Axel cautiously made his way toward the large reddish leaves, blue streaks running along their edges like glowing veins.
He stopped just short of them and slowly raised the Gishiki. He poked one leaf with the tip, barely a nudge—then instantly jumped back as if expecting the plant to snap shut and bite his arm off.
His eyes darted everywhere, scanning for abnormal movement.
Nothing moved.
Except the leaf itself.
It swayed lazily from the poke, brushing against another with a soft, wet sound.
"…I'm not having that," he muttered.
He poked it again. Harder this time, producing the same result.
Then he poked another leaf.
Same result.
"So just plain old normal leaves," Axel finally conceded with a scrunched-up face, deeply offended by how underwhelming that was.
Still careful, he reached out and pressed a fingertip against the leaf's surface. It was warm. Soft. Slightly slick with moisture, like dew mixed with sap.
