songerein | [open]

Entry tags:

[open]

Who: younger Nier and you!
Which: Open log + network
Where: the gardens !!
What: working on a small garden project and corgi trees!! + one closed prompt
Warnings: mentions of death are recurring

Network

Nice to meet you. My name's Nier. Just thought I should mention there's someone else here with the same name. He's much older than I am and that might be a little confusing. We're different people so I need to make that clear.

Anyway, there's a question that's been on my mind for some time now.

Do you think it's ever okay to tell a lie? I'd like to hear some thoughts because I sometimes wonder if the nightmares here are lies and illusions. They seem so real but sometimes they just aren't.

Back in my world there's something called the Deathdream and I don't know if anyone else has heard of that term before either.

Action Open

[Outside Nier can be found with a tool in hand. There's a toolbox nearby along with several logs of wood just lying around. He's busy trying to build a fence for the gardens. What he really wants to do is help the Corgis in what way he can. He spent most of his life growing up in a smaller village so it was necessary for him to learn various tools of the trade.

Beside him there's also a small patch of flowers growing by the soil bed. If you don't look too busy Nier might look over to your direction and start talking more.]

Do you have a moment? I could use some help watering the plants.

closed to Susato Mikotoba

Good to see you again, Susato!! There's a lot of work for us to do today. I hope you've been well.

[Nier is trying to walk carefully around the area because there are a bunch of snare traps just lying around. It could be dangerous.]

So someone really did just left a bunch of traps outside. We need to do something about that. I'm going to do my best and see what we can accomplish today.

Wild card

[Wild card option available or hassle me on plurk at

Springbloom

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[It's nice to see that so many people have taken to the gardens. It had all started out as a seed of an idea with Sora, but now, it's grown into so much more than Tifa could ever have dreamed of. When she thought of it, she wanted it to be something that Aerith would be proud of if she ever had the chance to see it, and it's turned into exactly that quicker than she imagined it would. The fact that there are so many people around willing to help with it... It makes her heart swell with appreciation.

So of course when Nier calls out to her—Tifa always looks busy but she'll drop what she's doing anyway—she rushes over to help.]

You called just the right person.

[As she's already armed with a watering can that she shows off to him, as if it were a prize she'd just won, but she does pause to look around at the tools and wood that he has lying nearby.]

What's all this?

Hello Tifa!

[ Nier makes a polite gesture of greeting and nods. He remembers how she helped him out of his nightmares. ]

This? I'm making a garden fence and trying to grow some trees for the Corgi. Eustace has lots of dogs running around and I thought they could use it.

I don't know if you're good with building things.

[ He knows Tifa's reliable and friendly so she might be able to work with him on this too.]

I know a thing or two. Wouldn't be the first thing I've built in my lifetime.

[She does take pride in being a bit of a handiwoman. With the help of Avalanche, she learned plenty running a bar over time. Though her expression does warm with a smile when he talks about the corgis. Tifa has grown quite close with them herself, so knowing that there are more people out here who care enough about them to go out of their way, it makes her heart swell with gratitude.

She'll get to work first on helping with watering the flowers, and she can see them quivering in the cold.]

So you've met the dogs? They're... something.

[A handful, that's for sure.]

Sure, I have. They're all named after flowers and they're always busy. There's twelve dogs in total aren't there? It's possible I didn't meet all of them yet.

[ Busy running around. Nier's known them to be really active and energetic for better or worse. ]

It shouldn't take too long to water the plants but we still need to do a good job caring for them. I'm thankful for your help, Tifa.

[ She can help him build the garden fence after they water the flowers. ]

Don't mention it.

[Before she waters the flowers, she caresses each one gently with her fingers, tapping their petals in greeting before she sprinkles the watering can over them.]

You should come around here more often. It's nice to see more people starting to use it for things.

[She eyes him from behind her lashes, her smile growing wider.]

When Sora and I started it, we didn't think it would get to be so big.

It's a peaceful place. I've been here before. I spent a lot of time gardening back home so I try to help sometimes.

[ He came to plant seeds a few times so it's nice to see all the flowers flourishing and blooming. ]

To make everything grow like this must have taken a lot of work.

[ The harvesting cycles in his world weren't that great since the land was plagued by mysterious creatures called Shades. That made it difficult to do much of anything. Here they're able to grow various plants and it's impressive to see what they were able to accomplish. ]

We've had some help.

[There's a very pointed look at Nier, although she hadn't known until now that he had been part of it. Anytime she came to the gardens, they must have been ships passing in the night.

But with the flowers watered, the next step would be the fence, and she gently pulls the cover back over the bed to shield them from the cooler winter air when she sees them shudder in response. Maybe these ones grow a little better in the winter? She has no idea... but at least now they'll be kept warm.]

What kinds of things did you plant back home?

A legendary flower called the Lunar Tear.

[ He talks to Tifa while tending to the plants. Nier's attention is on the garden and he's careful around the grass. ]

It's a silly name, isn't it? The flower is special because it's so hard to grow. Many people don't even get a chance to see it in their lifetime.

Do you know a lot about flowers, Tifa?

[The Lunar Tear...]

I don't think it's a silly name. It's actually a really pretty one for a flower.

[She wonders what the significance behind the name is, if any. If it had a deeper meaning because it was so hard to grow, or if it was something else, but his question tugs the thought away when she thinks back to what she knows about them, and the air around them grows noticeably warm. Flowers begin to bloom in the snow, lilies bright and yellow with their petals stretching open.]

Not really. I'm still learning, but everything I know, I learned from a good friend of mine. If she were here, she'd be all over this garden, I'm sure.

It sounds like you have a good friend, Tifa. I'm still learning a lot myself.

[ If it's not a silly name then maybe she would appreciate seeing one? Nier casually holds out a Lunar Tear flower for Tifa to see. The petals are white like the moon. ]

We could learn together it'd be fun. What's your friends name if you don't mind me asking?

[Tifa does reach her fingers out to the flower, gently grazing its snow-white petals as she admires it and seeing it now, the name is absolutely perfect for it. In return, she kneels to pluck the newly blossomed lily from the snow, its petals bright yellow in contrast to his, and she shows it off.]

Her name's Aerith.

[Said with such a softness in her eyes as she gazes at the lily in her hand.]

She grows these flowers in her garden. It's one of the only places in the city where anything would grow.

Edited (wording) 2022-02-22 17:52 (UTC)

Aerith is a nice name.

[Nier takes a look at the lily and looks at it with great curiosity. It's a really beautiful flower. Growing plants like that require both patience and kindness. He gets the impression that Aerith is a really kind person with a warm heart.]

Is there a reason why flowers only grow in her garden? It might have something to do with the soil or the land itself.

[He doesn't know what kind of world they come from so maybe Tifa can shed more light on that line of thought.]

A little bit of magic, I think.

[Something about being an Ancient, she assumes, and being connected to the Planet somehow. Aerith had a natural talent for taking care of them, she's sure, but now that she knows and understands a little more about them, that was likely a big part of the cause.

Easier to just call it magic, though.]

The rest of the city wasn't really fit to grow anything, either. The life just gets sucked right up to be turned into mako.

[She pauses, realizing that she'd just started babbling away about it without any context. No one else knows what mako is.]

Energy. Turned into energy.

That must be a special kind of magic then. I don't think I've ever heard of one like that before.

Isn't bad if all the life just gets sucked up into Mako?

[ There's some worry and concern in Nier's voice. He thinks that Mako could be harmful but he's only just heard of it. ]

That would mean there's nothing left ...only energy.

Exactly.

[Tifa lifts an affirmative finger at him.]

It becomes harder to grow even trees where I'm from. They just wither before they even have a chance. So it's nice to see them thriving so much here. Can't remember the last time I even planted a flower that didn't die in a couple days.

[She peers back to the flower beds with a fond smile.]

That's why there are so many people fighting against the power company back home.

[Including her, but she'll conveniently leave out the part of being an eco-terrorist for another timee.]

The plants die even before they get to live. That's really sad.

[ Nier still comes from a world where there's a dwindling population so he didn't know too much about the ways of people until more recently. When he hears about Tifa's world he feels his chest tighten deeply. Surely, it's not right if the plants and nature itself withers away in an instant. Tifa is fighting an important battle and Nier recognizes that. ]

You're all working to protect something worth fighting for. I really respect you for that, Tifa.

Oh.

[Tifa's a little surprised to hear it, and all of that guilt and the doubts come rushing back, slamming over her like a violent wave of memories. There were a lot of people who had lost their lives because of that fight—their fight, and she hasn't forgotten that to this day. Sure, they fight for what they believe is good, but there's always a cost.

She shakes the thought off with a shaky laugh and gets back to work on the fence.]

It's nothing, really.

[And now for a swift change in subject.]

It's just really nice to be able to grow things here finally. There's nothing quite like using fresh tomatoes to make tomato soup, you know?

You've got that right. Back in my home the land wasn't anything like here. We had these monsters running around all the time and that made it hard to do anything. [ Growing food was difficult too. Nier recalls how much work he needed to do. ]

I spent a long time just growing food to make sure we had enough to eat. So I can really appreciate fresh grown vegetables.

Hate to ask you a question out of the blue but do you know Kainé? We're from the same world.[ almost, anyway. Their memories are drastically different. ]

[It is a little out of the blue, and Tifa's eyes widen with surprise—only for a brief moment before they soften.]

I do. I guess she knew me from another world before this one, but yeah. She's a friend.

[And she remembers that conversation she had a while back with her about there being an older Nier as well as this one, and how that still hurts her brain a little.]

Why do you ask?

I'm friends with Kainé too! I just wanted to thank you properly for helping both of us.

[ Kainé could use more friends like Tifa so Nier is really appreciative of it. He only shows some gestures of kindness and gratitude. ]

Do you accept gifts? Because I want you to take this flower seed. I have a feeling it'll grow well in your care.

[ He just hands Tifa a small bag of flower seeds. ]

[She isn't very good at accepting gifts, and her face turns a shade pinker when he hands her the bag of seeds, but Tifa has no choice but to take it in the palms of her hands, holding it as if it were the most delicate thing in the world.]

You don't have to thank me for anything.

[She tips her head, her brow twitching ever so slightly. The gesture is sweet, but it does make her wonder what kind of place their home was if this is how he would show his gratitude for helping them—something that should just be a normal thing to have.]

I'll take them on one condition. [She lifts a finger with a smile.] That you help me grow these when the weather gets nicer.

Of course! When the weather is nice I hear it's supposed to be an enjoyable experience. I've never experienced proper seasons up until coming to this world.

[He lived in a still world where time didn't have much meaning or purpose. It was a concept that was lost to the ages. ]

Did you have normal seasons in your world, Tifa?

[Her brow wrinkles at that. The idea of not having that kind of experience is a bit strange to her, even if the answer to his question is about the same, and it's his voice that wrenches her from that brief train of thought.]

Outside the city, yeah. Midgar was too concentrated with energy, but the town I grew up in did. We were by the mountains, so we'd have really nice summers and then really cold winters.

[But she's much more curious about him.]

So you've never... had seasons? Not even rainy or warm season? Never mind snow...

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