Warning pheromone
Marks dangerous routes that autonomous slimes avoid where possible.
A controlled slime can leave a warning trail along the route it actually walks on the surface. The mark follows a passable path, not a line drawn freely across the map. It avoids water and entrances. This trail is separate from the acute alarm pheromone that sends companions fleeing at once.
Caution, not a barrier
Autonomous foraging and searches for need-related destinations take strong warnings into account and favour a workable alternative. If no other route exists, a slime may still cross the trail. Explicit attack, escort and follow orders also take precedence. The warning changes a choice; it does not make the ground impassable.
Experience and fading
AI commanders can mark explored ground after repeated encounters with danger of their own. The underlying danger memory and the visible scent trail are separate: the memory fades at its own pace, while rain washes the laid trail away faster. On dry ground it lasts longer. A vanished trail therefore proves neither safety nor complete forgetfulness.
After the shower, the dark line was barely visible. The foragers still gave the same patch of thorns a cautious berth.
