The sun was starting to reach its peak in the sky, the lands beneath bathed in its warm light. There still were some stray clouds visible overhead from the earlier light shower, beads of the rain still clinging onto the various vegetation. Droplets of water fell from the leaves of the trees above as they shed the excess moisture and the canopy filtered in beams of light that dotted the shrubbery and the dirt road. The birds were singing in the trees, filling the air with their chirpy melodies. Another melody soon joined them, but this a much different birdsong. The wagon rolled across the woods slowly, dirt and rocks crunching underneath the wheels, occasionally hitting a puddle and splashing the water around. The hairy ox in front had some of its fur wet, but it was clear that it hadn't been walking in the rain for too long. Ruairi was comfortably perched on the rider's seat underneath the roof's lip, reins decorated with beads and tassels in hand – but he wasn't really doing any actual work in controlling the beast, the ox just following the road like it always did when told to move. That gave the Rito plenty of time to focus on everything else. He was humming some tunes to himself, rarely one who liked to keep silent for very long. After a lifetime of living with a rowdy bunch of people and never being alone, traveling all on his lonesome was very… Quiet. Boring, too, when the scenery wasn't very engaging. It was why Ruairi had taken to opening his voice, practicing his vocal performances. He shuffled about to allow the cape he had worn in case the weather would be chilly after the rain to drop to his sides, the sun warming the surroundings enough for him to not need it. All of the greenery and the smell of wet leaves and earth made his thoughts turn to plants, his humming turning into the song he knew could cause plant-life to grow and flourish… Though rather slowly. He certainly wasn't able to see any difference as he passed through.
Drip drip drip. Something wet keeps falling onto Plant's leaves as they rotate, carrying the Peahat through the air. There were more wet drops, but Plant feels them less and less. 'Wet drops are good for Plant.' The simple thought is all the Peahat thinks as its flight continues. There are others around the Peahat. Not flying like Plant is, but large and still. They say the Peahat needs to fly lower to not hit branches, whatever those are. Trusting the older still plants, Plant flies a bit lower as warm beams hit the flying leaves. 'Warm beams also good.' This light cycle is good to Plant. The few thoughts Plant was thinking were interrupted by something unknown to the Peahat. The New Thing is rhythmic and makes Plant make more seeds. It likes this New Thing, so it must follow this New Thing. Luckily whatever is making the new thing is slow and Plant catches up rather easily. Being closer to the New Thing causes seeds to grow more. Getting too large a seed falls from Plant and strikes against the New Thing. After striking the seed gives off a a dust of glowing particles, not that Plant can really see them. 'New Thing big.' Plant decides to greet the New Thing as only a Peahat can, by harmlessly bumping into it repeatedly.
Something fell from the sky, hitting the canvas roof of the wagon. That didn't bother Ruairi too much, even if it gave him a slight pause – it wasn't unheard of for things to drop from the trees above, after all. However, once some kind of cloud of glittery bright powder descended from above and started covering the back of the ox and even the Rito's shoes, he yelled out a surprised shriek and yanked the reins to bring Daffodil to a stop. Perhaps it would have been smarter to do the opposite and escape as quickly as possible, but Ruairi honestly had no idea what just had happened and he didn't really know what to do! He reached down to wipe the strangely sticky mess, his fingers now too coated in the bright powder. "Aah, what the–" And exclamation that was cut short once he felt the weak bumps – something was hitting the wagon's side, not managing to do much more than just gently rock it and cause some noise. Ruairi got up to his knees and peeked over the corner to take a look, noticing the… Plant. A large, floating plant – a Peahat, he was quite certain. Though it was big, it luckily did not seem to be having any blades, which was a stroke of luck. That thing could have caused some real damage to his wagon otherwise – and to him! Actually what had it done? The Rito's brow furrowed and he slowly stood up to inspect the damage on the roof. There was glowing powder everywhere. It didn't seem like there was any other kind of damage and he might have even liked how the powder sparkled if he knew what it was. Could it burn a hole in the roof if he left it there? He couldn't believe this had just happened to him! "Hey! You messed up my wagon, you compost heap!" He yelled at the Peahat, needing to vent his anger, before he huffed. It was stupid to be complaining to a plant. It didn't understand. And, now that he thought about it, what if they had retractable blades and now he had angered it…
The New Thing was making new sounds. The new sounds did not sound good. Plant flew towards the new sound that the New Thing was making. Was this where New Thing made sounds? The Peahat begins to bump into the part of the New Thing that was making sound. Plant liked this New Thing. While bumping into the Rito a few more seeds fall of the Peahat however none of them burst. An Ember Seed, a Scent Seed, and a Bomb Seed now sit it the cart unopened. The Peahat repeatedly bumping into the Rito may look like an attack to some, but the bumps are so light as Plant seems to move more from them that anything. After tiring from all the flying and the bumping the Peahat lands among the seeds it shed next to Ruairi before wrapping the large rotor leaves around itself. Plant hopes the nice sounds start again.
What was he even thinking? Of course a plant wouldn't get angry. It was a plant! It couldn't even understand words – if it could even hear. Or so Ruairi thought, before the Peahat suddenly changed its course and started to come right at him. He did panic, a small yelp escaping his lips as he pulled back and hoped it would just continue on, missing him. He wasn't that lucky. Even the ox got nervous as the monstrous plant hovered closer, taking some steps and letting out a deep lowing sound. Ruairi did understand that it would have been smart to just escape, make Daffodil make a run for it. But alas, he had let go of the reins, now holding up his arms to protect himself from the vicious attack! His life flashed before his eyes as he squeezed them shut, preparing for the worst. The Peahat bumped into him. It was so soft, he wasn't even pushed back. And again, and again. Slowly, Ruairi opened his eyes. It was huge. He had never seen a Peahat so close before, so this gave a whole new perspective on already rather large plants. It also was much lighter than he had expected, but that made sense. They had to be able to fly, after all. Something kept falling from the thing as it continued its strange flight pattern, dropping onto the wooden seat. Seeds. They definitely looked like seeds. The Rito held out his hands to keep the plant from bumping into him further. "I think you're missing your mark. Seeds won't grow there," he spoke up, a part of his voice sounding relieved, though another part of him sounded a bit exhausted. And here Ruairi thought he was going to die… A long exhale made its way out of his mouth, a deep breath he had held from fear. Was this Peahat just here to spread its seeds around? It seemed like it had run out of energy from all that useless bumping, gently floating down on the seat next to him. "…And you're just going to stay there now, huh? Not even going to ask for permission?" Ruairi asked, raising an eyebrow. Why was he even talking to a plant in the first place? It wasn't like it would even understand. …He had been pretty lonely. The road had been long, and he had not have anyone to talk to. It wasn't like Daffodil understood any better than a plant. But the Rito couldn't help himself – perhaps he was just talking for his own sanity's sake. "Fine," he finally sighed as he sat down next to the Peahat and grabbed the reins. There was still sticky glowing dust on the ox's rear end – and his own shoes, he noticed. Just great. "You really made a mess of my wagon. You can't just drop those wherever you want to, you know! Now I'm going to have to clean us off again and I hate washing the roof. I really hope for your own good that water is all I need," Ruairi continued as he gave a sign for the ox to keep moving. He hoped there would be a river nearby…
Plant feels the New Thing start moving and the sounds the New Thing makes are less bad. The Peahat enjoyed this much more, but not as much as the first sound that made the seeds grow. But the New Thing made sounds about the wet. There was wet from above, but that stopped. But there is a long wet not far. One of Plants rotor leaves lifts and is extended as if trying to point. Maybe the New Thing will make more of the Growing Sound if it gets to the long wet. Unable to make any real communication noise the leaf just stays pointing, the Peahat hoping it is helping. However a bump of the wagon tips the Peahat over onto the Rito as the wagon had hit a Scent Seed Plant had shed earlier. The strong scent wafts from the now broken seed several animals in the woods around them taking notice.
Ruairi of course hadn't expected any response from the plant, so he wasn't even really paying it much attention as the wagon started to roll down the road. He was focusing on what was ahead of them – which wasn't much, granted. Just the dirt road with some wet spots, and some more trees and bushes. "Must be easy when you can just float around everywhere without a worry in your mind, huh? One day, I'm going to be flying too. Us Rito have wings, you see! …Well, we can get wings. I'm not sure about all the det–" A rock or something that caused one of the wheels to bump up would normally be nothing new, nothing Ruairi would even normally notice on a bumpy wagon ride. But there was a sudden smell that wafted up into his nose, one that immediately made him cover his nose. It was a disgustingly strong smell that forced him to stop breathing, his eyes watering. He let out a muffled groan – a mistake, as he started to taste the smell in his mouth. What was it?! It was so strong, so overpowering, so sickly sweet, so… Delicious? Ruairi looked up, sniffing the air. All of a sudden, it smelled rather good!
Plant notices another one of the weird seeds fell off and cracked open making the air weird with the chemicals it gives off. The leaves on the top of the Peahat flap trying to dispel the seed chemicals as all they do is annoy Plant. This leaf flapping causes a few more seeds to fall, but luckily none burst as several Ember Seeds are among them. After sufficiently flapping the seed chemicals away Plant stops flapping. However Scent Seed scent in the air may have attracted unwanted attention. Plant uses a leaf to poke the New Thing to continue making noises. The Peahat was not sure why but the noises made it feel...nice. New Thing needed to continue making noise.
The air smelled good. Ruairi's eyes closed as he kept sniffing the air, finding himself lost in it and just enjoying the feeling. He most likely would have been stuck like that for a much longer time, but as suddenly as the smell had appeared, it started to dissipate – and with that, the Rito started to return to his senses. He opened his eyes, blinking, feeling a bit groggy and confused. Slowly he started to understand what he was seeing again, the familiar back of Daffodil, and the forest path he had been on… A light tapping on his side registered eventually as well, and he glanced at his side. He had almost forgotten about the Peahat, flinching before he remembered that it had been rather peaceful this whole time and probably just wanted to rest. But it was strange. It almost seemed like it was actually trying to catch his attention, but… It was a plant. "What do you–" He started, before rustling from the bushes made him stop and look towards the source. Ruairi's eyes grew wide as he saw some slimy blobs and Octoroks crawl in their direction, suddenly appearing from behind the various leaves and slowly but surely making their way towards the wagon. Why?! He wasted no time in getting the wagon to move again, giving the signal for the ox to run. Daffodil was not made for speed, but he was pretty sure he could get out before any of the slower monsters caught up to them. "Aah, why?!" The Rito lamented. What kind of monster hotspot was this forest, even! Oh how he wanted to get to the river soon so he could wash everything and just leave everything behind already!
