nether catch-all

[ushiri]

Who: Kyle & others
When: After the turtle rescue
Where: The Nether, Horizon
What: Settling in and catching up with folks
Warnings: Will add content warnings to headers. General ones found here.

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[ushiri]

[ Rousma giggles at him: ]

Then you is needing to find a puppy's skin too! [ She gives a loud, happy bark! as she circles them, then leans into Wille's side again.

Kyle remains where he is crouched in the grass and wildflowers, inviting Wilhelm to sit with a warm smile, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and black trousers. Fairly relaxed, despite the circumstances, albeit with a hint of worry in the way he looks Wilhelm over, as though he can determine his physical state in the real world from here. ]

Wilhelm would rather learn to be a frog, I think. [ he says this to Rousma before turning to Wille again. ]

You and Iris are settled for now?

[ He had been slightly alarmed at first to realize that nearly everyone else in Thorne had ended up in the ocean, while the two young men had found themselves nearly on the other side of the world - but they managed. ]

[ordinar]

[He pats Rousma's flank as she leans into his leg, then folds himself onto the grass. Automatically, he plucks a tiny yellow flower to roll its stem between his fingers as he nods at Kyle's assessment. He reassures Rousma:]

I'd still race you as a frog.

[Then to Kyle's question:]

Yeah. We're at the same place we stayed the first time we were invited to the Feywilds. It actually lets you pick your own room now. [Instead of sorting everyone into rooms at whim. It could be that with the Fey gone, their magic has faded.] It's not so bad. We just have to, like, forage for our food. I guess if we're going to be there for a while, we'll have to figure out a better system.

[It hasn't fully sunk in that, the way things stand now, there is no going back to Thorne.]

[ushiri]

[ 'Icky-sticky! Blech!' Rousma makes her opinions on frogs known before flopping on her side, huffing at the grass that tickles her nose. Kyle lets out a small huff like a laugh at her before eyeing Wilhelm again. ]

I would've liked to go back there again. [ He had wanted to speak with the Fey about their ability to travel to a different realm. Seems like he's missed his chance.

Both eyebrows raise. ]

So - mushrooms and wild onions for every meal? [ He makes an exaggerated expression, sticking his tongue out like Rousma. Blech!. ] I should've taught you to hunt, but - I'm no good at it myself.

[ This he admits with a wry look. He can kill wild beasts, and he can certainly chop up their carcasses... though the finer skills of hunting are beyond him, he's never needed it to survive. At least Claude is in the Feywilds, and some others who have those kinds of skills. ]

[ordinar]

[He sticks his tongue out at Rousma, in imitation of the frogs she disdains. This soon turns into a disgusted grimace as Kyle brings up mushrooms.]

I'll eat the bark off the damn trees before I eat a mushroom.

[Two full years after his ordeal in what they'd collectively come to call the pit, even the threat of starvation can't work up an appetite for fungi in Wilhelm. Anyway, there's plenty of food to go around. They just have to work for it.]

Geralt is good at hunting, and a few others too. With spring coming, we can start a garden. [A pause, then a laugh.] Hopefully it will go better than my hot peppers.

[The little plants had promise, until Iris was left as their sole caretaker...]

[ushiri]

[ Rousma imitates his face, though on her dog-features it looks more like a 'blep'. Kyle shoots him a genuinely sympathetic look for the mushroom comment - right, fair enough. ]

Claude too - you should definitely ask him about gardening. [ His friend must be missing his garden-home in Cadens. With spring coming makes him wonder about how long they might be in their respective hideouts. He feels more guilty this time to be separated from Wilhelm specifically.

Both eyebrows raise. ]

Maybe one of the staff will take your planter home. [ Maybe Carmy helped Thorne understand the wonders of spicy heat. He raises both eyebrows. ]

I wonder what they'll do with the bikes...

[ordinar]

[He imagines the peppers have died, but it's just as well. He'd never be able to share the fruits of his labor with Iris anyway now that their lives have been uprooted. So much for trying to be romantic... The loss of the bikes, though, hits a deeper wound. He tips his head back with a groan.]

Scrap them for parts, probably. [A mournful sigh.] They deserved better.

[Not that a bike would do him much good here in the heart of the forest. The Fey prefer their paths as winding as possible and generally find pavement unnecessary. Still, he'd grown attached to the thing. Wilhelm tucks the stem of the flower into Rousma's fur, then plucks another from the grass.]

How's life in the Nether? [And, not in the least bit sly or subtle, he adds:] With Viktor?