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Indira had been waiting for this day. When she could finally venture out to the Grandfather Tree, and have a gift bestowed upon her. Her mother had cautioned her to only go when she was fully grown. This was not a process to rush. So Indira had waited. Perhaps not patiently, but without obvious complaint. And she'd planned, as was her way. She'd heard other speak about the sun beating down on them, making them hot and uncomfortable. That didn't seem very desirable for a vision quest. So Indira had planned to reach the tree once the sun went down. It was still a barren plateau, but at least she wasn't baking in the heat. It seemed wise to her to be calm, cool and collected for this most important moment of her life.

She trudged towards the towering white tree, it stood out starkly even in the moon light. Indira shivered slightly. While the heat wasn't oppressive, without any cloud cover it was chill. She did her best to push the cold away, this was still better, she was sure.

She took her time picking a safe path towards the tree, in no rush. After all, this was all she had planned. Couldn't very well determine what you were going to do with the rest of your life if you didn't even know what your gift was, after all.

Her walk from the Homewood was finally about to be over. Indira looked up at the towering tree and wondered what it would see in her. What gift it would give her.

wc: 262

The roots seemed to reach towards is, and Indira did not resist. This was destiny. Indira closed her eyes, ready to accept her vision quest. She tried to centre herself, and then the vision took her.

Before she reopened her eyes a foul smell assaulted her. Rot. Moldering, old rot. Her eyes popped open. Things had to be alive once in order to die and rot. And that meant it could be something of value. She looked around, surprised that it was still dark. Good thing here eyes were already adjusted to the lack of light. Indira tried to asses what was around her. She certainly wasn't outside. And this wasn't a natural cave. This was something made by the Others. Was she in the Ruins? Indira had heard about this place. Totally overtaken with junk left by the Others. But maybe she hadn't understood exactly the size of these leavings ...

That heightened her wariness. The Others had left many things of danger behind, along with But Indira also knew that there were things left by others that might be of use ... Even great destruction might have left behind something that could be used for restoration. Time to investigate whatever that awful stench was. It was starting to turn her stomach, but she knew that for now, at least, she'd need to endure.

She inhaled as deeply as she could tolerate, turning her head from side to side. The rotting stench came from her left, so she carefully crept forward. Each step made the scent stronger and stronger. It filled her nostrils, her throat, her lungs. Indira wrinkled her nose. This was not pleasant.

As the scent became almost overwhelming, the source became clear. Racks upon racks of rotting things. Perhaps they had once been food? Indira squinted, trying to look around. Had Others once eaten here? Eaten these things? It seemed like they had.

Indira stared at all these rotting things. Clearly they couldn't still be eaten ... That would simply end with someone getting very very sick. But could they afford to be wasted? Supplies were so limited, resources so scarce. She shifted her weight from one hoof to another. Indira wracked her brain.

These things were rotting, and they were from the Others ... Can't eat them ... The Others may have been alien, but they still needed nutrients to live, just like every other living thing.

Her ears flicked. An idea hit her. Sure, they couldn't eat these rotting things, but rotting things still had a use. Fertilizer. She started to feel excited. Of course, they'd need to test it on a single plant at first to make sure it wasn't tainted by the others ... But if that went well there was so much here that could be used to grow food! Her tail swished, and she trotted past racks and racks of rot. How much food could this grow! She'd completely forgotten the disgusting stench. Indira's heart raced. Now she'd just need help getting it back to Homewood. Plan formulated, now Indira needed to look for help.

twc: 509
wc: 771