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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 11:45:19 GMT -6
The lepus slowed his work, but did not cease it. If the evergreen was truly in search of liberating its cache of stores, he could give it ample opportunity. For any other such case, if it was a burrow or nest instead, he would simply know to gradually work around it as to avoid disturbing the occupant. Perhaps even be mindful to investigate the location further once the snows had begun to melt and the grass turned green once more, when the garden work could begin proper.
The evergreen may not have understood the gesture, but it seemed capable of utilizing the lull in the lepus' approach. Quickly it moved across the snow, low as it could, towards the low snowy mound on the corner of the orchard's border. A final glance behind it, not yet quite aware of its location being most evident and obvious, before it began to quickly dig into the snow.
|13| Winter: 13 Ceylon: 6 (3/5) / 2 (3/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 11:49:25 GMT -6
The evergreen spent only moments on the digging, but it had been enough to uncover and opening to the base of the bushes, where even a quick glance from aside could spot brown bark and darker roots like a framework over and around a hollow. The evergreen then grabbed for things from within, quick to stash as many within its arm as it could, before it suddenly turned and fled the scene. Within the motion, a flick of its tail through the air sent a few bright shapes tumbling into the snow. For a moment the lepus assumed the evergreen would turn and come back for them, but quite the opposite. It seemed to wish to push as much distance between as possible.
It was largely curiosity which gave his work pause, as the lepus glanced over and across the small snowy field. Three berries lay scattered among the soft, downy white.
|14| Winter: 14 Ceylon: 6 (4/5) / 2 (4/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 11:53:29 GMT -6
But other colours were evident among the hollow as well. The evergreen had not taken everything hidden, and seemed not to mind leaving the rest behind by means of perhaps cutting its losses. Not a burrow or nest, then, the lepus could deduce.. But what would an evergreen consider worth abandoning so readily?
The creature had stopped some distance beyond the trees and remained watching from there, its arms laden with colourful fruits and stems of plants. It made no move to go further, nor did it seem conflicted to return. What was left, was no longer it's concern. But it remained the lepus'. The tall mammalian began to step through the heavy snow, unafraid of the cold, for the working boots were well suited to the job. First he arrived to the scattered pieces, and collected the three into a palm. The shapes and colours, when alone, did not seem so different to some fruits..
|15| Winter: 15 Ceylon: 7 (0/5) / 3 (0/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 11:57:36 GMT -6
..But brought together, they were quite familiar. A type of fruit that had once been used to create the very orb which caused his skin and fur to radiate with light from within. In years past, he had not delved too deeply into the source of these berries so much as their function, but it brought to sharp light the value of the evergreens to average citizens, if they were able to produce the components necessarily to save one's life in the offering process.
It was not the only find, as he soon discovered. The berries were carefully placed into the pocket of his jacket, as he approached the hollow. The low branches of the thick bushes had created an ideal net with which to catch the snow and prevent it from covering the ground beneath them, thus leaving an opening that was still covered in grass. It was faded and winter-brown, but free of a snow blanket all the same.
|16| Winter: 16 Ceylon: 7 (1/5) / 3 (1/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 12:01:44 GMT -6
And amid it all, a plethora of finds, from fruits to nuts to even crystalline formations. All placed upon what nearly appeared to be a bedding of those strange bunana fruits, each such more colourful than the last. In evidence, it appeared the evergreen had not sought to bring those along on account of them being inedible to most animals, though perhaps still felt a need to keep them out of a sense of hoarding, as if the worst of cases could utilise them.
Reaching his long hand into the hollow, the lepus brushed a few of the fruit aside, and could see more. There was at least one fuzz-covered fruit that he'd seen before, and a set of some shaped like hearts, which appeared to be new. Next to them was a crystalline formation, which evidently was edible, to an extent, though he had found the flavour quite bland for its uniqueness.
|17| Winter: 17 Ceylon: 7 (2/5) / 3 (2/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 12:05:16 GMT -6
While such a cornucopia of produce was impressive, much more so was the quality of it. The winter had been snowfalls and gales for some months now, and yet the fruits seemed as fresh as if they were picked yesterday. This brought to mind the idea that perhaps not quite all plants are as likely to winter in hibernation as he had anticipated. Indeed, if they were like the evergreen himself, they could well hide beneath the snow and produce fruits and nuts well into the months of spring, unbothered by the lacking sunlight from above.
Slowly, the lepus picked each of the fruits up and placed them into the coat's pockets. Many more of such as the pockets themselves could well burst, forcing him to return to the garden for a basket instead. It was when he was about to pick up some of the last fruits that the pale eyes briefly narrowed..
|18| Winter: 18 Ceylon: 7 (3/5) / 3 (3/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 12:08:28 GMT -6
The hollow was dim, even for its small size, but the lepus' eyes had rarely been bothered by darkness ever since he had been born. Towards the back of it, nearly against the very snow wall itself, was something else. Elusive, given its dull tones nearly blending into the background, and far-outshone by the bright colours of the fruits before it. But he could none the less notice the flower for what it was once the bright ones had been removed.
A winter rose. But one untethered to the ground, growing within a bush that was as far from a rose as was possible. Gently, his arm reached for the closed bud and brought it out into the light of day. Somewhere behind him, and evergreen's eyes might have shone quite large indeed, for even he might not have been aware it was hiding among all its stored fruits and berries.
|19| Winter: 19 Ceylon: 7 (4/5) / 3 (4/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 1, 2022 12:13:53 GMT -6
Perhaps the evergreen had mistaken it for a fruit? Or merely dug the hollow perfectly unaware it already belonged to something else? When the lepus held the closed bloom, there was a stranger sensation against the palm. He thought it perhaps the nip of the cold, but the bloom was warm.. The ears moved forwards, unfocusing from the evergreen for once and he listened.
A small, soft sound, in tune to the sensation against the palm. A pulse.
His brows raised, gently running a thumb across the outside petal along the vein. While all plants live, few in truth feel as though they are alive. And yet, he could almost mistake the pulse of this one to something far more living than a mere flower. Perhaps even something more closer to the evergreen, if it too lived and breathed the same manner which the lepus did. The distance at which it kept made the assumption rather difficult to confirm.
|20| (counted) Winter: 20 Ceylon: 8 (0/5) / 4 (0/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 10, 2022 5:13:53 GMT -6
It could have been a simple matter to make an assumption based on said similarity. That perhaps the bloom was offspring to the evergreen, and thus should be returned to them. However, several factors none the less appeared to speak against it. Primarily, the factor where the evergreen had not deigned it important enough to take with him. For another, that the bloom's type and shape far closer resembled that of a far more distinct flower than any the evergeen had shown in the months leading up to the bulbs situated upon his tail ripening to berries. Far more accurately it could have been said the flower resembled a rose.
What oddity, then, to find a living rose in such dead of winter? When little else blossomed, even types which held no pulse of their own. Such comparisons aside, the lepus was not entirely aware of the rose's true sort, though was quite curious to investigate further.
|21| Winter: 21 Ceylon: 8 (1/5) / 4 (1/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 10, 2022 5:18:18 GMT -6
With great care, he opened a jacket fold and placed the flower within a pocket inside, the better to keep it closer to warmth than the outer pockets. Without knowing how such weathers might affect it, if they indeed did so, the lepus did not wish to cause it to wilt by unintentional negligence. The hollow where it had been placed was by no means one formed from warmth, but it did allow shelter from wind and rain, even the sharper rains of hail. Survival in such conditions, particularly by a plant, could well have teetered on the verge of conditions being just right enough, or entirely not.
The fold of the jacket closed once more, and the lepus leaned in to inspect the hollow for anything else that might yet have escaped attention as the flower did. To his mind and sharp eye, there appeared little lese beyond root and yellowed weeds for such time being.
|22| Winter: 22 Ceylon: 8 (2/5) / 4 (2/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 10, 2022 5:22:45 GMT -6
Though, a note had been taken to inspect the area come spring. Once the snows have melted, the lepus could truly see the state of such little 'hoards' left behind by the evergreen. Perhaps even others within the garden, as he had not yet made acquaintance with all of them. If for no other reason, then to know by the yellowed weeds where some had managed to creep beneath bush and tree, despite his efforts elsewhere.
Leaned upon the shovel's handle, the lepus slowly rose to his feet. There was blissfully little pain in the process that time, as it appeared the leg was having one of its better days. A condition that could well change at a moment's notice, of course, though certainly the moments in between such should be that more utilized. He paused to consider clearing the snow from around the orchard, as there appeared to be quite the capacity for odd ends and means here..
|23| Winter: 23 Ceylon: 8 (3/5) / 4 (3/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 10, 2022 5:26:09 GMT -6
..Though, the evergreen might not have appreciate the uncovering of all it's caches, should more have existed. Then, perhaps, some things were best left as secrets, even to himself. Resolved to continue on the road, the lepus stepped away from the orchard and back to where the work had been left unfinished. The math had been cleared nearly to the very bridge itself, which in turn meant he was that much more closer to one of the entry gates, as well. If the leg remained behaving in good standing, perhaps that could have been the goal for that day, for other chores and duties none the less required his attention as well.
With gradual shovels and throws, the lepus resumed clearing the snow, tossing it once to one side of the road, then to another. And all the while, the tall ears still remained trained to the sounds to left and slightly behind.
|24| Winter: 24 Ceylon: 8 (4/5) / 4 (4/5)
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 10, 2022 5:32:44 GMT -6
True to his suspicions, he eventually picked up the tell-tale sound of the evergreen moving. The needles on its pined back giving away what its feet could not against such soft snow. Whereas he did not turn to look, the sounds made it clear the evergreen had begun to return to the hollow, perhaps to inspect what remained there. The pause did not last long, as he could hear the shifting of snow and sounds of digging, suggesting the evergreen had considered the hollow decently secure still to continue using as a cache for what fruit and berries it could make away with.
And that was just as well, as he did not wish to deprive the animal of it's winter stores. Instead, he continued to shovel the snow from the path, freeing up one piece of ground space at a time. Perhaps come spring the cache itself could become a plant or bush of its own, should the evergreen have enough to space by then as to cultivate where they were hidden.
|25| Winter: 25 Ceylon: 9 (0/5) / 5 (0/5)
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Post by Ashe on Mar 18, 2022 3:09:03 GMT -6
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Post by Evainmoire on Mar 18, 2022 15:28:03 GMT -6
In spite of the evergreens occasional tendency for flight, the garden had otherwise remained within a state of winterly repose. The day was bright and the skies quite clear, thus there was no threat of even snow or gloom. The serene stillness could even have been called meditative, if one was for such esoteric pursuits, interrupted only by the occasional sound of a shovel against the pavement below, as the lepus worked.
The ears had remained directed towards the evergreen, when quite unexpectedly a far different sort of sound reached them. The lepus paused, halting in the motion of a shovel of snow about to be tossed aside, and listened sharper. The ears had to spend a time adjusting, to locate the source of the strange phenomenon's direction, for the garden was a far space with easy enough ability to echo, given loud enough voices. As his head gave a tilt towards his right, the noise appeared to originate from across the smaller of the two bridges nearby.
|26| Taming: 1 Winter: 26 Ceylon: 9 (1/5) / 5 (1/5)
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