Location: Grapevine Cathedral

They moved forward into a darker part of the forest, and Duchess smiled at Segin's last words. Thankful to be apart of Indigo's happy family. It wasn't much adjusting for herself as they each tended to trickle in slowly. Though Duchess may have believed at one time that she would be the only one sharing Indigo's room. Her heart followed his though, and any harsh feelings she may have felt as his numbers grew were shoved down into a corner of her mind.

The darkness and silence was almost eerie in this forest, but somehow she also felt at peace. Duchess moved onward to one of the maple trees and smelled the vines that grew along the trunks and branches. She wasn't sure if she should risk taking a bit of the grapes that grew here, though she didn't sense anything dangerous about them. She finally plucked one off with her teeth, her muzzle cringing to the bitter and sour taste on her tongue. She definitely expected them to be sweet, so it was a big surprise. Though she couldn't help the smile on her face in the presence of Segin.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.

Segin followed along beside Duchess as they moved on to another area of Auster, the forest thickening and darkening the further they went. He gave the vine covered oak and maple trees a curious look with a tilt of his head, letting his silver gaze sweep over the dense canopy above him. It was so quiet here and barely any breeze could get through the thick foliage so the air was very still. But it wasn't creepy, it was just peaceful and secluded.

He looked back to Duchess as she picked one of the grapes off of the many vines and he was surprised to see her muzzle wrinkle up like it was unpleasant. Curious, he trotted over to where she was standing and slipped up beside her, picking one of the grapes as well and having a similar reaction at the tart, sour tase. He chuckled and looked at the fruit quizzically. "How strange! I figured it'd be sweet like some of the berries from the grove," he commented with a grin. Looking around the secluded forest, he realized there was a couple different colors of grapes and his brows lifted with interest. "I wonder if the different colored grapes have different flavors."

Segin Epsilon

She couldn't help but giggle as Segin did, if nothing else it was sign she was enjoying their time together even while she was much quieter than him. She didn't mind his company, and enjoyed his more outward personality. In a way, he was some kind of light to the group, even if he didn't know it.

Duchess moved over to a different vine as he mentioned, sniffing the dark red grapes that were growing in this bundle before picking it off the vine to eat. It was much more pleasant to put down. In fact, she wouldn't have minded harvesting them to take back to the castle. She hummed, turning to Segin in response, "These are much better."

Duchess looked around at the open spaces behind them between all the trees. She supposed this would be a good resting place for prey or wolves alike. A place to sleep or a place to get out of the sun. But it did make her think, "I wonder if any herbs grow in a place like this." Her only thought was the lack of sunlight through the shaded trees above them, but of course she didn't know about the needs of different herbs either.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.

Segin followed Duchess over to a different bundle of grapes, this time colored with a dark red color. He watched curiously as she ate one and grinned when she reported that these were better. So they were different flavors then! He took one for himself and hummed at the much sweeter flavor that it offered. "Oh yes, these are much better," he agreed with a nod. Maybe if they passed by here on the way back they could collect some to take back to the others, but they hadn't thought to bring a pack with them so they wouldn't be able to carry many. It wasn't all that far from the castle though so maybe they could come back another time.

He turned his attention back to the trees around them at her question, curious silver eyes scanning the ground. "You'd be surprised the places you can find herbs," he said with a chuckle. Clearly this land was pretty fertile if it was supporting these trees and all of these thick grape vines, but that didn't always mean that herbs wouldn't grow. He started walking through the trees again, keeping an eye out for any herbs while he was at it. If there were good herbs here then they'd have an even better reason to come back here at some point.

Sure enough, he spotted a speckling of yellow among a dense patch of vegetation and he moved toward it, pulling back some of the vines and leaves to reveal a nice looking cluster of Agrimony. "Here we go! Well, we know at least that Agrimony grows here if nothing else and that's not always an easy one to find," he told her with a grin. He reached in and picked a small piece and turned to Duchess, carefully tucking the delicate flowers into the fur by one of her ears with a playful grin. "Pretty flowers for a pretty lady," he insisted with a wag of his tail before turning and beginning to walk to the other side of this grove, curious to see what else they would find past this interesting place.

Segin Epsilon

Duchess followed behind Segin as he carefully searched the forest floor for herbs as she had suggested. Her own attention was swept around the area as well, mostly looking up at the tree canopy but glancing around between the tree trunks too.

When Segin would reveal the flower, Duchess smiled at his enthusiasm. He didn't explain what the herb was for, but only that it was a little more rare. She wasn't expecting him to pick it after stating so, but she wasn't expecting what he did next even more. Her head lightly dipped as he went to place it along her ear, and in that moment she thought instantly of her first moments with Indigo. She hummed before he backed off, a silent thank you maybe, but she tried to shake the memory of the marigold behind her before she moved forward with Segin. Like maybe she was missing something about him.

As they continued through the land and on to their next one, her nose slightly caught on to a familiar scent of a fawn which she spotted nestled up along the foliage of the grapevines that ran down the trees. It didn't seem very bothered by them, but maybe it was tired or just thought it hadn't been spotted. Her head turned forward again as they trekked through the silent trees.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.

Segin continued on until they reached the edge of the sheltered forest and as he gazed out at the lands beyond the thinning trees he almost didn't want to leave. The quiet of the vine covered trees was so peaceful and he was already looking forward to coming back to collect more of those grapes. This was going to certainly be on the list of places he wanted to return to soon if nothing else. He glanced back at Duchess with a grin and a nod out into the open. "Well, I don't know if we'll find anywhere else as neat as this place, but are you ready to keep going?" He walked out into he sunlight again and started heading off deeper into Auster to continue on their exploring journey. He was enjoying this trip with Duchess a lot so far and was happy that he was getting the chance to get closer with her.

Segin Epsilon