The Astralaceaes

Chapter 22: Testing an Ecosystem

Casually walking forward, Haledon inspected the room. He had never entered Sparrow's workshop through the Megacolides corridor, which had placed him in a different corner. Staring towards the bramble alcove at the room's far end, he focused on the overgrown archway where his clone remained inactive.

Closer to him was the elevated platform where Sparrow spent the majority of her time. The branch walls stretched up like grasping hands before curling over the dais. They bowed in at their apex and left a small opening where a waterfall of spores poured into the lonely room. With intense curiosity, he watched Sparrow fiddling away in the dull orange light of bioluminescence.

Approaching quietly, Haledon walked up the curved ramp and stood in the open archway behind her. He watched momentarily as her fingers pulled threads of glowing silk from a spiralling double helix. The image was half her size and spun gently in the air against her tugs as she cautiously weaved the third helix into the design. With a twitch of her shoulders, she stopped and raised her head.

"Haledon," She cleared her throat. "I didn't hear you enter."

With a wave of her hand, the image erupted into a pollen spray before flickering to darkness.

"I apologize for my tardiness."

"How was the talk with Mesa?" Sparrow chirped, turning to face him. "Wait, allow me to speculate—deserts are where strong Druids are grown, we must fight to survive, and Sparrow is weak."

"Close," Haledon replied. "Do-nothing Druids are weak."

"Ahh, the subtlety..." She stepped past Haledon. Stopping, she eyed him up and down. "Wait, you're you."

"Yes?" Haledon questioned. "I always have been?"

"In meaning, you're not in a bramble clone, and you're—" Sparrow paused and stared at him loosely. "You're not in the Hypogeal Nexus. How did you find your way here?"

"Mesa walked me—"

"Mesa, walked you here?" She said, revealing a flicker of panic in her eyes. Pushing past Haledon, she stepped to the doorway he had entered and looked around. He watched her momentarily as she thoroughly investigated the opening.

Haledon's gaze wandered as he noticed a distant wolf walking into view. It stopped at the end of the corridor, where Mesa had gone his separate way. The hallucination looked in his direction, baring its teeth in a silent growl. With a shake of his head, the creature vanished, and Sparrow withdrew back into the room.

"You do not enter my workshop through any means other than bramble clone again, do you understand?" She scolded.

"I don't understand—"

"That is the opposite of what I asked you to say." Sparrow interrupted and pinched at the bridge of her nose. "Remember, this shop is alien. The bramble clones are for—"

"Sparrow," Haledon cut her off. "I know how to behave in your workshop; I promise I won't touch anything I don't know how to handle...now, why did you panic about Mesa walking me here?"

She inspected Haledon again. He could see the seriousness in her eyes and the enjoyment of his disobedience. Watching closely, he saw the edges of her lips curl into the slightest smirk betraying her sharpened stare. Both faded quickly as she answered.

"Mesa and I came to an agreement several seasons ago. He doesn't intrude into my Arboretum, nor do I step into his Hilum. That he walked you here shows he is willing to push my boundaries."

"But that is the purpose of the Carnyx Druids, is it not? To push boundaries, like a stream cutting into a riverbank."

Sparrow smiled fully as she waved Haledon toward the Shaman Tree.