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Winter Apples (10) : Whereas most trees have already lost their leaves and stand barren in the winter months, these trees are still a lively green and don't seem affected at all. The most interesting thing about these trees isn't their color--it's the sudden fruit that has appeared on them. A few days after the first snowfall, little apples began to grow--small, bright red. They range in size from berries to plums--but taste like the sweetest apple you've ever sampled. They're all over the city, and the harvest is bountiful; more appear after every snowfall. There's just one catch--eat too many, or eat the wrong one--and you're out cold. Every apple risks drowsiness, fatigue, and even unconsciousness that can last for a few hours up to a day. If you're looking for a sweet treat and a good nap, you've come to the right place. Just make sure you're somewhere comfortable first.
Well, if any mysterious, incredibly unnecessary holiday food had to show up in Destiny City, at least it was something not entirely unhealthy.
Or at least, that was what Ilmari told himself as he paced around a little clutch of pine trees in a park near the DCU library (perfect cover, he thought, for getting some work done on his team’s draining quotas, in between preparing for exams and end-of-semester portfolio reviews). Across the paved path from him, one of the non-evergreens had done as several other trees around town had done recently. Despite the leaves falling from their branches weeks ago, these trees that should have been barren had sprouted red fruits that looked not entirely dissimilar from apples. Under normal circumstances, Ilmari didn’t think these trees would have grown any fruit.….
But then again, what did Ilmari know? He was an art student, not going for a biology degree or whatever.
Either way, the energy had to get drained, and the trees across the path provided a perfect lure for hapless victims. More than Ilmari could handle at once—he could only drain off two people at a time, and while some people came by the fruit-bearing trees alone or paired up, individuals and couples added up quickly—but that was alright. More people meant more targets, so Ilmari could rack up a lot of energy while still taking less from single people. Maybe some people walked away from the fruit trees looking a bit paler than they’d been before, or seeming a bit more unsteady on their feet. But it was final exams season at DCU. People looking worse for wear during this time of year only made sense.
And if anybody fainted, a few paces off from the trees, after biting into whatever apple they’d claimed—well, that wasn’t Ilmari’s fault. Or any of his business, really. He hadn’t drained that much energy from most of the people who’d swooned like that while he’d been out here. One of them, who’d come by maybe half-an-hour ago, Ilmari hadn’t drained from at all. Besides, anyone who’d had the distinct misfortune of passing out from eating these apples, they’d been lucky enough to have other people with them. None of them had stayed in the snow for very long. Maybe it hadn’t been easy for their friends, siblings, significant others, cousins, or whoever to pull them up to their feet and out of the park?
But on the other hand, Ilmari knew exactly how much trash food was out and about in town at this time of year. Honestly, it felt like he kept finding new pop-up food stalls around every corner, and every single one had nothing to offer but the exact sort of heinous, evil calorie-bombs that made Ilmari want to swoon himself. Impossible to really showcase how he felt about this crime against everyone in the city and their collective health without fainting.
Distantly, Ilmari took note of two Order auras. Also not his business, unless they tried to come start trouble with him. Both the size of his energy orb and the well-trod, packed in footprints amidst the evergreen trees spoke to how long Ilmari had been out here. Based on precedent, the Order freaks would take issue with both of those things……but that only mattered if they came over to cause trouble.
Juliette06
