enchanted forest . mingle

[misconceived]

WHO Forest planet occupants!
BROADCAST N/A
ACTION Enchanted Forest / Spa Time
WHEN Upon reaching the system (Jan. 4) to leaving it (Jan. 31)

[ It's another day, another planet for the Drift Fleet to explore. Whether it be relaxing in the landing field, checking out the spa (and subsequently getting urged to enter the woods), or taking on the Enchanted Forest's game, there's enough to do for stir-crazy Fleet members.

Just remember one thing: make it look good. ]

Comments

[aberrant_type]

A few times. Now I'm exploring.

[She has a leaf in her hair; she shakes her head and when that doesn't dislodge it, plucks it free with her fingers.

Also, there's a gun slung over her shoulders.]

There's quite a lot of plant life, as you might expect... but I haven't seen many animals. Well, not yet.

[wilder]

And...nothing weird happened? Was it just a regular old forest?

[a pause]

A regular old forest with a creepy lack of animals, anyway?

[aberrant_type]

Oh, you'll get bombarded with illusions on the trail. But they're nothing more than that.

[She folds her arms, shifts her weight onto one leg, since they're chatting here.]

And you'll hear birds and insects in there. I just haven't seen much. Perhaps it's deeper in, or perhaps it's shy. I wouldn't say it's creepy.

[wilder]

Really? That...sounds pretty tame.

[he crosses his arms]

The last enchanted forest I encountered was full of undead, so...I tend to try to avoid them

[aberrant_type]

I think any undead you'll find here are likely to be pulled right out of your own head. And if you stand up to them, they won't last. Just don't leave the trail.

[She runs her hand over her hair, absentmindedly brushing out a few other small twigs and leaves.]

I wonder if the samples I take from here will have the same psychic properties?

[wilder]

[Well that was a relief...until that last part. Which has him side-eying a bit]

....Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the property of the magic.

[aberrant_type]

[Did she notice that side-eye? Would it even change the toothy grin she's directing at him now?

Who knows.]

I guess we'll find out!

[wilder]

[....]

...Okay, I gotta ask:

Are you hoping it will or it won't stick around?

[aberrant_type]

[She shrugs, and sets off towards the ships... gesturing towards him to follow, if he likes.]

I'm not hoping for either, really. It sure would be interesting if it still could mess with our heads! I'm not sure what that would mean, though. But if you think about it, a forest like that has enough connection points to be comparable to a brain in a way, right?

[wilder]

[Well, he's got nothing better to do and he's not about to traverse the forest alone- so he follows.]

How do you mean? Healing magic doesn't really work with brains, so... [He never bothered to learn much about them]

[aberrant_type]

Healing magic? [A brief, blank look - that seems like a non-sequitur to her.] I wouldn't know about that. What I'm speaking off... [And she takes another moment to furrow her brow. This comes more from the augment's knowledge then from her own.]

The brain is full of connective tissue. There are many points of connection. It's extremely complex! A forest is the same way. If you think of each tree like a cell, that interacts and connects with the things around it, taken as a whole it makes up a very complex system with a lot of interaction with things around it.

It's a wild theory, but I wonder if it has something to do with the illusions we're seeing here.

[wilder]

Oh, I thought I mentioned it before- [Guess not. He rubs his head] I'm a healer- I use healing magic. Lot of people assume that means the same thing as a doctor.

[He shrugs and listens to what she's saying- trying to imagine it. Weird.]

So...you're saying that maybe there's not so much a singular source of the illusions, but just a side effect of the different things in that forest interacting with one another?

[aberrant_type]

It's just a theory! It might be doing it deliberately, it might be an automatic defensive mechanism. It might be possible for even one tree to produce it, it might be necessary to have the entire forest working together. [She waves her hands enthusiastically as she speaks.] And that's to say nothing of the fact that the music seems to have come from this planet in the first place. You heard the music, yes?

[wilder]

[So enthusiastic...it's like talking to the Professor all over again]

Yeah, I heard it. Though seeing how this looks like some abandoned tourist resort, I wouldn't be surprised if that's some old magitechnology that was made to attract people to stop here.

[aberrant_type]

Another interesting theory! Is there any way you'd be able to find a source for that?

[wilder]

[He shakes his head]

Not unless there's someone here adept enough to sense magical signatures well enough to tell one apart from the forest's- which, I'm afraid that's not me.

[aberrant_type]

That's a shame. Then perhaps cultivating the trees will reveal what's going on here... if we start hearing the music again on a ship full of plants from here, then we'll know, won't we?

[wilder]

Yeah, that'd be an indicator.

[....Which. Man. Flora's so plant crazy she might get a ship full of plants]

...I should probably give my captain a heads up about that.

[aberrant_type]

Haha, is she a gardener type?

[wilder]

Yeah, some sort of nature fairy...something.

Wouldn't be surprised if she tried to fill the ship with flowers and plants. Which will suck if they start making illusions or singing.

[aberrant_type]

Well, they can always be got rid of! In my opinion, it'd bring up morale to have more greenery around. We're not meant to be crammed in metal cans like this.

[Oh, they're nearing the ships now.]

Coffee, Kaneis?

[wilder]

Coffee? [He blinks before seeing the ship. He hadn't noticed] Oh- sure. I could go for a cup.

[As for her prior statement]

Yeah, you're right. [he rubs his neck] Enchanted or not, it has been nice seeing green again.

[aberrant_type]

[In a minute more, they'll reach the door. Hange keys it open and leads the way. She also leaves the door open behind them.]

Mm. Besides, if we can figure out which plants have helpful properties or edible parts, then we'll be carrying more resources with us. Micro-farms like that might be a pain, but cultivating meat on board would be even more difficult.

[wilder]

[He follows her lead]

How would we figure out something like that? Eat them and hope we don't die?

[aberrant_type]

[She'll lead him to the kitchen, then. Time to make some coffee.

It's pretty shitty coffee - pretty much what they were given by Atroma - but hey, it's free.]

A work-up in the lab might pinpoint problems before it came up. Or we could ask some of the people with plant affinity here for information on what was safe to eat, and what wasn't. Didn't you say your Flora has that affinity?