Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on May 5, 2022 6:09:13 GMT -6
Not that it was inherently bad for the garden itself, but not all flowers require mulch, and too much of it with some could also case them to overgrow or wilt. The sphinx was by no means an expert on 'greenery' but she knew that much at least. Plus, the silver tat-lung, for all that her nature is gentle and shy, would certainly not appreciate such muddy tracks across her residence. After all, even kind tat-lung still had lines that couldn't be crossed.
The sphinx left the pachee to settle in, heading back to the pond. It was only partway back that she stopped, however, as there looked to be a small blue flower in the middle of the path. Not far from it, she could hear some rustling in the almost-bare bushes nearby, where if she were to look a pair of large bright sapling eyes would surely be glancing back at her.
(27) Spring Darky: 27 Matsu: 5 (2/5) / 5 (2/5) 0X1hvWcx
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on May 5, 2022 6:13:15 GMT -6
The sapling continued to be shy, but her curiosity didn't seem to abate any. Even so, for all her curiosity, her stealth certainly needed some work. The sphinx lightly smiled to herself as she picked up the flower and gave a mock thanks to the air, as to not make it obvious she knew the sapling location very clearly. Tucking it into her bag, Hyacinthe can check to see if it's something she'd like to keep for herself later.
Reaching the pond, there was still much left to do, as the largest of the muck had been only to one side. The opposite, where the flow from the small streams didn't pool debris as much, was naturally more clean, though by no means untouched. Not for the first time she wonders if perhaps she should also look into learning how waters and their flows work, just to see if there's some easier manner to fix this type of issue within the design itself.
(28) Spring Darky: 28 Matsu: 5 (3/5) / 5 (3/5) LaDPd3DU
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on May 5, 2022 6:16:27 GMT -6
The tat-lung, for all they loved water and knowledge, only seemed to have a 'feel' for it, but no technical concepts to work with. But the City did, and there were plenty science people who had long since figured out things like pools and aquariums in which water creatures could live and survive, so surely designing a natural pool with similar ideas wouldn't be too out of the realm of possibility? (Nevermind the fact that a lot of aquariums also tended to lean more on.. chemical sort of solutions to keep things clean).
With a sigh, she stepped down the stony rim of the pond once more, starting to rake across the water and pull in the loose branches and other debris. As she did so, there was a brief inbalance under one foot, and it slightly slid, nearly causing her to lose her balance, if the tail didn't quickly whip around to correct it.
(29) Spring Darky: 29 Matsu: 5 (4/5) / 5 (4/5) 2_ddOhJU
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on May 20, 2022 1:54:46 GMT -6
A rustling to the side showed the sapling had also caught this unexpected motion and seemed to slightly jump, but whether it was for concern or alarm remained anyone's guess. Either way, it was a good thing the sphinx had always been able to maintain a decent sense of balance, as she lifted the foot back and placed it on another, more sturdier rock. A part of the stones looked loose, but only because she had stepped on it. Perhaps the motion had been enough to dislodge it, since the pond's rim is made up of quite a few different stones, from lime to granite.
Leaning down, she picked up the flat loose piece and turned it around. In sudden sunlight, it didn't seem like regular rock at all, as darker outlines of a fish seemed to vein through it and the sphinx blinked in surprise. A fossil? Here in the garden? That was certainly a first she'd encountered something like this..
(30) Spring Darky: 30 - (added) Matsu: 6 (0/5) / 6 (0/5)
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Post by Jack on Jun 11, 2022 19:06:48 GMT -6
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:08:36 GMT -6
Reaching over to the lip of the slope, she carefully placed it down on the paved stones, before looking at the remaining hollow. Well, it wasn't a hollow as such.. The slab of stone was fairly thing, but what she did notice was a reverse imprint on the stone it had laid flat against. Huh, two fossils for the cost of one find?
Leaning down, she used her hands to dig around it some, in order to loosen its edges, until the whole of the stone was able to come free. Certainly a fair bit dustier and muddier than its counterpart, though by and large still intact (which for fossils was certainly a key element). Lifting it up to the path as well, it must've produced quite a sight in the sapling's eyes, seeing the mammalian suddenly resort to digging up rocks, in place of dirt and branches. In truth, the sphinx felt as if this was more closed to things she used to do in the mines, so the comparison wasn't far off.
(31) Spring Darky: 31 Matsu: 6 (1/5) / 6 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:11:42 GMT -6
Inspecting the rest of it, it didn't seem as though there was much else to find there.. and the hollow wasn't something she could so easily leave, considering water could get into it and erode away the side of the pond that much easier. For a moment this stumped her, as it wasn't as if she had any spare boulders to spare in filling it.. But she did recall a few stones that had once been dug up from a burrow bedding, and left to the side of the burrow itself, fairly early on in the garden's 'refit' as it were.
She climbed up from the side of the pond and began to make her way towards the burrow (though truth be told the sight of it was.. a little to be feared. Hyacinthe was good enough with keeping the garden functional, but keeping it tidy was another matter, and the mammalian had rather lacked in that).
(32) Spring Darky: 32 Matsu: 6 (2/5) / 6 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:15:26 GMT -6
The sapling was quick to follow, though hardly on her heels so much as ducking from plant to plant and bush to bush. The two-legger was being much busier in the garden than her standard, which made her all that much more curious and concerned. The distraction for everyday routine was all well and good, but the sapling wasn't yet entirely sure if the mammalian's presence would bode well or worse, so a proper amount of surveillance was required.
It was some paths off, but by the time the mammalian reached the furrow, most of her concerns had been confirmed.. Back then she had planted some seeds here, which certainly took root, but a little too well. Much of the furrow could hardly be distinguished from undergrowth in a forest, the edges of the furrow (which she had spent quite some time painstakingly measuring and lining with smaller round stones and pebbles) obscured by tall grass and creeping vines.
(33) Spring Darky: 33 Matsu: 6 (3/5) / 6 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:19:06 GMT -6
Placing the hands on her hips, the sphinx's face twisted to the side in quiet contemplation and recollection. Well.. it was something else to deal with.. in future. Today her focus was the pond, and she should remain focused on it, while daylight still lasted. She could always come back for the furrow later, or perhaps even in fall when it would be easier to clear out any dead and dry grass and vines.
For now, her gaze fell towards the right, where a slightly taller mound of grass looked like a small bump in the earth. Moving over to it, she crouched down and brushed off a good deal of dirt and grass that had taken root on and around it, before the rock face became visible. Well, so much for step one - locate the stone. Step two - bring the stone over to the pond - would be decidedly trickier considering the distance between the two points.
(34) Spring Darky: 34 Matsu: 6 (4/5) / 6 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:22:12 GMT -6
Lifting the heavy stone could have been an option, but it was best not to handle any heavy objects without some supervision (and the sapling watching all this didn't really count) in case of injury of issues. Plus, while she wasn't exactly untrained in handling heavier things, she had her doubts whether even she could get it all the way to the pond.
Instead, the sphinx brushed off the remaining grass and dirt from the rock and began to roll it along the ground, away from the furrow and onto the path. Easy enough going while it was still on the grassy part, but the task became somewhat more difficult as soon as it hit the paved stones on the path. With less traction, she could almost as much slide it across as roll it, though the process wasn't exactly.. smooth. At times it would stop, getting stuck on a corner or nook of the flat stones beneath, other times it would suddenly release and continue when she pushed a little stronger.
(35) Spring Darky: 35 Matsu: 7 (0/5) / 7 (0/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:25:39 GMT -6
Regardless, it was at least moving, even if it wasn't the most graceful of processes..
By and by, with increasing noise and clatter, she got it to the edge of the pond. Getting it down to the hollow and securing it in place took a bit more doing and a lot more care, but fortunately went without incident, otherwise. A bit of earth and pebbles to ring the side of it secured it in place, and signalled a job well done in fixing the issue.
While a general distraction from her initial plan, the little detour wasn't without reward either - on two separate occasions, the sphinx had paused in pushing the stone because something caught her sight off to the side. The first one was something bright green, proving to be another of those strange eggs, and the second one more in the electric blue category, though the same egg as the first, otherwise.
(36) Spring Darky: 36 Matsu: 7 (1/5) / 7 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:29:28 GMT -6
Neither seemed to be particularly more or less unique than the others, outside their colourations, which reminded her once again that she'll need to have a serious talk with Hyacinthe regarding these eggs later, just to settle some concerns (and more than a few questions). For now, they got tucked safely into a jacket pocket, before being placed in the bucket where the others were already waiting.
The curious eyes behind the bush didn't seem particularly interested in the eggs being taken away so much as with anything she took out to put into the garden, or at least so it seemed to the mammalian. The sapling certainly tried to keep her position hidden, but its rather hard to hide one's self when you're covered in bright blooms. Particularly if you're also shedding them in the process. Which isn't to say the sapling was the only flowers to be found in the garden, far from it.
(37) Spring Darky: 37 Matsu: 7 (2/5) / 7 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:33:04 GMT -6
Although spring was slow to make things bloom, the sphinx could spot various buds and sprouts all over, just waiting for that moment when the right combination of sun and rain makes the conditions just right. Much to her surprise, there were already some early birds as well, though in the case of two of them she couldn't quite tell if they had been a bit too early, of if they were just supposed to look like that..
She had just finished with that side of the pond when she approached a nearby bush, to pull free a dead branch beneath it. Tangled in the dry branches was a flower, that looked almost as dead as the branch if some of its colours weren't still bright and its petals supple enough to denote some sort of surviving spirit. It wasn't alone, either, as right next to the yellow one sat a pale purple or pink one, in much the same style.
(38) Spring Darky: 38 Matsu: 7 (3/5) / 7 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:36:40 GMT -6
Even with her limited knowledge of the gardens she knew that they tended to produce a variety of plans and blooms, sometimes even in spite of what you actually plant. As such, finding two colours of the same flower side by side wasn't particularly unusual.
What was unusual was the scent that drifted through the air when she leaned down to pick them up, and the find right after.
Getting the two dead flowers was easy enough, though she had to muddy her knee a little bit in leaning down to reach beneath the bush. Once she had reached over, her nose twitched lightly as something quite familiar yet distinct caught her senses - lavender. Not something she had an over-abundance of in the garden, but one that was quite popular in many places dealing in herbs and incense. Following the scent, she stood and hopped over the bush to investigate further, until she noticed the bright purple stalk poking up from between two fully-leaved bushes.
(39) Spring Darky: 39 Matsu: 7 (4/5) / 7 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Jun 12, 2022 8:40:21 GMT -6
A stalk of lavender.. and something else. Her mind didn't parse it at first, not immediately, but as she leaned down and brought out the pale white flower from where it had laid on its side, something triggered a recollection much further in her mind than she was prepared for. With a sudden blink and jumping to her feet, she realized what flower this was.. even though the one she had been familiar with had been black, all those years ago.
"Harachiu?" she muttered more to herself, staring down at the bloom between cupped hands. Behind her, the sapling's head slowly tilted at this sudden change of expression from the two-legger, as if she too was trying to understand this shift of mood. To the sapling's mind the white bloom was no different to the purple ones, but then again it could well have been the first time Matsu had seen one, just as it had been many years since the sphinx had.
(40) Spring Darky: 40 - (added) Matsu: 8 (0/5) / 8 (0/5)
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