Trees were a soothing balm to Bipin’s soul amid the chaos of Homewood. He loved how big and majestic they could grow and the greens of their foliage. But the forest that he and Jade found themselves in hadn’t been green in a long time. The trunks of the dead rose up around them and some laid across the ground haphazardly. The mist that pervaded the air made their sides slick and someone could easily slip and fall. What a curious place this area was. He could hear the faint roar of water not far off from his position. However, Bipin wasn’t all the interested in the source, he was more interested in the strange forest.
“I wonder what this place used to look like,” Jade said in her usual smooth mellow voice. She was unperturbed by anything. “Wonder if anything lives here still.”
“Well, let’s have a look around,” Bipin replied to the scuttle scale that was perched on his head between his ears.
He carefully picked his way around the many fallen trees, they seemed to have been laid low by something big. Perhaps the Others had caused this mess. It wouldn’t surprise him if that were the case. The few trees standing here seemed to have just died from a world that could no longer support them. It was a tragedy that so many trees died and for what? Didn’t seem like their sacrifice amounted to anything. It was probably one of the few things that could get a rise out of Bipin, he could feel his anger churning.
“Shhhh, sweet prince. It’s in the past and done,” Jade said soothingly. She could feel the vibrations of his anger through her tiny body. But she knew well enough that anger for things that have already happened, don’t do anyone any good.
Bipin took in a deep soothing breath and let it out slowly. He repeated this a few times til he felt his anger settling. Much better. “Thank you Jade. You’re right...the best we can do is move forwards.”
They continued to head deeper into the forest, it was an upward incline as this place was quite hilly. He could only image what this forest would have looked like in its prime. Surely it was breathtaking. If it ever returned to its former glory, he would like to move here. Although he’d have to convince Specterdust, she loved the busy hubbub of Homewood and being around other nouls. Bipin really only preferred being among the trees. He was fine with Jade and Specterdust, that wasn’t too overwhelming.
As they climbed high and higher, the mist grew denser but so did the upright trees. Their canopy of dead branches embracing each other, as if holding each other in their final moments. It created a sadness in the pit of his stomach as he gazed above. Something caught his eye though, within a dense section of the branches was what looked like a nest of sorts.
“What do you think that is?” he inquired aloud.
Jade looked up to see what he was looking at. She tilted her head and opened her eyes wider. “Would you like for me to climb up there? I can have a look.”
Bipin made a concerned face. What if it was dangerous? What if there was something that could hurt her up there? “I don’t know…” he said hesitantly.
“Stop your worrying, Bipin. Just stay right below and if something happens...catch me,” she grinned cheekily before crawling down and hopping off his back to a large rock. Before he could catch her she was already racing towards a tree and climbing up it’s trunk. Bipin bit his lip as he watched helplessly. Jade meant a lot to him, his mother had found her struggling in the bog right before he was born. Jade had shown interest in him from the get go and he certainly took to her then too.
“Just be careful,” he called to her. She’d already reached a branch that lead out to the mass and was carefully making her way across it. Scuttles seemed to have some decent abilities to climb, that was for sure. His worry rampt up as she reached the mass of branches and whatever they contained. He watched as she paused and looked it over and then she looked down at him.
“They’re seeds!” she exclaimed. His eyes widened. Seeds? From these trees? “What should we do, Bipin?” she asked.
He pursed his lips a moment then replied, “Send some down. Maybe we should take them to Homewood and have some botanics examine them. Maybe see if we can get them to sprout.”
Jade nodded her understanding and began to reach out and pluck one from the pile. She sent it over the edge, to Bipin below. He picked it up and tucked it in a pouch he procured from his large travel bag. Jade sent several more over the edge, catching Bipin in the head a couple times.
“Ouch!”
“Oh...sorry, dear!” she called, then sent several more down. Bipin had moved out of the way by now and just waited. He didn’t want to get pelted by anymore.
“I think that’s plenty,” he called up to her. “Come back down.”
While he waited for Jade to return, he picked up each seed he could find on the ground and put them in the pouch. Jade raced over to him, now on the ground.
“We got quite a few didn’t we,” she remarked. He nodded at her as he tossed in another one.
“I think that’s enough,” he said. “We can leave the rest here.”
Jade pulled the pouch shut and climbed back onto Bipin’s back where she tossed the pouch into his large travel bag. She smacked her feet together to dust them off and crawled back up to his head, settling between his ears.
“Since there’s some one the ground now, why don’t you use your magic to improve the soil. Maybe they will grow again?”
Bipin smiled, it was a good idea. He had practice using his ability back home on potted plants with soil they had depleted. He reached for his magic, seeing the swirls of purple within. It was still so young and new and a little wild. But it came when he called, eager to be released into the world. Bipin lowered his muzzle to the soil at his feet and sent his magic, full of much need nutrients into the ground. Enrich was an ability that this forest would benefit greatly from, he thought as he raised his head back up.
“I think that’s enough for today,” he replied. “Let’s head home.”
WC: 1,117
Ability Used: Enrich
