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[demonicbeauty]

((ooc: CW for a brief mention of recreational drugs.))

[For two months, more or less, she's been in mourning. She hasn't shown her face much. And there's been a lot of crying.

But sentimental though Ariadne can be, she's also practical. Which means she recognizes when it's time to try moving forward.

So behold. Not Padmé, not Jane. Just a sad Ariadne, her hair in a loose braid, with a few tendrils curling around her face.]

I've decided it's time to clean through the rubble that was the Winchester cottage. The ground needs to be cleared so someone else can build there. And I'm sure a few things survived the fire which need to be sorted and placed.

I guess...I mean, I'll do it myself. But if anyone would like to help I would...appreciate it. I can pay you in fruit or herbs from the orchard.

[Her face is like porcelain. She's not letting a single crack show, even though it still hurts.]

I'll be there for the next week or so. Please let me know if you'd be willing to join me. At the very least, I think some of his--some of Dean's--marijuana plants survived. I'd like to try to replant them in my garden.

I can pay you with that, if you like.

Comments

[demonicbeauty]

I always have questions about technology.

[She laughs softly.]

You may regret making that offer. I might talk you into madness.

[obeir]

That's a risk I'm willing to accept.

[ Especially if they might end up making a trade of it. Knowledge for knowledge, or perhaps knowledge for some fruit and herbs. And to that end: ]

That orchard you mentioned — it's yours?

[demonicbeauty]

Yes. Serenity Garden. Just on the border of the Willful Machine.

[She grins. Ariadne knows that no one can own trees, of course. But that doesn't mean her chest doesn't swell with a bit of pride, thinking about them.

That orchard means the world to her.]

Perhaps you can visit sometime? The pears are just coming into season.

[obeir]

Sure, I'd like that. Fresh fruit can be hard to come by here, I've noticed. I've been monitoring the soil throughout Trench over the last year. Originally to help a friend, a boy who's made of grass—...

[ He trails off for a moment. Another lost Sleeper and one that's particularly sad for him. Fern was the first person he'd properly met in the dream, all those years ago; he still feels the kid's absence. ]

It's become more of a pet project now. Would you mind if I took some samples from your orchard?

[demonicbeauty]

[She bites her lips together.]

Fern and Varian had just taken a few samples to study before they...

[It's easier with them. She knows where they are. Or has a better sense of it. And it brings her peace to imagine the two of them swimming around together as squids.

They're not dead.]

I think they would like it if you continued the work they started. They thought there was something special about the soil.

[obeir]

[ Fern and Varian. Always a pair. As much as K misses them both, that thought brings him some comfort, knowing that at least they'll hopefully always have each other, since they chose to return to the sea together... wherever that ends up taking them. ]

Knowing Varian, he was probably an expert on these things. [ Because the kid was an expert on keeping his plant boyfriend alive. ] It's a shame they're no longer around to consult. But I'll do my best. Your trees came from Deerington, right? I wonder if that grants them resistance to the corruption of this world. [ The corruption that seems to permeate the very earth. It's an intriguing thought. ] Does the fruit seem to help with corruption at all when consumed?

[demonicbeauty]

[A little line forms between her eyes.]

You know, I don't know that anyone's ever thought of that. It might be an interesting theory to test.

But...yes. They did come with me from Deerington.