the sun rises (ota)

[brushy]

Who: amaterasu & you! (and some closed prompts)
What: mostly the blooming of the guardian saplings in their designated locations; refer to the page! also a reminder to check ammy's info page regarding her appearance to your character, if you already haven't!
When: throughout may
Where: arouuuuuu--

Content Warnings: plant body horror + harm being done to an animal in one of the closed prompts, monster body horror for anyone who wants to tag with their monster dreams!

[ during the first few daylights of may, amaterasu is diligently at work; she trots almost nonstop left and right to visit the small, green little saplings that would become strong with the sun. it's always so cloudy in trench though, even if daylight is finally upon them after an entire month of darkness. on the morning of the eighth, there is something different about this sunrise; a distant wolf's howl accompanies its ascension as the rays shower trench in a way it possibly never has. it's warm, welcoming, and wishes a brilliant day to all of those who greet it (especially mothers— she's only now just found out about mother's day).



at the locations of the Mental Health and Recovery Clinic, Trenchwood Farm, The Sanctuary and Farther Shores, one may either see the phenomena happening or be drawn to the blooms already in full: the once hardworking greenlings have grown unreasonably fast into reaching trees, bark and all. they're missing something— until it happens. an unseen force encourages them to bloom, and in an instant, the cherry blossoms burst with life, with energy and a powerful, energetic kick into the polluted soil its roots bury in. it doesn't stretch far, but it helps, and it tries its best to maintain the soil and water around it clean and purified. those sensitive to the supernatural will feel a palpable lift in the pollution where these trees are situated, that they are of great origin, important, sacred. animals will naturally be drawn to them, and so will people. for their beauty, for their shelter, and of course, for their purity and bridge to being closer to nature. even those who are not supernaturally inclined will undoubtedly feel at peace under these gentle giants. what's not to feel peaceful about, viewing the cherry blossoms gently hovering in the breeze that greets you under the shady branches?

you might even be there to catch the sight of a white wolf admiring her handiwork. or, perhaps . . . that's not a wolf at all. a woman, a little rabbit, or even a snow-white horse (or, is that . . . a dragon?). it's hard to tell with this shapeshifting blanket she was given, and amaterasu has delighted herself in bringing it everywhere for its comfort (you can tell; it's already pretty dirty, but it's not as if she cares). ]

(ooc: just as a note, amaterasu can either come in her regular wolf-shape or a temporary form, either human, statue or one of the other brush gods! please let me know if you have a preference, to maintain or shapeshift (and the desired shape, if any)! if there is no preference, i will randomize! hmu at @liberos.plurk if you would like to plot further!)

Comments

[payingfordeliverance]

Ah? ...oh.

[Leaning around the tree to look for the voice, Break is decidedly bemused. A weird magical tree that turns out to have a strange naked woman under it, just conveniently there for a hapless fellow to stumble across while he is tending his own business? This sort of nonsense is how you get fairy tales, and there is no telling until the story gets started whether it will be the "be nice to the strange magical entity and you will get a boon on your subsequent adventures" type, or something more along the lines of "have fun getting lured to your watery grave; your story will serve as a warning for future generations".

But his omen trots right up to the woman, as ready to make friends as he always is whenever he spots some interesting Sleeper, and Break isn't immune to the lull of the tree itself. Between those two influences and the fact that underneath it all, Xerxes Break is still a knight, chivalry wins the day. His soft purple coat is already unbuttoned in deference to the warmth of the day, and Break lets it fall from his shoulders as he takes a couple of steps toward her. He'll offer it to her, if she allows him close enough.]

Begging your pardon, Lady. I hadn't meant to disturb you.

[Baltus is also polite. Though he doesn't hesitate to approach her at all, the omen lowers his head in deference when he gets within reach, making himself non-threatening. He is not actually a dog at all, but it suits him to behave like a very nice one, when it comes to greeting strangers.]

[brushy]

[ her first thought isn't really to reach over and pet the canine, as most should. it's to. you know, do what alpha wolves do?? chest out (oh, dear, and plenty of it), back erect and just watching with half parted lips that are almost permanently smiling. it's not in first nature to pet the omen, but, she does give her warmest, kindest regards in energy. ]

Oh! [ the man! a man! to which she seems the least bit worried about, but proceeds to sit on her heels to touch the fabric draping down her arms, back and sides. oh, look at that, look at how that feels! please, be not afraid, she is definitely not under substance abuse, to be constantly running her hands up and down the sleeves of the coat. ] It seems I am missing my own coat, [ she knows this, it's just hard to think of herself without one. that big lump of white that was shedding all the winter fluff to get ready for spring. ] but this one makes me look much thinner. Thank you, child.

[ yes. this grown-ass forty-year-old man who is probably her age, with all this greying hair, is child. worry not, she seems to say it with . . . a gentle, genuine fondness. as if she were a trembling grandmother, congratulating some young folk for helping her cross the street. ]

You were not disturbing, either, no— [ she holds both her hands up and seems awfully proud in doing so! ] Bausphomette has given me a wonderful gift, you see, [ the blanket, ] I was merely having fun, with my new hands.

[ oh, oh, look— she can twist them! flip them back and forth! totally neato! ]

1/2

[payingfordeliverance]

[Good gravy.]

2/2

[payingfordeliverance]

[This is not at all how Break expected the day to go when he left the house this morning, but after all his paranoid waffling, her cheer causes him to fall right down on the side of charmed. After all, it's a theme in his household that everyone in it is getting to choose their own lives for the very first time, and that's been especially potent for a certain young woman who spent most of her existence prior to Trench imprisoned in a hell dimension with the cosmic powers of the universe driving her mad. The way she's able to take delight in the simplest things now that she's free has been something she and Break, decidedly a hedonist, have bonded over in this strange place. This new person's excitement reminds him of that.]

I see. Then, the lady is experiencing something exciting today. [To be addressed as "child" doesn't bother him, either. It just reminds him of Lady Sheryl, sorely missed, who sometimes referred to him as "one of the kids of her house".] I wonder -- does this tree also have to do with Bausphomette, or is it milady's doing instead?

[Giving his omen his canesword to hold, Break offers his own elegant hands to her. His intent is that if she takes them he will help her to stand up, but given the way she reacted to Baltus, it won't surprise him if she misses that entirely and does something weird.]

[brushy]

[ a hand is being held out to her! a hand. there is only one thing that amaterasu would do with a hand extended— perhaps two, or three. the first would be to check for an offering, food and the lot. and since her nose is quite weak as a woman, it doesn't hurt to check. her head dips down to smell his offered palm. no food, there. onto the second possibility— oh, she gasps. he is asking for her paw! the joys she sees when she gives paw, for some reason, how could she have forgotten! perhaps it's her hunger. so, that is what she does: amaterasu places the palm of her hand right on top of his, and offers him a beaming smile.

close enough for his intentions, at least. ]

T'was I! [ and she seems quite proud of the tree! it has made her the most wonderful of indecipherable macaroni art. ] I have planted them, given them that little oomph, to grow— and here we are. They are yours, and you are theirs.

[payingfordeliverance]

[While Break is sorting this out in his head, Baltus sits himself down, cane still in his mouth, and considers the situation. Of course he is not a real dog, but he essentially roleplays as one, and this strange woman is showing doglike traits in particular, he thinks. This in itself is not an especially important mystery to sort out. She is being very forthright about not typically having hands. Rather, running through all the Sleepers they have met, Baltus cannot actually think of any animals they've seen or heard of, dog or not, who possess the ability to grow beautiful things in a blood-polluted landscape.]

I think that the Lady is an especially magical Lady. [Baltus informs Break of this solemnly, his voice entering Amaterasu's head too -- less because this is any kind of grand observation, but rather, to open the conversation somewhat.]

I think so, too. [He will stand properly, keeping hold of the woman's hand, but let her try to get up herself on her own time.] To persuade such a corrupted place to grow such a thing, certainly that was no "little oomph".

[He will follow up on this before the notion that he himself is somehow connected to this tree. You've got to understand the basics before the details make any real sense.]