[prp] I couldn’t help but ask (chris & thorne)

[moonjavas]

After the trouble with Marié, Thorne had left Other Ashdown alone for a few days. Or rather, he had left it alone apart from going to Court. His own bulk of the Court was a maze of stately rooms, a lot like an ancient manor house. A library framed the westernmost edge of it, and it all seemed to circle around a grand inner courtyard.

The only trouble was that whoever had owned this place before had barely kept it very well. Or rather, if no one owned it, than it had simply been in disuse. Honestly, Thorne din't know which of the two was the correct backstory, and he didn't care. At first he had simply detested the thought of this place being his own that he'd ignored it all.

But now, as he came to be comfortable in his own skin, the courtyard had begun to itch at him like a badly done paint job that needed to be made right.

So of course, he'd collected seeds and cataloged plants that might grow well there, in that space cut apart only by a willow in one corner with a pond at its forefront, glittering koi (other-koi?) swimming in its depths.

And then he'd gone to Chris, asking for help. Now he stood in Ashdown, listening to the sound of preternatural turnings on the other side, and looked over at him.

"Are you ready?"

PeanutButterPieees

 

[grayseasons]

It was one thing to know of Thorne as a lord. It was something he knew of very well, from the ball and from Mare and from everything that had happened leading to that argument and after it. He knew of Lord Alexander Thorne, and he was fine with it, because they had moved past it and well. It was Thorne's struggle to deal with and Chris would help and would ask he didn't hide things from him, but Chris would absolutely not dig into that, even if he was curious.

So it was for all that, that when Thorne asked him to come help his court, Chris couldn't help but be a little bit surprised before he said yes. Before he agreed readily because if Thorne was asking him, it was important and it meant a lot. And he was going to be there for him.

"Yeah, I am," He said, glancing around the garden. His eyes landed on the willow, cataloging the lone tree, but otherwise just seeing space. An idea. "Direct me, my lord," He added on teasingly, giving Thorne a cocky smile.

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

Thorne thought that he had all of this under control, that nothing would go absolutely, horribly wrong in this instance. Mare was dutifully cleaning up one of the libraries microcosms they'd found - a dusty old closet space on the second floor piled high with dusty old manuals on strange and eclectic things, as though someone had decided to throw whatever book they deemed uninteresting into the cramped old space.

But then Chris called him lord, and Thorne turned to him, wild-eyed.

This was the freeze frame second where Thorne decided how to play his hand. Because hearing the tease from Chris's lips made him want to drop everything and prowl after the other and tease him right back. But if he did that, they wouldn't have much of anything finished at all in the present time.

"Hm," Thorne said, and smiled at Chris.

It was that smile, suspended, cocky and arrogant and teasing as well, that was the last thing he did before simply - vanishing.

The garden was silent, whispering and aching for the warmth of new seeds and new growth.

And then Thorne laid his chin against Chris's shoulder and said, "Very well." He slid his hands up over Chris's arms before pulling them up and posing a picture frame with his fingers.

He described the garden as it would be. Where the plants might go, and where they could add paths through the greenery. Where they might supply a place to sit and rest and watch the rest of the world here turn.

"But what do you see?" he added into the husk of Chris's ear. "What would you add?"

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

For a second Chris wondered if he had misstep in calling Thorne lord, if he had taken something too far. He looked back at Thorne and was still smiling, but it was slowly slipping until Thorne just disappeared.

"Thorne?!" Chris called out, surprised and alarmed. He didn't know where Thorne went and the garden was just about creepily silent, Chris standing in it alone and hoping that everything was okay. That Thorne wasn't getting hurt by something or-

"Jesus!" Chris said, startled, and shot Thorne a glare. "Don't do that," He muttered, but still turned his head to nose at Thorne's hair. Make sure he was real and was here. It was obviously something new Thorne could do and with that it made Chris feel better but he still did not like the surprise aspect of it. Thorne was going to have to stop that.

As Thorne described, Chris could see the garden, what it could be. How it could grow, could bloom. It looked beautiful, in his mind, the plans Thorne laid out. Gorgeous and elegant.

"Hm," Chris said in reply to the question, in thought, "Maybe some roses, but I'm not sure what else. I've always been a sporadic planter, come to think of it. Maybe I should ask that willow, over there." It was a bit of a joke, but he did intend to summon the spirit to get them to help out. "Although, do you know how everything's going to grow? It might grow differently here, since it's Other Ashdown," He added, thinking of his weird lavender.

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

Thorne snorted and nuzzled Chris once he nosed at him, wrapping his arms around the blonds waist and tugging him back into his body with a teasing amount of pressure.

"Did I startle you?" He asked, low and amused, his smile cat-like, eyes dancing and wild. It was a new skill that he could access even in Ashdown's regular dreary streets, and here it felt even more pronounced. Like an easy breath for him, a snapshot of here-there, and the want to be on the other side.

"You should ask," Thorne murmured. "I've no idea what kind of place this used to be, only that it belongs to me now. I'll show you the library later. We can replay a scene out of Beauty and the Beast if you want."

He stepped around Chris and off of the path onto the soft earth, pliant and waiting upon them to change and shape it. Looking back at the other man, he grinned.

"We'll just have to find out, won't we? This place is yours as much as mine, you know," he said, "Just as I am. I'm still trying to figure out all of its secrets, but this was the place I wanted to start. Roses then. I was thinking about adding some water lilies too. Maybe the koi would like them. If we accidentally end up with magic weed though, we're not telling Shiloh."

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

Chris hummed happily in return, arms moving to hold at Thorne's around his, a comfort. He moved easily into Thorne's body, resting back into him with a great amount of ease.

"Don't ask stupid questions," He retorted back, not amused in the slightest. "You know what you did." He was still holding onto Thorne though, glare still there, but still unwilling to let go of him. Annoying as Thorne was, he liked it.

"Do you really want me to?" Chris asked, giving Thorne a grin finally. "Yes, that sounds lovely. Do you want to be Belle, or the beast? Actually, you're Belle here now that I think about it."

Chris watched Thorne step off the path onto the earth, reacted with his own grin. He reached his hand out, grabbed at Thorne's to take hold and stepped onto the ground with him.

"God no we're not telling Shiloh," Chris replied, laughing. "Not Jamie either, I don't think he knows how to keep a secret from Shiloh. They're thick as thieves." He closed his eyes for a second, taking in everything, then said, "Are you sure you want to share it with me? Coalsmoke was one thing, but this is different."

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

Thorne scoffed a little bit, his voice lilting a little as he said, "I thought there was no such thing as a stupid question, teacher." His eyes flicked over to Chris, and he hummed at the warmth of them pressed together, here in this place that even in Other Ashdown, he was allowed to call theirs.

"I really want you to," Thorne replied instantly, and turned his gaze to Chris's grin. "Please," he drawled, "Me, Belle? I am the one with this castle, this place. And I have all but stolen you away. Doesn't that make me the Beast in this case? I'm the one that came to steal your heart."

He winds his fingers easily with Chris's, looks around at this space that they would transform. He wanted to see what Chris did, he wanted to lay out here with him one night, once all of the flowers had bloomed. He wanted to show him the library and the study - the room he'd set up for just the two of them. It hadn't been his before. But now, he would make it theirs.

"God no," Thorne replied with wild laughter, "Jamie and Shiloh need to remain pure and innocent. Though I am terrified to see what the Court decided to spit back out for Shiloh."

The question caught him off guard though, and he turned to look at Chris fully. With ease, soft and slow, he stepped forward, taking both of Chris's hands in his, resting their warmth together.

"Yes," Thorne said easily, truthfully, without any reserve, and looked up at Chris. "This is a part of me as well. What I am, what I've been given. I was wrong to ever keep it from you. I want this to be ours." Thorne looked up at Chris, eyes half-lidded and soft. "If you would have it, I would give everything to you."

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

"You, my dear, are the exception," Chris replied, but it was teasing this time, less angry. "How long can you hold that, by the way. Do you know?" Even if Thorne had annoyed him, he was curious more than anything. Wondered if he'd still feel Thorne's heat if he disappeared again, wondered if he would feel Thorne at all or if he'd pass through.

Chris only nodded, making his way towards the tree with Thorne in tow, trying to figure how to call to it. It was easier to pull nowadays, especially in Other Ashdown, but he didn't like to just take. It didn't feel right. "You can't steal what was being offered, even if you didn't know it for awhile," Chris says back, smiling regardless. "And anyways, you're the beauty in this situation, with brains to boot. I don't understand how you'd be the beast here."

With Thorne's hand in his Chris felt like well. Like he could do anything with Thorne, like he could be better. They would make something out of this together, that was for sure, maybe even more. He wanted to see what Thorne would offer him, he wanted to help Thorne in any way he could. It was a good feeling, this.

"Shiloh is nowhere near pure and innocent and he's slowly corrupting Jamie too and you know it," Chris replied back incredulous, but he laughed himself. "Who knows, I do know I never wanna see it though with what I know about this place."

He blinked in surprise at his hands being taken, looked up at Thorne with a question in his eyes. The movement was soft and gentle, different from before.

"Oh," He said quietly, looking up at Thorne. "I- Of course I'll have it," He replied back quietly, just as soft. "I want everything with you. I just don't want to take too much."

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

"Oh, am I?" Thorne retorted, deeply amused. His expression was positively radiant, cat-like in every way. It was a shock that he had not simply turned into an oversized feline upon becoming a noble. "Hm," Thorne responded, eyes flickering to Chris and away. "It's not so much holding as it is - choosing where I want to be from where I am. I've tried it around corners, but it doesn't work. Yet."

The garden whispered around them, barren and empty. Thorne wondered what it might look like in a few years, if in a few years they would still be here. Or if they would be somewhere else, far away. It was a strange thought, not entirely wanted or warranted, but Thorne looked at Chris and decided that if he had to go anywhere, it would be alright as long as he knew Chris was with him somehow.

"You say that now," he retorted in a drawl, grinning, "If you insist. But then, you are a very handsome beast. No fangs or anything. Almost too good to be true."

His eyes flicked up to the willow and back to Chris. The smile that crossed his face was warm and amused.

"It probably blasts trashy music from the closets and the door knobs say <******** you," Thorne said, laughing at the concept of Shiloh's own court. He gentled though, and looked at Chris, tucking closer to him with ease.

"You could never take too much," he says easily, "It was always yours. All of it, and all of me."

He leans back, smirking.

"So, teacher," he drawls, low and amused, his voice regal and regally mischievous, "Show me what you can do."

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

"Yes, you are," Chris retorted back, but he was smiling now. Devilish, teasing. "But a good sort of exception, I suppose." He tilted his head in thought, hummed. "That's interesting too, kinda weird it doesn't work around corners. But then again I summon plants, so what do I know?" He laughed a little, amused. "You'll figure it out, you're smart."

It was a little strange being in so much space and yet it being so silent. Not really silent in the terms of humans, although he and Thorne were doing a great job at filling that, but the lack of plants. He had grown used to Other Ashdown.. whispering maybe, was the term. He couldn't really hear the plants that well but he could sense they were talking with each other or just talking in general when he was around, background noise he turned out easily. Static. But here it was quiet and it was slightly wondering and he wanted to fill it. Wanted to make it something, if not for him or for the plants then at least for Thorne. For him when Chris was gone, when he would be gone, because he had a feeling Thorne would outlive him.

"Mm yes, there is a catch," He said idly, "It's that I never sleep and spend all my time grading. A terrible curse to be saddled with."

Chris looked at Thorne and then laughed at the description, his mind filling it in perfectly. "Oh absolutely," He managed to get out, face aching a little from the laughter. "Probably turtles everywhere too."

It was easy to settle down though, to shift closer to Thorne at his request and look at him. Try to believe what he was saying, that Chris was worth it. Something he was trying. "Me too," He said gently, "I'm yours."

The mood passed though and he gave Thorne at gentle nudge, making a face at him.

"It's not like you haven't seen me do this before," He complained easily, but he stepped up to the tree, tilted his head and looked at it before placing his hands on it. Truthfully, he hadn't ever summoned from a tree before. Wis had pulled herself out and the rest of the plants he had summoned from had been small, Marié the single exception and even then she was different. Trees had age to them, wisdom. He had only ever talked to one and it was the only one that had ever responded in full sentences, paragraphs almost. It had startled Chris badly when that had happened.

Can I ask you to come out? We'd like to talk to you, He asked it, in thought and feeling, knowing the tree would respond to both. There was a minute, as it tended to be, but then like usual suddenly there was just the spirit. He was shorter than Chris, but instead of appearing as a kid, he appeared to be a teen, edging into young adult. He blinked for a second, then tilted his head at Chris.

"Hello," He said, voice a bit rough, "What would you like to talk about?"

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

"Isn't it though?" Thorne laughed. "I knew a few people, still know some, who are afraid of magic. I guess I can understand that, but - " He paused and tilted his head. "It's not really that magic is something to be afraid of, I don't think." After all, magic was neither inherently good nor bad. As with most things, it depended entirely on its user to decide its will.

The silence of this garden was different for Thorne than it was for Chris. He could not hear plants whispering on a daily basis, didn't speak with them as Chris did. But rather, he felt the silence that came from emptiness, from a place that had been hollow too long. It wasn't Coalsmoke, would never be Coalsmoke, but it could be something, if only someone filled it with life.

Perhaps that was why Thorne had started with the garden.

"A curse is meant to be broken," Thorne rumbled in reply, eyes flicking to Chris in amusement, "So that can't be it. Unless my falling in love with you makes you sleep more and grade less."

A chuckle rose in his throat at the comment of turtles, but Thorne was immediately drawn into what happened next.

"Oh," he said curiously, looking at the male plant spirit. "Hello. My name's Thorne. You are...?" He paused and added, "I was interested in the history of this garden. Do you know a lot about this place?"

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

"Afraid of magic?" Chris asked, feeling out of scope. He had never thought of being afraid but like Thorne said, he could see it. It was a lot to adjust to and Chris himself had only really realized the scope of what he was in and it had been a year so far. "No, it's not. It's. I guess it's a tool, I feel. Just like anything, it doesn't do anything unless you make it. Still, that's kind of strange, to be afraid."

Chris laughed softly, gave Thorne a look. "I mean, it does and has," He replied, amused, "But I don't think that was what you meant. And not every curse needs to be broken."

The spirit tilted his head at Thorne, as if considering his answer. There was a moment and then he said, "I am Alix. A pleasure to meet you Thorne. You must be Chris then." He turned his brown eyes on the other briefly before they returned to Thorne. "I know enough. I've been here and seen things come and go, although you are the first to ask me." There was a hint of amusement in his tone, like this was some private joke. "What specifically do you want to know? If I told you the whole history, it'd get rather boring."

Chris in the meantime had stepped away from the tree and shifted near Thorne, making sure to stay close to him just in case. He had been able to sustain Heddy for longer lately, but he didn't want to take any chances.

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

"Mm," Thorne returned, a soft hum in the base of his throat. He watched as Chris worked, eyes flicking to the other while a reply coiled in the base of his throat. "Magic is nothing more than what we make it. But I think some people would rather no magic at all. To them, it probably reads unnatural. Evil, even."

He scoffed a little bit at the mention of unbreakable curses and raised a brow at Chris. "So, shall we stay in this terrible curse forever then?" He asked. His voice was raw and low, curious even. He only shifted his focus fully to Alix when the plant spirit began to speak.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said, smiling, fox-like, "How long has this garden been empty? Or, perhaps more importantly, would you mind if we started planting new things to grow in here?" He paused and looked over at Chris, inquisitive, as though to ask if the other man had any questions, before adding, "Anything interesting about this place I should know?"

PeanutButterPies

 

[grayseasons]

His hands were still on the tree, still thinking of how to best call, but his attention was mostly on Thorne. "A lot of things are unnatural, or considered evil. Magic doesn't necessarily fall under that," Chris replied back, "But I guess I can't fault them, since they're probably acting under fear. Fear is a powerful thing."

Chris just gave Thorne an amused look, fond at the same time. "Oh, yes," He replied, "I want to keep you after all. Although with you around, it's not necessarily terrible." He let his own attention shift to Alix, but his hand went to find Thorne's again.

"How long has it been empty?" Alix repeated, eyebrows furrowing together. There was a long silence, before he replied, "I am not really sure. But awhile. Enough that I would enjoy having company planted here." Chris watched Alix with something like curiosity, meeting Thorne's glance for a second before turning back.

"Would you mind anything being planted near you, or have any requests?" Chris asked, curious, but it was the extent of his questioning. He was mostly feeling out the strangeness of the summon, of keeping it open. Thorne may not have to had thought about the power, but Chris always knew when he had a plant spirit out. Alix only smiled a wry smile, before saying, "Roses or daffodils, maybe. I like when they talk in groups."

He turned his attention back to Thorne, then while gesturing with his arm to somewhere to the left of his tree, said, "The land right there is finicky and was used for magic, which I don't understand so I cannot tell you what it was, but will make anything planted there unusual. Be careful what you plant. Otherwise, everything is mostly untouched." He paused for a second, then added, "And the Koi liked to be pet and like breadcrumbs, occasionally."

elkbones

 

[moonjavas]

"Fear is probably what made the cage," Thorne replied, looking over at Chris. "Fear is what generates a lot of things. Why do we wage wars, why do we fight? We're all afraid to lose something, and magic is the unknown."

Thorne laughed then at Chris's response, eyes wild, his smile fox-like.

"That does not sound like much of a curse at all, to be stuck with you," he retorted, lips quirking. He moved over to wrap his hand in Chris's, attention shifting as the plant spirit spoke again. He seemed more mature, if nothing else, than the rest of the plant spirits they'd encountered so far. That, at least, was refreshing.

"I'll remember that," Thorne responded amiably, "And I'll make sure to bring something for the koi next time. I hope Mare doesn't drive you insane though, I know that she sometimes opens the windows and sings when she cleans, and it can be heard from every edge of this place." He didn't bother to dig for details on the emptiness or what came before him, who came before him. There was some truth in the Noble concept of like calling to like - Mare and him were drastically different in many ways, but at their core they both shared a moral grounding in familiar places.

Perhaps he'd been called here for a reason too.

"Well," Thorne said, smiling over at Chris, "As you are the expert at gardening here, you may as well direct me. I am at your beck and call, teacher. What wild things shall we grow?"

PeanutButterPies