Sticky Tree Juice

"I mean, we live in a tree, right? A maple? Would be pretty dumb not to make use of that, seeing as we already have to scrape it off the floor on the regular."

— Bard

  The Great Tree in Ailurus isn't just highly enchanted, soul-bound, home to the Pandas, and open to anyone who needs a nice afternoon snack: it is also, contrary to popular belief, actually a tree. For centuries, pitch, resin, and sap from trees have been used for all sorts of craftwork. So it's no surprise that the Pandas, who famously will mix together literally anything that isn't up a tree in…(okay, you get the idea) found a use for it, too.   If you ask what exactly is being used, a lot of Pandas just shrug mysteriously and say, "Sticky Tree juice. No, the other one."

Maple Sap

The thing everyone actually thinks of when they hear "maple tree": the good stuff. Despite the temptation, even the Pandas don't take too much, though they did install a tap in the Tree (after politely asking permission, courtesy of the Vivimancers from Lapin).   The tap sits directly in Panda Hall, with a tiny dedicated freight lift running up toward the kitchens. In the early spring months, while the Tree still bears silver leaves, and if you've asked very, very nicely, you can actually get tree sap out of it. The amount varies vastly from person to person, and since the sap is extremely sugar-rich even by normal maple standards, it doesn't take much more than that anyway. Instead of the usual 1:50 ratio you need for maple syrup, you only need 1:3.   Why exactly this is the case, nobody really knows, though there's a theory it has something to do with the sheer volume of magical sweets the Pandas bake in the crown of the Tree, day in and day out. Other theories point to the magically saturated ground of Penwall, which, ever since the city's magical founding and the additional enchantments laid on its residents, has become charged enough that small magical effects can spontaneously occur on their own.    

Maple Syrup

From the maple sap, naturally, maple syrup gets made for all sorts of desserts and baked goods. A number of the most beloved recipes from the Ailurus Bake-Off are flavored with "panda honey," as it's sometimes called because of its thick consistency.   There's a strict quantity limit here, though, since the Tree can't give up sap indefinitely. In fact, collecting this sap outside of Panda Hall and without Panda supervision is strictly forbidden.   The Tree gives as much as it's willing to give, though in spring there are a handful of days each year when the whole city comes together, because the Tree willingly offers sap as a gift to its residents without needing to be wounded again first. The usual overgrowth response that would normally seal the trunk simply doesn't happen.   Instead, on Tree Day, all sorts of people from across the city line up in Panda Hall, hoping for a bit of maple sap. There's singing, laughing, and, of course, sweets getting shared, while the line at the tap slowly but surely inches forward. Some people fill their whole container; others have less luck. It's been observed that the bigger the container, the less the Tree seems to be willing to give.
 

"I still don't get why people are surprised by this. If I invite someone to dinner and they show up with an extra-large Tupperware container to pack a doggy bag for the next three days, I'm also only giving them a single bean. Modesty is a virtue. The Tree gives us what it's willing to give, not one bit more. The Tree provides."

— Bard

 

I just drink it straight from the tap. I don’t like aple syrup, but the sap!? It’s better than glitter and that’s coming from me! I always go last because they have to clean the spout after."

— Foxx

  For this reason, a small jar of panda honey is considered a deeply affectionate gift, one meant to make clear that the small things in life matter more to you than whatever grandeur might be out there.   During those days, the Pandas come down and start boiling the first pots right away. It often runs late into the night, as it always does, and sometimes, between the loud conversations and good moods, people forget why they even gathered in the first place.   Once the syrup is done, pancakes, waffles, and French toast start coming out of the kitchen, and the Great Tree's gift is enjoyed by everyone together. The whole Tree, up to its highest branches, often smells like maple syrup for days afterward. Status, wealth, none of that matters here: after all, we've all been invited by the Great Tree, and we sit at its feet to share and enjoy its gifts.    

Maple Glue

If the maple syrup gets boiled down even further than into panda honey, which rarely happens, you get the true Sticky Tree Juice: Maple Glue, a substance jokingly also referred to as Sticky Fly Trap.  

“The Glue form is so highly prized because it’s difficult to make without fire based Literomancy. I mean, think about Maple Syrup: you have to keep the syrup boiling to evaporate enough water. You physically can’t take out enough water to make Maple Glue with normal means. You need a strict combination of temperature and pressure to get it concentrated enough.”

— Happy, hiding a box behind her back labeled “Happy’s Secret Candy Thermometer”

  This creates a maple syrup so thick, sticky, and tenacious that it's used as the aromatic base for magical glue traps. And we all know how much the Pandas love their traps.  

"Well, it's quite practical, isn't it? It's one thing to have purple hands because you cracked an ATM. It's another thing entirely to be stuck head to toe in glue that won't come off and smells like dessert. You really can't have 'it was me' written on your forehead any more clearly than that. Wouldn't you agree, Foxx?"

— Bard, after Foxx tried to break into Bard's Art studio... again

  It's a well-established fact that the maple glue traps spray at least three times the amount of glue they're technically supposed to hold. Especially spiteful Pandas (read: Bard, Happy, Tater Tot, Foxx) also mix extra biodegradable glitter into their versions. Color-coded, of course, so they know exactly who caught the intruder and can claim the point in a totally non-existent game that absolutely does not have a secret whiteboard in the leader room. Nope. Never. Nu-uh.
 

I’m winning - Foxx
No, you’re not - Tatertot
Yes, I am! - Foxx
No, you're no-hooot!" - Tatertot

 

“Resin”

Maple trees don't actually have resin. But when sap seeps out of a wound and mixes with dew, then dries in the open air, it still forms a sticky substance that's generally just called "resin." Distressed botanists show up at the door on a regular basis to complain about this.  

"It's alright. Here, take a cup of tea. We know. Yes, we know. It just stuck. Really. Yes we know. I– Yes, we know. No, we can not change it, people already call it that. Cookie?"

— Happy

  The Tree's "resin" is never harvested by force. Only wounds that occurred naturally are scraped, and only as much as the Tree can spare without being seriously hurt. Some think this is the reason the Pandas treat their Tree so carefully: because their souls are bound to it, and they don't want to overtax the sacred plant. Others just know better than to pick a fight with Bard, Nova, and the rest of the Tree's hippies.  

"We built something sacred here, worthy of the Fae Realm, and you want to tear it open for more party favors? Shoo! Get out of here! I can't believe I'm hearing this. I also don't grab the kitchen knife and start hacking at you lot just because I need some red paint!"

— Bard

  Still, after storms, it sometimes has to be scraped off ceilings and floors, because the Tree took a battering of micro-injuries in the wind and leaked sap. The Pandas use this as an excuse to get together for a good-natured cleaning party with an open playlist.   The resin, which ranges from pale yellow to nearly white, is rarely used for mundane purposes in Ailurus. Instead, it's treated as sacred incense for special occasions like the Rauhnächte (the Twelve Nights) or other festivities. On Walpurgis Night, the first logs of the May bonfire are traditionally coated with it. On memorial days, it's returned to the tree and buried near its roots. So it isn't used for mischief - and yet, it still has a reputation for being extremely sticky: hands stay unclean and tacky for days afterward. Because the "resin" is really just dried maple syrup that's oxidized in the air and bonded with dew, it should, in theory, be water-soluble. Should. Emphasis on should.

If anyone ever finds a solvent this magical disaster actually dissolves in, House Ailurus has a generous reward posted for discovering it. Until then, everyone just has to live with sticky hands. Sometimes for weeks. Please send help.

Maple Blood

As, essentially, the blood of a magical Tree straining against its own natural rhythm through sheer magic, panda honey is also sometimes used in Versomancy. Where, exactly? The answers there stay surprisingly vague.      

"It really caught me cold once. Ha — pun not intended. But I still had some panda honey left in my glass, and it reminded me I had a breakfast date with Imogen the following week. That was enough."

— Nova

  Bard and other fae-blooded members with ties to the Green Valley reject this practice, because it reminds them of another, much darker midwinter ritual they don’t like to talk about.  

Final Note

No matter how the Great Tree's syrup gets used, it's always a reminder of the place it comes from, and the people waiting there at home for you. Even if maybe you don't have to open every door without asking first. GOD DAMMIT FOXX.   (We believe they do it on purpose sometimes, so the glitter stays in their fur longer and the squeaky toys end up tasting like dessert.)