He keeps me safe from things that would eat me. No predators would dare go near him."

The tiny creature's voice was full of admiration.

"Speech."

@Archimedes

Archimedes bounded along, slipping from this plant to that.

"A--cat?" The very word filled him with dread, although he could not have said why. It touched him the same way "mouse" did, though with a different effect--a distant knowledge of its meaning prompting some sort of instinct. He imagined sharp teeth, and claws, on a great and faceless monster. Fear. Hate. Kill it. Flee.

Yet, Flit had turned out to be friendly, and helpful. Archimedes, though frightened and a little bitter by his early experiences, was willing to give this "Rift" a chance, "cat" or not.

...What if it's a trap? What if the bad-mouse brings food to the bad-cat? Why would he tell me there's a cat there, then? Maybe so I don't panic when I see it... He slowed in his scampering, a little, his heart rate picking up. He glanced up at Flit more and more as he went, his eyes narrowing, blood rushing even harder in his ears.

What if it was all a lie?

Even more frightening were the parallels he could draw to large Vladis and the gray rat that had been with him. A lure. A talking rodent, bringing food in to the larger predator. Was all the world like this..? Was the rat colony the only safe haven?

He was silent, for a time, and began to lag behind--conserving his energy. If he had to run, he wanted to not be completely exhausted when the time came.

"How did you meet the cat?" he asked, at last. Maybe Flit could assuage his fears; or maybe he would let something slip that confirmed them.

@Flit

"Yes! A cat," the little mouse had met a few cats- each just as frightening as the last. But none of them had ever tried to hurt him, not even when he'd been new, and vulnerable, and afraid. "Don't worry, I was scared too, when I met him."

The fluttermouse took off, and awaited Archimedes from on top of a fern, whose leaves were still pale and curled with springlike newness. At his question, the fluttermouse raised his head, antennae holding mostly still and ears lowering in apparent expression of thoughtfulness. "Well, I'dd just emerged, and changed. It was when I first grew in my wings. I thought he was a bush, and landed on him, but he turned out to be alive! And a cat! You wouldn't believe it! He's green, and he's covered in leaves and flowers! You'll know him when you see him." The fluttermouse thought back wonderingly, voice bright with nostalgia.

Realizing that the rat had caught up, he fluttered ahead again, and onto a tree root. "If you're afraid, though, you could always hide whilst I go ahead and introduce you, and watch from a distance. That way you can see that he's really nothing to be afraid of. But I'll need to tell him you're here to make sure he keeps you safe." The mouse fretted, eager to introduce his friend, yet nervous. If Flit and Rift had never spoken, Flit had no doubt that he'd be just as fearful as Archimedes, and although the rat wasn't saying much, Flit was certain he knew how the rat felt. To a mouse, anything in the world could be an enemy.

They were, however, drawing closer to Rift's garden, and the nest that Flit had made.


"Speech."

@archimedes

Archimedes felt genuine relief at Flit's offer. He'd been just coming up with the idea himself--asking to wait at a distance--when the fluttermouse suggested it first. ...But what if this was also somehow a trap? What if prey often was suspicious? He'd have to watch above, and behind, and to the sides...

Some part of him was, briefly, tempted to just mentally say "forget it" and strut right in, throwing caution to the wind. But fear was still strong in him, and he caved.

"I'd like that, if you don't mind. The word frightens me; I wish I knew why."

He noticed, in an absent sort of way, that his words were improving. He'd have to think about "why," later. But it was as if he were learning from Flit's sentences and phrasing. He'd hate to lose a new friend, now--hate for this to be a trap if for no other reason than the ensuing loneliness.

"This is it? I can just--wait here, then, right?" he asked, hopefully. One forepaw lifted, dangling daintily in the air, the rat hesitant about moving any closer.

@Flit

Flit nodded; he was a little disappointed that the rat wouldn't be coming with him, but he understood. It wasn't far to Rift's garden now; in fact, they were almost at the outskirts. Flit was certain that he would be found somewhere nearby.

The little mouse raised his muzzle and sniffed at the air, trying to pick out the warm yet harsh scent of cat from the myriad of plant scents. It was difficult, but faint traces of Rift's scent hung on the air. It wasn't surprising; the cat lived here, after all. But Flit hoped he wasn't too far away. "Of course. Cats are scary. But this one is kind."



Flit moved forward again- pressing out of the undergrowth and into a grove of carefully-cultivated wildflowers- bursting with colours and life. It was a space where no trees grew- and in its place Rift had put flowers. It was here that he'd first met Rift- and where the Fluttermouse had built his nest among the leaves. "We're here! isn't it wonderful?" he crooned, clasping his paws together and looking up at the flowers that towered over them. He sniffed, filling his nose with the scent of pollen. "Wait here! I'll try and find Rift."

The fluttermouse took to the air- he fluttered some distance away, and landed on a flower that towered above the rest- peering across the flower garden to try and find his feline friend.


"Speech."

@Rift (if you feel like joining!) @Archimedes

Luckily, Rift was tending to his garden that day. Finally, after all the time since the fire, it was growing back and even more beautiful then before. Perhaps the flames hadn't been a curse after all. At the time, though, they certainly had been. But now it had helped all of his plants grow back healthier and more beautiful then before. But it had been a lot of work and he still wasn't finished. He weaved his way through the garden gently touching and healing the plants that needed some energy, perking up anything that looked like it was suffering. He was a little tired - he'd been working for a while.

The tiny voice wasn't missed, though. His sensitive gem-ear caught it and he looked up from his work. It took a moment to find Flit in the mass of colors, but he eventually spotted him on a flower that towered over the others around it. He raised his tail in greeting and padded over. He knew that the mouse had been living in his garden and not only did he have no problem with it but he enjoyed knowing that a small life benefited from all of his hard work. "Hello, Flit! How are things?" He meowed gently as he got near, stopping a respectable distance away so that his breath or anything else didn't blow against the flower stem.

@Flit @Archimedes

The rat, true to his word, stayed behind. In fact, once Flit had gone ahead, he scuttled backward and across the path, hiding in unabashed suspicion. Archimedes' early experiences had left him terribly untrusting, and this was far too coincidental.

As he watched, the big cat emerged, and went to Flit. Archimedes wanted to sneak in, from another side--to see, maybe, if there were bones of other Gembound lying about. But all the points of entry he could spot seemed far too open, and the rest was closed so tightly with greenery that he quickly gave up.

Instead he at last pressed forward, coming in sight but still not quite entering the grove, and sat up on his hind legs. Whiskers twitched as he watched the pair--a little blurry, at such a distance, to his rat's vision.

"Hello. Flit says that you aren't going to eat me?"

@Flit

Flit fluttered his wings, the flower he was perched on bobbing minutely in order to beckon the cat over, antennae waving joyously as he finally picked out the feline shape amongst the leaves and flowers. "Rift!" he called, unabashedly pleased to see him. The fluttermouse flitted forward, and carefully lit on an ivy leaf trailing from the cougar's neck. "Things have been well! I didn't know there were caves outside of Eridanus. But I found a way out and went exploring!"

He shifted back to the matter at hand, glancing back to the shadowed patch where he'd left Archimedes. He nodded as the rat spoke. "And I made a friend out there! Rift, this is Archimedes." He fluttered back towards the rat and dropped to the ground beside him. "And Archimedes, this is Rift!" the tiny creature gestured from the rat to the cat with his twitching nose.

"He was looking for somewhere safe- and it's safer here than anywhere else in Eridanus. I was wondering if he could stay for a while?"

"Speech."

@Rift

Rift sat himself down as Flit fluttered over to cling to one of the leaves on his neck. He didn't try to turn his head to look at the mouse - doing so would make the leaf flutter and prove futile anyways. Instead, he just looked ahead, not really staring at anything...until he caught sight of the rat. He didn't really react or anything, it was simply something to look at. He had no need to chase the rat away or kill it.

He purred a little as Flit spoke, trying to hide the tiny flash of fear at the mention of other caves. Sebastian had gone exploring other caves as well...and now he was gone. He did not want another friend to leave him for the other caves. "That's great, Flit! There's a big world out there!" But he was distracted from his fear when the rat he was looking at spoke.

He stood a little suddenly, mainly out of surprise that a rat was speaking to him but a moment later the surprise was gone. After all, he had a talking mouse-moth hanging from his neck. His whiskers twitched a little with amusement. "No, I'm not going to eat you. I don't eat meat, I haven't for a long time." He gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "It's nice to meet you, Archimedes."

He gestured to the garden with his tail. "Of course you can stay here! There's plenty of room in the garden and I keep it well protected. As long as you do not bring ruin, you are welcome here!" He was actually a little excited at the prospect of having more company staying with him. He very much liked having Flit around and he missed his brother. What was the point of having so much beauty and life in this garden if there was no one to share it with?

@Archimedes