The day proceeded without further fanfare, with night settling faster than normal. Chris wound up lying awake late into the night, his mind running through all the what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. Fear of what might happen. Anger about what they may do to harm the plants like Walter had done before leaving. And lastly, surprise at the anger he felt on the plants' behalf rather than himself.
And yet despite all of that, sleep eventually took him, the flowers singing lulling him to a deep sleep. Unknown to him, it was intentional, a plan created by the world tree for it and the other plants to talk without him accidentally hearing them.
As soon as the world tree confirmed he had fallen asleep, the plants began to talk and plan, discussing how to keep him safe and deal with the current approaching threat.
The strangle vines wanted to break them slowly and eat what remained, while the shadow vines suggested giving them an eternal rest, saying it could share the fluid from its roots with the spike bushes to make it happen. But should it not work, the strangle vines could drag them over to it. The pitcher suggested drowning them in its sap.
During their discussions about how they could kill, the world tree quietly questioned if this was really the only way to deal with them, wondering if it was right to plan it all out without Chris.
The following morning, right as the sun had begun to rise, Chris was woken up by the loud voices of the plants arguing, their shouting and overlapping voices causing his head to start hurting.
"Enough!" He shouted groggily in his mind as he tried to fully wake up. "Those bandits are planning to take our home and all of you are arguing like children! Why are you fighting like this?"
The little world tree was the first to speak, quietly explaining everything to him. How they were thinking of ways to help protect him and fight, that they didn't want to lose him like he lost the old man. How it tried to plan things out with the others to properly protect him, but that it had gotten out of hand.
That seemed to strike a chord deep inside him. He knelt down and gently hugged the little tree while trying to reassure it. It explained how the argument had begun a short time ago. Each one had started blaming each other for not having done enough or acting as they should have, and when they couldn't come to an agreement on what to do, it soon snowballed into the shouting match between them that woke him up. It told him how it didn't want to have things dragged out. That if they did kill the 'bad people,' it wanted things to be finished quick and clean. But the strangle vines wanted to cripple and cause them pain instead, saying it would send a warning to the rest that way. Some of the others were for that plan, while others felt it should be done quick and clean, firmly against it, which led them to taking sides.
"You guys won't lose me." He promised softly, making sure all of them heard him in his mind before standing, hints of determination flickering across his gaze as he walked out. "But you can't argue about things like this. We're strong together, not apart. We can't make this a place of green if we're trying to rip each other apart."
His words caused them to grow quiet, muttering small apologies to each other before growing quiet again, something that briefly surprised him.
"World tree, since you're able to listen in, did they say when they plan to strike? Did you hear their plans? Has there been any changes?" He eventually asked, taking note of how much the plants had grown while cleaning up the area, trying to plan how best to defend but wanting to know about any possible changes.
The reply made him frown. After the adventurer had stumbled into their camp, he was dragged off. Then a few more people showed up at the camp moments before he woke up. It went on to say that they seemed anxious but seemed to be waiting for orders now. It didn't give a number, though, only that they were like the wolf packs, which didn't really help much.
"Okay, so no real time frame, but no doubt soon if they're anxious already." He muttered, taking note that while most of the new ents had grown shockingly fast, they seemed limited to only some of the old ent's seeds, their own either not taking or struggling to grow properly.
The spike bushes had shared similar sentiments in regards to their own growth but had still managed to grow explosively. Many of them now sticking themselves across the ents, who laughed happily about it, while what he felt were the smarter spike bushes had begun burying themselves into the sand in front of the entrance, giving him an idea.
"Ugh, I should have tried more strategy games over shooters. Okay, we can still do this. Make use of what I've got and maybe grow some multi-purpose plants or just whatever will properly work." He rambled to himself. His gaze settling on the shadow berry vines before wincing as he looked to the pitcher plant. "Better planned this time, like I should have done rather than acting on impulse. But it was worth it; the old man needed to be put to rest properly." His gaze then slid to the strangle vines.
"And preferably not more carnivorous plants. You guys are already enough, and I doubt others would be as controlled or well-behaved." He added with a slight shiver, seeing them puff with what he imagined to be pride.
"Creepers?" he eventually asked softly to the air, now looking at the old ent with hints of curiosity after hearing its suggestion.
He calmly listened to it explain how they seemed to grow rapidly, could be stronger if grown together, could possibly wind together, and may eventually be able to adapt better that way if they create special seeds together. Or that he could try to grow special kinds of grass to revitalize the ground, turning the sand into actual soil.
"How do you even know all of this?" He eventually asked after telling the constrictor vines to eat and clear away the remaining parts he couldn't use, ignoring the snapping noises and their moans of delight. He didn't leave the village that morning, not wanting to risk it when there was an attack coming at any time. Only for it to tell him it didn't know how it knew what it did, only that it had a theory. It explained how his seeds and soil might work not just in growing a plant but needing it to exist, or match what had or could exist, while also working with his intent.
When he tried to press further, hearing suggestions and ideas he hadn't even considered and hoping it could give him more information or just help and guidance, it told him to look at his various plants, to remember his mindset when he grew them and the intent he held each time.
It was at that moment he finally realized how strong his ability could be if he used it right. Each plant was grown not only by description but with a feeling and desire he had at the time. It would also explain why they had grown the way they had.
It was something he sorely wanted to test now but still didn't rush. Instead, he discussed it with the plants before settling on two types of grass and four vines that he would scatter around the area. The cloud tree asked if he would plant more trees, sounding slightly hopeful, but he had to refuse, hating the way it seemed to accept his words while sounding hurt as he explained that he would when things became calmer.