spring catch-all for the bug eater farm

[pactmarshal]

🍄WHO: Trahearne and/or Kaspar, plus anyone else!
🍄WHAT: Catch-all for the goings-on
🍄WHEN: Throughout spring
🍄WHERE: Down at the farm, in town, everywhere
🍄WARNINGS: to be added!

[ TOPLEVELS AND DETAILS IN THE COMMENTS, TO BE PRETTIED UP LATER. ]

Comments

[ 🐛🌸 upgrade tracking 🌸 🐛 ]

[bluminescence]

[ we can respond here as things are upgraded in spring ]

farm inventory

[pactmarshal]

plants
-5 matsutake mushroom spore packs
-2 morel spore pack
-1 common white mushroom spore pack
-2 turnip seed packs
-1 cabbage seed pack
-2 strawberry seed pack
-2 daffodil seed packs
-1 tulip
-1 forget-me-not
-1 primrose
-1 hyacinth
-1 apple tree
-1 coffee tree
-1 pomegranate tree

animals
-cat
-1 sheep
-1 chicken

misc
-2 kaomoji cups
-5 vegetable shaped bath bombs
-100 googly eyes in various sizes
-waterproof reusable tissues

upgrades

[pactmarshal]

-house restored!
-farming tools upgraded
-barn restored

+ additional farm inventory

[bluminescence]

plants
- 3 cabbage
- 1 turnip
- 2 strawberries

mushrooms:
- 1 morel, 3 common white, 2 matsutake
- another 1 morel, 1 common white

flowers:
- 3 tulips, 1 hyacinth, 3 forget-me-not
- 1 forget-me-not

animals:
- horse (Gealá: ◇, only her mane/tail are mostly white.)
- dog (Delle: ◇, only no shutterstock logo)
- chicken
- goat

misc home items:
- elephant teapot
- 40lb wheel of cheese

On Kaspar's side of the room:
- two worms on a string, a small oak keepsake box
- fluffy sleep mask

[ 🐛🌸 handwaved things 🌸 🐛 ]

[bluminescence]

[ a farm ic inbox, essentially.

feel free to use for: handwaved deliveries, shenanigans, and misc ]

🌸 for van Zieks

[pactmarshal]

[ It's strange--as Trahearne pushes open the door into the mostly deserted library, he hears a quiet ping and suddenly finds himself overcome by a sensation wholly foreign to him. It's an urge, an impulse that he cannot quite describe. Where did it come from? Why now, when he is about to embark on the important task of learning how to care for growing mushrooms?

Regardless, he does his best to ignore it. He can speak about it to Syrlya or Kaspar later. It seems, however, as he rounds the corner and finds van Zieks standing and reading by one of the shelves, that his efforts will go to waste. Because once his eyes set on him, one single thought fills his mind.

He approaches, only stopping when he is uncomfortably close to the other man. ]

Van Zieks. May I have a moment?

[ If his voice cracked, no it didn't. ]

[winebar]

[van Zieks was just minding his own business, reading books in comfortable silence, when he's RUDELY INTERRUPTED and forced to DO SOCIAL INTERRACTION? He doesn't like either of these things.

But fine, at least Trahearne is someone who he's got a neutral to positive opinion of, even though he's now more jarred as he's realized he probably is actually just some sort of green plant man rather than a very dedicated actor. He... is going to take a step back, though. Sir, personal space???]

... You may, Mr. Trahearne.
[He's... slightly worried about the vibes currently happening.]

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne's rationality is slipping dangerously fast under whatever spell (curse?) is cast over him. No thoughts, only kisses.

The sylvari's eye contact drops to van Ziek's lips as he steps forward again. No personal space is to be respected here. One hand lifts to rest below his ear, fingertips resting against the back of his neck firmly but gently guiding him closer. And Trahearne himself leans forward, head tilted, to tentatively press their lips together.

...welp. ]

[winebar]

[On a purely aesthetic level there are probably worse people to be magically compelled to kiss.

On every other level this is a disaster. Van Zieks is about to question him and this personal space invasion, about to ask him what he thinks he's doing, but then that becomes readily apparent when he??? Kisses him??? Hello?????

On the one hand, even though he's some sort of magical plant person which unsettles van Zieks due to him still being unused to magic, if he looks beyond that, Trahearne definitely has nice features and of course a perfectly pleasant and competent personality.

On the other hand this preaches so many level of victorian etiquette and propriety??? You can't just go and kiss a man in public???? One you barely know??? Without warning??? It's not like he hasn't been kissed before but it's certainly been a WHILE and this is NOT the way to return to it???

He's actually so caught off guard that it actually takes him a few seconds to get his wits about him enough to push Trahearne away.]

What-What in gods name are you playing at!?
[He's definitely genuinely mad but there's also a rosy flush to his cheeks because when you're the palest, most repressed man on the island, it's not hard for embarassment to bring color to your cheeks.]

for trahearne!

[calla]

[ Kaeya has taken the time to fill up his picnic basket with all sorts of treats, including sandwiches from the local restaurant and a bottle of wine from the bar. He's even grabbed a nice picnic blanket so when he and Trahearne go out for their little lunch, they won't have to worry about anything. ]

I hope you enjoy what I've brought. Are you allergic to anything?

[ They're sitting on a hill that overlooks part of the town. With the blanket already set and Kaeya sitting down, he starts to unpack what's in the basket. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne is not showing up empty handed--there's a bag slung over his arm, like he's just come from the grocer's. He feels like he should bring something to the metaphorical table, too.

As he settles on the blanket, he offers Kaeya a smile. ]

I'm certain I will. I'm not allergic to anything, nor am I particularly picky.

[ He...really isn't picky. ]

[calla]

[ He nods. That's good! Then Kaeya doesn't have to worry about cross-contamination of allergens and all that. Pulling out the bottle of wine, he places it down between then. ]

I hope that you'll join me for a glass?

[pactmarshal]

Of course I will.

[ He isn't going to say no to that!

In the meanwhile, Trahearne starts unpacking his bag. There's some ready-to-eat chicken wings and a packet of cut fruit, plus...something in a tupperware that does not seem bought. And a bottle filled with bright red sauce. ]

I brought some things as well. Including a little treat my housemate made.

[ He can't assume Kaeya knows Kaspar, but. He wants to share, too. ]

🌸 for kaspar

[pactmarshal]

[ Peace does not erase the pain. Sometimes, it makes it louder.

The nightmares come with relative frequency, in spite of the gentle rays of spring and the calm winds of Crescentview, always a stark reminder of what came before. The screams of his brothers and sisters as the succumb to the dragon, of his soldiers as they fall, of the voice haunts him in a way he finds hard to put into words.

It is always the morning sun that eases the wounds, praise the Pale Tree and the goddess, but at times, the timing is not so kind to him.

Trahearne's start comes in the dead of night this time. He feels the sting on his chest, his wound still healing, and screams of the dying and the turned linger in his ears. It takes a moment for him to remember that reality is no longer his, and that he is okay now. Some nights, he doubts if he truly is, but the daytime always eases those doubts.

It is quiet. If Kaspar is still sleeping or out elsewhere, Trahearne does not bother to check. He gets from his bed and quietly leaves the room, exits the house, and wanders to a stump at the far end of their clearing. Here, the rays of the moon are the strongest. It is the best place for him to calm himself, to remind himself what life is, before he attempts sleep again. ]

now remembering to hit post

[bluminescence]

[ From the forest past the clearing, drifts a soft and familiar voice carrying a lilting and meandering lullaby. Spoken in a language not of the island, his voice flows naturally from note to note. Long ones, varied, a soothing melody that is quiet enough the song of birds would drown it out during the light of day. It trails off, pauses, then picks up again as if piecing it together. The gentle sound announces his approach only over the quieter sounds of the forest at night. It is still a wonder to him, how much life surrounds them at all times.

A melodic vowel tapers off, shriveling up once he spies Trahearne on his stump. Silent now, he leaves the shadows of the treeline behind wearing a predictably calm smile. His glow is soft tonight, steady in the spring air and dimmed once stepping into the brighter light of the moon.

Once again, it is hard to tell if he has been to sleep at all. His bed is always made, overly neat to a clear standard. And he has become more adept at stepping quietly when his roommate is sleeping. Easier yet, as floorboards get replaced. Flannel shirt and leather boots obscure whether his sleeping attire hides beneath them. After all the socializing at the dance, his subsequent missing the night of, Kaspar has been a touch reclusive, besides meals, before appearing now. A recharge. A strangely peaceful one as he daydreamed more frequently about the farm.

Hands behind his back as he approaches, Kaspar does not mention the singing. There is no sign of embarrassment either. It is Trahearne, after all. Which is why he steps close, looking down and offering a hand that he frees from his glove. ]

... did I, wake you?

🐛💕

[pactmarshal]

[ Sometimes, none of this feels real. Save for the commander, the faces he sees throughout the day feel like figments of his imagination in the wee hours of the morning like this. Van Zieks, Diluc, Kaspar. Kaeya. Trahearne feels like he could have easily made all these people up, individuals created in a consciousness at the brink of death in order to ease the pain of the looming end. Had he truly done anything to earn their friendship? Their...affection?

Quiet, approaching footsteps gradually lift him from his reverie. These he has come to recognize as Kaspar's. He drops his gaze from the moon and glances over his shoulder; he can feel the tension leaving him as his housemate nears. ]

No, not at all.

[ At last a small smile graces Trahearne's face. With a gentle touch he places his hand to Kaspar's and slowly gets to his feet. By now the other man's hands are a familiar warmth, and it eases the troubles that quietly brew beneath the nighttime sky.

As he reaches his full height, however, Trahearne's smile falls. In its place is a frown, born from distress and terror. Though he knows he can never, will never return to the horrors of the jungle, the memories and scars are still fresh in his mind. ]

I had another nightmare.

🐛🌚🐛

[bluminescence]

[ There is no relief in that answer. And even less in that expression once it falls. Kaspar's remains peaceful, though worry threads his brow and tiredness is hinted at in its edges. Their traumas might not be the same, though there is something to be said for those that have both experienced war. Kaspar was lucky enough to leave most of his nightmares behind.

It is affection for his roommate that moves Kaspar forward. Slowly, with all the careful movement afforded someone , wrapping a free arm over his shoulders. A half of a hug that he lifts his heels slightly for, so as not to break the contact of their hands.

There is a pause. ]

... was it the same?

🌸 for syrlya

[pactmarshal]

[ It's a few days after the dance--the conclusion of which Trahearne did not stick around to see--that Trahearne recalls the wager he made with Syrlya. If he dances with six people, he gets to choose anything on their bingo card to do together. If he fails to meet that number, then Syrlya gets to choose.

Unfortunately, for one reason in particular, Trahearne did not meet that number.

And so, acknowledging his fate (and a bit embarrassed knowing Syrlya will find out why this happened), Trahearne ventures out into the rural fields to his commander's farm, ready to lend himself to whatever task is asked of him.

Mostly.

He knocks on the door, hoping he's in. ]

[chronosynthesis]

[As it turns out, Syrlya is in. He was just putting a couple of their daffodils, the ones that didn't sell, into a vase on the table. They were already cut, after all. At the sound of the knock he hurries to the door, having a sense of who it is before he even opens it.]

Trahearne! Good afternoon. What brings you by?

[pactmarshal]

[ His smile widens as he feels Syrlya come to the door.

And when it swings open, he greets his commander with a lopsided grin. ]

Hello, Commander. Do you remember our wager?

[chronosynthesis]

[Oh. So that's what this is.

Syrlya crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe, raising a brow.] I do. So? Can you name five other dance partners?

for trahearne ;o;

[calla]

[ Kaeya typically holds himself high and confident, with his chin up and chest puffed out, but as he walks through the forest, he displays none of those traits. His shoulders are low, he drags his feet, his eye gazes across the floor, he looks like a shadow of himself - though it might be more accurate to say that he's more like a ghost of himself, especially with his blood-stained clothes. ]

[ He cradled Diluc as he laid dying, bleeding out from his wounds. All that blood has now soaked into his uniform, but he doesn't seem to care. It doesn't seem like he even has the energy to. He looks exhausted, like the fighting spirit was kicked out of him. With his head hung low, he looks smaller and weaker than ever before. ]

😭😭😭

[pactmarshal]

[ It's not often someone walks out this way, considering their location in the woods. There are other forest farms, yes, but their neighbors don't often wander in this direction, unless they need Kaspar or Trahearne specifically.

So the footsteps immediately draw Trahearne's attention as he tends to the earth, plants seeds. He isn't exactly sure who he's looking at at first--with Kaeya's usual swagger gone, it's his mop of blue hair that ultimately tips him off. ]

Kaeya?

[ And...there's blood. Lots of it. ]

Kaeya?!

[ Trahearne immediately drops everything and rushes to him, shock and worry written all over his face. ]

What happened?!

[calla]

[ Typically, Kaeya is alert, constantly aware of his surroundings, but not at this moment. It takes Trahearne's second calling of his name before he realizes and raises his head. His face is tear-stained and his eyes are puffy. He looks absolutely exhausted, and he is, after crying his heart out for ten minutes straight. ]

[ After taking notice of Trahearne, he lowers his head again to look down at himself. He looks... awful. The blood will definitely never come out. It's too much and too dark. ]

... it's not my blood.

[ He says as if that actually makes things any better. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ It does not, in fact, make it any better. Nor does it even answer the question.

Trahearne's eyes dart up from the blood to Kaeya's face--he looks so distraught, and that might be an understatement. Whatever happened, it seems like it's going to be more complicated than he anticipated.

He wraps his arms around Kaeya's shoulders and begins guiding him towards the house. ]

Come. Let's get you inside and cleaned up. And I'm here to listen if you want to talk.

[ Who cares if the blood will never come out? He's going to try anyway. ]