westwhere | the weather vane will say it smells like rain today

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the weather vane will say it smells like rain today

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. )

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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?”

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.

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.

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."

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a smattering of starts, open to everyone

the quest for a decent cuppa, for winnie

the slug club of the damned probably, for regulus

early morning in the garden, for eleven