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Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 11-20-2020
Both the Abandoned and the Attuned were walking back from the fields to the settlement, the former's eyes looking every which way in order to avoid strange happenings to him. After almost a full year living on his own, it's a habit that's not easy to break by this point.
[say]"...so...what is your family like,"[/say] Belril asked of Henry, who has had to spend a little bit more energy than normal to keep up with the longer-legged person he was traveling with and was breathing somewhat-heavy as a result. Belril wasn't mad about the energy drain, no one asked to be as tall or short as they were...but he would appreciate someplace to sit when they got to where he was being led to...
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 11-28-2020
[say]"They're good people. My brother and my father are both like me; Attuned. So if you see a few dogs herding the sheep - that's them. My mother's running errands today since I'm helping you get set up in our back field. That's the norm for us, though; we all stay busy around here."[/say]
Henry led the way up the road with a smile on his face and confidence emanating from his body language. He didn't realize that Belril found the trek so tiring, though he did stop and wait a few times to let the boy catch up. When they crested a hill, Henry stopped once more and looked out across the land. It was a modest sheep farm. He could see his brother in his dog shift herding the sheep out towards the grazing areas. His father was nowhere to be seen, probably scouting ahead to make sure it was safe.
He looked over his shoulder at Belril and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, [say]"Here we are!"[/say] he moved his hand away and headed down the hill to show Belril where he could plant his crops. It was a small piece of land tucked around the back of their small house. To one side, there were already rows of vegetables but, it was much like his own crop; a meager harvest meant to sustain a small family.
Henry stopped in front of some freshly-tilled soil, which he'd worked on the night before. [say]"My mum's the green thumb around here. She said we can form a structure around the crops with a few clear tarps, like a miniature greenhouse. It'll keep the bad weather out while letting the sun in. Plus, having the house on one side provides decent shelter. What do you think?"[/say] He glanced over at Belril, chewing his lip.
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 11-30-2020
Belril felt the want to ask what Henry's mother was, if she wasn't Attuned, but the feeling that such may be a rude question to ask. Admittedly, being somewhat winded did help cause him to decide against asking as well, instead just nodding at Henry's words.
He slightly yelped at the sudden weight on his shoulder, almost toppling between it and tiredness creeping in. He had been able to do all the running around he does daily because he was able to take his own pace while doing so. After this, he probably wasn't going to be able to do the rest of his runs, but at least he usually does the ones that have to be done daily first.
So, his wild gardens were already taken care of that day, thankfully.
He nodded once more at Henry's words regarding what his mother has already said could be done, glad his hard work over the year won't be completely frozen by the incoming Deepfrost. [say]"That should work, and this is fairly more closer to the Domiciles than the old spot was,"[/say] he admitted before looking over the spot where the crops would be moving to. [say]"I would have to keep the trees to their shrunken sizes, but I might be able to allow the other crops grow bigger than I have been as well."[/say] He then gazed back towards the direction of his wild gardens in the fields before adding with a hesitant chuckle, [say]"though maybe not that much bigger with the watermelons...those are heavy..."[/say]
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-03-2020
Henry's pursed lips became a gleeful smile when Belril agreed that it would work, watching as the boy examined things for himself. He did notice, only then, that Belril seemed a bit winded when he talked. His breaths were short and heavy and his cheeks were pretty red. [say]"Yes, hopefully it'll be easier on you here. Of course you can let them grow. The trees... yeah, that's probably a good call,"[/say] Henry nodded along to Belril's thoughts, adding his own comments, [say]"but we certainly won't stop you from trying to grow full-sized ones, if you ever want to."[/say]
Then, he motioned towards a pile of provisions pressed up against the side of the house. There, Belril would see large, clear tarps and short, wood posts measured just high enough to cover the plants. There was also wiring, nails, a hammer, and stakes. [say]"Everything's there to build it, we just need to get all of your plants in the dirt before we start building around them. It'll be easier that way. Don't move, I'll be right back."[/say]
With that, Henry disappeared across the property and into the old barn. When he emerged after about ten minutes (and there were few indications that he was having some sort of struggle with something), well, he didn't emerge first. Out came a runaway goat, black with tan spotting, and she went straight toward Belril with kicking hooves. She had unimpressive horns on her head, short and stubby, but she bowed them anyway. Henry came barreling after her, [say]"Hey! Get back here! Watch it!"[/say]
She pranced right past Belril with all the grace a goat could have, though she probably gave him a right scare with her buff charge, and proceeded to escape towards her ultimate freedom, where she could eat apples all day long and no one could stop her.
Henry came panting past Belril and said quickly, [say]"There's a bag of oats in the barn, can you run and grab it please? And just- I don't know, make it look appetizing? I'm gonna try to herd her back around."[/say]
With that, he shifted into his eagle form and flew across the open stretch until he was past the goat, where he swooped down and squawked at her, doing his best to look scary, stretching out his wings. The goat came to a skidding halt, letting out a bleat of terror and scrambling back in the other direction, now in a complete panic.
Henry morphed back to his human form and there was clear displeasure scrawled all across his face, [say]"Damn it! Dad's gonna kill me if I lose her,"[/say] he grumbled to himself. Shoosing to stay in his human form, he went after Dot to try and help Belril - if Belril was helping him, that is.
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 12-04-2020
While Henry was in the barn, Belril took advantage of the moment to place a hand over his chest, close his eyes and focus on easing his fatigue. Anyone else would have mistaken him for taking a breather, but he was using his cueless magic to deaden his fatigue so he'd be more able to do more that day.
Turned out to be a good call, because he opened his eyes upon hearing Henry yell and was more able to duck out of the way of incoming goat onto his side. He looked up as he turned over to his other side as Henry passed, giving the rancher an incredulous look.
[say]"You want me to do what,"[/say] he managed to ask before Henry flew on ahead to in front of the goat, forcing him to get back up to be in better position to dodge Incoming Goat: Round 2. He dipped into the barn he saw Henry in earlier, finding the bag of oats that was mentioned...but there was one little problem.
He couldn't even lift the bag.
He instead looked around for a dry bucket, scooping up some of the oats into it before running back out to see Henry trying and failing to corral the goat back in. Hoping he was making the correct call since he didn't know the goat's given name, he let loose a whistle as he began to pickup a handle of oats before letting them fall back into the barrel after sliding down his hand, hoping to catch her attention with it...
He honestly didn't know what he was doing, and probably would never take up ranching after this on his own. Plants are saner to care for...
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-06-2020
The goat came to an abrupt halt at the sound of the oats running from Belril's hand back into the bucket. She trotted towards him with her tiny tail sticking up into the air, moving as if she were going to eat some of the oats out of the bucket. But then, at the last second, likely when Belril's guard would be the most down, she snatched it by the rim and galloped about. Oats went flying everywhere.
Henry, meanwhile, had been trying not to spook her upon seeing her going for the oats. Now that she was back to her mischief, he gave chase. [say]"Come on, get on the other side,"[/say] he motioned to the far side of where she was flaunting about, tossing the bucket around and picking it up again, [say]"We can corral her back into the barn,"[/say] he commanded Belril, hoping the boy could at least use his presence for pressure - if nothing else.
Henry circled around her on the near side and she began to trot back towards the opening of the barn. He started to relax at the surprising victory. But then, she looked back at him, dropping the bucket. A knowing gleam in her eye made Henry's brows raise. [say]"Don't you dare,"[/say] he said sternly, pointing at her. She let out a bleat of indignance and charged right into him, bowling him off of his feet.
[say]"Ooph!"[/say]
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 12-06-2020
[say]"Henry,"[/say] Belril belted after Henry got knocked off his feet, crossing his arms in front of himself to try to shield against hoof, horn and mass in case it came for him. It didn't, but he needed to catch up and get the goat to about-face...
He had an idea, but he was probably gonna sleep through a full day after this was all said and done. Belril ran after the old goat with that in mind; trying to run faster than usual to catch up.
As he passed Henry, however, the rancher could feel the pain from being launched begin to melt away into nothingness for the time being. Belril's own legs, however, felt like they were starting to become on fire, but he suppressed the pain for now with his cueless magic, managing to get in front of a rather-surprised goat.
[say]"In the barn, now,"[/say] he tried to command of Dot, not even giving the impression that he was tired...
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-09-2020
Henry sprawled across the ground, dazed, for a minute. None of this had been part of the plan. In fact, Belril was never supposed to help him with the livestock around the farm. He was just supposed to plant his crops and feel at ease, and the exact opposite was happening. Henry let out an aggravated sigh as he went to get up, feeling the muscle cramp in his leg.
Only, as Belril moved to pass him, that pain disappeared. Henry's head snapped in the direction of the boy, eyebrows pressed forward in confusion. Coincidence? Probably not. He supposed he hadn't asked Belril if he wasn't Accepted before, not that it was a bad thing. But Henry's eyes widened and his train of thought came to an abrupt halt as he saw Belril very boldly move to block Dot's path of destruction.
To the side of the barn door, there was a roll of rope. Henry got to his feet and went for it, quickly tying a loop in it. Having a pretty good idea of what the goat would do to the kid, he was on top of her before she could even act. They wrestled into the ground, the goat bleating in protest. He wrapped one arm around her neck, and she tried to twist out of his grip.
Quickly, he slid the rope over her head, around her neck. Grabbing the other end, he held on tight as she ran to the end of the rope, pulling stubbornly. [say]"Dot, cut it out, you she-devil,"[/say] he snapped, grimacing as he stood up in spite of the goat's relentless rebellion. [say]"Belril, you push and I'll pull!"[/say] With that, he turned and tried to pull Dot back to the barn.
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 12-10-2020
Belril couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as Dot was restrained by the sudden loop of rope. While it was crazy for him to do, Belril barreled forwards toward the goat, hooking himself under the goat's head to keep from being hit (at least hard) by the horns on her head. There was, however, no saving his feet if she managed a stomp or two on them outside of just enough pain-numbing for him to continue pushing the wild Dot back into the barn. He did feel like Dot's windpipe was being somewhat crushed by the rope, so he was stealthily using his magic to strengthen it and make it more resistant to being suddenly suffocated in addition to keeping it from hitting the one spot on the throat where any creature could get suddenly choked out by going over the windpipe.
[say]"Are all the animals here like this,"[/say] he said with gritted teeth as one of Dot's hooves landed most-squarely on one of his big toes, something he's gonna have to deal with after this nonsense was said and done.
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-13-2020
Henry chuckled at Belril's comment. The laughter left him in a breathy haste as he hauled Dot back into the barn. She struggled the whole way, of course, but because of Belril's pushing and Henry's pulling, they managed to eventually get her into a stall. There, Henry untied her and shut her in her stall, where layers of hay were scattered around. Dot bleated at him before turning to her water trough. Sighing, he turned and leaned back against the door, his chest heaving.
He took a seat on one of the hay bales laying around, clearly fatigued. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, shaking his head. [say]"Dot's a difficult animal. I hate goats!"[/say] He laughed again, [say]"That's why we keep her here in the barn. Thanks for your help, by the way,"[/say] he nodded and motioned for Belril to sit beside him, patting the straw. [say]"So, I've been wondering."[/say]
He waited for a moment to let Belril situate himself and so they could both catch their breath.
[say]"What's your story? With your family and everything. Where are they?"[/say]
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 12-13-2020
Belril stumbled gingerly towards next to Henry, sitting down as he pulled off one of his boots, then sock to better look over the toes the goat stomped hard on. Not the big toe, but the one next to it, was starting to turn a nasty shade of black and blue in a literal sense.
In regards to Henry's questions, Belril did not answer, instead choosing at first to pull out some cloth he keeps on hand for wrapping up potentially broken bones and bruised parts of the body for later care...or in this case, stealth healing after the toe was completely covered. After the wounded toe was wrapped and covered, he wrapped it up next to the big toe, something normally done with broken toes to act as a natural splint. It would mean that walking would be interesting, but he knew the healing would make it so he wouldn't be in pain for long.
[say]"...I...don't know where they are,"[/say] he said as he moved the sock back over his foot. [say]"I haven't seen them since I lost them in Halo almost a decade ago. I don't even know what happened to them, either."[/say] He then slid his boot back onto his foot before adding, [say]"they just...disappeared."[/say]
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-15-2020
Henry eyed the boy's toes, wincing in empathy. There had been many injuries he'd received because of, specifically, that damned goat. She was getting older now, but no less of a terror to deal with. Fortunately, though, Belril kept some bandages handy, so Henry didn't have to go and fetch some for him.
He lurched forward, elbows resting against his knees, and tilted his head over so he could regard Belril's face as the boy told him a snippet of his life. Still, a lot of implications could be made over the small statement. Did his parents die? Did they abandon him? Or was he a lost child, and did they still look for him? The fact Belril had no idea what became of his only family made Henry feel sick to his stomach.
[say]"Have you ever tried to find them? Maybe they're looking for you,"[/say] he raised his brows, [say]"A decade ago... how old are you now? Fourteen?"[/say]
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Belril - 12-16-2020
[say]"I'll be seventeen come Deepfrost...and if my parents really wanted me back, they would have long done so by now."[/say] Belril's voice was flat and quiet, devoid of emotion for the moment, as he stood up onto his feet. [say]"And Halo's a dangerous place to go looking, but I did try what I could to find them. Early on, it seemed like they left town, unconcerned and happy, soon after I lost them...and they just never returned."[/say]
He then turned back towards the direction of the closest wild garden he had. [say]"I'm going to get started on moving the plants...I'll be back,"[/say] he said as he began to walk as if he never had to deal with a crushed toe now.
Never once did he lift his gaze from the ground, either, as he walked away, depression setting in once more.
RE: Be Thankful for Family In All Its Forms - Henry - 12-23-2020
Seventeen. He looked much younger, Henry was surprised to find that out, raising his brows in response. He took notice of the way Belril's voice seemed to flatten, the emotion having left his tones. A depression seemed to unsettle him, rousing him onto his feet. Henry looked up at him from where he sat, brows furrowing as he listened.
Henry opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Belril was turning away, walking, leaving. His steps were no longer hindered by the bruising of his feet. For a moment, Henry thought about letting Belril go on his own. And for a moment, he did, watching as the boy made his way across the front of the property, back in the direction of his garden.
Henry was soon catching up to Belril, and someone was in tow with him. He led Dot along on a rope fastened into a collar around her neck. Yes, loose enough that it was secure without choking her. She munched into a bag that was tied around her head, filled with oats. With this, she was much happier to comply. A harness was also attached to her and she pulled along a small cart, properly fitted to be pulled by a goat.
[say]"Belril, wait up!"[/say] Henry called, waving him down. He picked up the pace slightly and caught up. Once he reached the boy's side, he took a moment to catch his breath.
[say]"I wanted to have Dot help us with the plants. It'll be so much quicker this way, and she's trained to do this. It's only when she gets free that she gets... out of hand,"[/say] he smiled, nudging Belril's arm with his elbow in a good-humored manner.
Henry walked along the road in relative silence for a while, paying more attention to Dot and guiding her along smoother parts of the ground. Eventually, though, he felt that he needed to say something.
[say]"So... you've had a hard life, huh?"[/say] he rubbed the side of his throat, glancing over at the boy, [say]"That's alright. We don't have to talk about it. We all have ghosts in our pasts. But you've got your whole future ahead of you. And I'll be here for ya, if you need a helping hand. Or just a friend to rely on."[/say] He offered a cheery smile.