2023-12-19: The Otherworldly Garden Near Viridian Park

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  • Log: 2023-12-19: The Otherworldly Garden Near Viridian Park
  • Cast: Rena Lanford, Claude C. Kenny, Dias Flac, Ethius Hesiod
  • Where: Viridian Forest
  • Date: December 19, 2023
  • Summary: Four of those who braved Marduk at Filgaia's darkest hour yet find themselves in a new, strange land... where one of their own, surprisingly, feels already familiar with a location she could have never set foot in. Identifying this place as Nede, and coming to grips with having been identified as a Nedian, Rena takes the lead through a tranquil - if artificial - locale. This allows them to catch their breath, make sense of the events leading up to now, and go through with the often unwise decision to feed the local wildlife a... healthy(?) variety of foodstuffs. Taking their steps out of the otherworldly garden in which they appeared, what awaits them from here...?
=============================<* Viridian Forest *>==============================

Viridian Park is an expansive, publicly owned and well-maintained nature reserve that doubles as the main commuter path between Viridian and Pewter City. The Park itself is most famous for Viridian Forest, a League-curated training ground for novice Pokemon trainers to cut their teeth on -- even those that don't have a spirit for competition find the Forest of great curiosity due to the large number of flora and fauna to be found and studied within.

BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Viridian Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44TQR6n16Jg

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Delicate white blossoms are interspersed by clusters of blue and scattered red. The dappled shade of a tree sways with the wind, falling upon the sleeping body of a girl, then away to leave her draped in warm sunlight.

Petals flow in the breeze, amidst a copse of trees and a rocky cliffside.

It is only fitting that the child of Nede sleeps so soundly, her head nestled amidst the flowers, petals resting within her hair and settling upon her capelet. It has been a long journey for her to get here, to understand the love of a mother who would send her child away to Arlia, but leave that pendant with her.

Her first act upon Energy Nede is to peacefully sleep away the fatigue of the journey. The emotional resonance of this place, her lullaby, long forgotten memories of toddlerhood here returning only as a sorta emotional peace and nostalgia.

Her dreams, ill-formed, amorphous. She no longer remembers her mother's face, just the feelings that surround the thought of her.

Rena... Rena...

A voice, maternal, soothing, as if she were still a child asleep within a crib, trying to awaken her as gently as possible.

Who is it... Who's calling for me?

Rena... Wake up...

There's a whole world out there for you to see.

Your world.

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"Rena!"

"Rena!"

Claude is not asleep. Claude is knelt down next to Rena, trying to wake her up. He is reasonably intact, thanks to her healing not long ago--and the petals flow around him in the faint breeze.

He doesn't really know where they are, but...

"Rena! Wake up!"

A whole world. 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    Dias isn't asleep, either. He stands a short distance away from where Rena and Claude are, surveying their surroundings, red eyes sharp for any sign of any of their erstwhile battle companions--or their foes. It's a placid-seeming place, but so was the Sacred Forest.
    
    There's one other person nearby; Dias has already taken him into account. As hard as he searches for it, though, Dias simply can't pick up on any hostile intent nearby. It's like this place is genuinely peaceful.
    
    That's unsettling in its own way.
    
    He turns on his heel and approaches his companions. His expression is tight as he gazes down on Rena, still sleeping, and Claude, doing his best to awaken her.
    
    "No enemies in the area," he says curtly. "If she still won't wake up, you'll have to carry her."
    
    Yes, Claude. *You*. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius has taken up patrol and scouting duties alongside Dias, as what's going on here is technically related to a significant part of his line of work. (He was very jumpy at first, despite his reputation, as there's always the risk of ending up on an unrelated underdeveloped planet instead. He wasn't going to take the Ten Wise Men's work for granted.)
 
     Some of that time has been spent staring at the sky as if he's sure he sees something strange about it, but can't quite describe. In the end, he's six seconds away from Dias' approach.
 
     "I can corroborate," Ethius adds, hand on his forehead. The tension hasn't left him, because he's been At Work Non-Stop for nearly eight years at this juncture. "...Is Miss Rena all right?" 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Voices merge, the call of a mother - the call of Claude, waking senses coming back to the fore, gently she stirs, then turns her head, "Mmm-nnn? Oh?" Blinking her eyes owlishly, she gets up onto her palms, then slowly rises, petals shifting off of her - if Claude gives her a hand up, she won't refuse it. She's only unsteady for a second or two, as she shakes off the grogginess of sleep.
 
"Claude?"
 
For a time, Rena searches his eyes in confusion. "Was that you Claude? Were you calling my name just now?"
 
'Yeah... it was me.'
 
Rena's eyes search his for a moment longer, as confusion turns into this sense of partial realization, her sightline drifting down as she weighs her feelings, then replies, "No... No, i-it wasn't you, Claude."
 
She's standing so close to him. So close- Rena turns and-
 
HER BIG BROTHER IS RIGHT THERE!
 
Dias will see the RED traveling up her face, as she immediately becomes incredibly flustered, "D-DIAS!" She cries out, genuinely happy he is PRESENT despite her embarrassment over him SEEING that, "Y-You're here too! Thank g-goodness! And-!"
 
Her eyes move over to Ethius. There is a prolonged pause, as she puts a hand over her mouth, "Y-You're Mister Hesiod, right? Great!"
 
'Oh good someone I'm only barely acquainted with saw that.' she might have said in that moment.
 
"That's- I'm so glad you're here!"

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude has looked around--but he trusts Dias, and he doesn't actively suspect Ethius, so having them handle the perimter is good enough. It's a testament to how serious he is today that when Dias says he'll have to carry Rena he doesn't hesitate for a moment.

"All right. But she will. I'm sure of it."

And he will indeed help Rena up when she shakes off the grogginess.

He says it was him, but--

"It wasn't?" he asks, and then--

Red!! Claude blink blinks and then realizes how close Rena had been in the first place, turning immediately away, "Yeah! Dias has been lookin out for us while we waited for you to wake up!"

"Right, Mister Hesiod was a big help too..."

Ha ha ha. 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    One thing that Dias appreciates about Ethius is that he's professional and seems to be on the same page as everyone else. Beyond that, well, it's Dias and Ethius. Neither of them are the outgoing, sociable type. (Anymore.)
    
    Just as both of them ask after Rena, though, she stirs and starts to waken. Claude was right, it seems--which is a good thing. Dias falls silent, watching her closely; when she finally blinks awake and speaks, Dias finds himself relaxing a little, a faint, nigh-undiscernable sigh of relief behind his lips.
    
    She does say something strange, though, as Claude clasps her hand and helps her up--and then she stares at him, blushes bright, and *yelp* his name. Dias blinks in surprise. The reason for her flusterment is easy to discern, though, with Claude likewise getting embarrassed right away. Dias resists the urge to cluck his tongue at the two and tell them they're too old to get embarrassed over something like holding hands. The kindest thing he can do for both of them right now is pretend he didn't notice. (Even though it would be literally impossible not to notice. Dias is a benevolent 'big brother.')
    
    "That's right," he says instead. "The area's safe, but I don't recognize any of the nearby landmarks." His eyes flick towards Ethius; after all, he just returned himself, so there hasn't been a chance to ask: "What about you?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    "Yes. I can confirm that," he humors a flustered, relieved Rena in the moment with that stone-faced stare. He catches himself being a touch too severe in bearing for the moment, lowering his head. She's parsing a difficult moment, he does his best to respect that. "I'm glad you're all right. I had concern we might have been beset upon by armed locals almost immediately."
 
     He straightens out as Dias asks of his read on landmarks. "On a tangent," oh no, "hot all teleportation devices and methods are equal. Based on... exactly three seconds of lead time, I would have assumed our arrival to have been an immense source of light pollution... and thus of interest to locals."
 
     That they haven't been approached, then, means...? Probably several things, easy to infer.
 
     "It would track that we do not recognize a 'landmark.' Based on the skies, we are not on Filgaia, nor Lunar... nor Marduk." A hand to his forehead. "I cannot ascertain yet if we are where the Ten Wise Men intended to go, but... I have seen signs of sophisticated, organized landscaping utilizing complex tools. I would assume we might be near a park."
 
     ...
 
     "Thank you for staying with Miss Rena," he turns to Claude. "I apologize that I left with Mister Dias unannounced. Ascertaining our location was of utmost priority." 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Rena doesn't answer Claude's question beyond what she said, it's hard to say what she means by the fact that it 'wasn't' him. Indeed, it's a little more than just holding hands that has her embarrassed but, she's not about to say exactly what it is.
 
(It's her wondering if Claude was asleep beside her before Dias came upon this.)
 
To Dias, or you know, anyone.
 
Calming down after a moment, which is easier due to the atmosphere of the place, Rena listens to his scouting report, and then Ethius in return.
 
(She's not sure what to make of his stone faced stare? Does he not like her? Is he just a professional?)
 
His assessment does make her look around for a time, as if in search for the locals, but Ethius continues, with the thorough assessment of ruling out other locations they could be.
 
"Ah... yes, thanks Claude! You... stayed with me." Rena tells him, with only a shade of her former embarrassment, which seems to have melted away to relief, "I appreciate the wake up call."
 
Rena then takes several steps away, facing away from them, her gaze abstracted, as if listening to something different out there, "We're on the planet Nede, in a place called the Outer Gardens of Viridian Park..."
 
It takes her a moment to even parse this knowledge that she has, "I don't know why I know that? I just know we should be going... this way."

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude is mostly embarrassed because Rena is embarrassed. He doesn't know why!! But it's fine. It will pass, probably, because Dias mentions the area is safe, and...

"Huh. Yeah, that would've made some visual noise," Claude supposes of the teleportation. "But a park..."

A pause. "Of course. I wouldn't leave her," Claude says seriously. "It's fine, though--you're right, it was important to figure out where we are."

And apparently they could've waited for Rena to tell them! Claude blinks in surprise at first, but--

"...Huh."

"The Ten Wise Men said you were Nedian," he says. "But..." He didn't know she remembered anything from the time before she was found. IT sounds like she doesn't know, either.

"...It's as good a start as any." Of course he trusts her. 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    That *is* a tangent, but Dias assumes a relevant one. After all, they were all just teleported here. He thus listens to Ethius remark on him. "Hmm," he murmurs. "That makes sense. And yet, no one else is here."
    
    Which is information of its own, because they were with a large group. Based on what Ethius says, and on the fact that it's just the four of them, they had to have landed in several small clusters. That in turn might effect how flashy their arrival might have been, and thus how swift or large a response their arrival might yet. And then of course there's the matter of them probably being on a completely different, unknown planet...
    
    "Sounds like we shouldn't linger either way," he says. "We'll need to take more of a look around if we want to get our bearings."
    
    Except then Rena announces that they're on the planet Nede, in the Outer Gardens of Viridian Park. Dias's eyes widen slightly. It's a shock and yet not a shock. Didn't one of those so-called Wise Men say Rena was a 'Nedian'? Sure enough, Claude confirms it. Dias had known since childhood that Rena wasn't Westa's birth daughter, but he'd never given much thought to where she'd come from before Arlia. It'd never mattered.
    
    Until now.
    
    "...Lead the way, then," he says. Once Rena gets in motion, he'll follow. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius' eyes widen in nearly identical timing to Dias', as Rena gets her bearings and starts speaking names and locations in spoken confidence even with the momentary consideration about what she just said.
 
     "..."
 
     He nods his head.
 
     "...It may well be that the others with us have already attracted said attention," and there's a hint of dread here. Coming to Meribus and later Spira was always a time of heightened tension, but this slowly relaxes with the understanding that Rena might, indeed, have a heads up as to where they're at - and the signs he saw (along with the impeccably clean air) does suggest a certain level of advanced development.
 
     The sky still bugs him and he doesn't know why for sure.
 
     "Your insight will be appreciated," he adds as he gets in place to follow, ready to chase down and intercept the first sign of trouble. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

"... They did. I'm still not sure entirely what... it means to be a Nedian." Rena replies to Claude, though certainly that doesn't explain this sudden insight, when before she knew nothing of herself. "... The Ten Wise Men, I suppose they could be around somewhere, but mmm- I don't think they're nearby at least."
 
As for Ethius, Rena does consider what he has to say but, "If we did... I don't think attention would be a bad thing? The locals... the Nedians... I don't think they'd be hostile to us."

She seems quite calm now, smiling at all of them as they each express their faith or appreciation, before nodding, "Alright. Then... follow me."
 
Rena starts leading them in an Easterly direction. It's a pleasant walk. The temperature is perfect, the breeze is pleasant. There are trees all around, but the more they walk, the more 'orderly' it all feels. Like how even the locations of trees or natural landmarks feels thoroughly planned out in this park slash nature preserve.
 
"Do you all feel it too? The air is just so calm, like my worries might just... float away."
 
There are signs of 'monsters' here but they all mostly seem to be keeping their distance. Until...
 
The grass rustles, and something emerges, near Claude's feet. It is Centipede like. With tiny little pink nubs for feetsies, and a bulbous nose, with a spiked tail, and horn.
 
It shifts closer, then- "Wee~dle~!" It sounds curiously at him. It is not quite aggressive perhaps, nor necessarily friendly, but it's definitely at least in a state of assessing his presence
 
Rena turns to regard it, "Aw, hey there little guy? Interested in Claude? Did we come too close to your home?"
 
"Wee~dle~!"
 
Closer and Closer... and then-!
 
It extends its head forward to nibble on Claude's boots.

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"The others are around somewhere," Claude says. "I saw them all disappearing at the same time as we did--there's no reason they shouldn't have ended up in... more or less the same place." Obviously not the exact same place, considering.

But Ethius might hve a point. "We'll have to find out--but I don't hear any loud noises or explosions." That's encouraging, right?

But the only possible meaning of 'Nedian' that comes to mind for Claude is 'from Nede'. That indeed doesn't explain a lot.

"Hmmm.... Well, the Ten Wise Men definitely aren't around," he says. "They aren't subtle."

But Rena seems so... calm. Claude follows, but he worries a little about that. "...It does seem really... safe," Claude allows, not quite that he's going to lose his worries anytime soon. But that creature--

"...Wee...dle?"

He looks down at it, and blinks. "Uh, hey there, little--"

Pause. "Aw, don't eat my boots..."

Claude doesn't move to strike it or hurt it though. "...Is there anything else around we can give this little guy to eat? I like my footwear."

He starts to check his pockets. "I've got something here..."

He pulls out a cookie, and kneels down to offer it to the weedle. "...How's that?" 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    There *is* something strange about the sky; Dias hasn't been able to put a finger on it, either. But then, he's far less familiar with 'other worlds' than anyone in the group except maybe Rena. It was easy enough to tell, as Ethius pointed out, that they're in a park. Whatever's going on with the sky...
    
    Well, they can breathe. That's the important thing, for right now.
    
    "Could be," he remarks to Ethius. A slight nod to Claude. "If we came here in a small clump of people, the same's probably true for the others. There might just be too many for the locals to investigate all at once. Otherwise... it might be common enough that they aren't bothered by it."
    
    Since, as Claude says, there's no signs of any chaos or commotion, even at a distance. They should still get out of the area as soon as possible.
    
    What *does* it mean to be a Nedian? Good question. What's it mean to be a Filgaian, or an Earthling, or a Lunarian? That's a philosophical discussion that'll have to wait for another day, though. More important is what Rena says about the atmosphere. It really is very peaceful, which--again--only puts Dias on edge.
    
    "It's too artificial," he comments. "I don't like it."
    
    ...Of course, there are a lot more factors involved than it being 'artificial,' but we'll put that aside for a moment.
    
    As they proceed through the park, Dias takes in the signs of various monsters--but sure enough, they lack killing intent. They seem content to simply go about their business and ignore them. One pokes its head out of the brush solely for the purpose of begging Claude for food, even. (If by way of trying to eat his shoes.)
    
    And sure enough, Claude offers it something to eat. Dias eyeballs the strange insectile creature--that horn on its head beggars belief that it's harmless, but it isn't hostile for the moment, at least--and shakes his head. "Don't feed the wildlife, Claude. You'll regret it if it starts following you." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius quietly considers Rena's thought that the locals - the Nedians - would be unlikely to be hostile. "...Perhaps. I suppose I could be overthinking it... it's," his voice trails off some, "I'm using thinking related to my field of work. Which... it is habitual." And how!
 
     He can't deny that as a park-like experience, it's ideal, but a detail-oriented eye starts to map in his head how so much of it feels like it's built around some sort of invisible grid of squares.
 
     "I concur with Mister Dias about the nature of this... nature." An awkward sentence. He spent his earliest youth in an underdeveloped planet, and in many ways, he has never been fully desensitized to the ways intelligent life manipulates environment to finer details than he ever could have imagined.
 
     And then... an encounter, with the strange little drab centipede that Rena immediately engages diplomacy with, and Claude a peace offering.
 
     "...I would exercise caution," he says as a treat is offered, "a protrusion like that - I mean to say, its spike - looks like a natural weapon. It could be venomous."
 
     They at least do not seem alarmed in the moment, it doesn't look like a threat posture, but of the gathered he shows the most signs of concern as he takes a step back to give the insect and Claude some space. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Rena doesn't comment on things being too artificial, like she's uncertain whether SHE likes that aspect of this place or not, like she's getting used to the atmosphere. Arlia is her home, she knows it, but something about even the air of this place makes her feel like this is where she was meant to be.
 
She doesn't dwell on that thought, feeling. There's too many conflicting emotions on that right now, and she knows too little - she just...
 
... she just feels a lot.
 
She does however say to Ethius, "Well there's nothing wrong with being vigilant. We are somewhere new? And well - if my feeling is wrong... well... I don't want us all to get hurt because I was too uncautious."
 
Too uncautious she says, that sentiment fades away the MOMENT the cute animal is in the picture.
 
"Ehehe, he must really like you!" Rena declares, having decided the interest is genuine, "Or your boots at least."
 
Rena kneels down a touch, trying to keep from looking too threatening.
 
The Weedle takes the cookie. It doesn't have much of a mouth at first, it looks like, but eventually it reaches forward and just snatches the cookie.
 
Munch, munch, munch!
 
The cookie hangs against it's face, just below it's nose for a while, gradually just decreasing in size! Crumbs drifting off of it.
 
Dias of course, offers the advice she expects, "You've been telling me that for years." Rena tells him with a smile, "But I rarely ever regretted that outcome." Whereas Ethius' warning does make her briefly wary but- "Aw it's fine, a little venom isn't really a problem for us."
 
Perhaps it should, but for some reason poison doesn't feel that threatening, coming from Nede - she feels like her magic would be very good for dealing with it.
 
"Wee~dle~!" It happily sounds, once the cookie is gone.
 
In the end, Rena weighs it all and- eventually reaches into her bag and produces for Claude - a fruit sandwich! To give it MORE to feed on.
 
"Besides... this is the first Nedian we've run across, right?" Rena suggests before following up with her conclusion, "I think we should all try to leave a good first impression."

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude is less focused on the sky and more focused on Rena. For some reason. "...That's a thought," Claude says of Dias's theory. "But I'm not sure. If it were that easy to reach here, the Wise Men wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it."

But Ethius, "...It's--yeah. It's not bad to be cautious, Mr. Hesiod."

Don't feed the wildlife...

"It might be venomous," Claude admits, "But Rena's great at handling things like that. It's fine."

Claude takes the fruit sandwich. "Besides..."

"It's kinda cute."

"And we should leave a good impression."

Claude feeds the fruit sandwich to the bug!!! To the. Very, very large bug. It's fine. Claude likes bugs. "Worst case I made a little friend, I guess. But it's not really acting feral..." 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    "No, keep your guard up," Dias tells Ethius, of overthinking it. "It's wiser to be cautious." Even Rena acknowledges that.
    
    Better to deal with something that isn't a threat while you're expecting a threat, than deal with a threat when you're expecting something peaceful, after all. That generally has... tragic consequences.
    
    Claude makes a point about how the Wise Men had make a big deal about it. "From the outside, sure. But the same might not be true from the inside. The Ten Wise Men seemed used to a world with a high level of technology, so locally speaking, teleportation might be common. Still, you have a point. It's too early to guess what's going on."
    
    Dias eyes the Weedle as it munches on that cookie. It's undercut by a faint smile when Rena countermands him. "Hmmm... I suppose if there's any group that doesn't need to worry about venom, it *is* ours."
    
    He doesn't know if there's really a need to make a good impression on a bug, but at the very least, he doesn't continue to protest the matter. If Claude's willing to deal with the consequences, that's his choice.
    
    "No, nothing around here seems hostile," he comments to him, looking up from the Weedle to the park at large. "Another way it feels artificial. You could say that's a park for you, but..." He considers Rena. "More importantly, wasn't there someplace you were trying to take us?"
    
    Though he's sure she's just fine with taking their time getting there. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius watches as a finite(?) supply of foodstuff is offered. (He's seen the bag, he has occasionally seen up to 20 of a specific prepared food item. To wit, he's not certain why twenty seems to be the agreed-upon maximum to be held or prepared.)
 
     It is difficult to turn off all the usual precautions, even when absolutely everything around them shows signs of supporting - even being welcoming - of life. He nods along with the acknowledgement of the perspective, but doesn't go any further to gainsay over Rena's seeming... memories, of sorts, of this place.
 
     Maybe there's a part of him that wants to admit he misses a life where he doesn't have to treat every new world as a place of teeming danger and from a position of both opposition and support to it at the same time, and it might bring him a little closer to some of the struggles others on Filgaia have had in that regard.
 
     "...It is true that Miss Rena's Symbology does... alleviate a lot potential outcomes," he did briefly see what Claude suffered and only second-guessed it because of how he looked shortly after that, but a lot of what happened on Marduk was a stressful blur in-between dazed moments of sensory depravation via Innominat. He takes in a breath.
 
     "It... it is true that they appear used to the presence of others," he chimes in with Claude. It's a little disarming, even with Dias' reaffirmation of his approach.
 
     He kneels down not long after, going through his own food stocks for a vial of something that is classified, officially, in as many relevant documents as care to exist on the subject, "Gooey Stuff."
 
     In theory, it's sweet. He opens the vial and lightly tips its opening in the direction of the Weedle as an offer. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

For some reason. That reason is definitely a total mystery!
 
Rena gives Dias a quick look at his assessment, "I mean I guess I'm worried that they might try to find us. They did act like - my pendant is important to their plans, or at least sped them up." What'd they call it? The Quadratic Key? "But at the same time they weren't really concerned with... taking it from me? I don't really understand what... happened at all."
 
'Did I make everything worse, just by being there?'
 
A thought that floats away on the Nedian air, for a time, anxiety seems brief and mostly controlled. But she does smile at Dias mischievously, "Hehe- to have my magic acknowledged by Dias Flac." It's a faint tease, but one she enjoys. It makes her feel like she's come a long way. "And Mister Hesiod too!"
 
Rena does actually consider Dias' words further however, as combined with Ethius' comment, "Well now that I think about it, it feels like... anything here would only be hostile if we really provoked them. They don't feel domesticated though either?" Rena's brow furrows, "Somehow I knew it was a Park. You wouldn't fill a park with venomous creatures if you thought they were a real danger to people?"
 
The Weedle happily munches away at the fruit sandwich, munch, munch, munch! Rena beams at it, "You really like my food? Be sure to tell all your friends!"
 
And Rena turns to look at Dias given his comment on how there was someplace she was trying to take them, "Oh, well - What's the rush? Besides! We're on a new world Dias! There's so much we can see, and explore!"
 
She must not have gotten the sense
 
It polishes it off quickly, before raising itself up in a quick cheer of- "Wee~dle~!" Ethius then offers it 'GOOEY STUFF'. The Weedle slowly turns, then moves towards him.
 
Sniff sniff. Sniff sniff.
 
Then it leans out and takes a bite-
 
It rears up! "WEE~DLE~!"
 
And abruptly, it shines with a LIGHT! It's EXCEPTIONALLY bright-! It's body sparkles and-!
 
CHANGES!
 
It's centipede like outside abruptly becomes a hard arthropodic cocoon shell that covers it with far more angular lines, as all of it's appendages, and indeed all dangerous venomous protrusions disappear, leaving only two black eye slits.
 
It looks at Ethius through the eye slits. And blinks-!
 
Before the cocooned KAKUNA topples over to the ground.
 
Rena has a hand over her mouth.
 
"That was surprising!"
 
She comments, in what appears to be a gross understatement of her feelings of what just happened.
 
The creature only responds with a: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs7NtHug0Yc 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"Oh, yeah," Claude answers Dias. "I guess that might just be how they get around. It wouldn't surprise me..." Considering how useful teleportation is in the Federation, and Nede from what the Wise Men said is even more advanced. Not hostile, though--artificial.

"They did, but.... Hm. I don't get it either," Claude admits.

A park... and--

He doesn't recognize Ethius's internal conflict. Instead, he recognizes this: the weedle loves the fruit. Andd then-_

Gooey... stuff. "Uhhhh, are you sure about--"

"!"

Claude blink blinks at the now-Kakuna. Sparkle, change... "That was--"

...Pause.

"...Did you hurt it?" he wonders, tilting his head. "No, I guess it seems fine..."

"Maybe... maybe we should keep the gunk to ourselves for now though." 

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    Ethius offers the Weedle some Gooey Stuff.
    
    A few faint blue lines trail down the side of Dias's head. "...."
    
    Fortunately, there's other things to focus on, like Rena's pendant. "They might have only been unconcerned in the moment. They were all certain they'd be able to win. They could have just figured they'd take it from you after they'd killed us," Dias points out. "That... being... Innominat, clearly changed their plans. It's possible they'll target you now that there's been an interruption to what they were doing."
    
    hat all being said: he doesn't really understand much of what happened, either. Though it sounds like even Claude, local space man, doesn't understand either. Dias glances at Ethius in case he has any insight, but he's not holding his breath.
    
    He gives Rena a brief, wry smile when she teases him. "Don't let it go to your head," he replies with dry humor. ...After all, none of them can expect to rely on her magic 24/7, either. It's always good practice to be able to handle your own healing when you need to. Just in case. When she makes it clear she'd prefer to take her time and explore, though, he just breathes a faint sigh and shrug. "If you say so."
    
    The Weedle munches the Gooey Stuff then, and immediately its body fills up with light and transforms into... some kind of hard-shelled cocoon. Dias startles, turning a half-step as he reaches for the hilt of his sword--but it turns out to be a harmless process.
    
    Even so: "What the hell," he utters. He frowns at Ethius. "What did you give it?" A 'hmph' at Claude's input. "Agreed." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    "...The Ten Wise Men seem to be both dangerously well-informed," owing to their identification of his true origins and allegiances, "and somehow ill-equipped at the same time," giving the briefest fraction of a briefing while he is feeding an unknown insect creature a taste of something that counts as the barest baseline of 'food,' if even that. "I... would presume in the years between containment and now, what resources they would have counted on - putting aside the span of time involved - had been utilized in ways they never thou--"
 
     The spike-tipped centipede-like creature makes a screeching noise, bringing Ethius' Attack value down one stage as he flinches and covers his eyes before the blinding light. They've all just had a bad run-in with blinding lights and it could count as a trauma response that he rears up, steps back...
 
     ...
 
     "I gave it food." This is only technically the truth. "I don't see how it would be any different from... a fruit sandwich, or a cookie." This is around the time the cocooned insect simply flops over onto the ground, where Ethius stands over it and locks eyes briefly where it continues to blink.
 
     "It's still alive, I would presume. This... resembles a pupa stage that insects undergo, albeit..." Albeit, not this accelerated, not this sudden, and not in such suspicious circumstances, as he brings a hand to his forehead.
 
     "If you have concerns, I have no issue sharing the rest of my stock. I have at least fourteen vials left--" WHICH IS FIFTEEN TOO MANY 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.

Dias raises some very good points, as she concedes, "You might be right, Dias. Hopefully they have something else concerning them for a while, rather than trying to find us." The Ten Wise Men know so much, and they know dreadfully little, it does disturb Rena a lot - thinking these people know more about her, more about who she is, where she came from...
 
... than anyone else she's met. It's not a good feeling. And she's not sure what it says about her, but... the calming affect of the air here just seems to soothe those smaller anxieties at least right now.
 
There's a faint giggle as Dias tells her not to let it go to her head.
 
But the transformation happens-! And Rena looks at it in the aftermath, then her eyes move over to the Gooey Stuff, "Um. Is it okay if I ask, what do you keep it for?" A sweatdrop may trail down her head.
 
'Much less that much.'
 
Either way, "Hm. Well I don't want to just leave it right there..." Rena considers the Kakuna, "... they may be alright with us, but what if birds come?"
 
It might be helpless.
 
And thus, Rena simply bends over and says, "Hey there little guy, just gonna move you okay?"
 
Picking it up with both hands, she nestles him down in the tall grass he came out of. It at least doesn't seem to object to it, it only sounds out-!
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs7NtHug0Yc
 
"Well! I guess let's move on... I can't believe how different Nede is from Filgaia!" Rena tells all of them, perhaps enthusing more than before, "I mean, friendly bugs! And it liked my food-!"
 
(It liked everyone(?)s food (???) Rena! Not just yours!)
 
As they move along however, it might be difficult for them all to note, the rustling of the Kakuna as it forces itself up right and...
 
Hop.
 
Hop.
 
Hop.
 
Pogo like, it follows the party, in particular Claude... along.

<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.

    "Food? You *eat* that?" Dias utters to Ethius, taken aback. He recovers and adds, "...You'd better keep your provisions to yourself."
    
    When one of your hobbies is eating, the prospect of noxious food cuts especially deep.
    
    Regardless, with the Weedle transformed, Rena seems satisfied with moving it and then moving on, and so onwards they go.
    
    ...Dias eyes the hopping Kakuna over his shoulder, but opts not to say anything. The only thing he's got to say is, I told you so.

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