The sun was shining upon the grove as Withered Fungus bounced among the grass. He was a young Kin, not but a few winter's old at this point. He would remember this day well into his adulthood, the sweet memory bringing joy and renewed purpose.

Withered had already become a reclusive kin, for-going the accompaniment of most kin for the quiet songs of the forest and animals. He would wander, aimlessly through his tribes lands, just examining everything he could, especially mushrooms. It was on one of these walks that he stumbled upon a small rock, round on all sides except one, which was caved in like a bowl. He pondered how such a rock could be created and how he might use it's strange shape.

He carried it home to his den and sat there staring at it long into the night, pondering how he might find a purpose for this strange creation. After several hours of laying in the same spot, he was hungry and fatigued. He stood up, and with a glorious stretched,went to forage himself something to eat. He had completely forgotten about his dilemma by the time he returned and lay in his nesting and quickly fell into a deep slumbering dream.

The sun had risen almost an hour before Withered, when he finally awoke and yawned. It was at this point he remembered his plight from the night before. He got up and strolled over to where he had left this stone bowl and studied it in the renewed light. He started with surprise at the contents inside.

A small moth had fallen inside the stone, life gone before it had ever landed there. Withered was unsure what it meant, but he knew what he needed to do. He walked outside and gathered up some soil from his small garden, picking a clean and weed free section. He filled the stone with this soil and made sure the moth would stay buried underneath. Not entirely sure as to the reasoning, but confident in his action, he watered the soil and placed the rock in a corner of his den, close to where he lay at night.

It took several days, but eventually a small white mushroom began to grow in the stone bowl. Withered wasnt sure how, but this was too coincidental to be a mistake. Inside he had this feeling that this was how he was to serve the MotherFather. He was to be a grove tender for his tribe and this little rock had shown him the meaning of his existence.

He took the stone to his father that night and explained what he had done, what had happened, and what he felt. His father sat there, listening with the patience of kin far wiser than most, holding his comments until Withered had finished. With one last flurry of emotion and excitement, Withered explained that he wanted to tend to the groves of the tribe and serve those that had passed from this life. Pestilence grinned, finding joy himself, at the excitement his son was showing.

With pride in his voice, Pestilence told his son to follow what the MotherFather had shown him and that if he did that, then the tribe would be better for it. With a bit of a squeal, Withered rushed out of his father's den and was halfway across the clearing before he remembered his mushroom stone. Bumbling back through the opening, he scooped up the rock and backed out of the door, humming to himself the whole time.

He still had that stone, sitting next to his nesting, the contents long since emptied. He had thought of maybe refilling it, but every time he did, he had a sense of dread fill his body. So empty and cold the stone sat, left to collect dust, as a reminder of his duty and calling.


[Pestilence's role was written by me, but approved by @Blinded By Silence ]

The days had grown short, the tribe had been spending more and more time inside. It was on one such night that the family had gotten together in their dad, Pestilence's den. After dinner, they were taking turns telling stories as they waited for the daylight to fade. It had gone around most of the circle and it was now Withered's turn. He paused for a moment, attempting to recall a story from his past.

"It was many seasons ago. He began, "In the middle of one of the hottest summers the swamp had seen. I had been scouring the forest, attempting to find any trace of the mushroom spores i knew must be there."

"I had been searching for most of the day, not finding a single cap. No white caps, that are good for eating. Not a single vision shroom, which were always abundant in this part of the forest. I started to worry that i would not find any mushrooms and that i had wasted the day in pursuit of nothing."

His brother and sisters sat around him listening, a few knew of the story he was telling, but they listened with interest anyways. He paused again, story telling was hard for him; he hardly spoke unless the words had meaning, and stories seemed so frivolous to him. Reluctantly, he started again "It was close to time for me to return home, when i suddenly realized i had wandered into a part of the forest that was not on tribe lands. I had never been this far before, and the sound of rushing water drifted over the air to me. It sounded close and I thought to myself 'I have time to take a look before sunset'. Before me lay a creek and waterfall, it was a thin snaky creek, one i could jump over fairly easily. The water was crystal clear and after such a hot and long day, I decided i needed a drink."

For added flair towards those who had not heard it before, His dad started clicking his tongue while shaking his head. Withered looked at Pestilence and grinned, "As I looked up from the creek, water still dripping from my chin, my eyes caught sight of something behind the small waterfall. I stepped over to it to investigate further and was surprised to see the pup of a wolf, nestled under the overhang. This outcropping was not large enough for a den, and there were no signs of the rest of the family, nor that of any food brought back. As i stuck my nose into the gap between rock and water, the pup stirred, and with crystal blue eyes, met my stare with a cunning intelligence. It then yawned and issued a small squeak as it stretched. It started crawling towards my face and I retreated out of the hole."

Withered stopped to look around, and then took a drink from the water leaf next to him. "The young pup exited its makeshift den, and it was then i saw that it was direly underweight. The ribs of this creature were exposed through the skin and its fur was dull. I knew i could not leave it here, for the MotherFather values life as much as death, and it was not this creatures time." At this point, Withered let out a small shrill whistle, and from outside the den, came a wolf, with crystal blue eyes. It darted in and dove into Withered's lap, knocking the water leaf asunder in the process. It let out a small howl as it settled in. "As you can see, she's doing fairly well." he chuckles, as the wolf lets out another little howl.