December/spring catch-all

[feralheart]

WHO: M-21 and anyone!
WHAT: Open + catchall
WHEN: All spring
WHERE: All over the island
WARNINGS: none, TBA if needed. Plotting here!


i. what do you mean 'consequences'

[ On one specific, highly cursed day this month, M-21 can be found lurking forlornly outside the island's little clinic. An internal war seems to be going on; he takes a grudging step towards the doors, then stalks away again. As if unaware he's doing it, he reaches down to rub irritably at his lower back. Maybe someone's a little less suited for farm work than everyone else? ]

This is so stupid.

[ He shoots a mutinous look up at the sky like he'd like to direct a complaint right to the management but doesn't quite dare. Then he's back to his pacing, with an occasional sideways glance thrown in towards the vet. Or he can be found draped somewhat pathetically over the nearest fence-shaped thing he can find, apparently no longer willing to move.

Help. ]

ii. like herding cats

[ On days when the weather is sunny and cooperative, despite all complaints, M-21 is hard at work in his fields. Reluctant concessions to farmcore have been made to spare what's left of his suit, and a sturdy pair of farming gloves covering his hands well past the wrist spare what's left of his palms from the sub-par farming tools. Things are coming in pretty nicely, especially the new stand of trees. They're full-grown and leafy and already showing a crop of... one fluffy orange kitten with oversized paws perched on a branch, chirruping furiously. ]

You got yourself up there.

[ Rescue? Or wait another few seconds to catch M-21 sighing and stripping off his gloves as he goes to climb a tree for what appears to be the five hundredth time that day. ]

iii. wildcard

[ Catch me on my planning link or PM if you want a starter! I welcome any and all bingos or just chaos. Or just hit me with anything, he'll be Around. ]

Comments

[feralheart]

When you put it like that, you might be older than I am.

[ But the way he talks about Trahearne pulls a smile from M-21 in turn. ] It's good. That you have someone you know here.

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya freezes for a second, his gaze averting down to the ground at the weight of that.]

I--yes. [He speaks softly.] I'm glad he's here.

[Genuinely, he is grateful to be able to see--to feel Trahearne again. Even if... it also rips the loss of him back to the surface.

He clears his throat, pulling his gaze back up.] I'm sorry--you are alone here?

[feralheart]

[ Hmm. M-21 blinks slowly for that, tilting his head a little bit. He's not certain he'd sound like that about it for Tao, or Takeo. ]

It's fine. This place is close enough to home for me, anyway. [ So he doesn't need the comfort of the familiar, or something. He jogs his leg a little restlessly and he looks away. ] ...We're all in the same situation here. It's not the same as being alone.

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya raises a brow.] ... I suppose you are right about that. We are all bonded by our circumstance, even if our familiarity with the things and people here is different.

[Still, he's glad to not be the only Sylvari here. And he's glad it's Trahearne.]

[feralheart]

[ M-21 nods brusquely, more satisfied by Syrlya's way of putting it. He might not have yet committed to calling the people here comrades like his experiment brothers, but it's... something. ]

That's it. The marriage part might be easier if you knew someone before, though.

[ He turns his head aside again to scan for the motion that keeps catching his eye, missing Syrlya's expression. ]

[chronosynthesis]

[Now, why would knowing someone from home make getting married easi--

Syrlya chokes on a strangled sound tipping sideways and he raises his hands and waves them in the air. His face flushes a pale gold, but it's easy to miss around his vibrant glow.] H-Hold on, I haven't made any plans to marry Trahearne!

[feralheart]

[ Well, that's enough of a fuss to scare off any nearby wolves. M-21 glances back quickly in surprise. ]

Isn't that the fastest? [ There's a definite bemused 'why not' scrunch to his forehead now. Trahearne's nice. ] ...You'd be going back to the same place, though. That's more complicated.

[chronosynthesis]

[Well, not exactly the same place. Which is also a complication.

But Trahearne is nice. He presses a hand to his face, turning away slightly to try and hide it.] Perhaps but--there has never been anything romantic between us. I certainly could not ask him to marry me.

[feralheart]

[ M-21 doesn't know what a plant blush looks like. But flustered body language isn't so unfamiliar, and it makes the impulse to bully a tiny bit irresistible. He lets out a quiet snort. ]

Wouldn't be that hard. [ A beat. He's just watching now. ]

[chronosynthesis]

Perhaps not the words itself, but emotionally? [He shakes his head. If it were really that easy, surely people would be far more direct with their feelings.] Besides, marriage for our people is purely an expression of love. I cannot imagine he'll agree just on practicality and that isn't how I imagined it for myself, either.

[Because he didn't imagine it for himself at all, but.]

[feralheart]

[ Well, Syrlya knows Trahearne better. And it's not like he doesn't have a point. But the reality they're left with is still pretty simple. M-21's face is making the absolutely imperceptible transformation from deadpan: teasing to deadpan: contemplative. ]

So are you just planning on staying here? Or you think you'll fall in love?

[chronosynthesis]

[Ah, well. Syrlya's hand slips down, though he doesn't look back up. He has been in love, but it was something that had years for him to put to rest, so that he at least wasn't pining after what didn't happen. But now Trahearne is here and it's raw all over again.

At that, he can only shrug.] I don't know, that's never been something that was really an option for me before. Pursing a relationship, that is.

[feralheart]

Nothing but time to think about it now.

[ The look on his face says he wants to ask more. It kind of feels like prying. But on the other hand... Syrlya was the one who agreed to camping with him. And apparently talking is what people do. So he can probably be excused his nosiness, since that strikes a chord with him. ]

What do you mean, it wasn't an option?

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya leans back, propped on one hand as he glances back to M-21.] My duty to Tyria meant constant danger and movement. So long as the Elder Dragons existed I needed to fight them.

[He looks up into the trees.] I couldn't very well ask someone to follow me into that, or wait an undetermined time until my Wyld Hunt was over. So I never looked for it.

[feralheart]

[ It takes him a few blinks to translate that into terms he understands, but when he does, he gives a little shrug of provisional agreement. ]

So you have an enemy you couldn't have risked someone you cared about around. Makes sense. [ He frowns and stares into the fire in thought. ] Puts your life on hold until you're done with that Hunt. But you can't always pick your fights.

[chronosynthesis]

[Hm, he never thought about it as putting his life on hold--his Wyld Hunt was his life. It was simply a different trajectory than most people.

His expression twists wryly.] No, you really can't. But it was a fight for a brighter future for all of Tyria.

[feralheart]

Pretty big job, for one person. [ A whole planet? Is it his sense of scale that's broken, or everyone else's here? ] Trahearne didn't mention the dragons.

[ Which still sound like a fantasy thing to him, but he's talking to plant people, so... not quibbling. ]

[chronosynthesis]

I didn't really do it alone. It took all of us coming together, of course. [And Aurene.] I simply needed to play my part.

Trahearne was also central to that fight, but--I suppose it must not have come up?

[feralheart]

Probably. We didn't talk that long. He was explaining the waystones.

[ And a pause, as he tries to decide if "Trahearne is a nerd (positive)" is a concept that Syrlya will recognize. As a compromise: ]

He didn't seem like a fighter.

[chronosynthesis]

Oh, he is much more powerful on the battlefield than he seems. [It's kind of hot.] But he is a scholar first. Pursuing knowledge is more of a comfort to him than war.

[feralheart]

[ Sir you're doing it again... the "Trahearne is special and important" voice... M-21 tips his head a tiny bit the other way. ]

He should do alright here. [ ... ] You're a fighter. You hear any animals nearby?

[chronosynthesis]

[He's doing better than Syrlya expected. And better than Syrlya himself is doing.

He cants his head, pausing. Despite the length of his ears, his hearing isn't any better than most humans.] Mm, none that are approaching at least. Crickets, sure.

[feralheart]

Yeah. Me neither. [ He slumps a tiny bit, either relief or just tired. ] Seems like there's really nothing out here.

[ His hearing might be better than a human's, but who knows if it's giving him reliable information right now. ]

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya hums in agreement, leaning over to start digging through his back for the dried snacks he brought.] Are you hungry?

[feralheart]

[ That's a much better thing to focus on than phantom wolves. M-21 nods and reaches for his own pack. ] Yeah. I brought marshmallows because the locals said. What've you got?