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Set just outside Inferni territory, at the greenhouse. Here is a link to show the general layout of the area/give some perspective on the size of the plot/what she's doing.
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 Sweep one. Sweep two. Sweep three. There was nothing left, and nothing could go wrong. Three times now, she had tiptoed through the adjacent structures, creating separate piles of "useful junk" and "pure junk." The latter was much more impressive than the former, however, as the houses themselves were considered useless. Three of them were in really bad condition anyway--the roof had already caved in on two, and the wooden floors were rotted through in places in the third. It was all a matter of time before they came down, anyway, and Matrix thought she should accelerate the process. Really, they were eyesores.
Perhaps she was weird, but the young girl had found it a worthwhile investment of her time to fix up the old greenhouse. The glass panes were repaired and shiny; the roof was swept clean somewhat regularly; the refuse inside was cleared out, and seedlings protruded several inches from the ground. They were encouraged by the warmth of the fire in the shed she had built and the water she hauled from far away. Yes--inside of the greenhouse, things were quite merry. Perhaps it was suitable contrast for the chaos that would soon take place outside. The objective was simple: burn the motherfuckers down. (In practise, however, there were safety precautions and all of that--pah.)
She had already cleared away the brush that surrounded the nearby houses days before, and she had been waiting on a day like today. Today, the winds were calm and the fires were unlikely to spread in unexpected ways. The sky was a magnificent shade of blue, actually--it was a shame she'd have to taint it with black plumes of smoke. It was all for the sake of future beauty, and in a sense it was like reclaiming a chunk of nature from the city. The burnt down remnants would be ugly, but once they were cleared away, she intended to fill the plot of land with wild flowers and outdoor marijuana, and to plant trees along the perimeter. It would be beautiful, and in an entirely different way than the flames that now grew and swelled before her, engulfing the first of the houses to be burned down (of course, she wasn't about to tend to more than one major fire at a time). Bits of the wooden fences she tore down were soaked in petroleum and used as tinder, and they were working just splendidly. Before very long, as predicted, the fire found its way to the roof and reached toward the sky. Matrix sat back on the ground at a reasonable distance, legs sprawled out comfortably in front of her as she propped herself up with her hands and watched in awe.
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indent It was the smoke that had drawn him. The fact it was so out of place in the winter signified that it was not natural. Gabriel had seen fires before—brush fire, forest fire. He had set fire to a city once himself, a long time ago. But the truth of his past, much like the truth of his madness, was kept behind a careful wall. Above all things he had control, apathy, distance. He was two different people, one laughing, smiling, and the leader who could step away from himself and back in depending on what was called for. He had drunk with pirates, smoked with thieves. Then there was the laughing man, who came in the dark and tore apart countries, worlds, and thought nothing of it.
indent But today, he walked down the road on two legs, a faint wind occasionally brushing against his coat. As he drew closer to the fire, he made out a familiar figure (mostly due to her oddly curled tail). Now more curious then concerned, the doggish male approached easily, calling out as he neared. “You do that?”
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Ugh. Sorry about all of the inactivity (not to mention this post). Life kinda blows again. -Trying to get back into the swing of things, then will try to pick up some more threads since 80% of the old ones seem like they're beyond recovery.-
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Matrix remained seated on the ground as Gabriel approached and her ears were held back as his scent grew stronger. She had to admit she expected somebody to investigate--and Gabriel was a logical choice. She was very near Inferni's territory, after all, so a fire may pose a potential threat to the clan. Hopefully he would recognise that everything was under control.
"Yeah," she replied. "One sector at a time, I'm going to burn all of these houses to the ground..." she explained, waving her hand in the direction of each one of the doomed buildings. "They're mucking up the scenery," she added with a frown.
Almost as an afterthought: "I suppose I should have checked in with you first; sorry. I got a little excited. I've been working on a project of sorts for months now." With this last statement, a bit of excitement crept into her voice--she really hoped he would ask her about it.
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indent Once, a long time ago, he had heard the voice of God. I will set you to burn. In the end, the burning was very great, this was true. It did not change the fact that Gabriel had lost something in that terrible night. He had seen what fire could do, and what it took. It was a powerful weapon, and one he would use in the future—it would massacre his enemies, with the violent indifference of an older, angry God.
indent She seemed to know what she was doing well enough, Gabriel gave her that. “It’s all right. Inferni doesn’t work that way—unless you’re doing something on our land, you can do whatever you want.” The laws of the clan applied only on their soil and with their members. Taking a seat next to Matrix, the hybrid shook his hair from his face and spared her a glance. “So what project is that?”
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Disregarding those with deep-rooted psychological disorders, it was easy to assume that they all wanted to belong. A creature without a purpose or need was a creature with no spirit, or so Apache had told her. They were, after all, social creatures--especially the dog and the wolf in them. Inferni it seemed was more of a clan of misfits and hybrids than just coyotes. Part of the reason why she was excited was simply for the opportunity to prove herself. Prior to her acceptance, she had promised him the abilities she practised and cherished--now she had the chance to show them. Matrix wasn't one to bark when she couldn't bite.
Her tail may have swung had it not been pinned between the earth and her rump, but the grin on her face spoke volumes. Leaning over a little, she turned and pointed her nose in the direction of the greenhouse behind them. "See that? When I found it it was in shambles. There was debris everywhere; some of the glass was broken. That shed on the end I built myself." She paused, allowing the information to sink in. "But now I've fixed it up and cleaned it out, and I've even planted some seedlings. The furnace I used to work the glass provides the plants with extra heat during the winter, so the plants can thrive year-round." Another pause. "There is still a quarter of the land open--I was thinking if there were any healers in Inferni, they might be able to grow something useful there." After all, her own selections were of the pretty, lovely smelling, and/or high-inducing variety--hardly practical, although some might argue it would be healthy for the mind. "And once these houses are gone, I'm going to transplant some trees for the around perimeter--block out the rest of this city." And there it was--her entire two months' work summarised in a few minutes. Hm.
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indent It was impressive that she had managed everything she had said. Gabriel smiled, pleased, and listened as she explained the purpose of the greenhouse. Finally, when she finished, he spoke. “That’ll be good. Once we find some seeds then you can set that greenhouse up.” Medicinal plants would be needed, that was a given. For that information he’d probably have to talk to Fatin, since the most Gabriel knew about plants was that they could kill you or save your life. His medicine was made for broken bones and battlefield wounds.
indent “You don’t have anything to smoke, do you?”
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Matrix had been methodical in her sowing of the seeds. She spaced them apart appropriately so that the plants would not need to compete for nutrients or space for their roots, and she tried to line the perimeter with the flowers designed to look and smell pretty. So far, she had planted mostly marijuana, some poppies, some sunflowers in the back, some lavender, some roses, and some hibiscus. (She had struck gold, really, when she discovered that old gardener's shop in the city... complete with tons of seeds, fertilisers, and various supplies).
His question caught her somewhat off guard, but she decided it wasn't a bad idea--what better to do than to relax and watch the fire? She peered at it closely--it seemed to be under control. "I don't have any tobacco, but I have some marijuana back in the shed," she said. Her supplies currently came from Nirvana. "Hah. If you give me awhile, I'll be able to get some much higher quality stuff," she promised with a grin. In Nirvana, things ran rampant... the female plants were all fertilised and there wasn't much selection involved. She intended to change that. She knew once she got one good plant going, she could use it to produce more.
"Want to check it out and go to pick up the pipe? The fire will be okay for a little while," she said. He could see the shed and the greenhouse up close then, too--complete with the young plants, which had barely begun to poke above the soil's surface.
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indent The results of her efforts would not show until late March, or even early April. Still, Gabriel was pleased. It was comforting to see that others had taken it upon themselves to better the area (area which he decided, at this point, would belong to Inferni). That process would not take long, as none of the wolves had yet pressed into the city. Buildings were important to Gabriel because they offered space for storage and protection in the wicked seasons of the year. They were symbols as well; We are better then you, they said, We are evolving. No, not evolution—mutation.
indent At her response, Gabriel grinned, eyes reflecting the fire. It had been a long time since he had last smoked that green devil grass. It both calmed him and let him loosen up, though never too much. Rurik had been the only one he had ever let see his guard down, but Rurik had been there when the war came. He knew that Inferni was to be feared. Pushing himself up with his palms, Gabriel got to his feet and offered her a hand. “Sure,” he said. “I’d like that.”
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To Matrix, it simply wouldn't make sense not to use the tools and structures that they had at their disposal. Obviously the humans had sort of failed at life and all of that, but it didn't mean that they didn't have a few things right. There was no reason to start screaming Blasphemy! at every one of their habits or inventions. As far as she could tell, they had simply become too greedy and possessive. Even though she considered this greenhouse and the adjacent lots her territory now, she also considered it highly open to guests. Hell, it wasn't like she wanted to hoard everything to herself and be lonely. She really hoped that one day, the place would be a nice chilling spot for Inferni--and even whoever else.
As she accepted his hand and rose to her feet, her tail swished behind her and she moved lightly in the direction of the shed. Once she got there, she propped open the door and stepped inside. She opened the door of the furnace she had found exploring with Gabriel's father (still didn't put it together, though) and a warm orange glow filled the chamber. The shed was certainly a comfortable size--maybe four metres square. Along one wall was the furnace and a work bench; along another a shelf filled with various supplies and random junk that struck her fancy--including informative books. In another corner was an old mattress she had found in a department store, piled high with pillows and blankets she had also collected. None of it smelled funny, so she guessed that the things hadn't been used. The shed had more or less become her den, so it made sense for a bed to be there.
Rummaging amongst the knickknacks on the shelf, she produced her prized self-made piece and offered it to him, along with a medium-sized jar half-filled with marijuana. "Hm. Why don't you bring it out here?" she asked, then opened the second door in the shed--the one that led to the greenhouse. She had decided to build the shed around the door so that she had more control over what was happening inside. With that, she stepped out into the glass structure. It smelled mostly of fresh dirt, although it was respectably warm inside. "I can't wait until everything gets going," she said dreamily.
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