∗ ∗ ∗
If Yaya will n– can not– get out of bed…I will find a way..make a way, brew a way… to save her…
"Off to scavenge potion ingredients!" The little boy yelled, addressing the lonely wood as he clasped a relic of a handmade broom. The boy's cackle, an ominous echo, reverberated through the trees, flocks of birds, disturbed in their peace, fled quickly but he paid them no mind for Aoi's mission was clear.
Ganoderma lingzhi…Cantharellus cibarius, phenols and umm..
"Phytosterols!"
Phenols and phytosterols from Juglans regia and Prunus dulcis. And finally Hypericum perforatum. Yaya won't be sad! I will help her! I am a mage!
His white hair, painted shades of green from the light shining through the leaves of the canopy. Bamboo thickets, and the loveliest of orchids painted his path. The reaching flora alive, and damp with jewels of morning dew. The forest floor was a maze of shadows broken by the incoming filtered light.
The light is lava! The light is lava!
He diligently avoided the splashes of sun, ducking and hopping, laughing as he skipped.
"What the.."
He was commanded still at the sight of some small something speeding toward him.
Is that some kinda firefly?
Zigging and zagging, the glowing insect drunkenly raced toward Aoi. As it came closer into view, he saw it. Saw them, no larger than your typical damselfly but their face and body was that of a small child, wearing a dress or robe maybe, fashioned from petals of various flora, and glowing a warm, pink light. Their wings, iridescent and blurred, moving as if a hummingbird's.
Afaerie
They "spoke" to him of dangers; a monster.
"Where? Take me, now, I can handle this."
The ethereal, tiny winged child looked up at him, distress pouring from their face.
"I am a Mage!"
The pair headed deeper into the thicket, farther than he ought to but not quite yet to the depth of his prior expeditions. Winding and weaving through tree trunks, branches, bushes. The stunning little faerie was frantic and agile, Aoi was moving just as swiftly, adept even, for someone of his size.
They halted to a stop. Aoi felt a tugging on his right hand. The delicate being was straining themselves to draw his attention to the culprit.
A man, halfway up a tree, holding a burning branch up to the most magnificent of nature's constructions, a kingdom of a beehive. He wore a peculiar hat finely constructed of fibers from a varied selection of barks, and strange footwear that looked…tall?
Aoi gripped his broom tight, causing his palms to ache. He closed his eyes. The forest was still as he let himself…travel…inward.
HIYYYAHAHHH!
Aoi jumped into the air!
"GET AWAY FROM OUR FRIENDS! THAT'S THEIR HOUSE NOT YOURS! WHAT ARE YOU SOME KINDA ASSHOLE!?!"
CRAACKK!
He bashed the invader, hard, with the brush end of the broom, knocking him right out of the tree, but the strange man was deft, and landed perfectly balanced on the ground. It could only have been magic because..
In those shoes..
"Absolutely NO class!" he spat at the villain.
Though he was very clearly, very capable, the villain didn't attack. He was looking straight back at Aoi, perfectly still, if it were not for his trembling. The invader screamed some incomprehensible and highly syllabic words, waving the flames in Aoi's face. His eyes were filled with horror, and..pity?
Slowly he backed away until, it seemed, he decided he could make a run for it without Aoi pursuing; the burning branch, snuffed out by his speedy exit.
Aoi looked to the ground and wept for all the fallen members of the hive; brave soldiers defending their home, their family…
∗ ∗ ∗
Aoi was surrendered, a fixture on the forest floor, lost in the understory.
Uuuhhgguaaaahh!
A howl escaped from so deep within the trenches of his being he barely recognized the rancid tones as his own. The corrosive machinations of the night, insidious and permeating; darkness itself latched onto his very soul. Rapacious, desperate and vicious, feeding on the light of his once warm and cozy life.
Could you not have just dropped me off at a hot spring.
How could you–
His eyes, burning now. The strangling, gnawing flames in the back of his throat, just as hot. Sweat or atmosphere or both had left him a misery drenched, pathetic, wet mess of a thing. The flames within clawing fiercely at their cage, seeking to dismember their captor.
Aoi bit to draw blood.
PAIN.
Better.
The flood of warm iron in his mouth; a blessing for an otherwise desert parched by desperation.
The night grew blackest around him..
How will I…how could I even begin to find them..
As Aoi reached into his pocket absentmindedly for something to wipe the blood from his chin with, a peculiar, moist something met the tips of his fingers.
Wet..paper…or…what is this?
Aoi pulled out the neatly folded, but tattered and frail piece of parchment.
From home…from–
The night swallowed him.
He was holding a remnant, a dying wish, proof that his nightmare was in fact reality. His heart, he felt, was being strangled by the very hand holding the ruddy piece of paper.
He began unfolding it, a paltry waste of an action given the lack of any available light, and yet still, he held it up, straining, concentrating on the page before him, all dangers, real and imagined, lost on him.
…
What am I even doing…
Just as he was going to let his arm fall. A flash! Rather a stream of light fell on the page.
"GAHAHWHAHA!"
…
Aoi keeled over, bent and contorted hither and thither, seizing violently, uncontrollably from a mixture of profound wails and explosive laughter…mostly laughter.
∗ ∗ ∗
*B's note: "HaMZA ^"
The sound of his guffaw was accompanied by a triumphant orchestral number; the magnificent dawn's chorus.
Everything in his sight, glowing a haunting silver. Twilight mist turned thick, early morning fog. A subtle shift began, as the blanket of grey gave way to columns of light breaking through the canopy, verdant green splashed, washed over all.
Okay..
..kind of beautiful.
The earth beneath him was luxurious. Soft, matted. A pillowy, bright green carpet of moss and the bronze of broken and discarded shields of leaf litter, cushioned his weary body. How had he not realized this?
Sphagnum sp., Thuidium delicatulum..
The tiny drumbeat of falling condensation, a metronome for the brilliant morning song. Was it the sound that caused him to look up at the tree above him, or maybe it was the bright fruity sweetness that rushed through the air. Hints of jasmine and the most delicate nectar, an almost caramel, and…almost…home.
The bark of the tree was a thriving community – greens and lichen numerous, colonizing in sheets. Purples and blues, indigo, reds. Flowers, divine, vibrant splashes here and there, concealing the endings and beginnings of the trees, the canopy one unending organism; nature had constructed its own solarium.
Plagiochila sp., Meteorium sp., Anthurium sp.
Dramatic, dark, hanging blooms that look like fanged faces. Coruscating orange-red, tufted plumes in mossy pockets. Minute flowers, abundant, bleeding into everything else, becoming the background texture. Bright sunset colored spikes, and pale ghostly pendant blossoms. And finally, and most abundant, clusters of deep, decadent, almost cosmic, magenta.
Dracula vampira, Masdevallia veitchiana , Lepanthes telipogoniflora, Pleurothallis truncata, Stelis sp., Elleanthus capitatus, Dracula sodiroi, Epidendrum secundum..
The bright red jewels, spherical sirens amidst the sea of flower and fern. An indulgent, wine, almost brandy scent hooked him by the nose and lifted him directly onto his feet. Glowing garnets of pure hope..
"HA HA! Coffea arabica!"
His mouth was already closing around a bright red and yellow, juicy, cherry. Light, refreshing. Understated, surely, but nonetheless a perfect snack to begin this particular morning.
Aoi started collecting each drupe. Less than meticulously but hardly clumsily.
I need about 15 of these..I'll snag some leaves to chew on as well. It seems impossible…there aren't any bananas around this tree.
He stood, surveying the area once again.
Aoi raised one of the fruits to his lips.
It was waxy on his tongue, the flesh tight and supple. Especially firm right before it burst. Honeydew melon, no, red currant and hints of flower. Bright acidic tang lifting feathery rosewater.
Caturra.
Just eating these won't cut it though...
He took another cherry to his mouth. This one had a deeper golden glow, and tasted crisp, more like a sparkling wine.
First…first I need to get something real to eat.
"Whoa..are those?"
Yes, Atta laevigata
Two lines of moving insects traveled parallel in opposing directions, one of which looked as if each individual marching ant wore a little sail or hat crafted of bright green leaves.
He looked down to the clump of moss.
"Okay, pillow, it's you and me buddy. After them I suppose."
They moved slowly, carefully following along the impressive trail, the ants–those who were not dressed with leaves– their leaders. Aoi continued cataloguing species as he saw them for purely practical reasons.
Morpho helenor, Rupicola peruvianus. Greta oto, Pharomachrus auriceps..and tillandsia everywhere..
Chrysophora chrysochlora, Oreophoetes peruana..
"We're taking the route away from the nest", he looked down at the clump of moss swaddled in his left arm. "The other trail is just leading back to the nest, it's where they use the leaves to farm Fungi."
He looked down now as he walked.
"Heliconia sp., Cecropia sp… scary."
The forest was breathing, hungry, alive. The deeper they traveled the more expansive and reactive the jungle felt. Denser yet, pillow in tow, Aoi waded through the tangled winding brush where the sounds turned strange.
Grrrkk grrrk… Zzzzzzzeeeeeeeee…tic tic tic…
…
Grrrkk grrrk… Zzzzzzzeeeeeeeee…tic tic tic…whoo..who..whoowhhooo..
…
Tik tik tik tik tik…grrrk grrkk grrkk…zzzZZZzzzzeeeEEEE..tic tic tic… whooooop … whooooppp..
…
Pristimantis sp., Colostethus sp., Centrolenidae…Centrolene buckleyi, Megascops clarkii, Gryllus assimilis
The ants pathway once a bizarre looking straight line on an otherwise wild backdrop of tangled terrain and overgrowth, more believable on its canvas now. The army of vines surrounding him began to feel a bit more…austere.
Tik tik tik tik tik..
…
His foot dropped a measure, missing a step, he fumbled then promptly straightened himself out. Aoi had been gawking at the pre-Jurassic, specifically Cretaceous, dark teal, armored monster – looming eyes of white, straight ahead, lying, peaceful, among an oddly spacious clearing, a deep green spread of lush living cushion.
Zamia encephalartoides…dehiscence.
He contracted.
Overtaking the clearing; an unseen fog, much heavier than the dense, tropical fog already available to the sight of his eyes. Primordial; Powerful; and exquisitely, terrifying.
∗ ∗ ∗
Aoi lifted his right hand, careful not to disturb his pillow, and slowly moved it back and forth, opening and closing his fingers to make a fist and then release it. What was this massive force commanding reverence from him? He dared not speak.
This mana is…
..sublime.
Aoi sat in this refreshing ether.
..iiiiiiIIINNNNNHHHHAAAAAalllleee…two three four…exxxHHHAAAAALLLLEEEEEeeeee two three four.
His shoulders began to droop a fraction, his face even lost its squint. A delicious, drunken mint bathed in overripe guava, tickled the hairs in his nose.
Food.
He followed his historically reliable nose down more and more levels of convenient degraded steps in old stone. The path now very much obvious, having seemingly cleared itself along the way. The train of leaf-cutter ants marching along, path perfectly and compulsively, unnaturally straight.
The scent reached a crescendo. Soporific and heady, tranquilizing tropical melange, evoking violets, Spring's passing, and strawberry or pineapple, or both
Feijoa sellowiana and plenty of them.
Relief hadn't just washed over him, it had taken up residence. The sun forcing a heavenly glow on the vibrant fruit made them all the more enticing.
Aoi devoured.
…
Twenty six..twenty seven..
Each bite, ripping into the taut flesh, giving way to a rushing swell of hydration. Hints of mint, pineapple, and flowers. It was divine and he was starving.
"OMG mmDa was….starving mmm..burrrp"
He and pillow, both exhausted from the day's journey, took a moment, several moments to an hour actually, to bask and digest. Aoi remembered the coffee leaves he had stuffed in his pockets and popped two in his mouth.
"Yyaack…nice."
He began to chew it..
Cud of a cow..but eh..
He swore he felt a prickling in his extremities, a calling to be reawoken by the ingrained morning spell. Whether it was figment or not made little difference to him. His eyes widened, mouth wet with ripe juice. He focused his attention downward.
"OH! Hey little trooper, wow!"
The little blue armored, shield and spear clad bug paid Aoi no mind as it dallied along in its beetle business.
Dynastes hercules…pretty big too like what 4 inches..?
"Are you a pinsir or a pincerella? Oh excuse me your majesty, forgive my insolence."
Garrrgglee.
Aoi now crouched on the ground speaking with the pincerella, checked down to assess and ascertain the origin of the noise. His conclusion being; not his own stomach, nor was it pillows.
Click click.
Snip.
Something moved, many things, almost encircling Aoi.
Multiple readings all at once. Something was here, something he couldn't comprehend. What was it that was hunting him? What if it were some monster lurking out here in this long forgotten jungle.
BWAHHHHHHH!!!!
An iridescent rush of deep blue-emerald slammed right into Aoi's leg causing him to drop to the forest floor. He was frightened but admittedly not harmed, even though he let out a nearly whistle tone screech.
"YOU ARE THE CUTEST BABY BOI! I DON'T BELIEVE MY EYES, AREYOUEVENREALLYREAL?"
He was crying…hysterically, weeping while he wrapped himself around a sentient tank of blueish green.
"Now YOU are a specimen!"
"No offense to you little miss." he offered to the tiny pincerella.
"Dynastes hercules….just about seven or eight times larger, I'm guessing."
His face was mixed with deep unbridled joy, beats of cold hard lonely sadness, and hope.
"A new friend ha ha! Whaddya say Bwah, do ya like it? Let's find some grub together!" Aoi winked at the outrageous insect.
∗ ∗ ∗
Bwah was about the size and mostly shape of a sheep, excluding the would-be menacing horns protruding from its head and shoulders. He was extraordinarily patient with Aoi, who was still wrapped around the beetle, speaking in tongues as shrieks of delight.
Aoi froze, quickly composed himself then dismounted Bwah.
One hundred twenty centimeters, nose to tail. Forty, no forty five height to shoulder. Sixty centimeters across the elytra. Probably what…twenty sev– no twenty nine kilograms.
"Yes sir you are a big fella." Choking back tears still.
A small flash of amber lit up the liquid pooled in his eyes.
Hmm
Aoi wiped his eyes, and crept in closer to investigate. A brilliantly fashioned ancient vessel.
A perfect coffee cup. This piece is extraordinary, gold? How lavish Yaya woul–
He didn't need to bite his lip to distract him from his self forbidden thoughts. In the brush a stones throw from the clearing he was in, stood a legendary whimsical creature. Dense and woolly, coated in dark brown almost black with a uniquely shaped prehensile nose.
Tapirus pinchaque
Aoi, held his breath and watched in awe, Bwah still chewing on fallen fruit, having never stopped, right alongside him. Aoi slowly put the cup in his pocket, enabling him the freedom to squeeze his hands into fists. Aoi spotted a small, watermelon sized calf, initially unseen, speckled and blending in much more wholly than its senior.
Oh..my..not even fair…like TWO MONTHS OLD..
Aoi held himself, while time seemed to slow. The light filtering through the canopy cast a green wash on the adult tapir's naturally white fur lined mouth, and on the white spots of fur on the infant. The fog, both visible and not, a perfect grey green miasma.
SHRIEEEKKK! SHRIEEKKK!
The tapirs vanished, neither trace nor sound. In their stead, in the trees were a family of tiny furry gossiping things clamoring, with many limbs, to perch as they gazed wide-eyed at Aoi holding a clump of moss, and Bwah the giant beetle eating the overripe fruit in their place.
Lagothrix lagothricha
"Wooly monkeys, they've definitely never seen a human but they are naturally inquisitive and since I'm with you I bet I don't give off any" He constructed air quotes with his right hand and looked at Bwah "predator vibes".
With that, Aoi tapped Bwah on his horn and headed in the direction of the ants carrying miniature green sails.
"So I guess this is your life huh, incredible. I never even imagined seeing one, let alone a pair, most likely mother and calf, they're typically crepuscular," He looked at Bwah. "Active at dawn and dusk, well you know better than I actually. Their gestation period is nearly four hundred days, can you imagine…"
Aoi turned his attention to the path, once again winding and twisted with overgrowth.
"What a strong mom…"
Grrrkk grrrk… Zzzzzzzeeeeeeeee…tic tic tic…
…
Grrrkk grrrk… Zzzzzzzeeeeeeeee…tic tic tic…whoo..who..whoowhhooo..
The commanding pressure of the clearing had subsided and returned to the wild feral energy he remembered, hollow and rapacious. The flashes of incandescent floral arrangements in the canopy above returned, as did the familiar sounds and smells of his enchanting little corner of the rainforest.
"And what was with that mana? Seriously, that was intense. Actually now that you mentioned it, it was strangely concentrated in that one area.."
Bwah had veered left off course, Aoi following along while looking to the canopy.
"Was it some sort of ceremonial site, or maybe it was– Rubus glaucus, moras, nice find."
Aoi had crouched down toward the waxy bush, adorned in deep purple clusters.
"May I?" He started collecting the berries. Just a handful, which he promptly stuffed into his mouth, jaw unhinged like a snake. The skin barely there, splash, and a burst of juice and pulp and seeds swam between his tongue and teeth. Deep merlot stained his mouth, which was screwed up in delight in response to the berries' crisp tartness. The back of his jaw ached briefly and a mineral, faintly plum sweetness finished in its place.
Having apparently finished his share of berries, Bwah headed back toward their destination, Aoi following along behind.
"I wonder where their colony is, I bet you'd know. Probably like a kilometer or so from that hut."
…
"These little geniuses actually farm fungus, can you believe! I'd love to see the operation, and that's not all that far away from–OH we're here!"
The scent of the ripe coffee cherries, the warm green wash over the ancient hut, much needed relief; Aoi all but melted.
"Here, you take this."
…
Bwah studied the overripe fruit and looked up at Aoi, held his gaze then began eating.
He's happy.
Aoi settled himself upon the pillow he so dolefully carried, resigned to the day, he closed his eyes in hopes of a midafternoon nap…
What's thi- oh the cup yeah better set it out.
Aoi struggled in his pockets for the golden cup, reached out his arms and felt for moisture, well wetness, and left it just outside the 'dry' area covered by the hut. A heavy thud knocked him from his front side.
"Oh hey buddy, yeah come on in" His eyes still closed, face blooming in a smile.
Bwah had nestled up into Aoi's arms, and together, they dozed off…
∗ ∗ ∗