[Plot] A Curious Discovery (Lillison and Lugh)

[Wolfs Heart]

A pair of green and blue legs were shakily making their way across a dirt path heading from Tuatha Ri lake into the surrounding forest. Lillison has been using her legs a lot more since the storm had happened, but she was still not entirely comfortable with it, it just wasn't natural. The storm had changed a lot of things for Lillison though, starting with her new found fear of water. A fish afraid of water, even she was ashamed of herself, but it didn't change the fear. Lillison returned to the lake when she had to in order to prevent herself from drying out, but she preferred the safety of land now.

The naiad-out-of-water continued walking for a while, trying to build up strength in her legs, she clung closely to every tree that she passed, a measure of safety to conceal herself from any beasts or other pae, and also to lean on for support. As Lillison approached a clearing she felt something red and soft squish between her toes. She scrunched up her nose and looked down at what used to be a tomato, but she didn't know that, it just felt gross between her toes. Lillison sat down where she had stood and started trying to clean it off.  

[Teigra]

The clean-up following the hurricane had been a long, tedious process, especially doing most of the work alone. On the other hand, he didn't mind working in silence, and besides, he now had a sizable compost heap to show for his efforts. He may have lost much of the last crop, but the next one was sure to be extra plentiful. Interesting how such destruction could benefit the new life to come.

Lugh's primary concerns of course were concentrated on his fields, not so much the forest beyond. He had this own lands brought back to some semblance of order at last, and now he was simply deciding which new crops would be planted where. He stood in the center of the clearing, the freshly overturned soil's earthy scent calm and pleasing to the earthly angel. He could see it now, as he turned imagining all the future crops, sprouting and growing high in their new locations.

A movement out of the corner of his eye. There, near the forest's edge, beside a tree. What...was that a Pae'il? He squinted, then walked nearer to his fence for a better look. He didn't get many visitors out here, not purposefully at least, but it wasn't like he chased folks away. Not in a long time at least, and that had been because of a particular individual's destructive nature. Watermelons were not meant for smashing.

As the Pae'il suddenly sat down, he frowned, growing curious. Perhaps something was wrong? Well, it wouldn't do to leave a stranger in need, even if she weren't on the edge of his lands. Leaning his shovel against the wooden stake fence, he planted one hand on the fence and vaulted over, using a single flap of his wings for extra lift. Once over, he headed for the trees and the green Pae'il beyond. As he came close enough to realize it was a purple-haired female, he called out, waving his hand in the air, "Excuse me? Do you require assistance, Miss?"
 

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison had started playing with the tomato pulp in between her fingers, she wasn't sure why it was enjoyable to squish between her fingers and icky to have it between her toes. She credited it to not being used to even having toes. Lillison was so enthralled with getting the pulp off her toes and then inspecting it in her hand that she hadn't even noticed another pae had been approaching her. When she heard his voice, Lillison startled and scrambled backwards a little bit. "Oh..." Lillison took a moment to compose herself when she realized it was just another pae offering their assistance. "Hi. Well... no... it's just that I stepped in this strange..." Lillison wasn't sure what to call it, "giant red berry, and I was just trying to get it off of my foot." Her blue eyes darted around, unsure of where it had come from even, it had just been rotting on the ground. "I think I've got it all, but thank you." She rubbed her hand in the dirt to get rid of the last of the tomato guts and then slowly stood herself up. "I'm sorry I startled... I didn't see you there."  

[Teigra]

Giant red berry? A glance about provided Lugh with the sight of a bit of tomato pulp and skin, and he chuckled softly. "Ah, another renegade tomato, escaped from my garden. Seems you kept it from getting too far," he joked, offering her a hand up. That was a relief. He was afraid she might have hurt herself at first.

"No worries, miss. Not startled at all. It's normally pretty quiet in these parts though, so I don't usually expect much company out here, not really. Usually only if folks get lost," he explained, looking back towards his modest home. He'd finished the bulk of the repairs, so at least it didn't look quite as bad as it had after the storm. Most of the fields were cleaned, and his modest home, though small, had been repaired as well.

Taking a cue from his last statement, he turned back to the female, quirking an eyebrow. "Err...you're not lost, are you, ma'am?"  

[Wolfs Heart]

"Your garden?" Lillison questioned the angel with a quiet and curious voice. The green girl smiled shyly and accepted his hand to help her steady herself on her feet. She felt sorry she had ruined the pae's tomato... is that what it was called. "It's for eating, not for stepping in..." she guessed, her tone apologetic, "I'm sorry, I don't know how it got here" Lillison looked around where she was and followed his eyes to his home. "Well you are kind of far out here, a pae would have to be lucky to stumble upon you" her eyes lit up with a small smile.

"Oh no, I'm not lost. Well, not exactly. I don't know where I am... but I wasn't trying to find my way home either," She answered him. Lillison lifted one of her legs to show it, but quickly put it back down, she wasn't that good at balancing. "I was just trying to get some exercise, I'm not very good on these things..." Lillison didn't want to spend all her time talking about that though, especially when she had a question on her mind. Her indigo eyes peeked around Lugh, she saw empty fields in front of his home. "Where is your garden?" She had seen sea gardens before, they were much more beautiful then the empty field she saw, that couldn't be it.  

[Teigra]

"Yes, much better tasting when you eat it rather than step on it," he agreed with a smile. "Though, I think that one's likely been on the ground a little too long to still have been tasty anyway." He laughed, holding his arm steady as she used him for support.

It took him a moment to follow her explanation of 'lost but not lost', complete with momentary balancing trick, but he had thought there was something odd about her. No wings...now he noticed the fins... "You're...a Naiad, aren't you?" He hoped that wasn't offensive in some way; he wasn't exactly the most skilled social speaker, given his remote home. "I mean, I've never met one before is all." With a warm smile, he glanced over his shoulder and spread one of his wings a bit. "And I suppose we get to cheat a bit, using these to help balance, hmm?"

The rest of her questions could be answered with a simple explanation. "Well, I'm afraid you're a bit late to see much of a garden at this point. Or perhaps 'early' might be the right word. The storm made a right mess of it, and its taken me this long to clean up what it left behind. Fortunately, I managed to harvest most of the crops before the storm took the rest. I was just out planning what I wanted to plant and where when I noticed you here. So, I suppose there won't be much to see for a while, though," he hesitated, realizing it might be a bit forward, but he meant with no other motive in mind except that he'd noticed how her eyes had lit up when he'd said 'garden'. "You could always come back some day to see it, when the new crops have sprouted." He didn't have a lot of visitors, but he wouldn't mind one who enjoyed the natural wonders as much as he did.  

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison nodded her head and smiled, she was used to the looks by now, she was naked compared to other pae with their wings, as well as lacking her tail. She looked almost... well... what was ordinary? "That's ok, I didn't meet any..." she inspected the wings to make sure she had it right, "angels until I was older. I didn't get out of the water very often. I think a lot of us are that way." It was kind of inconvenient coming out of the water, learning to walk, having to deal with drying out. Lillison was just a shy fish though. "Yes, I'm sure that must be nice, and... demons... they have tails that help too" the naiad paused to admire his wings. It didn't change the fact that she now spent the majority of her time on land.

"Oh, that's a shame," the look on her face saddened "that storm really did mess everything up" she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Well, I'm glad this isn't it. I'm sure your garden was lovely, and will be again." Lillison mentioned, perking up a bit at the good thoughts. She finally took her hand off his arm, realizing she had probably been leaning on him far more then was polite. "It would be nice to see it when it is beautiful again, are you going to need help?" it seemed like a lot of work to fill this whole field alone, and from what she could tell, that was what he was.  

[Teigra]

"I suppose that would make sense," Lugh agreed. "I mean, if you're born in the water, it's your home. It'd be hard to leave it, I'd imagine. The reverse sounds just as difficult. I can't imagine trying to live in the lake, or even visit for an extended amount of time," he laughed.

What a difference a pleasant conversationalist made. He felt he was looking over the land with new eyes. Sure, he'd been making plans for new crops, but now, it was as if he could see them growing, lush and beautiful, covering his land. New hope seemed to fill his heart. Sure, he'd lost some things, but he'd have so much better with a little hard work.

He was taken aback by the offer of help. Or, perhaps it was only an innocent question; he shouldn't assume and go leaping to conclusions. "I...I don't know. I mean, I have grand plans for the place, but...not necessarily the means to achieve them. I've not had help before; it's always just been me here."  

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison nodded her head in agreement, "It had once been very difficult for me to visit the land," now the opposite was true, it was only out of necessity that she returned to the water. Her face brightened as she watched a subtle change, she could see it in his eyes. Lillison wasn't sure what it was, but she liked it. "What sort of means do you need to achieve your garden?" She was still curious if there was some way that she could help build the garden, but even if it was beyond her ability to help, she still wanted to learn how a garden came to be.

Lillison wasn't really sure what went into making a garden, after all she had never met someone who cared for the sea gardens. The fish did, in a way, but it was a group effort, each fish playing their part in the ecosystem. "In the lake and ocean, the gardens are tended for by many different fish that each play a different role in its care. I don't know how the gardens got there though." Lillison admitted.  

[Teigra]

"Really?" He wondered what she meant by 'once'. He supposed at first something that new must be pretty alarming. Had she gotten over it in time then, or had something in particular happened to help? Perhaps this wasn't the time to start asking questions that might get too personal. Just accept it for what it is and nod.

The conversation turned back to his plans for his garden and he beamed. "Well, I've really only had a few crops at a time before. Keeps me busy taking care of them, but...what I'd really like is if I could expand. I mean, more crops, more flowers, just...more!" he took a moment to laugh at himself. "I'm sorry, getting carried away," he chuckled. "It's just, one of the main problems is keeping everything watered when we don't have seasonal storms to provide the rain I'd need. It'd really help if I had an irrigation pond or something as a water reservoir, but...that's not exactly something I could build myself," he rubbed his neck sheepishly. Wow, he never had anyone to talk to about his interests before and now he couldn't seem to shut up, just because this stranger had asked a few questions. He looked around at the remaining mess. "Of course, still need to get this all cleaned up first," he muttered.

"Ack, where are my manners today?! I'm sorry, here I am talking your ears..." he eyed her earfins for a moment before continuing awkwardly, "...off about my garden and I haven't even introduced myself." He held out his hand. "Lugh. Pleasure to meet you, miss," he said honestly with a smile.

Wolfs Heart

 

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison pondered the male's words for a moment. It seemed silly to Lillison, having come from the water, that the male was worried about having enough water for his plants. The gardens that grew in the sea never needed to be watered because they were surrounded by it. "Why not plant your garden in the lake?" Lillison asked the angel innocently. "That sounds much easier than... building your own water source? I can't imagine I would be able to help out much with that either." Lillison could hardly walk straight most of the time, let alone do something as physical as building.

Lillison giggled at how Lugh reacted to not introducing himself. "I'm just as bad as you then, asking all these questions while remaining a stranger, Lugh..." the green naiad repeated. "My name is Lillison, it certainly has been pleasurable to meet you. I do love hearing about your garden though... it is good to be passionate."  

[Teigra]

Chuckling warmly, Lugh repeated her name to commit it to memory. "Lillison...a pleasure, most definitely." His smile remained as they continued speaking about his garden. "Well, I suppose land plants are a bit different. While they need water to grow, too much water is just as bad as not enough. It takes a certain balance, though some types of plants may be more or less tolerant to different water levels. It just takes a little observation and experimentation to learn what works for each type of plant. There are some that thrive in the water as you say. I suppose my other problem is," he paused, looking around. "I guess I've been here so long, I'm just a bit attached to the place. I couldn't think of picking up and moving now," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to go ahead and push forward. "Err...you know, if you're really interested in learning something about land gardens, I'd be happy to share what I know? Maybe show you some things, once I get a new planting going? I mean, hey, I'd love to see some of these underwater gardens as well one day, if I somehow could get a chance. They sound fascinating and unlike anything we have up here." He smiled, reaching up to awkwardly rub his neck. "I've been out here on my own for a while, so I hope I"m not being too forward or anything. If I am, feel free to tell me so. It's just...not often I find someone interested in what I do. Not really," he explained.
 

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison nodded her head, it kind of made sense what Lugh had said about too much water. Lillison had certainly had enough of water, even though she needed it to survive more than land pae. The land plants like the land pae, didn't need as much water to survive. It made perfect sense to her, it had been silly for her to suggest it. The naiad's green skin turned a pink tint at her cheeks.

She then smiled softly, "This is your home." Lillison was a nomad herself, even when she lived in the water, she had traveled with a school of fish and had never settled into one place. "Moving isn't for everyone... especially a plant. You have roots." Lillison knew that much about land plants from all of the digging she had done looking for shiny treasures.

Lillison nodded her head enthusiastically at the suggestion. "Oh, I would love that!" It might even be possible for her to show him the water gardens, despite her fear, the most beautiful gardens were in the shallow water anyways, they needed sun just as much as land plants. "They are beautiful and many beautiful fish live in them too." Lillison could understand too well the idea of being socially awkward. "Hm... the same goes for me. I've been on my own for a little while now... and before that I only really spent time with my fish... I haven't spent much time with other pae," the naiad admitted.  

[Teigra]

Having never quite made the connection, the comparison brought a smile to Lugh's face. "You know, I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense. It's true," he said, glancing around. "I guess this is where I set down my roots," he chuckled softly. "All I ever wanted to do was see what I could grow from the earth using my own two hands. So, when I found this place and started to settle in, I suppose I did so for good."

Encouraged by her enthusiastic response, Lugh returned the smile and pushed forward. "Wonderful! It's a deal then! I'll show you some things about gardening here on the land, and sometime, you need to show me those wonderful underwater gardens." Okay, there was the possible issue of being able to breathe to see them, but they could surely figure something out. The angel was far too wrapped up in the idea at the moment to let his mood falter with silly things like logic.

He gave her a look of complete understanding. "It's quite alright. Like I said, I don't get many visitors, and when I do, well..." he chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "They don't usually share your interest in what I do. Some of which seem to show up more for trouble than conversation, so...I'm not sure I've left the best impression before." He probably came across as the crazy old hermit, living on his own out here without seeking out other Pae. He gave her a warm smile, already wondering at the change in how he saw his own garden simply due to her visit. "You're welcome here anytime, Lillison. We can be socially awkward all we like without holding it against the other. Deal?"
 

[Wolfs Heart]

Lillison listened to Lugh talk, almost feeling proud of herself for making the connection, and for him agreeing with it. "Wow, it sounds like I'm getting the better end of that bargain," she giggled. The naiad wondered how likely it was that she would be given the chance to show him the water garden, she would give it more thought if he ever asked to go. "But I think it would be great." It sounded to Lillison like they might see more of each other beyond this chance run-in, and she was happy about the prospects of maybe making a friend.

"Trouble?" the brow of Lillison's eyes shot up, before settling so she could shake her head sadly. "Some pae... I don't know why someone would give you trouble. What did they do?" Lillison asked him, truly concerned. "It all sounds like a good plan to me... social awkwardness and all. Where should we begin?" Her ear fins perked up with her new-found enthusiasm.