This was a commission for :iconArcasTheBear: . Had a lot of fun with this one, turning their character into a plant horror! Arcas was also inspired to write a little background story to go along with this, check it out below :)
This was a commission for :iconArcasTheBear: . Had a lot of fun with this one, turning their character into a plant horror! Arcas was also inspired to write a little background story to go along with this, check it out below :)

"The old bear had wandered deep into the forest, as was his way. In these lush and untouched places, he would go to reconnect with the spirit of the land and to rest from his travels. When he encountered a plant he'd never seen before, he carefully dug up the plant and placed it in a leather pouch, cinching the cord carefully around the stalk to preserve it for study. As he wandered further, the canopy of the trees above casting the ground into shadow, he saw more and more of the strange plant, in clumps here and there, and then twining through the tree branches and through the foliage on the ground. Curious to learn more, he failed to notice the lack of fauna as he studied the various forms of this unknown foliage, the wind rustling through the leaves the only sound to be heard. Walking over to one of the dangling vines, he sniffed at one of the buds, but didn’t detect any particular aroma...

As the light of day fades, so does his mind as it becomes more addled, the barely noticeable spores taking root inside him. He didn't question that his steps carried him into a crowded grove, nor did he question the creatures that came for him, stripping him of his gear, and guiding him to the large pod that opened before him. Vines began to weave up and around his body, cradling him, lifting him as they interweave around him. His view of the woods beyond was cut off as the pod’s walls closed up around him, casting him into dark green shadow. Soon he would drift off into a spore-ridden, blissful sleep, and have surreal dreams of the green...

. . . . .

This is not like the forests you remember. Everywhere you go, you feel like you are being watched. There are vines everywhere, and the trees and brush seem to be moving. If that isn’t strange enough, there are these pods everywhere, and some of them small, but also larger ones that bulged as if something was inside. You suspect that their occupants are being consumed and fed into the roots beneath the ground. You, however, have so far managed to evade capture, although you’ve become completely lost while avoiding the various bizarre plant creatures that you’ve seen stalking among the vines.

Breathing through a bandanna over your face to avoid the spores you’ve seen spewed out from some of the smaller pods, you try to get your bearings to escape from this place. Nothing about any of this makes sense to you, as it feels like the plants themselves are rising up against you and everyone else. Just as you have this thought, a vine twists out and attempts to grab your ankle. Quickly jerking away, you stumble backwards, crashing through the brush and sprawling onto the vine- covered ground in a very secluded grove, light filtering down through the gap in the canopy above. Your satchel skitters off to the side, the strap breaking off in the fall.

Before you can recover your pack, the view before you shocks you to stillness, just long enough for you to find yourself thoroughly entwined by the slithering vines. Before you in the heart of this grove stands the largest pod you’ve seen thus far. As you begin to twist and fight to free yourself, the sides begin peeling away like the petals of a flower, and you see a hunched shape crouched in the center. Slowly it starts to stand up from the pod, a massive, greenish bipedal form, with some sort of flower like growth on its back, and a odd vine-like tail extending from behind it. You are unsure if it has some sort of stinger or another one of the spore pods at the tip of the tail.

Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t give you much time to contemplate that. This… thing stretches itself up to its full height, its thick arms reaching skyward, before hunching over once more, one arm thudding heavily onto the ground as it turns to face you. You frantically start struggling to get free once more, just as a deep gravelly voice speaks in your mind. A single word, resonating through your mind, consumes your thoughts as its other arm reaches out to you, vines unfurling in the dim sunlight...

"Reclaim..."
"