CitrusArms

Umbra Rose Condos

Ooh. Get plenty of rest and nutrition.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Niara Rootwick

~ Abandoned Farm Field? ~

@Rune_Alchemist

”If we can find the seeds of a suitable plant, that would be good, too. I'm especially skilled with seeds.”

The trek past the limits of the hamlet had been uneventful. After the path had disappeared visually, Niara used her magic to hear the earth and help lead them, but that only go them so far. After a point, they had to go by instinct. Eventually, however, they did come to a clearing. Things were mostly flat, a feature Niara was fairly familiar with. There weren’t a ton of hills on the islands, though there were some mountains on some of the larger ones. They were old mountains, worn by ages and ages of wind and rain, without any tectonic activity to give new edges. Not that Niara knew what a tectonic plate was. Maybe she’d heard something of it in her earth magic studies, but that would have been it.

The Root Elf had just been examining the new grounds they’d found, taking stock of what the earth had to say, when Yingmei said she’d seen something. “Something moved?” She shared a glance with Mei before the other decided she would go forth to investigate, even by herself. Nooo, no no. Bad idea. ”I’ll be right behind you, sweetie.” She made sure her sword and shield would be ready to grab, should she need it, and followed behind the farmer girl.

Her heart was thumping and her adrenaline beginning to spike before she finally got to see what it was that had spooked the both of them. Some small, white, feathered thing, muddling about and pecking for some food. ”Huh…” It didn’t seem aggressive, and seemed interested in Mei as she called to it. ”Hey, there, fella.” Niara stepped slowly from the tall grass she’d been hiding in and knelt down, making soft clicking and cooing nose to the creature. It looked at her for a moment before waddling up to her and looking at her expectantly. She chuckled softly and pet the thing, ”oooh, how’s a thing like you surviving out here, hm? Nothing out here to eat you, huh?” She took a look around, before looking at Yingmei, ”Sweet little thing. Probably descended from whatever animals used to be kept here.”

She stood and pointed to the field they’d just stepped away from, investigating the bird, ”this was probably a farm field. The ground seems like it had been worked, once. It’s fertile, at any rate.” She looked at the bird, then, rubbing her face a bit in thought, ”what do you eat, then. Bugs? Plants? Not picky?”

Umbra Rose Condos

Yumeiko no Akame no Kami

Location: Building #1; Cafeteria
Interactions: Miyuki @Xaltwind, Velvet @Lemons
Adjacent: Qaymu @Expendable

The initial relief had already worn off by the time the announcement had ended, but Velvet decided to elaborate. The golden spirit fox nodded, smiling openly, ”I’m glad. It wouldn’t be good for us, as neighbors, would it? A few of her tails flicked gently behind her, under the level of the table top where they wouldn’t bump anything or shed on anything. Another reason to brush their tails regularly. Miyuki could be careless.

”Yumeiko no Akame no Kami, Yumeiko will be fine. You work at a bar called the Alibi? You don’t often need one, do you?” Puns always were big, back home. ”Think I’ll pass on the blood. Alcohol, though.” Yumeiko gave a grin, a thought crossing her mind. Yes, alcohol. Aah, but how to go about it? She’d have to consider that.

Tall, Dark and.. Sexy. Yumeiko gave the other fox a slow glance before turning back to Velvet. The barest blush betrayed her. Judging by her mood, it was perhaps best to be flattering. The spirit fox cleared her voice subtly as she gave a particular look to Velvet, trying to convey the hint of placation with her eyes and not her voice, ”Her Augustness Miyuki no Suzuyami is not used to interacting with those not of an imperial bearing directly. This change is an ongoing adjustment for her. I do hope we can put the regrettable incident this morning behind us.”

She turned her head to hear Miyuki, nodding softly, ”it can’t be easy, cooking under these conditions. Hopefully, things can go better for him, at least. Messing with our food is too much, we’ll have to-” without harming them, huh? “mnnn.. be sure to catch plenty of them quickly and end their mischief.” She had to wonder if such vengeance would satisfy Miyuki.

”We should probably eat, before hunting, if that’s how they want us to play..”

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Yeah, I'm alright. I should be able to get one out, today.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Niara's all done until some else posts something, so I'm good with whatever.

Umbra Rose Condos

Little creatures that look like your common or desk hobb, I bet.

Umbra Rose Condos

Yumeiko no Akame no Kami

Location: Building #1; Cafeteria
Interactions: Miyuki @Xaltwind, Velvet @Lemons
Adjacent: Qaymu @Expendable

Miyuki said she wasn’t doing anything suspicious. Ooh, but what Miyuki says and what Miyuki does are two different things. Yumeiko watched her lover for a moment before she heard a voice from beside her. She’d barely encountered the woman that morning, so the sudden apology from an unrecognized voice was surprising. When she turned to see what this was all about, it all suddenly clicked.

This is what Miyuki was doing. The fox in question attempted to brush the latest development under the rug with some really weak excuse.

A slow sigh escaped her as her eyes slid over to stare oh-so-pointedly at Miyuki. When Velvet sat back down, Yumeiko breathed in and closed her eyes, focusing for a moment as she shifted again. Her ears folded down and into her hair as round, human ears emerged from the side of her head. Her fur shrank away and her sacred markings disappeared. Her aura shrank. She’d been too panicked that morning to think of this, but now that Velvet didn’t look like she was dying from Yumeiko’s presence, it was a lot easier to think clearly.

“Excuse me,” She began, turning to face Velvet’s seat and smiling gently at the woman, “you’re from this morning, right? You’ll have to excuse me for that. It didn’t occur to me that some residents here might be harmed by my aura. It’s kind of obvious, in hindsight. I’m used to that one,” she pointed casually at Miyuki, “and we seem to more.. cancel each other, rather than burn each other. Please forgive my oversight. Is this any better for you? I’ve never really had to suppress myself, before.”

An announcement interrupted them. Theria, the snake woman at the front desk. Gremlins? Some kind of little critter, they were to capture but not harm them, and the winner of this contest would win a prize?

“Ah, what a wonderful opportunity to let out some frustrations. It’s been a while since we’ve been on a good hunt, right, Miyuki?” Rather than let you incite this incident further.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Niara Rootwick

~ Center of Town ~

@Rune_Alchemist@Dragonydas@Zeroth@LupusIntus

A farmer and a blacksmith. A strong combination, though any farmer she’d ever met was much bolder. The woman in question was timid, maybe even afraid. Poor thing. Unfortunately, the things the young lady farmer had with her would not help with their rickety old well. Food plants did tend to either be very small or rather too brittle, not hardy at all. None of the plants the young lady listed had the qualities she would need to encourage from a seedling. Wheat had some potential, but Niara was unsure if she could mutate the brittleness of the stalk away, or make the plant last long enough to have any utility. No, they would need some kind of vine or other, more fibrous plant.

The group seemed to be organizing itself quite well - a party for firewood and scouting, not a bad idea - when another joined their midst. Someone with rather too many compliments on his tongue, and no few for himself. With a roll of her eyes, Niara turned back to the well in front of her. Though she made great statements about the thing, she hesitated. Already, she’d managed to get some parts free, but as she looked at the rest of it, she pursed her lips and frowned. Replacing the rope and bucket would be easy enough, but to work on the rest of the thing might be impossible, her original words seemed correct. Much of the assembly was rusted through, the magic she used for hearing the earth could tell her that much. If she took it apart, it would likely crumble and be nothing more than scrap. Working on this well, as it was, was pointless.

The technically skilled elf turned to the farmer girl, “Yingmei, was it? Did you catch mine? Niara.” She popped this part and that back into place before leaving the decayed contraption, and gathering her tools back onto her person. “I can go with you, to investigate your field. Think you can help me find a nice, sturdy replacement rope growing somewhere, while we’re on the way?” Niara grinned, bundling up her tarp and sticking it into the pouch on her back.

“You’re right, though. There might be monsters. I’ve got a couple things for that, at least,” she pat the buckler and dagger sitting together on her hip, “I’ll be able to fend off anything that’s reasonably sized. No bears.” She smiled at Brom and motioned to his suggestion with a wave of her hand, "or we all go together. Hehe, I think I'd rather not wander around alone."

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Well, looks like it'll be adventure for us, then, @Dragonydas? Perhaps join the logger on the quest for plant matter.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

Niara Rootwick

~ Center of Town ~

“Ooh, but I’m probably just being pessimistic. Rightly, I should really take it apart, first.” She twisted her body to look as she heard a voice call out. A male human, asking about supplies. Was he really wondering if someone actively lived here, though? ”Well met! We were just going to fix up this old well, in fact. I’m afraid it’d fall apart under more strain, but I, ah, don’t usually encounter wells.”

The technician supposed it was entirely possible several components of the well simply needed tightening, but she knew how exposure to the elements and the passage of time could affect things. Things eroded, things corroded, weakened, especially without proper care or even use. She wouldn’t hold her breath. She grabbed the crank and tried it once or twice, feeling how it was holding together. Oooh, it’s so loose.

”Guess I should set down, if I’m going to be working here.” Elven hands began undoing several knots on her person before chunks of her kit fell to the ground. She had gardening tools, like a trowel and some kinda claw thing, but also various carpentry and repair tools. She located, among her things, a small tarp and spread it out. She put tools she would not be using at each corner of the tarp, to keep it from blowing away, before starting to take the well mechanism apart for inspection.

The married couple was certainly having a time of this. The husband was over the moon about all these people showing up, and the wife was dubious. A classic combination. A brief thought of an alternate outcome to things flashed through her mind, but she shook her head free of it. The husband had been drawn here, just as she herself had, was it? Very interesting.

Another elf drew her attention as she spoke. This one was into plants, but it didn’t seem like she was a root elf, like herself. She had plenty to say, so Niara was content to work on the contraption in front of her as she said her piece. Hearty and Vinnie, huh?

“This is an abandoned place, after all. I would expect Sadstrand. We can always be pleasantly surprised, after all.” Niara sat herself up on the edge of the well as she continued to disassemble the mechanism, being very, very careful not to drop anything. It was like maintenance on the underside of the islands. Don’t fall, don’t drop anything. She straddled the support post of the well cover and worked with her sternum pressed against the wood. “Water magic is fine and all, but I don’t think you want to be a living well, do you? You’d have to be here, whenever someone wanted to draw water. That simply won’t do. If you can find me a seed of a good, fibrous vine, I can do something with that. Just the seed, deary.”

The male human called about firewood, and mentioned food. Yes, that would be a good idea, too. ”While you’re at it, dear Myrravel, fruit and veggie seeds, too.” She looked up at a voice from the distance, looking in its direction before smirking and going back to her diligence, “heh, found something good, did she. Clay pot..? Yes, I think we’ll need to replace this rope.” She did, however, spare a glance around. There were a lot of people showing up.. They’d really need this well in good order, huh? Someone had mentioned forgoing the crank system, but it was rather nice, to just spin a crank and pull it up.