Deep within the island of Dain, there is a large swathe of land that is densely populated by jungles and other vegetation. Often avoided by the locals due to it being haunted, the haunter of said jungle sits alone upon a rock.
A loud gurgle interrupts Flora- her stomach was making the noise again... she hated it when that noise was made. Too many times had she settled on eating leaves and twigs, only to be left with disappointment.
Dabbing her face with a dry ball of moss, she descended and began searching for something to make her gut cease complaining. Vegetables were impossible to come by when the jungle kept uprooting everything, and she would not try to magic some fruit into her possession. She was tired enough of having been beaten senseless by a vine the last time she did try. What else was there to try? Leaves for lunch again?
Flora let loose a heavy sigh as she began to shovel leaves into a disorderly pile. Grabbing leaves by the handful, shoving them into her mouth, and forcefully swallowing them so that she could at least get something down.
As it turned out, the leaves were not tasty. Flora knew this, but she had no other choice.
By having eaten leaves, she began to feel sick- yet she persevered. Having finally shoved enough into herself, she frantically looked around for something to drink. Only to be reminded that she was nowhere near water at the moment. Grand...
It was then that she heard a strange rustling sound nearby. Curious but wary, she proceeded to sneak as quietly as she could in the direction of the rustling. Crunching every leaf that was underfoot- stealth was not an affordable option. crunch...
Peering over the edge of the bushes, she saw what was akin to a holy grail. It was an insect of sorts. It looked like a pouch full of something, and it was draining the insides of a watermelon.
Flora's first instinctual thought was that the bug must have had something in there. Especially since it was devouring her favorite juicy snack! IT MUST HAVE SOMETHING!
And so, Flora did the one thing that no person should do when trying to capture a wild thing. Charge it head-on in hopes that you are fast enough to catch it.
Bursting through the bushes, a lot of noise was made and alerted the bug. Giving it ample time to quickly begin scurrying off, with the watermelon still in its grasp. Flora eagerly gave chase because she wanted the liquid that the bug was holding.
Through the greenery and all the trees and thickets. The jungle was thankfully parting for Flora to quickly pass through, yet it was the bug who always kept ahead- even when Flora began to gain upon it. She was inching closer and closer every second, and soon... Soon she would have her snack. A true protein and fiber-filled meal. Something that was more than leaves! It was so delicious for her just to think about it that she had not taken notice of the stray tree branch that hit her square in the face and knocked her to the floor.
Damn... the bug was getting away.
Flora struggled to get her footing, to get back up, and continue giving chase. She huffed and puffed, and threw herself to the ground, and her eyes began to wet. She was frustrated. Upset that the stupid jungle did not favor her. She wanted to scream, so much so that she tried to yet no sound came out. It really sucked to have no voice.
Tears streamed down her cheek and she clutched her stomach, pains began to flare up from within. Stupid stupid stupid. Shouldn't have eaten those leaves earlier... but the tummy wouldn't shut up!
Flora sat in despair on the jungle floor, planning her next moves. Well... thinking about planning her next actions. She wanted that bug and nothing was going to stop her from getting it. So much so that she decided to be brave and call upon the power of her magic. She knew it was a risky move, but she didn't care. She wanted the BÜG.
A green aura emitted from her, reaching out and touching all of the nearby plant life. Of course... she couldn't control what it did. But she could make it grow. and older plants were smarter. They would listen.
Often, the older plants listened to what Flora needed most. Well... one particular vine showed up and wrapped itself around her ankle. She had looked down at it with wide eyes. Oh no... this was a familiar sight to he-
Everything had begun moving way too quickly for Flora to comfortably keep up with it all. She was being ruthlessly dragged through the jungle at impossibly fast speeds by a vine that listened to Flora's "WANT BÜG" desire. Not really caring how to go about getting her the bug. Plus, she wanted to catch up to the bug, so the vine obliged. Bringing her closer and closer.
At some point, the vine had finally found the bug- and stopped abruptly. Taking Flora with it, she slammed directly into the vine as is observed by the laws of physics. To which she now was going to have a rather big bruise on her from the impact. But that was not to worry about now, the bug was in sight. Atop a slim tree branch over a crevice.
This was Flora's opportunity! She was going to capture the bug, and she was going to eat it. Mmmm- yummy bug.
NO TIME FOR DAYDREAMS! IT WAS BUG CATCHING TIME!
Flora urged for the vine to bring her more forward. Well, as much as she could urge it- she hung upside-down from the ankle and swung herself in the direction of the bug. The vine just moved slightly as the momentum carried it.
Once close enough, she tried to reach down and grab the bug. Yet the vine held her out of reach of the creature. And she tried to break free of the vine. Which it did oblige. Dropping her onto the branch right over the crevice.
Her hand was now grasping the bug in one hand and hanging onto a frail branch for dear life with her other hand.
She WOULD NOT let this bug go. She was going to eat it, and she was going to live. She swore to herself that she would. If she knew how to swear, that was...
A few creaks and cracks, and the branch split off the tree- plunging Flora to imminent death.
She wasn't aware of it until now. But the jungle did know how to care for Flora, at least trying to keep her alive. The events of falling to one's demise fell into the category of "needing to be saved from as to continue keeping one alive"
Roots and fungus and other sorts of soft things quickly grew in tandem, creating a thick canopy upon which Flora landed. She did hit the canopy with the wind knocked out of her, her hands tightly gripping whatever they were holding.
When she came out of her daze, she lazily looked at the thing in her hand. It was the bug's pouch. The bug had seemingly vanished- but it was the pouch that was her prize. She looked for a specific part on it and bit into it- crunching it loudly. she chewed this bit first, swallowing it after letting the tangy sour flavors hit her tongue. Then she looked and sought to slurp what was inside. Her eyes widened when the contents spilled into her mouth. Sweet, sweet nectar- as well as a tinge of an orange flavor with the watermelon flavors mixed in. She reveled in the wonderful sensations, and enjoyed her Crabisol pouch. It was well worth the trouble, and so once Flora finished the pouch, she crunched the last bits of it in her mouth and rolled onto her side- wanting nothing more now than to take a good nap. So she pulled a convenient blanket of moss and flowers, resting her head on a rather large mushroom and closing her eyes.
There would be other misadventures for another day, but now it was a good time to take a rest. She had enough for today.