Ever wondered what a roadies favourite job in a Sferkkaan rock band is? - Dahli picked up her list of duties for the night, and stared at the next item on it. Then she began screaming and leaping around like an idiot. “What?!” demanded Diza. “I know that outburst!” “FEED TRILBY AND MIT-MIT!” Diza began leaping around and screaming as well, while Gemma and Mickie just stared in confusion. “Spot the Gryphon fans,” said Raski dryly to Khandid. “Who are Trilby and Mit-Mit?” asked Gemma warily, “and why can’t they feed themselves?” Dahli looked to Raski. “Are they allowed to have visitors?” she asked. “Sure, if Gemma and Mickie want to see them. Just keep your voices down, okay? They are big enough that they can hurt you without meaning to.” “Dare I ask what they are?” asked Teirra. “You’ll see,” said Dahli. She led Diza, Gemma, Teirra and Mickie down the hall to the far side of the sprawling complex that was Gryphon Studios. A more apt name would have been “Five Overgrown Kids With More Trinta than Brains”, but that was beside the point. The Gryphons had built their version of the ultimate musical playground, and it held everything a serious Sferkkaan musician could want. They reached a pair of glass doors that led into a damp, dimly-lit room. A soft mist filled the air, and a warm fragrance like cream and apples. Diza stepped in first, trying hard to suppress her excited squeaks. Dahli waited until the others were in as well. “Dark in here,” said Gemma. “What’s moving?” “My boner,” said Mickie. Dahli reached out for a knob on the wall, and slowly turned up the lights. Things began to rustle in the rising light, and soon the room was bright enough to show its inhabitants. Most of the plants were eight or nine feet tall, comfortably settled in large pots on rolling platforms. They had enormous ragged leaves of deep green that slowly waved and twitched like aerial fish, swaying gently. They bore small flowers of blue and deep orange, and both leaves and blossoms seemed as if they were trying to catch the mist. “Oh cool,” said Mickie, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “It’s a nursery!” “What are these?” asked Gemma. “Amplifier plants,” said Dahli. “Electricity is fine but in an outdoor venue in the rain it’s dangerous. You’ll be working with these little guys at the festival.” “How do they work?” asked Gemma. “Just talk to it,” said Dahli. Gemma walked over to the closest plant, and said “Hi pretty plant!” The leaves snapped in her direction, and reflected the sound back at her with perfect clarity, at easily twice the volume. Gemma backed up, and looked to Dahli, her eyes questioning. “There’s all kinds of energy,” said Dahli. “Plants in the northern reaches rely on light, but the South Continent, especially in the deep jungles, is too dark. So some plants eat meat, and some plants, like these ones, use sound energy. And the reason they reflect it is because if everybody in the garden gets lots of energy, then everyone gets to grow and reproduce. I have no idea how they do it, but it works.” Gemma carefully touched the plant. “So which ones are Trilby and Mit-Mit?” Dahli grinned. She was enjoying this far too much. “These plants right here are called valley song, because they live in valleys and sing. Trilby and Mit-Mit are a very rare type of amp plant called mountain dragon. And they are behind you.” Gemma slowly turned, Dahli positively giggling as she watched the gigantic plant slowly dip its “head” to investigate her. Gemma made a terrified squeak. Trilby was nearly fifty feet tall, and boasted brilliant leaves of red, yellow and black that looked more like bird feathers than anything a plant may have. The pseudo-head that now carefully investigated Gemma was a deep, intense green, streaked with yellow and black to form what very much resembled a dragon’s head, complete with eyes. Gemma looked as if she make faint, and Mickie appeared to be giving serious thought to wetting himself and sucking his thumb. Diza walked up to the gigantic thing and lightly pet it. “Hi Trilby,” she said. “Nice to meet you!” Trilby turned to nudge Diza, as Gemma stood rigid in terror. “Is it going to eat us?” she managed to ask. “No,” said Dahli. “They’re plants, they just mimic animals to avoid being eaten in the wild. They are very good at acting like a thinking animal, and they may be smarter than we give them credit for, but they’re plants. These two are nearly as famous as the Gryphons themselves. This one is Trilby, and Mit-Mit is… escaping. Hey! Plant! Get back here.” Dahli began walking after the massive plant, which was using its leaves to slowly pull itself along, heading for the huge windows of the nursery with the sort of noise one would expect from a fifty foot tall plant in a stone pot on rollers. “Determined, isn’t it?” said Teirra. “Yeah,” said Dahli. “At live shows they have to chain her pot to the floor.” The gigantic plant reached a place that seemed to please it, and it unfurled its mighty leaves, settling into a pose that gave it greater access to the falling mist, and also completing the illusion of being a feathered dragon. Dahli went for the plant food, returning with a fragrant bucket of ground fish guts and destri droppings. Somehow sensing the presence of food, Trilby began slowly grinding along the floor to where Mit-Mit sat. Gemma took out her phone to record the deliberate, dignified march of the giant. “Yes you get some too,” said Dahli as Trilby nudged at her. “Here. Yummy. Clart and guts. I am so glad I am not a plant. There’s a good boy…” “How do you know it’s a boy?” asked Gemma. “Mit-Mit gets flowers on her,” said Dahli. “Trilby gets big pods that harden and then burst open and shoot pollen in all directions.” “Kinky,” said Gemma. “Last year Mit-Mit made two little baby mountain dragons,” said Dahli. “It was all over the news. They went to go live with an organization on the South Continent that’s helping to rebuild the eco system down there. Trilby and Mit-Mit are the only two known mountain dragons old enough to reproduce. There may be some left in the jungles but so far all they have found is a few little spouts. Trilby and Mit-Mit were sitting in the ruins of Draephus’ castle in what was left of a royal nursery, feeling very sad for themselves. No one knows how they managed to live up here unattended and in the cold all that time, but they are probably a hundred years old.” “Did he name them too?” asked Gemma. “Someone did, a century ago,” said Dahli. “They found name plates on the boxes. Someone found them in the jungle, brought them up here, put them in a nursery, and then died. Anyway they seem happy enough. Probably just glad to be warm. They’re going to the festival but that will be their last tour. They’re retiring from the music industry, and Mit-Mit will be able to do all the scooting she likes.”
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 03:02:01 +0000