Skipping down the familiar path to the Mother Tree, you silently hope that something new is waiting for you.

Ink had suspiciously come down with some sort of sickness, the Flox Flu Aream had called it, and had banned you from the Mother Tree in hopes of preventing spread. Apparently, it was highly contagious to certain Creatu and he did not want to risk contaminating the four worlds with another disease.

Luckily, Aream said it was a very easy sickness to cure and that Ink, and any other flox that happened to catch it, would be cured in about a month. Nonetheless, it was very hard to stay away from the flox group but you understood the need to stay safe and healthy.

Thus, a month had passed and you figured now was as good as any time to visit the floxes and check in on them.

Upon reaching the grassy fields you breathe out a sigh in relief as floxes, both big and small, frolic through the tall weeds and yip at you in greeting. You snort as a few kits barrel into your legs and begin tugging at your shoes toward the Mother Tree.

Three blurry figures sit underneath the tree; two a familiar white, while the third, a hazy green, a pleasant surprise.

Briskly picking up your pace, mindful not to step on any tiny paws or petals, you rush down the dirt path and make your way to the center of the field.

Rescreatian! How nice of you to join us!

Aream’s voice chirps through your head and you can’t tell if the surge of happiness is your own or theirs.

Nearing the Tree’s base, you take in the appearance of the new figure sitting next to Aream and Ink. A flox obviously, but unlike the two fluffy white duo your use to, a minty sleek pelt greets you as you come to a stop.

White spots decorate the floxes fur and the smell of mint permeates the air as a swift breeze blows around you. You find yourself frozen as your gaze then meets with a pair of emerald irises, and you feel yourself blush as the other seems to be observing you as well.

Oh alright already! Enough with the staring contest!

Inks cheerful voice enters your head and you quickly avert your eyes to greet said guardian.

Why hello to you dear friend! It’s been a while has it not! So sorry about getting sick and having to send you away! But hey, apparently everyone gets sick, even guardians!

They say only idiots don’t get sick.

Hey!

Aream’s joke makes you laugh out loud and you bend over in glee at Ink’s embarrassed face.

W-well I got sick, so HA! I’m not an idiot!

Aream rolls his eyes at Ink’s puffed out remark before returning his attention back to you.

Sorry about that! We’re just all really excited to see you again! A lot of things happened while you were gone!

You nod your head in understanding and bend your legs to sit on the floor besides the floxes. Once settled you tell Aream to continue.

Well, besides Ink drowning everybody in mucus, (Hey-It’s not my fault it kept dripping from my nose!) my Master sent over a few more items and some rare eggs from the Rare Mother Tree. And as you can see they were delivered by our new friend here!

Aream pauses his speech and gestures with his snout to the green flox sitting besides him.

Her name is Mint and she’s one of the loners who’s acting as a pseudo guardian to the Rare Mother Tree my Master found.

Mint nods her head in greeting before looking down at the ground between her paws. Following her gaze you see two eggs sitting securely in her haunches and they glimmer brightly as if they are showing off to you. 

You ask if those are the eggs Aream’s Master sent and both Aream and Mint yip as a confirmation. You lock gazes with Mint again and the fact that she’s a loner resonates in your mind.

Aream seems to sense your interest and he quickly looks to Ink with a sad gaze.

Mint’s not actually here to stay. She plans to return to her Mother Tree and keep watch over it until all the birth flowers have been picked. She is unsure if she will make another trip back here, as she simply wanted to see who she was sending her birth flowers to.

Ink flicks their tail once before rolling their eyes and reaching to their side with their nose. 

Curiosity overwrites your disappointment and you hum in surprise as Ink noses forward three new eggs that were hidden from sight.

I knew you’d be sad over one missed flox, so I figured as reimbursement, as well as an apology for sending you away, I cut these little guys off a few days ago in hopes of redirecting your interest.

The three eggs glisten in the sunlight and your brain explodes as you try to decide whether to take a rare egg or a normal one.

I think it’s also best mentioned that the Full Moon has disappeared, so floxes should be able to breed again. It actually waned like a week ago, but I figured it best to let you know, cause flox knows Ink won’t.

Aream wags his tail happily while Mint makes a gagging noise next to him and shakes her head.

I second that Mint.

Ink huffs out a snort and gently curls their tail around all the eggs to bring them together into a nice pile.

Now that, that’s all said and done. It really is nice to have you back again dear friend! Things may be a little slow as we get back into things but your support and determination to help our species grow is still very welcomed and much appreciated!

All three floxes stare at you with gratitude and you blush under the attention of such kind words.

A hot gust of wind blows through the grassy fields surrounding the Mother Tree, as the sun sits at its peak in the sky.

Despite the heat that permeates the air, a range of laughter and barking can be heard all throughout the swaying grass. Groups of both Rescreatians and floxes linger around the fields, many of them playing while others seek shade from the blazing light.

Near the Mother Tree itself, Fennimage666 and Ink sit comfortably on its roots, while enjoying the coolness of the leaves that shelter them from the sun.

Upon entering the clearing with a group of friends, Ink had suddenly called them over saying they had something important they wanted to talk about, but had yet to say anything for the past hour.

Fennimage666 sighs in exasperation before finally turning to Ink and asking about what the other wanted to tell them.

Just hold you horses for a minute will you! I tell you once it happens!

Fennimage666 makes a confused face and opens their mouth to complain, but the shaking of the root underneath them causes them to pause and look down in fear. 

As if one que to Ink’s words, the gnarled root begins to unearth itself from the soil as its width begins to grow three times its original size. Fennimage666 cries out in alarm as they are hoisted into the air by the curling root. Fearing that they might fall off, Fennimage666 quickly calls to one of her creatu below to catch them, and then slides off into their companions waiting embrace.

Looking back at the twisting and turning root, Fennimage666 eyes widen as the tip of it emerges from the soil. Hundreds of tiny white secondary roots shimmer like diamonds as they exit the earth, and they wave in the air as if excited to say hello.

The barky primary root seems to slow its movement with the emergence of the tinier ones, and starts to curl upwards in a spiral like fashion. Once it reaches its maximum height, which is about half the size of the Mother Tree, it stops.

Fennimage666 then watches in amazement as the tiny white roots seem to curl into themselves, forming white rose-like protrusions. Once the last roots have swirled, all movement from the tree stops and a tiny blur at the tip of the new tree formation informs you that Ink has managed to get to the top.

Well? 

Fennimage666 hums in interest as Ink’s mental link can reach from so far away, before responding back with a ‘Well what.’

What do you mean, ‘Well what!” Isn’t it amazing!

Fennimage666 makes a sound of agreement as a couple of other Rescreatians walk up beside them and ask what is going on.

Ink’s blurry dot seems to tilt their head in annoyance before deciding to jump down the middle of the spiraling root and land, surprisingly unharmed, in front of the now large group.

You mean you all don’t know what this is!

The group nods their head collectively and Fennimage666 asks Ink if they could explain it to them.

Well it has been a long time since Rescreatians and our kind last spoke, so our history might have been lost...but...oh well, everyone forgets things!

Fennimage666 rolls their eyes at Ink’s statement, while a couple others snicker at the guardian’s lack of engagement.

No matter, what you all just witnessed is an evolution of the Mother Tree! Isn’t that great! We just witnessed history in the making ahhh...he would be so jealous right now. AHAHAH!

The group looks at Ink in confusion, his sentence seeming to trail off in a different direction.

Pardon my interruption, but I think I could explain a bit more than this ruffian can.

Aream’s voice carries over Ink’s as he shuffles his way through the crowd of Rescreatians and floxes and pushes the fumbling Ink aside.

Ahem, n-now then. What Ink was trying to say is that the Mother Tree has undergone a sort of  evolution to the point where it can now start giving rise to a new subspecies of flox.

Fennimage666 and the group chorus a ‘Subspecies?’

Yes, a subspecies. It really shouldn’t come to you all as a surprise. You have witnessed various subspecies of Floxes already. While it is true many of the floxes have come to sport flowers, there have been some that are weeds (such as Moonsilver475’s Yellow Dandelion) and herbs (such as Mint from the Rare Mother Tree). These types of floxes are easy to make for the Mother Tree so they all come from Birth Flowers. However...

Aream pauses in his speech to nudge Ink with his tail toward the spiraling root. Ink seems to come out of his snickering daze and immediately heads to the bottom of it. Upon reaching the base, he reaches his leaf tail toward a small root rose and gently slides it underneath it to unhinge it.

With the precious cargo in his grip they quickly walk back over to Fennimage666 and motion for them to open their hands. Fennimage66 does as told and watches in amazement as the root rose flashes a bright purple before turning into a beautiful purple egg much like the original Birth Flowers turn into.

They’re are other ways a Mother Tree can follow to create special types of floxes.

Fennimage666 and the group watch in amazement as the egg suddenly begins to glow a bright purple and Fennimage666 quickly puts it down as the egg cracks open. After the light fades, a beautiful purple flox shakes their wooly body and a wave of gasps flow through the crowd at its appearance.

A thick barky tree trunk seems to grow from the floxes hide quarters as long strings of purple flowers trail off its branches. Purple petals float gently to the floor, due to the floxes shaking, and the smell of Wisteria travels through the air.

In the past this subspecies was known as Treelings, or Barkes and it seems the recent hot weather encouraged the Mother Tree to start producing them. I must say though that they are a bit more rarer than regular flower floxes, and that their reproduction rates aren’t that compatible with others that aren’t Tree-related, plus...

BLAH BLAH BLAH! I think they get it Aream! Anywayyyssss I think we can all agree confidently that this is a great thing right! I mean it sucks for me because now I have to watch over both ‘Trees’ but at least now we can have more friends to play with! I hope you all are as excited as I am to see what new flora will be hatched!

First, Oh wow! A brand new subspecies of Flox can now be found randomly in batches of Eggs picked from the Mother Tree! Their Eggs are a little bit different from normal Birth Flower Eggs, so keep your eyes peeled when new batches come out. It should also be noted that Aream said these Treelings don’t breed very well with non-Treelings. so beware when breeding! Overall, Ink and I look forward to seeing what Treelings will join your families in the future!

Second, Congratulations Fennimage666, you are the receiver of the first Treeling Flox subspecies. It seems the amount of love you pushed into the Root Rose caused it to transform into a beautiful purple egg and then into a lovely Purple Wisteria Flox. (Ink and I thank you for using the custom service and are happy to have helped you create the perfect flox!)