The Others would refer to this as a “grocery run”, but for Specterdust and Kevin, it was foraging for edible plants to make meals with. While she wasn’t a big fan of plants, she loved food and food was plant life. Kevin was more interested in what bugs he could find and kept overturning rocks and small logs, eating as he went. They were heading out towards the ruins today, a variety of plants grew there, slowly taking over the former Other colony. Some of the plants had sprouted from seeds or spoiled food the others had left behind and they took over. If you knew where to look, you’d find quite the bounty.
One such place still had the remains of a fence around it, but rust and animals had put holes into it and now she could walk in with no issue. Vines and strange plants grew uncontested in strange wooden boxes and even between them. They had already flowered and now ripe fruits and vegetables made the plants bow with their weight. Specter carefully picked her way through, making sure she didn’t come across any hidden enemies that would cause this day to go sour fast. “Hey Kevin, come help me pick some of these vegetables. Seems we wont have any trouble loading up our baskets today.”
Kevin raced through the plants and popped up right by Specter’s head as she reached down and pulled a leafy veggie from the soil. Its root was long and bright orange, he took it from her and set it in one of the baskets she carried on a harness. They picked several more and added them to the first. They moved further in to find shiny bright red globes weighing heavily on viney plants that grew tall but bent over from the sheer weight of plant and vegetable. They carefully picked these as the greens were poisonous to nouls and creatures alike. They set them in a separate basket so that they didn’t get squished. That would make quite the mess.
Hidden under a rusty metal arch was a wild chaos of leafy greens. Kevin went in and broke some off and carried them one by one out to Specter. He dropped them into another basket, repeating this til he had gathered all the ones he freed from the soil. “How about something sweet? I see that the thorning patch over there had a ton of reddish pink berries. Shall we collect those?”
Kevin raced over to the bush she had mention and then came back. “I’ll take the small basket and get some. Wait here. “ He pulled out a small basket from her packs and raced back to the thorny bushes. He set the basket down and carefully began to pluck the berries and toss them in. But he couldn’t help eating some as he went. They were incredibly juicy and sweet. Mmmm.
“Hey now, save some for me and the other critters,” Specter laughed as she called to him. She was busy pulling up green shoots that had an interesting onion like taste but didn’t have a bulb on the end. They spice up any meal she prepared and so tucked them in with red orbs, as they wouldn’t squish them. Kevin had returned with a full basket and set it in with the veggies. “I think we have enough to last a few days,” Kevin replied.
“I think so too, though I would like to find some mushrooms. The little brown ones. I think those are in a damp patch near some rotted logs, on our way out.” Kevin bobbed his head. “Yes, I did see those. Very nutty.”
They followed their path back towards Homewood which passed by a patch of rotted out logs. Growing from the ground were clusters of adorable tiny brown mushrooms. Mielikki had told Specter that they were safe to eat and had a nutty earthy flavor. Kevin picked a bunch and tossed them whatever basket had space left. “I think we’re good now. Can only take what we’ll eat in a few days. Although rotten food is good in compost from the gardeners,” Specter remarked. “Let’s get home now.”
Kevin raced ahead of Specter but would double back and check on her. Occasionally he would stop and snap up some more bugs. When they arrived back at the massive oak tree, Kevin helped take the baskets and harness of Specter. They then carefully unpacked and stored the food away. Specter then pulled out what she wanted to use for a meal and began to prep it. Kevin helped with some cutting but mostly moved the chopped stuff to a large bowl. He mixed it all up and separated some for himself.
“Time to eat!” Specter said as she laid down next to Kevin. Together they ate the fresh veggies together and shared some of the berries afterwards. It was mighty filling and super delicious. “Tomorrow we should collect some of the grain grass. Maybe even set out some fruits to dry. Make for good travel rations.”
Kevin bobbed his head and settled down on a low branch for his late afternoon nap. Specter just smiled up at him and then laid her head down as well.
WC: 875
