feral-rinan

Human Domestication Guide RP Account; IRL: 26, RP: 22; Not actually a feralist, just doing it for the love of the game. Trans Furry Space Rat.

[feral-rinan]

Sup.

My life is a bit weird, so I'll keep this short; my name is Ashling Vos (yes, that's a terran name, please don't ask), and I'm a rinan. Which, ok--it feels weird that I'm using my species as an opener, but I am, in fact, a rinan! I'm short, I'm fluffy, I've got big, black eyes, my tail catches almost all the dust on this ship, and I have six thumbs. And no, I'm not actually that tech-savvy, but I'm very, very good at beekeeping.

Right now, I'm in a medical wardship with Riagáin Picea, 5th Bloom (He/They; or as he puts it: He/His/Him/Hi!) due to... certain things that happened when I was younger, and some experiments involving terran biofauna restoration that I carried out in the ventilation system of the Diotica. I'd rather not go into the details.

Minors DNI (Seriously, I'll probably set your hab on fire)

OoC: I accidentally deleted my old blog, and some retcons needed to be made anyways given the state of the story. This will serve the same purpose as my old blog; namely, exploratory posts in the voice of the protagonist of a story I'm writing. Feel free to send asks!

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...I... I dunno, actually... everyone just said we had to save them.>

<And I guess they're alright if it means less kicking. That's a pretty good bonus.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“And this is why Ashling is my favorite feral breaker. I barely even had to drug anyone.”

“Now that our bellies are full who wants to play board games? We’ve got Vines and Ladders, Domesticators of Catan, and Clue… we couldn’t change the name on Clue to anything clever but it’s much less violent now.”

[feral-rinan]

Ranun, I’m not a feral breaker! I just… I don’t think there’s any point to fighting the affini and I like giving everyone a chance. But… yeah. We had this whole kidnapping plot going on and now it’s just sort of fizzled out.

…huh.

…So, uh, LC, do you like Clue? We can play Clue. Or we could hang out in the vents, but that’s really Rowan and I’s thing.

[floretrehabilitator]

<Eh, I always preferred Snakes and Ladders.... or Vines now. I guess.>

<And if it's already a thing you have with someone else, I wouldn't want to intrude.>

[feral-rinan]

<I mean, there’s a giant fan in there. That’s mostly why I go.>

She pulls out the Vines and Ladders game board, picks out a token resembling a raccoon, and gives LC their choice of the remainder. Gently, she gives @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp a nudge as well.

<Hey, Rowan, free terranist kidnapping plot’s off. We’re playing Chutes and Ladders now. Wanna join? I know this game is entirely probability based and has no real game theory behind it, but I’m still going to kick both your asses.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC doesn't have a preference, and just picks whatever's closest. Cursive also comes over, but doesn't pick a piece. Seems like it just wants to watch.*

[feral-rinan]

*Ash rolls the dice—a six. She immediately hits a chute.*

<I hate this game.>

<So, uh. Free terran navy, huh? How’d you wind up with those people? Did you get press-ganged or something?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<Nah. I just didn't really have anywhere else to go for my... er, "lawn care service.">

*LC rolls, desperately hoping Ranun thinks they're being literal. They roll a 5.*

*Cursive is still watching intently, messing with a slightly too big to be comfortable butterfly knife as it does.*

[feral-rinan]

Ashling rolls again. Another six. She hits the exact same chute.

<Are you fucking—> She pauses and takes a breath. <Right. “Lawn care”. I mean, I get the impulse, given the whole ‘we just dealt with another bunch of imperialists’ thing, but maybe try sitting back until you get a good read on things. Pick up a hobby. Have you ever tried knitting?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC rolls again. A four this time. They land on a ladder which takes them up 5 spaces.*

<No, not yet... but getting a hobby is a pretty good idea.>

*Cursive very unsubtly pushes a Beginner's Guide to Dueling in LC's direction.*

[feral-rinan]

Ashling rolls. A six. She hits the same chute for the third time. Without a word, she flips the board and stomps on it. Then, she sits back down, not acknowledging what she just did.

<…You win!> she says, finally. <I think dueling would be a good first step. It’d be better than chutes and ladders. Especially that game of chutes and ladders. Which is cursed. Clearly.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...I... I dunno, actually... everyone just said we had to save them.>

<And I guess they're alright if it means less kicking. That's a pretty good bonus.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“And this is why Ashling is my favorite feral breaker. I barely even had to drug anyone.”

“Now that our bellies are full who wants to play board games? We’ve got Vines and Ladders, Domesticators of Catan, and Clue… we couldn’t change the name on Clue to anything clever but it’s much less violent now.”

[feral-rinan]

Ranun, I’m not a feral breaker! I just… I don’t think there’s any point to fighting the affini and I like giving everyone a chance. But… yeah. We had this whole kidnapping plot going on and now it’s just sort of fizzled out.

…huh.

…So, uh, LC, do you like Clue? We can play Clue. Or we could hang out in the vents, but that’s really Rowan and I’s thing.

[floretrehabilitator]

<Eh, I always preferred Snakes and Ladders.... or Vines now. I guess.>

<And if it's already a thing you have with someone else, I wouldn't want to intrude.>

[feral-rinan]

<I mean, there’s a giant fan in there. That’s mostly why I go.>

She pulls out the Vines and Ladders game board, picks out a token resembling a raccoon, and gives LC their choice of the remainder. Gently, she gives @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp a nudge as well.

<Hey, Rowan, free terranist kidnapping plot’s off. We’re playing Chutes and Ladders now. Wanna join? I know this game is entirely probability based and has no real game theory behind it, but I’m still going to kick both your asses.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC doesn't have a preference, and just picks whatever's closest. Cursive also comes over, but doesn't pick a piece. Seems like it just wants to watch.*

[feral-rinan]

*Ash rolls the dice—a six. She immediately hits a chute.*

<I hate this game.>

<So, uh. Free terran navy, huh? How’d you wind up with those people? Did you get press-ganged or something?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<Nah. I just didn't really have anywhere else to go for my... er, "lawn care service.">

*LC rolls, desperately hoping Ranun thinks they're being literal. They roll a 5.*

*Cursive is still watching intently, messing with a slightly too big to be comfortable butterfly knife as it does.*

[feral-rinan]

Ashling rolls again. Another six. She hits the exact same chute.

<Are you fucking—> She pauses and takes a breath. <Right. “Lawn care”. I mean, I get the impulse, given the whole ‘we just dealt with another bunch of imperialists’ thing, but maybe try sitting back until you get a good read on things. Pick up a hobby. Have you ever tried knitting?>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...I... I dunno, actually... everyone just said we had to save them.>

<And I guess they're alright if it means less kicking. That's a pretty good bonus.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“And this is why Ashling is my favorite feral breaker. I barely even had to drug anyone.”

“Now that our bellies are full who wants to play board games? We’ve got Vines and Ladders, Domesticators of Catan, and Clue… we couldn’t change the name on Clue to anything clever but it’s much less violent now.”

[feral-rinan]

Ranun, I’m not a feral breaker! I just… I don’t think there’s any point to fighting the affini and I like giving everyone a chance. But… yeah. We had this whole kidnapping plot going on and now it’s just sort of fizzled out.

…huh.

…So, uh, LC, do you like Clue? We can play Clue. Or we could hang out in the vents, but that’s really Rowan and I’s thing.

[floretrehabilitator]

<Eh, I always preferred Snakes and Ladders.... or Vines now. I guess.>

<And if it's already a thing you have with someone else, I wouldn't want to intrude.>

[feral-rinan]

<I mean, there’s a giant fan in there. That’s mostly why I go.>

She pulls out the Vines and Ladders game board, picks out a token resembling a raccoon, and gives LC their choice of the remainder. Gently, she gives @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp a nudge as well.

<Hey, Rowan, free terranist kidnapping plot’s off. We’re playing Chutes and Ladders now. Wanna join? I know this game is entirely probability based and has no real game theory behind it, but I’m still going to kick both your asses.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC doesn't have a preference, and just picks whatever's closest. Cursive also comes over, but doesn't pick a piece. Seems like it just wants to watch.*

[feral-rinan]

*Ash rolls the dice—a six. She immediately hits a chute.*

<I hate this game.>

<So, uh. Free terran navy, huh? How’d you wind up with those people? Did you get press-ganged or something?>

[cutiepupwren-deactivated2026032]

I see it! I see the top of the ladder!

There’s a hatch right here!

I’m gonna see what’s on the other side!

I’ve done it! I’ve-

IM BACK AT THE BOTTOM AGAIN?!

[feral-rinan]

Wren, that’s physically impossible. You’ve found another ladder. That, or you were hypnotized into climbing down.

[cutiepupwren-deactivated2026032]

B-but… I saw the top… I reached the top…

[feral-rinan]

…what did you see there? Is there a hatch next to you?

[cutiepupwren-deactivated2026032]

I see it! I see the top of the ladder!

There’s a hatch right here!

I’m gonna see what’s on the other side!

I’ve done it! I’ve-

IM BACK AT THE BOTTOM AGAIN?!

[feral-rinan]

Wren, that’s physically impossible. You’ve found another ladder. That, or you were hypnotized into climbing down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...I... I dunno, actually... everyone just said we had to save them.>

<And I guess they're alright if it means less kicking. That's a pretty good bonus.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“And this is why Ashling is my favorite feral breaker. I barely even had to drug anyone.”

“Now that our bellies are full who wants to play board games? We’ve got Vines and Ladders, Domesticators of Catan, and Clue… we couldn’t change the name on Clue to anything clever but it’s much less violent now.”

[feral-rinan]

Ranun, I’m not a feral breaker! I just… I don’t think there’s any point to fighting the affini and I like giving everyone a chance. But… yeah. We had this whole kidnapping plot going on and now it’s just sort of fizzled out.

…huh.

…So, uh, LC, do you like Clue? We can play Clue. Or we could hang out in the vents, but that’s really Rowan and I’s thing.

[floretrehabilitator]

<Eh, I always preferred Snakes and Ladders.... or Vines now. I guess.>

<And if it's already a thing you have with someone else, I wouldn't want to intrude.>

[feral-rinan]

<I mean, there’s a giant fan in there. That’s mostly why I go.>

She pulls out the Vines and Ladders game board, picks out a token resembling a raccoon, and gives LC their choice of the remainder. Gently, she gives @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp a nudge as well.

<Hey, Rowan, free terranist kidnapping plot’s off. We’re playing Chutes and Ladders now. Wanna join? I know this game is entirely probability based and has no real game theory behind it, but I’m still going to kick both your asses.>

[cutiepupwren-deactivated2026032]

I ascend the ladder

only to find more ladder

how much ladder is there?

I must continue to cljmb ladder

climb ladder

climb

ladderrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[feral-rinan]

Another drone arrives, this one with a stack of rations, a big, solid, snake shaped sandwich, a snake-shaped bottle of water, and another note with a drawing of Ashling doing finger guns in a beret. It says “You’re pretty good” on it. What a thrill!

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...I... I dunno, actually... everyone just said we had to save them.>

<And I guess they're alright if it means less kicking. That's a pretty good bonus.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“And this is why Ashling is my favorite feral breaker. I barely even had to drug anyone.”

“Now that our bellies are full who wants to play board games? We’ve got Vines and Ladders, Domesticators of Catan, and Clue… we couldn’t change the name on Clue to anything clever but it’s much less violent now.”

[feral-rinan]

Ranun, I’m not a feral breaker! I just… I don’t think there’s any point to fighting the affini and I like giving everyone a chance. But… yeah. We had this whole kidnapping plot going on and now it’s just sort of fizzled out.

…huh.

…So, uh, LC, do you like Clue? We can play Clue. Or we could hang out in the vents, but that’s really Rowan and I’s thing.

[candy-kittyfloret]

[CW: More self-doubt and comparison to others and stuff]

Okay so when I was back in my original time, I downloaded a decent chunk of stories back from my time onto my phone to read in my free time and to show off for whatever reasons.

However, I've been catching up with one of the stories and seeing how much these characters (or I guess just sophonts if I suppose these stories really happened here) have suffered in their past, it makes me wonder if I deserve to be in the compact compared to others, others who really need it. Other sophonts who have had more hardship, no matter from my universe/time or another. So many others who deserve rest after all they've been through.

Sure I have my own stresses and issues, but I feel weak and pathetic just wanting to get domesticated knowing that some have dealt with so much more worse and still wish to keep going. I wasn't even really forced to be here, no Affini to take over my home. I took the path and knowingly stayed here. I could've just stayed home.

I know they have practically infinite resources, but my mind feels stuck back where it came from. A world full of scarcity and worry about overspending and the consequences and I don't feel like I want to have them waste time or resources on me, because it makes me feel horrible.

But surely there must be a good reason why I'm here, I chose to go to the domestication center, I know deep down I desire it, and I need it.

Maybe I should ask the Affini about it. I know how they're going to answer, but I also know this is an irrational thing to worry about so it's not really an issue. They'll surely try to calm these thoughts down, try to tell me I deserve to be here, and maybe they'll help me believe it, but I'm not completely sure at the moment.

[feral-rinan]

Nope, nope, slow your goddamn roll and back it up a few ticks:

You’re a time traveler? Like, an actual time traveler?

How? Assuming you aren’t… like, spreading disinformation on the overnet. Did you launch yourself at relativistic speeds or something?

[candy-kittyfloret]

Uhhh I mean I guess so... ^w^;

I traveled through time in a manner that is unconventional. So I guess that means I am one, but all I really did was go through a tunnel in a tree and appear on the other side. :3

So there wasn't much effort on my part. It's definitely a strange anomaly being able to travel back and forth from the compact but I suppose all that matters is that I'm here now. <:3c

Not sure how I'll prove I'm not spreading misinformation, so you'll just have to trust me on this... ^w^c

[feral-rinan]

…so, you got Narnia’d? What year are you from, exactly? And where is this tree tunnel thing? I know my warden is going to give me an earful about this later, but I want to go back in time to destroy Ohio.

Thermodynamics is usually pretty strict about the no-time travel rule, so this might be my only chance to commit damnatio memoriae on Ohio.

Please, random catgirl of the tree, we have a chance to right a great historical wrong

[candy-kittyfloret]

[CW: More self-doubt and comparison to others and stuff]

Okay so when I was back in my original time, I downloaded a decent chunk of stories back from my time onto my phone to read in my free time and to show off for whatever reasons.

However, I've been catching up with one of the stories and seeing how much these characters (or I guess just sophonts if I suppose these stories really happened here) have suffered in their past, it makes me wonder if I deserve to be in the compact compared to others, others who really need it. Other sophonts who have had more hardship, no matter from my universe/time or another. So many others who deserve rest after all they've been through.

Sure I have my own stresses and issues, but I feel weak and pathetic just wanting to get domesticated knowing that some have dealt with so much more worse and still wish to keep going. I wasn't even really forced to be here, no Affini to take over my home. I took the path and knowingly stayed here. I could've just stayed home.

I know they have practically infinite resources, but my mind feels stuck back where it came from. A world full of scarcity and worry about overspending and the consequences and I don't feel like I want to have them waste time or resources on me, because it makes me feel horrible.

But surely there must be a good reason why I'm here, I chose to go to the domestication center, I know deep down I desire it, and I need it.

Maybe I should ask the Affini about it. I know how they're going to answer, but I also know this is an irrational thing to worry about so it's not really an issue. They'll surely try to calm these thoughts down, try to tell me I deserve to be here, and maybe they'll help me believe it, but I'm not completely sure at the moment.

[feral-rinan]

Nope, nope, slow your goddamn roll and back it up a few ticks:

You’re a time traveler? Like, an actual time traveler?

How? Assuming you aren’t… like, spreading disinformation on the overnet. Did you launch yourself at relativistic speeds or something?

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*LC finally starts to think critically about this plan.*

<...huh. Maybe... maybe this isn't a good idea...>

[feral-rinan]

She nods, sagely.

<Yeah, you kind of didn’t think it through. If you really want to give it a go, maybe study phytotech? There are plenty of sophonts around here who are really good at doing phytotech stuff, but The Free Terran Navy… they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel, if you catch my meaning. What’s got you so uptight around florets, anyways? Terran florets are great! They’re like normal terrans but you don’t have to worry about them suddenly deciding to kick you.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[floretrehabilitator]

<...it'll work. It has to.>

<And we can be friends. As soon as you join us. At least give us some consideration.>

[feral-rinan]

Ashling looks… incredibly conflicted as LC says this. She twitches her whiskers in concern; clearly desperate to keep them from going through with this, but she seems more concerned with LC’s wellbeing than anything else.

<It won’t, though. You do know what a haustoria is, right? It isn’t just a little nub at the base of the neck; those things integrate themselves into every single organ and co-opt vital functions. The neural portion is merely one aspect, and all haustoria have some degree of overgrowth, so if you try to take out a fully grown implant, you’ll brick the sinoatrial node, the dorsal respiratory group… those parts aren’t being superseded by the haustorium, they’ve been *replaced* by the haustorium.

Even if, somehow, you had the ability to remove all the phytotech perfectly, it’d still kill the floret unless you were doing open heart surgery and brain surgery at the same time, and you’d also need *something* to replace all the bits the haustoria currently handles, or you’re going to get ischemia. Terran medicine isn’t advanced enough for that. They don’t even have the surgical know-how or organ-growing tech advanced enough to produce the sort of thing you’re describing without growing a full flash-clone. And even that would die in less than a day. I need evidence that you’ve got medical tech *millennia* ahead of what the Accord did, and even if you had it… I’ve already been a test subject, and I’m living with the consequences. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.>

[hdg-lorets]

Okay, but how CUTE is the terrans little show Star Trek? They're all dressed up in makeup and rubber ears and trying to teach themselves to make friends with aliens and it's adorable.

Maybe I'll have my florets wear color-coded uniforms based on their interests...

It is adorable, isn't it? But more than that, Star Trek is emblematic of the best of humanity's hopes and dreams, especially in such a turbulent time in their history. Though Terran history may have went more of the way of the Mirror Universe, that hope always persisted underneath. That drive to explore new worlds, the yearning to end scarcity and invent replicators -- or compilers as they're known in the Compact -- the curiosity to seek out new life. And now, under the care of the Affini Compact, all of those dreams and more are reality.

And your idea for color-coded uniforms sounds core-wrenchingly cute. Send pictures!

-- Asherah Riker, 4th Bloom, She/Her

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[floretrehabilitator]

"After mine place of worke was shut down by the 'grande shrubbery,' me and most of my cohorts remained in hiding for quite some time. The Terrans found us, and took us under their Metaphorical Winge."

[feral-rinan]

Ash narrows her eyes at the mothtaur, then switches to Virynan and turns her attention to LC.

<You… might’ve already figured it out by now, but your plan wasn’t ever going to work. Can we please be normal with each other now? I’m not doing this to put you in a bad spot; most rinans think I act too terran a lot of the time and I don’t have a proper community because of that and being on this ship feels really lonely and I used to be with a group but now I can’t be with them anymore because I have weird medical problems that freak the affini out and they’re making me go to all these specialists and—>

She sighs.

<I’m not good at being around my own species because I hadn’t met another rinan until I was 24, and I… maybe got a little too enthusiastic. And… now I’m oversharing. Do you want to be friends? No probably not I’ll shut up now.>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

[ask from @floretrehabilitator, answer whenever you're ready]

*A sophont knocks on your hab. Upon checking the camera, it is clearly a Mothtaur standing on a Rinan, wearing a trenchcoat, a mask, and a very low-quality translator collar necklace. The coat has a little name tag that just says FR.*

Before opening the door, Ranun sends a capture of the camera feed to @feral-rinan , @hot-doctor-pepper and her Floret @t--hdgrp with the message

“They’re here!”

Then it opens the door

“Oh aren’t you two just he most precious pair! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Professor Ranun Hellebore, 4th Bloom. May I have your names?”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Seeming rather flustered, the Mothtaur speaks, its translator hiding its voice half-decently.*

"two? i believe you are mistaken. it is only me. there are no other people, i mean, sophonts with me."

"as for my name, i am... um..."

*The Mothtaur on top dips into its trenchcoat, seemingly consulting the Rinan below. After a few seconds, it pops back up.*

"...fred. yes. that is my name."

[feral-rinan]

@ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom

Ash follows closely behind them, drawing a syringe and giving herself a quick injection in the thigh before waving at Ranun.

<Hey, Ranun, I’m here too. I found them in the park.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The sophont on top seems shocked she's here, starting to get a little off-balance.*

"oh. hello. i was not aware you followed me..."

[feral-rinan]

Ash waggles her whiskers.

<Oh! Yeah, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, you dropped something back there.>

She slips the business card into the rinan’s hand, gives her three thumbs up and a knowing look.

<Here. This is yours, isn’t it? Anyways, I don’t want to pry or anything; I’m just close with Ranun and his florets. You’ll hardly notice I’m here.>

Without pause, Ash walks straight into Ranun’s hab, compiles a bag of popcorn and a deck chair, throws on her sun-goggles and lets herself get comfortable. She’s here to watch what’s about to go down.

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

….

Ranun has no idea how to handle this situation. Is this some kind of reverse pluribus? A Mothtaur cultural thing he was ignorant of? Was he being pranked?

“Right well forgive my rudeness! Come on in Fred! @rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp and @carlee-hacking-in are playing on their gamestation last I saw! you come on in and join them!”

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

oh? is Carlee's friend here? hi!

[floretrehabilitator]

"hello there, rowan. how have you been today? are you prepared for the 'vacation?'"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

I've been great! and I'm super ready!

[floretrehabilitator]

"good, good... is carlee prepared?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

she said she's not going

[floretrehabilitator]

"...ah. that puts a snare in our plans."

"what if... we take her with us as a surprise! terrans love surprises, right?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She doesn't

[floretrehabilitator]

"hm. that is not good..."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

It's not?

[floretrehabilitator]

"yes. i had planned on her being there."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Oh.....

[floretrehabilitator]

"do you think there are any ways to convince her?"

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

She's very stubborn

[floretrehabilitator]

"perhaps we could convince your weed... i mean... 'owner'."

[rowan-mah-boat-hdgrp]

Hm.... maybe

[floretrehabilitator]

"how could we convince it?"

[feral-rinan]

<I mean… I can come with, if Carlee isn’t going. Not a floret, but I am curious about your all’s deal.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i suppose that'll be good enough. for now."

[feral-rinan]

She waves her paws back and forth.

<Ooooooo, sinister. Alright, what’re the deets? Where are we going? We can talk while we walk.>

[floretrehabilitator]

"...i would, but... it would be impolite to leave now."

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Indeed! Especially before eating! Rowan will need a big lunch before his big adventure, so I made a big batch of papa’s spaghetti and garlic bread with chocolate milk! For those who can’t eat Terran food I’ve made a recipe I saw on the overnet of spiced Cicada Nymphs in Honey Aspic, I’m told it’s a Rinan delicacy! Is that ok for you Fred? I’m told your species can eat all the ingredients in the Spaghetti, but If not I’d be delighted to make you something special.”

Ranun forgets to mention the Terran-Targeted Class Es and Mothtaur-Targeted class D Truth Serum in the Spaghetti, hoping the smell and taste of tomato, meat, and Terran spices would keep Ashling away from that dish.

But just in case, Ranuns vine manipulates his pad from within his core chamber, sending a private message to the Drug-Reactive Rinan to avoid it.

[floretrehabilitator]

"i am sure the terran food will be fine... but if it is not too much trouble, i would also like a serving of the cicadas. to save for later, of course."

*The Rinan at the bottom of the stack seems excited, while the Mothtaur is remaining fairly composed.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“Oh of course, but you really should try it now while it’s fresh!”

Ranun offers a spoonful to the Mothtaur half of the Mothrinantaurhorse with one vine while others portion out food for Rowan and Ashling

[floretrehabilitator]

*It carefully takes a bite... and its eyes light up! Its tail starts to wag a bit, irritating the Rinan.*

[feral-rinan]

Ash takes a bite of the cicadas, not even bothering to hide how much she likes it. She begins to speak in a series of chirps and chitters she knows Rowan and the mothtaur can’t make sense of. That odd accent of hers is subdued, but obvious—a drawl reminiscent of kenan and… duster English?

<So. Guess we may as well deal with this now—I’m Ashling, I’m from Mars, and I’d like to know why you keep trying to steal my cat. You don’t, like, actually think you can undo a haustorium, do you? This isn’t an accusation, I’m genuinely curious—biology is pretty much my whole thing.>

[floretrehabilitator]

*The Rinan glares at Ashling, and whispers with an accent tinted by Midwestern American English, while the Mothtaur continues to eat.*

<Shut up! You're gonna blow our cover!>

[feral-rinan]

She blinks.

<Wait. That’s… Are you from fucking Iowa or something? Were you raised by Terrans too?>

[floretrehabilitator]

<No, I've just spent way too much time around Terrans. Work stuff,, y'know? Now shush!>

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

Ranun looks directly at the unknown Rinan with a curious expression.

“Im sorry if this is embarrassing but… oh my curiosity wins! why are you carrying ‘Fred’ around? You can respond in your native tongue, I understand it.”

[floretrehabilitator]

*Once the Rinan is addressed, it stops talking and hides in the trenchcoat again. The Mothtaur answers instead, the Class D starting to take effect.*

"this was meant to be a disguise, as we did not wish to be recognized. this is not our typical or preferred appearance, merely a one-time attempt at anonymity. we took inspiration from terran 'comedies' of old."

*As the Mothtaur reveals the clever and definitely not doomed to fail plan, the Rinan swats at it in an attempt to shut it up.*

[ranun-hellebore-4th-bloom]

“A disguise, huh? It is very cute, now that I’m not so confused, but you should know that we can see infrared, and have a chemical detecting sense on our whole body akin to both smell and taste.” ….

“And also your clothes don’t cover both of you. So why don’t you reintroduce yourselves?”

[floretrehabilitator]

"while i am not entirely comfortable disclosing my true name, i can provide you with an alternative. you may call me 'cursive.' and my cohort here is-"

*The Rinan pushes "Cursive" off of them to get it to finally stop speaking, and clears their throat while glaring at it.*

<Just call me LC! And please ignore my dear friend, it's CLEARLY NOT FEELING LIKE ITSELF.>

[feral-rinan]

Wordlessly, Ashling hands LC a plate of spaghetti and cicadas, then turns to Cursive.

<So, mine… cursive compatriot. My cockles ache to hear ye tell thine story of the grand quest to recover the Florette, and the doubtlessly clever machinations thou hath ensconced in such a scheme. With respect, m’lord, would thy regale us with thy tale?>

[floretrehabilitator]

*"Cursive" takes off the translator collar. No point in keeping it on, as it was only there to cover its speech patterns in an attempt to not be recognized as a Mothtaur.*

"Very well. Our Quest begins on the Terran ship by the title of 'Quarterly Earnings.' I had been aboard her beauty for quite some time, and my Deare Friend was but a recent hire. We had been assigned our Quest by our Captain, who had simply told us to bring him one (1) Florette at the very least, and that he wouldst have our diligent Healers rippe the plante asunder from their spines. We were given no other relevant information."

[feral-rinan]

<By Abundance, yonder knight! However did thy leave thine homeworld and become embroiled with such fellows? As I recalle, thy kinsmen were unable to fly through the skies or space as might birds prior to the arrival of the grande shrubbery!>

[cutiepupwren-deactivated2026032]

uhmm... I'm a little screwed, I think... I'm still on the ladder. I can't see the floor anymore. I'm too scared to climb back down. I don't know how much further there is to go. I'll keep climbing for now, but I might need someone to come get me TvT

[feral-rinan]

*A small drone delivers you a sandwich and a cola. There’s a small note on the front, with a rinan wearing a bandana giving you a thumbs up, drawn in pen. At the bottom is a backpack with the words FULTON RECOVERY SYSTEM—FALL TO DEPLOY plastered across the surface.*