[PRP] A Garden of Magic (Dying Glow x Mostly Water)

[lilacfishie]

Dying Glow pawed at the dirt and few scattered leaves on the ground while she waited, a soft smile crossing her face at the very satisfying crunch. After a few more moments, she found herself trotting around the large tree, creating quite the scene as she sought out all the nearby leaves that had changed and fallen with the recently arrived autumn season. Before she knew it, a little giggle or two escaped her snout as she gently danced around. Before she knew it, all that remained was a considerable ring of leaf crumbles around the base of the tree and the time of their meeting was almost at hand. Stilling, the young doe listened for her companion's arrival. The excitement welled up in her chest once more as she thought about what the night had in store.

The sun was creeping ever closer to the horizon. "Thirty minutes until sunset," Dying Glow murmured to herself, a reminder of their usual meeting time. The slight doe's companion should arrive at any moment now and the anticipation was almost too much. It was her turn to sort out activities for them and the zikwa really thought she'd best her kiokote friend this time. She couldn't wait to see her face!

(209 words, 209 total)

@Gl!tch~

[Gl!tch~]

Mostly Water galloped in, a plethora of flowers bundled in her jaw.

Looking at them, contemplating them, and plucking them (plus the bundling) had put her off-time considerably, and she knew it, and so she dropped the flowers (gently...) on the ground. "I'm not late, am I?" the large kiokote asked, breathless.

"They were just so pretty and I thought you would like them..."

She spat out a leaf.

The stems did not taste great, but the flowers themselves were probably delicious.

Her tail-tentacle waggled, forgotten as another means of carrying flowers instead of using her mouth.

"You didn't also think about doing things with flowers tonight, did you? Or else I'd feel like I'm stealing your thunder..." The tall doe shuffled her hooves, going from worried about her timeliness to worrying about being thoughtless.

[lilacfishie]

Dying Glow's ears pricked up when she detected the sound of galloping towards her. Surely, that must be Mostly Water! As if on cue, the large kiokote burst through the bushes. Confusion and then excitement travelled across her face as she registered what exactly her companion was carrying. As Mostly Water placed the bundle of beautiful flowers at her feet, the soft floral smells reached Dying Glow's nose. Gasping in delight, the blue doe dipped her nose amongst the flower petals and breathed in the lovely smell deeply. After a moment, her thin tentacled tail swung around to grasp the flowers. Turning back towards her companion, she smiled and stepped forward. Dying Glow got very close to Mostly Water's snout before nudging off an errant petal still stuck, letting out a giggle. "Thank you, these are lovely," she hummed before giving the kiokote a genuine nuzzle in greeting.

Adjusting her tail's grip on her new flowers, Dying Glow stepped back from Mostly Water and noticed her tail waving a bit nervously. The soft and melancholy zikwa smiled brightly. "Don't worry, my dear. You aren't stealing anyone's thunder. I think you're really going to love what I have planned for this evening." Dying Glow hoped her words would reassure Mostly Water, and if not that, the mention of the evening's activities might distract her from being nervous. The zikwa doe couldn't help but smile warmly again as she regarded her companion, finding her consideration endearing.

(244 words, 453 total)

@Gl!tch~

[Gl!tch~]

The kiokote exhaled a sigh of relief through her nose, almost like a soft snort.

The flowers went over great and she hadn't messed anything up. So why did her heart keep beating so fast? She wasn't running anymore and she didn't have anything to be worried about, right?

"Okay! Okay... Yeah. Yeah! I know I'll love whatever it is! Because you did it!" Her shuffling became more excited.

"So, um, what do we do next?"

@lilacfishie

[lilacfishie]

Dying Glow nodded, turning back towards the tree. "We have to go back towards my den for this little adventure," she stated. Pointing her narrow nose towards the correct direction, she waited for the larger kiokote to walk alongside her. Admiring the other doe, she began heading towards her den. Occasionally, she rubbed into the soft kiokote beside her, smiling softly and giving an affectionate hum. She so desperately wanted to tell the other doe about what she had planned for the evening. It was going to be so lovely, at least, in her opinion. But, that would spoil the surprise.

Soon enough, they made it back to a more familiar spot. Dying Glow had hosted Mostly Water a few times for a meal or to get out of the rain, so it was a place the kiokote was probably a bit more familiar with. "I went exploring through more of the caves under the Swamp," she began, wanting to at least give a little hint as they made their way down. The temperature changed was quite noticeable once they were well within the cave. While the air was still humid, it was getting a little cooler. "Watch your step," the zikwa commented, motioning to the soft and slick moss patches scattered on the pathway.

(215 words, 668 total)

[Gl!tch~]

Back to Dying Glow's den! How cozy.

Mostly Water gave her own nod, then followed. It didn't take long for her to catch up, then overtake. She had to pace herself to not make Dying Glow trail behind.

She let Dying Glow handle most of the physical affection; the kiokote would not be thrown off her hooves by any pushes or rubbing. But if Mostly Water nuzzled or the like while walking, well, she could much more easily overdo it and then the zikwa might end up on the ground. That wouldn't be any good!

So the kiokote kept herself in check and continued to let Dying Glow take the lead.

"That sounds exciting! Anything of note happen? And you were safe, right?"

Her voice echoed in the cave. She couldn't see as well, but Dying Glow's, well, glow, was useful when her sight began to fail her.

The zikwa's safety mattered above all else in Mostly Water's mind. She had little experience with caves herself, but could imagine they could be rather dangerous. Especially on one's own! But there wasn't much Mostly Water could do. But if Dying Glow enjoyed her journeys, who was Mostly Water to stop her? Zikwa knew the caverns better than anyone, after all.

She stopped and sniffed some moss before stepping over it, trying to appear dainty like an acha. Soft Reflection would approve, she was sure.

[lilacfishie]

As the lithe zikwa made her way carefully through the passageways she'd come to know so well, she felt her face warm at Mostly Water's kind concern. Dying Glow took a moment to answer, sniffing a few different ways to make sure she was heading the right direction. "There were a few...unexpected moments. But nothing I couldn't handle," she said, her smile evident in her words. "I'm excited to show you what I found," she started, pausing a she took one more turn and carefully stepped down another decline further into the earth, "and it's right through here." Dying Glow used her unique "horns" to brush away some lush hanging vines away from the path. A small draft wafted by them as she walked through, using her tail to keep the vines away so her kiokote companion could also enter.

Before them was a lush sanctuary. Beautiful, plush mosses decorated much of the surfaces. A wide pond encompassed the back half of the chamber, dark water indicating a considerable depth. Roots of all sizes and kinds webbed the ceiling. Some had small vines wrapped amongst them which hung down at various spots across the room. Rocks jutted out along some of the walls, inviting more moss and flora to grow. Mushrooms of a dozen different kinds, some softly glowing, dotted the area. Bright lichen clung to the faces of rocks, bringing for more greens, whites, yellows, and oranges to the sea of color encapsulated in this space. Ferns, herbs, and some flowers found places to cling where the terrain sprouted dirt.

Dying Glow, who had been here a few time already, was still caught up in awe at the space. "It was too beautiful not to share with you," she murmured, speaking lowly as if not to disturb whatever magic the place held.

(303 words, 971 total)

[Gl!tch~]

"Oh, wow..."

Mostly Water didn't know what she expected. She had heard caves were usually rocky, dark, and had bats and cave worms living in them. Sometimes there was moss, sometimes there were glowy mushrooms.

She didn't think much about the color scheme, besides probably brown. But mostly just too dark to tell, probably. Again, there was a reason why kin who fumbled in the dark stayed out of these places.

Her family liked water, as a rule. They shared traits with all sorts of aquatic creatures, and learned to be strong swimmers from a young age.

They stayed near the deeper waters of the swamp, and migrated toward the beachfront as well.

Caves did not come much to mind, and when they did, they likely were where caiman might lurk to lay their eggs. Most of the kin in her extended family were acha. They worked hard to swim well, but they were not likely to fare against anything that wanted to eat them while paddling about.

So, the idea of a cavern full of lush, colorful flora never would have entered Mostly Water's mind.

She stood there in awe.

"It's beautiful," she agreed.

All other words failed her.

It was like a dream. If she breathed too hard, or moved, it might all slip away.

[lilacfishie]

Dying Glow couldn't help but smile warmly, just a little bit. She had been a little concerned that her kiokote companion would not see the beauty in this place like she did. Caves weren't exactly everyone's favorite. Still, she knew it was hard to deny, even with the limited sight of her many eyes, the wondrous colors of this little sanctuary.

Now that the moment had come, the lean zikwa paused, momentarily forgetting the rest of their purpose in being there now that her pretty companion was finally here in this pretty room with her. It was all so dream-like. Dying Glow's loss of focus was thankfully resolved by the flapping of wings snapping her back to reality. Tilting her head up, she caught the familiar shape of her familiar, Flicker, coming down from his hidden perch amongst the roots above. The large bat glided down gently, taking a turn around the room before landing between the two kin. Now that he was closer, Dying Glow was pleased to see he'd brought the small package just as they'd planned.

While Flicker clambered onto Dying Glow's back, immediately falling into a steady snooze, the zikwa doe began nosing apart the vines wrapped around the empty tortoise shell her flying companion brought down. Inside it was a carefully packed meal Dying Glow had spent much of the day before gathering. There were bunches of several kinds of berries, a couple of apples, some roasted meat she'd traded for, and some lush dandelion greens. "Hungry?" she asked sweetly, looking back up at Mostly Water finally.

(262 words, 1,233 total)

[Gl!tch~]

Mostly Water flinched, a little bit, at the wing flaps. She had heard that bats, plural, roosted in caves and she wouldn't know what to do if they had suddenly gotten swarmed.

But, no, it was just Dying Glow's pet. The kiokote exhaled, her flanks less tight in doing so.

She watched, curious, as Dying Glow went about what the bat brought down with it.

It smelled good. It looked good.

The colors and smells of the world she knew.

"Food!"

She hadn't thought about that. Probably because if she did, she would have to ask if they would be eating moss and mushrooms. Mostly Water had a taste for the flora found on the water, but it usually didn't fill her the way meat and fruit could.

"You thought of everything!" Mostly Water laughed, then nuzzled Dying Glow's cheek. It was the safest part of the zikwa's head to touch. "This is amazing. You're amazing."

[lilacfishie]

Dying Glow's heart thrummed when Mostly Water leaned down to nuzzle her cheek. It was like lightning zinged through her body from cheek to tail tip and then bloomed into a warmth on her face. Nuzzling back, she giggled lightly at her companion's excitement. Using her dextrous tail, she gently placed down her bouquet and plucked a strawberry from the small pile she'd gathered and held it up to Flicker, who happily disregarded the interruption in favor of the tasty treat. "For your hard work," she murmured to the creature, smiling affectionately.

That look carried over when Dying Glow turned back to Mostly Water. Moving to face the colorful expanse in front of them, she settled down beside Mostly Water on the soft moss on the floor. The young zikwa motioned to the space beside her. "Shall we?" she asked, her smile carrying into her voice. To start things off, she gently grabbed a dandelion leaf and a blackberry and hummed happily at the taste.

(165 words, 1,398 total)

[Gl!tch~]

Mostly Water nodded, then followed Dying Glow's lead. She stepped over, then settled down next to the zikwa. While Dying Glow started to pick at things to eat, Mostly Water took in the scenery once more.

She contemplated roots sitting above them, entirely different than how she understood roots to work. She looked at the mushrooms sitting every which way around them, some on the rocks above, and otherwise sticking out on the cavernous walls at heights she didn't know mushrooms could reach. And she was in awe seeing so many colors of lichen! More than she thought possible! It was all really quite beautiful, in a way she never would have imagined before.

Truly, this was magic if she had ever seen it.

The kiokote hummed and sighed, content.

She took some meat and then some apples; the kind of food she would need to keep her strong body going.

Meanwhile, she wrapped her tentacle tail around Dying Glow, snuggling her close.

Truly, it was a night she hoped that would never end.