songerein | This Flame That Burns Inside of Me

Entry tags:

This Flame That Burns Inside of Me | OTA

Who: Soldier: 76 & Anyone
Which: Open Log | March Catch-All
Where: Farmlands, Wildlands, room attached to The Wild Harvest
What: Helping clean up the farm lands for the farmers, falling back in to old habits of spending a lot of time out in the wildlands and visiting bees, and a flower surprise that 76 has brought back to his room that's attached to The Wild Harvest pub.
Warnings: N/A, will add as any come up

Days in the Sun
A.
[76 was no stranger to farm work, far from it; he was born and raised helping out on the arm his family owned on the outskirts of Bloomington. Wasn't a big one, but enough so that he always had farm chores to do every day growing up before and after school. Weekends, too. Always had free time with that, too.

Reason that he was more than eager to get out there, burn some of the anxious energy out of himself in cleaning up the planting fields and mend broken fences to make sure none of the cows or other grazing animals kept could get in to them that easily. Also mean shoring and patching up fencing for the fields those animals would be let out in to as well.

There was a yetox close by where he was currently working on clearing a field. Grazing on a pile of weeds he'd gathered and gave to it. Still wearing a harness, but the topless wagon it was hitched to was closer to 76, filled with other debris he'd been collecting already.]

Hope you've got multiple empty stomachs, big guy. You're goin to be eating well and burning it off today.

B.
[The yetox that was out with him was currently resting in the sun, while 76 himself had spread out some fabric to sit in the shade of the wagon itself, checking over the amount of nails he had and the condition of the hammer. Just beside him was a covered basket.]

Hey.

[Passing by? There was that gruff voice-]

If you feel like it, should sit down and relax a bit. Even if not working it's quite the walk to get out here. Got a bit of food and drink. Rest up for a minute, won't kill ya.

Shade of a Forest
[Was keeping himself far more bus than usual, more so after- well, felt like a good two months or more where he just couldn't get out here like he wanted. Given the work he was doing out by the farms? He was taking it a little more easy. Not camping out in the Wildlands as he had been, but it wasn't stopping him from re-visiting some places.

Been a while since he'd gotten a good eye on the dreamhoney bees after all.

Still would be a bit of a walk, stopping by other areas in the Wildlands between each hive he knew of.]

Should probably see what I can hunt-up to bring back to the Harvest with me.

[On occasion? A rather large dreamotion made wolf would be walking either alongside or a little ahead of 76. Blue eyes scanning the area and ears on the swivel. Sometimes there'd be two more to make it three total. Moving together as a unit and sometimes one scouting ahead if something caught attention.

Rather peaceful looking should they approach someone, at least.]

Thorns & All For A Blazing Dawn
[Once the second half of the month hits, and when not working in and around the Wild Harvest itself, 76 could be found in a room connected to the pub itself and the garden as well. The walls of windows that could be easily looked in to from either passing by or from the garden itself was blocked off by various plants in pots and some rows of very colorful jaws that acted almost like stained glass by how they were arranged; a rainbow of colors and patterns. Both the plants and filled jars gave him enough privacy, so he felt.

But he was sitting on one of the cushioned benched with a pot on the table, what almost looked like a golden rose bush with glass-like blooms and buds sat before him. A gloved hand cradling one of the blooms carefully, blue eyes narrowing as he'd taken off the tactical visor part of his mask once he'd gotten it in and sat down.]

How the hell did these come from me?

[He'd gone back out, looking for the area he'd finally been pulled free and, well. 76 had found a single rose bush, just a bit below his knee in height. Looked like it had actually grown on the trip back.]

What does this even mean.

(OOC: Feel free to hit me up/PM me if nothing here catches interest. I'll also be putting some planned threads in here throughout the month.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Susato doesn't react much to the name, but she continues to watch in awe, mouth hung open. By now she is all too familiar with the color of fire, having to shield her eyes slightly as the bud opened up. She doesn't want to just miss the show, though, so she's squinting her eyes as the transformation finishes.

She sucks in a breath, a gasp that quickly turned into a delighted squeal. WHAT DOES HE MEAN, "if it's me or what?" ]

That was incredible! Of course it is because of you. [ She will quickly reel in the excitement though, clearing her throat. ] I mean... it will make a wonderful specimen to start my collection.

[ Apparently this is a thing she is doing now. She hurriedly picks up the clippers again, and she doesn't think she has to wait for Jack's direction this time. ]

[Being the point of origin likely had something to do with it- was this how the Ents had such an easy time getting their cave-full of these things? Or maybe it was that and something else. All the same, it had definitely grown between the time he found it and brought it here, even re-potting it.

... Maybe it wouldn't hurt making more of an in-ground growing bed for it in this room. Give it more room for roots, see how it went from there.

Corner of his mouth did twitch in to a soft half-smile at her excitement all the same. Even when she did her best to reel it back in.] I'll keep seeing how far it cn go with this Blazing Dawn bush then.

Go for it, I believe you know where to cut. [He let Susato have at it as he sat back a bit. There were still a good many blooms on there, and other buds just waiting. Could hope it meant those clippings would do well.]

[ She clips another bloom she'd been eying, taking the time to admire it and turn it over in her hand more thoroughly this time. Blazing, indeed... She looks down at her notebook, and sees no reason to wait, so she flips past her notes onto a blank page.

She glances back at the bush for a moment, before grabbing her quill again. ]

You may need a bigger pot. Or... perhaps we can dedicate a whole row to them in the garden somewhere? [ She taps at the blank page, still mentally grabbing at ideas. ] Do you think they're as bitter as the Glowing Dawns are?

[ Like, in tea.....?

Without thinking, she finally writes on the blank page: New idea - pressed flowers? ]

Was just thinking about that myself, honestly. Think I could clear a space and make it more of a growing bed than just a pot like the rest. [Felt a need to keep them a little closer- his personal room rather than the rest of the garden. Easier to keep an eye on what was influencing their growth that way between that and the Mikotoba greenhouse.

Keeping his as something of a control group, per-se.]

They smell like citrus, so they've got a chance of being a bit sweeter or just as bitter going from that.

[76 pushed himself up to stand, already clearing a space within the room as he kneeled down and- well. He was prying up the stones that made the floor to get at the earth beneath, and claws did well to soften up the soil. Getting right to work apparently.]

Going off their appearance being similar to a rose they might be safe to eat if you want to try a petal. [Would taste of a delicately sweet citrus, but also have an almost warming sensation. Cozy, almost comforting.

He piled the few tile-like stones on top of each other, getting a decent sized space in the corner that he used his claws to loosen up soil, grabbing a bit of the compost mixture to churn and mix in a bit, some layer on top. It'd get sun there, at least.]

[ She'd turned another page, intending to leave the previous as a "cover page" of sorts, but seeing Jack stand and kneel over again certainly piques her interest. She didn't think he meant like now, but she'll scoot to the side slightly, just to give him more room--even if she wasn't really in the way in the first place.

She sniffs the Blazing Dawn most recently cut, the one she's just about to press. It does indeed smell citrus-y. ]

I was thinking tea, actually. I wonder if it still has the same nightmare-repelling properties the Glowing Dawn does.

Yet to test that one- all I know is they were apparently around my neck like the regular ones.

[The way that Reyes had described it was graphic enough to get the idea of what it looked like.

He dug in to the area made, a hole the size of the pot just about, only stopping once satisfied as he did carefully lift the plant up and got it out of the pot, soil and all. Fit it in to place, sitting back on his heels once it looked like the Blazing rose bush had been there the entire time, hands rested on the soil.

Couldn't miss how the plant perked up further, as if it seemed right at home in it's new spot. Sunlight came through easily and it was a very warm glow that each flower took. The pastel colors of the petals shining and glittering as if they were roses made of glass with transparent colors molded within.]

That looks better, doesn't it? [Under and around is hands a bit of greenery was also pushing through the soil; a few small lavender flowers, pinks, and even catmints spreading. Made the freshly dug and softened earth look less bare, but 76's eyes were lifted, not really noticing.] Still, their presence means they have to in some way.

Going to have to test it.

[ She continues watching and ignoring her notebook for the time being, noting the warm glow of the flowers and the new kinds that popped up, peeking out of the freshly dug bed. Of course she will nod, even if it doesn't give her the same level of surprise. ]

I will be sure to let you know of any changes, at the greenhouse or the clinic.

I... I would offer you my help, but it doesn't seem like you need it at all. You've even managed to cultivate some new blooms under there. [ She points, helpfully. ]

I'd appreciate it. I'll note down it's progress here- and you can come see for yourself at anytime, too.

Huh? [Did take 76 a second before he was glancing down, sitting back and pulling hands away as the other plants had continued to push up from the soil and grow as if they'd always been there. Even filled up the spot his hands had been.

The lavender that sprouted up dotted about here in there in a few almost circling spirals in the area. Left enough room for the pinks to go along with the pattern on either side of the lavender. Seemed like the catmint was happy to take up a bit of the other spaces. None crowded the bush of Blazing Dawn, rather leaving room for it to grow further as well and just- well, as if they were other purposefully to help encourage that.

He looked a bit... confused.]

I- these are flowers that can grow well with roses... [So his mother had told him, at least. Encouraged a rose bush's growth as well. The mix of scents were pleasant, sweet even.] But I didn't- I wasn't- What?

... This is new.

[ ...There's something about seeing a 59-year-old super soldier stammering and temporarily at a loss for words. A quiet giggle manages to escape, and the notebook continues to be ignored, for now. She'll actually get up to get a closer look at the new flowers, closing the distance between them as well. ]

Well, I don't recognize all of them, but I know lavender when I see it. [ She uses it for tea often enough. A pause-- ] Actually... you've just managed to choose all my favorite colors, haven't you? I could hide in this bush.

[ No, she couldn't, but she can't deny the allure of a nap among flowers. ]

[At least Jack was taking a moment to wipe the soil from his hands, still puzzled over the appearance of flowers that made pretty good rose companions while growing. Was it because of how much the Blazings resembled roses...?

All the same, with the flowers appearances the colors already in those glass-like petals picked up on them; made the pinks and purples stand out a bit more.]

The pinks are a little obvious and- well, they're usually just called that, pinks. Other one there is a catmint and can be used for tea that can calm nerves and even relieve coughs or congestion. [~~and craps or that time of the month, that's pretty neat~~Rattling off little things, simply because- well, he remembered from what he'd been told.

There was a laugh, some positive mix of amusement and a faint bit wonder over the flowers' existence still.] Guess I have, huh- an you could.

Honestly, this little patch looks better than I had planned.

[He was literally just going to lave it as a patch of dirt and the Blazing Dawn bush.]

[ A tea for the common cold? That sounds familiar. Must have been something she heard, hanging around her father's lab, or with her friend Rei, who was his assistant and basically a nurse. She admires each bloom as he talks about them, getting tugging, as if to see how easily it would come loose for her collection (but she should probably ask Jack first, oops).

She looks towards him, nodding to agree. ]

And you've just started. I can only imagine what things will look like a week from now. What if the type of flowers you grow depend on how you are feeling?

[ Would be on brand for Reverein. ]

[Wouldn't be hard to get a few samples free honestly- and hell, he even gestured to go ahead. There were plenty that would continue to grow and spread. Didn't mind at all even if he was still a bit stunned over them just... being there.]

Wouldn't surprise me- was thinking how much these looked like roses, and what might help them grow well and... well. [A gesture over the ones that cropped up.

For the time being he settled to sitting there on his knees, hands rested on them after he'd gotten all of the loose soil he could off his skin. Thoughtful.]

Looks like I've got something else to test out, huh? Slowly. [Rather than push like he had with the shadows and ice, and bit of fire once he noticed it with how the shadows he worked with had started to feel... warm.]

[ With his approval, he starts to pluck some of the blooms, using the clippers for the ones that are more stubborn in their ways. She gives him an approving nod, taking the flowers back to the table where she'd left her notebook. ]

Slowly. [ It bears repeating. ] Do not tire yourself. Remember, too, that you have not been back at work for long. Give yourself time to adjust, and things will surely work themselves out.

[ She picks up her quill, ready to write, but she just ends up wagging it like an extension of her finger as she speaks. ]

Definitely slowly. [Even if it was a little late, it was at least progress in, well. Being a little easier on himself, even if only out of the knowledge he had dreamotion he could use to fight and protect. This? This he could be easier with, and likely would be no less useful.

He'd find a way.

That and Susato wasn't wrong, he still tired out a little easier than usual, body still recovering physically.]

Got a good point there, too. Not used to being able to take that time needed to fully rest up and recover.

[Reaper had also sort of... backed that up, even if more in implication that not, hadn't he?]

[ Now that her acting mom-like was out of the way (how does one manage to mom such a prominent dad figure), she starts writing as planned. She labels the next few pages and isn't shy about leaving plenty of room, because she knows the flowers have to be pressed, and she wants to have room to write about the flowers, as she learns more about them.

As she listens, she's got Blazing Dawn, Glowing Dawn, Catmint, Lavender, and Pink? with their own pages, with the question mark there just because maybe there's a better name out there for it. ]

...I understand. [ What else was there to say? Memory was fuzzy now, perhaps besmirched by the embarrassment that she'd fallen asleep in his room, but she still remembers the stories he told fondly--however fuzzy they may be. ] From what you've told me, it has been some time since you have had someone to look after you while you rest.

[He pushed himself up on to his feet with just a little groan, hands set on the small of his back as he stretched with a bit of an arch, joints popping. Really feeling his age a bit, but it was always like that after something that took him a while to recover from. May have been a hell of a lot sturdier and a lot more to give when it came to the amount of punishment his body could take, but Jack wasn't a young man anymore.

Wasn't stopping him, but it helped lean towards taking it easy. That on top of the visits out to the farmlands- yeah, no. This wasn't a surprise. Still, standing gave him a good look at the patch, leaning down just to pick up the stone tiles he'd pried up; could do something with these later.]

Spent around six or seven years alone. [On the run, it was the first one that had been the worst. That recovery after crawling out of burning rubble- well.

He moved, setting the tiles under the table so they'd be out of the way.]

Of course it might say something that the moment I wasn't alone, first thing that person did was drug me so I'd get some sleep after being wounded. [Right in the tea.]

[ Susato immediately stops what she's doing again upon hearing him groan, ready to leap the table if need be. She seems to let out a breath though when Jack doesn't fall, simply standing to admire his work.

Guilt seemed to sink in. Immediately she'll wish she hadn't said that, though her intentions were noble enough. He's hardly alone anymore. ]

...Ha. [ Even so, a bit of a laugh seems to escape her. She doesn't know whether Jack was intentionally trying to lighten the mood, or what. ] That... seems in line, with what I know of Reaper. [ 'Course, she could be wrong. ]

[The sound of the laugh that came was- well, perhaps it was surprisingly warm, genuine amusement there.]

Oh, it wasn't Reaper. It was Ana Amari herself, pulled me out of a fight with him in Egypt and took me back to her safehouse to patch up where he'd shot me in the back- literally. [He only had a scar there now, ugly and twisted patch of skin, but Reaper had done something to keep it from the constant necrosis going on that prevented it from healing.] She slipped it in to a cup of tea she'd fixed for me- Honestly?

I can't blame her a bit, she knew I'd get back up and charge out of there after him given the chance.

[ Oh... Thinking back to the stories that night, she remembers Ana as his right hand, and that her daughter had become captain. It's a good memory, even if some of it got fuzzy towards the end, though her smile still seems sheepish. ]

Well, considering some of the threats he slung at you at our picnic, I think I stand by my statement. Thankfully he didn't have to resort to such tactics, however.

From what we heard, you slept plenty all on your own, after the whole ordeal.

He's always had a big bark, knew that since the first time I ever met him- thing about him is he could back it up easily, too. [Gabriel Reyes' bark was as big as his bite- and sometimes the bite was far, far bigger. Likely the reason most didn't think Jack Morrison was a danger, because he was more quiet, subtle with the sharpness he carried when he saw the need for it.

His own bite was far bigger than his bark.] I kind of figured he'd pop up eventually.

[Reaper had been watching him since the first moment he could walk out, and- well. They made sure both of them came back to the agreed spot.]

Think that's the most sleep I've gotten in a few years, in all honesty. Was a safe enough place to do that, too.

...I... am glad he was there for you.

[ They never did find out where they were hiding out, though it probably doesn't matter much now. She is going to place one of the Blazing Dawn specimens onto her notebook, but she seems almost hesitant to press it. ]

Were you able to talk at all in between your much needed naps?

Given his threat of a promise- I guess I can't be surprised he got involved as he did.

[He finally moved to sit back down on the other end of that padded couch-like bench, leaning back.]

Mostly got information on what happened while I was turned; Noctaere's behavior and all that, what he could observe. [Better to know about what he became than not-] Otherwise we didn't talk much, other than him getting me to rest and eat.

Still concerned I might push too hard, too.

[ They are all a little concerned about that, though that goes without saying. Susato seems to give him a look that says this anyway though, before shutting her notebook closed on that Blazing Dawn, pressing it hard for the best results. ]

Mmm. I suppose it was too much of me to hope that you might have gotten some other answers you were looking for, from him.

[ Some closure on her partnership, perhaps? But maybe she doesn't want to put it quite that way. Especially since a part of her still doesn't really... feel like it is over. Though she might've just imagined that. ]

At the very least, he might've been more hesitant to attack you this time.

[A slow shake of his head.]

I didn't have the mind for it, and I honestly just... didn't want to break what little peace was managed. [He was too tired to fight- and far too concerned about Reaper himself. There was no mistaking the corruption of nightmare energy the man had attached to him, nor the fact there was injury taken even if it was indirect.

Wanted to monitor, and if he was to do that he couldn't do anything to set the man off- like trying to dig for answers. Already got close returning the henning.

A hand lifted, soothing over facial hair slowly.]

When he won't fight, he'll retreat, and he's pretty good at that given what he can do.

[ In truth, the picnic is the only time she's seen Reaper in action. She has no doubts that he is formidable, but she doesn't really have a frame of reference over what he could do as a super soldier, and what he's gained on top of that, developing his dreamotion.

She hums thoughtfully, and looks at the Dawn flower she pressed with scrutiny. ]

He seemed to suck the life out of those weeds. You seem to do the opposite, now.

[ Bet his new abilities would make being a weed killer that much harder, for Jack. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject