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Post by Renathan on Sept 7, 2019 14:28:23 GMT -6
 Speaking of humans, it looks like someone has been here, offering sticks and stones to a shrine to Harvest. |
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:22:06 GMT -6
The two guard nyssa don't need to look at each other, for they can sense the other through the roots buried in the ground. Little Bush is not lying, but to lead a human-animal right to the Mother... Little Bush is very foolish, they believe. Humans hold the ability to lie with their human faces. But this is not. This human-animal has the face of an animal. The face and body and wings of a flying-fire maker. But smells not of fire and ash and death. They are ready to turn them away when their own sprouted backs go stick-spine straight up. The feeling of 'let them in' washing over them both. Unwilling to attempt to doubt the Mother, they allow the Little Bush and its human-animal prey to pass. By the feel of its roots, there was some bloodroot pollen that came for that sapling, but hadn't learned the taste of grave soil after a bury.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:27:52 GMT -6
Come come, the little bush gives a little tug on the scaled fingers they hold fast in a twiggy grip. We see the Mother now. No real response but the drake walks when the nyssa sapling walks. Deeper and deeper into the darkened knot of trees, until they come across a small shrine. It is to the Pethian harvest gods, depicting a humanoid in a lotus position of its limbs, holding a growing sapling in one hand, a dead tree in the other. Sticks and stones, an old flute with swamp vines and a few more serpentine eyes decorate before it. By the condition of the shrine, nothing had been offered recently. The magic house's temporal distortions changed to suit the 'holiday' of the month and the god being honored. If it was the winter festival, was that a shrine to the gods of light? Nobody had any idea, for a great knotting of roots seemed to be rippling before them.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:35:15 GMT -6
 Something was here. The Little Bush stopped, the drake stopping behind it. The deepest part of the wood seemed impossible to see for human eyes; the drake's passive ability to see well enough in the dark, though what he was actually seeing is a mystery, for still silent and rather... placid. Great Mother, the little nyssa communicates, Little bush has come to see you. Bring human-animal. The root seem to roll, like a great length of muscles shifting. Until the literal mother of all snakes shifts its head out of the darkness. Swamp basilisks have nothing on this forest snake; its whole body seems the width of a large computer monitor (30" at least) with a great wide gape for a mouth, and violently orange eyes. Coils of trunk and tree shift and squirm in the most darkness as the creature makes itself seen. This is a creature that can swallow quite anything near it whole, and probably assimilate it. 43 4.20 |
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:40:37 GMT -6
If there was a spell on the drake previously, it wasn't now. Whatever sort of trance that had pacified and hell, nullified his thought processes broke apart like a shattered window of fog. Flare found himself with his fingers being gripped by the twiggy little sapling of the walking trees and as he looked forward, felt every spine and flap and what not on his body go flat to his skin. That.... is a very big snake. Was this the creature he had been searching for, the Mother of all nyssa? His instincts screamed to run. This was not a creature to reason with; to attempt to steal from, if it did indeed have Crannie's crystal cluster. Its head easily bigger then his whole body, seemed to shift and pay attention to the sapling which was waving its arm and what not. Was it trying to communicate with the giant snake?
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:46:42 GMT -6
The young nyssa quite frankly didn't have the cunning to be batshit scared of the Mother. Especially when all attention was focused on it. A curious emotion washed over it; of brief surprise over the boldness of bringing prey so close and so quickly. Prey? No! Human-animal not prey. Human-animal here to find a lost. Mother has stolen from humans? The snake's head reaches back and up, overarching on the tiny little sapling in comparison. The voice of the earth is very strong here, and it hurts to feel it so deeply.
Flare could feel the note of disgust flow over him, of offense. HUMAN-ANIMAL SEEKS LOST THAT IS NOT THEIRS. I HAVE NOT STOLEN FROM HUMANS, I RECLAIMED WHAT WAS STOLEN FROM ME. The emotional fist of what he could feel rattled the ssashirk to his bones. And he heard every word, somehow. Wait. This wasn't the same story old Crannie had told him?
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:53:10 GMT -6
He returns the grip on the twiggy hand, startling the small sapling out of its attempts to communicate with the Mother snake thing. 'I can talk for myself' he believes, giving the little fingers a reassuring squeeze. The creature, yes, walking tree seems very scared, and very confused and unsure now. Human-animal has one say, Mother claims a lie? Now a confused.
Flare's innards are doing the twisted motions of fear and panic and NO, but he's not moving. He came with a job to do.
{Do you understand the language of the desert?} he asks the giant snake before him. Those great orange slitted eyes rove over to him. {I am not familiar with the voice of the earth.} The reptillian head watches him, leaflike guards slit over its eyes as it blinks and retract. If his eyes weren't locked with the giant snake, there were twiggy arms partway down its serpentine body.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 5:58:35 GMT -6
IT HAS BEEN MANY MANY HUMAN YEARS SINCE I HAVE HEARD A VOICE OF SAND. the giant snake's 'voice' responds after a bit. Their gaze is fully on Flare, and the unusual shadow that casts without light. I AM NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH VOICE OF SAND, BUT I DO HEAR VOICE OF EARTH WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MAW, HUMAN-ANIMAL. at least it seemed to understand him? Step in the right direction. Flare took a deep breath and exhaled to steel his wavering nerves. Every nerve was alive with being tense.
{An old goat-humanoid, with milked eyes and white curls, asked me to seek out the Mother of all nyssa to find her crystal cluster.} he explains. {I heard her name as Crannie...?} The snake's body arches over him further, making him need to crane his neck to look up.
THAT OLD GOAT. The giant snake's tone has changed to one of distrust and anger. SHE HAS DECEIVED YOU, HUMAN ANIMAL. GOAT-ANIMAL HAS STOLEN FROM ME IN THE PAST. Wait.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:04:20 GMT -6
{She... stole from you?} That kindly old goat granny had stolen from this enormous snake tree creature?! The snake's head is in his face suddenly; it moves very fast for such a massive creature.
SHE IS A CUNNING BEAST, THAT GOAT. SHE HARVESTS CRYSTAL FROM MY COLLECTIONS AND TAKES THEM TO DECORATE HER... BONSAI. The last word is literally spat, as the snake's maw opens and exposes enormous white root fangs. I TOOK BACK WHAT WAS MINE. it hisses at him.
{What is a bonsai?} he finally asks, not familiar with this pethian word. The snake blinks at him, its maw closing in... frankly surprise. How had this one, who smelled of the earth, not heard of this abomination of plants?
FORCING A TREE TO GROW UNNATURAL IN A LIMITED SPACE, TO BEND AND TWIST TO THE DESIRED SIGHT OF HUMAN EYES. THAT IS BONSAI. HUMANS TAKE SAPLING TREES, FORCE THEM TO GROW SMALL. SMALL AND SICK.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:09:41 GMT -6
From this point of view, Flare nods, understanding the giant snake's deep rooted hatred for these human twisted trees.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEFEND YOUR KIND, HUMAN-ANIMAL. the snake sneers when he starts to open his maw to answer back. I AM VERY OLD, AND HAVE SEEN MUCH OF THE WRONG OF YOUR KIND IN MY TIMES.
{I am curious, how such a....great and large snake as you, managed to get out of this magic house and steal a crystal and go back without being seen and causing a panic of humans?} One giant orange eye squints at him. Squints real close like. This human-animal has been touched. More then once it seems, and appears sensitive to the magicks of this world. More sensitive then most humans.
WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU SEE ME. it asks.
{A giant snake of wood and root and... thats what I can see.} he answers in return.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:15:07 GMT -6
The snake rears back and opens its maw, and LAUGHS. A horrible coughing creaky sound, but a laugh none the less. It appears greatly amused by what... he said? Now Flare had no idea what the hell he'd said that was so funny, but the sapling nyssa is backing away, seeking to try and hide beside or around him. They are afraid of the giant snake now. Very afraid.
YOU ARE AN AMUSING SIGHT TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE ME, HUMAN-ANIMAL. It responds to him, quite loudly. It makes his eardrums pulse, aches. HUMANS RARELY VISIT MY GROVE, FOR IT IS ONLY OPENED FOR LIGHT DURING THE HARVEST. YOU ARE THE FIRST IN MANY YEARS AND THE FIRST TO MAKE ME LAUGH AS MUCH AS I HAVE IN SO VERY LONG. The snake seems to coil up before him, and duck away slightly. The drake squints as the wood coils creak and move and seem to... make?
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:25:19 GMT -6
 The wood seems to seam apart after a few minutes of 'making' and a voice echoes from within the darkened portion of wood. A great deal of heat blasts forth briefly too. TO TAKE FROM A HUMAN, YOU MUST walk among them." the voice comes and the sight sends poor Flare for a loop. Just about as tall as he is, is a very dark skinned female humanish with pointed ears, branches literally growing from her head as hair, decorated in strainingly modest leaf garment. A circlet with an orange snake eyed orb decorates her forehead. She's all smirks as she sashays up to him, and runs a twiggy finger along his jawline. A shiver runs from the crown of his head to the tip of his sharp tail, heat blossoming around his ear flaps. "and those humans who look upon me are charmed to the point of doing whatever I wish." all he can do is nod absently. Yep, he can see why. But the snake fangs are still there. 51 12.20 |
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:29:42 GMT -6
"Put your jaw back in your head, human-animal. It is but an illusion," she smirks, taking a very slow, very deliberate stroll around him in a circle, taking a very close look at the male brought before her. She's presently ignoring the sapling who is hiding in his shadow as much as possible. "Our kind are able to create illusions to the simplistic human-animal minds and appear however we wish to them. Be it a beautiful human- OR A DEATH WISH. her face morphs into that of a snake and hisses right in his face. Flare's knees give out, and he's suddenly kneeling in shock at the spectacle. She laughs and disappears into the darkened wood seam. The wood warps and shapes again and the snake seems to materialize again. Flare can barely hear his breathing over the warping of the wood. This is a very old, very powerful tree that he'd stumbled across.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:34:17 GMT -6
OUR ILLUSIONS KEEP OUR KIND SAFE FROM THE AXES AND THE BREAKING HANDS OF HUMANS. THOSE WHO I DON'T LIKE, I EAT. the snake's resonant sound comes again, great orange eyes opening again and looking right at him. YOU THOUGH. YOU AMUSE ME WITH THE IGNORANCE OF YOUR KIND. THE SAND FOLK IS LESS TREE DESTRUCTIVE? It takes a few minutes for Flare to recollect himself, planting his staff-cane hard into the ground, avoiding roots, to get himself off the ground. He winces, the drop to his knees made all the muscles ache painfully. He'd be limping back.
{Tumai builds in stone and clay and glass. Wood is traded, for fences and boxes and such. I don't know much more then that...} he looks at his feet. The snake's head weaves back and forth, watching his shamed expression, a bit thoughtful, but difficult to read for such a big creature. How can a snake look thoughtful.
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Post by Flare on Sept 8, 2019 6:44:50 GMT -6
A root worms its way up in front of him from the ground at his feet, wrapping itself gently over his hands, little root hairs brushing over his scaled and work-worn hands. LITTLE BUSH SPOKE OF YOU WHO WORKS THE EARTH. YOU HAVE KIND HANDS, KIND FOR THE EARTH. YOU GROW PLANTS IN THE EARTH. He nods absently.
{I... cannot apologize for Crannie's actions, but... I will continue my gardening to be kind to the earth. I want to make a beautiful garden that other people, other humans, will walk among and find pleasure and peace among it. Its a peaceful hobby.} The snake looks at him with a squinty expression again, regarding him. This is an ...honest human-animal. He is afraid but not afraid. He is a kind soul. Damaged by the anger of other human-animals, as the root explores up and brushes his scar. To repel away from the tooth necklace adorning his chest.
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