the weather vane will say it smells like rain today

[lancifolium]

WHO: Lily Evans & You!
WHEN: Throughout early June
WHERE: The farm mostly for now, hopefully branching out to the woods, the trials, etc.
WHAT: A catch-all! Some farm and forest based things, maybe the trials will make an appearance (hopefully)
WARNINGS: None so far, will update as needed

( starters in comments, both open and otherwise, feel free to hmu if you don’t see anything that suits either via pm or on plurk, or toss starts my way, whatever’s clever. if brackets are more your thing i’m good to match format. )

Comments

a smattering of starts, open to everyone

[lancifolium]

1) DRYING OUT – (1-2 days after arrival)

The first day after getting out of the lake Lily had been too shaken up for the extensive weirdness of her circumstances to sink in. It was hard not to think about spending the night in the bottom of the lake, and the hand-shaped bruise around her wrist reminded her of the moment her thoughts strayed too far.

Thankfully, there was always something to be done, and once she had orientated herself at the massive farmhouse, tending to the sodden mess that was her bag and its contents provided her with all the ample distraction a person could need.

Without her wand, Lily would have been somewhat more helpless, and it had been the first thing she checked for after getting out of the lake, between gulping down breaths of air. She felt the same sense of comfort as she did now, pulling it out of the pocket of her slacks as she sank to sit on the ground of one of the storage barns.

Reaching into her bag with a weary sigh Lily drew out the soggy hardcover copy of Wuthering Heights she had taken for the train ride from school. She was careful as she set it on the ground, and winced while lifting the cover to expose the flimsy, soaked, and already warping pages within. It was never going to go back to normal, she hoped the good bits could be salvaged.

With a swift, complicated motion a jet of hot air burst from the tip of Lily’s wand, allowing her to start the long, arduous process of seeing what she could save, working first on the book, before reaching back into the bag for another damp object to try and save.

2) IN THE GARDEN

This was more like it. She liked the garden, she liked the kale - even if she had no idea how to use it, she liked the way it felt just the slightest bit easier to breathe here. It was likely just the presence of old magic, coupled with the way a few plants always seemed to make the air a little sweeter, but she was grateful for it, whatever it was.

Not to mention those spells that hung around this place - however long ago they had been cast were intriguing, and Lily’s interest was all the more piqued when she discovered the rune that seemed to be close to the heart of the magical knot holding the garden’s hospitable nature together.

“Terrific,” she muttered absently, stooping low to study the rune closely before a sound nearby made her straighten up.

Squinting in the daylight she glanced around the perimeter of the garden, stopping when she spotted the other person. Without a moment’s hesitation, she walked towards them, smiling politely as she gave a little wave.

“Hello! Do you know what that rune’s all about?”

Drying out!

[sergeant_slick]

A place never really felt secure until you knew the layout. And with everything that had happened to him recently, Slick was not staying here unless he had an escape plan figured out ahead of time. So soon after he arrived, he was doing a full sweep of the farmstead, top to bottom.

Bit hard to think strategically while recovering from a head injury, but like hells he was gonna be settled until he did this.

He walked the grounds as systematically as he could, poking his head in doorways and checking the angles on potential defensible positions. His rifle was all the way back on Christophsis, but he could figure something out, he was sure of that. He'd always improvised with flair.

He was certainly doing his best to adapt on short-notice. He almost looked local, dressed in a shabby collection of stolen clothes, most of his armor hidden in a sack he was carrying with him. But he couldn't hide the black underarmor that gloved his hands and peaked out around his neck, or the white-armored boots. His hair was a couple days out from the last time he'd shaved, but it had still obviously been a painfully sharp military cut not too long ago. The red dye was still in his eyebrows too.

Anybody who knew clones would be able to spot him a mile off. The weird thing was, nobody here seemed to have any idea. It was a big galaxy, but--

"Ah, sorry. Just having a look around." He'd just walked in on somebody in part of the storage complex. Looked to be about senior cadet age--or however the hell non-clones counted those things. Probably another abductee, right? Why the hells were cadets ending up here?

And what in a Hutt's arse was that thing? "What's that?"

[lancifolium]

After getting through Wuthering Heights and leaving the book off to the side, its warped cover open as the now wavily textured pages continued to dry out, Lily started on her notebooks, not wishing to survey the damage done to one of her favorite novels just yet.

Dismayed by the discovery that her time being held at the bottom of the lake had caused much of the writing to turn into a sad, blurry, graphite smear, she cast the Hot Air Charm again and began to work through the book's ruined pages anyway. She was engrossed enough in the work at hand that she didn't notice the sound of approaching footfalls until they were nearly at the entrance to the barn she had tucked away in.

Nearly to the end of the page she was working on she persisted at her work for a moment longer, long enough that the unexpected arrival could watch what she was doing. The charm's effect cut off when she looked up at the gentleman, caught off-guard enough by the apology at the intrusion to smile at him - cautious but sincere.

Back home the Statute of Secrecy was very strict about who got to know about magic, and who didn't, but after her arrival and meeting the sorcess Karsa, Lily was quick to understand that here, magic simply just got to be. Which was different, helpful, but different.

"It's my wand," she said, lifting it slightly so he could get a better look at it while she sized him up from her spot on the floor. "Cool boots. Do you like David Bowie?"

[sergeant_slick]

"Ah." Okay. Sure.

"Maybe it's the translator," he raised his wrist to give the bracelet a shake, "But that didn't really tell me anything." He hadn't really had to deal with them for the few months he'd been deployed, but you got warned to never completely rely on translation. Your own brain could usually do better.

He had no idea how that carried over to bracelets of rocks that spoke directly into your head, but he was trying not to think about that too hard at the moment.

"I've got no idea what a day-vid bowie is either."

2

[somebadnews]

Five has seen her. That first day she came in out of nowhere, he'd been aware of the new arrival. Nobody else seems to think it's strange at all to welcome anyone who seems out of place. There's been a number of them recently, and they all seem to gravitate here if they weren't outright invited by those hired to keep an eye out for them. The assumption, he's gathered, is that they have no choice. That they're stuck here together, united in a common goal.

But Five isn't like most people, and neither are his priorities. He doesn't simply accept things because they've got other distractions.

At a distance she seemed perfectly pleasant; barely phased by her situation. He watched her from a distance when she was drying her things not long ago, getting comfortable in their temporary shelter, but waits until he finds her alone in the garden to step forward.

When she comes over and asks him about the rune, he simply smiles up at her. Trying for the disarming 13 year-old boy he's never been that great at impersonating. It usually works.

"Enjoying some gardening?"

[lancifolium]

"No, just having a look around," her smile didn't falter but there was something about the way that the boy looked at her that reminded her of the expression some of her fellow students had while they were trying to get away with something they shouldn't. It was subtle enough that she filed the detail away under 'speculation', and tried the question again.

"I'm Lily. Have you been here for long? Karsa said there were other arrivals like me who have been here a while. Do you know anything about how the runes work?"

Since her arrival Lily had been getting her bearings slowly, piecing together the scope of her situation bit by bit. She appreciated having a chance to talk to anyone who might help her get a clearer picture of what she was in for. Not to mention the apparent influence of magic in this place, this world, whatever it was, was intriguing on a multitude of levels all on its own, and it was something she meant to learn about whenever the chance presented itself.

Someone who might know more than she did was, to Lily, the definition of a chance.

[somebadnews]

Just having a look around. That's just great. Not that they have any means of screening around here, but she probably supposes dropping Karsa's name is good enough to prove that she's like the rest of them. Far be it for that woman to give any of them a heads up that she's sending anyone, or where they were found.

It's fine. He'll figure it out himself.

"Haven't a clue." And that doesn't chafe at him at all, because he most definitely knows more than she does in the general sense. His smile gets that much tighter as he takes a breath to reply. "My name's Five. You just arrived, didn't you? I don't know if that would have been my first question."

2

[scrapgege]

[The man - upon closer inspection, it is, indeed, a man, although his face his so pretty and his hair so long you might be excused for having to think twice about it - gives her a smile back. When he speaks, his voice is soft and melodious, and the crystal translates, so obviously, not speaking in a language that is the same as hers.]

Their magic is very different from what I'm used to, but if I remember what they told us it warms the earth so that the plants can actually grow. It prevents the ground from freezing.

[lancifolium]

[ Lily had read about people with Veela ancestry being breathtakingly possessed with a sort of willowy and unearthly grace, and had they met in her own world she might have thought this individual to be such a person.

Her smile widened as she listened to the answer, nodding appreciatively as she looked around the garden. ]

Absolutely brilliant. I've never seen runes at work like this in such a way before, I've only read about it. It's such wonderful old magic.

[scrapgege]

It's also not something I can do, and yes, it's very old. But this place is very old. The woods are very old, and so is the earth, and the water.

[Which he doesn't particularly mind, but now that she mentions it...]

I don't know if this rune is old, though. It was there where we arrived, but i can't get a sense of who put it there or how long ago.

witch which~~~ no. 1 lmk if this is okaaay

[conjurechaos]

The lake would be beautiful if the land were not so cold, so bleak. Yennefer had walked to it's edge in hopes of finding a clue or proof she had been there besides the frigid hem of her dress. Nothing familiar is there, just more dirty water, more frost and another confused face. The girl before her looked young and decidedly wet still, instead of fretting over her body which could catch it's death whatever articles were in her bag were of greater importance.

A wand? My, what a quaint thing. She is another sorceress then, that would make two. And while Karsa was helpful in her way, there was no way to get straight answers. This little mage has a masculine favor of dress, perhaps she was traveling in disguise. On the Continent it was not unusual for women to wear men's garb in hopes of not drawing attention. Even some sorceresses of various power want anonymity, at least that is what Yennefer imagines. She paid a very dear cost to look as she does, she would not hide it. Right now she does wish that she had selected another garment. The curious weave and detail of her dress were not going to be pleasant to travel in.

She best introduce herself, yes? In true Yennefer of Vengerberg fashion she makes her presence known: "Is your grimorie treasured above your life?" Who knows. It might be.

While Lily's hair is a fiery tone even in its state, Yennefer's is dark as pitch. Her violet eyes stay widened, she was expecting an answer.

it's great! hope this works!

[lancifolium]

The sound of the stranger's voice made Lily stop with a start, the hand wrapped around her wand tightening some as she lifted her head to look over at the other woman.

"If it's all I've got to work with it might be, though, I do see your point." Glancing down at herself with a grimace Lily sighed and carefully laid the book she was holding back down.

"Are you alright?" Posing the question as she held her wand out, aimed at herself, and cast the charm again, her hair and clothing rippling under the warm jet of air. It took a moment to steam the last of the water from her clothes and she dropped her hand, looking over at the woman curiously. She seemed rather strong and mysterious, regal almost, like a figure out of a stained glass window with a legend attached to it.

Totally~!

[conjurechaos]

The basic mastery of magic, even if it was channeled through a wand, was a comforting sign. Magic meant that her own should work in this place. It was not abandoned by chaos. The tomes and books devoted to the Conjunction of the Spheres theorized that magical and unmagical realms existed, passing one another the way that planets and stars do. Somewhere there are places where there are no powers to draw from. Yennefer didn't realize it was a fear until this moment.

The question made her blink. Alright? Waking here and not knowing what had happened to her, or what became of her comrades in battle threatens panic to crawl up from the place in her chest she's shoved it too. Yennefer cast her gaze away from the girl to the lake.

"I'm alive if that's what you mean. Besides that, tired, cold and hungry." And yet here she was, wandering in the elements looking for any residual magic or detail to draw from so that she could portal back. She did not want to start a war with Nilfgaard but if she was to participate, she would see it through. "And you? How do you fair?"

At least the other sorceress was dry now. On the Continent no matter how magical or strong, anyone could fall victim to a plague or malady. There's less of a chance now that a chill would settle into her bones.

the quest for a decent cuppa, for winnie

[lancifolium]

Even though she was relieved to be somewhere that wasn’t near that ghastly lake Lily was still restless. For now, she intended to keep close to the farmhouse and collect herself, get her bearings, catch her breath, and prepare herself to try and roll with whatever was going to come her way. There wasn’t much of an alternative, after all.

In a grab for normalcy, Lily set about trying to find the right thing to transfigure to make the nicest cup of tea. Tea was a tricky thing to create, it toed the line of ‘good food’, something beyond the limits of what could be made from another thing. Lily had seen it done by one of her professors, but while experimenting on her own had failed thus far, her drive to get it right was sparked anew because after all was said and done she really, really needed a cup of tea.

It was a few leaves off a properly stalwart weed outside that made the most passable brew, shifting from a pile of green to a stout brown mug, and after a few sips deemed it passable she was off to fetch more from outside, sorting out another cup with a satisfied smile. It wasn’t the stuff from home, but it would do for now.

Carrying both cups by the handles, she headed through the house, checking a few places before catching sight of the other woman. For whatever reason, Lily was rather fond of Winnie, she reminded her of someone that Lily couldn’t quite put her finger on, but after her unexpected arrival, anything that made her feel at ease was a good thing.

“Ah,” she began in greeting, ducking into a room as she held out one of the mugs of tea for Winnie to take. “It’s not quite like back home, but it’s getting a bit closer I think.” And forget about the failed attempts, cooling in odd-shaped cups back in the kitchen she’d come from.

arrives 15 min later w/tea

[soulsrob]

The new people that have found their way to the farm house are interesting, in that way most new people and experiences are for Winnie. Until the shininess of their newness wears off, she doesn't mind at all that at least one of them seems keen to follow her around like a little lost duckling. Granted, even after it wears off, she probably wouldn't mind, such was the nature of her, well, self.

It's amusing too. She's not sure why the woman is drawn to her-- because they're both British, maybe? Something familiar in an unfamiliar world? Was it one of those fabled crushes she'd heard about, a young infatuation?

Interesting.

So Winnie does nothing to deter it, of course, too curious to where it may lead. As Lily found her, Winnie looked up with a look of pleasant surprise, closing the book she'd been futilely attempting to read (it only had boring weather and crop data, boo) to accept the mug.

"Close enough is, well, close enough! I'll accept it." She laughs and softly blows on the tea a little before taking a sip. With a pleased sigh she gives Lily a look of gratitude. "It's wonderful, dear, especially compared to anything else we've had to make do with. Come, come sit!"

She gestures for Lily to sit with her at the nearby table, her skirts swishing about her as she takes her seat. "How have you been settling in? It's all a bit much, isn't it?"

[lancifolium]

Glad to hear that her experiments with the local flora had yielded a decent enough cup of tea to share Lily seemed to relax, following after Winnie towards the table while she drank her own tea.

"A bit much is putting it mildly if I'm honest," she said, settling into her seat with a sigh. "Winnie," Lily started, then paused, looking across the table almost hesitantly before she made herself finish her thought.

"Were you, by chance, at Kings Cross when you ended up here?" It was a little theory she'd been simmering on. Winnie came from the same place, but how she came to end up here was still unknown to Lily, who couldn't help but find herself wondering if they'd both somehow ran afoul of the same train station back in London.

[soulsrob]

The use of her name makes her pause mid-sip, watching Lily with wide, curious eyes over the rim of the mug.

She hadn't been, actually, but she furrows her brow a little anyhow as if thinking and trying to remember. "Kings Cross...Oh! The train station!" She laughs a little and rubs at her temple a little, smiling apologetically. It's clear from the way Lily asked it that she'd been there herself, and while Winnie has visited that train station plenty of times before, she hadn't been there the day she'd arrived.

"I'm sorry, my memories are all a bit fuzzy around that time. I woke up in a dreadfully cold jail cell of all plaes when I woke up here." She shivers in revulsion and then shakes her head. "I've visited the station before several times, but I'm not sure I was there before I came here... I was planning on a trip, I remember that! So it's possible."

Winnie chewed on her bottom lip and then gave Lily a hopeless little look. "I'm sorry. I wish I could give you something more concrete. I don't think we're from the same time, exactly," and she knows they're probably not from the same world, "but we have these things in common. It's likely the train might've had something to do with this, for us."

She kept it vague, but hopeful. What was the harm in letting lily come to her own conclusions about it and assuming? She leans in a little, conspiratorially. "Do you think the train might have been an access point?"

the slug club of the damned probably, for regulus

[lancifolium]

Some nights were awful. It was like those distant voices outside knew just what pitch to take to make her feel like her skin was crawling. It was a bit of a blessing that the farm was large enough to be restless without running that much of a risk of disturbing anyone.

She kept her wand close, the tip illuminated and lighting her way as she kept her eyes on the ground, hoping she didn’t have the misfortune of crossing paths with a rat. While it would be easy to dispatch them, it didn’t mean it wasn’t a horrid idea.

For what had to have been the millionth time she wished she was home, or somewhere with thicker walls and slightly less biting air. Well aware that there was no going back, only forward - or eastward as Karsa explained. Lily thought she was holding up quite well all things considered - and while that might have been the case during the day, the night was just too noisy.

It was wiser to keep moving until she got too tired to do anything but sleep.

One turn after another led her towards the study, catching sight of a light coming out of it and slowing, pausing just at the doorway to look inside.

While she could only make out one side of his face what made Lily gape was the wand the young man was using to light his way, just as she was, and holding hers aloft she stepped inside, her surprise written all over her face.

“Excuse me, you’ve got a wand.” Not the best opener and she knew it the moment she said it, but it was very late, and she was too surprised by the familiar sight of an obvious wizard reading by wandlight to be especially tactful.

Re: the slug club of the damned probably, for regulus

[royal_venant]

Regulus looked up sharply, being called to from the dark like that was startling.

But rats didn’t speak, and the forest people didn’t speak English. It was a voice too substantial to be from out in the night, too kind as well.

“Yes,” Regulus said. “So do you.”

Which should make hope soar in Regulus, this could be a possible familiar face. But just how familiar and from which side of the line? He wasn’t even sure he wanted to see anyone from home. But he supposed he was about to find out.

He closed the book he was more just looking at rather than reading because it was written in characters he’d never seen before. He stepped closer to the door.

“Who are you?”

[lancifolium]

It did make Lily hopeful, although she realized moments after stepping into the library, that maybe it shouldn't have. There was still a war back at home, and eventually, she was going to return to it, and there was no telling who this wizard was, or where his loyalties might lay.

"I'm Lily," she said, her voice quiet but strong as she held up her wand, illuminating her face while she sought a good look at the stranger's.

"Where do you come from? You're a wizard?" Being confronted with an unknown wizard was slightly less daunting than being thrust into a world full of strange magic. This was something she could understand the parameters of, and it inadvertently made her feel braver.

[royal_venant]

"I am. I'm Regulus-" Regulus started to say. But he'd come close enough to see who it was and he... well, he didn't know what he felt. Because on one hand, Lily wouldn't torture him. On the other... the only person Regulus wanted to see from his world was Kreacher.

"Oh, it's you," he said, he couldn't even muster the disappointment. His voice was just a matter of fact. A death and then a week with the forest people and his outlook on the world had drastically changed. "I guess it could be worse than you."

early morning in the garden, for eleven

[lancifolium]

When the voices were too much, and no amount of walking the farm did her any good Lily found herself taking refuge in the garden at dawn. The air was quiet because the day had finally broken and the dire circumstances surrounding her were at bay because she was too tired to go over the situation again.

It was warm here, blessedly so, enough for her to sink and sit by the rune comfortably, transfiguring herself a cup of tea to drink while watching the sky lighten.

When she someone else in the garden Lily looked up from her tea, glancing around the garden before her eyes settled on Eleven.

"You're up early."

[bearshermark]

Eleven rubbed at his eyes, clearly not quite awake yet.

"Hm... unfortunately." He meandered his way over to kneel at the soil's edge and test the dirt. "You'd think after more than a year on the road I'd be used to it by now, but," he took a moment to stifle a yawn, "Well, you'd be wrong."

He stood and walked back to retrieve the watering can, working to scrub the tiredness from his face as he went. "How are you?"

[lancifolium]

Looking back towards the plants she tilted her head to the side. "Were you traveling? That's what I hoped to do after school was about," before the mounting war made that an impossibly selfish dream.

She tilted her head from side to side at his question, appearing to consider it before turning to him with a quiet laugh. "I've been better. Adjusting? Trying to cobble together some sense of, something?" Tired, and perhaps more candid as a result of it she shrugged again, drawing her knees up to rest her chin on.

"How does anyone sleep through all that terrible wind?"

[bearshermark]

Eleven nodded, forcing his mind to focus on her words rather than let them wash over him.

"Hm, tiring ourselves out, I guess. Praying before bed also helps to settle my mind a little." And it helped having Hendrik there, knowing he was safe enough to sleep. Even if the accusing voices from the forest still plagued him, eventually, that security was enough.

He turned an apologetic look on Lily. "But I have a sleep spell, if the voices are troubling you."