Situational awareness. Foam Flux had it in spades. His business could not, would not flourish without it. It was a system of trading and bartering he kept on the down low. He was a facilitator, a deliverer of dreams. Discretion was equally important. And so when he came upon the sight of a black and blue feathered serpent pinning his green dragon on the dirt, and a fire-eyed hornet hovering near his mushrooms, he shoved his feelings of indignant rage deep down his throat and waited.
This was no ordinary hornet, and the way its alien eyes rolled with the dark spark raised all sorts of alarms, instincts and can't-help-it twitches. It radiated with predatory glee and so when it flew to his face, he felt they were on the cusp of something that could go horribly wrong. Wings pulsed, lightly feathered the hair on his nostril until a seamless shift and turn of wind presented him with a Mare. And that red he saw on its wings and antlers were not from its pelt color. She was very noticeably covered in cooled blood.
This was Doom. Even before she ascended the heavens stories of her were known for she was quite the explorer, her ravenous hunger known. And where she went a certain Gloom followed. And now she was in his garden. Time to turn on the charm.
"Welcome to Paradise," he beamed. She was not impressed.
Unfaltering, he tried again. "Here you will find--"
"You have lots of mushrooms here." A statement. She spoke, a lovely lilt to her voice.
Right to the point, bullseye. That's her style. Alright, he could deal. He had to. Poor Mold was looking more green than usual.
"I have all types. Chanterelles, oysters, wood ear, the fun ones if you know what I mean, and even--"
"I'm looking for glowing ones." Again, she interrupted him. Sigh, she was an impatient one. He could hear little wings rapidly beating but knew they didn't belong to the feathered serpent or Mold.
"I have those, right in the cave. They grow high up so if I could have my dragon back, we can harvest some for you." He suggested, hoping she would get the hint.
Absentmindedly she looked at the intertwined winged creatures. She agreed anyway. "Oh, it's an affectionate sort. Likes games. Come, Spindrift." It followed the Mare's beckoning and Mold got in a good breath before dutifully following, always behind Foam Flux, furthest away from Doom and her merry little party.
Since conversation wasn't getting anywhere he led the way. There, studded to the slick scaled walls were bioluminescent mushrooms in a wide array of colors. He almost wished the Mare was in her other form to see the colors bounce off the wings. Her hair moving was the only indication he had that she spoke.
"I'm looking for glowing mushrooms for a skull. The first mushrooms dried out and lots it glow. They were green."
And with direction, he was off pruning and picking the fruiting spores. He amassed a small collection based on vibrancy and longitivtiy. Now that he know what she wanted he could best serve her needs. Speediness and attention to detail were also important to his job. Bundling them all up in a broadleaf he made to attach it to her flank when he noticed her eyeing some mushrooms in his turtle shell.
"Who is sick?" She couldn't heal as her skillset was very much the opposite on the spectrum, but she had limited knowledge of healing ointments. As mighty as she was, she wasn't immune to battlescars and pain.
And that's when it blossomed into a beautiful business transaction that none of them could foresee. It was mutually beneficial. Both parted in happy spirits. Because Doom could trust this buck to take care of her Deathcap, Doom ensured that the next generation would have all the best tools at their disposal:
She gave Foam Flux her best blessing yet and eased Deathcap's exhausting pregnancy pains. 