Closing the Garden on the Wings of Winter [Closed to D]

[hammerbearer]

Who: Gaia, D
What: Gaia is doing last minute chores to prepare for winter, but her reality warping keeps getting in the way.
When: Sometime in November
Where: Feed, Gaia's Home

Content Warnings: Nasty bird monsters, uncontrolled power



Gaia has been doing okay. Mostly. The problem this month hadn't been about her memories and that was just fine with her.

But it was a dangerous one for the well-being of others around her, so once her work was done she would not linger in the Outpost.

She's been doing the last preparations for the oncoming winter but has hit a snag in the process of winterizing the garden bed.

"Wait! Oh wicked white!" The curse she'd head many in the Crystarium back on her world say slipped from her lips as she stomped her foot against the edge of a shovel in frustration and caused it to sink deeper into the pile of earth she'd just been about to throw over the nutrient-rich mulch she'd gathered from the forest floor.

Before the debris had suddenly turned into a palm-sized bird thing that looked like an amalgamation of insect shells, mouse skulls, tufts of fur and dead leaves one might find decaying back to the earth. It took flight with a hiss of sound out of it that sounded more like a cold wind through leaves than an actual birdcall.

It's not the first one. Nearby bare branches of trees near the garden field are seen with other such creatures. Each looks different. Some look more twisted. Few have gone far from their creator.

There is a sizzle of sound in response to Gaia's outburst. It sounds threatening but there's equal odds that they are simply reacting with her emotions, rather than warning the threat she could represent.

Comments

[distant_one]

With the outpost no longer under nearly as frequent attack, D hasn't felt the need to remain entirely nocturnal. It's both a relief and a curse to return to his long habit of being awake during the day except for his usual nap during his body's natural weakest time. It's also left him with more free time.

The sound of large hooves signal D's approach, his Jarem is much more calm about other people these days and more willing to carry D on any errand and not just those that also interest the nightmare. But the sound of angry creatures hissing has the aggressive beast in the shape of a horse picking up speed in hopes of a good fight.

When the source turns out to be many small creatures, the nightmare rears up in disappointment and makes D's entrance much more dramatic than he'd normally make when approaching Gaia's home.

[hammerbearer]

November's also been dangerous for other reasons. Even if the galloping hooves of a horse's approach is a familiar sign that D might be drawing near, knowing the zealots can be anywhere (anyone?) is just another reason to have Gaia on edge.

Even if the zealots, so the rumors and stories go, tend to already have you by the time you realize you're caught.

Jarem's rearing form is met with an arrow already knocked on the string of Gaia's bow- it was definitely nearby or she's learned to conjure it as she does her hammer- with a light hum of feeler of energy ready to further charge the shot if she had had to draw and fire.

The branches where the creatures wait are proven in sync with her mood for certain as another hiss passes through the flock. This time they take wing for a few seconds before resettling on other branches.

Gaia lowers the bow and looks relieved and happy to see D. As to the nightmare's dramatics she tries not to roll her eyes (more an expression of the tension that's built up in her than actual exasperation. Even if it sounds like that).

"And good day to you as well, Jarem. I see you're in fine form." D is given a warmer smile. The bow is dismissed again, proving her ability to call on it. "Have you been well, D?"

[distant_one]

There's no good way for D to answer that question honestly without saying far more than he wants to, so he chooses to simply ignore the question all together.

"And I see that you've been making friends." It was easier to just bypass it and respond to something else she said than try to navigate the many untrue things he used to dismiss actually talking about himself

D dismounted, and let the nightmare do as it wished. Without all the rain of previous months there was no need to worry about the saddle except for the nightmare's comfort and he was far more durable than even the most expensive cyborg horse.

[hammerbearer]

"Oh ha ha." Whether or not D meant to be funny, Gaia is still going to absolutely not laugh at his pun. Cue hands pressed to her hips and the dhampir being the recipient of a sour look.

"I'll have you know I would very much like to be inside by the fire and having a cup of tea." For humans it's definitely chilly outside even if Gaia is wearing clothes that suit the conditions.

"But thanks to the powers that be, I've more leaves going back in the trees than I do in the ground!" There's a bit of sulking behind the words. She'd been taught this trick and thought it was, while hard work, at least the easiest thing she's heard about balancing out a garden. Turn soil, mix soil with mulch. Let rest over winter. How hard was that supposed to be?

The flock in the branches makes sounds like wind blowing through leaves in the trees as if to mock the point. Manifestations of Gaia's desire for it to still be spring or summer and not the promise of another cold winter.

[distant_one]

D's sense of humor usually drew either misunderstanding or surprise rather than actual laughter. The fact that he always delivered his jokes in the same nearly emotionless tone did make it difficult to tell sometimes.

But he does raise an eyebrow at Gaia when she follows his bad joke or not a joke with her own joke about the leaves going back into the trees.

"I can take care of it, if you want to go make some tea."

Any farm chore that doesn't actually involve handling plants is one that D can usually manage. This one will be easy, and go much more quickly for him.

[hammerbearer]

Well she hadn't been letting out her frustration to con D into taking over the job now that he's here. So at first Gaia does look a little hesitant. Common sense starts to win over, especially as she takes time to glance at the flock in the trees.

If that keeps happening, she realizes, she's going to be out here past dark and just getting more frustrated and tempted to try and unmake them. And that could prove a bad idea.

"Would you? It shouldn't take much at all." The only type of plants that need to be handled are dead ones. "I can till it in later." Like when her powers aren't on the fritz. Frankly that step might even be able to wait for spring. "I just want it buried for now."

The 'birds' in the trees get another brief glower, as they are defying that desire by their existence. The birds do not seem peturbed. Most seem to be tracking the progress of the nightmare around the environment. While they might or might not be palatable to Jarem's tastes, he is still a potential threat.

Gaia is smiling at D. "I'll make sure there's a pot ready by the time you finish. It's just this last section of the field. If there's not enough left, let me know and I'll gather more and finish it tomorrow."

Once she's given the blessing, she'll head back toward the house to take care of the promised tea. And warming up.

[distant_one]

It's a bit like their previous 'trades'. Working in the garden in exchange for tea or something else, except previously the garden plants had been alive, and therefore not an option. He's not quite so vampiric as to kill everything immediately most of the time but no plants except the blood roses and its hybrid with the guardian tree have ever flourished under his care.

"It looks like enough, this won't take me long," D says. Especially if he's just burying it. He knows how reluctant Gaia is to accept help, she likes to do things herself. D is the same, but he also knows when to accept help, particularly in areas where he's not an expert.

D doesn't rush through it, but he doesn't slow himself down much either. It simply doesn't take much effort or even much of his strength or speed to get through the task. If he kept accidentally turning the mulch into strange avians it might have been another story, but he was fortunately only cursed with being unable to lie. Even for simple little things like social niceties and small talk. It just meant he said less than he usually did.

[hammerbearer]

The avian creatures do not disperse when Gaia leaves; they don't need her presence to exist though it seems they recognized her on some level as their creator. Even when she was upset at their existence, they didn't turn on her.

D is an ally. The creatures don't appear to be phased as most normal animals might and this might have to do with Gaia's subconscious influence or their composition being of dead and decaying things.

Not that the avians would be any threat to him. Numbers might have been an issue for a normal person but fortunately the dhampir had come along and taken over the task before Gaia could have spawned a small swarm.

The only trouble he'll receive from them is when they dive for the pile of harvested forest mulch and try to take small chunks of it in their claws. Given half the chance they will dart with these offerings to look for spots in the eaves of the house or searching for hollows in the boles of their trees.

The behavior can be prevented or ignored; the amount they take is relatively negligent to the remaining task at hand.

Gaia will be inside, stirring the fire and adding wood, the clatter of cups, utensils and kettle heard as easily by D as if he were in the same room.

[distant_one]

D isn't the type to put up with people or animals getting in his way or interfering with his work. He's not sure why they're taking the mulch, but he also doesn't particularly care. No mere bird, no matter how strange, is going to make it past D's alert senses and quick hands.

Jarem seems to take offense to the interference as well, and he is surprisingly quick with his horn.

It's not too long before D is done and makes his way inside, tea is one of his few indulgences. A drink he enjoys, rather than politely tolerates when it's offered to him.

[hammerbearer]

They are not sentient, these creatures. But they possess an instinct to live and a certain level of... if not true intelligence, at least cunning. It takes only one of them falling to Jeram's horn to teach the flock as a whole that there is to be no reward here. At least not while either is in the yard.

The creature that expires by the nightmare's actions becomes the scent of the darkest layer of forest humus mixed with the husk of feathers and skin mummified to a bird's skeletal remains. The body does not bleed so much as dissolve into fine grains of dust to be scattered in the true wind. If this is its nature or a product of the erratic magic that spawned it... well, who can say for now.

The avian things seem to know their ephemeral nature is at risk and retreat out of the yard and into the distance. Though the sound of leaves on the wind when all the trees are bare suggests they really haven't gone far.

When the dhampir enters, it'll also be obvious that whatever connection the creatures have to their creator is not an active bond. She seems unaware of any distress among the flock, humming to herself as she adds the finishing touches. Some cookies for her and tea made the way D (and herself still) likes it.

The issue of memories has vastly improved over the months. Without something else to add stress to the matter, Gaia has made inroads by using meditation and other techniques to order her thoughts and differentiate what is 'herself' and what was 'other' (mostly D). There are some things that persist, such as the habit of tea or a distinct lack of garlic in the house or anywhere in her cooking preferences. But much more of Gaia has returned to her manners.

What remains, the experience and knowledge, she's accepting and adapting to and has, on occasion, even found ways to take advantage of many skills. Even if she would prefer not to know such exacting details about the perfect angles for killing blows.

Well that's not important really.

Uri is around. While the canine still doesn't approach D without good reason, he'll no longer leave the room; merely remain on alert. The fire is warm and the bed set up for the animal is more comfortable than it's worth to get up right now anyway.

"Here is your tea," Gaia proffers the cup once she's aware of his entrance. "I was thinking of winter at the Outpost. I wonder if it'll be any harsher that far out compared to Trench. It was pretty bad last year, though I'm probably biased."

She had definitely not been in a good position for winter last year, arriving in January or Feburary as she had.

[distant_one]

"The sea is usually a tempering influence on winter, but the outpost isn't far enough inland that it should be worse," D says after he accepts his cup of tea. It's nice to see less and less of himself in Gaia. People naturally adopt mannerisms and behaviors from one another, and it happens very quickly in humans in D's experience, so a little mimicry isn't too bad.

He does appreciate the lack of garlic.

"But the basement and magic placed on it should help as well. The coffin is ready to be moved there in case of an evacuation, and it's always a warm summer afternoon in there."