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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 16:44:49 GMT -6
[123]
Nerius continued his walk with Russet, even keeping an eye out, it was a while before they encountered anything further. At first, what he spotted didn't even register as a plant, Nerius spotted what he at first thought was ice growing along a branch. It was crystalline, and pale blue, but on closer inspection, something wasn't quite right. For one thing, it wasn't really cold enough out for that much ice to form, and, on touching it, the crystals didn't feel frozen. Cool, as it was still chilly out, but not ice.
Russet took the opportunity to scurry down Nerius' arm, and sniff at the crystals. After a moment, he licked it, making a happy noise, before picking up a piece and chewing away at it. Whatever it was, it was tasty to the leafscatter, and with that eager a reaction, it was probably sweet. Nerius wasn't about to take a bite, but he would collect it for later study.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Russet: Lv: 13, 68/70 | Lyl: 16, 68/70)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 17:04:27 GMT -6
[124]
Or, maybe not too much study, as Nerius peeled the crystals off the branch, and revealed a crack in the bark below, he realized what it was. Crystalized tree sap. A sort of 'natural maple candy', which explained why Russet was so eagerly devouring the piece he had. Fully edible for humanoids too, and, curious about the flavor, Nerius decided to take a taste himself. It was very sweet, he could see why it was often referred to as 'crystal candy', and tasted vaguely similar to maple. The majority of the cluster he'd bring back to the house, but he'd snack on a little of it on the way.
A little walking further, and he spotted some almost flowery growths, bumbleweed. And, as it's name suggested, it was not growing somewhere that Nerius had planted it. There wasn't too much, at least, and he pulled up the errant plant, careful to get the roots as well.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Russet: Lv: 13, 69/70 | Lyl: 16, 69/70)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 17:10:32 GMT -6
[125]
Bumbleweed tended to get everywhere, and wasn't useful for much, other than being acceptable by the people at the Pachee Pollen Project. If he found enough, he could trade that in for a pachee, Nerius supposed. Otherwise one of his herbivores might like it as a treat. Russet wasn't the slightest bit interested, but he was also still devouring his crystal candy, and Nerius would have been surprised if anything was more enticing than that, the leafscatter shared his own love of sweets.
Weeds taken care of, Nerius stood up to continue his walk, only to stop and stare. What. Was. That? There was a brightly colored fruit, looking very out of season, just hanging from a branch. It sort of looked like a banana, but the proportions were wrong, and it had markings that resembled those brightly colored spring eggs humans loved to paint. Nerius was very sure he hadn't planted anything like that last fall, so where had it come from?
(Nerius: 10/20) (Russet: Lv: 14, 70/75 | Lyl: 17, 70/75)
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Post by Jack on Feb 27, 2021 17:31:21 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 18:39:11 GMT -6
[126]
The small tree wasn't even growing leaves yet, there were just a few green sprouts at the tips of the branches. And yet, there was a fruit growing from it. No.. two fruits, there was another banana.. thing, this time hot pink. How.. where.. why were there what looked like tropical fruit growing on otherwise dormant plant in the middle of his garden, that he didn't plant? It was all rather bizarre, unexpected sap or weeds were one thing, but a fruit bearing tree?
Russet, having finished his bit of sugary goodness, was also interested in the colorful fruit. He wasn't concerned with why they were there, just that they looked like they'd be tasty. He tried to scurry closer, but Nerius stopped him, "No Russet, don't eat those." They could be poisonous, but they could also be useful for or worth something, either way he didn't want the leafscatter snacking on them.
(Nerius: 11/20) (Russet: Lv: 14, 71/75 | Lyl: 17, 71/75)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 19:00:31 GMT -6
[127]
Russet just looked at him sadly, the fruits were so bright and colorful and tasty looking. "Oh all right, you can have another nut," the leafscatter was prone to begging for food, and Nerius was rather bad about actually giving him snacks. The treat satisfied the leafscatter, and he was content to perch on Nerius' shoulder while he continued to investigate the strange fruit.
The trunk resembled that of a tropical tree, but it had distinct branches, and leaves other than small buds. And from what Nerius understood, bananas usually grew in large bunches, not as individual fruit. Especially of different colors. Still unsure of what the strange fruits were, Nerius plucked them, adding them to the basket of his other odd finds of the morning. Had the nursery he'd gotten a lot of the new plants from made a mistake in their labeling? Because he would have remembered buying a 'multi-color banana tree'.
(Nerius: 12/20) (Russet: Lv: 14, 72/75 | Lyl: 17, 72/75)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 19:06:21 GMT -6
[128]
Nerius circled the tree as he considered this, looking for anything else that was out of place. And, there was, but not in the sense of strange produce. There was a jar, sitting at the base of the tree, thankfully still sealed. 'Thankfully' because, while he couldn't be sure without the other jar side by side to compare, it looked suspiciously similar to the empty jar he'd found after clearing his lotine out of the old pond. After testing it first to make sure it was still sealed properly, he added it to the basket. Mostly, he just didn't want to leave it just sitting around where one of his critters could find it.
Had someone been in his garden? Odd produce was one thing, but a jar? He glanced at Russet, who was still eating, and not the slightest bit interested in the jar. Most his plant critters were dormant this time of year, and probably wouldn't have reacted too much to intruders.
(Nerius: 13/20) (Russet: Lv: 14, 73/75 | Lyl: 17, 73/75)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 19:15:18 GMT -6
[129]
Of course, it was also possible it was someone's litter that had blown in during one of the stronger storms, he'd found debris from that sort of thing before. Why would someone litter with a sealed jar, anyway? An empty jar made sense, rude, but make sense, but if it still held... something. Nerius picked up the jar again, looking closely at it. There was a label on it, but being out in the elements hadn't done it any favors, and the ink had leaked too much for him to make out what it said.
Still not sure what to make of the jar or the weird bananas, Nerius went back to his walk. Or, started to, he only made it a few steps before Russet piped up again, spotting another fruggle nut. Nerius grabbed it, careful not to poke himself, and gave Russet a treat as a reward. Who was training who here?
(Nerius: 14/20) (Russet: Lv: 14, 74/75 | Lyl: 17, 74/75)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 27, 2021 19:21:18 GMT -6
[130]
Russet had always like to try to 'help' in the garden, some of his attempts were more productive than others, but he liked to try. He'd bring Nerius fruits and nuts that he'd find, or try to pick things that Nerius was collecting. A leafscatter couldn't grab much at a time, but he did his best. Nerius hadn't been doing much in the way of proper gardening this morning, it really wasn't the ideal season for it, but the leafscatter was helping where he could, pointing out things he spotted growing. That or he just wanted Nerius to pick snacks for him.
Either way, Nerius didn't mind, Russet was one of his friendlier critters, and sometimes it was nice to deal with something that wasn't being uncooperative the entire time. To be fair, that was mostly the sarane, but with the amount of time they took up, it felt like a lot more creatures than it really was.
(Nerius: 15/20) (Russet: Lv: 15, 75/80 | Lyl: 18, 75/80)
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Post by Jack on Feb 27, 2021 19:51:56 GMT -6
A single set of seeds is found!
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Post by Nerius on Feb 28, 2021 17:14:49 GMT -6
[131]
And that was with him only having six sarane! Nerius knew many people in the hobby had more than that, breeding the dragons was often a goal, and that led to more sarane. He'd never managed to get a drake, or hen, to the point of being dominant, though he'd been taking Schism to the Pit again. That was only one drake though, Helios still needed more training before he'd even be ready for the gauntlet, forget a tournament. He'd still signed up for the upcoming sarane tournament, tossing in Belial, his unbroken brown. He was a right pain to deal with, but it was better than risking one of his other drake's percentage ranking.
While Nerius was mostly musing about sarane, Russet was still on the lookout for any snacks, or things he could point out and get a reward for. He had a good view perched on Nerius' shoulder, but hadn't spotted anything yet.
(Nerius: 16/20) (Russet: Lv: 15, 76/80 | Lyl: 18, 76/80)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 28, 2021 17:24:20 GMT -6
[132]
Belial was being entered, if he was being completely honest, purely for the rewards. It wasn't even practice or learning at this point, the brown was being thrown into the ring solely for the rewards. Which wasn't that unusual, really, but typically Pit battling required some level of effort to make sure the creature could handle itself. Belial was thrown in with no training, often against much more powerful and trained drakes.
Nerius' sarane train of thought was interrupted as he came across a large pile of broken branches, scattered across the path, blocking further travel. Russet made a noise, pointing it out, but even distracted as he was, Nerius couldn't miss it. They looked to be from a nearby tree, which was visibly missing branches, it had likely taken damage in the recent winter storm. They weren't too big, at least, and looked like they'd be light enough for Nerius to move if he decided to.
(Nerius: 17/20) (Russet: Lv: 15, 77/80 | Lyl: 18, 77/80)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 28, 2021 17:30:57 GMT -6
[133]
It would be for the best, he supposed, even if garden maintenance wasn't really what he planned on this morning. It wouldn't take too long, and wouldn't be too bad to move, he hoped, and if were really not feeling like it he could at least just move the branches off the path. From a branch, he hung the basket he'd stored the produce he'd gathered so far in, wanting to keep it, well, mostly away from Russet. He hadn't seen any other critters yet this morning, and Jumanji was only interested in meat.
He set Russet down on the other side of the path, on top of a large landscaping rock, and set to gathering up the branches. The leafscatter watched for a little while, not able to help with the relatively large branches, before hopping off the rock to forage around in a patch of dry fronds from last season.
(Nerius: 18/20) (Russet: Lv: 15, 78/80 | Lyl: 18, 78/80)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 28, 2021 17:36:50 GMT -6
[134]
At first, Nerius didn't have any issues with the branches, they had smooth bark, and weren't too thick, making them easy enough to pick up. He'd gathered about half of them, when a chittering noise from Russet drew his attention. The leafscatter had climbed back up onto the rock, and was holding something. Seeds, Nerius realized. Russet was nibbling on one, but still had a small pile sitting on the rock.
Nerius paused in his branch gathering to collect the seeds Russet had offered, giving him a candied nut in exchange, which the leafscatter enjoyed far more than plain old seeds. The seeds he collected were added to the basket, and Nerius went back to gathering up the branches. He left Russet where he was, even if the leafscatter didn't find anything else, it was much easier to gather up all the branches without having to balance the little critter on his shoulder at the same time.
(Nerius: 19/20) (Russet: Lv: 15, 79/80 | Lyl: 18, 79/80)
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Post by Nerius on Feb 28, 2021 17:45:47 GMT -6
[135]
There really weren't that many branches, but they soon got heavier than he was expecting. That lack of upper body strength struck again, it was such an easy thing to forget about.. until it became annoying. This was one of those times. At least he didn't have too far to go to the yard trimming bin, though Nerius was still tempted just to dump them by the side of the path. He didn't though, instead shifting them to one shoulder, before grabbing the basket, and letting Russet scamper up onto his arm. He didn't really want to have to double back for either of them.
The walk to the pile, while not exactly relaxing, was at least short, and Nerius managed to dump the branches in with the rest of the trimmings without any issues. He did feel like taking a little break after that, luckily there was a bench not too far, though enough that he didn't have to see the pile, and he headed over, sitting down to a much better view.
(Nerius: 20/20 +Added!) (Russet: Lv: 16, 80/85 | Lyl: 19, 80/85 +Added) (Loot from roll, on next page, also added)
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