The need to return to the four worlds to feed your beloved creatu and do a bit of shopping had caused you to leave the Mother Tree if only for a little while. 

The guilt of having to leave the tree unprotected left a bad taste in your mouth, but with the clouds gone, you weren’t too worried. You continue onwards on the path you memorized to get to the Mother Tree, and you sigh in relief once the tall, colorful tree comes into view.

But what’s this!

Below the tree, sitting on one of the large roots is a familiar form.

“Ink!” You shout as you rush the remainder of the way to them.

Hehehe! Did you miss me? A bought of childish snickering fills your mind, and you roll your eyes at the floxes sarcasm.

Hehe! Of course you did, didn’t you! Well, fret not anymore, dear friend. For I, the great Ink, have returned!

Ink’s voice rumbles with joy and they wag their tail happily.

Ink’s attitude seems to have completely changed from the last time you saw them. Something good must have happened while they were away.

Why of course something good happened! While I was on my way to Ni... I mean... to the being who was controlling the clouds, I encountered a dear friend!

“A friend?” You question, suddenly eyeing the strange bulky bag tied around the flox’s torso.

Yes, a friend! He likes to travel around the world collecting strange objects, and then selling them to others who find them useful! He actually hordes a bunch of things that can affect us floxes, but he can be pretty stingy when giving them up.

“So he’s a trader...flox?” Ink snorts at your question and then laughs with glee upon finding your eyes zeroed in on his bag.

Yeah, I guess you could call him that, hehe. But he also goes around checking up on the other Mother Tree’s.

“THERE ARE OTHER MOTHER TREES!” You shout once hearing this information. How could there be other Mother Trees? Are they all protected by guardians like Ink. Have other Rescreatians come across the trees without knowing it?!

HAHA! Of course there is silly! And no not all of them are protected like mine. Mother Trees are spaced very far apart, so it’s unlikely that someone will encounter more than one. With the decline of my species, it became harder for guardians to protect the trees, and thus, many were left abandoned. 

Your eyes bulge as the contents of Ink’s bag spill over once the flox gets the strap over his head. 

You see, my friend took it upon himself to visit these trees in hopes of recovering some of the different types of birth flowers stationed at each one. While each tree produces hundreds of different types of flowers, there are certain ones that can produce super rare species.

Ink hums in thought as 3 beautiful eggs roll gently onto the grass below.

While normal floxes themselves are uncommon, a flox born with a rare, or endangered flower is said to be legendary. Even then, a flox born with an extinct flower is said to be a myth. But, give it up to my friend for finding birth flowers that defy these odds!

You slowly reach forward to slide your hand across one of the eggs as it rolls to stop beside your foot.

“So these eggs are...”

Rare? Special? One of Kind? Why Yes! Yes, they are! 

You gasp softly as the egg under your fingers blinks as if acknowledging Ink’s word.

My friend, really a good guy, gave these to me after I told him that a Rescreatian was helping me to kindle our species! He told me to go on ahead and that maybe he would stop by later and say hi to the kind soul who decided to help us out.

Ink’s story fills your mind with various thoughts. Who was this strange flox Ink was talking about? What kind of items does he collect? What other kinds of rare things does he come across? Would he be willing to trade anything if he actually does stop by?

Now that, that’s all settled would you mind explaining what happened to my tree and why there are five birth flowers unaccounted for. Don’t think I didn’t notice that blue string tied around your finger either! You got some explaining to do, dear friend!

You snort in exasperation as the white flox’s mood seems to change from jolly to sassy, but you eventually smile, glad to finally have the guardian back to keep you company.