songerein | [Catch-All]

Entry tags:

[Catch-All]

Who: Old Man Nier and YOU
Which: Open Log + Interactive Dream
Where: Reverein fields, the town itself, Nier's home village
What: Catch-All for March 2022. Old Man tends fields and mends fences. Old Man picks up orange hate feathers. Old Man picks herbs for Jude and co clinic. Old Man dreams of his home town where no one there seems to know him at all.
Warnings: Probably nothing worth mentioning. Will update as necessary

01. 'Spring'ing into Action

[Just the thought of working in the fields makes him think of older, more simpler days. Although he supposes in retrospect, there was nothing simple about them. Yonah had once asked him to grow her watermelons and somehow, he'd managed to accomplish it. Never does he consider himself an accomplished man of gardens and growing, but when he thinks about the amount of time he spent trying to cultivate a Lunar Tear, then he supposes he might be underestimating himself.

It's provided him a great reason to busy himself. To busy his thoughts. To think less about what happens when he leaves. If he leaves. If the others leave. He wants none of this. Instead, he's focused on the situation at hand. Or at least, he pretends he is. Honestly, he's more caught up in his thoughts than he'd like to be.

Fences are where he's chosen to begin. A decent number of them were damaged and before any planting can begin, they'll need to be tended to. He's in the process of covering some breaks, knelt down, pensive and probably up until the next few moments, has likely been a little quiet. Whether it's approaching footsteps or those being led elsewhere, he's not shy about speaking up.]

Get me that hammer, would you? I left it back there somewhere.

[He jerks his right hand over his shoulder indicatively. Help an old man out?]

02. I'm Not Angry; You're Angry!

[There's no shortage of things to be done in Reverein and Nier is usually more than happy to keep himself occupied by taking on any number of requests from the locals, which seem to be growing in number as the days go by. Gathering feathers seems like a relatively monotonous and unexciting task, which means it ought to be something he can get done in short order.

He's wandering around the town and along its outskirts to gather them, looking high and low. By this point, he's already managed to collect a few, which he has tucked into his somewhat barbaric-looking garb. Nier's a man with a lot of heart, though more than once he's lost his cool in the face of the circumstance. Where he'd normally be a rather patient man, it seems said patience is in absent supply today.]

Hey. You just gonna stand there, or do you feel like moving?

[He's had days where he was nicer.]

03. Go Green or Go Home

[When Jude announced the opening of the clinic, Nier was very quick to jump onto the idea of being able to supply him regularly with useful herbs, plants, and other like things in the forest. It reminds him of the times he's done something of the same for Popola. The names might change, but the situation always seems to be the same. In that respect, it's kind of nice. Something familiar. Just the thought leaves him comforted.

Whatever reason you might have for being out there, it won't be hard to spot him. Nier doesn't blend in well with the surroundings. On the contrary, he kind of stands out. And if he finds you, there's a very good chance he'll be nosy and want to figure out what you're up to. Why not lend him a temporary travelling partner?

Don't mind him as he's huddled down close to the ground, trying to get up a plant without destroying it completely.]

04. Home is Where the Heart Is (Unless You're Nier) - Interactive Dream

[...What is this place? It's a seemingly quiet and laid-back village, many of the structures appearing rundown and touched by the elements of time. There are people by the fountain not far from a dilapidated house.

Up the hill, along a variety of wooden steps that are in slight disrepair, there's a library with no shortage of books and a room that doesn't seem to make much sense.

Gates exist in different cardinal directions that lead outside of the village, each guarded for the safety of the village inhabitants.

Down in the market plaza, there's no shortage of item shops, and a plethora of relatively friendly villagers, who are ever willing to ask for assistance with their daily errands. A tavern, where a pretty girl named Devola plays music and sings a song. And on the docks behind, a little boat willing to take you to places called Seafront and some other main settlements that exist outside of the village.

It's a nice place, if not a little bit sparse. But it's the place that he calls home. He can easily be found wandering through the town, into the library, but spends the most amount of his time at his house, perhaps with his face in a very particular diary. His daughter, Yonah, is also here, and she may seem a little perplexed about what you're doing in her house, but she'll be very polite.

It's no real big surprise to him personally, but it seems like no one in this town knows a Nier. Not even Yonah. Who could this mysterious man be?]

[OOC: Please feel free to wander around the village by yourself, with a friend, or visit Nier. Character thoughts and feelings may affect the surroundings and the things witnessed, or experienced in this place.
Please also forgive how small these images seemed to be. Evidently larger images from Gestalt are difficult to come by. I may update these at a later point.
There is no restricted access to the town and its inhabitants. Do note that given this is also Brother Nier's home village, he has the same influences that Old Man Nier has here.]

05. Wildcard

[If the above don't strike your fancy, please select this option for whatever something special we might be doing. You can plot with me via PMs, discord (available upon request), and by contacting me via ofthesky.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Sana prefers to stay busy and given how the people and fairies around do need assistance with several things, it's basically the least she can do. Never mind that she's never worked a field before, she'd played a mobile game where she'd raised cows and built MANY MANY WALLS to keep them safe and this is maybe 3% nostalgic because of that.

But this isn't so bad. She can gather seeds. She has gathered seeds and she's tentatively inching her way along, being as nonintrusive as possible, when the man working on one of the fences suddenly speaks.

Sana jumps, only barely managing to hold onto her handful of seeds in time and hastily slipping them into a pocket. Her? Is he talking to her??

This is never going to not be strange. ]

Um-- y-yes? One moment... please...

[ And she turns abruptly to go find the hammer, stumbling over a furrow and only catching herself right before she falls. She'll return soon enough, silently placing the hammer down beside him. ]

[Honestly, it's fault for not actually looking and just assuming that the next innocent passerby is in any position to actually lend him assistance. It's not as though he can't just... get his hammer himself either. All the same, he hears the retreating footsteps and assumes either he'll find a hammer near him soon enough, or they will have simply disappeared and he'll have to retrieve it himself anyway.

Beggars cannot be choosers, right? Nier assumes he's in no place to be particularly finicky.

His attention turns when Sana places the hammer down beside him. When he needs it, he finds it there and settling a hand upon it, draws his attention onto her.]

Thanks.

[A... kid? Looks like a kid. What's she doing out here? Shouldn't she be leaving the harder stuff to the adults? No. That's not fair. Yonah's done plenty of stuff that she shouldn't have had to.]

Feel like helping me some more? I'm gonna hammer these together, but it might help to have someone holding them.

[ It's fine, she doesn't really look like she's capable of being useful. And she startles a bit when he speaks to her, poised on her heels as though she's ready to bolt like a deer in the Nier equivalent of headlights.

But he... wants help. Her help?

Oh, she definitely can't mess this up. ]

Um... the boards? I-I can try... to hold them steady, I mean.

Yeah. That's all you have to do.

[He makes it sound so easy, but truthfully it's probably not that simple. Mending fences is hard work, doesn't matter how little or large the body is doing the mending. Two pairs of hands are always better than one.

Nier beckons her over to join him and he demonstrates where he wants her to hold the fence in place.]

Just hold it together. I'm not going to hammer it super hard.

O-okay.

[ She looks like she's Absolutely Braced for him to hammer it super hard, from the grip she's got on the wood once she settles, but. At least it should be a steady one! No boards will go flying today!! ]

[As he takes her in, the gruff in his expression fades away to something considerably softer. Instead, before he even puts a single thock of his hammer into the fencing, he leans down just a touch closer to her, before he attempts to encourage her to loosen her hold.

She'll hurt herself otherwise, he's certain.]

Hey. It's okay.

[He reassures her, as kindly as he can muster, and for just a moment, he's reminded of how many times he's used the same tone with Yonah. Maybe it just comes with the territory of being around what he thinks are kids. Sometimes it's better not to jump to that conclusion, however. Some kids don't want to be treated like kids, after all.]

Like I said, we're gonna take this easy.

[ It takes all of her willpower not to shrink back or flinch or start inanely apologizing for causing him even more work by getting it immediately wrong, though dang the temptation is strong? Dang!!

He doesn't sound angry when he speaks to her, but Sana still peers at him uncertainly, even as her grip loosens on the wood. ]

... You won't be angry if I mess it up?

[ It comes out a lot more plaintively than expected. ]

[There's a lot to unpack in that one question. Has... someone at one point made her think otherwise? His brow knits in a moment's confusion, wondering how he even begins to address this. Maybe it's best not to complicate it. Start easy.

He shakes his head at her.]

You're not gonna mess up. Even if you did, it wouldn't bother me. It's not a big deal. The fence is already damaged. You can't make it worse than where it already is.

[ It... won't bother him? It's "not a big deal"?

Sana is honestly more than a little stunned by this declaration of his, but it also feels like she shouldn't look this gift horse in the mouth. So she nods, somewhat tentatively. ]

I'll... try not to mess up anyway... so you won't have more work to do.

[ But it does look like her shoulders have relaxed, almost imperceptibly. ]

[He has so many questions and for several moments, they flicker across the lines in his expression. Knowing how very prying they would likely be, however, and how that doesn't belong in a first impression, he refrains from giving into his curiosities. Instead, he simply nods along.]

You're going to be great.

[His features soften just a touch, not that he can tell or feel it. He's been rough and tumble for so long that even his smiles feel awkward as all get out, which may explain why the man doesn't do much smiling.

He draws up the hammer she brought him and gently sways it back and forth.]

On the count of five, got it?

G... got it.

[ Her grip automatically tightens before she catches herself and relaxes her fingers. He doesn't even know her, this gruff-seeming but gentle-talking man, but he's already encouraging her. The very least she can do is try to make this as painless as possible. ]

[He counts down for her, just as he's said he would. Once he hits zero, there's a firm, but not excessive thunk of his hammer against one side of the fence.

And then another. He offers a hand on one part of the fence to keep it in place and it's to provide her additional support, so she doesn't feel like she has to carry all of it on her own.

And three more later, he offers her a look along with the smallest smile.]

Doing okay? I told you there was nothing to it. You're a professional.

[ She's honestly so relieved and thrilled at the sight of a smile (sort of) from an actul adult that even as her shoulders slump from the weight of anxiety dissipating, an equally small (but much shyer) smile emerges in response. ]

I don't know about that, since you were guiding me... b-but thank you. I'm glad we could do it.

[There's just something about the uncertainty in her smile that makes him want to smile all the more. But he understands he is a relatively large man with a relatively intimidating presence, so maybe he should hold off.]

You would've been fine even without me guiding you.

[Nier shakes his head, as if he refuses to hear anything to the contrary.]

You wanna help me with the other ones, too? You don't have to.

[ Wow, shut her down before she could even protest. This man is a professional.

So instead, Sana nods-- rather earnestly at that. ]

It's okay, I don't have much else to do... please let me help, sir.

[Whatever she might be thinking, Nier is sincerely delighted by her agreement. So he pats their first part of the fence with some fondness before he rises to his feet and beckons for her to follow along.]

So. [He begins with a smile.] I'm Nier. I don't normally fix fences, but I guess I've done similar things in the past. Usually helping out where I can. Are you... a local here?

[Probably not. She's not a talking animal, after all. But it hardly seems fair to bring a young girl to such a world...]

I... my name is Sana. [ As she carefully follows along, looking for all the world like a duckling that impressed on a grizzly bear. ]

But no, I'm... not from here. I just got here a little while ago, by myself-- I mean. There were a lot of people but no one I knew.

[ this world is not fair. ]

[Ah, a dreamwalker like the rest of them. Although it's a little disconcerting that a kid would be brought here. It also means that if it's possible for her, it's also possible for someone like Yonah. It leaves him with some incredibly complicated feelings.]

So no one else from your world that you know of then. You makin' friends? People're being nice to you, right? You just tell me if anyone's not and I'll do something about it.

[What that is, he has no idea just yet. Maybe it'll just be strong words in an exchange. He looks far more threatening than he really thinks himself to be.]

E-eh? I mean, most people have been very kind, and you don't have to do anything for someone like me when you've already been this nice--

[ All she's done for him is hold chunks of wood for him to hammer? She hasn't proven herself at all???? ]

You're right. I don't have to do anything, but I didn't say that because I felt I had to.

[He thinks for some moments before he continues. He really does try to avoid travelling down the path of discussing his family, because there's so much more to him than that, but sometimes he just can't help it.]

I've got a little girl, you see. No, you don't look like her or sound like her. I don't know you well enough to say you're anything like her, but let's just assume that most of the kids here make me think of her. It's a little hard for me to put my 'father' behaviours away.

[But he does try not to absolutely baby every younger person he finds.]

[ She blinks at him, mulling this new information over. Honestly, she's... a little surprised. Not that she doesn't think good fathers are out there, but it's one thing to logically know that and another to see it for herself. ]

... Um, my... father died when I was too young to remember anything about him. And my stepfather disowned me, so I don't really know what fatherly behavior is supposed to be.

But I do think your daughter must be lucky to have someone like you.

Edited 2022-03-28 05:17 (UTC)

[This girl has... lost not one father, but two. Nier, transparently, looks befuddled by this discovery. He doesn't even begin to know how to approach that, let alone address it. Maybe Yonah has felt something somewhat similar. A sense of abandonment. He's always hard on himself, however. Maybe she's more understanding that he's thought. Even if she is, though, it's not as though that ever gets through to him.]

Disowned, huh... [Nier looses a soft sigh and shakes his head.] A guy like that? Not worthy of being called a dad. Doesn't know what he's missing. [There's a breath of hesitation lingering in him. He can't just offer to be her dad. That's not right. It's not fair. But he can look after her and protect her when she needs it, if she should need it. All without saying as much. Maybe that's the right way to go about it.]

I think it's really me who's lucky to have her.

He has two sons he's very proud of, so I'm not entirely sure he's missing out on anything. I think-- mm, I know they're definitely happy without me.

[ She'd gone missing for a month and they'd assumed she'd followed their rule to not engage with them and just placed meals outside her door. It's not even a bitter statement, just a quietly tired acknowledgment. ]

... But I'm glad that your daughter has someone like you. Just because you do think you're lucky to have her... and maybe you're right. Or maybe you could say it's the same for both of you. If you're this nice to someone you barely know, surely as a father... she must love you very much.

I don't see a reason to not be nice. Everyone of us here like you and me, we're all in the same position. Many of us are alone, probably. I don't need to be making things more difficult.

[Honestly, he's still boggling over the nature of her relationship with her stepfather. And her stepbrothers, evidently. If he knew any of them, he'd have some strong words to share. At the very least.

He tries his best to be dismissive. Given what she doesn't have, it'd be poor form to speak overmuch of Yonah.]

We probably both feel the same for one another. It's the way any parent should feel about their child. Do you have anyone looking out for you here? If not, I know some people who can help keep an eye on things.

[Besides him. Of course he can. Of course he's willing.]

Any parent...

[ She. Really doesn't want to have to talk about her mother because he already seems to be disapproving of the rest of her family, and it's not as though her mother treated her any differently than her stepfather.

Well.

It's also true that she's never going back there, so she moves on, gaze uncertainly flitting up to Nier's face. ]

I... not exactly, but I don't want to give anyone additional work... I-I can manage.

[ She hasn't brought her treehouse down on top of her head yet. ]

[Catch-All]

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