isleofavalon | [Catch-All] Making Home

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[Catch-All] Making Home

🧙 WHO: Aerith Gainsborough, You
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-All
🕒 WHEN: March
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot, Everywhere We Need to Be
⚠️ WARNINGS: None, Will react accordingly.

01. It's Bunny Season

[Aerith has spent no shortage of time trying to get acquainted with the locals of Camelot and form positive relationships with them. It might not be the Midgar slums, but it's something similar in the way of a community. If she's going to be here for some time, then it stands to reason she ought to try to make it somewhat like home.

Hunting down a royal angora rabbit seems like the perfect way to go about that. At the quest board, she's loosely woven her hands together. And then she decides to get to work and make her rounds to the various bunny cafes.

There's no shortage of them.]

Oh, aren't you cute. A little pudgy, though. [She says with a grin, lifting a bunny as she's searching for particular traits of Sir Fuzzlerton the Cad. But the truth is, she doesn't know very much about rabbits and isn't wholly certain of what she's looking for.]

I can't tell if you look like a Sir Fuzzlerton or not.

[So she decides to hold up said bunny to the nearest cafe patron or visitor. Or possibly another person searching for the same rabbit.] Does this look like a Sir Fuzzlerton to you?

02. Harvest Moon: An Age of Camelot

[Aerith lifts a hand and draws wrist across her forehead as she looses a soft sigh. Being able to help with the fields is another thing that makes her think of home and the flowers that she tends there. She's been happy enough to lose herself in it, too, humming as she works in the soil.

Eventually she makes her way for the hay and the horses to lend a hand there as well. All in all, it's a constructive use of her time. Much better than doing nothing at all and a great way of keeping her from overthinking her situation.]

Hey. [She addresses the nearest to her as she points to a bale of hay.] Do you think you could help me move this? I want to bring it closer to the horses, so they can eat, but I don't think I can carry it on my own.

[Yes, she's already tried and probably looked pretty funny doing so. Bales of hay look deceptively light. Aerith has underestimated their true power.]

03. Flower Crowns

Hm...

[Aerith thumbs at her chin thoughtfully, the hint of a frown playing into her features. She's heard it repeatedly. Many of the merchants and locals of the town have voiced their inability to get to the flowers they would ordinarily use. It's springtime and the outskirts are no short of lovely, but Camelot itself looks a little plain without the variety of colour.

But dragons... That's probably not something a silver tongue can talk through. Basically, she knows she can't do it on her own. She'll need some help, so maybe she can convince an innocent (or not-so-inncoent bystander).

There's only one way to find out. Maybe you're shopping. Maybe you're training. Maybe you're just taking in the sights. Wherever you might be, there's an Aerith popping up ~~like a daisy~~ at your side with a smile.]

Hi there! Do you think I could borrow you for a little?

[And by a little, she has no idea if it genuinely is a little. For all she knows, this could be an all-day endeavour.]

04.Smoothies Like Jagger

[After keeping herself so occupied with the going-on's in Camelot, Aerith is overjoyed to see smoothie vendors in no short supply. Maybe it's intentional in the face of the coming equinox. It certainly seems like everyone has been keeping busy.

With a grateful exchange of the smoothie peddler she's stopped by, she becomes one Strawberry-Rose smoothie richer and takes a long moment to indulge.

It hits the spot.]

Ohhh, that's great! I hope these aren't a temporary thing. I could use a few more, honestly. Maybe I can get my hands on the recipe.

[If not for her to make it, then maybe she can find someone else to do so.]

[OOC: If the above don't strike your fancy, please feel free to PP me at

ofthesky, or send me a PM. I'm happy to write closed starts for those who may be interested.]

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Fond of playing the damsel in distress, are you?

[At least she isn't trying to rope him into anything he didn't already sign up for.

Stepping over to the hay she'd indicated before, the boy bends down to wrap his fingers around two of the ties holding it together. When he lifts, he engages his kinetic magic to lighten the burden that would otherwise be on his back, giving the overall impression that the bale is indeed light, when it most certainly is not.]

Where exactly do you want this thing put?

I wouldn't say thaaaat.

[She grins, and while someone else might have taken some offence to the titling, she's actually just amused. It makes sense for him to objectively think that.

As she watches him put his kinetic magic to work, she thumbs at her chin for some moments before she gestures with a hand.]

Let's put it by the trough for now. Maybe just put a line of them down the length of it. I know I said I was going to ask you just move the one, but we're here, we might as well do the whole thing. It's not good to leave a job half done.

Ah-hah.

[He should have figured this was coming. However, he's not precisely upset at the turn of events. He's there to work, and with the sun still up, doing a little work in the stables means there will be less a chance of him suffering from a terrible sunburn later.]

A line of them it is. [With a thud, he sets the bale down where requested and immediately sets to work on the others.]

Have these been treated by a healer yet?

Thanks!

[Her smile is slightly apologetic. She knows it's a lot to ask, but she's asking him of it anyway, which is a bit of an audacious thing to do when she doesn't know him. Yet that's just the way she is.

At his question, she shakes her head and then gestures to herself.]

Nnnnnope, but that's where I come in. I'll be handling all of that.

[Should be a cinch in comparison to trying to heal a broken bone.]

In that case, I'll just be stacking them one high.

[There will be more surface area for the magic to sink into that way.

It takes him a minute, but by the time he is done, there is a neat line of hay bales along the length of the trough, just like she asked.]

I think one high will be perfect.

[There's something quite pleasing about the way he sets it all up for her. A nice, tidy little line of hay bales. She starts at the one, remains at its side and lifts a hand above it.]

I bet you've been super practical for the other heavy lifting they've had going on with all of this. The locals will be really grateful.

[Keeping out of the way as she works, Walter nevertheless lingers. He's here, so they might as well do the ones further down that she mentioned once they are done with the ones here.]

We're limited on land, and cut off from our worlds. Making sure the harvest succeeds is important. If it fails, we'll be in trouble.

[While it is common practice where he is from to store the excess when there is plenty, he doubts the denizens of Avalon ever anticipated having to deal with such a large and sudden influx of people.]

[She doesn't take long. Aerith's skill with healing isn't what she'd consider professional by any means, but she's taken to it well. She suspects that comes from the array of abilities she's host to back in her homeworld.

Or perhaps they have carried over to where she is now. She isn't sure, but she doubts that.]

You're right.

[Aerith agrees as she looks over to him before she motions for him to come along with her. Time to go down the line, it seems.]

Still, I don't think everyone is thinking about it like that. I've met a few who just want to leave, which I can't blame them for. That is, they probably wouldn't be as keen to help as you and I are.

No doubt they'll be the first to whine if there's a food shortage.

[Still, Walter follows. He isn't offended by the statement, even if he views that sort of person with a harsher lens than the lady does.]

So, what brought you here?

[It's really not amusing, but there is something about the thought of horses whinnying that encourages Aerith to smile.

As they make way down the line, she looks over to him thoughtfully.]

You mean out here, right. [Because like all non-citizens, Aerith is here in the same capacity. Chosen for some reason to be something akin to a hero, which she wouldn't call herself by any means.] It started because I knew they were doing some gardening and that happens to be one of my favourite things to do. I came up here because back home, I haven't seen one of those— [She indicates by way of a horse.] —so I wanted a closer look.

I'm afraid it wasn't for any deep reason!

I see.

[That's... unusual. So she hasn't seen a horse? In person, or at all?]

What sort of gardening do you do?

[Perhaps he could get some tips for his friend's medicinal garden, if she happens to know about that sort of stuff. Walter's experience mostly extends to small food plots and shaping small ornamental trees. He's not all that savvy with herbs.]

Hm... I didn't know there were different kinds, really.

[Aerith pauses for a breath or two as if she's trying to find a way to describe it.] It's probably not very impressive! There's a church back home that is a little more run-down and there's a patch of soil that lilies grow in. And then by my house, there's flowers all over the place.

So... [A beat.] Just flowers, I guess.

Oh.

[Flowers. He doesn't know much about gardening for those. Garlic flowers and wild rose blossoms are the showiest flowers he is most familiar with seeing. Squashes have bright flowers, too, but they aren't exactly grown for decorative purposes.

The manor doesn't have much colour to its landscaping at all, really.]

I know a little about growing food. And wild roses, but those pretty much take care of themselves.

[Hence the name.]

Wild roses...

[Aerith is familiar, at the very least, with roses, though not in any sort of fashion where she could be confident in their care.]

Have you shared any of that with the locals? What you know, I mean. We were talking earlier about being able to feed everyone in the town. Having that knowledge on how to grow food, what soil works best, how to get the best bounty, what affects quality... This is all valuable information. You could probably work with some of the merchants and help with supply. If that was something you were interested in.

[Although it'd probably be a pretty thankless job.]

[Her words give him pause — not for any trace of apprehension, but for the realization that the very thought hadn't occurred to him. The knowledge of home vegetable gardening was so widely spread and encouraged in his country in his time that he'd thought it to be common knowledge amongst at least the locals.]

...I wouldn't say that I'm as experienced as a farmer. The Ministry of Agriculture took efforts to develop plans so that the people of Britain could grow their own vegetables during the war, so I know the basics of year-round vegetable gardening.

I don't think they'd require you to be an expert...

[Her head tilts as she watches him curiously before she continues.] The people here probably know some about what they're doing. I don't think they'd dislike the input from others, though, especially from someone who's familiar. This isn't a case where they have enough help. I think they'd be thankful for any additional assistance. I didn't do any farming, but just growing flowers is hard work. I imagine it's even more difficult for other things like vegetables and fruit.

Mostly, it's knowing the correct planting times, warding off pests, and remembering to rotate the crops each year.

[Guarding plants from pests was by far the most difficult of the tasks, but he isn't sure whether Avalon uses the same things he's familiar with. Somehow he doubts, with Avalon's preference for nature, that there is a flourishing chemical pesticide industry.

Thankfully, there are one or two more natural compounds he knows of that ought to be suited to the task.]

I can recreate the materials distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Perhaps that will help.

You make it sound so by the book and easy.

[But he's right. Even flowers work something in a similar fashion. She isn't sure about rotation, but seasons are important. Temperature. Climate. Humidity. The type of soil and its acidity level. There's actually a lot that goes into it. But maybe crops for food have an additional level of complexity to them.

When he continues, she looks impressed all over again.]

You can recreate them? I'm pretty sure they'd find that incredibly helpful, but I'm sure there are materials you need just for such an undertaking, right?

[He's not quite certain why she looks at him in such a way. Is agricultural knowledge so scarce where she is from?]

Paper of a sort would be necessary, yes. Along with materials to write and draw the diagrams with.

I imagine it would be easier to share them over the network than create enough physical copies for everyone interested, so that would save time. But I have other matters to attend to as well, so I don't know how long it will take.

Maybe it can be like an ongoing project you work on. I was going to suggest submitting it to the libraries for those who might not use the network, but there's an undoubted practicality to putting it to where we can all get it. If we needed to, anyway.

I doubt I'd know anything about that recreation process of yours, but it sounds like quite an undertaking for one person. I'd be happy to help out if you needed it.

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[Catch-All] Making Home

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