[Audio, first evening parked by the river]

[mytearsaremine]

Okay, uh, people should probably not try to go swimming in the river. Just to warn you.

[She makes an annoyed noise.]

I turned into a fish person. Like I have gills now and webbed feet and it's awful. So just, you know, be careful and don't just jump in like an idiot.

[Like she did. She adds, mostly in a mutter, but still broadcasting,]

The plants said as much and I didn't listen. They warned me not to put my roots too deep. Ugh. So stupid.

Comments

[Audio]

[purplexing]

Well...I guess that'd make sense. Talking to plants doesn't necessarily mean understanding them. They probably don't think exactly like we do.

-that sounds useful though. I've already heard that a tree tried to eat my brother before and as a botany enthusiast I am very disappointed about the local flora seeming to be all intent on devouring us or causing us trouble somehow or another.

Re: [Audio]

[mytearsaremine]

Not all of them! Just some of them. The tree vines and the thorns, but I think thorns don't mean to hurt it's just kind of built into them, you know?

Most of them don't really understand us, either.

[There's a pause, and then,]

If you ever want to know what they're saying, you can ask.

[Audio]

[purplexing]

That is a fair point. -no pun intended.

And I guess that is also true. Sentient beings barely understand each other as it is.

[Being told he can just ask if he wants to know something is almost a novelty, given he's usually the one giving the answers if not seeking them out himself. It almost takes him a moment to soak that in.]

Cool. I'll do that, the next time I come across some curious flora.

Re: [Audio]

[mytearsaremine]

[She gives a little giggle at the unintended pun. Leo primed her for it, sorry Donnie.]

I try to listen to all the plants when we start into a new... area, I guess. Whenever things change.

[Audio]

[purplexing]

[Hey, he'll take it, oblivious to the fact that she actually thinks Leo's puns are funny.]

Sounds like a good practice there. Especially given what little information we're given ahead of time going into these places.

Re: [Audio]

[mytearsaremine]

Maybe if I talk about it with someone before anybody does anything stupid like I just did, we can work out what it means in time for it to help.

[She sounds a little sour, admittedly.]

[purplexing]

It could help, especially if it's like deciphering a riddle or something. You can always ask me, if you want.

[mytearsaremine]

It's more like trying to figure out context that we don't have yet. But maybe I'll do that. Two people trying to think out what something might mean is always going to better than one.

[purplexing]

What if we cross-referenced between plants in a given area? More data is always better.

[mytearsaremine]

Well, sure. Um, the place with all the thorns talked a lot about change, which made sense once getting cut by them made people and animals change... The sages in the valley last month liked our dreams. And wanted us to join them. It was a little creepy, actually.

These plants are a lot less creepy. They're practically nice, actually.

[purplexing]

Ugh. The sages must be some kind of sadists.

Nice is good, if plants can be of one thing or another, I'm sure they don't inherently think ill will towards things.

[mytearsaremine]

There were some vines during that last moon warp that definitely had ill will towards us. But none of the other ones have seemed to. The plants here are the only ones that have seemed like they were, I don't know, purposefully trying to be helpful, though.

[purplexing]

Oh. Well. That's...lovely. [No, it is not, this is terrible, he hates this.]

Maybe it's because they're thriving here and have no reason to be bitter about random people?

[mytearsaremine]

I don't think most of the others were bitter exactly. The vines just wanted to eat us, and the rest I think wanted us for their own reasons, too.

Maybe it's because the ones here don't have any specific magic to them? Like they're not changing us in any way. That's the water.

[purplexing]

I really hate that the most normal things are the things that potentially threaten to change us around here.