isleofavalon | [Open Catch-all][March]

[She jumps at the opportunity to get out and get her hands dirty. Jane isn't someone who is terribly able to protect herself if she gets into danger (at least not yet), but working on a farm sounds like a nice, easy, non-dangerous thing to spend her time doing. And though she isn't really looking to gain any kind of recognition for doing that kind of thing, it doesn't hurt.

Preparing the fields is simple work, and yet much harder than it looks. Jane works at it without complaint, but occasionally has to pause to straighten her back and shoulders or rub the base of her spine. Though she's enthusiastic, she's never really done this kind of work before. At the end of the days, or sometimes during breaks, she might be found carefully healing a broken blister on the palm of one of her hands.

When it comes to casting magic over the hay, she hangs back, lightly rubbing her hands together. She has healing magic, she knows that and she knows that it works, but she isn't sure she's proficient enough to be of any use even if it is a spell better cast in a group. She might just need a little nudge to join in.

Otherwise, she clearly puts an effort into looking after other people over herself. She offers water to people who look thirsty (or even who don't, because you can never be sure), and also offers to heal up any little bumps and scrapes that she sees people get. Just because farming is hard work it doesn't mean they all have to go home with unnecessary injuries.

At least once, while she's working, she may be heard letting out a startled little shriek as an angry pixie comes shooting up out of a particularly dense hay pile. Help her up off the ground or laugh at her apparent misfortune, but once the initial reaction fades Jane clearly finds it funny.]

[Gokudera is plenty capable with the farm work, though he doesn't look like he's practiced at it. As it is, he's just moving hay, working up a bit of a sweat and looking like maybe he's not feeling as cut out for this as when he initially started. He sees Jane stir up a pixie nest and chuckles at her until he's doing the same.

However, after having been cursed by a group of pixies, he's got just the item to provide them. The boy reaches into his pocket, pulls out some candies and throws them a good distance away.

Then he's moving over to Jane to see if the nest she accidentally stirred will take some candy as an apology gift. He's not offering help up to Jane, though, just butting right in so that no one gets cursed.]

It's an accident! Here!

[There are nicer ways of offering candies, Gokudera.]

[Though she hasn't yet been made fully aware of the potential maliciousness of pixies, Jane doesn't find the sudden actions of the young man who comes running over to be all too strange in consideration of everything she has learned. The pixies, for their part, seem content in their amusement about knocking Jane on her backside.]

Why not just give it to them?

[You could take a pixie's head off, throwing candy around like that.]

Do they not like it if you do that?

[Knocking Jane over isn't too bad, but Gokudera is definitely more interested in distracting them with sweets and getting them to forget about her. Making sure the candy is far enough away makes sure they won't do anything more harmful than knocking this woman about.]

Because they could take advantage of that.

[They're tougher than they look. Gokudera folds his arms and looks down at Jane.]

There's a lot they do and don't like, and they'll assume you know, and punish you for whatever reason they see fit.

[And doing any damage to one of their nests he feels is punishable.]

I see...

[Maybe she needs to do more reading. Their reaction to her had felt relatively benign, but were they just buttering her up to do something terrible to her when her guard was down?

She waits for them to start going for the sweets before she tries standing up, and she brushes her hands down her skirt to knock off some pieces of straw.]

Well, then. I should thank you most sincerely for coming to my rescue.

[It's possibly that the fairies were just having fun at Jane's expense. Then again, Gokudera just tends to have his guard up even with people he knows well... and the magical folk can be tricky.

He watches as a few pixies starts to enjoy the sweets, and then he waves at the others who are starting to swarm.]

Oy! There's more!

[And he's holding out a hand of the candies for them to come and take, just offering them up like the fae are birds.]

No need. I guess we should fix up their nest some.

[He pulls out some more sweets and sets them down, while looking about as if he'd dropped something. Gokudera is looking for his familiar, or a sign of it.]

[Jane just watches him carefully, noting what he does for her own future reference. She hadn't really considered herself to be in danger at any point, but she supposes he's right in his caution. The fae folk can be tricky indeed.

While the young man looks for his familiar Jane's own appears, flitting over the field and landing on her shoulder. It's a brightly coloured bird similar to a Fischer's Lovebird, but far more vibrant.]

Ah, of course... how would it be best to do that?

[She doesn't want to upset the pixies by making the situation worse.]

Larry!

[Gokudera calls out to what appears to be a bale of hay. It shuffles and moves over to him, and then he lifts a hand, and it appears that his familiar is entirely camouflaged, the colors on its body shifting so it becomes a solid gray horse-sized sea monster.]

Took you long enough...

[He grumbles and holds out his hand, as if asking to receive something.]

Easy. Try to match what all isn't damaged. I'll throw in some decorations with Larry's help, and it'll be like nothing wrong ever happened.

[The bird on Jane's shoulder twitters something and Jane makes a small sound of acknowledgement. Though at first she'd believed that her familiar didn't speak, she'd slowly come to understand the various sounds it would make. This one wasn't entirely polite, and she wouldn't be repeating it.]

I see.

[She starts doing just that, a tiny frown of concentration on her face.]

This must happen often, I wonder why they nest here.

[The boy's familiar has never outright spoken to him or even much communicated. Larry is independent and what help he has provided Gokudera with his magic was just lesson by example.

Gokudera helps her rebuilding the structure and tidying up around the nest.]

Probably because someone on the farm has aided them or given them something, and in return, the fae provide good luck to them, or help in some other way...

[Jane learned something about birds while in her previous universe, where she could understand every word they said - birds love to talk, and they will talk about absolutely anything. It hadn't surprised her at all when her familiar was much the same.]

There must be somewhere safer for them to make a home than this.

[It can't be the first time they've been disturbed like this.]

But ah, the whims of the fae, I suppose?

I'm sure there is, but the farm doesn't have to be right here, either.

[The fae were probably here first, he thinks.]

Perhaps.

[Despite the dangers inherent in it, it's hard to keep Jane from going off an exploring on her own. That she ends up in the middle of the forest would be no surprise to anyone who knew her... though she's keenly aware that no one here actually knows her at all.

How sad that is.

But she has company, in the form of a colourful little bird that swoops between the trees and occasionally lands on her shoulder to give her cheek a rub with its colourful head. Now and then she stops to examine something - a mushroom cluster growing out of a fallen tree, a patch of flowers, a creature running across her path - and with a cloak around her shoulders and a sketchbook tucked under her arm she looks almost as if she belongs there.]

Oh, what's this. [She murmurs to herself as she comes across a small bit of paper tied to a tree. Jane crouches to look at it, and is immediately admonished by her familiar.] What? Don't touch it? Why not?

[ Corwin had a bit of a windfall last month, after completing a lucrative quest for the Lady Morganna, and has used his earnings to buy a house for himself, situated nicely on the edge of the Brocéliande forest. He's never been one for city living-- at least not the modern kind of cities like Camelot. He prefers having some space to himself, if he has his druthers, and with the budget he had for house-hunting... Druthers most certainly were had.

He's strolling through the forest, Aldreda at his side giving off a soft white glow from her horn that's only visible when she's out of direct sunlight, looking for something he can catch and cook for dinner. Hunting is really more his brother Julian's thing, but it's not like Corwin doesn't know how to do it. Half the fun for him today is not the hunt itself, but the pleasure of a peaceful stroll through the woods. And that pleasure is enhanced when he comes across a familiar face. ]

They're for the will-o-the-wisps. [ he answers the question she didn't ask to him. ] To help guide them through the forest.

[ A friendly smile is leveled in her direction. ] Good afternoon, Jane.

[Jane is not quite so blasé about being alone in dangerous places as she once was, though it still seems that she walks headlong into them without much care for the consequences. She's alert enough to know that someone is coming but doesn't turn around to see who it is until that familiar voice reaches her ears.]

Oh, Corwin!

[She does nothing to hide her delight in seeing him. It's immediate, bright, and spreads across her face as a sunny smile and a cheerful light in her eyes. She leaves the knot of paper well alone and walks over to him, a small skip in her step.]

How lovely to see you out here. I've been entirely alone all morning. [On her shoulder, the bird lets out a scolding noise.] Almost entirely alone.

Almost. [ He echoes, chuckling. ] I'm sure your little friend there was the most talkative of company.

[ You know. As far as birds go.

But, teasing aside, it is nice to see Jane again, especially after the state he was in for their last meeting. ]

It's good to see you. Have you been well?

Oh, yes, quite.

[The bird doesn't talk, but somehow she always feels as if she understands exactly what it's saying. Jane tucks her hair behind her ear and smiles, ducking her head slightly.]

As well as might be expected. I'm happy to say that the last few weeks haven't been quite as exciting as our trip to the archives.

[ Corwin makes a soft noise of acknowledgement, remembering that fight. ] And we're all the better for it.

Listen, Jane. I meant to thank you, for what you did for me that night. Without you, I wouldn't have made it off that battlefield.

Oh.

[She hasn't forgotten, but she hadn't really assigned any large importance to it. Goodness, it had been wonderful to just be useful.] Oh, I'm sure you would have made it out all right.

[Jane lightly waves a hand at him.]

It was only what anyone else would have done.

[ Would he have made it out alright? Or would he have kept pushing himself, and been unable to recover, due to the loss of his natural strength and ability to heal? But Jane doesn't know that about him, and there's no real reason she needs to know, so he'll stay reserved for now. ]

I've been abandoned and left for dead in the middle of fights before. I wouldn't discount your good deeds by saying, "anyone else" would have done it. You helped me, when others might not have. That's enough for me.

[She doesn't know that about him, and perhaps her level of faith in other people is still a little too strong. A little huff escapes her, but she smiles.]

Well, then. I should say you're very welcome. And I'd do it again.

[If he's going to insist, wouldn't it be terribly ungallant of her to keep pushing off his gratitude?]

I'm in the middle of walk, would you like to come along?

[ The offer is nice, but hopefully she won't have to. Corwin knows his limits now, and knows how far he can push his magic without things getting to the point they did on the Silent Shore. With practice, he should be able to expand his capacity, but gradually, not all at once.

He smiles, settling the strap of his rifle on his shoulder to be more comfortable. ]

I'd like nothing better.

Wonderful.

[And she doesn't hesitate, even for a moment, in sliding her hand around the crook of his elbow. She shoots a sunny smile up at him and pats his forearm with her free hand.]

You have been feeling all right, haven't you? I was sure I wasn't able to do enough.

[ Corwin is well used to walking with a beautiful woman on his arm-- be it one of his sisters, or someone he was trying to woo, or even someone he had intended only to bed but found himself developing feelings for. The latter hadn't happened in some time. Not since Lorraine.

Corwin would much rather focus on the beautiful woman here in the present than remember the tragedy of Lorraine. ]

I recovered fully in a matter of days. All I needed was rest, after the leg up your healing gave me.

Well, that is good to hear. It really is.

[She had worried, at first, that she wouldn't be able to get her head around how to use this peculiar new magic. Being an imPort had been one thing, but her powers there had been 'passive' and not anything she ever really needed to think about using.

Jane thinks she might actually be able to make use of what she can do here in a way she hadn't been able to before. Even if healing powers aren't really what she would have chosen for herself. It's nice to be useful.]

Do you always throw yourself so entirely into danger like that?

[ A smirk appears on Corwin's face, and he lifts his shoulders into a small, casual shrug. ]

I have been known to exhibit some reckless behavior, in the past.

[ But then, he was always harder to hurt, back then. Stronger, more resilient. If he suffered an injury, he would heal from it in record time. He'd regrown organs, survived plagues.

Somehow, this Avalon had robbed him of that strength and stamina. He's still learning his own limits. ]

Hmmmm.

[That makes two of them, then, and she shoots him a crooked smile while they walk arm in arm. Ah, this is nice. She has been somewhat bereft of a charming gentleman in her life of late.]

I would never have guessed.

[She lies, teasing him.]

It seemed so completely out of character.

[ He returns the smile, patting her arm with his free hand, before he reaches out to brush away a low hanging branch that's blocking their path. ]

Well, that's me in a nutshell. Always defying expectations.

Hmm, well. [She hums, smiling to herself.] I've always loved a bit of adventure.

[Jane would be lying if she said she wasn't a little taken with Corwin, though she knows enough to be at least a tiny bit guarded about it.]

You may just continue to surprise me.

[ She's wise to remain guarded. Although keeping her guard up will not lessen Corwin's attempts to woo her in the slightest. If anything, it will only make the challenge more fun for him. ]

I will do my very best, my lady.

[Claude didn't mean to sneak up on her. He'd strayed across Jane entirely by accident, wandering the Broceliande to get a feel for the place and its flora and fauna. He isn't foraging or hunting for anything just yet, not when he still doesn't know what's safe to take, but he figures just getting his bearings for a first trip into the forest should be enough.

Tailed by his little white wyvern, who alternates between flitting along after him or resting on his shoulder, he pauses when he comes across the woman in conversation with her own familiar.]

If I had to guess... If you mess with that paper, you'll get a horrible curse. Or maybe a monster will be attracted and come eat you. Maybe both?

[His tone is lighthearted, but it's a genuine theory all the same.]

Ah--

[Her fingers are almost touching the paper, but the voice behind her has her swiftly changing her mind. Jane quickly jerks her hand back and lets out a nervous laugh, standing up and brushing her skirt down by way of a distraction.]

Well. We certainly wouldn't want that.

[No. She's been chased through trees by a group of angry baboons before. She has no desire to make a repeat of it with whatever this forest could cook up to send after her.]

I do think I'll be leaving it alone.

Smart move. [He nods.] In my -- admittedly very limited -- experience here so far, I'd say our familiars know what they're talking about.

[His hasn't lead him astray yet, at any rate.]

Is it your first time in the forest too? I heard there's all kinds of interesting creatures and plants here.

[She supposes that he must be right. And despite the fact that she gathers some kind of bond to the bird was what brought her here to begin with, she doesn't hold any particular animosity towards it. Particularly when it's warning her away from things that might do her harm.]

In this forest? Not exactly, though I haven't been to this part of it before.

[Jane couldn't help herself. A nature-lover, she'd been in the forest almost the first day she got here.]

I've never been much of a city girl.

[Claude scratches his chin.] Hmm... Is that a polite way of saying you're a wild child?

[He's just teasing, but who knows, maybe it's an accurate assessment.]

Honestly, I prefer forests to cities too. In fact, maybe I'll go find a nice old tree to take a nap in soon. [Just... not one with suspicious paper attached.]

I wouldn't say anything of the sort.

[Wild child, indeed... of all the things to say. Never mind that it's entirely true, and she can't make herself appear too annoyed by the accusation.]

Wouldn't it be better to nap on the ground? Trees are so easy to fall out of.

Ah, I thought the same as you once! Then I learned from an expert. The ground is dangerous when you think what could attack you in your sleep. It's actually safer to sleep in a tree.

...I will admit it takes a little practice, though. At first, I wasn't confident, so I started by using rope.

[He imitates using a rope to fasten his waist to a tree branch.]

It's fun when you get used to it. You should give it a try sometime.

Hmm, I think I may just leave it to you, sir.

[She does sound amused, though. Admittedly, the idea of actually sleeping in a tree has crossed her mind before... but Jane doesn't think she could get up in the tree to begin with, let alone find a safe place to sleep in one.

Her last experience of being very high in a tree was not the best one.]

I was once chased through the jungle by a very large troupe of very, very angry baboons. I think I'm much better suited for the ground.

That... sounds like a wild story by itself. [He looks startled.] Is your homeland in a jungle? What'd you do to make them so mad?

[It's none of his business, really, but when something intrigues him he can't help but ask.]

Oh, well, nothing! It was entirely an overreaction on their part.

[She says this, but the way she looks immediately flustered by the question perhaps tells a different story.]

I may have been taunting one of their children. A little.

...You were teasing a child.

[He repeats it back at her, deadpan.]

And here I thought you were so mature and proper. Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover, huh?

[Jane purses her lips slightly.]

I'm quite sure I don't need any kind of judgement from you, sir. I certainly learned my lesson at the time.

[Mature and proper? In fairness he doesn't know her at all.]

Pfft-- [He can't keep up the straight face for long.] Okay, okay, I believe you. Just don't go bullying any poor magical creatures here, or the results might be a lot more messy.

Oh, please. I'm not stupid.

[It's one thing to pick on a baby monkey but another entirely to start messing around with something that could really ruin her day. Still, she resents the implication that she might not think something like that through.]

I have no desire at all to be turned into anything unnatural.

[Open Catch-all][March]

QUEST | 🛡️ Farmers-R-Us | OTA

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sorry this is so late! If you wanna drop it, lemme know!

np!

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Brocéliande | OTA

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