(Will have a banner soonish.)
June 24 2023
Quote:
Curious Findings (17) : Maybe it’s got something to do with the weather, or the construction, or all the other general oddities that seem to occur in Destiny City, but for the first time in nearly fifty years, the historic tree in one of Downtown Destiny City’s parks has woken up. While the tree was known for being alive and growing despite a lengthy hibernation, this is the first year that it’s sprouted leaves–but that’s not all! The unique tree has now also started growing strange pods. Because of the trees legacy–and not at all because of the oddity–the area has been taped off, but that really hasn’t been enough to stop anyone curious enough to investigate. The tree itself is several feet wide and stands roughly fifty feet tall; it’s branches spread significantly and seem like they can hold a lot of weight–which is good, because the pods growing on it have a hard brown shell and can grow up to the size of a soccer ball. Sometimes, the larger ones seem to tremble and shake in place. Maybe it's an animal trying to nibble? Maybe it’s just the wind? Maybe it’s something else. The pods can be pulled from the tree or collected from the ground; the shells are incredibly difficult to crack open, and some of them leak a strange, acidic sap that is strong enough to cause skin agitation–and in some cases there are even reports that it’s burned through wood or fabric. Sometimes, the healthier looking pods that aren’t leaking anything even seem to shake on their own, which is a mystery in itself. Another mystery is why Almadel seems so keen to trade for them…
It wasn’t the tree which brought him here, he didn’t much care that it had grown leaves after so many years of nothing, it was the pods which had brought the ancient senshi to the tree. He’d heard of, and seen on tv, the pods which were covering the tree and apparently attracting all sorts of other insects to them. They were interesting and he assumed it was not normal for any tree to possess, considering the attention the pods were getting. He’d even heard whispers of bugs coming out of the pods and attacking people.
That was what had brought him here, and the fact he'd heard someone was looking for pods, but he’d come prepared. He knew he might need to use magic on the bugs, which he hoped wouldn’t happen, but he’d brought a container for the pods he planned to collect from the tree. Gloves had also been brought, so he didn’t potentially get anything on his hands, he was trying to be careful with this operation. He wanted to please a certain alien with these pods. Maybe the other would even tell him just what they were; because he didn’t know. He didn’t like not knowing.
As he approached the tree, slowly and with caution, the blond pulled the tupperware out of subspace as well as the gloves and got himself ready. He didn’t want to risk a bug attack so he was hoping to make this as quick as possible.
Darting in, jumping over the ropes around the tree, the deep space senshi was quick in closing the distance between himself and the tree so he could delicately pluck a few pods from the tree. “I do hope these don’t attack me.” He did not need that, he needed these things intact. He didn’t need the pods opening and bugs attacking him, he needed them intact in order to get what he wanted, he was looking to gather as many as he could in the hopes of bribing a certain alien.
He knew he could likely get what he wanted with words, and offer, alone but he wasn’t above bribing at this point. There was something he could appreciate in the merchant who liked to visit this planet. They knew a lot and had been many places, learning and picking up many things in the process, and Selinur could appreciate someone who seemed to like secrets and knowledge as much as he did. Someone who had many secrets, as he did, it made him want to at least see what he could get from the other.
Reaching out, trying his best to avoid knocking the pods or touching too many of the other insects, Selinur grasped the first pod and gave it a little wiggle. He didn’t want to use too much force and break them; so he was testing how much force he could use. As he finally got it free from the trunk of the tree, with a little stumble back as it popped free, he held it for a moment in order to inspect it. He was looking for any defects or problems, anything which might cause the merchant to reject it, before popping it into the tupperware he’d brought with him.
Gloved hands, he had pulled them on at some point, started to work on freeing more of the pods. He was hoping to fill the tupperware with them; he wasn’t greedy in the slightest.
Word count: 577
