( closed )

[carmesi]

Who: Himeka, Nero, Wanda.
What: They're living together, and it's a bit of a disaster getting used to each other. Nero may have tiny ears? We're on the case.
Where: Gardsbruk Farm, Solvunn.
When: After Summoning arrival and throughout April.
Warnings: TBA if necessary.

Comments

closed · nero

[carmesi]

[wanda wishes himeka would have given her more of a heads up.

thankfully, she already knows nero, from their less than lackluster first meeting and the subsequent interaction they had in which she paid for his meal. it never occurred to her that they would be seeing each other so soon after, or—by the looks of it—that much more often. himeka basically dropped the young man at the farm, said something about really needing to leave but knowing that wanda could help nero settle in.

with a soft sigh, wanda gets up from the bench in the kitchen and considers, sure, she'll help nero find his way around the farm. with a raise of her eyebrows, she glances at him and moves towards the door, grabbing her shawl along the way.]

The place is owned by Maeve and Declan, who are pretty young. This land has been in their family for generations. [it's what wanda has learned from himeka, from talking with the twins when she does share space with them.] We help out with the farm and animals, and they give us a place to stay.

[opening the door, she steps out into an incoming sunset. she turns to the young man, waiting for him to follow.]

I'll show you the barn. [and, as she starts walking, her back to him—] Your name is Nero, right?

[ofthesword]

[Honestly, Himeka owed that to both of them.

Possibly Wanda a lot more now that Nero's all but been adopted by the family farm. It's not new, exactly, the feeling, but that feeling's been dead for a while, too. Weird to say he's settling in when he's not meant to be here -- none of them are, but his is about him, thanks -- but here he is. Settling.

Starting to. Flirt with the idea. Solvunn's a weird town, but he's gone a full twenty-four hours without something attempting to chew his leg off or eat his face, which is pretty much a record at this point in his life.]

Right. Bartering. Sort of seeing why selling off the weird jewelry didn't exactly fly earlier. [Considering all the hubbub that attempt had started, he's still kept the thing. He doesn't wear it, but it stays tucked in his pocket of what could accurately be called pants, same brown as, like, most of the town, but also could accurately double for twin parachutes.

He is not a big fan.]

I mean, a barn's a barn, right? [Annnd he's following anyway. He does not mention his barn experience is limited, as things go, but like. It's a barn.] Nero. Yeah. Er. [He reaches back for the maybe four sentences of dialogue he'd gotten out of Himeka before she jet (which, thinking on it now, might not've been the worst idea.) There was a name in there.] Himeka mentioned a Wanda. Gonna guess that's you. You're not exactly two of the most subtle people I've met.

[Just three Summoned, living among the masses. One with a red shawl and Magic with a Capital Em, the other's a lizard, and he's. Gestures at the whole thing. A second lizard, Xtra Large, in disguise?] You guys really spend your time nursing cows and shearing sheep?

[That's definitely all farming is.]

[carmesi]

[how nice of himeka to at least have shared their names; helps with the whole awkward introductions. she has half a mind of turning to him and questioning what he means about the subtle comment, but figures that their one encounter in which they decidedly did not get to be on the best of terms is one she does not wish to repeat.

she has better manners than that, in any case.]

Those summoned will stand out regardless. [she turns towards a building with slanted roofs, covered in green.] But yes, I'm Wanda.

[the sheep have, fortunately, already been herded into the barn. with himeka departing, wanda did not want to have to do this on her own, even if it meant the sheep would be inside an hour or two earlier than usual. as they get closer to the building, bleating can be heard, getting louder with every step.]

There is more to it. There is a lot of free time between chores.

[and magic makes it easier, and a lot of other summoned come and help now and then. she stops by the front doors of the barn, turns to nero, and motions to them with a hand.]

Through here are the sheep and other animals. Your room would be around the back. Have you ever done this kind of thing before?

[been around farm animals? been involved with a farm? getting whisked into a new world? whatever could she mean.]

[ofthesword]

[Fair enough comment when Himeka has a fucking tail. Which, sticking out or not, no one seems to really be bothered by. Which is a thing that still messes with him, personally. In the "bad ideas" column of his brain, he can imagine just climbing into his demonic skin in the middle of town to see what happens.

Probably nothing great. Himeka still has her, you know. Human... er... qualities.

She has skin, is what he's getting at.

Nero's already pushing the barn door open, wrinkling his nose as the unmistakable smell of animals, grasses, and moldering hay hits him with the immediacy of a brick. Whew. That's gonna take getting used to.]

Yeaaah, I'm not really a farm guy. [He steps in, waving a hand in front of his face, then snaps back to her.] Wait, seriously? I'm sleeping out here? [His shoulders slump a little. Not that the place was particularly huge, but Nero is not truly vibing with the idea of sleeping surrounded by this. Smell.

Starting to wonder if he should've taken the weird apartment from earlier. Still, it's not the first time he's had to deal with shit to earn a room.] I mean, how hard could it be? A little food and water? Clean up the shit?

[How far are farm stock from domesticated pet dogs? It can't be that much of a difference.] Less messy than the work I was doing before.

[Better than the whole, blood-filled elevators in the blood-filled tree.]

[carmesi]

[his reaction is a little comical, if only because he allows them all to reflect so openly on his face. truly, the prospect of sleeping out here in a barn within proximity of the animals might not be entirely too enticing; there is a reason why wanda poked at the question of sharing the living space with himeka at the main house.

she can only imagine where nero's head is at.]

Something like that. You can learn about it tomorrow—maybe from Declan, since you could help him out with other things.

[being a guy and all—not like wanda and himeka couldn't, but declan takes his role a little too seriously as far as being 'the protector' of his sister goes, and all wanda dares do is look wistfully at their relationship and say nothing, lest she starts projecting.

abruptly—]

Come this way, Nero. [and wanda heads back out the door they came in, walking instead around the barn to the back, where another smaller door is. this she opens, throwing sprinkles of her magic about as she makes it through the threshold, lighting up candles, oil lamps, and the small fireplace that were once forgotten. it's a bit of a storage area, but nothing that can't be salvaged. the smell of manure and animals is, at least, gone. inside the space, she points up.] There is a loft there, and you can fix things around as you like.

It probably means you will be the one in charge of looking after the sheep, cows, and goats, but — you will have your privacy.

[wanda turns to him.]

Are you used to comfortable mattresses? [or, rather, the question should be—] Do you want a comfortable one?

[ofthesword]

[Something like that is good enough. Either way, he's not really gonna complain much about doing farm work if it gets him a place to sleep and food. It's just -- you know, the essentials. If someone's offering them, there's no reason to punch the gift horse.

Even if it's still a little bewildering, being plucked up like a stray so easily. It doesn't feel like trust. At least, not from Wanda. Himeka is debatable. He's starting to think she's just sort of... nice. Like, weirdly so. (Sort of like Kyrie.)

He follows her around the back, only watching those weird red sparkle things coming out with an inscrutable expression. Like, yeah, they sort of explained everyone has magic here or something, but it's. Weird. She sort of just does it.

Not complaining though. As he ducks down, entering the back room, he can see it's surprisingly nice. There's still a bit of a smell, but it's more musty than animal. Mostly. Maybe he can light a scented candle or something.]

Not a bad trade. [He moves past her to peek up at the loft area. Sleeping in the middle of the air, huh. There's definitely half a chance he's gonna roll off in the middle of the night.

Great.]

I... yeah? [It's not the weirdest question, but that she thinks to ask is what catches him off guard. There's been times when he didn't have a mattress at all, but it hasn't been for. A long time.] I mean, I had a bed at home, and it was, uh, comfortable. It's gonna be real bad for farm productivity if I'm waking up with a stitch in my back.

[That's literally never happened in his life, but it's a joke.] But it's fine as is. You guys have offered more than enough.

[carmesi]

[the question is a weird one, all things considered, but wanda's learned that she better ask first before making use of her magic to transmute things for others. people tend to feel a little... out of their depth—uncomfortable, even—when the use of her magic basically takes away a lot of that agency people want to think they have.

it's not on purpose, anyway.

what is on purpose, is wanda raising a hand toward the loft, her shawl slipping off her arm with the movement, scarlet magic changing the molecular composition of what would have been a hay-filled, formless mattress into something more reminiscent from her world (and nero's, too), with springs and foam and factory stitchings. the blankets and pillows change, too, so there's variety in texture and thickness, to whatever level of contentment nero may expect.]

The place hasn't been used in a while.

[is her explanation for using magic to fix the loft, rearranging her shawl as she steps closer towards the door and allow nero a chance to look around. he can work out the details of literally everything else tomorrow, she thinks, but having a comfortable bed would make things a little easier for now.]

Do you have any questions about this world? —and no, neither Himeka nor I are from yours. [a pause] I think. [—anyway.] We've all been pulled from different places in the multiverse for... reasons that are mostly vague, in my opinion. [she offers a light shrug] There are other two factions: The Free Cities and Thorne. One hates magic, the other thrives in it.

We cannot leave Solvunn, but you may travel between the settlements. Have you been told about the Horizon yet?

[ofthesword]

[Despite having seen it before, Nero still takes a little step back as the red -- what? Light? Smoke? Particles? Party confetti? -- fill the air. He tilts his head, watching it move towards the bed and turning the pancake of a bed into the bed equivalent of a Belgian waffle.]

Damn. That's a neat trick.

[He swings up onto the ladder and takes them two at a time, crashing out onto the mattress just to test it. Weird voodoo magic or not, the thing is comfy. Bouncy, even. And... small. Not big enough for two.

He sighs. Been a while since he slept alone, too.]

Questions? [He pokes his head out from the side of the bed, looking down at her.] I mean, kind of figured considering the whole tail thing. You, though? You'd fit right in. Probably.

[Yeah, he's got a shitload of questions. And it's gonna be boring as hell to sit here and sort through them all.] Can't leave, huh? They try and stop you? Considering the whole magic thriving thing, I'd think you'd be better off vibing there. [Wait. Dammit. He's asking questions.] Uh. Well, doesn't sound like the local theme park. It got water slides?

[Hah. It's funny, see, because they're surrounded by really boring farms.] What is it?

[Yes, he is failing to mention he totally skipped out in the middle of the info dump. So now the responsibility has been foisted onto the local... scary red witch. You're cool, Wanda.]

[carmesi]

[well, looks like he quickly got comfortable with the place, which is fine by wanda. it shows that nero is less likely to have trouble getting used to how different this world could be from his own, and may pose to be a valued asset not just for the farm—but for himeka and wanda, too, as a fellow summoned.

for her part, wanda takes a seat on a nearby stool, making sure to swipe whatever dust off from its surface.]

Turns out we don't get to choose which place summons us. [and, despite the summit—] It's not so bad here, though, even if it gets a little... boring.

[there is a certain lack of things to do in solvunn that nero will soon come to recognize. hopefully declan will keep him too busy in the farm, in case too much leisure time is an issue for the young man.

she looks up after she's sat, crossing her legs tightly and pulling the shawl closer around herself. she makes eye contact with nero.]

The Horizon is a space within our minds that we can go into. We can meet others from the other factions there, and even build our own space as we see fit. You're allowed to do so: a childhood home, a tree you really like, whatever it is. [hmm...] Like astral projecting, but into another realm.

I can show you it tomorrow after you're done with Declan.

[ofthesword]

I sure wouldn't have picked this dump.

[Mouth-to-brain highway continues to be absolutely free of traffic. Look, no offense. He's made it clear he's not a farm guy, though. He slides off the edge of the bed, landing on his feet beside her. Yeah. Boring doesn't really cover it so far.

But it's where he is. Like she said -- can't pick the place that summoned him. And there's not a chance Kyrie would've looked at these people and booked it as fast as she could.

Company's not the worst. So far.

Even if her forthright explanations of things tend to leave more questions in his head than answers. He waits for the punchline.

Astral... projecting.

He raises up his hands in surrender before he can voice a what the hell are you talking about?] Okay, okay. One of those believe-em-when-I-see-em kind of things. Yeah, sure. I'd love to see your mind palace. [A beat.] No way it's just some tree, right? Kind of stodgy. You gotta spice it up!

[carmesi]

[mouth-to-brain filter is inexistent, that much is for sure. wanda takes not of this but makes no effort to tell nero otherwise. there are certainly places she would have chosen over this one, but given what she does know about thorne and cadens? kind of happy she is in this weirdly quiet farming commune.

at his landing back down, she just tilts her head up towards him.]

It is whatever you want it to be, stodgy or not.

[nero also has a lot of energy.]

If you want clothes, you can buy them secondhand in town. I could also make them for you if you prefer. [with magic, none of the sewing tediousness.] It isn't much, but Himeka and I try to live comfortably here. You will notice as the days go by if you are missing something to make it easy.

[as in, it's easy to get homesick.]

But you're also not expected to stay in the farm forever. You can choose what you like best in the end.

[ofthesword]

[Wait, so it really is a tree? That's... okay, maybe it's a really nice tree. Like. Apples. Everyone likes apples, right? Better focus on the tree, anyway. Some people don't have the greatest childhood home memories.]

Make 'em? I'm guessing you don't mean sewing them up.

[She doesn't really radiate seamtress energy. He looks back up at the bed.] So you can make mattresses and clothes, huh? That's quite the skillset.

[He doesn't ask for them, though. Maybe later. He's got clothes on his back, a place to sleep -- he's pretty sure Himeka's gonna cook dinner later. Not much else to ask for, when it comes down to it. Not for a night.

He crosses his arms, looking back to her.]

Yeah, we'll see what happens. For now, the place ain't bad. Neither's the company. So... thanks. To both of you.

[For the offer. For the bed, too. For the place. It's... it's a lot. Not many people out here throwing so much out at random dudes who crawled out a well. Part of him doesn't want to trust it, and all the rest does. It's tiring being so damn paranoid all the time.]

[carmesi]

I can do whatever I want with my magic, as long as I have the materials to change into something else.

[she is only being domestic for the sake of the necessities they have, especially after being thrown into this world without anything of what once was theirs. it's good that nero shows some appreciation for it—for what himeka and wanda are willing to do for him, a relative stranger—and it helps melt away at her usual frostiness.

wanda offers him a smile, and heads for the door.]

In a place like this, it is important to stick together.

[oh, would sam be proud of her.]

Take some time to get used to the place, but come to the main house in about thirty minutes. I'll make some dinner for you.

[with this, hopefully nero won't feel the restriction of having to answer to her or anyone else despite being a newcomer in the farm.]