Botanical Burglary ◄ Isaac and Delilah ►

It was such a wonderful night. The moon is shining down above, crossing through the leaves and the branches. She can hear crickets chirping and the soft hum of environment stabilizer working in the corner. Hard to keep some plants alive indoors, and especially those ones that originates in misty mountains. The ones she has are even more fragile, their DNA freshly modified and is trying to adjust to the changes in its structure. Delilah watched fondly as thorns begin to grow at the leaf’s edge. They sway gently towards her and she didn’t hesitate to nuzzle to them.

“Hmmm Mmm Mm Mmm Mm Mmmmm~” she hummed quietly in the dark. She would love to sing a lullaby to the flowers, but the roots have dug quite deep into her throat. Humming is the most comfortable noise she can make. And its what all the plants in the room liked as well, writhing and straining their limbs to try and touch her. Touching the one that are shaping their body, the one that made them grow unnaturally fast.

She giggled lightly and stood up, being extra careful than usual. Being seven feet tall suddenly can cause accidents and she doesn’t want to explain to her brothers why there is a hole in the roof again. The bright side is she can just easily touch the highest leaves on a tree to check their progress, and touching the soil of hanging plants without the need to grab a ladder.

Carefully she walked around the greenhouse, going through each rows of trees and vines, double checking all the plants to make sure they are growing well, making sure her gnarly horns would not hit anything. As well as ignoring their cry. They are always hungry, and always want to devour meat – fresh bloody ones. And as always, she rebuked them in her head. Pointing out they already went out last week and ate. Doing so too often will increase the chance they get burned. They can’t argue back, even though their roots are twisted in to her, drinking her blood, they know they need her to be safe and alive if they want to feast again.

Although for tonight... That doesn’t seem like a problem...

All the plants suddenly froze, as if sensing something. They are much more aware of their surrounding then typical plants, after all she did spend time to try put in animal DNA and see their effect. It resulted the plants to crave for more nutrients, but they are also partially sentient. Maybe they notice a shadow blocking the moon? Or more carbon dioxide in the air? Or just maybe the sudden silence of the crickets and machines outside. Who knows but she has to work fast before they enter.

She didn’t waste time and immediately went to her Cerberus toy. With flowers for hands it’s a little finicky to turn on the recorder and the music player within, but she managed it with help from her tail vines. A silent tone echoes out from the toy’s mouth. All the plants in the greenhouse suddenly grew twice as large. The leaves covered the moon and hid Delilah carefully among the trees branches.
Like a tree among trees.

They remain still for their guest, pretending to be normal plants. If fate is with them, they get a meal tonight.

The plants alertness was well founded. From her high position she could see someone with a visor passing by, it was something she recognised because its what Ven and Dee use on their job sometimes. She watched quietly from between the tree branches, as the boy easily pick the simple lock and enter her private greenhouse. If either of her brothers find out about this they would definitely insist she install better security. Probably also nag her to actually lock the door and definitely tell her to install a camera. Both of which she would not listen, especially about the camera, she hated those things.

Also she doesn’t really see the need for security. The plants can defend themselves easily enough. Many already begin to spread out along the floor or even pulsating. One of them already snaking their way to the boy’s ankle, thorns full of poison that if he doesn’t notice it in time will cause his leg to become a dead weight. Of course they are all still rather slow. As much as the plants wanted to, they couldn’t move so easily with body that isn’t made of flesh. Or at least rooted into a body of flesh.

Delilah waited to see the guy look around, the moment he turned away from her, she kicked off and landed on the wall. Her wooden hooves dug into the stone wall just like the vines decorating there. She carefully hid her large purple flower in the mass of her teal hair, which also have a great deal of vines growing out of it. She could attack him now, it would be easy as well. Just jumping off the wall and knock him to the ground with the weight of a small girl plus a tree. From there it would be just so simple to smother him in her own personal poison before slowly digging out his implants.

They cried out again though, already wanting to attack, already hungry. She hushed them in her mind and they went silent. Being patient with her and wait to see what the boy come here for.

There are a lot of experimental plant in this greenhouse and only one or three are considered completely harmless. Rest can strangle, poison, dissolve and even explode on someone that they don’t like. Which turns out to be everyone but Delilah. Sometime she suspected that if she didn’t lecture one of her plant for hoisting Ven up, the rest of her plant brood would have attacked her brothers as well. Still she wasn’t worried, they are great and strong and definitely can handle her creations.

The question here is whether this guy can handle them. As another plant were extending their vines across the work table to try and reach out to his arm. One part curiosity, other parts hungry and humans flesh has always being a great fertiliser.

The plants are all rather determined. Even as he managed to get out of their grasp they never stop trying to find him, branching out and lying in wait in the darkness. It helps a lot when some plants lay stock still while others move in his blind spot. It soon becoming a rather deadly game of “red light, green light”. Speed never was a problem for them.

She saw him touched his visor and followed his line of sight, smiling when she saw him looking at her. At least for a very brief moment, his head turned a little towards her side even though he still look at her last location. It seems she needs to ask Ven to make a better NUIP masker, something that can block out scanners from an intruder. Although thankfully she has enough security on hers that will hide her identity from anyone who is not higher ranked than her two brothers. Which blocked out about 90% of the population.

Delilah couldn’t help but let out a high giggle – the roots did a fantastic job in making her voice unnaturally high, it’s actually ringing a little in the greenhouse. She know she really shouldn’t have done that, since she has to immediately leap off the wall and into the tree branches, crouching down to be hidden within the canopy. That movement probably was caught by the boy, but by the looks of it he was using heat vision and that will give no clue on what she look like when she fold herself carefully among the tree branches. And she also know her viney tail, horns and hair give off no heat, so those part of her body can still so easily sneak up on the guy.

It may not have being a good idea to give her positions away, but it just amused her so much that the guy would want to try negotiating. If there is a plant he wanted he could have just asked for it in the day time, provided if he knew the name she has given them. What made this one desperate enough to come into her private greenhouse?

Well not that it matters, he already spoken out loud and it would be crystal clear in the recording hidden in the Cerberus toy on the desk. Later she could always give the recording to her brothers if she wants to get her plants back.

For now she was more curious than ever. Which of her pretties did he want? The thorny one that is still snaking towards his ankle? Or is it the one gurgling lightly with poison within the fruit? There are so many plants in the greenhouse, and many ways for them to kill if he did not tread carefully.

Just like that sweet little one underneath her table, its jaws open and ready to pounce. A Venus fly trap that has grown just a little bit larger. In normal people’s opinion the plant has grown too big, it could potentially swallow a cat. In fact its fast enough as the head shoot out to try and take a bite from the guy’s leg. The acid would easily burn through cotton.

Seeing him backflipped away from the plants made her pout a little in disappointment. Seeing him stepping on the plants and even kicking her creations, she couldn’t help but let out an angered screech. She let her voice echo in the small greenhouse and watched carefully for his movement. Hopefully he wouldn’t immediately notice the large Devil’s Snare – yes she reads harry potter and actually worked to make a similar plant, the difference is the fact her plant love sunlight.

She can move fast in one leap, but not much more if she wanted to make sure nothing else gets destroyed in here. For the first time she was thankful that she kept most of her gardening tool out of sight in a tool box. There are no large shovels or pipes lying around, the few that can be seen already have vines using it as a support structure. Everything is always neat and tidy before she close shop and head home to make dinner.

Although the tool box is not exactly locked though, but its also not labelled among other boxes where she kept seeds that just germinated. Who knows, maybe he end up opening a box full of popping seed and they could latch on to him, or even the fast growing exploding peas.

However she doesn’t want to take the chance for him to arm himself. If he destroys anymore of her creation she would cry. She still waited till he wasn’t looking directly at her before jumping to the wall behind him. That visor maybe infrared, but she knows its not 360 degree vision. Which reminds her to return Sven’s pair of visor sometime later, she had her fun watching a plant glowing in heat before exploding in a shower of spores.

Quietly she settles on the viney walls behind him. Waiting for a chance to head butt him with her horns, that way he would finally stop hurting her precious.