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we heal with love
As far as Aly was concerned, Birdsong couldn’t come fast enough. She was tired of the snow, tired of the cold and the sleep that had settled on the earth.
She wanted the sun to warm the earth again and maybe her heart would thaw in the process as well.
Fortunately, the Edge being the type of land it was meant that not everything was grey and white and brown during Frostfall. There was still green, the soft needles of the firs and spruces that created this forest breaking up the dreary chill of the season. It wasn’t much but it gave her something to hold onto as she waited for that shift in the seasons - when she would wake up one morning and there would be something different about the wind, new smells surrounding her.
The emergence of the buds on the trees, the beginning of growth in the grasses. Small beginnings every year, but they never failed to bring a sense of rejuvenation to Alysanne as well.
And she sorely needed it now.
The sun had not yet fully risen, the forest around her murky in the pre-dawn, but she could not pretend to sleep any longer. It was avoiding her so she would avoid it (that made sense, right?). With a sigh she moved from the nest of long grass that was her bed and walked quietly through the trees. She was heading for the cliffs - not where Tembovu had called them all to a meeting (any memories with their King wasn’t likely to improve her mood) but where the neglected garden lay. Untouched since the invasion, since Resplendence had left and Alysanne had first learned what it was to feel empty and useless.
She lowered her head to brush the dormant plants, herbs and weeds alike, with her muzzle as Hemlock joined her - hooting a soft hello as he landed in the shallow snow nearby, his black eyes watching her carefully. Alysanne hadn’t come here often in the last year, wishing to avoid the memories that it held. But now she was avoiding the present and wishing she could crawl into the past when everything was warm and she was happy.
As the sense of hopelessness grew in her (would it all be warm and happy again?) she snorted and blindly started to rip up the dried and dead plants, throwing them around and screaming at the ones who were too frozen, too rooted, to do as she wished.
alysanne & hemlock
for @Roskuld
![[Image: alysanne_by_schwartze-d89se15.png]](http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/348/8/6/alysanne_by_schwartze-d89se15.png) made by the lovely tamme |
| World's Edge General atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6 |
| Mare :: Tribrid :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 82 | Buff: ENDURE |
| Zchiraxicon :: Royal Rougarou :: Electric Smithers |
I had learned a lot about the Edge in my time here—a lot of little shit, like how the grass tasted, where people take shits, what they did for fun. And apparently on that list included gardening and shouting at weeds 4:56 in the goddamn morning.
To be fair, I had already gotten up to take a piss, but seeing the winged, rabid lady playing in dirt in the darkness was jarring me too hard to go back to sleep. Hidden in the trees, I watched her doing her thing, confused out of my mind until I realized there was a method to her madness and she wasn’t just shifting rocks and plants and shit around for fun. I wasn’t really big or learned or whatever on the idea of a garden but there was something organized about that patch of land, now that there was someone going down workin’ the grid.
There was a drop in my stomach, and I felt like shit suddenly, cuz I’m sure both me and Chic had actually taken a shit somewhere over there over the past few days. Whoops. There was a trill of panic, that my oversight would be taken as an offensive gesture and not steadfast proof of how much of a dipshit I am. It’s not like someone would be dumb enough to shit in an important spot, right? Right?
And there was this poor shmuck in the dark, tending to whatever the fuck was growing over there—and I don’t know how or why the hell it was so important to do it right fucking now, when the sun itself didn’t feel like workin’. But there she was, haulin’ ass and screaming at her work, so passionate ‘n shit. The fuck.
I’d already felt like a freeloader for a while now, doing absolutely nothing to help support this place that fed me, sheltered me, welcomed me from the wild. This was the final straw, watching this girl toil in the soft soil I may or may not have soiled. I couldn’t sit back in the shadows anymore. It was time to be a productive member of society.
Yeah, fuck that, Chico said, dripping with sleep. I could feel him snuggling himself deeper into the nest we had made. Whatever, lil’ dude.
I emerged from the trees, my steps hesitant and my face a mask of actually I’m not even sure how I was looking at that moment, let’s be honest, I was confused and alarmed and intimidated and ashamed and so many other things I can’t even keep track of that nonsense. "“Uuhhh,” I started awkwardly, y’know, the usual, "”you need help with that?”
"talk"
@Alysanne
Please tag ROSKULD in every reply!
| World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5 |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 hh :: 11 years HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Hemlock :: Flammulated Owl :: Heal & Cypress :: Great Horned Owl :: None Sarah |
we heal with love
Well, if she went about screaming before the sun was going up, Alysanne shouldn’t really be surprised that someone would come over and investigate. But she was And more surprised as she was interrupted, a timid voice asking if she needed any help. With a frost-killed plant still held in her teeth, she whipped her head around to find the source of the voice - feeling a little bit of relief that it wasn’t anyone that she knew but guilt that she had disturbed this young mare from what could have been a very pleasant slumber. The weed that was in her mouth dropped down to the ground and she looked at the destruction she had caused.
“No, I was just…” Having a tantrum, taking out her frustrations on the dead plants, causing a lot of trouble for the first thing in the morning. “Weeding.” She finished, lamely, shuffling her hoof against some of the plants that remained upright.
Maybe she should turn this morning gardening into something more productive. After a moment in thought, she concedes to the idea of help and gestures to the small patch of land that had once been a garden. “If you’ve got nothing better to do.” Although she would certainly understand if this girl would rather go back and get some sleep.
Hemlock, the tiny owl who had been sitting in the garden, didn’t have a good vantage point of this stranger so he flew to his normal perch on Alysanne’s head - add his dark gaze to her warm green one. He hooted once by way of greeting, which also served as a reminder to his bonded that she had not offered a greeting yet. “I’m Alysanne, one of the Moon Doctors here, and this is Hemlock.” She rolled her eyes to gesture to the small brown creature on her head. “I’m sorry if I woke you up… not a very good start to the day.” And the day hadn’t even fully started! Definitely not how you wanted to get things going.
alysanne & hemlock
@Roskuld
| made by the lovely tamme |
| World's Edge General atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6 |
| Mare :: Tribrid :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 82 | Buff: ENDURE |
| Zchiraxicon :: Royal Rougarou :: Electric Smithers |
With a fling of dirt and an awkward shuffle, the woman accepted my offer of help--if I had nothing better to do. And honestly I did (sleeping) if you looked at it in a subjective way. But nah, I could always take a nap later if I was feeling tired, and it seemed important to interact with the rest of the herd, learn what it’s really like, cover my shit maybe if I find it.
“S’whatever,” I said with a shrug, coming up to take my place in front of her, to see what she did. Something small and fluffy fluttered up to her head, something painfully nostalgic, and I tried to prod Chico awake so he could see what I was seeing. But nah, the bastard was soundly zonked out (zzzZzz) so he was just gonna have to see the tiny ball of cute in my memories. “Name’s Ros,” I said, after they had given me their own names. It was weird how easy it was becoming for me to give my name like this, just…offer it, instead of spending an uncomfortable silence just looking at her with suspicion.
She was apologizing for waking me up and I laughed it off, waving her away with an ear (while also spotting a conspicuous pile off behind her a little…oops). “S’fine, I don’t mind, really,” I told her, my brain nervously wracking itself to try and figure out how to hide the evidence, “I mean, I prolly should get my ass movin’ earlier in the day. It’s healthy or some shit, I dunno. You’re the doctor,” I said with another shrug, making this as awkward as possible, god, where are my people skills. Can’t find them shits. I didn’t know how I felt about her being called a “Moon Doctor”, but what was I going to expect? This was a herd on the lands of the Moon. Her presence was bound to be marked in all things and not just the morning mist, the pale moon that seemed to hang even longer above this land at night.
“So…you’re a healer, huh?” I asked, and it could’ve been a stupid question but cut me some slack “Doctor” could mean a whole bunch of shit. “What’s that like?” Caring for people, healing them, seeing some nasty shit. I looked around awkwardly, deciding that imitation was the best policy—so I started grabbing large clumps of raggedy-looking weeds, trying to pull my weight, be a friend I guess.
"talk"
@Alysanne
Please tag ROSKULD in every reply!
| World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5 |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 hh :: 11 years HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Hemlock :: Flammulated Owl :: Heal & Cypress :: Great Horned Owl :: None Sarah |
we heal with love
“It’s nice to meet you Ros.” She replied to the introduction with a soft smile, committing it easily to memory. It was rare that the painted mare, who used to love social interactions and craved them more than she did water or food, would forget names. Lately she had been, mistaking those she had seen before and forgetting those she had - lost in her own mind.
A small, quick chuckle was her reaction to Ros’ comment about getting moving earlier in the day. “I’m sure I’ve heard that too… but between you and me I usually prefer to sleep in.” Alysanne whispered with a grin, as though she were sharing some secret. But really, it was easier for her to sleep during the day - with the sun on her and the sound of her fellow herd mates shuffling through the forest letting her know that she wasn’t alone.
Alright, let’s not get into that.
“Just pull out whatever you can, I’ve got to start over anyway.” She added some vague directions, welcoming the help from the younger mare. Trying to puzzle out which of the plants were weeds in this setting and which would be helpful in the future was a bit too complex of a lesson to get into - both for Ros, first thing in the morning, and for Aly who hadn’t slept. Better to just get it all out and then start over. It was a shame to see Resplendence’s hard work go to waste but… perhaps this was for the best. The quiet pink mare no longer belonged to the Edge and the peaceful herd she had belonged to no longer existed here at all. Fresh starts and all that.
What was being a healer like?
The question actually stumped her. She had never been asked that before. She gently placed the plant down that she had pulled up and thought for a moment. “Yes I’m a healer. It’s… it’s rough sometimes but I like that I can help others, whether it’s with magic or with the herbs that I’ve learned about. It’s an important role - almost everyone needs a little bit of help from a healer every now and then - and sometimes the pressure is a lot but it’s also nice. If someone I love, know, or a complete stranger is in need I can help them.” She had stumbled across enough random injuries here in Helovia to know the value of knowing what to look for in a forest or being able to call on the mists that those of her station had been granted.
Hoping she hadn’t rambled too much or bored her young audience, she lowered her head to another plant to pull but asked a question before grasping it. “Have you ever thought about becoming a healer?”
alysanne & hemlock
only took 2 months to reply BUT YOU WERE ON AWAY SO MAYBE IT'S STILL OKAY???
@Roskuld <3
| made by the lovely tamme |
