|
Post by Sevyrn on Aug 9, 2021 15:17:12 GMT -6
So much to do and so little time to do any of it - and it didn’t help that Sevyrn had loaded herself up with more responsibilities over the last year. Registering as a houlou shower, finding enjoyment and wonder in mansion trips, all the work she had done on her garden and all of the training that she had managed to accomplish. There was so much she had managed to finish and yet at the same time there was even more waiting for her to be able to get to work. It was hard to find a break sometimes, but even once in a while was enough. The garden had taken the slack, lately - she had made a point to make sure all of the creatures that called it home were well cared for but there was a construction zone where her shed had once sat and everything that had once been inside was sitting either loose or in totes on her deck… The small shack had been starting to rot away and replacing it had become a new mission, but Sevyrn had struggled to find the time. 151
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Aug 9, 2021 15:23:12 GMT -6
Her heavy sigh as she opened the screen door that led to her yard was overly dramatic - there was no one around to pay any mind but it helped her work herself up to the task at hand. Quinn would be coming over soon, the other woman a strong motivator to actually get moving because if anyone could get things done (and convince Sevyrn to actually want to get things done) it was Quinn herself. It could be irksome at times but at the end of the day, Sevyrn deeply needed a friend like that in her life to keep her motivated and doing things. Hell, Quinn was the person who had pulled her out of the hole she’d fell in to after Ryden had passed. That wound was still deeply harsh, but it grew a tiny bit more bearable with time.
Sevyrn planned to wait for the redhead to appear before she got going, so she popped herself backwards on her picnic table bench, bringing her arms up along the table as she leaned back. Getting comfy, she took a survey of the land to see what everyone was up to. Nestled in to a large empty flower pot on the ground beside the picnic table, a certain nyssafaux looked up towards her.
152
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Aug 9, 2021 15:27:46 GMT -6
Everyone seemed to be content, at least. The lotine bathed contently in the sun across the slabs of rock that lined the seryn pond and the majority of the ‘chee seemed to be having a mid-day nap in the shade of a strong oak. A striped head was poked out from beneath the body of Button - the little mussimander that Sevyrn had picked up a while back. It was pleasant to see that the little boy’s bond with the pachee had managed to stay strong with time. Neither of them were newcomers any more, and that mussimander could not be called a baby any more. Several other creatures were simply living their lives - dragon oaks grazing at their food in a loose gathering, a bellafaux and a leaf scatter seeming to be playing tag. All around it was a comfortable afternoon.
“What about you, AL?” Sevyrn asked, having noticed the Nyssafaux peek her little off-white head up towards her. “You as happy as these guys are?”
153
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 3:44:16 GMT -6
The Nyssafaux's soft chitters seemed almost lazy, considering how energetic the hybrid typically was. Ah, well - autumn was coming and Al frequently calmed down in the colder months. Perhaps winter affected plant-like animals in a way similar to the foliage and plant life all around her. It wouldn't bring death, no, but there was no denying that life in general seemed quieter in the colder months. Hmm. It wasn't something worth dwelling too hard on, though.
Quinn was her typical self, today - fashionably late. Sevyrn supposed the waiting period was what she had earned for agreeing to get a hand from her friend. Despite the 'flaw', Sev still loved the girl more than life itself - with Ryden gone, that made Quinn the only person she would live and die for. If only that could be enough to make Quinn want to be on time to rake some leaves and fix a storage shed.
154
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 3:53:41 GMT -6
It didn't take long before Sevyrn couldn't sit and wait any more, her nature too inclined to keeping busy to simply meander and wait. After running in to the house and getting her hands on her most recent sketchbook, a new one with only a couple sullied pages, she settled again outdoors. Everyone was so peaceful minding their own business among the garden that it made for a wonderful scene to sketch, and as rough as the resulting drawing was Sev did not need nor seek perfection - she was simply happy to be a part of such a moment.
Sevyrn was nearly done a rough sketch when the sound of her front door closing pulled her attention away from the paper, turning her head towards her house in mild caution. She knew that more than likely the intruder was simply Quinn, but she waited a few moments to see if said woman would come out the back door.
155 (Al - 14)
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 3:57:10 GMT -6
Ah, yes - moments later Quinn's form stilled on the inside of the screen door as she crouched down low to the ground. Ramses must have been pestering her for attention - as much as the malii kitten was very much hers in the same way that he had once been Ryden's, there was no denying that Quinn held a solid second in the firey little guy's heart. Hell, sometimes Sevyrn swore that Quinn stood a good chance of replacing her.
Sevyrn closed her sketchbook and tucked her pencil in to the spiral rings that bound the pages together - just in time, it seemed, because as soon as she'd started to stand up Quinn bounced out the back door with the kind of energy only she seemed capable of. Quinn, as lovely as she was, could give even Al's rambunctiousness a run for the money.
"Hello there!" Quinn called as she posed on the porch, loud enough to pull many eyes toward her.
156
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 4:10:43 GMT -6
The girls couldn't have been more opposite in so many ways, and yet there was no one that Sevyrn would prefer to have around these days. She lacked grace as she clambered to her feet, one leg catching on the picnic table as she tried to pull it out, and the lanky woman nearly became friends with the dirt on her way back to the porch. Quinn got quite a laugh out of just the sight, and Sevyrn simply shook her head in quite an exaggerated manner as she tried to regain her composure and head up the stairs.
"That wasn't funny," she insisted as Quinn continued to laugh. The redhead's lips turned in to a grin as she struggled to hold back more giggles and she met Sev part-way at the top of the stairs, pulling the taller woman in for a hug. With her arms pinned to her side, Sev could not hug her very well in return. All of the commotion had been enough to rouse Al from her flower pot - she stretched out in a cat-like fashion before hopping out.
157
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:00:55 GMT -6
"You're right, Sev - you're right. It's hilarious," Quinn agreed with a cheeky quip, releasing her best friend from her hold only to crouch down to love on yet another of Sevyrn's animal companions. Al was chittery as Quinn scratched beneath her chin, and the humanish girl was all smiles. "Teah - it's been a while since I've seen you, hasn't it? Don't worry, I'm here to hang out for a bit today. We're gonna have a blast. Aren't we?" Quinn turned her head to look at Sevyrn expectantly, and Sevyrn sighed.
"We're here to get work done, Quinn - I really need that shed in better shape before it starts to snow. The last thing I need is the roof collapsing when I'm not able to do anything about it. There's a lot of stuff in there." Sevyrn was much more business oriented than her friend was, it seemed.
"Hey, that doesn't mean we can't have fun doing it!"
Quinn always had a way of trying to bring positivity to everything - and as much as Sev would grumble about the girl's enthusiasm here and there, at the end of the day it was appreciated.
158
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:01:44 GMT -6
Quinn always did have a way of keeping things interesting, that was for sure. It wasn't long after the woman showed up that the pair had started the venture of the day - first up was clearing out everything that was still in the shed which would take up most of the early hours of the day on its own. By the time that they finished getting everything important up on to the porch and everything not worth keeping in to the trash, it was time to take a break. All the hard work cleaning up turned in to a quick bite to eat and then some time spent simply hanging out, both with each other and some of the many creatures who called the yard home. Al was insistent on getting a bite to eat herself, of course – the little thing always needed to be involved in whatever anyone else happened to be doing.
159
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:01:57 GMT -6
“Alright – let’s get the shed torn down,” Sevyrn said after a while, ready to get back to work. She’d been ready for a while, really, but Quinn had a way of chatting and never ceasing. The girl could talk someone’s ear off, that was for sure – it was a good thing that even though Sev herself was quite antisocial, she was able to tolerate the way that her friend could ramble. Maybe that was part of why they got along so well – Sevyrn never really had to worry about being able to hold a conversation, just retaining a decent amount of what others had to say and responding appropriately.
“Awh, but I was having fun!”
“Quinn, we were literally just sitting here,” Sevyrn returned, shaking her head in mock dismay.
“Yeah, but Al’s comfy,” came the next ‘argument’. Quinn was right – Al had settled down on to her lap and gotten quite comfy, peaceful enough to pass out.
160 (Al - 15)
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:23:39 GMT -6
The playful reluctance went on for a few moments more, but in the end Quinn gently awoke the sleeping Nyssafaux (another thing Sevyrn appreciated about her friend was how much care she showed to all other living creatures) and once Al’s little purple eyes opened up she told the little thing that it was time to go back to her favourite spot – that flower pot filled with rich soil that had become her favourite place to be a long, long time ago. Once the Nyssafaux was removed from Quinn’s lap – and she was sleepy enough that she simply curled back up in the dirt and closed her eyes once more – the girls were able to start getting to work.
She’d never done much demolition, not really. She’d spent a lot of time working on the greenhouse that would become her best friend as winter came, but not so much time was spent tearing things down.
161
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:23:51 GMT -6
Quinn was quite well versed in the art of physical labor, luckily. Hell, Quinn had been the one to teach Sevyrn pretty much everything that she knew and was three-quarters of the reason why the greenhouse even stood at all. Sevyrn would never have been able to get that done without a helping hand, and there was no better set of hands to help. Luckily, all Quinn needed in order to feel like a job was worth it was some company, a bit of food and maybe a bottle of wine once all was said and done. The social butterfly was easy to please.
So down went the shed – torn apart by crowbar and sledgehammer, the remains left in a pile near the demolition site to become a problem for a later day. They would have to clean it up later, but for now they just needed somewhere to leave the debris.
162
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:25:30 GMT -6
“So – how do you want to do this?” Quinn asked, eying the building supplies leaning up against the fence that Sev (and Quinn, of course) had put the work in to replacing the year before. Sevyrn had an idea of what she wanted but Quinn was the mastermind who had planned the whole venture out and let her know what kind of stuff to buy in preparation, so Sevyrn had to laugh. Why in the world was Quinn handing the reins off to her?
“Well, I liked your idea – got what you wanted me to. I’d like to get the new shed down by the gate, closer to the house than this one was.” There was more than enough space to the side of the gate to fit a little shack in with the dimensions that Sev and Quinn had talked about it, so it was a viable plan. Closer to the house meant she’d have easier access to her supplies on her way out, instead of having to detour towards the back if she were, for example, heading to the greenhouse.
163
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:25:43 GMT -6
The girls had to start with the base of the structure – and before moving forward past laying out a simple bottom, Quinn affirmed with Sevyrn that this was for sure where she wished to erect the building. Sev was happy with the spot chosen and as such they moved in to working on building up the frame. For the most part, what Sev was in charge of was hauling the wooden beams, nails and other various supplies over to Quinn as requested. There were a few times where the redhead had to laugh and say that she’d been asking for something else, but for the most part Sevyrn was becoming quite aware of construction and the supplies used in it. Just building up a simple frame was going to take up the rest of the day, though.
Come dinner time, the sun was already beginning to set – fall was settling in, and pretty soon winter would be coming.
164
|
|
|
Post by Sevyrn on Sept 27, 2021 7:26:28 GMT -6
The women collapsed in to chairs on the patio after grabbing some food to refuel on – both had wine glasses in their hand to sip on, and a deep-seated feeling that they would not be doing any more work on that building today. Both of them knew this would not be a day-long adventure, of course – Quinn planned on coming back over the next day after she’d finished up her work down at the training center, and they would get right back on it for a few hours.
For now it was time to rest – to watch the sun set over the horizon with a slight buzz going on as they found themselves both on their third glass of wine. Many of the garden’s residents came to visit though not all of them – sweet little Button ended up climbing on to Quinn’s lap, and after Al got some post-nap energy out she, too, came to join the girls.
165 (Al - 16)
|
|