deercountry | here comes the sun

[ sunrise kept dissipating from the sky no matter how many times Amaterasu attempted to bring it back. trench was cursed— or at least, that's how this world seemed to act and react. there were so many beasts, lost souls, insects that fed on hope and, poor things, not out of malice. there was much work to do. plenty of work. the white wolf that padded left and right endlessly across trench brought the scent of celestial flowers with her, the heat of the sun while the rays of it were lost to the black skies and tired moon. during one of these walks, she comes across a cottage, its door left slightly ajar—

and from within it, she smelled sadness, and she smelled the remains of where the boy blue had touched and sat. out of curiosity, and, of course, to check if he were there, she pushes the door ajar with her snout, just enough for the rest of her body to fit in.

what had happened, here—? ]

Edited 2022-04-12 19:40 (UTC)

[it's such a cozy place, too. rather, it was, back when it was filled with three people who loved each other very much. the den's furnace is left cold in the dark - furniture and trappings left as they were those last moments they were sat in. there's still some stray lion and wolf-fur scattered about on a floor in need of sweeping. in the kitchen, the last remains of stored food is starting to go quite bad, hidden away in cupboards and an ice box no longer maintained for at least a week out now; some cups are still left unwashed by the sink basin.

the white lion sits outside a door on the other end of the kitchen. his head lifts and ears perk as he catches notion of the mysterious presence, but his hackles don't raise; he knows she is a peaceful sort. he exudes some of that assurance for the sake of his person, who is within the other room - the newly-built extension that was furnished to be his bedroom. even with that gentle nudging, he lingers by the latticed windows at the gardens just outside that had yet to be touched for the season.]

[ well, that smells completely awful— like rot! she huffs out and pads through the mess of fur and other abandoned knick knacks for the sake of following the scent of shoes and sadness. it was difficult to set things apart, she’ll have everyone know, and just as she gently pokes her head through the room’s doorframe to let herself in—

amaterasu may accidentally make her presence known further when she happens to gag in a way that clearly shows how putrid that smell is out there. perhaps it wasn’t an accident, in the long run: she seems to be looking straight at the lingering young man as if to tell him, despite her dramatics.

but she’s honest with people, and you, young lad, are in a place that reeks. ]

[Blue's head lifts, and he blinks a couple times as he feels the gentle prod of focus on him. he turns partly away from the window to see her, eyebrows lifting high under his bangs.

he looks far, far better from the ragged state she'd met him in; sadness may linger on him, but his eyes aren't red-ringed from tears, and he's more bodily stable than before.]

From the cliff... I remember you.

[ ”as i do you,” the she-wolf thinks, a slow and singular wag happening behind her and into the hallway where the lower half of her body keeps to, but easily now does she squeeze herself through and explore the room herself. he seems sturdier, but somehow still fragile— like a freshly watered plant recovering from the yellowish tints left in dry leaves.

anaterasu is also an honest old lady, and considers now, as she lowers her head and twitching nose in the grounds direction to widen her mouth and hack up . . . absolutely nothing but a reflex.

”it smells worse than the breath of hot sake in here, young boy. have you forgotten the foods in the bins? i could have eaten them.” ]

Edited 2022-04-16 04:05 (UTC)

[Blue's eyes wince at the gag; from the other room, the lion chuffs.]

I'm sorry... No one has been here...to tend to things. Not for a some days now.

[and after the initial shock of outside to inside, Blue can't say he noticed it too much; his stomach had already been roiling with anxious discomfort even before he'd set foot inside the house.]

[ "well, then— do you plan to tend to things now, that you've returned?"

the whole place could use a bit of sprucing up, she thinks. some light. plenty of candlelight.

"i will help." ]

...I probably should. For whomever...may occupy this space after me.

[admittedly, the thought wasn't really in the forefront in his mind, not when he could just stare sadly and longingly out of the garden window at all that it is and will never become.

as one does.]

[ hmmm. amaterasu looks this way and that. she pads close to the empty or thus poorly treated plant pots to give them a look and sniff.

"is this space not yours? it has your smell. and many other smells, but i see where you have been from the halls to the rooms." ]

It was, yes. [Blue turns away from the window, his eyes surveying the bedroom-to-be.] But not anymore.

My family left. If I stayed here...it would be too much. Mu don't do well alone.

[he pushes away from the sill to start to move back toward the kitchen should the wolf permit.]

So I've come to say farewell to it.

[ ammy only watches the boy shift across the room and the the next from where she came before slowly padding along behind him.

”and this garden?” she looks to a pot with a wilted bud in its middle, steps closer to it to kindly regard dying leaves going from green to dry brown. it had nothing to do with this, poor thing. her celestial brush strokes a circle around the plant, and with it, its stock turns green, rises high with life and blooms.

”shall you give it life anew?” ]

[Blue turns his head and watches the happening, feeling a flutter of unease that shifts to wonder as the little plant regains its vitality. this will continue to be something surprising to see, even though this is the very same creature whose footsteps planted little gardens when she climbed up dark, sea-stung stones on the cliff side.

he hesitates a beat longer to consider her question, his eyes on the plant.]

...I don't know how. [what greenery that existed in the Shangri-La was synthetic, and he'd never been allowed in human spaces where such activities occurred. it's an unknown practice to him and his kind, though... though he had murmurings in his dreams of growing new life on the red planet of Nazca.

it's nothing he saw for himself, however.]

[ "would you like to learn?"

she would not be able to lend him her celestial brush, but amaterasu has better plans. her snout, cold and wet, finds his side and bumps his hand.

"i can teach you, the old-fashioned and satisfying way."

[Blue's expression grows more curious than pensive as his hand is bumped, prompting him to lift it and gingerly rest it atop her head. she is very soft and good...and insistent, isn't she.]

This body of mine is weak. Will it...take much labor?

[ there is no way she would ever shy away from praise. her triangle ears give way and her eyes grow small to receive the humble petting. do go on.

"not if you sit! consider: you may borrow my restlessness to rest yourself, and i shall borrow your hands and thumbs to prepare the sapling beds. would this be a fair trade to you? it looks such to me." ]

Edited 2022-04-22 12:38 (UTC)

[Blue considers her intentions for a moment. borrow his hands and thumbs... he wonders what that will look like.

with a gentle nod:] If you will teach me, I will try to learn, yes.

[...]

Though... I should clean...first... [because now that she's mentioned it, he's more aware of the stench. oh, dear.]

[ "yes, you should."

what! she's not going to offer herself to help here, too? amaterasu had a plan, but, foremost, she huffs up and begins to pad around, exposing her intention: "i will fetch the tools you need and put them all in one place. if you have not finished by then, well— maybe i will help, if my stomach doesn't do something unpleasant." ]

[Blue simply nods, taking no offense to her excusing herself to the task she wants; it makes enough sense to him, and he wouldn't think to enlist her in a chore tied more to his own healing than anything else. he has to do it.]

It may take some time. But...I should be here. For a little while. [for as long as he can stand; it may take some breaks.]

[ amaterasu gives the boy one more lasting glance before, her panting begins, and off she goes! in the inside of the home, around it, poking and prodding her nose it places it may and may not belong— and finally, if anything seems to be running low, or missing, amaterasu does just that: fetches them. dirt, seeds, a few human utensils here and there, and something for water.

ammy returns and it's difficult to tell what time it is, with no sun in the sky, but she's here. she has a miniature hoe in her teeth. and, well, she might have taken these things she's now placing in a pile of gardening tools from places and people who used them.

if anything, she'll give them back. what was not to take, of things lying around? ]

[Blue isn't as quick to get back to work as she is, himself still a bit under the spell that this house has on him; any time he turns too quick, he fears seeing shadows of the wicked thing he'd become, or sign of one of his friends under his thrall. the darkness certainly doesn't help.

he eventually gets to it: with the lion's help, he uncovers and bags up all of the perished perishables - needing to take ample breaks to get his stomach back under control - and set them in out in...whatever fashion Trench has for garbage disposal. editor, put that in.

the gentle clink-clink of Ammy's pile growing eventually draws him outside of that new bedroom to see her there.]

Where...did you find all of this?

[ "outside, of course."

she seems— so proud of herself, panting and tail wagging whichever way. her omen trickles out, the fun-loving dolphin she had yet to name, and whistles around the wonderful pile of gardening tools.

"oh, it smells much better. are you ready?" ]

[is he ready? he can't say he knows for certain, embarking on a task he's never done before. one he was...going to do with Flynn.

Blue hesitates, feeling that beat of sadness, missing his dear friend, before he exhales, lets it settle in him, and nods despite it.]

Yes. I will try.

[ "excellent. you will do." there is nothing radically impossible about planting a seed, after all. amaterasu sits herself down with her back erect and making sure she is next to the boy and overlooking his movements.

she pointedly eyes a small hand shovel, and thinks: "if your fingers need rest, use that metal claw. have you chosen a seedling?" ]

[Blue carefully moves some of her finds and lays them out for easier grabbing and use as he may find before going still and looking about for these seedlings of note.]

Is there...one or the other I should favor? [he knows very little about horticulture.]

[ ”i am a poor role model for that sort of choice,” she says, shaking her head in a way that flaps her ears against her skull.

”mothers can’t choose favorites.” even if she jokingly refers to every one she comes by as her favorite. she continues: ”but since you are not a mother, i can tell you this: i’m sure no seedling is more deserving than the other. choose the one that calls to you.” ]

@blue

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