1.79 – Vin

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After dinner, Maple excused herself to a bush. The moonlight was slightly dimmer, but still enough to see by. Alas called out after her.

"Try not to fuck any plants on the way this time."

Maple stepped heavily, but didn't dignify that with a response. She kind of deserved it, to be fair. She felt like a pervert. None of the others actually cared much though, and Alas only teased her because she knew it did bother her.

Remembering it—embarrassed her, filled her with shame—she'd kind of liked it. That was the worst part, the part that filled her with guilt. She tried to blame her class. [Interspecies Seductress]. It wasn't her, and the plant had done it itself.

If she followed that logic too far, it made her consider that she might have seduced it. The whole thing became even more unforgivably degenerate.

Nothing attacked her as she finished her business this time. But as she was about to head back, something poked her ankle. A tentacle-vine.

"Oh no."

Maple paused and looked around. She should head back right now. Because she didn't trust herself? God. Her self-image was crumbling.

The vine held still. It seemed to look up at her with hesitation. It poked her again, and Maple didn't know what to do. She crouched down next to it.

"Um. Are you the same one from before?"

It nodded. Maple almost fell backwards from shock.

"You understand me?"

The vine nodded again. It had the same look as the one that had...entered her the night before. A smooth, round flower bud was at the tip of it. She didn't see any other vines nearby, just that one.

"Um...I'm really sorry about...humans shouldn't have sex with plants, you understand? I shouldn't have let you, so I'm sorry."

Maple was apologizing to a plant she'd let fuck her. As guilty as she was, it felt like the right thing to do. Each day of her life was becoming more surreal than the last.

The vine shook its tip left and right, a decided no motion. Then it flicked in a gesture toward where it came from.

"Um. I don't know what you want..."

The vine made several motions through the air Maple didn't understand, and then seemed to let out a breathless sigh. It gently wrapped itself around Maple's wrist, leaving a foot of excess so it could gesture. Maple looked back toward the camp.

"We can't...do that again."

It gestured no, and gently tugged.

"You want me to follow you?"

It nodded. Maple bit her lip. What was she getting into? She probably should tell one of the others, at the least.

"I...is it something dangerous?"

It shook its head.

"And it's not, uh, lewd?"

Another shake of the head. God. Alright. Maybe she owed the plant a little bit of trust, and to follow it to whatever it wanted. Maybe.

It understood her, though. And that was weird. And all of this was weird. She took a step forward and let it gently tug her in the direction it wanted.

They walked, and a few minutes in she realized how big of a mistake this was. No one would know where she was going—she was putting herself in danger—the others would end up looking for her.

"I should let one of my friends know where I'm going."

The vine shook rapidly, and made a circular motion, and some more gestures. Maple was used to reading Emma's body language, but there wasn't much of a basis for this plant.

"Uh. It's close?"

It nodded. Maple sighed and let it lead her. They walked another few minutes. She tried to at least memorize the direction and landscape they'd passed.

It let go of her hand when they reached its main body. A leafy blob that went up to her waist with vines extending in every direction. The vine hesitated then, and looked between Maple and itself.

"That's...you?"

Nod.

It did nothing for a few seconds, and then moved itself to Maple's eye level. Maple stared at it, and wasn't sure if it was staring back or...

"Um, what do you want me to do?"

The flower at the end of the vine moved and gently pressed against her cheek. The contact made Maple blush for some reason. It pulled back and stared at her another second, and then moved lower and pointed to its main body.

Leaves moved on their own, opening up and revealing an orb in the center. It almost looked like a rock, about the size of her fist. A seed, maybe? The vine gestured, pointing to it.

"You want me to take it?"

It looked at her, and after hesitating again—it nodded. Maple moved her hand forward, but stopped.

"What is it? A seed?"

Nod.

"And you want me to...what? Plant it somewhere?"

It moved to eye level and nodded. It poked her shoulder repeatedly, gestured some more. Maple grew worried.

"Plant it in me?"

The vine pulled back and froze while looking at her. Maybe with its own bewilderment, but Maple wasn't an expert on plant body language. It shook its head—the flower at the tip Maple had come to think of as a head—and then gently smacked Maple's cheek.

Its movements were slow, so it wasn't a real smack, but Maple got the point. The idea was so far off the mark that it had to express such. It gestured some more, and Maple was just guessing at this point.

"Okay, uh. Plant it near me?"

It nodded, and then—nuzzled her. Maple interpreted it as affection, at least. She ran a hand through her hair in mild exasperation.

"To be clear, you don't want it planted somewhere random, right?"

It shook no, as frantically as it could with its docile movements.

"Okay, so...In a pot or something? You want me to take care of it myself?"

It nodded, and gently pat her head. They'd reached an understanding. Maple looked at the seed. It looked rather embedded within the plant, like she might injure it if she just yanked it out.

"Um. So I just take it?"

It hesitated again, and looked at her. Then it coiled a long length of itself around Maple. A hug, maybe. She stroked it gently. When it removed itself, it nodded. Maple stared at it, and then nodded herself.

"Alright, uh—okay. I'm going to pull it out. Stop me if I do something wrong..."

She reached her hand into the center of the plant and grabbed the seed. It was rooted firmly in place. Maple tugged, and tendrils inside connecting it to the plant lurched. She looked to the vine, which showed no reaction, and she yanked.

Strands holding it in place broke. The vine twitched but didn't stop her. She pulled harder and it broke free from the rest. She examined it and held it out for the vine to see.

"I got it—oh no, are you okay?"

The vine nodded, and slowly sank to the ground. It looked content, as far as Maple could tell, but the entire plant was...wilting.

The leaves on its main body curled up. The vines shrank and shriveled. The color drained from it. Maple placed a hand on the flower bud at the end of the vine she'd been talking to. She tried to comfort it.

"I'll take care of it, okay. Don't worry."

And then it was dead.