There are Tiny Beans lions all over the world, every lion knows that. But the lions here exist within an old, overgrown botanical garden.
Stories say that generations ago giants came to feed the lions and their plants, and kept the building they lived in clean and maintained. Today's lions haven't seen a giant in their lifetimes. The glass of the ceilings and domes that make up the garden are cracking and falling through, letting in the harsh elements. Lions have formed new groups and moved their plants beyond their historical boundaries. Flowers and shrubs and trees have broken through concrete and tile barriers to fill in open space that the giants once occupied.
Signs, old nonfunctional computers, books and brochures are the only remnants to prove that the stories of the past aren't just myth.
The Historic Entry
The Historic Entry is at the front of the botanical garden building. It contains most of the remnants of the giants, including maps and brochures and old block-y computers that won't turn on anymore. Based on the aforementioned maps, this is where the giants would first enter to see the gardens. The doors are old and nonfunctional here, far too heavy for a lion to open on their own.
This is where many of the most showy, bright flowers originated from in the gardens. Many still remain here, growing up trellises with peeling paint and along small, shallow decorative pools.
At the edges of the entry a small offices with giant desks and many books and papers. Over the years, some lions have moved pots and dirt even into these spaces, making use of every inch of the building.
The Great Dome
The Great Dome is central to the entire botanical gardens. It is a circular room capped off by a huge glass dome. At the center of the room is the largest tree of the entire gardens - a gnarled, looming Live Oak that has reached out and broken the glass of the dome in many places. It is protected by the eldest lion, Querco.
Radiating out from the oak are cracked and broken pathways that have been filled with small plants, and many raised plant beds surrounded by giant benches. The dome contains the largest diversity of plants inside the building.
The holes in the glass allows much of the weather to get through. The dome often experiences rain, snow, and gusting winds nearly as intensely as the outer gardens.
The Medicinal Hall
The strong herbaceous smell of the Medicinal Hall can be overwhelming for some. According to the fading signs around the room, the plants that were originally cultivated here were used to treat and cure ailments that the giants faced.
The hall itself is fairly small but the lions use the space effectively, packing in as much as they can. There are two rooms off to the side with doors propped ajar that have large signs denoting them as restrooms. The lions have absolutely made use of them as well, despite the unforgiving tile atmosphere.
The Rain Room
Like the dome, the Rain Room has many windows. There are fewer cracks and holes in the glass of this room, but there is a small hole in the glass door that allows lions access. All that glass keeps humidity trapped in the Rain Room, which makes it much warmer than anywhere else in the building.
There are a maze of pipes that run through this room and spout water down upon the plants frequently. As far as anyone can tell, there is supposed to be a time schedule of these showers, but the system sometimes malfunctions. The lions of this room do their best to repair and maintain the system, but there is only so much they can do.
Because of the high moisture of this room, it cultivates plants more closely associated with rain forests. It is one of the only rooms that has completely resisted the invasion of plants from other parts of the gardens.
The Butterfly Room
The Butterfly Room is a very important part of the building. It appears to have once been fully enclosed, but the mesh screen from the windows has long since been torn away to allow the beautiful butterflies within to travel to other places.
The lions revere this room because it's the breeding ground for the butterflies of the garden. They strongly believe that the butterflies play a vital role in the magic that helps them breed, helping their plants to mix souls.
Lions do not move plants in or out of this room without permission from the butterflies.
The Outer Garden
The Outer Garden is the large expanse of area behind the building that is open to elements. It is easily the most dangerous area of the gardens. This is where many of the hardier plants have always grown, weathering through sun, rain, and snow. There were once specific sections for different types of plants in the Outer Garden, but those boundaries have long since ceased to exist.
Access to the Outer Gardens exists from the back of the Great Dome, through a cracked open door. There are many meandering paths, and some giant tables and chairs with shady umbrellas. Cute garden decorations offer some protection to lions from the birds that come and go as they please. Some birds are kind and appreciative of the berries lions may cultivate, but others are predatory and unfriendly.
There are two massive ponds, each with beautiful waterfalls and room for plenty of aquatic plants. There is danger lurking in these ponds however. Gigantic fish with shimmering golden scales and mouths large enough to swallow a lion whole pose a huge threat to those looking to make them their homes.
The Great Walls
The Great Walls are stone barriers surrounding the Outer Garden and keeping them connected to the main building. Beyond the wall is forbidden, as it is unknown was lies beyond them except potential danger. The lions that protect their plants outside these walls are said to be larger, scarier, and better adapted to life without protection. Any lion from the botanical garden who went out on their own would surely be too small and weak, and couldn't survive.
The walls are sturdy and have no holes, but there are some cracks beginning to form that have some lions concerned.
