Fantasy The Near-Forgotten House and the Abandoned Village

[Clairikins]

"As you wish." Emily gets back to her book and her fruit.
If Anisa wanted to look into the bedroom, she'd find Sundrop lying there on the bed- just a large mattress lying on the ground with a number of blankets and pillows. Sundrop is lying there with a pillow clutched to her chest, mostly undressed as she lies above the blankets- why she has so many blankets when she doesn't use them is a mystery. She's not quite asleep, but she's trying.

Emily yawns as Anisa walks away- looks like she'll be heading to bed soon herself.

 

[Thanny]

Anisa nodded, retrieving her tool to climb the steps and begin her work anew. She could not help but be curious, and dared a peek in the room while passing by, finding Sundrop ready for bed and already . . . wait, not quite asleep yet. The pillow and blankets were oddly placed, earning a puzzled look as she passed by, but everyone slept differently, and so Anisa shook the thought free.

She would peck away at the vines until dark, unable to cut through all before night fell. Rather than fumble about in the dark, she left her work, walked carefully down the stairwell, and washed her hands and tool off before collapsing on the hopefully unoccupied couch. There she would sleep till the morning sun graces her eyes, or if something disturbs her.

 

[Clairikins]

By the time Anisa comes back downstairs, there's a pillow and blanket laid out on the couch for her! Emily has cleaned her things up and she's in the bedroom with Sundrop now, but at least she left out things to make their guest more comfortable!

The morning sun shimmers through the window, and the other girls are already at work! Well, they're hanging out in the garden, at least, and they may or may not be working, but still. They seem impressed that the vines haven't started growing back, at least. Emily is examining a cut off portion while Sundrop is getting some new crops planted in the space they have~

 

[Thanny]

((So sorry for the disappearance; I have been waylaid by a number of things and away from my computer a fair amount, and hope to continue this.))

When her hands groped about in the darkness, something fluffy and soft graced Anisa's hands, causing the girl to smile. A pillow, and a blanket too. That was sweet of Emily, or maybe Sundrop if she had done this. Snuggling up in the scents of her new home, Anisa found herself quickly nodding off, the faint moonlight slipping into eyelid-shaded blackness.

Morning came a little too swiftly for Anisa, and she groaned as she rose from bed. Her hands still felt spent and mildly sore, and her arms felt especially so after all the activity. However, she did wonder where the others were, and so was lured to her feet.

Changing into a new set of clothes that were suitable for gardening work, she started looking about for the others. The bedroom was empty, and so was the entryway, so she went outside to search for them.

"Hey!" she called out with a wave once she got close enough to be in earshot of the two, smile wide and bubbling. "Thank you for the pillow and blanket. That made things much more comfortable." She looked about at Sundrop's handiwork, impressed by the progress made by Sundrop in the bald patch of land where vines once were. "Looks good so far. I'll see if I can get some more laid out so that we can make a nice long row if need be."

 

[Clairikins]

(I hope to continue as well~)

"Like I always say: we have all the time in the world."
"Or about seventy years." Emily adds, turning to Anisa. "How long do humans usually live?"
"Yea, about that long." Sundrop confirms, "Longer than catfolk, at least."
"Hmph. At least we live longer than fairies."
"-Most fairies." Sundrop points at Emily. "But living a long time is often more a curse than a blessing."

 

[Thanny]

Anisa tilted her head, confused at first but grinning in the end. She enjoyed the chatter between these two.

"Sundrop is correct. We can live up to a hundred and ten years very rarely, but fifty to seventy is the usual range depending on health and circumstance." She stretched her limbs, forgetting to do her morning routine of light exercise. Then again, this was not the city, and she was sore from yesterday instead of fresh for a morning jog. "I don't know all that much about long life, but it's always good to live in the present, no matter the age. The past is there when we need it and the future to plan, but I know people stuck in both who feel that they cannot live their lives."

She took a look at the garden once more, impressed that there was more done than previously thought in some areas, and less in others. The living vines gave a lot of illusions regarding progress.

"The faster we can remove these vines, the more eyecatching the field will get, I think. I'll grab my things."

With that, she started off to grab her tools and, washing them off once more, returned to start snipping away. This time she brought her untouched gardening gloves. They were helpful in their own way, and soothed her hand more than damaging the blisters that formed on it. That was quite the relief.

"Out of the others that had left, of whom did you enjoy the company most, Emily?" she asked, lifting her head to speak with her.

 

[Clairikins]

"Oh, the most?" Emily stops to think about it for a bit. "I'm not sure. Back where I used to live, before I came here, there was this one girl with tattoos..." she puts her hand on her head. "Ugh, it's all a blur. But I think she was nice."
"I wish we had keepsakes of all of them to remember them by. Little things here and there to keep track of all of them," Sundrop muses, "even if it's just a passage in a diary."
"Maybe we should have everyone keep a diary now? Or a communal one? Let anyone write in it who wants to write in it. Some things are easier said in writing, after all."

 

[Thanny]

"A communal diary," mused Anisa, tapping her lips with her index finger.

This was an intriguing concept, not only because it follows one person's likes but a number of people in general. Major events on a large scale can be recorded as they come, and read by all as a badge of honour. It would be helpful for recalling names, too. People can be lost in memory, but hardly ever on parchment.

"That is a good idea, Emily. I like that!" she voiced chipperly, smiling broadly. "We could also do a journal thing too, though some like to keep some journaled things private. Maybe we can blend the two ideas if people are keen on a public and a private journal?"

 

[Clairikins]

"Oh?" Emily is surprised that Anisa gave her credit for the idea- technically it was Sundrop's idea in the first place.
"Next time we go into town, we can pick up a journal. Something bold and bright so it'll always stand out. Unless we find one stored away in a room somewhere."
"The... the fox girl used journals." Emily points out, "They'd either be in her room or in the library, if she didn't take them with her."
"Right. If you two want to deal with that, you can point her toward the library, although it looks like she'd rather have a farm and her own room. Right, Anisa?"
"Oh right..." Emily remembers how the new girl didn't want to sleep with them the night before. She's heard that humans aren't usually all that close, so it's probably to be expected, all in all. She had still hoped that they could all have been closer.

 

[Thanny]

((I've never been very good with gifting the correct people the correct praise. Poor Anisa has had that passed down, parent to daughter.))

Anisa pondered over what to do with the journal. It seemed that there was a chance the fox girl, whoever she was, left her journals here. She felt bad if there was anything sensitive within them, but at the same time if there was nothing it would be a fantastic start to a new journal system.

"Huh?" she expressed audibly, hearing her name and tracing back the conversation. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks upon thinking what was being said and turned her eyes away from Sundrop, feeling shame. "Oh, I . . . I meant nothing against you both. I just am more comfortable with a room of my own, and . . ."

She had paused in both speaking and snipping, unsure of what to say to continue the conversation and break away from this topic. It seemed to her that anything else would only worsen the situation.

 

[Clairikins]

Sundrop shrugs, "It's not really a problem- we're just used to it by now. Really, it should be expected that anyone new would want their own room." She pauses for a bit in thought.
"Maybe we should focus on getting the rooms cleared out?" Emily offers, "So we can invite more people?"
"Well, anyone who wants to stay would at least have their own place. It's as good a place as any to start. Unless we want two people sleeping on the couch."

The two of them look up at Anisa to see what she thinks of the idea of clearing out the rooms instead.

 

[Thanny]

Anisa frowned, uncertain. She had made progress on removing the vines leading to another room, but clearing all of the rooms out could take weeks. Then again, clearing the entire field might take months. A room a day? That was manageable.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll see what I can do to remove some of the vines. I wonder what the rooms look like after a year's passing. Hopefully they do not need too deep a cleaning."

She rose from her kneeling position and started toward the house in order to reach the room she was trying to free from the constraints of the vines. With any luck she could finish two in one day.

 

[Clairikins]

"I'm sure they will" Emily points out, "but that's what I'm here for!" She's gotten good at cleaning, and having old rooms to fix up is going to give her something to do, at least~

"Good luck" Sundrop wishes Anisa as she heads inside, "don't forget to eat!"

 

[Thanny]

Anisa tossed back a smile before heading off, grabbing an apple from her pack before heading up. Alternating every minute or so to chomp a portion of the fruit, she fingered through the remainder of the vines and snipped them off. It amazed her how much cutting she would need to perform on these abominable plants. Removing them would be such a blessing.

Once the final vine was cleared after a moment of time, relief flooded her senses and allowed her to look in unhampered. The room was indeed in need of a good dusting, sunlight gleaming its way through a filter of curtains and striking stirred up dust in the air. Sheets covered a few pieces of furniture, which she was happy about. That meant less dust on the furnishings which would take much more than a swipe to clear of detritus.

"That is one room done," she spoke in relief, a smile on her lips as she pondered her next action. Should she set foot inside or deliver the rest of the vines -- and the core of the apple -- outside? After a bit of thought, she decided to slip inside and explore, wondering of what unique things were left inside, if any was left.

((If you can provide anything of better substance, that would be grand, or I can make things up. Let me know. =) ))

 

[Clairikins]

The master bedroom sits above the main entrance, with a large window to look out over the small town. Most of the grand room is filled with boxes and sheets, waiting for its mysteries to be uncovered.
Uncovering one of the nearby sheets reveals a chair loaded with boxes, all still dusty despite the sheet that had been draped over them. Inside the top box are various trinkets one might put on shelves- picture frames, knick-knacks, a little old horse figurine, some bookends that look to be cut-outs of quartz. It looks like someone took the non-book parts of a bookshelf out and packed them in this box, and with this box sitting on another box on the chair, one doesn't have to wonder too hard about what that other box might contain.


Meanwhile, Emily and Sundrop have finished their chunk of work for the day as well- the new fields have been planted and the vines have been turned into usable rope. "...no, we'd need some sort of a mesh to keep rabbits and the like off the field. Making a rope fence would only be useful for people who might walk on it by accident."
"Can we make a mesh out of it? If we don't make the rope so thick, we could make something of a mesh."
"It's too soft to keep anything out if they really wanted in. If it ever becomes an issue, we can always pick up such a fence in town. We haven't had much of an issue with them anyway- I guess the vines keep them away?"
"Well those vines are pretty unnatural. But I don't think there was a curse or anything."
"How long have they been here? This place was overrun when I first got here."
Emily ponders the question for a bit. "Years, I think. They just grew and kept growing when the last owner couldn't keep up with them."
"If they kept growing because he couldn't keep up with them... why haven't they grown in the entire time I've been here?"

 

[Thanny]

((Many apologies; I have been feeling uninspired for a time. Hopefully this post kicks that lack of inspiration to the curb.))

Anisa could not help but take everything in with a wide, building smile on her face, exploring the knick-knacks that called out and begged to be touched. The room itself was lovely and seemingly open for how many boxes there were littering it. The window was a huge perk. It oversaw much and allowed much light to stream in.

She reached out to the chair loaded with boxes, sweeping off a bit of dust where trinkets lay within. Her hand graced a horse figurine, which she alternated between her hands and looked over. As a kid growing up, she adored horses. Her parents had taken her to ride a few times before money grew scarce, but she loved anything regarding horses, from the smell of the saddle to the feel of the horse's mane and coat. She could almost feel and smell her past now. Whose room was this? Was this her uncle's? Did he too have a love for horses?

She delved deeper, setting aside the diminutive statue with care and wove her hands through the box. A lot of these things looked like memorabilia. Some of the pictures made her smile. Perhaps she should put these up in her room when she gets the chance.

She set everything back and breathed out a sigh. One down. Many more to go. Picking herself up and casting one last look over her shoulder, she went back to work, removing vines and coming back to hack off more for a different area of the house. If she can get the entrances uncovered, that would allow more room to roam, clean up, and live in. Sundrop had done a marvelous job working on the plants, so much so that she really did not have to do anything besides cut back the local flora. What a mystery those vines were, but she felt excited for the chance of doing something that the others could not do. With that, she hummed an soldier ditty she learned from her father as she worked, eager to see what else can be discovered.

 

[Clairikins]

(I just wrote 5500 words of a story just for the fun of it.)

After a few hours of digging through boxes and cutting through vines, Sundrop comes upstairs with a tray of food. Toast and butter with a bowl of stew. "You've been doing a lot." Sundrop notes, looking around. "You deserve a break."
She looks around the room with an almost melancholy look. "If we're going to deal with all of this, we should think about getting a shed or something. Emily was talking about an elf who would be great at that. What do you think of us going on a trip to the forest tomorrow? If we find that elf, I'm sure you can talk her into coming back. And I... I can keep you safe in case we run into anything else."

 

[Thanny]

((Whoa, nice work! That is impressive.))

Feeling a tad tired, Anisa felt relief when Sundrop had arrived with a bit of toast and some stew -- vegetable stew, it seemed, which excited her palate. With a thank-you she took the food provided and dipped her bread into the soup without washing her hands off first, hungry as she was. The taste was still scrumptious.

"A shed would work for storage, that is true, though we can find a corner for the majority of these boxes in the meantime," she replied, smiling briefly and tapping her chin thoughtfully. Sundrop seemed to be prepared for trouble with the local fauna. Were bears and other creatures out there really that dangerous? "I will admit, it would be nice to meet this elf. I would love to have you accompany me, not that I know where to find her," she quipped, snorting a laugh at her own expense before ingesting another morsel of food. "The food is good, too. Thanks."

 

[Clairikins]

"Well, if I knew where to find any of the others, I would've found them myself." Sundrop points out. "Not that the house was suitable for guests until you moved in, of course. I guess the vines just... only listen to humans." She's put in a lot of work of her own to try to remove the vines, all to no avail, so it doesn't sit well with her that someone else can do something that she couldn't, but at least something can finally be done about them now.

 

[Thanny]

"That is true," mumbled Anisa, mentally kicking herself for her choice of words.

However, the discussion again turned to the plants, and she chewed on her cheek as she observed Sundrop have a difficult time with the vines. Listen to her? That is an interesting thought. Perhaps . . .

"Do you think the plants are alive? Sentient? Or if they are commanded to grow? Perhaps they can shrink back to where they came from or wither if I yell hard enough at them, even if they do not have ears to hear me. Hmm . . . ah well. It is weird, that is for certain. I hope we can get to the bottom of this mystery."

 

[Clairikins]

"Plants /can/ hear when people talk to them." Sundrop agrees, "Dryads can talk to the plants to hear their issues. I... well, the farm is doing well otherwise." Fairies and nymphs are both forest-dwelling creatures, but Sundrop herself isn't especially great with plants. "If I or Emily had cut them down, they would've grown back by now. Make sure you stick around until you get all of them, okay?" she lets out a little laugh- it's not like she's shown any inclination to running away yet, so it was more just her telling Anisa 'I want you to stay here.'

 

[Thanny]

Anisa listened in with interest, baffled by the idea of plants actually hearing. She mostly thought of it as a bit of a joke, though if plants do listen . . . maybe it was not as far-fetched of an idea that maybe a shout would make it withdraw. That made her smile just thinking about it. Perhaps she was more in tune with the thought of magic than she previously thought, even though two days ago she probably would have passed it off as entirely fake.

Sundrop's question filled out her smile, Anisa catching on to what was being said after a moment of figuring it out, and she brought a curled finger to her lips as she giggled happily.

"I guess I'll have to stay for a good while, then. These things may just be able to sprout anywhere. I need to find out if my work and toil is not in vain!" She scratched her nose and glanced at Sundrop with a contented look, happy to be wanted. "Till then, let's make some good memories, and make this place shine again."

 

[Clairikins]

"Absolutely!" Sundrop agrees. "Heck, we can clear out the whole town! It's not like we're in a rush, after all." Well, except for that whole 'humans only like ~90 years' thing, but that's plenty of time to do things. "I'm sure you can do it, and Emily and I will be here to support you while you support us. Plus anyone else who comes by, of course, as long as they can forgive the whole... you know." She still feels guilty about it, but she's trying to learn to forgive herself, at least.

 

[Thanny]

Anisa maintained a happy, wistful expression as she imagined herself staying here, and a few chuckles broke from her throat here and there thinking that most of it would be devoted to nipping weeds. Such a life would be interesting to say the least, though monotonous. There would be a lot to do on a farm, however, especially if there were a multitude of people staying on it.

Sundrop seemed to drop low, however, and Anisa knew why. She bit her lip before stepping forward, a hand gripping Sundrop's shoulder in an attempt to be comforting.

"They will, just as I do," maintained Anisa. "We just need to seek them out, or have them seek us out. What the chances are to find everyone, I don't know, but I don't plan to repose on our laurels until we ask everyone who was here to come back."

She realised that her hand was smeared by the vines' sap and clung stickily to Sundrop's shoulder. Withdrawing as carefully as she could, she smiled sheepily and dodged eye contact.

"Sorry. Sap."

 

[Clairikins]

It was a touching moment until Sundrop realized she'd have to clean her shoulder again. "Right. In the morning we can begin searching for the carpenter and see if she will join us. If not, we can enjoy a walk through the woods. Maybe we can find more seeds to bring to the farm. Emily's fond of blueberries." She looks up at Anisa with a slight smile before turning and heading out the door, pausing with her hand on the frame. "I could never choose a favourite." she admits, slipping away and back downstairs.

Of course, Sundrop heads back outside, using some of the garden's water to wash her sticky shoulder. Emily is still weaving vine remains, but she doesn't have as easy a time with it as Sundrop had. Ah well, different folks and whatnot.