Words of Bark and Horn

[Ramulus]

M6W4D7, Semi-private.

There's a bench at the border of the Biotech Unbound property. A man with dreadlocks and a beige blouse is seated there. He appears to be enjoying the weather on his break, except that he has been sitting there for a long while already. And yesterday. And some other working days whenever he was around and it was time for lunch-break. He would sit here on this bench.

A nature lover? Or just someone who likes to sit watching the flowers whilst thinking? Who knows. He would sit there, observing, looking for movement within the grove. He carries a notepad, and will sometimes log something. It is weekend. Rasul takes a sip from the bottle of carbonated water.
He really has all day.

Why is he here? Well geeh. Television is a damn mighty accessible source of information. This place is not exactly a secret. Both Ramulus' and Rasul's work is all about growth and the earth and every little anomaly that it decides to reveal. So when this came onto the news pretty much all of his department heard about it. It was the office buzz for days.

In Rasul's opinion, there was no need at all to start searching for the rest of the herd. It wouldn't be that hard to find them considering that some of the robots have an unfortunate knack of drawing trouble to themselves. They'd be putting themselves in the spotlight.... a place Ramulus detests. He prefers to be wild, elusive, at no-ones beck and call.

However, then that report came. And Rasul had cursed underneath his breath. It wasn't his problem. Yet after a while, Ramulus realized that there are a few of his kin that he can't ignore. So now he is 'enjoying the sunlight' and 'admiring the garden'. He hopes to glimpse the dryad again. Perhaps by now, she might recognize him. It's what he's been sitting around here for, hoping to gain familiarity before approaching. Some hint, even only small, that the tree-lady is somewhere kin to him.

[Shanodin]

The lady is sitting in the middle of her grove, leaning back against the tree which is the grove's heart- in more ways than one. Idly, she strokes the small rabbit which has curled up in her lap. The creatures who have made homes in the grove are not fully hers, not as the plants are, but they accept her. They are her responsibility, as well.

She doesn't have to see the man on the bench. She's seen him several times before, and now her plants watch him. There is something of the familiar about this one, as there was with the gilded one.

Someone who has been paying very close attention to the grove might notice that there is an small,delicate, intricate weaving of foliage near the bench at the moment. If that someone happens to remember what Cybertronian glyphs look like, he might recognize the one for welcome.

[Ramulus]

It's a fact that one could watch bamboo grow. But the glyph-forming foliage is not a grass at all. When Rasul notices the peculiar shape, he inclines his head just slightly so. "Directed growth? Impressive." ...and promising.

The man stands up calmly and walks towards the border of the field, kneeling on one knee to inspect the glyph more closely. His eyes search the field, and he announces himself in Cybertronian, "|My name is Ramulus. I come here searching for a lost friend...|" If this is Botanica in some way then there is no shame in talking to plants. If she isn't, then at least he tried.

He might be human, but that changes little for the fact that Rasul is Ramulus. And Ramulus is a being with primal notions and a confident stride into foreign terrain. He observed the area from the distance, the area welcomed him, he called out his identity ... so his next move is to walk in and look in place.

Ramulus yearns to talk to the dryad, but he resists that and simply walks a bit from the stone sidewalk. He should wander around on this little patch, watching but not approaching. Let the area get used to his presence.

[Shanodin]

The dryad tilts her head as the man's words are brought to her through wind and leaf, Her lips purse in a frown. Ramulus. She thinks she knows that name....

Ah yes. The horned one. Shanodin chuckles softly. Wouldn't that make the silly humans titter, to hear such a thing? the dryad slips beneath the earth. She will go to this one, rather than bring him to her.

The grove shudders and rustles, carrying her humor along with her body. Before the movement dies down, there is another rustling in the tree next to Rasul. Green toes dangle just above the man's head, and a soft voice calls out in Cybertronian.

"Welcome, horned one. Memory says I know you, though the green says I do not."

[Ramulus]

Ramulus freezes in surprise. Woops, seems like she turned a sudden approach on him! He inhales a breath of air to relax from his tense posture and chuckles, "That's another familiar trick you've demonstrated, my lady. It's somewhat reassuring."

She called him 'horned one'. Yet he's human... Ramulus glances at the direction of the voice, hopeful, "It seems that your memories know who I am beyond my physical appearance..." his forehead furrows into a deep, concerned, frown, "But you don't really remember, is that right? You're someone else as well." That is... something he knew to expect. Others who do not remember. But it still kinda hurts. Rather quietly, he asks "Who are you? How much are you the one whose memories tell you that I'm a 'horned one'?"

_{* Ramulus is now speaking purely Cybertronian.}

[Shanodin]

The green lady is easily visible to Rasul when he looks toward her voice. She cocks her head and listens to his words, considering. She replies, "I am myself. The misguided at the gate have named me Shanodin and Goddess. The gilded one named me Botanica, but she is but a part of the whole now."

She drops to the ground in front of Rasul, her thorny hair long flowing and twining with the foliage wound round her body. The dryad reaches out and tries to just barely place a fingertip over Rasul's heart.

"You don't belong in the cities, mountain-climber. You are free to wander all the worlds wilds. Why bother yourself with this small patch and its keeper?"

[Ramulus]

Shanodin is not stopped in her actions. Rasul merely observes her reach. There is an eerie absence of the ionic charge that used to surround his 'heart', a sign of health which wasn't there in his old body.

He gives her an amused smile, "My lady, you say that I move freely yet you wonder why I'd bother with a small park in the middle of Detroit city?" He grins, "I like to defy people's expectations on how I should behave." More seriously, he adds, "Truth? You would do the same for me. Or... Botanica would. I do believe she'd come and see me if she could. I heard about you, familiar sounds, so I came out here." he answers.

He glances around, "You... aren't alone here. Are you?" Is that a hint of concern? "You belong in a city even less than I do. Tell me you've found allies. And will you move to the forests? Wouldn't they suit you better...?"

[Shanodin]

The dryad tilts her head when Rasul speaks of Botanica and says, "Botanica would look for you. She takes her responsibilities most seriously."

She sighs and continues, "I can't leave this place, horned one. A step outside its bounds and I begin to wither and die." She turns away from him and into the caress of a low-hanging branch, resting her cheek on the wood as its leaves shudder. "And these children are so fragile. The world would devour them, were not for me."

"The gilded one- Xaaron. He visits. A few others. I am not alone."

Just lonely, sometimes.

[Ramulus]

Watching Shanodin's attention to the tree makes it clear to him that the two of them have quite a different take on the world. She's so protective of the plants and it concerns him that there is such an intricate connection between the lady and her garden. Perhaps the world would devour her if not for the plants. Such an awkward symbiosis. Rasul clears his throat and says, "I'm glad to hear that you are not alone. It would worry me even more if you were." He bows his head a bit, "the wilds outside this city are my charge, I'm a park ranger, as humans call it. I want to check up on you and this grove when I can, but is there anything more than that for me to do? Do you need anything from outside, perhaps?"

Rasul would fetch you all the stuff you might need, free of charge.

Due to his free spirit, Ramulus wouldn't look forward to meeting with Xaaron. Still, Rasul will ask in an aloof manner; "if I wanted to meet up with Xaaron, or the others, would you happen to know how....?" It isn't a promise, however. But it doesn't hurt to ask about that.

_{OOC: My apologies for the late post. I've got distracted these days.}

[Shanodin]

OOC: No worries. I've been busy, myself.

---

The dryad turns back to Rasul and smiles. She reaches out to try and cup his chin. "As much a loner as you are, that is great comfort to me, that you worry. As for the others, there is a communicative number, I think? Technology does not works so well here as outside the wood, I am afraid, so I can't utilize it. The plants fear it,"

She turns away again, walking deeper into the grove. The invitation to follow is clear, and she talks as she walks.

"It is amazing how this world's heart tried to protect me even as it changed me. Given my unique condition, I doubt I would have survived the severing of my bond with Gillanan's spirit."

[Ramulus]

Rasul inches slightly away when the lady attempts to touch his chin. Still, the calm look that accompanies the move implies that he doesn't mind the attempt... but hey, first meeting still, and he's solitary by nature. He answers without disturbance, "My lady, not worrying would be cruel. I'll see if I can get in touch with the rest then. A phone number shouldn't be that hard to find with everyone scattered about."

When she walks, he walks along, staying a bit to her left and listening intently. "You are referring to what made us as we are now, what combined us?" He pauses for a moment, "to what are you connected now? Is your bond to Gillanan, or Earth?" He thinks he might know the answer.

[Shanodin]

"I... am unsure," she answers after a moment.

"This body is bound to this place," she continues, "that is all I know."

They a smallish clearing. Shanodin frowns and moves to the base of a young aspen-like tree which is certainly out of its element and carefully pulls a crystal formation from its twisted roots. It's entirely possible Rasul recognizes it as an energon crystal.

"More of these are finding their way to the surface. It is worrisome. I fear the cyclops remembering where he left his seeds," she murmurs.

"But how are you adjusting, horned one? You seem comfortable in your new skin, at least, more so than some."

[Ramulus]

"Then it is this place that we must pro-" Rasul's eyes widen and he falls silent instantly when he sees Shanodin holding the crystal.
'Energon'.
It takes him a bit to realize that this is an alien crystal, it's that familiar to him. He struggles for words, rubs his eyes and looks again. Then, with a pained mutter of something that's hardly hearable and not understandable he rubs a hand-palm against his forehead.
"By Unicron's great, grey beard, how much trouble can this place be, my Lady?" he questions, "That's trouble right there alright... _{it's in the ground}?" He whispers the last bit, like that won't make it true. He's aghast. And a bit furious that this is yet another thing that the Dryad has to deal with; she's not only on an 'island', but it's in the city, and it's on an energon deposit.

When she asks about him and his settling in, Rasul blinks at Shanodin for a moment. She just pulled energon from the earth and is asking how he's doing? A few more blinks before he snorts, "Remarkable way of changing the subject. My answer would be 'Never felt better' (after seeing that crystal of course). I don't look a freak and there are no ion spasms to zap me silly either." He crosses his arms, "Although I'm too stubborn to eat meat, so I suppose that's a challenge."

He's kinda fixated on the crystal, like it's his worst enemy.

[Shanodin]

Shanodin sits down on a patch of soft moss and turns the crystal over in her hands.

"I imagine this is why I was placed here, when I was changed," she says, "The bedrock feeds the plants, and the plants feed me, and the bedrock is just as important a charge."

"I am glad your problem did not translate to this form, " she waves a hand, "Please. Sit. Tell me of your wilds. My reach is only so long, and I would love to hear of them." Her expression grows slightly wistful.

[Ramulus]

Rasul takes a seat, still wary of the crystal. "It would make sense... though you could understand that I find it intriguing if it's... that... which allows this garden to flourish. Of course, it is of extreme importance to your wellbeing."

He looks at her for a moment, and what he might be thinking exactly is a bit unclear. He is concerned, with good right. He scrapes his throat, then indulges her request. Rasul begins telling her about the kind of plants that grow in the woodlands outside the city.

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Would you like to time-skip this or fade the thread at this point?