|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 6:28 pm
The gardening store, along with Algernon's bookstore, had rapidly become one of Nathaniel's most frequent haunts. He loved everything about being inside of it, from the smell of topsoil and fresh air, to the wide range of plants and trees that were all clustered everywhere; a veritable melting pot of choices to make.
Nathaniel stood now, in a section of potted plants, all green and lavish and bright. Some had brilliantly blooming flowers sprouting, others were smaller and quieter, less obtrusive, while more still were under a sign that proclaimed: "for a better environment in the home." A large table to the left was covered in tiny succulents, ranging from little cacti to flowering echeveria.
He had a cacti in his hands, Nathaniel turning it absently from side to side before deciding that he would get this one. This, along with several other packets of flowers, would be good for brightening up his apartment a little, though admittedly, not much could be done, considering it lacked everything but the bare necessities.
Still, there was an expression of fond happiness on Nathaniel's face as he stood there, eying the other plants; if he could have had them all, he would have, but the budget was too strict to allow or anything more than what he already had in his hands.
Next time, he thought.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:09 pm
Chris, for once, was outside of the warehouse without Thorne. It was a rare moment lately, always some grating fear when he couldn't see Thorne that he had been taken. That something was wrong. But Thorne was asleep and Chris had been feeling better lately and he was confident enough that he could handle a trip to a favorite store of his.
Chris had managed to pick up a couple packets of culinary lavender, staring at the seeds for a long moment before deciding that they'd be worth the trouble. He liked lavender and it would be nice to try cooking with it. Maybe he'd even grow a pot for Thorne - it was one of the herbs he didn't have and Chris knew that it was good to bake with.
He turned the corner to the potted plants, a normally frequented area by him. There was someone there already and Chris didn't pay them much mind at first, simply looking over the array of plants. The succulents looked nice and Chris reached out to get one but -
Something about the person there was bothering Chris. He turned his head to get a better look, trying to place him. It clicked after a minute, his eyesbrows raising in surprise. "Oh," He said, then scrambling to make up for his mistake, "Sorry I just - Nathaniel? I think it was?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 5:47 pm
Nathaniel, having a moment with the plants, did not immediately register that someone was nearby. It did not also immediately register that someone had said his name, and his gaze was still on a flowering hibiscus as he said absently, "Hm? Yes?"
Then he realized that someone was actually speaking to him, and Nathaniel jerked his gaze sideways, almost knocking over said hibiscus in the process. A hand reached out to stop it from falling over, and he turned hastily to look at the man beside him.
"Sorry, I wasn't - yes, I'm Nathaniel."
The reaction was slightly delayed, but the features of the man had started to fall into place. Without a mask, it was different, but the voice and the build and the hair were all linked together so that Nathaniel could put the pieces successfully into place.
"It's...Chris, right?" he asked, a little hesitantly. "You're one of Jeremiah and Algernon's friends?"
There was a pause and then Nathaniel set down the cacti he was still holding in order to stretch out his hand towards the other.
"It's nice to formally meet you. How are you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:35 pm
Chris gave a small chuckle at Nathaniel's reaction - he recognized being just as absorbed in something like that and it was familiar. Normal. It made him feel better for a moment.
"Yes," Chris said, smile on his face. "Friend, yes, although I feel more like a son at times with all the fussing they do over me. Old grandpas."
He switched his lavender from one hand to another to complete the handshake, giving the cacti a glance.
"I'm good, or well. Trying at least." There was a tight smile there. "What about you? It seemed like your first time in Other Ashdown."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:00 am
He couldn't help but laugh a little; the Mercers were nothing if not supportive, and the idea of them as doting grandpas or fathers to anyone was entertaining, to say the least, the corners of Nathaniel's lips quirking upwards into a smile.
"They do fit into that mold rather nicely, don't they?" he said, as his hand dropped away from Chris's. Nathaniel plucked up the cacti once more and settled it back into his armful of succulents that he probably didn't need but was getting anyway.
Something about Chris's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and Nathaniel couldn't blame him. He gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
"I'm all right. And while I don't know exactly what you mean by 'Other Ashdown,' yes it was my first...well, experience with anything like that. It was a little mind blowing."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 4:59 pm
"Absolutely, seeing as Thorne and other friends of mine call them grandpas. I think I picked up the name from them, come to think of it," Chris said, giving him another laugh. He watched with interest at the pick up of the cacti leading to the succulents.
"With that many plants, it can only mean two things. Either, you have an impressive black thumb that you're trying to break, or you really love plants," He smiled, gently teasing Nathaniel. He was interested on the reason too, but he couldn't help the tease.
"Oh, Other Ashdown is where we were. I guess you didn't see much of it, but the place is basically a carbon copy of Ashdown, if it were always raining and inhabited by the Otherworld," He shrugged a little, "I'm not sure who coined the name, but it's what I use. I can imagine though, the place did the same thing to me the first time. It's all a bit strange, really."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 10:04 am
Nathaniel's fingers absently smoothed along the tiny clay pot that housed the cacti; a subconscious gesture, as though it was something he did so often that it had become second nature to him. The smell of the plants was soothing to him; fresh air and grass and soil and everything natural and easy, sifting through the air towards him.
A laugh escaped him, bright and pleased sounding. "I do love plants," said Nathaniel, a grin spreading across his freckled face. "They seem to be the only thing that I can actually maintain for long periods of time, and I kinda get carried away sometimes."
They were also the only extraneous thing that Nathaniel actually spent money on, but Chris didn't need to hear about all of his financial woes. He shifted a little from foot to foot, frowning slightly at what was being said about Other Ashdown, his expression thoughtful.
"So that ball, then - that was just a small part of it?" he asked. "There's more than just that place?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 2:34 pm
Chris picked up his lavender again, studying the packets for a moment before glancing back at the table. He liked the shop - liked being out for once. It was oddly calming in the shop. Maybe he'd bring Thorne around.
"Oh good," Chris laughed, "I mean, I'd still like you if you had a black thumb but it's easier when they like you too. I understand what you mean by getting carried away, I think I barely have any room in the garden now and yet I'm still getting more." He shook the packets of lavender a little. "My friend, I'm pretty sure he bought his place just for the space to put all his plants."
"Yes," Chris said, "If it's in Ashdown, it's mostly in Other Ashdown. This shop for instance, there's a version of it in Other Ashdown. It's the whole town. There's some stuff there that isn't here, and vice versa, but for the most part it's just one big copy. I could take you, if you like. I know how to navigate well enough."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:50 pm
Nathaniel glanced at the lavender for a moment, debating whether he should get some as well; it did smell rather nice, and it could be used in cooking, he thought, even if he was terrible at cooking and needed a bit of guidance in that department.
"You have a garden?" Nathaniel asked, exhaling a breath. "I wish I had enough room for an entire garden, the most I can get are things stuck in pots or boxes or things like that. One day I'll have space for a garden," he added, sounding somewhat wistful.
He considered Chris's offer, still contemplating the idea of an entire city that was exactly like the one he was currently standing in.
"So is it like...opposite, then?" he asked, tilting his head. "I mean, that's much appreciated, you offering to take me, I might just take you up on that offer."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 5:57 pm
Chris nodded, looking rather pleased. "It's behind my parent's house - I watch the house since they're in Korea and they just sort of gave it to me to use," He explained. "I used to be stuck to pots and things too though. I believe you'll get it though - plenty of land to be got. Or at least cheap. I also work in this garden in town, no one really pays attention to it. You can probably plant some flowers there or something."
He hummed a little, considering the the thought.
"Yes, basically," He admitted, giving Nathaniel a smile. "Here, let's trade numbers. I don't mind at all, it's better for someone to have an idea of what to do in the place if you're new. Sometimes you can walk in rather unexpectedly and it can be quite a shock."
He offered Nathaniel his phone, open to a new contact.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:01 am
The corners of his lips quirked.
"I use the space right outside the front sidewalk by my apartment to garden sometimes," Nathaniel admitted. "It's not a very big space at all; it's kinda tiny, actually, but there's just enough for some carrots to be planted there - when people's dogs aren't peeing on them," he added, thinking dryly of Connor and his dog.
Nathaniel had never even considered the possibility of there being an entirely new place essentially on top of Ashdown, but he was now so curious about it that it felt like an ache inside of him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, old cell phone - the kind of flip phone used on a day-to-day basis rather than an actual plan.
"Uh," he said, fiddling with it until he got to the right screen. Flushing a little, he handed it to Chris.
"Here," Nathaniel said, taking Chris's and painstakingly putting in his own number. It took him a minute, and then, satisfied, he held it back out to the other man.
"So people just...accidentally walk into it all the time?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 10:49 pm
"I hope you find a way to discourage the dogs," Chris said, his own lips quirked upwards. "Keep hold on that land though, if you can. Anything you can plant on is worth it. Are the carrots good? I've only really grown ornamental stuff and herbs. Never really thought about something like carrots."
Chris blinked at the flip phone - a surprise - but still put his number in efficiently. A 90s childhood had served him well, seeing as he still somehow had the skills to put it in without even having to pause.
"Yes," Chris said, pocketing his own phone as he handed Nathaniel's back. "I've done it multiple times, especially when walking out the door. Not everyone can do it - some people are perfectly impervious to it. But once you can do it, it can just happen sometimes. You don't tend to stay long though, or at least an entrance tends to appear quickly if you don't mean to walk in."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:22 am
He liked Chris, with his easy sentiments and his like minded way of thinking when it came to plants and gardens. Nathaniel felt himself relax a little, letting out a small laugh at the idea of himself trying to keep dogs - like Connor's - away.
"Carrots take a bit of work, but they're well worth it in the end," he said. "Saves me a trip to the grocery store, at any rate, right?"
Nathaniel took his phone back from the other once Chris had put his number in, making sure it was saved properly before he snapped it shut again. He tucked it away, ignoring the automatic sense of shame that came with it, and wondered if he was ever just going to accidentally walk into another world.
How did that even happen, anyway?
"So..." Nathaniel frowned slightly in thought, fingers drumming against the pot of cacti again. "So do people ever get like - stuck? in that other place? Like, one day you just walk into it except you can't walk back out of it again once you're there?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:46 pm
"Any trip to a grocery store saved is worth the work, I say," Chris replied easily, "I'll look into if I have room in the garden for them. It'll be fun to try something new too, flowers are well and good but I've grown a lot."
Chris shifted the lavender in his hands again, stared over the plants on the table. He wondered if he should get another - he had thought about it earlier but now he was starting to rethink.
"Not that I know of, except for once incident," Chris said, thinking back to the first time he had been sent to Other Ashdown. "That was a special accident though, as far as I know. It was like the ball, everyone was called to Other Ashdown and afterwards, they got back. They survived well enough though and once someone goes missing, if you've been seen in Other Ashdown someone goes hunting. But it's not much of a concern, I don't think."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:01 am
Nathaniel didn't mind having an overload of flowers in his garden - well, his apartment - but they didn't exactly feed him. If he could make things easier and cheaper for himself by growing vegetables and spices, then it was a lot better for him.
His eyes flickered to the lavender, then back up to Chris' face.
"So - so the people in this other Ashdown," said Nathaniel slowly. "They don't...like humans? Or I mean, people of regular Ashdown? I heard about the three missing teenagers before, and I mean, the ball was...well, an adventure, to say the least. That's an entirely new world down there. Over there. Wherever it is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
