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 Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:08 am
 The borders of Homewood grew everyday, stretching out her green fingers to swallow up the yellow emptiness of the barrens. Miros visited the little seed he’d helped find as often as mother would allow him. Breaks were few and far between now. Fewer even than they had been before he obtained his new powers, but Miros wasn’t glum about it. The magic gave him purpose and things finally felt right, like he was sliding into place in Homewood, slotting together with all the roots and leaves that bind every noul to Vykeli. He liked the work. But he liked visiting this little plant, too. It had grown from the smallest chartreuse sprout to a beautiful deep green sprig, branching thick, diamond-shaped leaves in all directions. Mother spent enough time teaching him the plants of Homewood that he knew what it was: Heytheria. One day it would blossom and perhaps a noulicorn might dig it up for its medicinal uses, but for now it was free to flourish in the sun, fed by the clear trickling stream that dribbled down from Homewood. “You’re doing so well,” he whispered to it, lowering his nose to nuzzle the red-streaked leaves. He was careful to keep it well away from his tongue, knowing full well that those same leaves were deadly if ingested incorrectly. He didn’t want to eat it anyhow. His heart would break when… if... it was ever plucked. But it wouldn’t be his decision to make and he wouldn’t stand in the way of a noulicorn who knew better than he did. He lowered himself to the ground beside the plant and watched it with wide, adoring eyes. Its leaves fluttered in the scant breeze, a friendly hello to an old friend, and Miros smiled.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:17 am
 Here she was again, the fringes between the barrens and Homewood. She wasn't sure why she was doing this once again, really she wasn't sure why she was even near the barrens again. The place felt of death to her, while the plants did inch out into the parched lands. Shaking her head and tossing her mane a bit she looked back towards the Jack Hop whom nibbled at clover behind her. "Why are we here again? Thought we had agreed to not come near the barrens, again." She said as the Jack Hop as it looked up at her. "We're going to see if that seed you sprouted from almost nothing has survived. I don't know how many seeds have been found in the Barrens and
survived after sprouting. Even in the conditions we left yours in." He said hopping over to her. Russet Fawn only shook her head again, she wasn't really wanting to return to that spot. She didn't want to know how well the plant had grown, or if it had survived after she had left. While that was not the right mindset of the Botanic user she was blessed to be, but at this time she had sprouted quite a few seeds and now it just didn't seem all that special. Progressing further along, keeping to the more shaded fringes of Homewood. Time seemed to drag on until they came to the vaguely familiar area she had last seen the sprout and the dark coated buck. Stopping still a bit of a distance away, her ears fall backwards slightly as she noticed that the buck was there. Watching over a strange plant she hadn't seen before, not in Homewood anyways. Was this a plant that had grown in that is now the barrens? While Fawn was watching the strange diamond leafed plant, Talltale hopped over and planted himself across from Miros. "Hello again." he greeted before looking down at the plant. "It seems that the seed has grown quite well, not that I have seen such a plant like it in all my seasons." He leaned closer to give the leaves a sniff. WC: 358
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:10 am
Dozing in the barrens wasn’t safe, you could find yourself in the throes of heat stroke or dehydration with no way of wandering back to Homewood on your own. Mother had told him many stories of noulicorns that succumbed to the heat, their minds a clouded haze of confusion as they stumbled deeper into the desert to seek their deaths. But surely, with Homewood’s cool shadows at his flank, he was fine to rest here a moment and enjoy the little plant? He wouldn’t sleep, he didn’t dare close his eyes, but his breaths came in deep, relaxing sighs. The noise of someone approaching drew him from his quiet contemplation. He lifted his head, shaking out his mane, and squinted against the sunshine. Oh! Miros rose to his feet with a bright smile, tamping down the urge to dance and kick like a foal. He hadn’t seen Fawn or Talltale since their first excursion to find the seed. He’d expected to run into them while he was watching over the little plant, but there hadn’t been so much as a familiar hoofprint in the soft sand around it. Never mind, though, they were here now! “Hasn’t it?” Miros answered Talltale, beaming. A start raced through his heart like lightning as the jackhop leaned in close. “Careful, though, those leaves are poisonous.” “They’re not very common,” Miros continued,” There might be all of a dozen in Homewood and the healers use them to help ease people into sleep. My mother showed me one, once.” But that one had been picked and ready for preparation, the leaves dried and the blossom crisp with death. This one… this one was vibrant and aching with life. Miros glanced at Fawn, his smile softening. “You did an amazing job.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:04 pm
"Deceiving little plant, ain't it?" Talltale said as he backed away from it when he was told that the leaves were poisonous. "Poisonous leaves, but the roots can be used for helping others sleep. Comforting."Fawn was more so watching Miros as he stood and greeted them, her ears laying back as if she were seeing a ghost or sorts. While yes she had only seen him the once when they traversed the Barrens, found the strange near dead seed and brought it back. Shaking her own head she glanced down at the diamond shaped leaves of the plant once more. "All I did was give it a little boost to thrive. Anyone else with a Botanic gift could easily do the same." She really didn't think it was all that big of a thing. Granted the seed itself was nearly dead and probably would have been if it had been any more exposed then it was. "But from the sounds, we have found something rare and sought after by healers."Turning her head to one side again, there wasn't much more that she thought there should have been said. But there were still echos from their last passing that reverberated around her skull. Her question of him still having a mother around, that had been careless of her. Not everyone had lost everything at the same moments. Frowning to herself, Fawn recessed into her own mind, forgetting where she was and who she was with. Talltale noticed this and hopped over to her. "Hey space case, snap out of it." He shouted hopping up onto her back to shout in her ear to snap her out of her own thoughts. "Not the best place to space out... And you need to stop bottling everything up." Fawn remained distant as she just stood there... WC: 304
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:23 pm
“Maybe,” Miros agreed, responding to Fawn’s attempt at minimizing her contribution. “But you did it, and that’s amazing.” Hadn’t that been her first time trying her gift, too? Miros remembered the bits of conversation between her and Talltale and that seemed to fit the pieces. Miros’ own first attempt had been frightening… and exhilarating. Fawn seemed to shut down, then, and Miros’ felt her black mood like smoke oozing through his body. His smile slipped… only for a moment, before he forced the edges back into place and kept his gaze soft and friendly. He wanted to make friends with her, but she seemed so… “It’s alright,” Miros took a cautious step toward her, careful to avoid the Heytheria plant. “Is there something wrong?” Had he managed to upset her somehow? He was glad they’d met up again. They’d parted with questions between them and Miros was eager to learn what Fawn meant about his mother, but she didn’t appear in the right state to be bombarded with friendly interrogation.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:55 pm
Talltale hopped from her back and to the ground. He hopped around Fawn once before latching onto her leg with his teeth as he had done a few times before. Sometimes it brought her out of her phase. Other times it didn't, this was one of those times Talltale found himself sailing over the ground away from her. He tumbled horns over tail before coming to a stop, laying on the hot soil of the Barrens. "Yipe!" He shouted hopping up and headed back to where Fawn was standing glaring down at him. "You deserved it, you know." He muttered as he sat glaring back. "Always with the teeth with you. One of these days you'll land in worse straights." She muttered back shaking her leg, not that he had drawn blood, just the pinching was enough. "We shall see, now be nice and talk with him." Talltale pointed to Miros whom had come closer and most certainly thought she was a little crazy. "Having other friends never hurts you know."Fawn snorted at the Jack Hop before looking back towards the Buck that she had blacked out in front of. Blacking out was something that always seemed to happen when she was around others besides Talltale. Didn't really happen the first time, she didn't know how it hadn't happened. She guessed it was because she was too into wanting to try her gift out that it slipped her mind. "Many things are wrong, but none that I wish to burden anyone else with it." She said softly, though audible for them all to hear. "So don't worry." She gave a half-hearted smile, one that would probably make others worry even more for her well being. This only caused Talltale to rub his face with a groan. She was always trying to skirt around things to keep everything bottled up with in herself. One of these days those burdens would get her into trouble and she'd end up dead or close to it. WC: 333
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 2:05 pm
Miros watched the interaction with rapt fascination. He understood the importance of familiars, how bonding with a jackhop or a scuttlescale could help a Noulicorn with their duties to Vykeli. Jackhops for their keen eyes and sense of smell, able to seek out the tiniest grains of plant life. Scuttlescales for their nimble fingers, helping craft straps and bags for long journeys to the unknown corners of the barrens. He’d even heard of strong bonds forming for emotional support. Perhaps Talltale was something like that for Fawn. He didn’t want to interrupt their conversation, so he waited patiently until Fawn turned her attention to him, keeping his smile in place while his tail flicked with nervousness between his hocks. “It’s not a burden at all,” said Miros, bounding closer. “I really don’t mind! I… I was told that talking about things can help make them easier.” Not by mother, of course. Mother wanted him to keep all his troubles buried deep, locked tightly inside himself where they could never be used as a weaknesses. ”Give nothing away,” she’d said to him as a young foal, scrape kneed and snotty with upset. ”If you show nothing, you can never have your secrest used against you.” It was one of the hardest lessons she’d tried to teach him. He couldn’t be stoic like her, he couldn’t bottle everything up tight. But he could be happy and genial, even in the grip of misery. “I’ve got two ears that are very good at listening,” he laughed, a tumbling chortle light on its feet. “And nothing but time for the rest of the afternoon.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 4:27 pm
Fawn watched Miros with a bit of a skeptical look on her face. To this thought she shook her head a little, looking away from the buck. There were many things that she was trying to hold up on her own and her shoulders were getting very tired of it all. Just she didn't know the words to say that wouldn't make her sound like a doe that would need to be kept somewhere for her own safety and the safety of other. Glancing back towards the buck she opened her mouth to speak. "I don't suppose you have burdens of your own. Ones that you fear will make others worry for their own safety." she says tilting her head to one side. "Or have had experiences that you wish not even on your own enemy."Now she was going to be the one to dig into his past, though all he had to say was no or not really and she would be happy. But there were questions churning in the air between them and most were geared towards her direction. Fawn glanced away from Miros as she awaited his answers to her not so question, questions. They were more of statements, but some would take them as questions, thus opening her to be asked of the same. As she let the words hang, really not taking much time, she turned to step past Miros towards the small trickle of water to get a small drink. Her throat had gone a little dry, her eye ever watching the strange little plant that she had brought more or less to life. Was this really something that could be found in Homewood? Granted she wasn't much of a Vivfy as she was Botanic... There was much to learn around here and she was stuck within her own little bubble. WC: 308
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:29 pm
“Everyone has burdens,” Miros spouted, biting back a wince at the quickness of his own words. What sort of burdens did he have, really? He’d never done anything terrible in his life. He followed mother’s instructions, took her lessons to heart, and every day strived to become the best he could for Vykeli and Grandfather Tree. The only secret he kept - it hurt to spend a thought toward it - was how much he missed his sister. Mother would be displeased beyond measure if she knew Miros spent any time pondering Arosi’s fate. He was meant to forget her. She wasn’t dead - oh no, much worse than that. Arosi had gotten herself exiled from Homewood, her horn bright and shining even as she sped off through the barrens, dust clouds her only farewell. Miros shoved the thought to dark pits of his mind, squeezed back into lockboxes his mother taught him to build. “I’ve had plenty of unpleasant experiences,” Miros continued, his voice soft and meandering with his thoughts. “But everything I’ve gone through has helped teach me to be better. Mother says you have to shatter your limits to achieve great things, and sometimes that means pain… or hardship… or worse.” Her lessons were etched into every fibre of Miros’ being. Days wandering the barrens with nothing but his own hooves. Learning to swim by flailing in the poisoned waters of the bog. Days upon days of rooting thorny weeds from precious gardens to help the rarer plants thrive.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:38 pm
"Your mom sounds smart, in her way. But what if ones burden is one from an early age? When everything is taken from you in a single instance?" She looked back at him over her shoulder with almost glassed over eyes. There were many unshed tears behind that glassy gaze, but she refused to let it really show. No one, besides Talltale, knew of what had happened in her past. Even then he didn't know everything about her, these were the things that she had kept to herself. The lessons from her father and all the rules he had placed upon her. The punishments that she had gotten when she had disrespected his rules. The list was a large one and now that she is more or less alone she didn't know how to interact with anyone else. "The differences between the two of us is, you still have family to show you the way." She looked away, her gaze not really one anything. "You are lucky to have them, I... I wish I could say the same." There was a bit of a crack in her voice as she said it. Even a shudder rattled down her body that almost landed her on the ground. Fawn managed to keep standing, though Talltale had come over and started to lean on her a bit. Perhaps trying to comfort her, but it was hard to say if it were helping... WC: 239
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:20 am
Fawn’s words struck Miros’ like a lance, blistering pain in a lightning strike through his heart. He understood her comment about his mother now, in the worst way possible. He didn’t bother disguising the effects of her secret. His ears eased slowly back against his neck, his tail stilled and drooped to the dirt. He scuffed a hoof and lowered his head, eyes averted. What could he say to that? Miros lost his sister in a way, but she was still alive, out there in the barrens somewhere. Arosi was strong, she could survive anything. And his mother- Miros bit back a gasp. Even the thought of losing his mother was enough to make his legs quake. “I’m so sorry.” The words came of their own accord, spilling from his mouth like empty promises. What did his sympathy matter in the face of that? There was nothing he could do for her. No way to bring her family back. Not… not right now, anyway. He was a vivify noulicorn. If he trained hard and kept to his lessons maybe one day he’d earn his wings and he could pour his power into resurrected the dead creatures of Vykeli. Giving life to deceased nouls was an abuse of that power, he knew. A taboo of the highest order. But he couldn’t stand by while others suffered the painful jaws of loss. There was one thing he could offer her now. “My mother believes we should all work together,” he started, his voice a quiet whisper in the desert, careful not to startle her away. “I can’t replace your family, but I can help show you the way. And… and my mother would too.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:53 pm
Fawn watched as the buck seemed to almost deflate with the information that she had given to him. While it was not the most she could have said, but it seemed to be enough to get a message. But she did feel bed for dropping that little stone on him, but it seemed unfair of her to just drop that all to once, even if it were just the tip of it all. Turning around to face the buck she watched as he looked away from her, guess it had more of an effect on him then she had first thought. It was his voice that snapped her back a little. "There is nothing for you to be sorry for. I was little when it happened, The Ruins weren't the safest of places to live back then. But it was all my parents knew I supposed." She gave a bit of a shrug as if it weren't much of a big deal. While Fawn had wanted to see her parents again, she didn't even know her mother. Her father had raised her the best that he could, found does to take care of her in times that he could not, but he never found another for himself. He had had only one mate and she had perished in that cave in with his other daughter, Fawn's twin sister. If there hadn't been a quake, she would have been surrounded by family. An ear twitched as he mentioned something about working together. She had thought of him meaning to heal the world, she would be doing her part, but not sure of what else there was that she could do. Frowning slightly, her eyes still a bit glossy, she tilted her head slightly to the side. Had he mentioned something of helping her, she just wasn't sure what she had needed. "You don't have to worry about me too much. I can just muddle on as I have for the past few seasons. Father passed but three winters ago. Talltale has been with me for two seasons." She gives a small smile, as if it would make things even better. Talltale looked up at Fawn as an ear of his own twitched. He wasn't sure if she were trying to silently ask for help, you trying to build up her walls even more. All the same she had to let someone else into her life one way or another or she would fall deeper into the depression she was sinking into. But at least someone else knew of a piece of her past, about losing something to the quake. He just knew that she had to shed more and let her falls come down. "Having more support would be something you need, Fawn, so stop beating around the bush." He pointed out and she just knocked him to the side and away from her. "We are muddling along, Tallatle. Just let me have my space and tell things at my own pace." This was maybe a little harsher then she had wanted, but her voice still cracked as she strained to keep herself together. WC: 523
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 8:13 pm
“I don’t have to worry about you,” Miros agreed, bobbing his head along, “But I’d like to.” He wanted to step closer to her, eat up that chasm between them made of Fawn’s defenses and her dark past. But he didn’t. He rooted all fours hooves firmly to the dirt, imagined they were planted there in tandem with the Heytheria. He took a more dangerous action. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” He knew the words were a hazard as soon as they left his mouth, but he couldn’t stop them. Didn’t want to. Miros ached for company, with his sister gone and his mother’s teachings drilled into him daily he didn’t have as many opportunities to socialize as he’d like. And if he could help Fawn, help her like his mother helped him, that would only be better for Vykeli in the long run. It wasn’t a selfish desire. But you didn’t earn friends by pushing for it. Miros closed his eyes, shifted his hooves in the hard dirt beneath them, the crunching gravel echoing loud in his ears. He took a step back and turned toward Homewood. “But I understand the need to do things at your own pace, and I won’t take up any space you won’t give to me. But if you ever want to talk… or want help… or…” he shot her a grin. “Or want to meet my mother, I like to visit here often. Maybe I’ll see you again?” Soon, he hoped. Please, come back and see him soon.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:06 pm
Fawn just watched Miros as he seemed to fight with himself internally, wanting to come closer to her, but elected to remain where he was. Fawn herself remained where she was, with the plant between them, she had turned around to face him. She did glance away from him when said that he's like to worry about her, it was something she didn't want. She didn't need anyone really worrying about her, it just made her feel guilty that she was taking up someone's time. "I am hoping that we can be.. Friends..." She said looking back towards the buck, her gaze kinda downwards. She didn't know if she could really look up at him. "It would ease Talltale 's pestering and I would hope we got a little close in the first meeting, as fast as it was."Russet Fawn glanced down at the Jack Hop whom only glanced back at her in a hopeful way. It was the most that she could do, besides. After so long alone, even with Talltale around now, she had been passed off to many does at young age to try and replace what she would learn from her mother. Her father had done his best, but it hadn't been completely enough. Shaking the past from her mind she had to look towards what was a head of her, the health of their home. While she can had to take things slowly, she was going to at least try. "But in the meantime. What sort of plant did I give life to that was next to nothing in this arid place?" She asked looking closer to the plant, being mindful of the warnings that were given when Talltale went to inspect it. WC: 289
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 10:55 pm
There were friends! Miros couldn’t bite back his grin or the dazzling gleam in his eye at the news. He shook his mane and bobbed in agreement. “It’s heytheria,” he replied,” A toxic plant, but it’s useful to healers. I think it’s meant to help you sleep if it’s prepared correctly?” Miros started off toward Homewood, his hooves clipping briskly in the dust. “I’ll ask my mother more about it, she works with healers. I’ll meet you here tomorrow and share everything I’ve learned.” He had a purpose and a reason to meet up with her again! This day, Miros thought, was one of his best yet. FIN.
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