Fall to Winter

  As the month passes, a cold wind begins to blow, bringing heavy rains with it. 'Who would have thought that just reaching Seed coalescing would be such a pain,' John sighs. Today will be his second attempt. With his stem filled with the sun and earth energy, he begins to swirl the power around the core in a circular manner.

  The stimulation causes the core to shudder as it absorbs the energy endlessly, reminding John of his previous attempt. He can feel his whole body shaking, his leaves ruffle, and the ground near his roots crack. 'This is too intense!' John thinks. John starts to worry that he did something wrong.

  Joe is grazing as usual when he is surprised by the bush's sudden violence. His eyes grow wide as he feels the ground shake. With trepidation, the large rotund demonic bull backs away from the quaking bush.

  Joe begins to see mysterious images form around the bush. The bush is now lush as a set of magical scenes appear on the hill. First, a child plays in the shade of the bush. It's berries slowly nurturing the child. Second, a scene of a pure teenage girl reverently picks the berries from the lush bush. Third, a divine lady takes to the sky as if to battle the gods. The scenes continue playing over and over.

  The phenomena continues for an hour until the images start to overlap, converging into the bush, with a blinding light. A deafening explosion smashes the silence! Causing the fearful bull to stumble slipping on the slick ground from the recent rains. "UOOOGA." Joe roars as he tumbles, rolling down the hill like a ball.

  'Ha ha ha,' John laughs to his heart's content. He can feel his body fill with energy. A small golden seed now takes the place of the circular core. 'I warned you, stupid bull, but you didn't listen,' John thinks with a face full of joy. The demonic bull's current humiliation is the cherry on top of this great achievement.

  Feeling vindicated, John can only wonder what those visions meant. 'Perhaps it's an ancient memory from my great ancestor?' John wonders while furrowing his brow. He made sure to take the images to heart and memorize them for the future.

  While John is on top of the moon, poor Joe is looking quite sad. He'd only been eating as normal when such a strange thing happened. Now he is covered in mud and a bit dizzy from his tumble. Joe Climbs to his hooves. The demonic bull then looks up angrily at the offending plant. It feels that this plant is trying to steal his hill! Snorting, he charges back up to show this bush who is boss.

  John senses the angry demonic bull trying to climb up the hill. His senses can now reach much farther, encompassing the whole hill. However, the ground is slippery, and the overweight beast is not having a great time. It keeps tumbling back down the slope getting angrier every time. John can't help but laugh, 'Joe, I know this is a happy occasion, but you don't have to dance around like that.'

  After many attempts, Joe reaches the top of the hill. At this point, he looks more like a mud boulder then a demonic beast. Joe's eyes are red with anger as he stomps his hoof and eyes the bush. It is going to get revenge for sure! Slowly walking forward, the bush seems to quiver a bit in fear. It does no good, however, as Joe chomps down on one of the branches. Chewing slowly, he makes sure that this bush knows he can eat it at any time.

  John is Horrified by Joe's aggression and his lost limb. John's revelry quickly turns into depression. 'What I didn't do anything to you! Why are you so intolerable!' he yells to no avail. All he can hope for is that the bull's fury is satiated with just one branch. The pain is there but is nowhere near what it was as a human. At least he can be thankful that he has the resilience of a plant. He can grow more branches in the future, replacing the lost one.

  Soon more time passes as it gets colder, John loses his leaves, and soon even the surrounding grass wilts. Now with the ability to grow more weeds taken away, the two hill mates are in a standoff. 'What you want to eat me? If you do, how will you satiate your appetite?' John questions the annoying bull that has been giving him dark looks.

  Joe, not understanding, stomps his hoof and snorts as usual to produce more grass. However, this time nothing happens. It is very annoying, but even as a stubborn bull, it knows that winter is almost here. No matter what, this is a hungry time of year. Pouting Joe slumps down, facing away from the poor bush.

  'Do you think if you cry, I'll be able to change the seasons magically?!' John curses at the bull's sullen attitude. He'd even lost a limb earlier even if he could why would he help this stupid Joe. John turns his senses away from Joe, attempting to counter pout.

  John is significantly weaker without the power of the sun; he feels sleepy. Soon both John and Joe, the demonic bull, turn in for the winter. When they wake up, it should be an exciting new year, both think!

  John's dreams are full of him gaining full control of his body and escaping this damn hill leaving Joe crying. Joe's dreams, however, are full of even more food. The hill is full of tasty grass and also some fruit. Joe can't help but drool at the sight while John shudders for some reason.