[PQ] [split] [RQ] absence of green

It took some time for them to traverse from the wretched heat of the desert to the more sublime nature of King’s End. But with the morning came new opportunities and tasks, with the horizon stretching outward in an array of dazzling sunrise hues – enough of a summer claim to put Hak Etme’s to shame.

It gave him another sense of ease that he didn’t have in the wasteland, with or without showers. While the wildlife was plentiful, and the monsters could be too, they could steer away from the Barrows and any particular ghost that craved and yearned over in those directions, and head towards the more open fields.

Handing out the jars, he glanced towards the wide fields of flowers, of the droplets resting amidst the plants and petals. [say]“Filling these up should give us plenty,”[/say] in theory, anyway. Who knew what antics would unravel or begin.

For instance, as soon as they all dispersed, Deimos took the opportunity to launch a series of his own water incantations towards the back of Evie’s head.

--

[say]Take your jars and start filling them up with the morning dew!

Deimos has instigated a mini water-fight and launched some brief showers at Evie.

No post order!

1. Deimos
2. @Alys
3. @Noah
4. @Evie
[/say]

Somehow Deimos's antics did not surprise the Seer.

After she'd taken her jar from the man and made her way to some of the nearby flowers, she caught sight of the Sword fling some water at the back of poor Evie's head. Alys stopped for a moment to stare, unsure whether to laugh or to shake her head, before she turned to @Noah. [say]"Are they always like this?"[/say] she asked, both to start a conversation and because she was genuinely curious.

As she waited for a response, she bent to the flowers and began to carefully collect the morning dew, one eye on her companions in case they decided that she, too, should get in on the water fight. She'd really rather not, if it was all the same to them, but she supposed she had very little say in the matter. She did not have water magic, after all.

------

Alys begins to collect morning dew, keeping an eye on the burgeoning water fight as she does.

It's always nice to sleep on the road with Deimos at her side as opposed to silence and empty air, which leaves the Evergreen not only more well-rested, but with more energy for nonsense. It seems Deimos feels much the same way however, as he beats her soundly to the punch (which she should really be used to by now given the frequency at which it occurs).

Having just started putting dew into her jar like a diligent little Warden, Deimos, the water at the back of her head makes her startle and nearly drop it. Straightening in a whirl, Evie doesn't so much as narrow her eyes at Deimos before she is using her own magic to barrage him with the dry petals from the plants around them, swift in her vengeance. At least she isn't wasting water. [say]"If you make me drop this jar there will be hell to pay,"[/say] she threatens playfully over the sound of the leaves, completely missing Alys' fond exasperation.

- - -

Evie collects some dew, then wallops Deimos with some of the non-flower foliage in the area.

While Evie found comfort curled in the arms of her lover, Noah found himself restless with anxiety. Duty called him away from the Citadel and he spent more and more time away from Cordelia. While on one hand he knew that there were so many at home to care for her and who loved her deeply, his other hand was full of the need to be at her side. What if the twins came? He rocked and rolled all night, and when the sun finally peaked up over the green hills, the bags under his eyes were puffy and slightly purple.

Yawning as he worked, Noah knelt in the grass. He filled his vile as quickly as he could before the sun’s rays evaporated the dew. Alys asked him a question, and it was only because she did that Noah noticed what was happening before Evie threatened Deimos. Chuckling, Noah shook his head but his face grew bright with boyish amusement. [say]”Sometimes worse.”[/say]

---

Noah fills his vile!

Deimos was already alleviating the impending restlessness that came with simply gathering water from flowers – invested in the art of the crime and sedition, while presuming payback would be swift. Upping the ante had been his intentions, so while he ducked his head to utilize his water incantations and pluck droplets of dew, Evie’s earthen petals stuck and struck to his hair and beard. Unbothered, he straightened up from his crouch with an air of mischief. [say]“Of course,”[/say] and then he billowed an unfurling of air near her, merely to get a reaction.

At the very least, @Evie did not drop her jar, clearly capable in handling multiple tasks at once.

Unfortunately for @Noah, the same couldn’t be said. Maybe he tripped over a rock. Maybe there was a stick. Maybe his attention had been more on the Wardens’ antics rather than his own. For whatever it was worth, the jar dropped, but didn’t shatter amidst the soft grass; but certainly lost some of its previous hold.

@Alys too, had a milder struggle, where some of the dew drops descended to the long stalks instead of into her jar. Perhaps she and the Sentinel could come up with a plan together?

--

[say]Deimos and Evie have successfully gathered some dew.

Alys has lost some of her dew drops on the grass.

Noah dropped his jar – but it hasn’t broken! However, he did lose some of his dew.

No post order!
[/say]

Sometimes worse, Noah confirmed, and Alys shook her head wryly with amusement. How did they manage to get anything done?

But, as though to prove her wrong, they were more successful than her collecting dew, even with their antics. Her failure rankled, and she wrinkled her nose as she considered how to best proceed, ignoring the gust of air that whipped past as Deimos and Evie continued to play. At least she fared better than Noah, who had somehow managed to drop his jar, bringing a small smile to Alys's face. [say]"How are they doing it?"[/say] she muttered under her breath as she tried again to collect dew from the flowers.

Wishing she had water magic and could simply manipulate the water from the flowers into the jar, Alys sighed as she struggled. After a moment, she turned to Noah. [say]"Do you have water magic?"[/say] she asked, not knowing anything about the man. [say]"We could probably use that to collect it easier, if you do."[/say]

------

Alys tries again to collect the dew, and suggests using water magic to collect it easier!

[say]"Aw, fuck."[/say] Noah said, frowning somewhat. His fingers fumbled and somehow, the jar he had been holding to collect the dew fell to the ground. Thankfully the loamy soil was springy enough that the cylinder did not shatter, but he was still disappointed that he dropped his jar, and lost a substantial amount of his collected dew.

Growling a little, Noah couldn't help the flash of white, celestial energy that pulsed over his body as his frustrated emotions boiled and burned beneath his skin and activated his passive magic. He picked the jar back up and took in a deep, exasperated breath. Perhaps he hadn't gotten any sleep, which was worse than the little he thought he had accomplished. Blinking puffy, sleep deprived eyes that now pulsed a dimming white, Noah shook his head. [say]"No, only fire and celestial."[/say] He said, letting a small gesture indicate to himself, as if Alys couldn't already tell by the energy flowing from him. Then, he set back to work collecting more dew before his own body could evaporate it.

Noah picks up his jar and continues -- pissed off.

His own retaliation makes her laugh as much as his new leafy decorations do, because there are no accessories that Deimos cannot pull off. And no, she's not biased, she just has eyes - and a knife, which she'll use against anyone who says otherwise.

Kneeling again with habitual, playful wrinkled nose at Deimos (and perhaps a few flowers butting themselves against his ankles like little battering rams) Evie uses her magic once more to try and coax the water off the leaves and into her jar. There is already a good amount there, but until it's brimming to the top she will keep at it. Only then does she glance at Alys and Noah - the latter seems particularly vexed, and Evie wonders what she could have missed that led to that stormy expression on his face.

- - -

Evie messes with Deimos and uses her water magic to siphon more dew into the bottle!

Turn abouts were fair play in this instance – for the more mischievous individuals wouldn’t be as successful.

While dew was acquired, so were juvenile aspects, and between their battering of air and greenery back and forth, @Evie and Deimos unearthed several blink hares from their morning siestas. Startled, they zigzagged rapidly up through the grass and barreled along, knocking over precious droplets from incantations and permitting more dew to cling to their fur.

For his part, Deimos didn’t have the nerve to look sheepish, but did laugh at the extra amount of work they’d be compiling. Shaking his head, he attempted to snag the dew droplets back from the fleeing rabbits’ hairs, but it might have been too late.

@Noah could have the stormy expression all he wanted – perhaps it had worked in his favor – for his hands were steady, strong, and stalwart as the norm, and the dew dropped in with little issue.

Even without enduring water incantations, @Alys was still more than capable. And since she hadn’t been drawn into any immature accords, her concentration could be honed on acquiring exactly what she needed – how about that, Wardens?

--

[say]Deimos and Evie, due to their antics, have disturbed blink hares and caused their water/dew to go askew. Whoop.

Noah and Alys have been much more successful and acquired more, despite their grumps.

Everyone’s jars are about half full!

No post order![/say]

Alys shrugged off @Noah's grumpiness, eyeing his glowing form with interest. She'd yet to see magic quite like that, and any other time, she might have inquired about its origin. As it were, she turned back to her water collecting and tried to carefully scoop water from the petals of the flowers around her. She was pleased when she seemed to be getting the hang of it; it was indeed frustrating to have failed the first time around.

She was interrupted when her glass was about half full by the appearance of several blink hares, who darted from their hiding spots amongst the grass, knocking dew from the plants around them onto their fur to carry it away. She offered a wry look at @Deimos and @Evie, as if to say, that could have been in our jars, before turning back to the task at hand.

------

Alys continues to collect water from the flowers, much less grump than before!

The frustration wore off as Noah focused on his work. Heat rose in his cheeks, the slight embarrassment at what could only be interpreted as an Olson hissy fit, hitting him. Clearing his throat as the last of the white, celestial light dissipated from his form, Noah stood. Satisfied with the amount of dew that filled it, the hunter set to put a cap on it.

The blink hares might have taken him by surprise if Noah hadn't lived in King's End for several seasons. Having been a vagabond here, alongside Deimos and Cordelia, after the ascended attacked the Citadel gave him the knowledge of these lands. [say]"Don't you two stir up any Daemons now."[/say] He gruffed, trying to sound as playful as he could, though the ffrustation and sleep deprivation altered his ability to control the tone of his tongue.

---

Noah puts a lid on his jar and warns Deimos and Evie

Evie startles slightly at the blink hates suddenly scattering, but her laughter chases in their wake, sheepish but unapologetic. Deimos does nearly exactly the same, and Evie follows suit in utilizing her magic to try and snag at the displaced dew before it hits the ground. She isn’t sure if the dew will count if it is from their fur, so she then focuses on the flowers once more, still grinning - and only deepening cheekily as Alys and Noah make their complaints clear.

[say]“Yessir Sentinel,”[/say] she responds, tongue-in-cheek to Noah as she glances at him over her shoulder, blue eyes glittering with juvenile humor. Then shooting a playfully narrowed look at Deimos as if saying see? Behave. Not that she believes either of them will be able to hold to that for long.

- - -

Evie tries to catch the displaced dew with her water magic before refocusing on the flowers.

The Sword was fully aware of all the side glances and minor complaints, but it didn’t cease the boyish glint to his grin. Besides, he and @Evie were moderately successful in retrieving the dew from the hares’ fur, but not enough to make much of an impact. Back to the regular drawing board, he supposed, cheeks puffing only slightly, as if he was put out by the mere notions of having to behave. [say]“Do not tempt me,”[/say] he hollered back to the Sentinel instead – drawing more and more water from the buds and flowers in their wake, wrinkling his nose at the Evergreen when she wasn't looking.

The Olson hissy fit must have done @Noah some amount of wonders, for the lid stayed shut fast, neither moving, bending, breaking, or shattering.

However, either spooked by something or merely returning in their panic, the blink hares teleported near @Alys this time – sparks of light beaming back and forth; distracting little figures. The Sword might have conjured not my fault this time, but then wisely kept his mouth shut as several wound around her, and then beelined off again.

Before long though, they’d gathered quite a bit – enough for each of them to have either half or three quarters of their jars taken care of. Which was good – because timing wise, morning was swiftly becoming noon. [say]“Try to get a little more, and then we can move on again,”[/say] he announced.

--

[say]Noah’s jar is half full! Deimos, Evie, and Alys all have around three quarters full!

Last round before they head to the Oerwoud!
[/say]

When the blink hares reappeared around Alys, she jumped with surprise, nearly dropping her jar. [say]"Gods!"[/say] she muttered under her breath. The little creatures were cute, but gods were they fast! And they disappeared and reappeared so randomly that it was difficult to keep up. She glanced at Deimos, her lips twitching, as if she thought that it was somehow his fault, but the man was studiously silent.

With the sun approaching the height of its arc through the sky, Alys continued to gather as much dew as she could before it all burned off, evaporating until the following morning. She was content with the amount in her jar when she grabbed a lid, screwing it into place, and holding it up for Deimos to see. [say]"Is this enough?"[/say] she asked, ready to move on when everyone else was.

------

Alys collects a little more water and then screws on the lid!