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 Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 12:50 pm
Prompt 10 Nature’s Boon (10) : Flowers are blooming at an incredible pace across the city and sometimes barren patches of grass can be overrun with flowers overnight. There have been heavy showers and a high pollen count but there doesn’t appear to be any other explanation. It is not uncommon to find trees with nearly double the leaves they usually have, with vines twisting up houses, flowers covering the front yard, or local fruits to have doubled in size. This isn't the first time Destiny City has seen such oddities, and there doesn’t seem to be any negative effects to this; scientists are questioning climate change. Or is it radiation??
They were doing their best with the prolonged lack of power. Their landlord had assured them that she’d made all the necessary calls and was doing her best to get the lights back on as timely as possible. Because she’d been generally kind and helpful, a certain someone (not Nataniel) thought they should give her some leeway. A storm knocking out the power was hardly her fault, and both Nataniel and Basyl had family and friends in town such that they didn’t really need to put forth any expenses for a hotel. They weren’t in immediate danger, and they could handle a little discomfort for a few days. There was no reason to cause a stink.
Except Nataniel thought it absolutely should be her responsibility to foot whatever extra costs there were, since the shoddy state of the house’s wiring should have been taken care of before she tried to rent the place out. ’It’s cheap rent,’ shouldn’t be an excuse for everything. It was one thing that so many bugs made it inside because the home wasn’t properly sealed, or how high the power bill was because of the poor insulation. Or that some of the outlets didn’t work, or that they couldn’t drill holes in the wall because there was asbestos in the paint, or that the floor was warped-
There were a lot of problems.
But Nataniel and Basyl were trying to be fair and reasonable, and though they were uncomfortable, they weren’t dying. They could suck it up for a week. They’d endured much worse conditions and situations before. It was just that Nataniel hated nothing in the way he hated mild inconveniences. And while he’d certainly thought he could stay at home because it was his home and he desperately hated change and didn’t like the thought of staying with his parents for a few nights, his first cold shower hadn’t made him feel refreshed as it should have, considering it was about ninety degrees in the house. It had made him…
Preeeeety freaking angry. Because of course the hot water heater was electric. Why on Earth wouldn’t it be.
“You are sure it will be no bother? I would not stay for very long.” His tone was muted and neutral as he spoke into the speaker of his (dying) cellphone, adorned with gold charm tassel hanging from the case. Nataniel could’ve gone to his parents’ house. He could’ve showered there and then relaxed in a bedroom that looked exactly as it did when he’d last left it. …But then his mother would hover and make a point of reminding him that he was always welcome to stay at home- he and Basyl were both welcome, of course! And it would feel like he was being watched and judged, and Nat was absolutely not in the mood.
So he’d called Tanwyn. Only slightly lesser of three evils because Tanwyn’s home was also inhabited by Ivory, who Nataniel did not trust or like or want to be around at all. He especially didn’t want Basyl to be around Ivory because it seemed like there was a nonzero chance that Ivory would actively try and bring harm to Basyl. Nat wasn’t sure exactly what that would entail. He didn’t want to risk finding out.
But going over for a quick shower and maybe a quick phone charge while he watched whatever Tanwyn had on the tv while Ivory was Calaverite and spending time in Negaspace was maybe acceptable.
Tanwyn had assured him everything would be fine, and Nataniel did trust him, so… that was the plan he made.
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 12:56 pm
Yeah, it’d be fine. Nothing Tanwyn saw any issue with. One of his best friends needed to wind down for an hour or two, and it wasn’t like Tanwyn had grandiose plans for the evening or anything. Maybe he’d even welcome company that was calmer than Ivory. So he agreed. “No bother at all, man. Stay however long you want,” he answered. If Nat and Basyl wanted to spend the night, that’d suit him fine too, but he didn’t try and talk either of them out of their hesitation. Ivory was a lot to deal with.
But the couple had taken him in when he’d needed it, so he wanted to offer whatever he could. A shower and a couple hours of AC seemed the least he could do. Might as well crank it down an extra degree or two, even. Maybe order something out. Didn’t bother him to change up his plans like it bothered Nataniel. Tanwyn was even looking forward to having his friend swing by, even if Nat was grouchy about it.
After hanging up the call, Tanwyn made sure there was a clean towel and soaps available in the bathroom, tried to do a quick wipe-down of any grime and scoop out of long white-or-blue hairs littered over the place. But he wasn’t up for any deep cleaning and settled in to wait.
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:21 pm
Nataniel made no habit of visiting often, but he was still familiar with the address, the building number, and what he generally expected to see on arrival: it was a very standard, very normal apartment complex. There was virtually nothing special about it, and he’d lived in something very similar during his last few years of college.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to be.
As he pulled his cycle into the parking lot, things that shouldn’t be were quite obvious. Little grass patches in between the sidewalks and buildings were in full bloom. Scattered bushes and trees were laden with such leafy foliage that they truly resembled those curly-topped green paintings that children often used for their tree portrayals. Vines twined up the side of the buildings, creeping as high up as the roof and spanning out over the second-story landing.
…It was a complex owned by the Negaverse. There probably were residents with some magical talent or maybe someone’s youma had really lost it while skulking around the grounds. Or maybe it was just blanket “odd Destiny City magic.” There was probably no way to tell, but the quiet of the evening did nothing to soothe Nataniel’s nerves.
Neither did the fact that the vines actually wrapped around the railing of the stairwell, big bushels of flowers spilled over into the sidewalk, and he had to take care not to trip as he approached Tanwyn’s second-story apartment. And then the vines were creeping around that too. Slipping under the Welcome mat, laying across the window sills, creeping up the doorframe, twisting around the handle. He wished he knew what type of plant this was, and how safe it was to touch. The shocking amount of growth made it feel unstable.
Nataniel’s fingers fiddled the air as he stared at the doorknob, one, two, three seconds before he decided it was probably safe enough to knock. “Tanwyn? Are you home?” He called quietly from outside.
They’d spoken moments ago, of course, but he hadn’t mentioned all of… this.
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 5:42 pm
A few minutes was all it took. Tanwyn had expected as much. “Door’s open,” he called when he heard the knock, but was already rising from the couch, anyway. Didn’t figure Nat was the type to just let himself in, no matter how good of friends they were. He took the handle, pulled the door open- tried. Tried to pull the door open. It cracked open a couple of inches but was a far cry from what he expected. “Uh, you can let…” Figured Nataniel was just trying to pull it out, and it was his friend’s arm stopping him from going anywhere, but Tanwyn just had to look down through the crack to see a green tendril snaking from the doorframe and across the gap. “Whatzzat there?” He asked, giving the door a more pronounced yank to try and dislodge the vines.
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Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 8:54 am
These vines looked like they’d been growing for… weeks, maybe months. Nataniel thought it was only reasonable to assume that Tanwyn or Ivory had left the house at some point during all that time- They must’ve! Ivory was out literally right at this moment! So why did Tanwyn seem so surprised that his entryway was overrun? “Vines. They are growing up from the sides of the building and have made it all the way over here.” He gestured very lightly with a flick toward the railing, well aware that Tanwyn could probably see very little of him.
Fortunately, the coverage was not incredibly dense here, nowhere near how it was down on the first floor, Nataniel suspected. And each individual vine was not very thick. “Give me a moment to cut them away.” Ever since he’d gotten it some summers ago, Nataniel had kept that Saturn switchblade on him. It wasn’t an ideal tool for the task, but it was sharp enough to at least start breaking apart the twisting vines, so that Nataniel could brute-force yank the rest aside.
He cleared what was necessary from the handle, dusting split fragments away and kicking the removed ends under the edge of the railing.
Then he tried the handle and let himself into Tanwyn’s apartment. He knew his friend worked his civilian job from home, and as his General, Nataniel also knew that Weissite didn’t power up every single night, as he did, himself. But it was so strange that he hadn’t seen all that growth. So strange that Ivory hadn’t encountered it on his way out that day. If he looked just the barest fraction hesitant, it was only because he didn’t want to impose any sense of accusation on Tanwyn. “Has… it been a while since you have left the house?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 9:31 am
"Uh, no?" Felt like that answer should be obvious to Nat. Weissite was out a couple times a week, even if Tanwyn wasn't, and his general knew that. It was true that Tanwyn was less interested in finding other excuses to go out, and in this day and age, you really didn't even have to, anymore. He was comfortable with that. But maybe Nat found it a little strange that Ivory hadn't seen it on his way out.... Wasn't sure he should say that the younger senshi powered up in their apartment and then teleported out whenever he went off to do powered things. And it didn't bother Tanwyn enough to do anything about it.
Probably bother Nat, though.
Tanwyn shrugged as his friend stepped inside. "Eh, it's just city magic, innit? Not a big deal. It'll go away on its own." Or someone else would take care of it. "Anyway, come in and get comfy. You want a drink or anything? I'll get you a towel. You wanted to shower, right?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:14 am
Nataniel glanced sidelong, avoiding Tanwyn’s gaze. Nataniel was more of a homebody than most. Of course he understood not wanting to go out very often. But even though he didn’t much enjoy it, he still went out every morning to jog or to handle anything Rakovanite needed to do. He left his house daily because that was what was culturally agreed-upon for a certain degree of wellness. He was not convinced Tanwyn was maintaining that for himself.
…And he didn’t know if he should push or accept it and leave it alone. Tanwyn had been an extreme homebody most of the time he’d lived with Nataniel and Basyl, but at least he had company. Now he mostly had Ivory. Which could absolutely not be good for anyone.
“Alright,” Nataniel murmured in quiet acquiescence. Despite his uncertainty, Tanwyn was an adult who could make his own decisions, and if he said he was doing right by himself, it wasn’t really Nataniel’s place to interrupt that, regardless of his own opinion. And Weissite did get things done well enough. There shouldn’t be a problem- except for the ‘thinking it would go away on its own’ bit. “I will at least clear your doorway before I go today,” Nataniel offered. ‘City magic’ or not, it had to be taken care of.
But for now, Nataniel was really happy to get out of the summer heat and feel the cool A/C of Tanwyn’s apartment. He sighed softly, tipping his head back just a bit. “I would love a shower.” Or more just… getting out of a shower and not being sweaty a handful of minutes later. “Can I order dinner over? Is there anything in particular you would want?”
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