NOVEL FROG 019, Rise and shine (Part 3)
~DNA.
“
Hearing the cutest voice first thing when I’m waking up in such a pleasant experience. The anxiety that wanted to rise up and engulf me, pushing me to panic and startle, was calmed by her reassurance. So, I take my time.
Each measured breath I take, I can feel my son’s closeness, his solidity, and more importantly his joy at my notice of him alongside the delicious light of the morning sun. I hear his voice in the calls of songbirds, some of them his, others just singing because he asked them to, “~Hello, Father. You may not remember me that well because you fell asleep while I was being formed, but you named me Life. And we’ve all been striving to have a good one despite your convalescence.~”
Words feel a bit too difficult at the moment, but I smile and pat him and from his response of pride and happiness, it is enough.
I notice another tree, though this one looks gnarled and sickly, even as it is also bloated, with jagged leafless limbs dripping sap from thorns. It gently dances to its own rhythm, and I recognize Thing deep within its core. They’ve grown far larger as well, their massive heart supplementing the withered husk of this particular heartwood. With such a gentle touch so as to not disturb them I send them my love and wish them pleasant dreams.
Finally ready to face the day, I take in a steadying breath and open my eyes instead of relying on the presence of my children to guide me. And when I do, I see my eldest daughter, almost all grown up in her beautiful new gown of feathers. She looks away from her reflection in the pool and turns to the large chunk of blue coral resting under her wing, “{Hey there, D.N.A. Did you have a productive advancement?}”
Upon closer inspection, I recognize the shape of the chunk she’s guarding. More than that, I can even see some the innumerable, infinitesimal flashes of light released from the various synapses in the obvious blue brain she’s sheltering. But I don’t let that distract me too long, “You could say that little missy. Enough that I think I may need to talk about the birds and the bees with you.”
Theme Vault for spawning {Bee} has been unlocked.
She flinches back and starts getting to her feat, obviously having only recently woken up herself, “{Ugh, Dad! I already know about that from Cutest. I don’t need you talking to me about it.}”
I just sit back and laugh teasingly as she shakes herself before taking flight. More of my eyes open as the rats and corvids in Thing’s tree continue watching over my brain and I feel a pulse from Cutest race from them into the surroundings as more scattered visions are highlighted and divert to where Gnat was nesting.
I luxuriate in the sensations of opening myself to my kids and allowing it to wash over me as a sort of background noise as I try and sink deep enough to greet my youngest and yet oldest child.
It takes some time, but I eventually find them most distinctly in the wind. Once I’m able to spot them there, I can see how they’re sunken into the earth as well, and the grass, the trees, the stone, the pools and creeks of water. I feel how they are working alongside their siblings Thing and Life to discover themself. I have to be so delicate, so soft when I ask, “What’s your name, not-so-little one?”
I get the impression of notice and a bright joy and a squeal of laughter before the squad of mice that Cutest dispatched arrives at my mind, “
The mice work together to carefully pick me up, and I feel the weight of me, as well as the slight squish and slime to the otherwise crystalline solidity of me, “
A sort of false anger and stubbornness rise up at the mention of the bird man, but in this conversation between just Cutest and I, we know it’s more of a protective tease than anything else, “
“{Cutest! You traitor!}”
We chuckle quietly amongst ourselves, not wanting to provoke her for real, even as we can’t help the humor, “
“Glad to be back. And there’s plenty of work to do, and that’s just the stuff that I know about. Considering how long I’ve been out; I imagine there’s at least a couple of stories to tell and projects to work on.”
She just nods and tells me to reach out once I’m ready to get to work.
The first thing I do is just take stock of me. My brain is in safe paws as I see the bunker being worked on that will house that piece of me still being carried, scurrying through the grass. My heart I feel pumping steadily alongside of Thing’s resting form now that I have a clear moment to focus. I can sense how the Mana is shifted into it from across the domain and especially from one point. But also, how each beat reforges it into Mako that then resonates with Thing and then is suddenly everywhere, distributed evenly throughout their horde of… Nebulouse. Hmm, new stuff.
Next, I follow that non-Euclidian pathway that’s just stuffing my heart with Mana and finding a pair of lungs, high up in my son’s branches. Several nests full of a variety of different birds keeping a careful lookout of their surroundings and are seemingly unbothered by the crystal bellows inhaling and expelling a torrent of magic nearby.
I search for more strong sensations like those three, but don’t find any others for now, so I move on to my logs.
A quick glance through shows a whole bunch of different creature templates unlocked and a gesture from Life allows him to direct my attention to the various instances of the new mobs spread throughout the domain. The impression of a raised eyebrow as we skipped over to the newly incorporated hive of bees that had been mundane before I woke up and chose snark. I shrug and the tour continues.
He showcases the high volume of low tier diversity, especially different elements, that have surfaced and found niches since the alliance went through. Aurora Hephaestus delivered quite a few different creatures that Cutest or Life could integrate into their colonies. More came about as the various disparate elements were plucked by Dreams and the nesting Thing and transplanted into those special few to have earned the privilege of drinking the Elixir of Change from the Crucible.
Whatever metric guides a creature to be called to Thing’s arena for that procedure, so far only the weaker creatures have been summoned. Life anticipates that there is likely to be due to the extra complexity that comes with beings that have more power. As it is to be a reward, none that are so strong that the change would break them in the attempt have been selected just yet.
Now, having gotten caught up with the basics, I pull my view back into looking at the lay of the land rather than its denizens. Gnat draws my attention as she soars into the sky, above and beyond the ephemeral and wafting border of Dream’s aura so far from the anchors of earth and root. Her eyes are sharp and also well-tuned to see through the malaise that the nebulouse inflicts on their surroundings.
Nevertheless, it is Life that stands out most clearly in her vision. His gargantuan height and massively expanded canopy reaching out high above the forest top and casting those beneath him into shade. His own attunement to Thing’s new swarm has them draw attention to him, albeit primarily by not obfuscating his distinctness.
Another noticeable detail from this height is despite what the lack of direct sunlight on those closest to Life’s trunk should mean for the health of those trees, they have visibly grown in size, relative to those further away. More interesting than that however, is how many more different species of tree there are than were before, “{Aurora Hephaestus helped with those as well. Bringing samples from far away and with him, Life, Dream, and Thing working together as old, sickly, or dead trees were infused with the new strain before being purged with Phoenix Flame.
“{The extra enrichment from everyone working together allowed the new trees to mature rapidly. The memories that Cutest shared of the projects wer-}” as close to her as I am now, I feel the ping of mortal danger from her before she twists in the air and hurls herself to the side. A thick cushion of gnats summoned beneath her wings to give her enough heft to avoid a diving strike that obliterated them in an instant.
Still trying to catch her bearings and stabilize her flight after such a dynamic maneuver, not having fully adjusted to her new mass as such a large bird, that instinct pings again as a flash of movement from some surviving scouts. Before she can determine how best to react, a set of talons latch onto her shoulders as she is yanked into high speed by a much larger and faster creature.
“[You aren’t without talent little one. Still, to think there would be such an arrogant upstart thinking they could challenge me for my Lair. You are far too small to try staking a claim on a territory. Did your parents not teach their son any sense?]”
It’s a strange sensation, in those moments after my daughter was snatched out of the air and her vision of what was attacking her solidified. I could tell that her feelings went a certain way and practically knew there wouldn’t be much I could do to change things, not and keep our relationship pleasant. But the smirk I wore as he kept talking and her awe turned sour and then became indignation was sweet.
“{Let go of me you damned overbaked turkey! I can fly wherever I want, and I’ll bite off your foot if you don’t release me immediately!}” Ahh, that’s my girl.
As she’s thrashing around and pecking at one of his feet, he shifts a bit in his glide to get a better look at her, “[Your voice sounds familiar, but I don’t recognize your plumage at all. You’re too small to have completed your advancement. Who are you little boy?]”
The phoenix’s words bring an idea to mind, and with a quick flexing of some new muscles, or synapses in this case, I bring up a snapshot of Gnat’s new appearance. I didn’t really pay attention to it before because she was just Gnat to me, but her plumage is an absolute riot of colors and patterns. Like a mad painter just splashed every sort of color on a nightscape canvas. With that completed image of her appearance comes the memory and impression about the sexual dimorphism in many birds.
Chuckling to myself while keeping my mirth far away from the encounter itself, I continue watching the drama unfold, “{You smug bastard!}”
A large gathering of power solidifies in her core and is expelled all in a single ferocious bite. Finally breaking through or at least damaging the scales protecting his foot, he ends up releasing her with a tsk. As she rights herself and gets the air under her wings, he swoops over her ominously, “{Now that I’m out of your grubby claws. I’m Gnat you moron. Thanks for the early morning murder attempt, super fun way to reintroduce yourself.}”
As he sweeps around her and she keeps her sharp gaze focused on him, the confusion is plain on his countenance, “[Gnat? But I thought you were a girl.]” If not for my having so many body parts lying around, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my laughter from spilling out of the connection I’m watching through. Though with Cutest on hand with my brain, she sends her own tearful joy as the scene I’m sharing with her.
Gnat screeches in rage and spews out a host of the teeny insects at Smith, “{I AM A GIRL YOU IDIOT!}” Before diving back and away towards home. It is only with some light nudging from Life that some of the better sighted guards in his canopy catch the bewildered look that crosses Smith’s face before he then has to make an awkward recovery from how he started plummeting.
In the darkened space I’m sharing laughter and tears with Cutest, “I guess it’s as true for both human and phoenix. Boys can be really dumb sometimes, no matter their age.”