Word Count → +300 :: Prompt: On the outskirts of Millstone Village, a number of cranberry bushes are coming into fruit. These little red berries are tart and harmless, but heavily pigmented, perfect for creating dyes for fur, clothing or decorations. Investigate these dense shrubs and consider some some use for their bounty. Let me know if there's anything you want me to change.
Eden had been taking his studies very seriously. He was honored that Grievous had wanted to take the young male on as an apprentice. He had done well to prove himself worthy enough to be called a Warden, but he knew there was so much more that he had to do to prove to the Boss and Erilaz that he could handle another rank, and with it, the duties that came with it.
But wrapped in with all of that was one solid fact. Compared to many of the others in Salsola, he was still young for someone to have the Warden rank. Where as someone else might have been more smug about such a fact, he was much more humble about it. He had it, but he was not ashamed to admit there were so many other things he needed to learn. Even the adults could do well for themselves if they took opportunities in life to learn rather than act like they knew everything.
The young male had heard a rumor moving through the kingdom that there had been some berries growing along the outskirts of Millstone. The small village was meant for those that were Associates, and so there had been no real reason for the young Warden to make his way there. He honestly didn't know many of those that lived there, as he prefered getting to know those that were already living in the Ruins.
Even so, he couldn't keep himself away when he had such an interest in plants.
Eden made his way through the village, letting his pink gaze scan the area. For the most part he hadn't been able to find anything, but then something caught his eye. There were bright red berries attached to one of the plants. Quickening his pace, he came to the plant, letting his fingers trace over them. He wondered what they were like. Were they like strawberries?
It had come to Coaxoch's attention that his children were coming up on their birthday, and Coaxoch was not going to go against his father's tradition to giving gifts to those who's birthdays were coming up. Unfortunately, Coaxoch and Eden had not always seen eye to eye, so it had become slightly hard for Coaxoch to think of something that Eden might like, aside from something that was a memento of his late mother. Coaxoch unfortunately had no physical mementos of the woman, for she had not left many things in this world, and besides that, there was nothing of her that was left for Coaxoch either, barely even a whisper of her ghost in his ears nowadays, and he knew that this would mostly be his own fault, for he tried to block the memory of her for this long, long year.
His son had grown up into a brilliant young individual, and Coaxoch wished that he had gotten advice from his own father to know how he should have conducted himself around the boy, how to exercise patience when the boy had acted out, but he didn't, and this had likely made him make mistakes when it came to raising Eden. It had not made the boy any less capable of doing whatever he wanted, for once he had become part of "The Family" the child had risen to the rank of Warden, where they both now sat as equals.
Today he had brought a basket with him that was hooked onto Ixion's cat harness, and he brought another basket with him that had been the same one that he brought when he and Faith used to meet up on the beaches and have picnics. He had not used the basket in some time, but he thought that it would be nice for him to have a bit of a heart to heart with his son, and share a meal. Coaxoch did not want to be at odds with Eden anymore, he just wanted his son to love him just as Coaxoch loved his own father. He wanted to repair the relationship that had been so strained from the very beginning, because he did not want to end up without the support of his own family if harsh times were to come upon him. Just as anyone else would not want be stuck alone if something bad happened.
Coaxoch could not say that he did not miss the pitter patter of the young ones around the church. It was as lonely as it felt, even though Dirge had come to move in, it still felt a lot less bright without them around.
Coaxoch had walked all the way to the Ruins where his son was likely at, but when he had smelt a recent trail that told him that the boy had headed north, outside of the Ruins, Coaxoch had turned tail and followed the scent trail that led to the Associate's Millstone Village. He wondered why the boy would come here, but once he really thought about it, he remembered hearing rumors that the boy had been working with the herbalist, Grievous, to learn the trade. The boy must have been curious of the berry bushes that grew outside of the Village, and as he had come to this conclusion, he could see his son rush over to a bushel that had the bright red cranberries.
Coaxoch yipped at his son and he waved before he approached the boy. "They are edible, you know." he told his son as he came up beside Eden and pulled a berry from the bush, popped it in his mouth and chewed on the bittersweet berry. "Were you taught about these yet?" he asked as he looked back at his child, and wondered just how far the boy had been taught of the plants that were of Salsola.
Eden didn't know why things had to be so difficult when it came to the relationship he had with his Dad. He wanted nothing more than for them to be a family again, having no bad blood between any of them. There were times where he couldn't help but feel jealous at his sister. She had a wonderful ability to not do anything that would upset their Dad or cause him to lash out like he had done to his son.
Everything he had done he had believed he had been in the right, and so too did his son. It was a matter of perspective on who the guilty party was in many of the situations. One thing was for certain, his mother had played a huge part in all of this. She still came to her son in his dreams, and was a constant presence around him.
He couldn't help but wonder if now that he knew about his Mom's spirit, and now too about many of the secrets hiding in her past, if that had been what drove the two men away from one another.
He wanted it to end.
And so it was a good thing that the voice he heard was that of his Dad. Eden still couldn't help but feel a bit on edge, especially after what happened that night he had burned his arms, but he wanted to leave that in the past. The nightmares were gone, and there was no reason for them to hang on that incident forever.
Bringing a smile to his muzzle, he turned to face his Dad as he took one of the berries of the bush, popping it into his mouth. His son soon followed suit. It was bitter, but still tasty in its own way. The smile he held grew as he gathered another into his hand from the bush, "No. Apprentice Grievous and I have mostly been going over healing herbs. I don't think this one counts as one of those. I still wanted to come see it though."
Eden paused, making a square with his hands, "You see, there's a plot of land near my tower that I wanted to use to grow some plants. I came out here to see if maybe I could start by growing some of these bushes from the berries on that spot. I haven't cleared much of it out yet, but that is the plan."
Putting another berry into his mouth, his pink gaze drifted to the basket his Dad had resting along his arm. He couldn't help but put two and two together, "Did you come out here to gather some Dad? I can help you pick them since I am here."
Coaxoch knew that he had been wrong in the way that he treated his son, and he had not come to that conclusion until after the boy and his sister had grown older. He had been angry with the boy when he had taken his sacrifice to the gods from the flames, and he had thought a long time about it. He realized that he had not really been a good father in regards to caring that the boy had been burnt, and he knew that he should have explained himself a lot better to the boy, but on the other hand, he had kept the religion of him and his father, because he had never told Faith what his religion was, and the boy claimed to speak to Faith, and he knew that his religion was something that was not okay. It was not okay because he knew that her religion had been something that required them to not harm other beings, no matter what. Coaxoch did not want to corrupt his son, to accidentally make the boy feel okay about harming deemed "innocents" for a God that the boy knew nothing about. Coaxoch had done what his father had taught him, but Coaxoch did not want his own children to do the same.
Truth was, Coaxoch knew that he was cruel, and he knew that the Red God, Valyskr, was someone that others might not want to associate with, and this was why he did not talk about it even to his partner, Sebastien, on the subject of the sacrificial God that Coaxoch offered the innocent souls to. Coaxoch wanted to right his wrongs, but he did not want to have to explain the sins of his Gods, because it would be the same as if he had told Faith, and he did not want her to hate him and begin to hate their children because of the fact that he was such a sinful being. Coaxoch couldn't help but feel as if her death had been on his hands because of who he was, because her God would rather take her away than let her fall into sin. Coaxoch could understand that.
"No, this isn't so much a healing herb, as far as I understand. It can be made into a good juice though. I'm not sure if its just me but when I drink it's juice, it makes me pee a lot." he told his son with a shrug of his shoulders and a small chuckle as he looked at Eden with his bright eyes of a Spring's sky. The boy spoke about wanting to grow a garden next to his home, and Coaxoch nodded his head lightly. "That sounds like a good idea. You should also talk to Sebastien, for I know he has some things in his garden that I'm sure you can have." he told his son, knowing that Sebastien would be more than happy to help Eden start his own garden.
The boy had then asked him if he had come out here to pick some, and Coax shrugged his shoulders again. "Honestly, I came out here to talk to you, and to share a meal with you. But, I don't mind collecting some berries while we are out here." he told his son as he looked to Ixion and his empty basket that hung onto his side. Coax motioned to the picnic basket that he held and gave it a small shake to show that it was full of food. Coaxoch remembered the first time that he and Faith had met up, that they had bread, cheese and venison, and this is what he had brought with him today as well.
Coaxoch was not entirely sure he was ready to have this conversation with Eden, but he knew it needed to be done.
Eden hated the idea of there being a rift between them. When they were so much younger, aside from the lack of telling him about his Mom, they were all so close. He had been so happy, an no doubt his Dad was as well. That one moment had done nothing but spark the wonder if his Dad was one that could be completely trusted. It wasn't the first time that had swayed him to thinking in that manner.
But when it came down to it, he loved his Dad. He hated the things he had done, but they could repair from then right? He didn't want to have to be separated from him for the rest of his life because of a few things.
Their conversation went on as normal, the tan man not offering much in terms of movement. He had made a comment that was a bit weird, but not only got a chuckle out of him, but one from his son as well, "Ewww. That's gross Dad. I didn't need to hear about that." He didn't want to have this moment ruined, having taken another one of the cranberries into his mouth for a small snack. He picked another a moment later to help replenish his growing stock.
The young male's eyes beamed at the suggestion that he should see his Papa about getting his garden started. He was pleased that his Dad had support for what his son had wanted to do with the land he had chosen to be his home. This was a good start to things turning around for the both of them, "Yeah, I'll have to talk to Papa about that."
Pink gaze shifted over to the basket before back up to his Dad. He had wanted to share a meal with his son? Who was he to turn down something like that? His gaze shifted briefly back over to the cranberries before they came back to the tan man, "Dad, will you help me gather some more berries and bring them back home? We can have our meal there. I have been wanting you see the tower I picked out in the Ruins."
Coaxoch chuckled at the boy's reaction to his words about having to urinate a lot after drinking the cranberry juice. Hey I was just letting you know, Eden. You're the one who wants to be in the medical field. he spoke with a content smile on his maw and a small chuckle passing his pale lips. He picked another few berries in his large hand and dropped them into the basket that the boy held as they talked on. Eden thought to talk to Sebastien about harvesting some of the plants, but Coaxoch did have to make sure to get to Sebastien first to let him know that Coaxoch's garden was off limits. It always had been off limits to both the children and Sebastien as well, but Coaxoch wanted to reiterate that even though the boy was getting into herbs and such that the plants that Coaxoch had in his own section of the garden was still off limits.
Sooner or later, Eden would learn what the poisonous plants were and would likely understand why Coaxoch had made the kids stay out of the garden, but for now, Coaxoch was content with leaving that for another day. Maybe when Eden was a bit older and if he expressed interest in the poisons, maybe then the young Wendigo would show his boy the plants and teach him. Maybe he wouldn't need to and the Equinest would.
At the suggestion that they pick more berries, Coaxoch agreed with a nod of his head. He begun to gather some berries of his own and put them in the basket that Ixion wore. I would love to see the tower you chose. I'm very sorry that I haven't come to see it sooner. he spoke, and then apologized for keeping his distance. He didn't know if Eden appreciated his own space away from his father but he did feel bad for not coming sooner to see it. He remembered when he moved out of the Old Wall, it only took Till a few days to come out and visit, but that likely had to do with the way that Till was, and how close he and Coaxoch were.
Coaxoch wished that he was like that with Eden, but he found it extremely hard to get close to the child because of his curious and prying nature. He knew that Eden did not mean to be like that, but it was something that Coaxoch could not help but be sensitive about. Coaxoch was trying though, and he was trying to make things better between them. The last thing Coaxoch wanted was to lose more relationships with his family, and his children were arguably more important than anyone else in his family, because of their closeness in blood to him. They were part of him, and there was nothing that would change that.
Let me know when you've had enough. he told the other boy as he picked more berries and put them in Eden's basket this time, as Coaxoch did not need as many as Eden seemed to need.
Eden couldn't help but admit that his Dad had a point. He was the one that was interested in knowledge about healing and herbs, so he should have expected that there would be some details that would be more... vulgar than others. It would be something he would have to get used to as his newly acquired skills would come into use. Even so, he was still young, and as such, had given his Dad a proper reaction to this information, "Yeah yeah, I know."
Straying away from that topic, picking more berries in the process, Coaxoch apologizing for not having come sooner to his son's home. He was fine with it, knowing that his Dad would need his own space, but he couldn't help but feel the guilt that came from his words. The two of them had been.. distant since his youth. It wasn't something that could be helped when the two of them would get in yelling fits because his Dad refused to answer his many questions about sensitive things.
Now that he was older, he knew there were other outlets to get the information that he wanted, but it didn't help that there were still things he wished had come from Coaxoch's mouth rather than another source. It was something that tore at both of them, and something he had wanted to find a way to mend. He wanted what his Dad and Eve had with one another, not what he had currently.
Not wanting to remain silent, he offered the tan man a smile, "Don't worry Dad, it's alright. We have the time now, and that's all that matters right?"
Pink gaze moved down to the gathered berries, dropping the ones he had gathered in his arms into the basket that his Dad had been using. Feeling content with what they had gathered, he moved his hands to hips, "That looks like a good amount. Come with me Dad." He moved one hand up, gesturing for the one-armed man to follow his son. He wandered his way through the streets of Millstone, eventually coming to the Ruins. There were more condensed ones towards the center, but he was thankful there were not too many other homes situated around his tower.
As he saw the familiar silhouette of the tower coming into view, he pointed over to it, "There it is Dad. That one."
The boy had emphasized that it was okay that he had not come over yet, but even though the boy did not make any big deal about it, Coaxoch still felt guilty. He did not want the boy to think that he had abandoned him, that he had to live within Salsola alone, and that his family would always be there for him when he needed them. Coaxoch felt bad, because they were so far away, and Coaxoch had been apprehensive about moving back into the Ruins, because even the Patriarch had stayed out of the Central Ruins, for the walls were thin there, and Till liked his privacy as much as Coaxoch had. This was likely the reason that Till never moved in with either of his ex-wives either. Coaxoch thought he was smart for that move. Till might not have always made the smartest choices, but there were some choices that seemed so strategic that there had to have been some sort of extra thought put behind this, whether it was to protect his secrets of what really went on at the Old Wall, or if it was truly because he did not want to share his space with his wives was to be seen.
You are right, that's all that matters. he spoke to his boy as he continued to pick the ripe berries and put them into the baskets. It had only been a few more that had been gathered before the boy had said that was enough, and when he had, the man nodded his head and grabbed at the lunch basket that had been placed on the ground as to let Coaxoch help with the picking of the berries.
They walked in relative silence until they had finally made it to the tower, where the boy had pointed to the looming beast of a tower. It was not unfamiliar, for there had been others in the past whom had made the tower their own. Coaxoch thought it was a fitting place for the upcoming medic and he smiled brightly. Such a good choice of homes, if I have any say. he complimented his son as they walked along to the bottom of the Tower and to its large wooden door. Coaxoch waited for the boy to invite him in and he glanced back to make sure that Ixion was following. Coaxoch looked back at his son and smiled brightly.
You gonna invite us in or what? Coaxoch asked with a chuckle as he motioned towards the door.
Eden felt a smile moving back along his muzzle. He was glad to see that his Dad had agreed with his sentiment. There was nothing wrong with waiting a little longer for the two of them to have the chance to spend with one another. Yeah, he probably felt guilty for not doing it sooner, but there was no need to let such a feeling fester longer than it needed to.
With their task done, they had followed the familiar path, one that Eden knew well at this point. He had been quick to point out the tower as it came into view, letting the tan man get a good look at it. It seemed he had approved of the choice his son had made. He liked having the space he did, letting the floors above him be a separate place for sleeping and.. whatever else he found he could use the last floor for. It would be easier to hear if someone was trying to sneak around if they tried to move upstairs than around his home.
Easier to see them too with the tower going mostly up rather than spreading to other rooms. It was nothing more than a small worry though. He had nothing to hide.
Eden gave a small chuckle, opening the door for his Dad and the feline that had accompanied them. He reached down, taking the basket of berried and moving to the side. Towards the center of the room was a table and chairs, the side where his son found himself heading too had little in terms of set up, but a nice fireplace and furniture to prepare his herbs and food. He didn't really need too much, but he should spruce up his home soon.
One hand motioned to the table, "Please, sit down Dad. Let's enjoy that meal you said you had and talk."
When they were finally invited within the home, Coaxoch looked around to see what the boy had done with the place. It wasn't much, but Coaxoch knew that it took time to decorate. Hell, it had been some time before their Church had become as pretty and lively as it had, for Coaxoch remembered that when he had not had others living with him, the place was covered with bones and herbs drying everywhere and anywhere. Nothing was organized, nothing seemed to matter and the drapes had covered the stained glass that decorated the church's windows so that he could be in total darkness most of the time. When Sebastien had come around, things had changed. There were flowers hung everywhere, and the garden in the back got up and running. Coaxoch had felt so much more directed and the church felt much more homely when Sebastien came around, and while living with someone else might not help Eden and his lack of decor, time would help.
He followed his son's lead and he found his seat at the table. Once he had found a seat, Ixion had come up to his side, and motioned for him to take the heavy pack from his side, and Coaxoch did relieve the feline of that so that he could go rest. Once the pack was taken off, the feline yawned and then took a seat at Coax's side. He licked at his paws then, and eventually settled to lay at Coax's feet as the male had paid attention to his son. It's getting there! You should have seen what the Church looked like before Sebastien moved in. he spoke, as he looked around for a minute longer and then let his eyes rest on his son.
Coaxoch began to unload all the things he had in his basket, things that he had brought to Faith before her passing. Bread, boar meat, sweet goat's milk, cheeses. He remembered the days on the beach, where they would watch the sun set and they would talk, even if it was only mindless chatter. He remembered all of their conversations.
I know it's late, but..I think I am ready to speak to you about your mother... he told the male as he took the break loaf and he broke a piece off of it and popped it into his maw.
Eden let his gaze follow the movements of his Dad and the feline that had come along with him. The two had a constant presence about them, often traveling in a pair when they were out of the church. Truth be told, it was nice to have the more company in his own home, if only because it felt like more of his space was being used. While he loved the tower he had picked out for himself, finding many uses for the space he had, when there were long stretches of it being empty, it was apparent.
And something that strangely made him feel a little uneasy.
The son had come to join his Dad at the table, the latter making a passing comment about his home. It was coming along indeed, and it would take some time before it was anything like the church was, but all that mattered now was that Eden felt like he was at home when he came here each and every night. That was all it needed to make him feel content.
The one-armed man began to unload the things he had brought, helping with spreading them out across the table. He had assisted in gathering the berries that had been brought back as well, setting them more off to the side since the pair already had a sample of their tart nature. There was so much to choose from, and it made him wonder where his Dad was always getting such different kinds of foods from.
But it was his words that drew Eden in like a moth to a flame.
He honestly wasn't sure what his Dad wanted to talk to him about when he had first mentioned it, but the topic of his Mom had never been something he expected. Since his youth, the subject seemed such a taboo, something that always drove the father and son further away from one another. Had it not been for Andrew, he wouldn't have even known so much about his Mom and even Inferni on the whole. So it made him wonder what more there was to tell about her.
He paused, his hand reaching for one of the cheeses that had been brought to give it a taste, "What about Mom?"
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