Gardening and catch-call (Open!)

[gardenerofavalon]

Who: Merlin + anyone!
What: Making a garden, being a bum, and general catch-all for shenanigans
Where: Various, see prompts
When: Throughout the month, any specific timeframes will be mentioned in prompts
Content Warnings: None in initial prompts, if threads venture into iffy territory warnings will be given in comment subject lines!


[General]

If anyone interacted with Merlin shortly after everyone first arrived and the world came to be, he nearly always presented an almost annoyingly cheerful attitude. If someone interacted with him several weeks later, that was more subdued, less with the over the top nonsense and occasionally absent entirely. Lately, though, Merlin's been acting, well, almost emotionless for the most part. There's the occasional display of something or another, and his focus and attention for anything that currently holds his interest hasn't waned in the slightest, but an increasing majority of the time he's just simply not emoting. Weird, huh?


[I. Gardening]

The appearance of the small flower patch in the church-slash-bakery had given Merlin an idea, and the later appearance of the flower fields (even if, admittedly, apparently on fire) within the peculiar doomed structure gave him even more reason to properly pursue it. And while many of the proper tools for such things are lacking, as finding gardening tools in a market that never sees sunlight is a longshot at best, that's far less of an inconvenience to him than having lost proper use of his powers in the first place.

All of which means he's taken the time to painstakingly clear a wide space near where the river flows out from the base of the mountain, even going so far as to retrieve soil from the nearby forest to fill and even out places. Once this is done, it calls for several trips back and forth to the flower fields in the dome to dig up a plant or two at a time, carry it to his dirt patch, and carefully replant it. All largely by hand, given that he's yet to find a proper trowel. At least he can make use of empty bottles and cups to haul water from the nearby river, which may or may not even be necessary for the plants at this point, but probably won't hurt, at least.

Oh, and while some of the flowers ceased 'burning' once removed from the field from long enough, and others Merlin deliberately extinguished the flames, there's still a few that remain stubbornly fiery. These eventually receive their own designated section of the sparse but growing garden, ringed by a low line of rocks.

Needless to say, this is all very labor intensive, and Merlin's spending quite a bit of time with it, so it's probably one of the easiest places to catch him if one happens to be looking for him!


[II. Familiar Companion]

For all his seeming affability, Merlin's never been one to really spend too much time in the company of others, and that's only increased as time's gone on. He certainly makes his presence known often enough when he deigns to, but more often than not he's likely off on his own, whether investigating whatever strange new features the world's developed, or simply avoiding dealing with all the people.

Except that, he's never actually truly alone. One of the small, winged and furred creatures has been stalking following him around since near the beginning as it makes a game of trying to chase and pounce on his long hair. For the most part, Merlin simply (seemingly) ignores it, only occasionally shooing it away, for all the good that ever does. At just this moment, it's running about pouncing on leaves near where Merlin's sitting with his back leaning against a tree, paying it no mind as usual.

Until, that is, the poor thing is struck by a sudden furious hunger, causing it to botch the landing of its latest jump and tumble on the ground, letting out a plaintive cry. Merlin glances over at the sound, gaze utterly expressionless as he takes in the scene.

"Oh, stop complaining, you," he mutters flatly, and looks away again. But even as he does so, his fingers slide briefly into a fold of his robes and, with a brief flick of a wrist, a small piece of giant mushroom is tossed at the critter, which naturally devours it ravenously before resuming its earlier play.


[III. Making Sense of Nonsense]

Of course, not everything Merlin does is full of melancholy and/or solitude. There's still the mystery of this place to solve, or at least figure out how on earth to get his powers to actually work on things here. In fact, while he's managed not to show it, certain aspects of that last bit actually have him just a little bit concerned, for various reasons he's naturally refusing to divulge.

But all this means he simply needs more information, and as he can't simply use Clairvoyance to observe whatever and whoever he wants, that means actually going up to people and asking them.

"Has anything new that you recognize shown up here, since you've arrived?"

There's something nagging at him that he can't quite shake but still can't put a finger on, either.


[Wildcard/Notes]

None of these scenarios work for you? Feel free to hit me up in PM or on Discord (AC#7235) if you want to plot out something else! Or just tag with whatever you have in mind, that works too. The stuff noted in the 'general' section at the top applies to all threads unless otherwise noted, I just didn't feel like repeating it over and over again.!

Comments

[anciently]

"I hope not!" Encouraged by his indirect invitation, Aerith gets closer and begins surveying the scene with even more scrutiny. "This definitely seems like enough space for now. We can always make changes in the future if we have to."

Because it's apparently a 'we' project now.

"Has anyone else stopped by to appreciate it? I think this will really help to cheer up the others if they're feeling down about something. Flowers have a way of doing that, don't you think?"

[gardenerofavalon]

'We', is it? Well, that's fine for now, as it means potentially more flowers for less work on his part. Who is he to turn that down?

"A few," Merlin answers her first question. "Several of whom wanted to help, actually."

He had them do the grunt work of finishing leveling and edging some of the parts he hadn't gotten to yet.

[anciently]

"Good! Glad to hear people are stepping up around here."

Not that she'd thought otherwise, but it's always encouraging to hear that people are volunteering their efforts unprompted.

"Know any of them? I wonder if I'm met them yet." There are a good amount of people in the void for sure, but she's also made a point of...well, being a bit of a busybody about it.

[gardenerofavalon]

"Melinoë, for one."

With whom there'd been jokes and discussion of the idea of gardening in the nude.

"As well as, ah," what was the name again? He honestly never bothered to ask. "The small robot."

[anciently]

"Hmm... Not sure I've met anyone by that name. Or encountered any small robots, either. But, I'll be on the lookout!"

In the meantime, she's squatting down to get a closer look at the blooms, nodding approvingly.

"Okay. What can I do?" This one is his garden, after all, so she'll let him direct, if he'd like.

[gardenerofavalon]

"People seem to stick to what's most familiar to them here, it seems."

And rarely spend time simply observing and making note of all they can. Merlin, on the other hand, somewhat specializes in that, even if his usual method is still nonfunctional.

"Perhaps this would be a good time to begin preparing an area for transplanting some of the other flowers."

So far, he's stuck to the ones from the fiery field in the underwater dome, though he's certainly left enough empty space to have room for more. But now that she's here, well, who better to know what kind of space would be best for a few of the flowers from the church?

[anciently]

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" She's thinking, of course, of Tifa and Heavenly Blanc...though, she'd given that up for the time being, too. Maybe people were starting to branch out a little more than when they'd first arrived, after all. Maybe I should do the same?

"What did you do back home?" Aerith asks, while they're on the subject. In the meantime, she nods at his suggestion, starting to glance around for a good patch of dirt to cultivate for some of the flowers from the church.

[gardenerofavalon]

"Well, humans do tend to find comfort in familiarity, after all."

He doesn't think that's necessarily a bad thing, per se.

"Hmm, well, usually I just keep an eye on things," Merlin replies to her question. "But recently I suppose you could say I lended a hand to some people trying to stop humanity's destruction by a Beast of its own making."

That's a gross oversimplification.

[anciently]

"That's definitely true." She'd been so relieved and pleased to find the church in this strange world, and imagines that everyone else who'd come across a location that was at least somewhat familiar had felt the same.

Except...Raihan, maybe. With Hammerlocke in the state it's in here...

"So, you're either 'keeping an eye on things' or saving the world?" Aerith teases lightly, cocking her head. "Those are two pretty different things, you know!"

Though, it's not so unusual. He isn't the first creature in the universe to stay out of things for the most part, until it's absolutely necessary that he step in...

[gardenerofavalon]

"Oh, I'd rather stay in my tower for the most part," Merlin explains lightly, "but in this case, well, I couldn't resist getting in on a little of the action myself!"

And he'd arguably been needed. Most things the folks at Chaldea could handle themselves, with maybe a little indirect aid from time to time, but Tiamat was on a whole other level. But typically speaking, Merlin tended to stay shut away in Avalon as much as possible.

"Of course," he adds with a bit of a sly look in her direction, "I might occasionally make an exception for a lovely lady, as well."

[anciently]

"You have a tower?" Well, that's fun! Potentially. As long as he isn't trapped up there, like a princess in a story book...though, it doesn't sound like that, based on what he's describing.

"Make an exception to save a 'lovely lady' in peril, or just to come out and talk to her?" Aerith teases in return, lifting her brows expectantly.

[gardenerofavalon]

"Not here, of course, but yes." Technically, he is trapped there, but more due to his own will than anything. A thousand years and more of brooding over certain regrets.

Not that he'd mention that, of course.

"Why not a bit of both? Of course, if it turns out that she's no longer in need of saving we could skip straight to the next part!"

Like talking. Or other things.

[anciently]

"Well, not for now, anyway. It could show up any day! You know how things are around here."

His tower could easily crop up somewhere in the void, though it'd likely be influenced by others' memories, too, and changed somehow.

"How forward of you." She laughs, though, amused. "I guess I know exactly who I'm dealing with, huh? I'll keep that in mind."

Refreshing, though, when people just speak their minds, she thinks. And Merlin has been nothing but friendly and helpful thus far.

[gardenerofavalon]

"The flowers I grew around it already have, so I'd think it would have shown up then if at all."

Yes, the flower field that recently appeared is his. But more importantly...

"Is that so?" The fact that she seems to be reacting positively is really only going to encourage him.

[anciently]

"But it's hard to say how the flow of things works, right? Unless you've got a better grasp on it than I do..."

She isn't so bold as to claim she gets how the void works, particularly with the passage of time (or lack thereof). So, Aerith merely shrugs, glancing back to the flowers.

"...I hope they'll all be able to grow OK." There's a twinge of concern to her voice as she frowns down at them. "I know they're strong, but...with things here the way that they seem to be, I worry a bit."

[gardenerofavalon]

"So far, things seem to appear here in... chunks, I guess you could say. It's possible there could still be something that appears from one world which overlaps with something from the same world already here, but nothing close to that has happened so far."

He might not currently have his Clairvoyance, but he still has centuries of practice at simply observing.

"There's not much that can be done if this place decides to follow some other set of rules. But for now this should suffice."

[anciently]

"Fair enough! Guess there's not a lot of point in trying to figure it all out without a lot of information." Though that hasn't stopped her from trying so far.

"Until we get more of the pieces to this puzzle, we'll just focus on doing what we can! And for now, that means taking care of these flowers." Aerith pauses, thinking, and then glances back to Merlin with a brightened expression.

"Any chance you're interested in going into business with me? I've got this idea..."

[gardenerofavalon]

That earns a raised eyebrow, at least.

"What are you suggesting?"

He's not about to commit to anything just yet, especially not something that seems too boring or tedious... But on the other hand, if it sounds interesting enough maybe he'll just give it a try!

[anciently]

"Well, you have a flower garden here, and I have one in the church. I've got a little flower delivery business going, but I'm worried about exhausting the supply in the church if they aren't growing back, after all. Would you consider putting some of what you have here toward the business? Only whatever amount you're comfortable with, of course!"

Maybe they'll all grow back fine, or maybe they'll realize soon that they're a bit limited in their stock. In any event, it's worth seeing if he wants to be involved in any way.

[gardenerofavalon]

"Ah, is that all?"

Merlin shrugs.

"There's still plenty more where these came from, it shouldn't be a problem if people have a few."

And it's not like he's got much else better to do lately than work on the garden.

[anciently]

"If you're not interested, it's no big deal. Just thought it was worth asking!"

Considering their shared love of gardening. But, Aerith shrugs in return, letting him off the hook if he so chooses.

"I appreciate the extra flowers if you find yourself with some, though." She offers another smile, and then a thumbs-up. "You know where to find me!"

[gardenerofavalon]

"Well, as I said, taking some isn't a problem."

He just can't be bothered with the whole... business-y aspect of things right now. He has no need for it, and it seems more work than fun.

[anciently]

"Well, then, thank you. I think it'll go a long way."

She smiles earnestly back at him before turning to the flowers she'd been helping with, humming thoughtfully.

"Guess I'll have to decide which to bring over...this might take some time. It's a big decision, after all!"

[gardenerofavalon]

"Well, you could always surprise people with some of the ones that are still on fire!"

He thinks that'd be amusing, at least. The fire is still entirely harmless, after all.

"And bring some of yours here if you want to expand."

[anciently]

"...Huh?"

Aerith, not having yet been to the location that houses the harmless fire, turns a surprised, confused expression on Merlin.

"I'll bring some of mine here, but...first, I want to hear about the flowers that're on fire."

Seems concerning!!