Battle of the Weeds

Skye Collins · 11-21-2010, 12:11 PM

[html]

ooc: Woo! Trying to get Skye a co-rank as a gardener : D anyone's allowed to join, but Skye will be gardening most of the thread!

Skye was in full gear to battle the weeds - well, not really. In fact, she wasn't wearing any clothes at the moment because she was battling with weeds - she didn't want her clothes to get dirty, so she had stripped down before getting on her hands and knees to take out the weeds that seemed to be infiltrating her beautiful garden. Her berry bushes were growing nicely - they weren't very large yet, but they were growing at a reasonable rate. She had splashed water on them previously so they'd take the warmth from the water, and it seemed to be working - none of them were dead, or even browning. In fact, she thought she could see some buds on some of them.

Happy, she took out some wooden sticks that she'd taken from her house. They came from loose boards all around, and she just pried them out and fashioned them into spikes. She'd mark the plants now - it was important to know which was which, for all had different names and uses. She took out her knife and the first spike and carved 'Red Berry Bush' on it, stabbing the spike just behind the red berry bush that was growing. Pixie had given her that berry, and she had thanked her for it; it had helped her realize her love for gardening and growing things.

She took out another spike and carved 'Blue Berry Bushes' and spiked it in the middle of a cluster of bushes that were growing. She knew they weren't actual blueberries, but she'd tried some in a neutral territory and they tasted quite good. They were also blue, so - viola! Blue Berry Bush.

She spiked the sticks all around the garden until every plant was labeled. She took a step back and grinned at her budding garden, glad it was growing and not dying from the cold that was seeping in.

Orin Takekuro · 11-21-2010, 01:00 PM

[html]

OOC heehee Well she'll have plenty of gardening practice to do with clutsy Orin around to accidentally undo some of her work.
5 + 5 = 10 points

Thornbury had been Orin’s favorite haunt for the last several days. The girl was usually drawn to all the ghosts of the old human societies, so it was no wonder that once she found the town that nature was adamantly reclaiming she fell in love with it instantly. There was something different about this place, it had a special charm like no other old city she had been to before. Perhaps it was because it was a perfect mixture of old human culture – thus holding so many gems ripe for the picking, like old books and tools and other human things to study – and nature, since she was quickly swallowing this territory for herself again. Though mother nature’s advance here had been slowed with the emergence of the new pack.

Most of her time was spent meandering the shopping district and trying to get an idea of just what was there. Some of the shops had already been opened and harvested for their tools and other wares, but there were still many for Orin to break into anew and explore. One place she had come across though she knew better than to intrude upon, for it had the scent and evidence of another pack wizard, and she assumed someone was living there. This made her happy, since the old bookstore she had discovered was just across the way. She had a neighbor! Although she had yet to meet that inhabitant yet.

Today the petite wolfess walked merrily through the streets tracing the line of old houses, identifying each that was occupied by her pack and making a mental note for later. She didn’t stop to knock on any doors yet, eager to get the full layout of Thornbury in her head, and continued on along the row of housing down to the end of the street. When she arrived, she noted the last house as looking as though it may have a tenant, and dug into the sack she carried over one shoulder to retrieve her journal and a nub of an old pencil she found in one of the shops. She opened it to a marked page and began filling in a rudimentary diagram of Thornbury, adding lines and markings to the area that was previously left blank.

But partway through her work, she thought she heard something. Her ears perked up and she quickly looked away from her map, eyes scanning the area, and soon her legs were in motion again, carrying her quickly across the ground, through the foliage, and to Skye’s garden. She popped out on the side closest to the street, almost trampling the early sprigs of one of Skye’s beloved berry bushes.

Seeing the plants as well as their attendant, she stopped abruptly, but not before coming into the middle of the garden; a place where she may or may not be welcomed. Her pack still hung off one shoulder and her massive journal in hand, she grinned at Skye and gave a small wave. She recognized the woman from the first pack meeting, but had not had any personal time with her yet. “Hello, mon Capitan!” She gave a funny gesture that was some sort of salute. “What are you doing?”

The only other time she had seen someone so enamored with plants was when she met Alaine Winters, the apothecary of Cour des Miracless. An eyebrow arched and she wondered if Skye had the same skills. “Are you a healer, too?”

[/html]

Skye Collins · 11-21-2010, 03:54 PM

[html]

ooc: : D thanks!

Skye was busy looking proudly at her little garden, and thus was surprised when a girl she knew as Orin popped out and almost squashed one of her berry bushes. Skye almost let out a strangled little screech but restrained herself, knowing it'd be rude if she did. She didn't know Orin very well - only that Shawchert had met her after they'd had the meeting to create Hufflepuff, and that she was one of the founding members. She stood in the middle of the garden where no plants were crushed under her feet, and Skye was relieved.

Orin appeared white with pink dreadlocks, not unlike Bangle's brown ones. She had a book in one hand and a pencil in the other, which Skye found interesting as well as endearing.

“Hello, mon Capitan! What are you doing?”

Skye smiled and waved back. "Hello!" she exclaimed, kneeling down to right one of her plant's leaves, which was drooping. "I'm gardening!"

“Are you a healer, too?” the white girl asked, and Skye shook her head. "No," she said. "The plants I'm growing here are all edible! See here," she said, making a gesture towards the spike that was labeled 'Red Berry Bush'. "This will grow into a bush that will produce very delicious berries. And here," she said, pointing to the spike next to Orin that was labeled 'Peach Trees'. "Are some older saplings I found out in the forest. They'll grow peaches soon - they're a couple years old, I think."

Orin Takekuro · 11-22-2010, 01:07 AM

[html]

3 points

She detected a look of shock on the woman’s face and wondered just what it was for. Of course, somewhere in Orin’s mind she knew this garden was important to the woman, but she didn’t realize that every last plant was so special, and that she had just come so close to undoing some of Skye’s hard work. Though the woman’s expression soon turned to relief as Orin moved to the center of the garden, so she took that as a signal that she should stay put, and made a mental note to plant her feet for the time being.

“Gardening?” That ever present quirked brow of Orin’s began to arch again, and she began quickly thumbing through her journal. Again she opened the tome to the page that had been marked for her map and flipped a couple pages. Kneeling, she propped the book on her knee and jotted something on a page before looking back to Skye. “Like farming? I met someone who does this before, but she didn’t have a patch. She picked from wild plants. Hmm… I don’t think she grew them herself either.”

“Oooh!” Somehow she had failed to fully notice the plant markers until now, but her eyes fell upon each label with delight. She suddenly forgot her internal promise to keep still, and began inspecting each marker in turn. “But, will they grow during the winterr? When I arrived here earlier this year everything seemed pretty… dead… to me.”

She dropped her backpack to the ground but in her excited state failed to take notice of what she was doing, until she bent over to put her book and pencil on top of it so it didn’t have to lay in the soil. As she leaned over, she noticed she’d nearly smashed one small bush and broken a few leaves. “Oh no, I broke it,” she picked up the snapped stem and tried to place it back onto the plant, but it promptly fell back to the soil. She turned her apologetic eyes to Skye, looking almost as though she would break into tears over her blunder.

[/html]

Skye Collins · 11-29-2010, 08:56 PM

[html]

ooc: sorry for the delay!

“Gardening? Like farming? I met someone who does this before, but she didn’t have a patch. She picked from wild plants. Hmm… I don’t think she grew them herself either.”

"A bit like farming, yes, but instead of tending to crops and harvesting them from other places, gardening is more focused on trees, berry bushes, and flowers," Skye explained, this time taking from her pack a large amount of rotting fruit peels. It seemed, looked, and smelled absolutely disgusting, but would be delightful for the plants, and would make them grow faster and healthier. And best of all, she didn't have to impetrate - it was easy enough to find peels on the ground. She began to push them into the ground around the plants, hoping it'd make them healthier.

“But, will they grow during the winterr? When I arrived here earlier this year everything seemed pretty… dead… to me.”

"Normally, they would," Skye said. "But I spray water on them daily so the warmth from the water will flow into the plant and give it warmth. And the peels I'm scattering are very good for the plant, however bad for our noses," she said, laughing, as she knelt into the dirt. But before she could spread more peels, she heard a snap and a thud and looked around to where Orin was apologizing, looking close to tears.

Oh, dear, Skye thought, rushing over to the small plant. It was one of the blue berry bushes, and she sighed in relief; she had plenty more of those. "Don't worry about it, Orin, I have more where these came from," she said, gingerly placing Orin's backpack on the grass, where it was less dirty and less prone to killing her plants, and promptly taking the broken plant out and replacing the hole with peels.

Orin Takekuro · 11-30-2010, 08:40 PM

[html]

OOC No worries! (3 points)

She sat with her mouth in a surprised O for a moment, awaiting Skye’s angered reaction, but it never came. The woman looked at her in something near shock for a moment, but Orin visibly relaxed when the woman did, appearing not to be too upset about her folly. Still she felt bad for killing the plant, and frowned as Skye moved her backpack to the edge of the garden and cleared away the ruined bush. “Really, I’m really sorry.” It felt like she would never be able to apologize enough, and she kept on for a minute even after Skye had clearly forgiven her.

Involuntarily, her nose wrinkled up as Skye reached into her supplies and pulled out the perished fruit skins. Her eyebrows arched and for a moment she stared at the woman as though she had gone mad – botany was not among her favorite genres, and she had no idea that plants “ate,” or acquired nutrients from the soil. It was one of the questions she had yet to ponder in depth. Why were plants there? Because they just were.

She eyed Skye as she buried the peels, and slowly began to realize what the woman was up to. “Plants eat other plants?” The petite woman lowered herself to her knees next to Skye to watch what she was doing, taking in her methods and secretly yearning to try them for herself. “Can I help?” Okay, maybe not so secretly.

“I’ve never gardened myself, but I have seen pictures and paintings of some beautiful gardens.” When she took a second to glance around again she quickly realized that this garden was far different than the elaborate castle flower gardens she had seen illustrated in the fantasy novels. Her mind began to wander and she leaned back on her heels, perhaps to Skye’s relief that she seemingly forgotten her request to help.

“I’ve never been very good with that kind of thing. Most of my skills are better put on paper than in action.” She grinned and chucked, remembering the horrible predicament she was in when she met Shawchert and how she had gotten there in the first place. Another misplaced talent. She could be stealthy if she wasn’t so easily distracted by shiny things.

“So do you eat these? Or just use them to grow more? You know,” her face suddenly lit up. “Some of these berries would be perfect for dyes!”

[/html]

Skye Collins · 12-13-2010, 09:13 PM

[html]

I'm sorry for the delay!!

Skye paused for a moment as Orin mentioned that 'plants eat other plants'. Looking down at the rotting peels, she supposed that's what they did. She shrugged and continued to place the peels all over the garden, happy when Orin asked if she could help. Skye stared at the peels. They looked and felt gross, but the rewards were very good, especially after the cold winter hit. She couldn't be too sure with plants; they varied greatly, and some didn't grow as well as others, even if it was the same species. Plants were like individuals; although Skye and Shaw were both wolves, Shaw was much leaner and taller than Skye, and was much stronger too. Skye had other qualities. Both were different, just like plants.

“I’ve never gardened myself, but I have seen pictures and paintings of some beautiful gardens." the other wolf said, apparently forgetting her urge to help. "Oh, yes, storybook gardens are very beautiful. I once read a book about a secret garden - it was surrounded by a large hedge, and you could only get through with a magic key," she said, remembering the day she'd read that book fondly. The illustrations had been absolutely stunning, and Skye liked the idea very much.

“So do you eat these? Or just use them to grow more? You know, some of these berries would be perfect for dyes!”

Skye stopped. She was right; Skye had never thought of that. "You're right, Orin!" she exclaimed, happy at the new idea. "I've never thought of that before. We'll have to tell Ouija and Bangle!"

Orin Takekuro · 12-16-2010, 10:04 PM

[html]

ooc... Sorry, I feel like my creativity is fizzling a little bit here. (3 points)

“Hmm… I haven’t read that book before, but it sounds fun. Do you still have a copy? I would love to read it,” her eyebrow arched and she looked hopeful. She was always trying to get her paws on new and thrilling literature, especially that which had to do with something like a fantasy garden.

Orin crouched and ran her hand through the dirt, feeling the cool, damp texture of the fertile soil as it ran over and through her fingers. She smiled fondly. This ground had been tilled with love and devotion, which said a lot for the Luperci who tended it. Not so many had the patience for gardening. Aesthetic principal was not so widely appreciated through their feral culture, and most would find it a waste of time to grow crops for food, as they could easily survive on meat and game as their ancestors had.

“Before the days of hands…” she mused idly, and glanced at Skye.

Her eyes lit up when she mentioned telling Ouija and Bangle of the thought of the dyes. She had met Ouija before, though only briefly at a pack meeting, but did not yet know who this Bangle was. Still, if he liked dyes, it sounded promising. “I’ve mostly only ever worked with shades of pink, but I would love to see what colors some of these other plans would make. You can even use the leaves of some of them, though for a successful, strong dye I need boiling water, too. Niro always made the fires for me… but I’m sure somebody here could help with that.”

Glancing around to ensure she was not too close to any of the other plans, she lowered herself and sat gingerly in the garden. She propped her chin on her hand as she watched Skye work with the garden. “It could give me something else to record, too! I’ve got a map of Thornbury started, and I’ve written little notes about everyone I’ve met here so far and what they like to do.” She glanced over her shoulder to her journal. “I should probably find another journal to start that’s just for Cercatori information.”

[/html]

Skye Collins · 12-23-2010, 11:37 AM

[html]

"I think it's in the Halifax library," Skye said conversationally. "There are hundreds of books there - have you been?" Skye had discovered the Halifax library shortly after she ventured into the world of Souls; after journeying South, it was hard for her to ignore the large city that vaguely resembled her small cottage in the mountains. She had wandered in and, to her great delight, discovered the Halifax library, which was stocked with books of every genre and length. It had been like a haven to Skye.

Skye looked at a newly sprouting bush with love and lifted its leaves with her fingers. Despite the cold winter air, they were growing finely, and Skye loved them. She hadn't known how much she'd loved gardening until she started, and now she knew she found something that she wouldn't give up in a hurry. She turned to Orin as she began to speak.

“I’ve mostly only ever worked with shades of pink, but I would love to see what colors some of these other plans would make. You can even use the leaves of some of them, though for a successful, strong dye I need boiling water, too. Niro always made the fires for me… but I’m sure somebody here could help with that.”

Skye nodded, thinking. "I have blue and red berries here," she said, gesturing to the spikes that read 'red' and 'blue'. "And I think Shawchert has some fire-making abilities," she said as an afterthought.

“It could give me something else to record, too! I’ve got a map of Thornbury started, and I’ve written little notes about everyone I’ve met here so far and what they like to do. I should probably find another journal to start that’s just for Cercatori information.”

"Hey, that's great!" Skye exclaimed. "You could be the pack historian if you want!"

I know; right now you "Don't care".

Orin Takekuro · 01-02-2011, 06:03 PM

[html]

WC 700

Her white pyramid like ears stood erect and the girl’s posture shot straight when Skye spoke the magic word: library. The short girl had no hope of containing her excitement at the thought, her tail lashing furiously in an exuberant display of delight. She clasped her hands together in front of her face and looked at Skye with eyes that begged please don’t be joking!

“Halifax library?!” She blurted, nearly bouncing on her tiptoes. “No, I have never been there. I’ve never even been to Halifax. I’ve never even been to a good library. Sure, I’ve seen some bookstores and schools, but mostly they were so destroyed there was little that Niro or I to salvage from them. I want to go!” Her voice became breathy, taking on a dreamy lilt as her eyes cast upwards to the sky with fantasies. Could a place really exist where there were walls of precious books just ripe for the picking? So much knowledge. Books were so delicate, so easily damaged, yet so direly important. Orin knew that her kind could benefit from the knowledge encased in those tomes – she herself already had. Yet few Luperci even seemed to know how to read. It was a shame, really. She would teach everyone in the world, if she could.

Her golden eyes flicked back to Skye and she realized her mind had trailed off for a moment, but she could not make herself look apologetic. Not when she had trailed off to think of books. “Are there really hundreds? It sounds like heaven.” She pondered the library for a moment more as Skye turned her attention to the flourishing garden, but snapped her attention back to Skye when the second in command addressed her again.

Half of her mind was still preoccupied with fantasies of the library, but she did manage to focus on the plants again for a minute. She took a step closer to the ones Skye pointed out and inspected their labels, and then the plants themselves. “Those aren’t bad colors to have. You can get all kinds of other shades from those two. All shades of blues, violet, red, and pinks.”

At the thought, she moved closer to Skye and reached out with tiny fingers, running delicate digits through a length of Skye’s russet hair. “We should make you some purple dye,” she giggled excitedly. “Purple is the color of royalty.” She paused for a beat and then waved her hand as though predicting a protest that she was sure would come. “Okay okay, we don’t have to dye your hair if you don’t want to. But my dyes have worked pretty well for clothing, too.”

Her eyes trailed off over the garden again, but it was not the plants that she was thinking about. The thought of the library came back, and in place of the crops she imagined walls lined with books, ceiling to floor. She was about to say something more about the library just as Skye spoke. Her words died in her throat, and she sat with her mouth hanging open for a moment. The offer from Skye was a surprise, and caught her off guard like a good left hook. Her eyes bulged and her mouth pulled back in the tightest, toothiest grin she could muster. It almost looked as though she would burst out in tears of happiness.

“Do you mean that?!” she squeaked. “Pack historian? That would be such an honor! I would love to. I’ve already got just about everything written down about the founding of Cerctori D’Arte. Well, all that I know, anyway. I could transfer it into a new journal and… and maybe I could interview you and Shawchert to make sure I get it all down. Cercatori will live on forever, and all the generations long after we’re gone-” she made a sweeping motion with her hand “-would be able to know the full, true story about the founding of the pack. It could keep things from ever going awry. I would love to do it!” With little forewarning she leaped at Skye and wrapped her small arms around her Secondo Capitano, catching her up in a tight embrace.

Skye Collins · 01-03-2011, 06:07 PM

[html]

orin is so cute! want her co-rank to be historian? that'd be cool; i'd make it a co-rank, and then if orin has three threads with her acting as a historian, it can be her co-rank ^^ wc: 586

Skye concentrated on the garden, but she felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards at the excitement in Orin's voice. She was so glad that she found someone who appreciated words and the joy they brought just as much as she did. In fact, Orin seemed to be one of the only people here in Souls that could read. Skye certainly spend a lot of her time teaching others how to, and they seemed quite eager, but none of them learned how to read beforehand - and none of them certainly shared Orin's obvious excitement at the prospect of a library that housed hundreds of books.

Skye remembered when she was as excited as that when she'd seen the library. The enormous rooms that housed the masses of knowledge and stories had made her heart rate spike, and she had drooled over the sight of the books only long enough to prevent her from tripping over her feet as she stumbled to collect as many in her hands as she could. She had pored over them, even staying overnight at the library. The black cat that lived there had watched her with interest, like he, too, enjoyed the many books that were in his grasp. Skye had loved the library, and went there at least once a week now, when she was free. It took a long time, walking there, but it was worth it for the words that the place brought.

Now she found someone else who liked the same thing, liked reading, and enjoyed the joys of it that it brought. She found someone else who wrote, even, and liked it as much as Skye. Skye felt like she was meeting her long lost sister, just now turning up in the pack that Skye now called home.

"Oh, it is," Skye replied to Orin's exclamation that the library must be a heaven. She stepped back to admire her work with her plants, then began to weed again, seeing some that she had previously missed. "It has so many books, I didn't know where to begin when I first went there! I was dazzled!" Dazzled - just the word to describe the emotion. The library was dazzling!

She then felt the white woman's hands run through Skye's own auburn hair, and she made a comment about her hair being purple. Purple?! Purple?!?! She was about to open her mouth to exclaim that she didn't want purple hair, thank you, and that she had plenty of color as it was, when Orin waved her hand away and said that fine, she didn't have to have purple hair if she didn't want to. Skye's ears relaxed and her eyes stopped looking like they were going to pop out of her head - purple hair, indeed!

Suddenly, however, Orin burst into an exclamation. Unable to keep her eyes on the plants any longer, she looked at the white woman with pink hair and tail and found that she was exclaiming that it would be wonderful for her to be historian. Skye giggled as she spoke of the grandest generations, never losing sigh of the history that their pack had been. And it was true - the pack had just been created, so what better a time to start a history of it?

She openly laughed as Orin threw her arms around the Collins girl, and she hugged her back. "I'm glad you like the idea, Orin," she said excitedly.

Orin Takekuro · 01-12-2011, 02:38 AM

[html]

OOC That would be super awesome win time!! I already have her mentioning working on this in my newer threads. Hey, by chance would you like to wrap this one up since we got a good bit out of it, but with the bits of plot that are happening I'm almost a little overwhelmed on threads! wc 329

It would be amazing to be the pack historian! Orin's imagination swam with thoughts of what she would do. She was already beginning to dream up how she would organize the books and, OH! Did she have enough supplies? She had plenty to get started but a project like this would certainly demand only the finest materials. It would be work finding quality journals and good ink. At least if she could not find good enough ink she could make it. Perhaps she could even use the pigment from the berries Skye grew here? This garden truly was a wonderful thing, and she wondered if Skye really knew to what extent the plants could be used. If she did not know now, then she would in the near future! Though Skye would probably be educating her on some aspects of the crops as well... like how useful they were as food!

“I already have most of a map of Thornbury done, and I could log a list of members. Oh! Birth dates. Mateships. Puppies!” She giggled at the thought of puppies. She so loved children though hardly had any experience with them.

She turned and trotted to the edge of the garden, completely lost in thought now. After a moment, she turned back around and gave Skye a wide smile that seemed to also have a bit of apology hidden within. “Oh, Skye, I'm so excited. I can't think of anything else right now. You wouldn't be offended if I took off to start right now, would you?” She cocked her head, looking hopeful. The glint in her eye corroborated the truth in her words; if she stuck around, she would be a total space case.

Even now, as she looked at Skye and awaited to be dismissed, it seemed like she was far away. She probably wouldn't even hear the answer. As it was, she was poised to go, and had forgotten to collect her pack.

Login




Remember me Lost Password?