pushing crazies (open)

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Night had fallen, and Amun had been on his way out to the Oasis to pick up some clay. He was still working out the best delivery schedule for his studio, and had run out before the next one was due to arrive. Seeing as most people were asleep already, he’d decided it would be faster to just fetch some himself.

On the way, though, he’d gotten sidetracked: there were enormous looking daisies, and he had stared at them for a while before deciding to approach. They were beautiful, and his eyes studied the pattern of their petals. Perhaps he could replicate that on one of his piece...

Then he felt a sharp sensation on his ankle (not pain), and he glanced down, shocked. One of the flowers had lunged forward, somehow, and sank teeth into him. With a cry, he tore his leg away, trailing fluid. Then other blooms started striking at him, looking for a pound of flesh and he dodged. It was only his Ascended speed that was keeping him out of the way of their attacks, but with an injury he was bound to slip up sooner or later.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

sons could be birds,
taken broken up to the mountain

An unfortunate fact about Ascended: from a distance, they look like anyone else. In the dark, with daisies nipping their heels… well. Nathaniel is on his way home when he stumbles into this strange scene. The sight of a lone man dancing in the dark, in the middle of the Glade, imprints deeply enough on Nate's brain to override the stranger's unnatural agility. All Nate really thinks is, What the fuck? and then Am I obligated to intervene? in rapid succession. It could be some sort of weird religious rite, after all. Meditation. Practice. Whatever. What does Nate care?

He changes course to pass nearer the bizarre sight, anyway. He is not yet misanthropic enough to leave a stranger in trouble without at least doing so knowingly. And this is how he ends up with things like: flower bite wounds. Or would, if he didn't recognize the danger posed by the large plants which had appeared… oh, last year? Or the year before?

So Nate pauses a good deal away, frowning. "Those bite," he calls out unhelpfully, head cocked, waiting to see what he's dealing with before he gets any further involved.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun didn’t know how long he was dodging daisies before the man’s voice called out. Although the potter had been mostly safe while extracting himself from the field of aggressive flowers, the blooms had scored a few more hits. Still, he was mostly intact. That didn't mean he was out of danger yet, which was why he was mostly focused on his opponents. Although he couldn’t look over to see who it was, the voice was unknown to the Ascended.

That didn't stop him from calling back as flirtatiously as he could manage under the circumstances. ”So do I.” Then, ducking under yet another set of teeth, Amun put on a burst of speed, and sprinted out of the field. Not even panting from the exertion (because he didn’t need to breathe), he skidded to a stop before the stranger. Although his clothes were torn and he was leaking fluid from a few spots (which were already closing), he thought he cut a rather rakish figure.

Staring up at the other man (what was with all these giants anyway?), the potter smirked. ”I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Amun Arlun, at your service.” He swept into a shallow bow, then straightened up. ”So what else can you tell me about the flowers, tall, dark, and handsome?” The Ascended winked at the stranger.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN