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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 12:10:23 GMT -6
It was quite obvious that though their work in this section was done, that the rest of the garden was going to need as much care, if not more. Morgan breathes out an icy breath, and then wipes their forehead. Amazing how the human body's ability to produce it's own heat could so easily make one sweat in the throes of winter. They move over to where Matsuba is, happy that he is still in the same spot that he head found for himself earlier. "I'm g-gonna need a rest soon, buddy, and I'm sure y-you're tired of me for the day. How a-about I come back tomorrow and check up on you?" They say, conversationally yet fully aware that he didn't understand them. Maybe the tone would get through, if they were lucky.
Matsuba tilts his head to one side, both eyes now on Morgan's bespectacled face.
[29]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 12:20:01 GMT -6
Somewhere in the trees not too far away, a rustling sound erupts. Morgan tilts their head serenely in an attempt to get a good luck at whatever was there without startling. They were not able to catch but a glimpse of whatever it was, a dark silhouette against a rapidly brightening sky. They'd come here in the early morning, and now here the sun was to come. They were already tired out for today; not uncommon really for them. They didn't weather the winter too well, theirself, and their immune system tended to hate them (or at least that was how they personified it). "A-alrighty then, Matsuba." Morgan says, turning their attention back to the beast. "I'll hopefully b-be back tomorrow, with any luck." They were really bad about having random things come up whenever they made plans, so they hoped, on the way out of the garden, to be telling the truth.
[30] - [Day break!]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 14:49:28 GMT -6
It wasn't the next day, predictably, when Morgan was able to return. Something had turned up at the Labs requiring another hand. With one of Morgan's assistants currently in hibernation (such was the life of a 'bear' mammalian they figured) for the winter, it was up to Morgan to fill in the extra needed position. They returned exhausted a few days later to the Garden. With having to take care of all of their other much needed chores and such. Morgan stands at the gates of their garden, their cold hands on the metal. They're trying to wedge the gate open against a large snow drift. The sky had opened up overnight and dropped a ton of snow on the grounds (metaphorically; it was probably a lot more).
Beyond the gates, watching from a rest beside a tree was the king of evergreen. It was as if he had been expecting Morgan.
[31]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 15:03:12 GMT -6
Morgan could see Matsuba from the gate, but they were having a very difficult time getting the gate open against the snow drift. Finally, instead of continuing to do the same thing with no results, Morgan simply climbed over the gate. It was an easy thing to do, but leave it to their own 'can't see the forest for the trees' traits to fail to realize that they didn't necessarily have to open the gate to get into the garden. It wasn't like the snow was going to be a permanent fixture of the garden, anyway. Morgan waves at Matsuba (and then subsequently feels pretty stupid) and then they call him over using the commands that they had taught him up to this point. Matsuba was pretty interested in coming over, sniffing at Morgan's hands for any sign of treats. "A-aren't you a little over-eager, M-matsuba?" Morgan mumbles at him. "I don't have treats in my hands, s-see?"
[32]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 15:14:01 GMT -6
After a thorough search for treats that were obviously not there, Matsuba finally seems resigned to that fact. He takes a moment to sneeze, shaking his head at the same time, and then moves towards Morgan's bag, searching via scent for the treats. "Wu-One would think that you don't do any photosynthesis, at this rate." Morgan tells him, gently scolding with their tone. "You're a good fella though, here." Morgan says, digging in their bag and opening up a pouch with the treats for the plant critters inside. They figured that an extra nutrient boost was probably one of the reasons why plant 'creatures' tended to move and have the ability to even eat in the first place. "H-here you go." Morgan says to him, breaking a little piece off to give to the king of evergreen. Matsuba takes it with relish, and turns away to eat his prize.
[33]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 15:19:41 GMT -6
Morgan was hopeful that this year would produce enough berries to help them get through the year (they needed at least two, for reasons) and so far, they'd been able to get just a little over that. Three coveted sets of the multicolored berries- and they wanted to make the most out of the last of the season. Though they knew that they weren't going to be able to do as well as they had the year before, Morgan was at least very glad that winter would soon be over and they could enjoy the rest of their year. Matsuba turned, keeping his tail mysteriously out of sight. Morgan sighed, and scratched the nape of their neck a little frustrated-ly. "H-how am I supposed to harvest any berries if you won't let me see them, fella?" They complained out loud. They didn't talk near this much to their humanoid compatriots!
[34]
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Post by Morgan on Feb 5, 2021 15:39:02 GMT -6
Of course, they had generally been obtaining the berries directly after they shed, which was a scary thing to do. The potency of the berries was an easy thing to lose if they were not carefully dealt with. Morgan was well versed in what to do, at this point, but they also knew that any sort of mistake might cause problems. They couldn't help but wish that the critter would let them take the berries straight off of his tail. Maybe someday?
Matsuba finishes his little treat and then turns towards Morgan, his tail still hidden from sight, and he holds out his 'hand' expectantly. He tilts his head, as if to mean 'food? food? Foooood?' Morgan knew that facial expression- it seemed that most critters had that particular desire. "Nope, n-no more critter." Morgan said. "Not right now, we need to w-work on more training before you get more."
[35]
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Post by Jack on Feb 8, 2021 19:37:17 GMT -6
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Post by Morgan on Oct 6, 2021 16:41:05 GMT -6
[Start of some Autumn Endeavors] Morgan had admittedly let the Garden go a bit, save for the parts that were taken care of by their robotic helpers. However, upon discovery that there were apparent rumors of various rare creatures being found within the gardens, the bespectacled human knew that it was time to return to the Gardens, if only to see if the rumors were true. The issue was finding a time in which they were not working in order to take on such a superfluous task. Finally, a chilly autumn evening comes directly after work, in which all of their other tasks are completed and they had a small stretch of hours until midnight (at which point they were certain to be forced to return back inside; to sleep for work again).
They stand just inside the gate of their own garden, and hardly recognize it. "O-oh. Wow." They murmur into the chilly air with a lacy exhale.
[1] - [Morgan is using Sever Bond - Start of a Critter Search]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 6, 2021 16:58:25 GMT -6
They had a lot of work to be done, and at first they could feel their heart sink. However, they realized that at the very least, the additional messy foliage might make for an excellent hide-away for some beast or two. Of course, their own beasts were most likely hiding as well, which would make for an interesting (if stressful) situation since most of them were not appropriately socialized after all this time. The human could not help but feel a tad guilty about that. Especially about the adorable little equillion that should be somewhere among the foliage. At least the beasties were safe here. Unless, that is, there really were creatures coming into the City from beyond the wilds, as the rumors suggested. Morgan was not sure what to think about it. It sounded much more like... Well, they hoped that their suspicions were wrong. They'd finally put that behind them. They select a small path in the brush, and hesitate.
[TBB 2]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 6, 2021 17:05:57 GMT -6
The night was cool, the promise of autumn tingling their nose with the smell of decaying leaves and a bonfire from down the street carried on arid air that threatened already to crack Morgan's thin lips. They shivered, and drew their labcoat further around their body instinctively. It wasn't exactly the chill that was getting to them- but that distinct sensation of being watched. It weighed on the back of their mind heavily, a cloak about the shoulders that was more heavy than protective.
Still, Morgan would never have gotten anywhere in their life if not for ignoring such nagging sensations for the most part- filing them away and being careful. There was no need to be terrified. At best, it was a phantom sensation and at worst it could be something that Morgan would get to test their magic on (that was an enjoyable thought, Morgan had to admit to theirself).
[TBB 3]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 6, 2021 17:57:27 GMT -6
The little trail that they selected had once been put in by their father; they'd meant to maintain it more properly, but it was quite beautiful with slightly more quasi-wild growth about it so it had always been on the near side of a little bit overgrown. The carefully maintained tangle of 'overgrowth' was far too unruly now to be excusable. The bespectacled human whispers a soft 'sorry' to the wind as they step upon one of the nice flat-cut stones, meant to be semi natural in cut but still obviously very industrial in fashion- the step rings out from the metal of the toes of their work boots. They nudge aside a branch, and press inwardly, creating a small path as they push the softer of the greens out of the way.
The sun's dying light did not quite make it through the overgrowth here save in the tiniest of dapples.
[TBB 4]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 7, 2021 8:37:03 GMT -6
"W-well, isn't this an unexpectedly spooky mess?" Morgan murmurs, rolling their hazel eyes to the sky. They were certain that the particularly spooky atmosphere was both an 'October Thing' and also was contributing to their slight 'gut feeling' paranoia. Humans are notoriously bad about confirmation biases effecting decision-making, and course correcting for that idea was something that Morgan was tending to far over-correct for. In this case, they were slightly more brash in their decision making than was perhaps normal for theirself.
They were thankful for the less balmy nights of Fall having finally descended upon the city. Morgan never appreciated the summer swelter. However, here among the garden's thickest foliage, it was a tad more balmy than Morgan would have liked. Already their body was heating up enough to keep their body from being overcome by the shivers that they had felt just moments before. Still, they focused on the sound of their boots hitting the path stones.
[TBB 5]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 7, 2021 14:14:00 GMT -6
Thirty minutes pass quite quickly as the bespectacled human pushes through the overgrown foot path in the middle of their own garden. It is long enough for the sun to dip all the way down the horizon, only the last bleeding dregs of sunlight showing against the canopy of crunchy leaves over Morgan's head. A small breeze picks up, sending some of the leaves flying and causing others to rustle a noisy song out in response. A slight whistling sounds out as the wind passes through scraggly tree limbs. Some of those snag at the human's labcoat sleeves as they push through, stopping them every few steps or so as they struggle to get through. Finally, the tangle breaks into a mysterious looking clearing; Morgan knows that this particular clearing had rockier ground that made it more difficult for trees to grow there in a broad circle. They are hesitant to step out into the clearing in the early moonlight.
[TBB 6]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 7, 2021 14:24:46 GMT -6
It is always at least a little uncomfortable to come out into a quiet clearing. Perhaps there was some long lost sensibility -some hidden or sleeping instinct- in humanoids that made them realize that they were much more covered and safe in the woods than in a clearing. Morgan knows that this is an absolutely ridiculous inclination, and they scoff audibly at it. "The w-worst danger I suspect to be present is... W-well, the Giant Dragon Oak, I figure." They say to no one in particular; perhaps to soothe theirself. They take a stuttering step, nearly falling over a gnarled root- and then they stepped noisily out onto the rocky ground. There was only a thin layer of rocky-ground sod atop of the rocks at this point, so they weren't as surprised by the noise as one would suspect otherwise.
Now that they were out in the open, they could not help but feel silly about their slight concern just before while in the treeline.
[TBB 7]
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