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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 0:44:56 GMT -6
But then maybe it was because he found them cute, and she did not. That kind of perception could make a world of difference; he knew that well enough.
“Do you want to feed them?” he said, offering her the bag of seeds with his other hand. She took one look at it, and then at him, with the birds settling now into his hair as well as on his hand and arm, and disdained it. Aubrey laughed again, gently; he had not expected any other answer.
Aubrey fed them for a little while out of the palm of his hand, until much of the seed that he had initially poured into it were gone, then dislodged his passengers as gently as he could. He filled the feeder with the rest of the seeds, and before the birds could overwhelm him, found a likely looking branch from which to hang the thing.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 0:45:42 GMT -6
Once he was rid of it, the birds left him for the promise of food from a different source. They had, as it turned out, little loyalty; a hand and a feeder were all the same to them. But that suited him well enough. Easier then to get them away from Thistle, who didn’t like them at all; and they were more easily enjoyed from afar, even for Aubrey himself.
When he returned to the garden proper, Thistle was waiting, watching him with a certain air of… if not expectation, then certainly something anticipatory, as if to see what he would do. But Aubrey shook his head. “That’s going to be it for today,” he said. “There’s not much to do at this time of year, you know? Though if you’re lonely, I’ll try to come out more often.” She had no response for that, but simply inclined her head.
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Post by Renathan on Dec 1, 2019 1:27:26 GMT -6
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:29:34 GMT -6
Still, he took this as invitation enough for his purposes, and made a mental note to spend more time in the garden if he could manage it from now on. She had no other creatures for company here, besides Yeo-reum and Aubrey himself, for Qingqiu certainly could not have made the trip of his own volition.
Ah, and Mytho too, come to think of it--- Aubrey had nearly forgotten about the half breed. But Mytho didn’t care to come out to the garden, for all that he seemed perfectly at home in the mines. When he was at home, he stayed firmly sequestered in the study, and not much would budge him from there except the promise of another foray into the caves.
Perhaps that was also an argument for getting more garden creatures situated in here… But that was to be an issue for when he had more funds to hand.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:30:16 GMT -6
Most creatures that lived in the gardens weren’t free, though on the other hand, there were some that were... But then again, Aubrey also didn’t want to inundate himself with creatures until he felt confident taking care of more than the ones he had now. And he wasn’t sure that he was at that point yet, despite not having many companions to his name as of yet. To manage as many creatures as Aster had done… He wasn’t sure he’d ever reach that point; and Aster did not run such a large establishment for himself, in the grand scheme of things. Since coming out on his own, Aubrey had seen a few truly grand properties, which seemed packed to the brim with creatures. It boggled his mind, and he wondered that anyone could have either the time or the money for so many, let alone both.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:30:31 GMT -6
But how they lived was their business, he supposed. He was content for the moment with his small house and its small garden, and with the companions he had besides.
“I’ll come visit you tomorrow,” he promised Thistle, but then he really had to duck inside. He had grown quite cold in the intervening time, and the sit on the rock had not done him much good either. But the thing that really sealed his retreat was the fact that his ears were beginning to become uncomfortably cold, a little numb at the tips. They were furred, but only a fine, soft covering of it, and not at all suited for winter. The ears of winter creatures tended to have thicker fluff, and smaller sizes, than his own.
Aubrey was someone who did his best to keep to his word, and in this case it was no great feat to live up to his promise.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:31:00 GMT -6
Late in the morning, when the day had warmed up almost as much as it was going to--- which still wasn't very warm, unfortunately--- he visited the garden again. Birds had been frequenting the feeder all through the morning, which he had seen from the windows when he happened to pass by as he was doing other things. Now that the day had grown a bit longer, and the worst of their morning hunger had abated, however, the flow had slowed to a trickle, a few individuals now and again, rather than any great rush of the little creatures.
Thistle was there, of course. He spotted her easily among the immobile plants. If she had sheltered in the shed at all, he didn’t know about it. Presently she was sitting on the same rock that Aubrey had occupied the day before, looking as though she might have been contemplating something.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:31:31 GMT -6
At his approach, however, she came back to herself from whatever thoughts she had been having, and regarded him evenly. There was nothing of excitement or greeting in her gaze, except that it was being levelled at him as he bid her good morning. The anticipatory quality to it had faded somewhat, but was not entirely gone. He had the sense that she was waiting for him to do something interesting, to make it worth her time.
If she had any such expectations of him, he wouldn’t have wanted to disappoint her, but he didn’t know if he had anything terribly interesting to provide. Still, he had come up with more work to be done, and if she wished to help him, so much the better. But even if she didn’t, if he was going to come out here, he may as well take the opportunity to make himself useful.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:32:21 GMT -6
And work, when you were looking for it, was not generally all that difficult to come up with, though sometimes you had to get a little creative.
To that end, he had availed himself of an old rake, which had been among the things that he had cleared out of the shed, left by the previous owner. Or maybe the owner before that; there was no way of knowing outside contacting the one who had sold the property, and as it had been bought by Aster, Aubrey lacked the means to do even that much. He suspected that Aster would have told him the information if he really cared to know, but thus far there hadn’t been any real occasion for it. This was, of course, a good thing; if there had been an occasion for such a thing, it was likely going to be due to some serious problem with the house.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:33:14 GMT -6
And if that was the case, whatever problem was at hand would need better context than what Aubrey currently had to be properly understood. That was not something to be wished for at all, especially considering the fact that he wasn’t living here alone.
There were fallen leaves on the ground both here and in the rest of the yard, and Aubrey meant to do something about them. He hadn’t intended to originally; a neat lawn was not something he intended to cultivate, and he was content to let the leaves rest where they were. They would provide winter shelter for insects, which would in turn feed the birds that depended on their presence. But he couldn’t help thinking they might at least be distributed to better purpose than their current arrangement, and that would certainly give him something to do in the meantime, while he kept Thistle company.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:33:58 GMT -6
So, starting with the area around the garden plot, he began to rake the leaves together, one long pull of the rake at a time.
It was, he found out almost immediately, not as easy as he had expected when he had envisioned the task from the warmth and safety of the house. It was not even as easy as he might have hoped. It had never looked like a particularly difficult task, but now that he was applying himself at it, he found that he did not know how best to hold the rake, nor the most efficient way to gather the leaves with it. Soon his hands began to sting, whether from the age and condition of the rake itself or from his poor technique. Likely it was both, and perhaps something else too, which had not yet occurred to him. At any rate, it was not very pleasant going.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:34:18 GMT -6
Thistle was watching the proceedings with more curiosity than she had before, though if he was being honest, there seemed to be a degree of bafflement to her attention as well. Pulling out the weeds might have made some sense to her, after she had figured out that there were some plants he wanted and some plants he did not. He was sure she could not figure out his purpose now.
He was also fairly sure she would understand even less once she saw that he meant to spread the leaves back out, once he had finished gathering them. Maybe then she would conclude that he was some sort of fool. He recalled that Aster often mentioned that the process of training had sometimes led to similar thoughts in the creatures he worked with. At the time, Aubrey hadn’t really understood the sentiment, especially as Aster trained for combat and obedience.
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 1:34:34 GMT -6
Did not those things require a basis of respect? And respect he had, for his creatures did listen to him, but now he knew that there must also have been unfortunate moments like this, where they must have wondered why he toiled so. They did not understand the purpose of the effort, and in the meanwhile the humanoid was clearly making themselves miserable over it… That sort of thing must have been strange to watch. It was certainly strange to be observed doing it, and be utterly unable to explain in proper detail.
But then, perhaps Thistle would understand. She was a plant herself, sort of. Maybe what he was doing would begin to make sense to her once he began spreading the leaves back out.
If he was hoping that she might assist him, however, and quicken the progress for him--- or save the skin of his own hands--- on this occasion, he was mistaken.
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Post by Renathan on Dec 1, 2019 2:25:25 GMT -6
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Post by Briar on Dec 1, 2019 2:29:07 GMT -6
She was content merely to observe this time around, and Aubrey, generally not given to hoping for charity from others, applied himself more seriously to his chore without seeking anything more from her on that front.
It was slow going by himself, but he did make headway, in the end, through sheer force of will and effort if nothing else. After a time, he did find something like a rhythm, and he got a little better at making use of the long unwieldy rake. His hands stung all the worse for it though, and it was not a pain that made itself duller after its first blush of acquaintance. He was beginning to suspect that he might see blisters tonight, or tomorrow. He would have to put something on it, he thought, but there would be time enough to figure out what once he was finished with what he was doing here.
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