Kepler!
[Hm?]
He was working on a ‘personal project.’ The symbiote had been a bit secretive, lately, and Clare kind of liked it. It had given him the idea of privacy, and given him something to focus his relentless mind on.
Still, eyeing the new result of Kepler’s garden, she couldn’t help but wish he’d been paying a bit more attention.
It had started about a minute ago, when a descendent of [Evolutionary Moss] had begun tugging at the automatic systems Kepler had set up for her. She’d turned to it with more curiosity than concern.
That changed as the tug turned into a sharp, painful yank.
The plant in question was a massive, fluffy morass of neon green plant matter. Kepler had been fostering it with meat and precious gems, and it had proved quite energetic; reaching in every direction with long, feathery feelers.
Now, it balled in on itself, shuddering. Crystalline spikes jutted out of it at random. The pressure on her aura increased, and Clare could feel the strands around in vibrating with power.
Arachne perked up, flying over with voracious curiosity.
Kepler!!
He jolted to attention, hearing the duress in her voice. Taking one glance at the subsystems, he made a sharp gesture. The tugging paused, her aura staying taunt.
[Are you in pain?]
With the situation in control, Clare took a deep breath. It wasn’t a real breath, but the gesture she’d learned as a human centered her.
Not much. It just scared me.
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He focused on the interface with the System. Pinged the System itself. Clare risked mind pain to glance at it herself and found it bearable.
It’s evolving?
Her symbiote nodded.
Omigosh, let it! I wanna see what it becomes.
He chuckled and reasserted the now-gentled process.
The plant shivered, flaring a bright pink light from its crystal protrusions. Another, golden this time, flare and it compacted in on itself, becoming a small, fuzzy shape; it was almost humanoid, but it kept all it’s features from before. A little man, just a few inches taller than the faeries, but much more dense. He had feathery plant-fur all over him, only clearing at the front of his head to reveal two pink-diamond eyes and a mouth packed with razor-sharp fangs. Sans nose, the rest of his face was buried in a massive feather-frond beard, which was much wilder than the rest of his covering. In fact, the fuzzy plant matter was compacting every else, dropping in color warmth to a deep green.
* An unusual accomplishment has been achieved!
* New Species Created: Voracious Moss Gnome.
* Rewards: 30 XP, 3 SP
* Name new Servant?
The gnome shuffled around thoughtfully. It found a dipluran clinging to the cave wall and popped it into it’s mouth with a loud chomp.
Whoa… Clare mumbled. Cool. I didn’t know you could create life on accident.
Kepler looked extraordinarily smug.
[30 XP].
He didn’t need to say anything more. Just the fact alone was bragging.
Clare hugged him. You’re amazing.
[Heh.] It was kind of astonishing he didn’t brag more; then again, he’d been a lot less rambunctious lately.
What are you going to name him?
[Let’s give him a myth.]
They thought for a minute. Kepler pinged Mythic Connection, but the Mythos was vast—and the idea of what a ‘gnome’ even is was complex.
I like his beard… Clare mumbled, watching the little guy interacting with Arachne. The faerie was literally sparkling as she spoke too quietly for Clare to easily hear. It makes him look all wise, like some kind of mountain sage.
Kepler leaned back, staring at Clare with a look she couldn’t quite parse.
[Let’s name him Confucious.]
Huh? Clare flushed.
[You said he looked wise. Gnome, your name is now Confucious.] Clare felt the name take with the System, and they got another trickle of XP.
Confucious looked around for them, eventually settling his unblinking gaze in the core’s direction.
[Father, Mother,] He bowed formally at the waist, [I accept this name, and will bring honor to it.]
Clare blinked.
Awww! She squealed, He’s so cute!!