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Friendly Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 1:26 pm
"That'd be nice," Claire agreed with a laugh. Brendan and Dinah were very sweet but they were very rambunctious - and while Lorin was an energetic child in his own right, he was much more subdued than the other two. As the conversation turned, however, Claire leaned forward, cupping her drink anew as she took a draw. "Yeah, I've noticed that too." She had been part of the Lab since 2014 but the addition of new faces in the few gatherings she had attended was enough for her to take notice. She smiled sympathetically at Nell. "I kind of feel the same. It'd be good for more parties but hopefully not too overwhelming." And with another laugh, she added, "And less bird attacks."
"Yeah!" Lorin's head was likewise buzzing with ideas about what other things they could get their hands on during a trip to the woods. With his gaze lingering on the pockets of Dair's sweater, he thought back to what he had - did he have anything with lots of pockets? He had a few windbreakers but they only had two pockets, but he did have a small backpack he could use. It seemed that that would be his next goal: get more pockets. "I gotta get more pockets but we can get lotsa neat stuff when we go." He went for the cicada husks next, fingers tracing over the shelf fungus - he was surprised at the smoothness of it. Carefully handling one of the husks, he turned to Dair. "I wonder if also there'll be lotsa things we can talk to there." Lorin was very curious, especially with the budding ability to feel what plants felt, if the forest would speak back to him. His finger ran along the back of the husk. "Like my cactus does, and my aloe. You should meet 'em sometime!" The small Frei beamed - he was so excited to show his succulents the friends he spoke about meeting!
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 2:04 pm
Nell momentarily thought of her horde of cousins back at home, thought of Dair, calm, quiet Dair, having grown up around them, and suppressed a shudder. No, might be for the best that there wasn't much influencing going on either way. "Definitely less birds! Maybe someting not actually at the Lab, since the new year's party seemed to go alright..."
"I think we could figure something out if nothing else." He knew that Nell had at least one backpack lying around, and though she probably wouldn't be too thrilled about it being used to cart around a bunch of foresty things, she'd probably let them use it. "And...talk to?" He perked up a bit at that, hovering a bit closer with interest clear on his face. "What kind of things can you talk to?" Maybe he was like him, though he wouldn't necessarily call what he could hear from the trees 'talking', it was a sort of communication, right?
"Also what's a cactus?"
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:12 pm
"Yeah, the New Year's party was a lot of fun," Claire agreed warmly. Despite the hiccup that had occurred towards the end of the evening, the rest of the night more than made up for it. The company was good, the snowball fight was a lot of fun, the food and atmosphere delightful - even Cadi seemed to unwind a little bit. "Here's hoping for another holiday party; I'm sure the boys would have a great time if it was anything like last year's." Especially with the lack of bird attacks.
Lorin nodded enthusiastically to Dair's statement. "If you got a backpack and I got a backpack, we'll have lotsa room for stuff." Of this he was absolutely certain. Cicada husk in hand, he ran his fingers distractedly along the back of the shell, not noticing Dair until he drew closer. Lorin's smile grew as he read the oak Frei's apparent interest in his features, but it faltered as he realized the limitations of his own ability, which probably sounded more impressive than it actually was. "Well.." he said sheepishly, placing the cicada back on the shelf, "I can talk to them but they can't talk back, but I know their feelings and stuff. I can feel 'em." It was heartening to know that, even with his limited abilities, the plants could still understand him.
Dair's next question brought his smile back, and he plucked up the final item from the shelf, inverting the fungus to feel the underside with a giggle. "She's a plant! She's all spiney and green and she's got a big pink flower on her." One hand moved up to his head, fingers pinched closed, and he opened them as he spoke about her blossom. "She's real shy, though."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:57 pm
"If nothing else, I'm sure we can figure something out something a bit less formal. I don't think kids need much of a reason to throw snow at each other, huh?" Granted, she didn't think anyone needed much of a reason to have a snowball fight, but that might've just been because she never had a chance to have snowball fights as a kid.
Dair nodded enthusiastically, but looked over at his relatively small bookshelf. "I might have to find somewhere else to put everything, I don't think I have enough space for a whole backpackfull..." Sure, if he shoved everything together he could fit it all in there, but then everything would be crowded together and you wouldn't be able to see it as nicely.
Well. Surely Nell wouldn't mind having a bit of it leak over into the rest of the apartment, right? (She would, he would eventually find out, especially the bugs.)
"That sounds so cool though. Sometimes I think I..." He trailed off, nose scrunching as he tried to figure out how to put it into words, or if it was even wort putting into words just yet. He settled for shrugging his shoulders instead of finishing his sentence "Where is she from? Does she live at your house?" There was a faint note of wistfulness in his voice, as the nearest plantlife near their apartment were palm trees and dune grass, nice plants but not the sort that he tended to gravitate towards.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:12 pm
"Very true." Claire nodded as she crossed one knee over the other and propped her chin in her palm. "Travel along the coast a bit on the mainland and there are plenty of snow parks." She had quite a few good memories from when she was younger, as her father was quite the outdoor enthusiast and did his best to get Claire and her brother out into the elements. "I know a few close to Barton, maybe that'd be a fun day trip."
Lorin's gaze travelled up, to the ceilings of the loft. "Maybe put stuff up there?" He pointed with one hand while the other pressed the shelf fungus gently to his chest. "Mama says you can put stuff from the ceiling sometimes." With a hum, he set the fungus back on the shelf, and his eyes trailed over the pinecone. "Like this one?" He picked up the item in question and held it above his head, trying to picture it hanging from a string from the rafters - maybe several of them. "Just not so low so you run into them." He nodded sagely at his own advice and put it back where it belonged. Floating backwards as Dair spoke again, he examined the shelf to make sure that everything was back in place, but his attention was arrested by the shift in the oak Frei's thoughts.
Could his new friend do what he could do? The boy brimmed with excitement as he quickly answered his last question. "Yeah, she lives in my room with the others." Nestled between the desert rose and an aloe plant sat Miss Cactus, her rosy-colored flower asking for attention. But Lorin's attention returned to what his companion had first started to say, latching on to the words, eyes bright. "Can you feel 'em too, Dair? The plants?" While he waited for an answer with bated breath, Lorin felt another thread of connection between him and Dair, and his unburdened hands clenched together hopefully.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:31 am
"I think that'd be fun for them! Honestly I haven't had a chance to explore much outside of Gambino yet, so I'll defer to your wisdom about places to see," she admitted with a laugh. It had just been one thing after another since she had moved here, and she was starting to regret not having a chance to get out more before Dair came since she could only come up with a few places to take him so far.
His mouth formed a small 'o' as he looked thoughtfully at the pine cone Lorin held up, his gaze staying there for a few moments longer after it had been put back on the shelf. It took him a moment to switch gears from one subject to the other and his words were a bit distant.
"Do you have more than the cactus? And the aloe?" The words were foreign, but there was something that felt oddly comforting about talking living plants, which only made him that much more aware of how everything natural that was in his room was very much not living.
"Maybe? Sometimes when I go to the park it feels like the trees..." he frowned as he struggled to find the right words. "It's not talking, but it's something? I think?"
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:47 pm
"I grew up in Gambino to some very outdoorsy parents, so I'm happy to help you there where I can," Claire replied with a sheepish smile as she leaned back, her hands resting atop her crossed knees. "However, ask me the same about Durem and you might be out of luck." She laughed anew. "Schedule conflicts are things are I definitely understand, especially when I was living there."
Lorin watched the pinecone for a beat more until Dair spoke, and turned to face him with an eager nod and a smile. "Yeah, we got lotsa plants! Mama has a garden but it's small right now.. the plants are all sleeping 'cause they're new but she says they'll be here in the spring." The yard looked rather barren at this point in time, very much a work in progress as plants were moved from planters into the ground, and many of the bulbs had not even broken the surface yet as they awaited the change of seasons. "But I got lots more other than Miss Cactus and the aloe," he paused, amending, "But I got lotsa aloes, too. And some other little plants I don't know the name of yet. Mama says one is a desert rose - she's got some pink too, like Miss Cactus." Lorin's rambling about his small collection brought a tingle of warmth to him, knowing that his friend was interested enough to ask. Maybe, someday, Dair would get to meet them face-to-face - or face-to-plant, as it were. But then it was Lorin's turn to listen as Dair spoke of his own ability, and the warm tingle in his chest became stronger at the similarity of power between the two Freis.
"Mm-hm," Lorin added with a tone of deep interest and never taking his eyes off of Dair. "I feel their feelings but it's not words or anything. It's just like.." His gaze finally dropped from the oak Frei and he clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to find the right words himself. He recalled when he had first rescued his succulents, and how their distress had reached out to him like a creeping vine before it settled on his consciousness, encompassing and hard to ignore. "Like a blanket, but it's feelings? But they're not my feelings so that's how I know." He blinked, not fully satisfied with his phrasing but feeling it was the closest he could get, and finally he looked up at Dair again. "Does it kinda feel like that?" His eyes shown with that fierce connection he was feeling, the fact that they could both feel what plants were feeling, and he hoped that it was true.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:46 am
"I wish I could return the favor, but the only advice I'd have if you wind up in my hometown would be to go somewhere else," she said with a laugh. "But point us in the right direction! Also I know he's not a troublemaker, but if you ever need a day off we'd be able to watch him for a bit." The low murmur of conversation from Dair's room was an encouraging sound at least, and it would probably do him some good to hang out with someone else other than herself for a bit.
"Do you think I could see them when they wake up?" The idea of plantlife that wasn't at least overgrown and wild in some way was something of a new idea for him, having only really experienced forests and parks that weren't kept well-manicured. But he imagined it would at least feel a bit more welcoming and comforting than wild plants did. His head tilted to the side as he waited for Lorin to finish searching for the right words, a triumphant smile spreading across his face as he finished speaking.
"That's it! No words, but I can understand them well enough!" A good thing to know that he at least hadn't been imagining it this whole time. "Do you think we'll ever be able to hear them actually talk?" So far, if he had to describe it, he had only felt a faint sense of surprise and welcome from the trees, but now knowing that some sort of communication was possible he was curious how far that could go.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 6:37 pm
"I think most folks feel that way about their hometowns," Claire offered with an appreciative laugh of her own. "But it's my pleasure. Us guardians should help each other out where we can." At Nell's offer, her expression softened into a brimming smile. "Thanks, Nell. I really appreciate it. And likewise for Dair, as well." She, too, looked towards the loft. The positive spikes of conversation from both voices filled her with certainty that they were becoming fast friends.
"Yeah!" The answer was instantaneous, as though there had been no doubt in his mind. "You can come meet 'em when they're all awake in the spring and we can play in the garden and color and stuff." His antennae vibrated with his anticipation; he was eager to invite people to his house to play and meet his plants, but he did not think it would come to happen so soon, and so easily! He would have to get his plant shelf cleaned up properly; there were water stains and dirt smudges marring the clean white paint. However, the boy was more focused on where their conversation of powers had taken the two of them, and he brightened in time with Dair as realization grew on the oak Raevan's face. The expression flickered a bit into uncertainty as a question was posed back, and he swayed on the spot as he deliberated an answer.
"I dunno," Lorin admitted at last. His hands dropped behind his back. "I hope so. Maybe when we get older, or if we just keep talkin' to them lots." This seemed like the appropriate course of action and he nodded, as though agreeing with himself. "Maybe if we spent lotsa time near them, like in the park." There were several small parks in Gambino, varying from the tropical playgrounds closer to the beach to the ones more centrally located, which were rife with a larger variety of trees than the palms that populated the shoreline. Now that he knew that they both shared this same ability, Lorin felt - no, knew - that he and the oak Frei could crack the code of treespeak together if they kept at it. "We gotta go to the park and practice lots together. If we do that, then the trees gotta talk back to us." His hand drifted up between them, fingers curled and pinky held out to Dair. "Let's promise." He had only ever seen a pinky promise done on television during his morning programs, but with the connection already forming between the two foresty Freis, he knew it would only make their bond stronger. They could only help each other get better, after all.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2017 5:24 pm
"I'll have to take you up on that soon," she said with a laugh."I'm trying to get him to be as social as possible, I have a feeling if he was left to his own devices he'd spend all of his time alone." Hopefully she was wrong, but it was good that there was at least one other raevan who he had befriended already.
"That sounds fun." Spring was a good while away, at least in his mind, but knowing he had something to look forward to as exciting as meeting Lorin's friends would hopefully make that time pass by quickly. He nodded along as Lorin spoke, a sense of excitement bubbling up in him that was (at least not directly) not related to plants.
He could hear them to. It was something of a relief to know that he hadn't been imagining it, even if neither of them could fully understand what the plants had been saying. Practice. Yes, that made sense, and he had been, in a limited sort of way. But maybe with the two of them practiced together they would have an easier time of it...
He gave Lorin's outstretched pinky a questioning look, his own hand raising up and mimicking the gesture. "A promise, then," e said, his tone solemn even though he had a wide smile on his face as he hooked his pinky around Lorin's.
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