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Post by Nadia on Dec 20, 2021 14:46:26 GMT -6
Fall is fading fast, but there is some fungus to be found...
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 23:31:21 GMT -6
The somewhat literal merry-go-round took a few laps, before Orchis seemed to realize a certain futility of the exercise and stopped. The mammalian didn't notice his lack of pursuit at first, too busy keeping her eyes ahead of her to avoid tripping over any stray roots or fallen branches. When she did, the first glance back assumed the branchaeopter had not yet made the turn when she had. It was only at the second glance, still pursuitless, that the sphinx finally slowed and stopped with a confused expression.
"Orchis?" she called out, but aside the gradual sway of the bare branches in the slow autumn breeze, there wasn't much else moving or making a sound. Of course that didn't really mean anything - Orchis blended with the autumn nature well and wasn't half bad at being stealthy, if it suit him. He didn't necessarily always think of the option, but even good ideas can be accidental.
(36) Fall Darky: 36 Orchis: 10 (1/5) / 10 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 0:07:22 GMT -6
The slight sound of scratching to her side made her spin around, only to find a loose branch getting caught among the scattered leaves by the breeze. Relaxing, the mammalian trained her eyes back over the expanse of berry bushes, and the red-orange sea interspersed with the occasional craggy tops of bare branches. The bushes themselves no longer had any berries (or if they did, it was few and far between, and entirely stubborn to still remain attached to the bush) but the sea of leaves both on the bushes and scattered below them could easily hide one branchaeopter looking to sneak in a little closer.
Another shuffle to the other side alerted her towards the source, though no sooner had she turned to look at it that she just saw the pale form of a lola floating on by, dipping between the branches. Ah, right.. The lola were so dispersed around the garden, one could almost forget they were there.
(37) Fall Darky: 37 Orchis: 10 (2/5) / 10 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 0:20:06 GMT -6
Not so much because they weren't visible, but rather the opposite - At any given time one might be able to see at least three lola in any given vicinity and visibility. As being such constant factors and presence, it was easy to get used to them to the point their presence blended into the background in turn. But now, with the mind on alert and in some sense acting more on the 'prey' instincts than a regular mind, such small details came back to the forefront of her mind.
As it turned out, she hasn't needed to worry all too much about the lola, because only moments after she had turned around to watch, a shuffling opposite to her and much, MUCH closer saw the branchaeopter emerge from the bush, make a short dash towards her and snatch up the berries within a blink of an eye before hopping away and out of reach from her instinctual snatch.
(38) Fall Darky: 38 Orchis: 10 (3/5) / 10 (3/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 0:26:50 GMT -6
As Orchis hopped away from her, berries dangling from the wooden beak, there's a sound not unlike bemused gurgling as he chirped happily with the beak closed. The sphinx had to recover her balance, the snatch almost making her stumble at the overextension of the reach, but by the time she had regained her composure and taken in the event, a slow smirk grew on her face. "That was pretty clever, not gonna lie.. Alright, have at it then," and she waved towards the branchaeopter to keep the berries. While bright and red, those ones were much more familiar and not likely to be poisonous, so whether the branchaopter decided to stash them or eat them shouldn't cause any issues either way.
Worst case, she might find herself a bloodberry bush starting to sprout somewhere come spring. A good thing for the garden, even if the berries themselves didn't.. necessarily taste all that great.
(39) Fall Darky: 39 Orchis: 10 (4/5) / 10 (4/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 0:47:22 GMT -6
For the branchaeopter it seemed the joy was more in the chase than the prize as well, as he gleefully played evade when the mammalian stepped towards him, but didn't otherwise proceed to gobble down the berries as expected. The sphinx wasn't really looking to take them away from him either, mostly just keeping up the little 'game' from before while Orchis was still interested. In truth, she knew very little about his kind or what they liked to do, in large part since the species wasn't as well-studied as some others. So interacting with him was almost as much a learning experience as it was a bonding moment.
As the branchaeopter hopped backwards, a clatter of leaves suddenly got thrown across the stones when he bumped into a loose branch stuck in a pile beneath the bushes. There wasn't harm done as such, so Orchis was quick to dismiss it, but the sphinx noticed a remaining bit of green in the otherwise red-yellow sea, unearthed by the accident.
(40) Fall Darky: 40 - (added) Orchis: 11 (0/5) / 11 (0/5)
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Post by Nadia on Dec 21, 2021 8:43:04 GMT -6
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 10:26:31 GMT -6
Among all the fading of the season, the red, the gold and the brown and black, this small bit of vegetation still remained a brighter green than anything she'd seen in a while. And more surprisingly so, the green looked to belong to a flower - an orchid, looking to bloom in defiance of the encroaching cold.. Which was saying some. The sphinx wasn't all too familiar with the intricacies and details of most plants and flowers aside the edible, but even she knew about the sheer fickle nature of the simple orchid.
Those grown indoors were known to wilt and become annoyed by the smallest measure of their environment. To grow one was said to take a lot of patience, no small amount of luck and perhaps more forgiveness for one's self and the plant than most might have. It seemed pretty much the only way to ensure the plant would live and bloom, rather than be discarded out of annoyance.
(41) Fall Darky: 41 Orchis: 11 (1/5) / 11 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 10:35:27 GMT -6
The head of the branchaeopter did a small tilt as the mammalian looked to approach, but not him. Instead, she moved closer to the plant, brushing more of the fallen leaves away from around it. On closer inspection one could none the less see that the greenery was holding on only just.. Already the edges of the petals looked to have signs of beginning to shrivel, inevitably having to yield to the winter sometime. With little point in leaving the plan to just die out, the mammalian pushed the leaves at its base aside to get better access to the root.
A bit of digging, some careful application of a piece of cloth from the bag, and the plant was neatly bundled away for transport. For sure it wasn't something she could manage, but perhaps the agate might find enjoyment in giving it a try in planting it indoors, keep it alive until spring and warmer times once more.
(42) Fall Darky: 42 Orchis: 11 (2/5) / 11 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 10:40:30 GMT -6
As she worked to tuck the bundled flower into the shoulder bag, something else caught her eye among the fallen leaves.. In quite direct opposition to the previous, there was another of the strange fruits, but rather than be colourful it was monochrome, with a splotchy pattern. When the sphinx noticed it, there was a look of curious confusion, followed by consideration, followed by recognition, and immediate action. The branchaeopter had grown more curious as to what seemed to be more important than their game, but even as his neck craned forwards with a chirp, the sphinx managed to snatch up the fruit before he could notice it.
Phew. One more fruit-fight avoided, this time with less clear consequences. Whatever these fruits were, they seemed to be in sudden abundance within the garden, so much so that she had to wonder if somewhere nearby some strange tree had blossomed just a bit too much.
(43) Fall Darky: 43 Orchis: 11 (3/5) / 11 (3/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 10:44:58 GMT -6
Most animals were smart enough to avoid eating too many strange fruits, but Orchis wasn't exactly sharp in the same sense as most other creatures. Observant, yes. He'd probably recognise something as a hazard if someone else were to eat one and fall ill. But making that initial connection between colour and danger? A little less certain.
Whichever the case may have been, the sphinx was starting to wonder just how far this epidemic of fruits extended and whether she should do a pass around the garden as a whole, just to be on the safe side. After all, with winter coming knocking anything missed now would soon be buried by snow, left undisturbed for some months and able to blood into a bush, or tree (or whichever) once spring came around again.
And then that would only compound the issue that much more. So any that would be missed now could end up costing more time for caution down the line.
(44) Fall Darky: 44 Orchis: 11 (4/5) / 11 (4/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 10:49:34 GMT -6
A part of her wondered whether the lola could be persuaded to join in on this. They certainly spread around the garden in a wide enough area as to be able to cover quite a lot of ground. Likewise, unlike Orchis who doesn't necessarily know better, they can also be better taught to leave the fruits alone, until she can identify them properly. It's entirely possible they might not even find them all that appetizing to begin with, which would certainly be a wonderful plus.
The leaves rustled as the branchaeopter dropped the berries, head craning ever closer to where the mammalian crouched next to the bush. Playtime looked to be over, so the release of the berries could have been seen as both an invitation to restart it anew, and to join her in whatever it was she was doing.. Obviously it must have been more interesting, the branchaeopter presumed, since the two-legger spent so much time on this one little patch of leaves.
(45) Fall Darky: 45 Orchis: 12 (0/5) / 12 (0/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 14:54:34 GMT -6
The coast looked clear, in so far as the mammalian was able to see, but turned out the branchaopter's sight was a little more refined than that. Idly and with some curiosity, he raked his claws across some of the fallen leaves beneath the bush, before there was a sudden alarmed squawk and he jumped back, plumage flared in warning. The sphinx nearly flinched, ready to jump back herself, before her eyes saw what else was hidden among the leaves there.
It was nothing more or less than a mere mushroom. A large one, granted, but to her mind it didn't seem anything that dangerous, at least in terms of shape. Sure, when it comes to things poisonous, mushrooms tend to own most of that category, so much so its more a trick to find one that's actually edible. But Orchis' reaction seemed akin more to a living, moving threat than one inanimate.
(46) Fall Darky: 46 Orchis: 12 (1/5) / 12 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 14:58:49 GMT -6
Either that or he knew more about the garden than she did, which.. probably wasn't entirely wrong, either. Perhaps he had previously tried to eat this type of mushroom and fallen ill, without her or the others noticing? Perhaps something innate in his instinctual mind already knew to avoid it from shape alone?
Whichever the case, the sphinx was willing to accept it as a sign of trouble, and shuffled over to take out a pocket knife and gently cut the mushroom loose, placing it into the bag. With the potential threat removed, things could calm down once more, though the branchaeopter still seemed a little riled. Perhaps he just didn't trust it to be that simple, or merely assume there could be more mushrooms hiding around..
Which.. Well, technically wasn't likely to be wrong. Mushrooms liked the colder, damper conditions, so the fall weather was rather perfect for them. And with the leaves left uncleared, there was plenty space to hide out.
(47) Fall Darky: 47 Orchis: 12 (2/5) / 12 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Dec 21, 2021 15:03:02 GMT -6
To that thought, the mammalian gradually turned towards the branchaeopter with a craned brow and simple question, "You wanna go on a bit of a treasure hunt, buddy?" While Orchis didn't exactly have the capacity to reply, the attention and soothing voice did manage to settle some of the alarm from before. Perhaps he was even starting to understand they didn't have to face any dangers or threats separately, but as a 'pack' of sorts (or was it 'flock', with his kind..)?
Whichever the case, when the mammalian began to brush off more leaves, now seeming to push them onto the path from beneath the bushes as opposed to the other way around from before, the branchaeopter became rather curious to that activity. Initially he mostly followed her at a small distance, watching and arching his head to both movements and hollow spaces created within the leaves themselves (In case any bugs were hiding there, one never knew).
(48) Fall Darky: 48 Orchis: 12 (3/5) / 12 (3/5)
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