Moonjumper stepped away for a while to collect one of his books from the study. He flipped through the pages until he came to an illustration of a wide, bowl-shaped flower with thick, maroon petals and showed it off to the young aliens. "This is a type of carrion flower that grows here. Its coloration shouldn't have been greatly affected by the ether. They're rather large, so three will be enough. Bring them back here so we can distill them."

He turned to Kit next while Hat and Bow finished off the last few bites of their food and dedicated the flower to memory, "I'll need to move some equipment. May I have your assistance, miss?"

She blinked, ears fidgeting, "Me?"

"We're going to use steam for this method. I'd like to borrow your fire magic."

Hat Kid eyed him carefully. Relax: He wouldn't go this far to help if he was going to attack you now, she , despite how much she didn't want to think the worst of him, it didn't stop her from considering the possibility that he might be trying to isolate them. There was no reason he couldn't prepare things himself and, on the chance that he did decide to turn on the trio, leaving Kit with him would effectively be letting him keep her as a hostage.

Moonjumper seemed to read her thoughts, because he pointedly added, "I assure you, you'll be safe with me while we wait for the children to return. And I'm certain they'll finish the task quicker if it's just the two of them." He nodded toward Hat Kid, "This one knows her way around already. They'll be fine on their own."

He stared at her a while longer than necessary; a subtle way of making sure his true message was clear. I'm not going to hurt her. You can go. It wasn't Kit he was reassuring.

She wished she knew if she could believe that, but then the girl didn't really know what to believe anymore. Like most of the people she'd met on this world, Moonjumper wasn't necessarily an evil person. He wouldn't go out of his way to hurt somebody unless he felt threatened first. Unfortunately for her and her friends, he did, nevermind their good intentions. That considered, it was better if they stayed together.

On the other hand, the whole reason they brought Kit along was for backup against Moonjumper or the snow women. Beyond that, she was so flighty and clueless that she could slow them down. In that case, she might be better off waiting with the phantom prince to get things ready—and if she stayed with him, he wouldn't be able to focus his eyes on the two girls. He didn't seem at all threatened by Kit herself either.

The woman hummed, "I'm not really comfortable leaving you little ones alone…"

"My guard can watch after them."

That made more sense: He wouldn't just risk letting them have free range of the Horizon in case they might try to lure away some of his subjects. He was so relaxed when it came to helping them because, overall, he was still the one in control. He just wanted to make sure they played by his rules until he could get them out as quickly as possible.

It looked like it couldn't be helped. "We won't be long," Hat Kid agreed, pushing herself up from her seat, "We just have to search the woods, right?"

"Exactly."

She and Bow Kid saw themselves out, but not before the two paused at the dining hall's entrance to spy at the doors a little longer. Moonjumper did nothing but begin instructing the other supernatural on their own task as she cleaned up—only for the dishes to catch her off-guard once again by moving themselves to the kitchen. He chuckled lightly, apologizing for them.

"Should we head back the way we came?" Bow asked as they started down the hall and out the front gate.

"I don't think I saw any of those flowers on the way into town," Hat replied, "We might have to cross the ravine again."

As they made it back outside and looked in its direction, noting the wide stretch of woods that now covered the once barren land, that looked to be case. For a few minutes, they considered which way to loop back around to the other side until they stumbled upon another one of the heavy, wine-woven bridges that allowed them a direct route across. For the most part, this section of new forest was just as young and overgrown as what they'd already traversed. Still, there were small plots of earth that had clearly been planted with some organized direction—likely by Moonjumper's command.

They were dropped off where a small group of ghosts were already at work harvesting the early fruits. It was hard to tell besides from their tones alone, but most of them seemed happier to actually have something to do thanks to the change of seasons—whether they actually needed the food or not. They were also happy to greet the two children and point them further on their way, warning them to try not to bother the spirits as they searched.

The Horizon's soft palette of blues made anything off-color pop when it entered their line of vision. The spirits, however, continued to blend in with their surroundings at large. The girls had to be careful not to step on any of the ankle-high sprites that mimicked the equally small flora and fungi, and avoid the viny monstrosities that kept trying to take an exploratory bite out of them. If they paid close attention to the shallow rows of clear water near the plotted crops, Hat and Bow would occasionally see a strange, momentary bob of movement from the near-invisible water sprites. If they listened carefully, on the rare occasion, they'd hear a quiet, low rumble of a breath from a nearby bush or boulder—a sign of a slumbering spirit.

The first flower was easy enough to find. Its bloom truly was massive—around half the size of one of Snatcher's cherry bombs—and grew a small piece deeper within the wood, nestled among a bunch of foliage in a tiny circle of trees. Save for having a more vibrant color, it looked almost exactly like its illustration in Moonjumper's book.

Even given its name though, neither child was prepared for the rancid smell that wafted from the petals well before they closed in on it. The pair covered their noses, unable to hide their disgust. It really did smell as if something had died—and was even worse up close! Hat and Bow looked at each other with a wince, hesitant to get it, before the former gave up and inched forward to pluck the flower from its short stem.

"Whatever Moonjumper's making with this, it better work on those spiders…" Hat grumbled, holding the flower away from her face.

"Well, that could've fooled me," Bow replied, her voice muffled through her hands.

Hat Kid's thoughts drifted again to the need for all of this in the first place: To trick the spiders into thinking they were getting human flesh. The idea alone made her cringe, but not as much as how easily the Horizon's phantom ruler had known what to do. Since the giant arachnids only seemed to have arrived in Subcon after the miasma had settled over the forest, she didn't think he would've been speaking from much experience.

The prince of Subcon, however, had needed to prepare to rule over spirits as much as his and the queen's mortal subjects—a role that Moonjumper was forced to adopt nonetheless here in this realm. It was likely a trick he picked up on from that, just like how the Dwellers used their masks to confuse spirits. It wasn't the kind of everyday knowledge she herself would've ever wanted to put into practice if she didn't have to right then.

They didn't see any other carrion flowers growing close by, unfortunately, and it would take too long to march back and forth if they were to gather them one at a time. The young aliens would have to lug around the gross blossoms until they'd found the remaining two they needed. Hat Kid considered stuffing it in her bag, but quickly thought against it in case the smell spread to the rest of her belongings.

As the girls continued their search, they stepped a little too close to one of the noisy bushes they'd been trying to avoid. Distracted by the task at hand, they were caught off-guard as the foliage started to shake threateningly before spinning around to face them in an odd, 'crouched' position. Hat and Bow readied their weapons, taking a couple, careful steps back.

Four dark limbs, a spiked tail, and a pair of eyes suddenly burst from the mass of greenery. A mouth of small, sharp fangs also appeared as its purring snores turned to a hiss of warning. This spirit was some kind of feline—a bush cat—a little smaller than the two children themselves. Both its eyes and two thick stripes on its tail radiated with a golden glow.

It was cute… up until it charged at the girls for disturbing its nap. Bow Kid moved in defense first, batting the creature away as it neared. It went rolling for a few meters before springing back to its feet and rushing forward once more. The strike only angered it further, giving it an additional boost of energy.

Bow's first move gave Hat Kid a chance to adjust her grip, shuffling the flower in the crook of her arm and bracing her umbrella in her other hand. As the bush cat closed in once more, swinging its tail at the former like a mace, Bow dodged to recover while Hat found an opening to counterattack. This time, the strike landed on the bush cat's unprotected side and it only skid a small distance, holding itself up, but it was still no more deterred.

It sprung at them once again, this time managing to scratch at Hat's hand and finally land a swing at Bow with its tail. The creature's claws and spikes were more like briars, fitting its plantlike body, but they still hurt plenty. Caught between the two children now though, they were able to land the last three hits needed to tire the bush cat out and force it to retreat into the nearby undergrowth—making it one of the stronger and more aggressive supernaturals that they'd faced. They made a point to move more cautiously than before, weaving around any similar bushes they stumbled across along their way.

The second carrion flower grew far within the dense forest, close to where Hat Kid had battled the young, yellow ghost for a Time Piece weeks prior. It was Bow Kid's turn to pick it, her expression twisting into the same, disgusted face as her friend's as she did so. Neither girl could wait to return to the palace just to get rid of the flowers and clean themselves of the smell.

Which was why they were glad to find the third not long after; however, this time growing in an odd place compared to the previous two. While the others had grown along the ground among heavy foliage, this last one had somehow planted itself high on a rocky overhang along one of the tall mounds of earth that rolled from the mountainside through the once barren landscape. To get it, Hat Kid leapt into the branches of a nearby tree, ricocheting off to scale the stone wall and make the last few jumps to reach.

Part of the flower's roots stuck out of the earth from their flimsy purchase, so she ripped it free by one of its larger tubers. It was so bulky that it swung away from Hat before she could grab it, causing it to tear free from her hold. Luckily, at the base of the rock wall, Bow was still able to catch it in the nick of time.

Their task finished, the young aliens hurried back as quickly as they good, not even stopping to admire the fantastical gardens on their way. As much as they would've liked to explore more of the Horizon in its current, overgrown state, maybe even visiting some of the Dwellers in town, it just wasn't something they could afford. Not only was there the stench of the carrion flowers and the constant threat of Vanessa, but the longer they stayed, the more the Florist would worry as well—possibly enough for her to follow after them and risk a whole new set of problems. Even if Moonjumper was just going to block the way from Subcon to the Horizon after they left, Hat Kid didn't want to ruin what little goodwill she had left with him.

Feminine laughter greeted them when they returned to the dining hall. Much to the children's relief, neither Kit or Moonjumper had found a way to upset the other during their absence—no doubt largely thanks to the latter's natural, if ever calm and mysterious, charisma putting the former at ease. Having already set up the beakers, tubes, and other equipment needed, they'd fallen into some casual chatter which the two girls only just seemed to catch the end of:

"Do you like our town then?" Moonjumper asked, "Besides the snow spirits, anyway."

"It's all lovely! The way everything shines is almost like something from a storybook, and I can't remember the last time I've seen stars. All of the smog in the Firelands tends to blot them out, sadly," she explained. However, then she continued after a thoughtful pause, "Although I think it might be nice to see a few more warm colors."

"Color?"

They were innocent words, but enough to raise Hat's concerns. On Moonjumper's part, she was worried he might've been fishing to see if Kit could be tempted into staying in the Horizon—memories of her own near-entrapment in the realm flashing back to her. On Kit's, she was worried that any criticism might not land well, even though it was likely only coming from her artistic sensibilities. The girl walked in, Bow following, but the pair of adults didn't notice them at first.

"All of the blues are very pretty, but they can make everything seem a little cold by themselves, especially since the town is fairly empty. What if there were lanterns, or maybe some stained glass?" For a moment, Kit looked distracted, as if too caught up envisioning the possibilities. Then she blushed as she snapped back to the present, remembering just who she was talking to, "I-I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm sorry, I can't really say much myself on these things. The Firelands is mostly a bunch of reds, after all…"

Maybe it was because he was so hard to read thanks to his mask, but to Hat Kid's surprise, Moonjumper seemed to actually agree with her. He took a moment to look around the dining hall and out its wide window, as if considering it. Eventually, he offered back a single nod, "No, I appreciate the honesty. I suppose… it can feel like something is missing. A splash of some other color might do some good…"

He'd put so much effort into making the place a replica of the old Subcon that the child never would've imagined he'd admit that much. Or accept any sort of critique, after what the ghost put her through. Again though, maybe it was because it was such an innocent comment—one without any connection to his painful history—that he was able to mull it over. He'd asked for Kit's opinion and she'd given it: That was all.

Hat Kid didn't have long to look too in-depth at the brief dialogue as Moonjumper's gaze finally came to rest on her and Bow. Greeting them, he stood up to immediately get to work, instructing that they drop the flowers on the table and wash off in the kitchen.