[WP-004] Musings (Cave Yell x Heartshine)

[Zuki]

The smaller buck was enchanted.

"Perhaps to control their own environment, then," he mused. "They must need very unique conditions to sprout or blossom, if we've never seen them before."

"It's—" He cut off.

"In my Dream, it...shone. Tree or sapling, rock or river, kin and beast—everything was alight from inside with the light of being itself. It's not the same, not really, but I can't help but be reminded."

[Anhelisk]

Cave Yell smiled warmly. "Well, if that isn't the loveliest thing I'll hear all day," he said, "then this day is going to be full of delights." He looked at the clover. Certainly clover couldn't hurt him, could it? He leaned down, intent on taking a bite.

[Zuki]

Cave Yell's smile made Heartshine feel, frankly, rather delightful already. He hadn't sampled the unique flower or the affected flora yet out of caution, but seeing Cave Yell try it-

Well, he was starting to feel flutteringly bold and experimental.

"Does it taste different?" Without waiting for an answer, Heart Shines reached forward to sample himself—several shimmering plantain leaves and a flowering spine, beside the rainbow blossom.

[Anhelisk]

Boldness in the heat of the moment was one thing, but Cave Yell was... often protective of others.

He took a step forward, intent to startle the buck back from his intended course of action."It's... fine, I think. Effects from some plants can take some time to set in, however..." He frowned gently, thinking of how best to articulate his words.

"Would you mind refraining for now, until we get a better sense of how this will affect us?"

[Zuki]

Heartshine froze with the leaves hanging out of his mouth—broken, but unchewed. "Pf," The plantain fluttered away from his lips, back to the ground--still shimmering with whatever quality it had taken from its environment.

"Ah, fair. Yes. Usually the advice goes, 'If the plant tastes delicious, it's probably edible. If it tastes terrible, it's poisonous or won't fill your belly.' But. Well," He gestured towards the little tussock of flowers and grasses with a horn. "This does look like an Exceptional sort of situation. Better that only one of us takes the chance, so the other can run for a healer if we need be...?"

Heartshine got back on his feet, the better to monitor his—new friend's?—condition if it changed.

[Anhelisk]

Cave Yell laughed. "I was thinking of the more... hallucinogenic properties some plants have. They can taste quite pleasant, but you wouldn't want to be unattended."

He sat and waited a while, running his tongue over his lips a couple times as he waited for any sort of effects to manifest. It was easy enough to just wait, letting his eyes flutter shut as he enjoyed the warmth of the growing day and the light breeze riffling his hair.

[Anhelisk]

-~-

[Zuki]

Heartshine trotted back from his momentary wade into the creek--while it was past noon, that only meant the hottest part of the day was yet to come. He liked to be ready for warm weather and felt quite refreshed.

"Nothing new, Cave Yell?" The golden buck, as far as they both could tell, hadn't felt confused, nauseous, or weak. "You should just try the flower itself. I don't think there's enough of whatever-it-is in the surrounding plants."

[Anhelisk]

The company had been nice through the morning. The conversation had largely been limited to anticipation. So when his new friend judged that the effects that they hadn't observed merited moving on, he did so without doubt.

And felt... strange, like the sunlight spilling over his pelt was almost a liquid, or like... something to do with his pelt was rippling.

Was it him? He shook his head slightly, noting the way his ears felt was... off. Like they were lighter. Breathing felt a little strange, and while he didn't notice any visual changes, it was clear that he was experiencing something.

"I feel it now." Was that... his voice? it was different than normal-- just the slightest bit lighter and higher than usual.

[Zuki]

At first, Heartshine couldn't say anything. His attention was as helplessly captured as a little moth to a flame. Right before him, Cave Yell changed. Like a trick of the light. Like when water rushing over something concealed its shape, then shifts its course to reveal--well, to reveal a kin that was so very Cave Yell, but with different proportions.

"I, I see it, Cave Yell." His voice was soft. Awe. "Here! Come over to the water, see for yourself--"

If Heartshine's tail had been longer it would be swishing, beckoning his friend over. It had to settle for upright and twitching with anticipation. He nudged his friend along.

[Anhelisk]

Cave Yell blinked, walking over to look into the water, and... didn't see that much of a difference. "It's me...?" he said, tilting his head one way, then another. Something still felt a bit strange, a bit off, but he'd recognize his hair, and the curve of his horns, anywhere, even in a slightly-fluttering pool of water.

[Zuki]

"It's you," Heartshine agreed, and waited for the rest of the realization to hit the other- to hit Cave Yell.

He-

He didn't see it?

Heartshines couldn't quite believe it. Was it the angle? Was he the one seeing things, for some reason?

"Cave Yell, if you cannot see what I am seeing, then this is an exceptional plant indeed !How it can play tricks on my senses but not yours...I am at a loss. Take a closer look at yourself."

[Anhelisk]

"I feel a bit strange, but... you're the one acting it," Cave Yell said, with a bit of a chuckle. "I see me. My hair, my horns... what should I be seeing that I'm not?"

[Zuki]

"Your hair, your horns," Heartshine agreed, "but also," he stepped back to circle Cave Yell for a moment just to be sure-

"I see a doe. Your snout, your ears...." Heartshine trailed off, unsure what else he could immediately gesture to. "Lay your head against mine for the comparison, if you'd like. As you ate the flower, I saw you change."

[Anhelisk]

A... doe. Cave Yell let his ears flick forward, carefully paying attention to how much they did-- or didn't-- show up at the corners of his eyes. It... well.

"That would be in line with what I'm feeling." Or he was very, very high indeed, which would mean this was a hallucination. "I'm not sure I know how to be a doe," he said. Either way, if this was the experience the MotherFather saw fit to send him, he may as well enjoy it.

He stepped toward the other kin, putting a bit of a purr in his voice. "Why don't you show me how?"