stones of farspeech (12 jan)

[barberian]

(While her companions may be comfortable addressing the network as a whole, Yasha has never put out this kind of call before. She's a little hesitant in her speech, and it definitely sounds like she went over what she was going to say before she picked up her stone of farspeech to do it for real. She's doing her best.)

... Hello.

I wanted to ask something about gardening.

Where do I find dirt? There is a lot of sand around, but I cannot find dirt. I would like to have a lot of it.

Thank you.

(There's the sound of muffled fumbling with the stone, and then another, faint addition right before she finds the off button:)

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[barberian]

On the islets, in a house.

(It's... hard to describe the location more succinctly than that!)

Where are you?

[catpiper]

By two trees.

[A pause.]

And purple flowers.

[Amazing.]

[barberian]

Oh.

(Yasha has come out the front door, and is trying to look about, but there are... well, quite frankly, a lot of trees. There are a lot of purple flowers, too.)

Are you close to the water?

[catpiper]

No.

[They're playing the worst game of Marco Polo known to mankind.]

I have my hands up really high. Can you see them?

[They're probably miles away from each other, but that doesn't stop her from throwing out her next suggestion, sounding a bit distance since she's thrown her arms up with the iStone still clutched in her horrible hands.]

Put your hands up too!

[barberian]

(Yes, this is highly terrible now. Yasha holds a hand up against the sun and squints out across the shore and cannot, for the lift of her, see anybody with their hands up. After a beat, she raises an arm in the air.)

Okay, I have one up.

(she's just going to pick a direction and start walking...????)

[catpiper]

[Nice, Ren searches through the bushes and around trees to spot Yasha's little arm, but-

Hm.]

I'm going to climb a tree and look for you at the top.

[barberian]

Don't do that.

(What if she falls? Yasha would feel very bad if that happened.) I'm walking around the beach, I... I should see you eventually.

[catpiper]

[She's spry!! And resilient!! It's fine. If Yasha's going to wander along the beach though, she'll just prop herself in the sand and wait.]

Okay, I won't move until I see you.

[barberian]

Okay.

(How hard could it possibly be to find one child on an entire island?) Make sure you are in the shade, so you don't get burnt.

[catpiper]

Okay!

[Her entire canon is 14 hours of 'where the hell is Ren'-that's it. That's the game. Good luck Yasha. At least she's making a concentrated effort to be found this time and while the rock goes temporarily silent, it'll be clear what she was doing if Yasha ambles into her area.

There's a star outline made up of some seashells and if she looks around, Ren's under one of the nearby trees, pulling small strands of grass from the ground.]

[barberian]

(Blissfully, it takes twenty-five minutes of walking before Yasha finds Ren's little star outline. The corner of it juts toward the sea, so she comes to look at it, and finds Ren herself with a fistful of grass. Thankfully, she has been staying in the shade as instructed. Yasha feels vaguely relieved to have found her, but isn't sure why it matters to her.)

Hello.

... I got here. (Yep, she... she sure did. She looks suddenly awkward, standing there with her arms crossed in front of her chest.)

[catpiper]

You found me!

[Comes the excited chirp from the grass as she scrambles to stand up after all that time rolling around the ground.]

Let's go play in the dirt. I'll show you-I'm good at finding that stuff.

[She is SO super GOOD at getting dirty!!!]

[barberian]

I don't want to play, I just want to take it.

(Borrow it? She's not bringing it back... simply moving it, but that should be fine, right?)

I want to start a garden.

[catpiper]

[Taking and playing go hand in hand, honestly. And the thought of a garden makes her blink, temporarily stunned, because flowers can be a touchy subject. The dog talked her through most of her fears, but it's always a surprise to hear someone wanting to grow them after that month. So she has to clarify-]

With flowers?

[barberian]

... Yes?

(She does notice that temporary expression of Rin's, something edging on startled, but she isn't sure what prompted it.)

Is that bad?

[catpiper]

[She's been here so long that it's hard to remember there are people who haven't. With a shake of her head, she tries to dispel that worry.]

It's not bad. Flowers aren't scary anymore, so it's okay.

[barberian]

What do you mean 'any more'?

(Flowers used to be scary? Did... did they bite, or something?)

[catpiper]

[Has no one told Yasha? Why does she have to be the one?? It's a topic she has to tip toe on, given all the pain and grief it caused the islanders. Far too many people died and she was among them.]

They made people sick. A few months ago, they were-

[Growing in their lungs and covering their bodies with every lie.]

Very bad. That's all. But they're not like that now.

[barberian]

Oh.

(She notices the tone change. Ren looks a little uncomfortable too, and Yasha feels bad for pressing the subject at all. She looks away.)

I'm sorry. (She pauses for a moment, then continues:) ... Are you sure they're okay, now?

(She wants the garden to honour her own memories, but she doesn't want to stir up anything uncomfortable for other people.)

[catpiper]

Yes, they won't grow from you anymore.

[It's not really up to her whether she does it or not. She doesn't want to discourage Yasha in her flowery goal and it's unlikely anyone other than her really held on to that fear for as long as she did.]

You plant a garden with every flower.

[barberian]

(Grow from her?

Yasha blinks at Ren for a moment. This feels a little more deep-seated than a passing concern, but she isn't sure how to address it at all. Maybe Ren doesn't want to talk about it any more. Still, she feels like she has to do something... she reaches out, and rests her hand lightly on her shoulder, squeezing gently in solidarity before she releases her again.)

If you don't want to help me, you don't have to.

[catpiper]

[The dog helped her get over the intense fear she had at even the passing image of a flower-it's up to her to deal with the rest.

The touch on her shoulder encourages her more than words ever could and despite Yasha's height, she stands on her tiptoes and-

Places both hands against her shoulders, squeezes them lightly, just like she had just done, and drops back to her feet.]

You're my friend, so I want to help you. It's okay.

[barberian]

(She's not very tall but she's long, huh? When Yasha realises what she's going for she stoops a little, but it's not needed: Ren's hands descend gently onto her shoulders and squeeze before she releases her. Yasha stares.)

Okay.

(Ren thinks she is a friend? She didn't know that.)

Um... (she pauses, thinking for a moment. Then, she shrugs her shoulder.) Thank you. You're my friend, too.

[catpiper]

[You know what friends do, Yasha? They help each other garden, even though Ren's only contribution to this is likely gonna be soil.

And that little confirmation You're my friend, too is enough to make her already present smile a little wider and cause her to happily spin on her heel, turning towards the path that'll lead them to their Dirt Reward.

Look, she's even gonna be a radio while they travel along. The elves have to suffer with this daily and now it's her turn. Yasha's pretty hair and Tall, tall, tall and Dope dirt treasure are gonna be the themes of this adventure. Enjoy and try to lose her in the forest, friend. This isn't the guide she needed, but at the very least Ren'll stick with her until they find it.]