plant the seed

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-22-2012, 01:36 AM

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Word Count :: +3 so...open to anyone. for the gardening challenge.

This whole ‘gardening’ thing was weird…why did they need plants to do anything? Weren’t animals their main source of food, clothing and tools? Octavius had been curious about this odd plant business since the pack meeting that had been called by Alaki. Apparently the leaders wanted there to be a pack wide effort to clean up the gardens and get new things planted and growing quickly. Despite his skepticism, the boy would take this chance to learn about more stuff outside of the caves. Perhaps he’d take to sleeping around the garden area for a while as the weather got better…plants were pretty and relaxing, much more so than cold black rock walls.

It was early morning, the sun had only been up and shining for maybe an hour when he left the caves and began following pack mate’s scents towards the gardening area. It wasn’t hard to find, as the smells of not only luperci he knew were everywhere, but the fresh scent of dirt and wood hung around in the air. Octavius sneezed a few times as he got closer, the dust hanging around swooshing up into his nose with each breath until he got used to it. Once he finally got to the right spot, he spent a few minutes just walking around and taking in all of the sights and smells, sniffing at this and that, sneezing a whole lot all over everything.

Not knowing what to do, the boy sighed and let his body slowly transform and then stood up on two legs. At only seven and a half months, he was already a large creature. Standing almost as tall as the average full grown male…it was obvious that when the white male was an adult, he would be a monstrosity of snowy fur. Stretching a bit, he yawned and looked around again, wondering who he should ask about being assigned tasks.

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Aoi Itou · 03-22-2012, 03:55 AM

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-throws Aoi at-

Word Count :: terrible.

Aoi too had been wondering about gardening lately. She wanted to help, as much as she could, with anything and everything. It was better than just sitting around doing nothing, she figured. Aoi wasn’t a child anymore. With her pet crow on her shoulder, the Itou girl skipped forwards, wondering where these gardens were. Eventually, she spotted a flash of white cascade across the caves. Was it Naniko? It smelt a bit like Naniko. She’d have courage to ask her Angela, Aoi thought, running after the white figure. It did smell a bit like Naniko, after all.

Except she only caught up with the white fluff ball once he had already exited the caves. With the horizon and flat fields spread nicely in front of her, she could see Octavious was far too small to be Naniko. But she did know who he was now; one of her sons. She knew they were very close in age, perhaps a few days apart.. But she didn’t know him at all. Didn’t even know his name. That was the curse of being so shy.

The dark girl hung in the shadows and then began to follow his scents and other scents, that mingled in the morning light. Eventually she had hit the garden, and she walked past Octavious and into the centre of things. She didn’t know what to do, either. Or who to go to. Um. muttered Aoi, a little scared to say anything. But eventually she told herself to stop being silly. What do we do now? she asked Octavious, her voice clear yet anxious.

Table by Alex

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-22-2012, 09:33 AM

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Word Count :: +3 yay! they could be good friends. Big Grin

Most of the adults that were moving around the gardens were already fully occupied with whatever it is they were doing. Octavius didn’t want to interrupt them and break concentration, so he took to observing, figuring that after a while he’d just copy whatever it was that they were doing. So far it looked as if the only good thing for him to do would be the destruction of some of the falling apart structures. That way he couldn’t screw up the plants until he had someone there to physically instruct him on how to do things. Naniko, Alaki and Aeron would not be happy with him if he just up and decided to break all of their plants…it just wouldn’t be a good idea at all.

Before the boy could move towards one of the smaller structures, what looked like a dilapidated and collapsing shed, a soft and rather timid voice came from behind him. Ears flicking back, the fluffy white one turned and took in the female, smiling happily. He was always cheerful when meeting another Luperci that was his age…unless they were openly being mean, of course. This girl looked and smelled familiar, like…Alaki? Huh, that was weird. Octa hadn’t thought that her mother’s good friend had any children, but of course he was wrong. That only showed that he needed to pay attention to his pack mates more often.

Shifting slightly on his feet, he lifted and dropped his already wide set shoulders in a shrug. This girl was pretty small compared to his tall frame, but she looked sturdy and strong, despite her young age. The grin grew wider as he looked over her fur, admiring the splashes of colors. Being all white, with the occasional hint of silver…was very boring, in his mind. To be a colorful creature? It was beautiful, and something that he wished he possessed. ”I think…maybe we could help by taking that down,” He pointed towards the falling shed, walking over to it and giving one side a rough shove. The boards creaked and groaned, a few bending under the weight of his hand.

Nodding slowly, he waved the girl over and tapped the wood again. ”I guess we just pull the boards off? Maybe stack them up…some of them could be used again.” Stretching up to stand on his toes, he began pulling and tugging on the roof pieces, wanting to get them off first so they didn’t fall on and hurt the smaller female. ”I’m Octavius, by the way. Naniko is my momma…is Alaki your daddy?”

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Aoi Itou · 03-22-2012, 01:45 PM

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Yes indeedy! :O

Word Count :: 575

It was bravery at it's best for Aoi to actually say something. Or at least, say something and not run off, she thought to herself, watching the boy, her crow perched mightily on her shoulder. At first he simply looked at her; which got her worried, Aoi being all naturally paranoid and suspicious. Aoi bet she knew what he was thinking; bad thoughts about her. She was ugly, she was fat. But then he spoke, cheerfully, and she knew he couldn't have been thinking something like that at all. With a jolt, Aoi realised that her and Octavius had company. Boy, could she be clueless sometimes. She found it easier to talk to adults; so she could have asked one of them! What led her to start up a conversation with the boy, she didn't know. But she was sort of glad she did, now, as he began talking back. Easy to talk to, to listen to, like his mother.

It was odd their thoughts were opposites. Aoi was quite the fan of his pristine white coat, and thought her dark coat boring, while his opinion was the other way around. Had she heard his thoughts spoken out loud, she'd have a lot to protest about. But presently, she responded to his statement...and explanation, of sorts. Her eyes darted to where he was pointing while she spoke, taking note of the fact he said "we", suggesting they should work together; Alright! I'll help you with that. she agreed, a little bit too eagerly than she had imagined it sounded in her mind. Truth was, she was desperate to come out her shell, and start talking to people. Make a friend or two.

She watched him shove against the wood, listening to it creak satisfyingly. She found herself admiring how easily he had moved the boards; even if they were old, and was thankful he was taller than her. Aoi herself was tall for her age, and thought herself a freak... for her sister Miwa was slender, with petite shoulders and a slim frame, while Aoi was sturdy and well built. She had once been healthily bonny, too, but upon starving herself Aoi was skinny (though she still thought herself fat). It was nice, to be smaller than someone for a change.S-sure. she said, though she sounded a little uncertain. But, Aoi would try her best.

The girl leapt over to the shed and leant up on her tiptoes. She managed to get a good hold of a plank, and she scooped her fingers underneath before pushing upwards. The wood made a groaning sound that frightened her a little, before snapping away suddenly. It startled her a little, but she'd at least got a good chunk off. As she set the wood down, Aoi looked up to reply to Octavius's question. Hi, Octavius. I'm Aoi...and this, is Saigai she said, not containing her grin while nudging the crow on her shoulder with her nose; Yes, Alaki is my dad. Your lucky to have Naniko as your mother.. She left it at that, before re-picking up the plank and laying it down in an open space of dirt very close to the shed, but not close enough to trip her and the boy up while they worked. That, can be the stacking pile. she said a little nervously. And then she walked back over to the shed again, now tugging at a secondary plank.

Table by Alex

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-22-2012, 03:31 PM

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Word Count :: +3 this is fun xD

Aoi was a cute girl, her coat was gorgeous and her sturdy bone structure was oddly attractive and interesting. The mottled girl kind of reminded Octavius of his sister, Caprica, who wasn’t a small female either. Smiling happily at her, he moved a little bit closer and looked at the crow, taking it in and studying the shape. There was a sharp intelligence in the bird’s eyes, something that he’d have to think about at a later time. Remembering Alaki and Alexander, the white boy knew where she got her crow and the desire to keep the smart birds. For as long as he could remember, Alaki had always had crows flying around the pack lands as scouts and such, not just pets. ”Yeah, my mom is awesome…but so is your dad! He is like a cool warrior or something…My dad is um, weird and he doesn’t live here or visit.”

Happy that she had chosen to stay and work with him, Octavius got back to work, focusing on the roof on the opposite side of the shed. He jumped a little in surprise when the smaller female popped a board off before he did, but only smiled at her and followed closely behind. Hooking his fingers under one loose board, he began pushing upwards, grinning widely as the old, rusted nails snapped and the wood popped right off. It was a relatively strong board, so he put it on the small pile for reuse before turning and doing the same thing a few more times. There were a couple pieces that snapped with just a bit of pressure, so he knew that they were going to be used for burning or something later. He made another pile for those, way off to the side so as to not get them confused.

He shrugged a little bit and frowned at the shed. Despite his height, he couldn’t reach the boards at the very top of the roof. Pouting a little bit, he took a few steps back and huffed, unsure of how he was supposed to get up there. ”You think we could maybe just push the whole thing over? Some boards might break, but at least it’ll be easier to take apart.”

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Aoi Itou · 03-25-2012, 08:58 AM

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^^ Big Grin

Word Count :: 530

The dappled female was glad Octavius didn’t seem to mind her company, nor the crow's. Indeed he seemed very interested in Saigai, and Aoi could tell he realised just how clever the bird was; clever for a bird, at least. Saigai was young though, and silly sometimes. Sometimes Aoi had to correct him. But equally, being a crow, he had a certain wiseness, and he, in turn, often corrected Aoi’s mistakes. The young girl smiled and blushed childishly at the talk about parents. She was glad someone else thought her dad was cool; she thought he was amazing. But that was the duty of every little girl to their father. It had been only recently that she was starting to love her father, getting to know him, but already she was besotted. He doesn’t visit? she asked carefully, cautious about getting on a topic that might upset the boy. I’m sorry about that. I’m missing a parent too. S’why I came here. she offered a comparison, something he could relate too, before getting back to work again.

They worked steadily and managed to remove several boards between them. It wasn’t that hard work, and already the shed was starting to break down. But she found herself stuck at the top boards, as he was too, and before she could suggest any way to bring down the highest boards, he did. It was a good suggestion, and she wasn’t one to argue, so she agreed with little hesitation. Sounds good to me. Cmon. Aoi said, her voice growing ever stronger in his company. The girl leapt to the side of the shed, leaving room for Octavius to push beside her, and heaved her full weight against the shed. She heard creaking, groaning of wood, and then finally, snapping. It wasn’t that easy, but it had been a simple enough task. The itou girl grinned at their efforts and then realised there was something wet on her side. Frowning, she realised it was blood. The fur near her waist was covered in it. Maybe it had been a sharp piece of wood, or a nail, that had ripped a wound in her without her realising. Aoi tenderly held one paw against the cut and felt around…it didn’t hurt that much, so she assumed it was nothing much, and ignored it, hoping Octavius hadn’t seen it either.

Silently, she got back to work again, collecting up planks of wood to place onto the growing pile. When they had cleared it all away, she looked around and saw most other things had been cleared away too, by others, and already there were people working on digging up the land until it was just a plot of soil, fit for planting. Aoi’s eyes caught site of two shovels, and she grabbed hold of them both, holding one out to Octavius. Should we start digging up the old land? she asked. She didn’t know much about gardening, but assumed the ground had to be soft and full of soil rather than hard and grassy to be able to have seeds in it.

Table by Alex

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-25-2012, 11:48 AM

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Word Count :: +5 LOL he is such a dork. Dude, powerplay...just tell me if you want me to change it, k?

Octavius was once again trying to grab the boards on top of the shed, stretching his already tall body out…and failing time and again. Sighing in frustration, he stood flat on his feet and placed his hands on his hips, glaring at the wood. Aoi’s question caught his attention for a few moments and his red eyes flicked to the side to take in her slightly cautious expression. Smiling a bit, he shrugged his slender shoulders one time and trailed his hands through the still growing tuft of hair on his head. “Not really…I remember seein’ him when I was real little…but it’s been a long time since he’s come down. I don’t really think he cares all that much.”

The mottled colored girl’s comment about missing a parent as well had his ears perking, but he figured that would be a good discussion for some other time. Talking about all that emotional stuff while trying to tear down a structure was probably not the best of ideas, so he just nodded and turned back to the shed. When she agreed to the ‘shove down’ idea, he grinned and stepped aside to make more room for her smaller body. Pressing his hands against the wood, he began shoving his weight against it in waves, huffing softly as the wood creaked and groaned in protest. It didn’t take long before the base boards were snapping and the entire thing was coming apart, crashing down into a mess of a heap.

Grinning over at Aoi happily, he crouched down and inspected a few of the boards still stuck in the ground, the foundation pieces. “We’ll have to dig these out.” As he began to stand up, a sharp scent hit his nose and his head whipped around. Eyes widened at the sight of red staining Aoi’s fur, and the fact that she seemed to be trying to hide it from him. “Hey! Come here…lemme look at it.” His voice was commanding, but soft and worried, wanting to make sure that his new friend wasn’t hurting. As soon as she was within touching distance, he reached out and grabbed her hips, pulling her up close.

Still on his knees, he was the perfect height, his nose pressing against her side as he sniffed around for the source of the blood. Despite her small protests, he continued and finally found the small cut, parting the fur with his fingers and sliding his tongue across the gash a few times, trying to clean it up. The bleeding stopped shortly after and he nuzzled her side a little, looking up at her face with a little pout. “Don’t be mad at me, Aoi…I just don’t want you to be hurting. Should I go find Alaki so he can fix it?” It was obvious that he was genuinely worried about the girl he’d only met a little while before, nervous about her wellbeing. “We can pause on this project if you need to.” Shifting nervously from foot to foot, he reached out and grabbed one of the shovels, guess that it meant she was fine and wanted to keep working.

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Aoi Itou · 03-26-2012, 01:57 PM

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It's fine; it's cute! / +yo numbah!

It was upsetting to hear Octavius think his father didn't care about him. Terribly upsetting, as Aoi knew what that felt like. At least, she had done, but now she was really starting to warm up to her father. They'd shared a hug earlier in the week; the only physical contact she'd had with someone for a long while. Of course, she slept in the same room, and practically the same bed, as her sister Miwa; curled up on the floor in cushions and sheets, but she slept to the side, curled in her own little shell. Nobody could break through, not even herself. Even Aoi had no idea what was going on inside her busy little mind.

She'd forgotten about the flooring. There it was, the foundation, in plain site. Yes, they'd have to dig it up. She agreed with a slight nod, the slightest curl of a smile not quite reaching her eyes. She couldn't smile, the blood was too distracting. It was no use trying to hide it; Octavius could smell it, she could tell. And as soon as he realised where the blood was coming from, he marched right up to her. Aoi gave a small squeak, certain he was about to laugh at her or something worse, but his words were surprising. She blinked, her expression cautious as she stepped forward, timidly, curious.

Aoi yelped as he suddenly grabbed her, still on his knees, drawing her by the hips straight up to him. It was sudden, and her body froze but made little reaction. He was upset for her, trying to help, even she could see that, the anti-social girl that she was. No... she mumbled repeatedly, protesting as he sniffed at her, invading her personal space, parting her fur. She didn't like being touched. And when he put his tongue to her wound, she winced suddenly, pain etching into her form. Aoi almost drew back, almost. But the stinging faded, and it began to soothe, cleaning away the blood. Oh. she finally said. She was let go and she stepped away, albeit not as far from him as she would have been before.Thanks. I-...I'm not mad. she muttered, holding her hand out to him so she could pull him back to his feet.

But no, she would not stop on this project. The first real work she had done in ages, she was not willing to give up just yet. She had fight in her, did Aoi. No, Octavius...I'm fine. It's fine. she assured him, and assured herself. Just...a scratch. she lied. It was deeper than a scratch, however, it wasn't that serious. With that she spotted a nearby cloth, picked it up, and brought it to the closest stream. The girl washed it thoroughly and then wrapped it round her waist, until it covered the wound, and kept it cool. Aoi was soon back at their "site", shovel ready in hand. Come on then. she smiled gently. We've wasted enough time already. and with that she started working on the ground-boards.

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-26-2012, 11:13 PM

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Word Count :: +3 lolol they are cute <3

Octavius was very thankful that Aoi didn’t put up a fight when he tried to help her with the wound. It was so obvious that she was lying when she said it was just a scratch. No scratches bled that much, and he tried his best to get the bleeding to stop before she pulled away, reassuring him that everything was okay. Pouting and huffing softly, he got up and watched for a few moments at the mottled female went about getting a piece of cloth and then walked off towards the stream. Thankful that she was at least doing something about it now, he turned and got to work on the foundation of the shed.

It wasn’t really hard to get the shovel head under the boards, then lever the thing down and pop the wood up out of the ground. By the time Aoi had approached again, her waist bandaged sufficiently; almost half of the boards were lifted and sorted between the ‘trash’ and ‘keep’ piles. Smiling up at the girl, he grabbed up her shovel and held it out to her to take, then watched close to gauge if she was actually in much pain or not. Regardless of her saying it was fine, he was going to tell Alaki later on, make sure that her father knew of the wound.

Turning back to the job at hand, he slammed the shovel back down into the ground and proceeded to show Aoi how he was working the boards out of the ground. Every now and then one would snap, or almost disintegrate as it was being pulled out, those ones were kicked aside quickly. “This is pretty easy, we’ll be done super fast! I wonder what we could do next?” His head tilted to the side in question as he watched Aoi get the last few boards up.

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Aoi Itou · 03-27-2012, 04:51 PM

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Hells yeah <3 / +463

She took the shovel as easily as magnet to metal. Giving the boy a smile in thanks, Aoi walked over to the foundation, breaking off bits. But not as successfully as Octavius. It took her twice as much time, and effort, to lift the wood from the ground. She tried to pay a little more attention to the way Octa was doing it, and managed to lift a good few more up. Smiling to herself, she realised they had nearly finished. It's not as easy as you make it look. she chuckled, soft eyes dancing. The girl was actually having fun, despite "working". It seemed having something to do got her mind buzzing a lot more than usual. And having someone to talk to was good, as well. Aoi definitely felt more at ease with her new friend - could she call him friend? - than she did at the start of the day.

Carefully, the girl set down the shovel, stretched, and stood up awkwardly. Aoi brushed down her fur from dirt - it was a good thing she had worn no clothes today, otherwise they would be wrecked. Stained by blood and dirt. Aoi wrinkled her nose at the thought; she had nothing against getting dirty, being quite the tomboy; would be quite happy to run barefoot through mud. Yet she knew that if you ruined things, you got shouted at. She'd forged an ok relationship with her father; she didn't want it to decline once more. Her scared thoughts showed just how traumatized she was. As scared as a rabbit flushed out of it's hole. Um... she wondered, in reply to Octavius's previous question about what they should do next. And then she realised there were some people planting seeds. With her keen, dark eyes, Aoi found out where they were coming from, and picked out two packets for her and Octavius, not bothering to read the label. I guess, we can plant them. she suggested, placing her packet down while she hacked at the earth, trying to make it soft and fertile.

Once soil had been uncovered under the dirt and stone, she swept debris away using the other end of the shovel as a sort of rake. And then Aoi crouched down, running her fingers through the soil. Aoi carved a sloping hole in the ground with her cupped hands. Her swift fingers picked out some seeds from the packet, and she placed some into the the hole, covering the mound with more soil until it looked moderately like what everyone else was doing. Was she doing it right? She hoped so. She couldn't bare it if she had done something wrong. Mixed feelings ran through her mind as she smoothed the mound down, patting the soil smooth.

Octavius Poer de Angelo · 03-28-2012, 03:54 PM

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Word Count :: sooo short :/

Aoi was right when she mentioned that he had made the digging look a lot easier than it actually was…or maybe he was just stronger than she was. The latter made more sense in his mind, as he WAS a lot bigger, and it looked as if he ate more food than her, too. Of course he would be stronger. Smiling a little, he just shook his head and followed the young woman as she strode off to find whatever it was that she was looking for. Looking like a faithful puppy, he trotted along behind the mottled girl, sniffing the air and looking around at their other pack mates, watching as they took down small buildings and began planting seeds.

Once they were back at their little workplace, Octavius got down on his knees and began digging into the dirt with his hands as well, scooping up handfuls and moving them aside for later use. Getting closer to the ground, he watched Aoi’s small hands as she picked up a seed and dropped it into a small indentation she’d made in the dirt. The process was repeated a few times in a row before she began making more holes. Satisfied that he would be able to imitate the motions, the boy leaned back and began copying her. ”You are really good at this planting stuff…I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Image courtesy of bigbanglittlestock

Aoi Itou · 04-01-2012, 06:08 PM

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It's fine!!! OK, so I'm ending this, but we should totally have another Big Grin

/ +330

It amused Aoi just a little to see him up and follow her, and they walked as one, actually together, only confirming the fact that they now seemed to be friends. At least, she hoped so, and she found she liked Octavius an awful lot, and hoped the feeling was mutual. And when she finally set down to start planting the seeds, the gentle silence in which they worked was calming rather than awkward, as she'd become at ease with him. It wasn't long before she had planted almost every seed there was to be planted, and the girl stood up from her crouched position.

Being modest and timid, it was all she could do to muster a reply to Octa. Not really...heh...but thanks. she grinned, brusning wet soil and mud from her. Luckily, the only place not coated in dirt seemed to be the bandage round her waist, and she blushed slightly as she remembered the contact he'd given her before. And having ran out of seeds, and their area practically overflowing with little mounds in the ground, she decided they were almost done. And there was one last thing to do. Gently, the femme weaved her way in and out of the ground, careful not to step on anything, and picked up a full watering can. And then she proceeded to water every plant they had planted, or at least, attempted to. Quickly she was tiring though, and couldn't wait to slip into a river and then drop into bed.

Once she'd finished, and had assumed Octa had done the same, she walked up to him to leave him a parting comment. "Hey, uh..thanks" she mumbled. "You helped a lot today. I didn't really know what do do before..." she smiled warmly, all doe-eyed and curly furred. The girl looked at her paws briefly, shot him another smile, and then walked off, not before shouting; "Bye, Octavius! over her shoulder as she left for home.

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