( open )

[photographists]

Who: Basil and your character!
Which: An open log
Where: In town, at the tree houses.
What: Takes place before the event. Basil takes the time to enjoy some of his hobbies in a new world.
Warnings: None

a. smile for the camera

( As soon as Basil is able to, he finds himself investing in a camera. It doesn't feel as special as the one that he has at home, if only because that one was a gift, but it feels nice to have something familiar to him regardless. As soon as he figures out how to use his camera properly, he'll be making his way out to test it.

It... doesn't feel the same without his friends here, either. After all, it was the pleasant moments that his friends shared that he would often like to capture. But, he's beginning to learn that this isn't a dream he's going to just wake up from. At the least, he can pass the time pursuing this hobby again until he does go back home.

So, he'll give his new camera a try. He finds one of the fae that catches his attention, and he readies his camera – only to accidentally snap a picture of someone walking inbetween the fae and the camera.

He quickly stiffens then, lowering his camera with an apologetic expression. )

O-Oh... I'm sorry about that. I... I must have been too focused on taking this picture...

( He watches as the picture prints automatically, holding it in his hands before offering the other person to take it. )

… You can take it, if you want.

b. a little bit of home goes a long way

( Along with the photography, Basil takes the time to begin to do things such as plant flowers outside of his tree house. He's always been fond of things like flowers, and while they may end up different in a completely different world, he still wants to try. After all, having a bit of normalcy can be nothing but comforting for him.

Basil can be found carefully planting seeds in some lovingly placed soil – and while both his face and clothes seems rather dirty and this point, he doesn't seem to mind at all.

It's only when a bee begins to fly passed him that he stops, offering a warm smile as he watches it land on a flower that isn't too far from him. )

Hi, there. It's a nice day, isn't it?

Comments

b

[oathkeeper]

[Sora has come to like exploring this dreamy world. Walking around this place and seeing how colourful and bright it is reminds him of a few places he's been to in the past. It's almost like walking inside the symphony of sorcery but this time there are all sorts of other people to see and meet.

The treehouses are nice too. Sora has a certain special fondness for flowers these days as well. The boy who is treating them so nicely gets a curious little wave from Sora. He wants to say hello!]

Hey! Are you planting flower seeds? I bet they'll look great here. The bees will love it.

[photographists]

( The bee seems to fly away once Sora begins to approach Basil. He frowns a little before looking to Sora. After a moment's pause, he can't help but smile a little. It's... always really nice that someone's taking interest in what he's doing. )

O-Oh... hello.

Yes, I enjoyed planting flowers at home, s-so... I thought it'd be nice to be able to do it while we're all here.

[oathkeeper]

Hiya!

[Those happy little bees are just swishing away but Sora has a feeling they'll come back eventually. Especially if this place gets packed with pretty wildflowers. Maybe they could even find some honey someday.]

Do you want any help? I used to grow some tomatoes plants and flowers in my last home! I'm pretty okay at planting stuff!

[photographists]

( Basil isn't sure what it is, but... that cheerfulness is contagious. His own smile becomes all the brighter. )

... Help would be really nice. I think it'd make the flowers happy, too.

Besides, I can help tell you what to do if you're unsure about what to do.

[oathkeeper]

Yeah! Sure! Let's make some flowers happy!

[Time to get dirty! Sora kneels down on his knees and checks out the work. If it is okay he'll pick up the little gardening shovel to start working on clearing some of the bad dirt away. Plucking a few stray weeds too.]

What kind of stuff are we gonna plant?

[photographists]

( Basil can't help but smile warmly at that, the sun shining just a little brighter in response. He doesn't know who this person is, but he's honestly happy to someone helping him that wants to do something as special as this with him.

At the question, he can't help but pause, looking over the seeds he had found. )

We can't plant as many flowers as we could have during the summer... b-but, I was thinking of planting some autumn flowers -- there's a few different pansies I was hoping to plant -- kale and helenium should las through some of the winter, too.

[oathkeeper]

That sounds great! You can eat kale, right? Pansies would look really awesome here.

[Sora smile warmly in return. It is pretty nice just to hang out with someone. But Sora isn't one to sit around without introducing himself to someone especially if they're doing stuff like gardening together.]

I'm Sora, by the way. What's your name?

[Ah. There it is!]

[photographists]

Yes, you can -- uhm... This would be my first time trying to make them grow, but I know there's a lot of health benefits to eating it.

( Sora... Basil tries to commit the name to memory. He's nice an outgoing -- and there's definitely a lot of energy there that Basil wishes that he had. He reminds him a lot of Kel. )

It... It's nice to meet you, Sora. My name is Basil.

[oathkeeper]

Yeah! Kale is great. I like stuff like lettuce and spinach too. All of that sort of stuff is really good for you!

[That might be strange for Sora to say! But after a year of living as a rabbit-boy in his previous world Sora actually likes his fruits and vegetables very much now.]

Basil, right? Hey! Didn't we talk on the journals that one time?

[photographists]

It sounds like you might have fun growing your own food if you like greens.

( It can be rewarding to grow your own plants to begin with. Basil might have grown mostly flowers at home, but he can only guess how rewarding it is to grow your own fruits and vegetables. )

... Oh, that's right! I... It's good to meet you. ( Though... he can't help but feel a bit tense. He left so abruptly the last time.. It's good to see that he isn't upset, but he can't help but be nervous regardless. )

[oathkeeper]

[It really isn't any water off of Sora's back. He somehow had said something that upset the pen pal and he felt bad about that in on itself. Maybe he can make up for that now?]

It's good to meet you too!

[Sora is all smiles and friendly brightness in hopes that the boy doesn't have to feel like Sora is someone to be tense around.]

You know, we're setting up a communal garden near the pond too, you should come to check it out sometime! You can plant whatever you want and everyone can share what we grow!

[photographists]

If it's alright... I'd be happy to help. Gardens can make things seem a little brighter, don't they...?

( The smile does indeed help, Basil relaxing a little. He's usually just sort of done all his planting on his own. It's nice that others want to help. )

Have you contributed, too?

[oathkeeper]

Yeah, they do! Anything that we help grow really makes everything brighter. Especially flowers and things we can eat together.

[He grins and continues with the work at hand. It's good to see the other boy picking up the chit-chat. Friend?!]

And yeah! I planted a whole bunch of tomato plants. I can't wait to see how big they'll get before the season's out.

a

[iracorn]

Ah, no, it would be my fault for walking into your shot. My apologies.

[And Ira smiles, trying to ensure his sincerity is true.]

[photographists]

( What a peculiar mask... He can't help but wonder just who this person is. )

... You can take it, if you want it. It... It doesn't feel right to keep it.

[iracorn]

I-if you're sure. I suppose it would only be right since it was my fault.

[And he'll take the photo.]

I'll try not to walk in front of you next time.

[photographists]

P-Please don't worry about it, uhm...

... I usually try to just take pictures of people acting natural, s-so... you ended up being in the sort of picture I usually take.

( If that... helps at all. Basil feels a bit awkward about all of this. )

[iracorn]

Well, if that's the case, then I'm glad I could help. As long as it didn't end up to blurry...I know I can walk rather quickly.

[Ira is in a similar boat. He's never been the best with kids.]

[photographists]

It's a little blurry, b-but... It looks nice regardless.

( Basil holds the picture out for Ira to see. )

Would you like to keep it?

[iracorn]

[Ira takes the photo and looks it over. It's not often he sees pictures of himself, but it does look nice.]

You're right, you clearly have an eye.

I'd be glad to keep it.

[photographists]

That's very kind of you to say.

( He rubs his wrist a bit nervously, expression downcast. )

... I... It's been a long time since I took photos like this.

[iracorn]

It's good then, that you have the chance to now.

Was there something keeping you from doing it before?

[It's conversationally, not with any pressure.]

[photographists]

( There's hesitation then, Basil's expression falling. He doesn't answer right away. )

... B... Back then... I mostly took pictures of my friends, but... We ended up drifting apart.

[iracorn]

I see.

[It's not unkind and more sympathetic. Ira knows that feeling.]

Do you still have the pictures? In general, I mean.

[photographists]

... No. I gave them to one of my friends.

But... I know that they're in good hands.

[iracorn]

That's good then. Especially if they are with someone you trust.

[photographists]

... You're right.

And... a new photo album can be nice. I... It's a little like you're saving new memories.

[iracorn]

You might be able to take them back with you, with a chance to show your friends.

[photographists]

( Friends, huh? It feels like it's been a long time since he's been able to call them his friends... )

... Do you really think we could? We're all sleeping, aren't we?

[iracorn]

That's true, we are. But there's some kind of magic here so maybe it's possible to bring something from the dream back when you wake up.

[He's trying to be reassuring, but also magic allows for a lot of things.]

[photographists]

That'd be really nice, wouldn't it...? A lot of times, when you wake up from a dream -- it can be difficult to remember everything that happened. B-But, having something from here would help us remember.

( It's very reassuring! He offers a warm smile. )

[iracorn]

I think so. It would help remind us that this dream was a little more real.

What is your name?

[photographists]

Oh -- u-uhm... It's basil... It's nice to meet you--?

[iracorn]

I am Ira. It's nice to meet you as well, Basil.

[photographists]

S-So, Ira... Were you going anywhere in particular...? I'm sorry if I ended up interrupting.

[iracorn]

Oh no, it's fine. I wasn't headed anywhere in particular.

[photographists]

Still, uhm... don't let me keep you.

[iracorn]

Then I'll leave you to your photographs. But, I'd like to see any more that you take.

[photographists]

... You want to see my pictures? But... they're nothing really amazing or anything.

[iracorn]

Even so, I'm curious. And you might see something that I don't through that lens.

[photographists]

... Okay. ( It feels like it's been a while since someone's been all that interested in Basil's pictures. )

At the least -- I know that... there's a lot of things we're still learning about this world. I-I might be able to find something new eventually.

[iracorn]

I'm sure you will.