Nature Exploration

[fuckingnature]

Who: The Daring
When: Day 11, Morning to afternoon
Where: Past the safe apartments (You are now entering giant hallway territory)
What:

[ Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to maulings you go. ]

(( Remember, cool people smart people survivors team up! ))

Comments

[fuckingnature]

[ The honeydillo continues to chomp peacefully. ]

[ Further down the hall, there's buzzing. Lots and lots of buzzing. It sounds ridiculously busy. ]

[chivalric]

[ Grimacing a little. ]

Insects, from the sound of it.

[edgeofjustice]

Can't we just get a large carnivore?

[formulaic]

Do you want to get eaten? Stop saying stupid things and let's just look around.

[fuckingnature]

[ As you approach, you see a large red cone-like nest hanging from the regular vines, and these mantii wandering in and out of it. ]

[ But what's REALLY noticeable is that thick, blue vine running the full length of the wall. The mantii seem to be occupying it at varying lengths and busy at work. ]

[chivalric]

... A blue vine?

[edgeofjustice]

That's... new.

[formulaic]

Hmm... is there anything strange about it other than the color? What are the insects doing? I want to take a look.

[heads closer to it]

[fuckingnature]

[ The insects are making precise incisions into the blue vine, then step back and allow a thick, blue liquid to flow out. Where you lean in to watch them, it smells horribly like sour milk. ]

[chivalric]

[ ... Eugh... ]

They're attracted to that?

[edgeofjustice]

Do I even want to know what that is...

[formulaic]

I want to know what it is. Are they using it for something, or is it some sort of symbiotic relationship? Can we get some of it for me to study somehow?

[wanders still closer]

[fuckingnature]

[ As you watch, the blue liquid ceases to flow and seems to solidify in a clear blue block. The mantii then cut at them in chunks and the chunks are carried back up to the nest. ]

[chivalric]

You... really want some of that?

[formulaic]

Of course. Aren't you the least bit curious? It could be the key to something interesting.

[wraps her fingers in cloth and attempts to pull away a block]

[fuckingnature]

[ HEY OUR STUFF!!! >8T You succeed in pulling away a block, but the mantii have caught onto your treachery and sliced at you during the attempt. ]

[edgeofjustice]

[yanks her back]

--Rita there are hundreds of those things. We can smoke them out first then you can investigate.

[chivalric]

Or we could search for an unoccupied vine.

[formulaic]

[backs off, turning her hand to look at the shallow cuts and then pocketing her block]

Ow. Come on, we might not be able to find another one like this. And there might not be an unoccupied one if there's something symbiotic going on.

[fuckingnature]

[ The most pissed off mantii, but they continue gathering their gel. Or they would, except suddenly they all stop and there's a mass migration back to the nest. ]

[edgeofjustice]

... That's a good thing, right?

[chivalric]

I have my doubts.

[ But okay taking the opportunity to cut down a length of the blue vine. ]

[formulaic]

Might as well take advantage of it, anyway.

[tries to pull off any more available chunks of the blue sap]

[fuckingnature]

[ OUR VINE!!! Such angry skittering from the mantii, but they're staying huddled close and on the nest, even as precious, smelly blue liquid oozes from both ends of the cut. ]

[ Behind all of you, four wicked lizards approach from the ceiling. It's so nice of you to be lunch. ]

[edgeofjustice]

Yeah, saw that one coming.