"Okay, how would Pomo know something like that?"
"That's what I'm seeing right now. Can you give me a minute, please."
I rolled my eyes but let her do what she wanted.
"Hey, Impeto, is it okay, sir, if I go get some eggs from the chickens?"
The rooster just nodded, not really caring. Usually, he'd be super skittish, right? But it seems the beating I gave him made him much more humble. Either it was his sister's influence or the slight trace of phoenix blood he has, which I still can't believe he has in the first place.
Anyway, I ran over to the neighbor's and entered the house, which was even more messed up than ours. It wasn't hard to find the room where the chickens had built their nests; it was the one with the most noise and feathers.
As soon as I appeared at the door, all the chickens and chicks froze, we stood there staring at each other for a while until one of them made a strange clucking noise that made them all sort of get into a line formation, like a group of soldiers when a superior appears.
It was, to say the least, uncomfortable trying to appease them and the chicks, who alternated between looking at me with fear, anger, and confusion. After longer than I'd like, I finally left with about five eggs and went to the refrigerator, which had no power in the house.
Of course, it's no good for storing eggs, but at least it was a place to put them, and we have to work with what we have.
After that, I went back to the front to see how things were going with the rest of the group.
.... Is it weird that I'm talking about basically a bunch of animals, a sentient plant, a possible monster that can inflate itself to fit in a small pond, a Pixie, and myself, a half-vampire?
Okay, another one of those things I'm going to push to the back of my mind and avoid even thinking about again.
"So, is it over?"
"Yeah... It seems so..."
"Is there a problem?"
"Huh? Oh! No, it's nothing, I was just thinking about a few things. To summarize, Pomo gained consciousness from day one, but couldn't control its mana very well, so it ended up sharing its vision with several other plants connected by roots."
"How could a plant see for itself? Let alone share its vision?"
"It couldn't hold a firm grip on anything, and whenever a larger plant, like a tree, felt fear or pain, its consciousness was pulled there."
'Okay, that makes some sense. I remember that in forests, it's not uncommon for trees to help injured trees, sharing nutrients and water. Considering how much plants in general grew from nothing thanks to mana, this "consciousness pull" must have been a variation of that.'
"About the second day, a large number of plants became frightened, and another almost as large number died in the area 'near' the house. When Pomo consciousness was inevitably pulled, she said she saw a desolate field with several strange creatures howling and fighting."
"Several strange creatures?. Not humans?"
The Snitch's leaves clenched when I asked. Mari translated.
"She can't tell. Even though she can see, she couldn't tell most creatures apart. Even us. To her, we're the ones who appear most frequently and sometimes give her water."
'Good to know she considers us so important that she differentiates us from mere 'strange creatures.''
"Anyway~."
From the look she gave me when she said this, it was clear she was using that special sense of hers to start her mind again, and if I thought of anything else that would irritate her, I would regret it.
"Haaaaa~. After her consciousness was pulled back, she could see that the creatures, which were still alive, were fighting each other in total confusion, and yet they were commanded by other creatures. There were two of them in command, and they were particularly distinguishable."
I have a feeling I'm not going to like what comes next.
"From what she said. They were big, very big. Their footsteps were so heavy that even the roots beneath the street could feel their presence."
I already didn't like them.
"These two fought so fiercely that even though Pomo knew they couldn't hurt her directly, she was frightened by their strength. It didn't take long for one side to win; in the place where the loser fell, a large red rock appeared."
'How could Pomo distinguish colors? No, I know that the simple fact that she could see, and in a way, "share her vision" with other plants, is surreal in itself. But like... How?!'
*Bang*
*Krroorr-kkkooo*
A ball of light passed dangerously close to my head, scaring away Impeto and the chickens. Mari's face wasn't happy, and even Pomo looked a little irritated.
How could I tell that the orange tree in my backyard was irritated?. I don't know either, I just know that I could, and that she was irritated.
"Before the victor could do anything with the stone or the loser's 'servants', a group of creatures similar to those that often appear (us) came and managed to expel him along with the smaller creatures that were with him. This group that scared him did not stay in that place for long."
"According to her, they rummaged through some of the piles of rocks the two big ones left behind and then moved on. The big red rock remained there, but they completely ignored it. And soon, the Snitch's consciousness returned here, where it waited another day until our parents and I woke up, and from now on, we know the rest."
"Hmmm~... From what Pom "said", there's a good chance this rock really is the big magical bloodstone."
I nodded, arms crossed, but still had to ask.
"But Pomo, how are you sure it's still there where that fight took place?. How do we know some monster or person didn't take that rock because they thought it was pretty or something?"
Pomo's leaves rustled for a while while Mari nodded with a few "uh-huh, okay, I get it" every now and then.
"She said the victor left some kind of mark on the spot. Not only that, the creature also sent some of the others who have fought with It, there to act as a watchdog for the stone. Any creature other than them that came near this mark, had either moved away or ended up being killed by them."
Okay, okay, nothing too worrying.
"Just a small question, she just found out now that I asked her, right?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
*Sting*
I could hear Pomo sharpening her leaves to throw at me at any moment.
Obviously, I raised my hands and waved them in front of me.
"No, no, no, no problem, just curious. Hahaha."
'Seriously, Mari, what were you saying about me that made this tree so sensitive?!!!!'
"Just two more things to finish. Where exactly is this place, and how big is this stone?"
Even if that's the stone we need, it won't help if we don't know where it is, right? And we also don't know how big a large magic bloodstone should be!!!
Pomo stopped and rustled the leaves a little, but much less than before. A sort of oyster appeared and pointed to the end of the street.
"She said it was half of that."
Mari said, pointing to the wrecked carcass of a Toyota C+pod at the beginning of the next block.
'...I don't think that would be a large magic stone, wouldn't it be better to call it a giant magic stone?!!!!'