[PRP] Eat Your Greens (Calder/Holly)

[MoonKitsune]

The days were getting colder and the dried husks of plants rustled in the cool breeze of the later months. Calder enjoyed the cold water of a nearby stream on his tongue and about his legs, but while the runs were brisk now, he did like coming back to Barth's room to cuddle. Leave it to a sloth demon to keep you warm and comforted on windy days.

As it was, the later months had ripening berries and drying plants, and Calder, despite his love of hunting, fishing, and cooking, still loved his free-reign greens.

His garden patch in the woods was near gone now, but he pawed the earth and ate a few small carrots that somehow managed to escape his previous snack times.

The white mare pawed at the dirt before pulling out another slender carrot, a bit too ripe, and chewing on it happily.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

She walked slowly, feeling the wind dance along the edges of her dress, digging her toes into the cold ground with each step.The forest would be sleepier soon, the plants filled with the memory of sunlight and warmth. Hollandaise always felt a little lonelier as winter approached. Wrapping her arms around herself, she winced, feeling her ribs twinge. That boil, in the house.. she shook her head, unwilling to think about things that hurt. So far, she'd spent so much of her time here escaping. It was pathetic; she was pathetic. On silent feet, she ducked around a tree, fingers trailing lovingly against the rough bark. When she looked up, she paused, struck by the sight in front of her.

"Oh, how gorgeous," she breathed. The mare was so white she almost glowed - something pure-looking and sweet. There had been horses in her forests, and more that took on their form. The mare munched on a carrot and Hollandaise noted the upturned ground. "Hello - is this... your garden? Uh... if you are not a horse, that is." She shrugged and moved closer, struck by a strange want to stroke that shimmering mane. The garden could maybe use some tending... or protection from the mare.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

The garden was not hers exactly as she didn't own the land, but it was hers by her planting things there only. Most of the stuff she grew didn't last long due to her impatient stomach, but it had given her some sweet treats when she was out for a run and allowed herself to forget about the garden long enough for it to produce something.

At the voice, her ears perked and she rolled the end of a carrot stub around her mouth before chewing the last part and swallowing. "Aye." She said.

The girl looked like a faun and he was instantly wary of her. Most fauns he knew that lived around his home had teased him or ignored him, and he still felt the sting of their merciless games and insults to this day.

"Not a horse. Kelpie." Calder informed, though she did flick her tail. "But I look like it. That's da trick."

The urge to pet her was not uncommon. It was the entire point of her mare form, to lure prey to her, to drive that impulse and thrill to go near a beautiful yet strange unknown, and to, once close, ride her.

Lowering her head, she pawed at the ground again, sniffing the ground before nipping the grass and pulling out another thin, nearly shriveled carrot.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

Oh, a kelpie! Hollandaise would have felt very stupid talking to a horse, after all. And even stupider thinking that many ran in these woods. "Good trick. I haven't bothered with anything other than my pinned form since coming here. My name is Hollandaise." She laughed a little and smoothed out some dirt under her foot.

"Hmmm. Why did you not harvest earlier? I think they were waiting for you - they grew thin with waiting." She paused. "Your mane is very pretty. May I touch it?"

MoonKitsune

just noticed I messed up the quote D8

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

"Oh, you should. The woods are lovely and the grass on the grounds is fresh. There is even a lake behind the monster dorms that's great for swimming, but I like the rivers in the woods more." Calder finished her carrot and then walked over.

"Ah, I forgot. Exams and stuff. I thought I ate them all, but I came back and had a nice surprise. My sugar cubes never did come up." She sighed before he moved she went over and bumped her forehead against Hollandaise's chest.

"Nice ta meet ya, Hollandaise. I'm Calder. You can touch my hair, but...are those plants growing on you or are they you? They look pretty and delicious. More green than anything here right now. What are ya? You look like a faun."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

Hollandaise's eye widened as Calder spoke of her leaves being delicious. Abruptly, she jerked away, hands coming up to cover her shoulders. When she spoke, her voice was a wary creak.

"I am not food! No one is allowed to eat me." Which, if she were honest, Hollandaise might think of all the times she'd swayed towards a predator, fascinated by the sharp gleam of teeth. she might think of the nights she spent shivering, wondering if something hunted her from the shadows. She might think of those times and consider that maybe, just maybe, she might make excellent prey. Of course, that didn't mean Hollandaise wanted to be prey. More specifically, she lived in terror of the day that someone would try to tear her leaves and branches off. It had happened, once... with a hunter. She shuddered at the memory.

Slowly, she moved back towards the kelpie, ready to bolt if the mare snapped her teeth. "I do come into the forest, but not in my natural form." Bending, she plucked a few long pieces of grass and began to plait them into Calder's silky mane. Her fingers ran through it at random, enjoying the way the cool strands felt. "You do know that sugar cubes do not really work that way, right?"

Moonkitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

Calder did not n** or nibble, instead just frowning as best as a horse could. "Oh...alright. I thought they might grow back if I have a taste." She admitted and let Hollandaise comb her hair. It was always nice feeling hands through her mane and she turned her body sideways to give her access to the entire side.

"Oh, I didn't know that. So....do they grow in trees instead? I thought it might sprout but maybe the ground is too bad for them?" She wasn't sure. "Do they grow in a desert or the beach?"  

[The Semblance of Unity]

Hollandaise sighed. "They do grow back. It is not the de-nuding I am concerned over. It just... hurts." Her fingers continued to move through Calder's mane, twisting bits into tiny braids.

"I think, and I have not seen many sugar cubes, that they need to grow in a wet area - like a small pool in a garden. Dissolve them into whatever liquid you have chosen and I have heard tea works best, then wait until the pool dries and new ones pop up! Maybe." Hollandaise sounded just a little unsure. Sugar cubes were not quite like a normal plant, or even quite like other plant-based fear pets. She could not talk to them and the warder could not tell if that was because she was not strong enough or because they were not planty enough.

"We should try it!"

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

"OH, I didn't know it would hurt. I guess ...I thought they wouldn't be you you. Hmmm. I guess eating YOU would be bad." Though she did look very delicious.

In a instant, a white fog rolled over the horse, dissolving to leave the young man standing there in his pinned form. Standing on two hooves, Calder rushed over with a big smile. "Really?! I thought they would dissolve so I was super worried. I guess they could be water! They didn't do well in the dirt or sand or anything else I tried. I even planted a fish under one."

He reached down to the small satchel around his waist to dig inside before pulling out a small bag. "I have some cubes right here! We could try em now.....unless it's too cold." He said, lowering the bag and looking around. It was getting nippier than the usual breezy chill that Halloween Town was always in.

He looked back at her. "Think a pond would work? There is a small one right over there."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yes, I may look edible, but I am also certain I am not tasty." Hollandaise wasn't certain, not really. But she had never eaten herself and now did not seem like a good time to try. Was there a word for self-cannibalism? Would it count as cannibalism if she ate a bit of another plant-like student or only if it was a warder? Not that she wanted to eat anyone - it seemed altogether too messy and unpleasant all around. She blinked dazedly as Calder shifted, complete with white fog. It only needed whooshing sound effects. And perhaps glitter.

She tapped her bottom lip. "I am not sure temperature affects them. I have not tried this before, but I have heard this is how... And they do dissolve! But then, you must let the liquid dry up and more cubes will be revealed." Hollandaise smiled at Calder and gestured for him to lead the way.

"We should certainly try!"

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

Calder beamed at someone willing to help with his sugar cube garden. "That sounds amazing! The pond is this way!" He reached out, taking Holly's hand and leading the way.

He knew the forest as best as anyone could when dealing with magical places, but after a short walk through the woods, he stopped before a small pond.

"Well, it's kind of a big puddle, but it never dries up so it should do well." He let go of Holly's hand before kneeling down before the pond and touching the water. It was cold this time of year. "So....Uh....should we just dig a hole in the mud?" He said, looking over to her.

"You have all the plants going on you so...you seem like an expert." He said with a smile.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

She looked at the pond, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Yes." She got down on her knees with him and began to form a muddy hole for the sugar cubes. "Then we cover them with a little water, and wait. I was told they do not need much tending." Her hair fell in front of her face as she scooped the mud around and, irritated, she pushed it back, leaving a streak on her cheek and in her hair.

"I have never grown them, I have only heard stories from Gryfinlolin'narondikcal." His name sighed out of her mouth with a series of incomprehensible creaking noises. "I have grown many plants, though, and I hope this will work." She gave Calder a tenative smile. Hollandaise did not know what she would do if this did not work... she had never not succeeded with plants before.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

Calder reached into the bag and frowned at the sugar cubes left. "It's...to a good cause." He said to himself, trying not to feel glum about the fact that he wouldn't be able to eat the sugar cubes he was planting.

He plunked one into the water and then covered it with the muddy water. "We plant a lot at our house, but only swamp crops and a few on the dry patches of land we have. What kind of plants do you grow? Are you very good at it? Can we do anything to make our sugar cubes grow faster?" He said, making another hole for another sugar cube. He would have loved to have more sugar cubes right now.

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Hollandaise hummed happily as he plunked the sugar cubes into their new homes. With any luck, these would sonn multiply. If not, she would feel very, very stupid. She crossed her fingers quickly. Turning to Calder, she caught his sad words and thought quickly.

"Calder, after this, would you like to visit my room? Since this is a sort of-" She waved one muddy hand about, searching for the word. "- experimental venture, I can replace the sugar cubes we use here. And you can have some for eating?" They had been a free extra thrown in with some plant she had bought.

She tapped the mud down more firmly on the edge of a hole. "I usually grow things most often found in forests - like small bushes or things like that. It is easier for Warders, because we can speak to most plants. They can tell us what is wrong or if they need more light or if they are happy and loved. Plants enjoy attention." She stroked a struggling leaf of grass. Grass, moss, smaller plants like that were beyond her yet, but as Hollandaise grew, she knew she would be able to speak to anything.

MoonKltsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

The Semblance of Unity

Calder's stomach made a low grumble and he touched it, looking down and back at her. "Um...depends. Can I eat anything?" He said, hopeful. "I mean, they sound like your friends. Don't want to eat something you are friends with." He suddenly seemed startled.

"Oh, did you hear the carrot when I ate it back then?!" He said, alarmed.