Andlátkyn; Vandr Sanses unin Alagaësia

Emotional Pasts

They had hesitated at Sci's statement, caught off guard by the realization that he was right and they had never noticed. It was chilling how natural the shift had come to them.

The revelation was so bewildering that Cicállaé nearly missed the abrupt shock and recognition that bottomed out into confusion and slight disappointment. They regarded the heavenly Toriel pointedly.
"Did we surprise you?" The merged god asked as the not-quite portal dissipated behind them.

"..Yes. That teleportation of yours was startling." She excused, paw falling from the enormous cardinal flower cluster.
They stared, knowing that wasn't the truth. She returned the gaze, not willing to give it.
The contest ended when they sighed and looked down, intent on pursuing the subject later.

"We had.. an interesting matter come up. Think you can help us?" A lengthy branch shifted around to the front, sunlight filtering through the leaves as it moved between them.
Life immediately noticed the new growths, having a keen eye for such.

She stepped over, gently taking the bough in her delicate grasp. "Buds." She softly cooed in amazement. Cicállaé nodded, watching as she studied them. "We are concerned, Life."

"Why?" She met their gaze with her soft maroon eyes. "..You're just like your mother." She murmured with a faint, wistful smile.
They winced, gathering themself before huffing and speaking.

"She never moved from one spot, Life. And there were never any mundane apple trees that grew nearby. We are not so immobile. We cannot always be sure how close to groves we are and have no idea what the consequences of cross-pollination will be. And we cannot be sure of the effects pollination will have on bees, birds, and other pollinators." They explained.

The tall goddess sighed, lowering the limb in her paws and resting one on their shoulder. "Did they not pollinate your mother's flowers?"
Here they winced again in regret. "We can't remember. We never bothered to worry about such things then."

She pondered this, lightly brushing a larger floret. "You're afraid of influencing the environment negatively?" She asked.
"Yes." They asserted anxiously. She tapped the buds thoughtfully.

"If you are so worried, then we can simply test this now where it is safe."
"They're only buds." Cicállaé pointed out. Life gave him a look, visibly amused.
The merged god blinked, then recoiled faintly.
"We're not exactly just another plant, Life. We're entirely unaffected by Reaper's touch alone, how can you be sure tha-ai!" They yelped in surprise as green light filtered into the floret, it's waxen green shell swelling.

The merged god gathered the rest of the limb in their arms and shuddered. "That feels. Off." They said as the shell burst, revealing a rich purple color on wrinkly petals. Cicállaé inhaled sharply at the sight, the rapidly blooming five-petaled blossom flattening out and revealing a dark banana yellow at its center, patterned with the rich purple at the outer edges.

Life gasped faintly, running the tip of a claw along the edge of one petal. "It's beautiful." She whispered in adoration.
Cicállaé was mute, gazing at the bloom without a word. Life peered at them for a moment, then chuckled to herself as she reached behind her back.

Her paw returned with a single bumblebee clambering over the strands of fur, trailing yellow pollen on the white hairs as she gently deposited it on the bobbing stigma. It fumbled around for a few seconds, then fell. Cicállaé twitched when it hit the throat of the blossom, petals curling inward and momentarily caging the bee before reflexively opening again. Now the god blinked. "It can move."

"That is certainly unique." Life noted. "Keep still for this moment so our friend may do as she does best."
They shifted on their feet at that, but otherwise did not move, scowling slightly.
"It tickles."