Yang
Flea Market Artist
Posts: 1,001
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Post by Yang on Nov 1, 2021 1:24:13 GMT -6
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:02:16 GMT -6
It was time again for summer to come to the world and awaken the gardens. This would be an excellent reason to celebrate… if only they had any time to do that instead of getting ready for harvest time. Everything needed to be changed over, now fully turned away from the near lifeless grip of the frozen winter and into the warm sunshine and sweet rain of summer. Silver didn’t really have a plan, which wasn’t unusual for them. They simply grabbed a basket full of tools and dragged them off to their garden plot. They figured that they’d know what to do once they got there. This time, they didn’t bring any other creatures with them, for they wanted to focus on the garden itself rather than dividing their attention. However, they were never really alone. Zii had been there for as long as they could remember, and Quin was never far behind either. His constant presence was a bit newer, but they had definitely gotten used to it by now. It was as if they were incapable of thinking of themselves as separate from the two. Silver was Quin and Zii and their own spirit, all in one… not to mention the dragon in their heart. 1[142.5, 21.7, 3.2]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:03:33 GMT -6
As soon as they arrived at the garden plot near their home, Quin flew over and dove into a pile of brambles. Silver would have been worried about him, but they knew he wouldn't be hurt. They just let him play, assuming he would be fine. While they often worried for Quin’s safety in general, they had come to learn a lot about his habits and how close to trouble he actually was. The garden was a safe place, and so long as Quin stayed within the garden, he would be alright.
To both of their surprise, Quin’s crash into the thorny underbrush was met with a loud hiss. Quin quickly scrambled backwards in shock and chirped indignantly. While Silver had been trying not to worry about him until that point, the hiss was rather alarming. Not many things that lived in the garden posed an actual threat to him, but they didn’t want to find out too late that they made the wrong assumption, either.
He was soon followed out of the brush by an angry whiptail vine snatcher named Kwist. She hissed again and lashed her tail threateningly, baring her teeth as well for good measure. She waved her head around as if she were looking for a threat. It was then that Silver remembered that she actually couldn’t see, but instead used a heat sense to determine her surroundings.
2 [142.55, 21.9, 3.4]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:04:41 GMT -6
“Ah, calm, calm down then, both of you,” Silver said, rushing over to smooth over the situation. “Quin, Kwist won’t hurt you, but you really should leave her alone. Did you know she was in there?”
Then Silver turned to the whiptail herself and made a soft sound. “Oh Kwist, it is time for you to bud again, isn’t it? No wonder you’re so worked up,” they commented.
Whiptail vine snatchers were fierce little creatures at the best of times, but while they were budding, they were particularly nasty to deal with. Ironically, that was the time in which they needed the most care. Silver felt fortunate that they would be able to be there for her, even if she didn’t exactly feel the same way. Perhaps that was why they had the inkling to come to the garden in the first place. They just knew that there was something to do there.
Kwist continued to snap her tail about as she looked up at Silver. She was familiar with them in that they often visited the garden, but she didn’t know them that well. Certainly not well enough to just instantly trust them when she was already riled up.
3 [142.6, 22.1, 3.6]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:15:14 GMT -6
She hissed, but less loudly this time. Almost as if she was giving off a more subtle warning. She was calming down a little bit, though, and would probably be back to bug hunting in no time. After all, nothing actually bad had happened, even though she had been quite startled for a moment.
Quin had quickly become bored of trying to play with Kwist, so he was bouncing around the garden and sticking his face into any place he thought it would fit. He was rather rambunctious, but he knew better than to mess with Kwist. She was clearly actually angry with him for his little stunt earlier, and as much as he liked to play, he did not like to fight. Instead, he would look for some other unsuspecting creature to play with. Someone around there must be interested in playing with him!
He ducked his head into one bush after another, looking for some poor creature to annoy. Silver watched him for a moment, and at the same time, they took in the scope of work that needed to be done in the garden. It was a never-ending cycle of growing over and cutting back. They could swear they just did this recently...
4 [142.65, 22.3, 3.8]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:23:19 GMT -6
There was a chill on the breeze, and Silver involuntarily shivered with the cool weather. Wasn't it meant to be warm? Ah well. They tried not to worry about it too much. They couldn't change the weather, even if they tried.
They kneeled down and brushed their paws through the dirt in front of them. It was stiff and cool. It would need to be broken up so that emerging plants could break through. That seemed as good of a place as any to get started. They slid their pack off their shoulder and reached into it for some tools. As they rummaged around in their pack, Kwist wandered back up to them.
"Ah, hello little one," they said. Though for a plant, she wasn't really that little. "Would you like a treat? I will see what I have for you," they mumbled, mostly to themselves. They pulled all of the tools out of their bag and sat them aside so that they could go on the hunt for some tasty treats for her.
"Oh! Here we go," they said. They had a little container full of jerky that she might like. It was always strange to them that a plant would eat meat, but they were used to it by now.
5 [142.7, 22.5, 4]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 19:28:35 GMT -6
"Can you catch?" they asked. They reflexively tossed a treat in a wide arc, but it hit the ground with a subtle thud. It was then that they remembered that she couldn't actually see. "Oh sorry," they said, laughing a bit under their breath at their own silliness. They picked the treat up off the ground and passed it to her, this time holding it in front of her nose where she could sense it more easily.
Kwist snapped up the treat and stepped back to guard herself as she swallowed it down. Silver kept a safe distance away from her, as not to startle her too much. She was extra testy due to the buds growing from her back, and they knew that she was defensive even at the best of times. It actually showed a lot of trust between them that she was even willing to take a treat from their hand in the first place. Normally, they would expect her to be even more guarded. She must be warming up to them.
Quin couldn't find anyone willing to play hide and seek with him, so he flew back over to where Silver was and landed on the ground in front of them.
6 [142.75, 22.7, 4.2]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 20:31:34 GMT -6
Kwist seemed to be looking at the ground where Quin landed, but she couldn't figure out what was there. Quin's unique physiology meant that he didn't put off much heat, which made him difficult for her to find. If he didn't make so much noise, she may never have noticed him in the first place.
"You can't have any," Silver said, looking down at Quin. He looked back up at them and chirped lightly. Kwist was able to use that sound to lock on to his position and her tail began to lash again.
"Wait, wait, calm down now," they said in a soft voice. They didn't want Kwist to get all riled up again. It might not bother Quin, but they certainly didn't want to be whipped with those tails. Besides that, they really didn't want to stress poor Kwist out any more, either.
They cautiously held out another treat for Kwist so that she could take it and calm down. Though they did realize that it was a bad idea to hold their paw out to a creature who was a bit upset, they thought it would go over okay. Even if she did bite them, which had happened to them before multiple times, they would probably be okay enough.
7 [142.8, 22.9, 4.4]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 22:14:16 GMT -6
Kwist eagerly snapped up the treat with her sharp teeth, causing Silver to jump back reflexively. They looked down at their hand, just to make sure that all of their fingers were still there, and breathed a sigh of relief. Whiptail vine-snatchers had teeth like a snake, and they would definitely cause some damage if any of their fingers got caught. They didn't know what it was like not to be able to see, but she was surprisingly accurate at grabbing food for a creature with no eyes.
Silver had to take a moment to remember what they were doing before Quin interrupted them. This was a surprisingly common occurrence for them. If it wasn't Quin, it would be something else distracting them. Sometimes they thought it was amazing that they got anything done at all.
The tools laying on the ground next to their bag was a good hint at what they had been doing just a moment ago. They were stirring up the soil in order to plant some seeds for the upcoming season. Well, that was easy enough. Not a lot of brainpower involved in digging and mixing up dirt. They grabbed the tools they wanted and moved far enough away from Kwist as not to alarm her, then got to work.
8 [142.85, 23.1, 4.6]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 22:19:00 GMT -6
They tapped away at the dirt with one metal tool after another, carefully stirring it, turning it over, and replacing it. That way the soft and weak roots of young plants could find their way through the soil with ease. It was funny to them that if they left it be, something would surely grow over this space in no time at all, but if they wanted to make it hospitable for something else, they would have to put in a ton of effort. Why couldn't the easiest to care for plants be the most beautiful and nutritious? The universe was really unfair, sometimes.
Kwist went about sniffing around for more treats for a bit, eventually wandering closer to Silver. She sort of liked being close to them, actually. Perhaps it was because of all the treats they had to share. She hissed softly, as if to tell them that she had arrived. Then she plopped down on the ground and used one of her short hind legs to scratch the itchy buds on her back. She was really hoping they would stop itching so much. Soon enough, the garden would be overrun with little wrymlings. Nature was truly fascinating... and a little gross.
9 [142.9, 23.3, 4.8]
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Post by Silver on Sept 21, 2022 22:28:12 GMT -6
Silver was starting to cultivate quite a pile of strange looking weeds. Each one was plucked at its prime from the nearly inhospitable soil and tossed into the mix. One long thin plant waved in the breeze, catching Quin's attention. He came over to investigate then mimicked the way the vine wiggled in the wind by wiggling his own head and neck excitedly. When Silver saw him doing this, they couldn't help but to laugh. He just looked so silly with his mouth hanging open and his head flopping about every which way.
Kwist eventually stopped scratching, and since she was already sitting down, she plopped all the rest of the way to the ground and stretched herself out. She was itchy and tired. Budding time was utterly exhausting. She let out a long, slow breath that resembled a sigh.
"Oh I know," Silver said sympathetically. It must be hard to go through this phase every year, though they couldn't say they really understood it. Their own body certainly didn't do anything like it, of course. They could only imagine what it was like. Actually, now that they were imagining it, the whole process seemed especially absurd. Imagine if mammals reproduced by budding... they shuddered at the thought.
10 [142.95, 23.5, 5]
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Post by Jack on Nov 22, 2022 12:28:07 GMT -6
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Post by Silver on Mar 21, 2023 21:09:34 GMT -6
It was the time of year where the chill of winter began to recede and the warmth of spring teased its approach. This was a hectic time in the gardens as the life lying in wait prepared itself to begin growing again. Though it seemed still and silent it was actually full of activity and excitement just under the surface. It was also the perfect time for harvesting a Mussimander. "You'll have to help me out," Silver said to Quin. The little dragon perked up at the sound of his name. "I need you to find my little friend. Are you ready?" Quin stretched his wings and floated into the air. He waited for Silver to indicate what he should do next, hovering in place and practically vibrating with excitement. “Okay okay,” Silver said with a grin. “Zolli is about this big,” they held their hands out to demonstrate, “and he has bright pink mushrooms, rainbow ears, and black scales. Do you think you can find him?” Silver wasn’t actually sure that Quin could even see every color, but they thought that giving him something to do would distract him for a little while as they got to what they actually wanted to do to prepare for the upcoming thaw. 1[137.4, 27.7, 0.2]
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Post by Silver on Mar 21, 2023 21:10:23 GMT -6
Zollingeri was a Magical Mussimander, and no doubt he would be ready to drop off some of those aforementioned bright pink mushrooms. This was a great season for harvesting the Mussimanders, as it wasn’t absolutely freezing like it was in the dead of winter.
Zolli, unbeknownst to Quin, was standing at the base of a pine tree, rubbing some itchy skin against the rough bark. He had been trying to scratch with his claws, but he just couldn’t reach. The tree was also not doing the best job and he was getting a bit frustrated with the process. Perhaps he could find something else to rub up on.
With that goal in mind, he wandered over to a bramble bush and tested it with his claws. It seemed like it would do for some intense scratching. Without thinking much more of it, he dove into the bush and walked about until a branch caught his itchy spot just right. He twitched this way and that to finally satisfy his itch for good. Well, that was productive. Now that he was done with that, he plopped down right under the sharp brambles and took a nap.
Quin bounced from one leaf to another, ducking his head under every single object that might just be big enough to hide a small creature.
2 [137.45, 27.9, 0.4]
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Post by Silver on Mar 21, 2023 21:10:49 GMT -6
Many of them were not even close to a good hiding place for a Mussimander, but he didn’t seem to mind. It was really more about the chase than it was actually finding what he was after. For that matter, had he even really understood what Silver had asked of him? Perhaps he only knew ‘find’ and was going on that alone. Whatever the case, he seemed to be having a good time.
Silver meanwhile set their backpack down and started to look for the tools they needed to clear up a small bed. This spot once contained some berries but it had been frozen over and was now just some hardy weeds that could survive the frost. They had all of the basic tools with them, but they were having trouble finding the ones they wanted. For all the time they spent searching through their backpack, they should have learned to be more tidy, but it seemed that lesson might never really stick.
“How are you doing, Quin? Find anything yet?” they asked absentmindedly as they dug through their bag for the one tool they were still looking for. Quin chirped excitedly in response, as if to tell them that he was doing fine and enjoying himself. Though he hadn’t found much of interest other than a completely frozen bug of some description. It wasn’t tasty. He had checked already.
3 [137.5, 28.1, 0.6]
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