the new hire - Pollen - May 05 2021
She'd tidied up the garden she emerged from, first thing, organizing the amber into one little pile and making sure the other chrysalises were safe. The next, she'd started wandering- the cave she found herself in was quite beautiful, and she admired the plants as she went, drifting her hands over them and humming a gentle tune.
She paused when she came to a river. Oh! She could clean off the gunk here- she could still feel it in her ears, and the stream looked so gentle and cool. Humming still, Pollen plodded through and squatted down, letting the water wash over her tiny, albino pelt.
Letting out a small noise, she ran her thumbs through her ears, cleaning them out and shuddering at the feeling of droplets draining down. 'Weird!' She giggled at the thought that impressed on her mind, shaking her head and slipping out of the water. The other side was much more manicured, and she loved it even more, dropping back down to all fours and trampling over. Water trailed after her-
She frowned. She was dripping all over the beautiful lawn, and- well, grass did need water. But, she'd make a puddle! Huffing, Pollen shook herself out, droplets spraying all over the grass. Good enough. And she continued on, pushing past finely cut hedges and into a strange, maze-like garden.
This seemed like such a proper place, but where were all the plants? They'd all been contained, not left to grow freely, and she frowned. Did they feel contained? They looked healthy, and as she hopped up to reach out, she could see that there wasn't disease. Her hand ran over the capillaries of some form of orchid, and she hummed out, marveling at its beautiful colors.
Her ears flicked up as she noticed a strange scent. Were those-- flowers? Her nostrils flared as she shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Ohh... This way, and she opened her eyes, exploring through strange maze with a slight part to her mouth. She could smell it just a bit more- something had flexed in the roof of her mouth, and she breathed in hard, taking in the gorgeous scent.
Oh, that was lovely. Turning this way and that, she found the source- a honeysuckle plant growing up a long marble archway, much taller than her. Her mouth opened a bit more at this, and she shut her eyes, placing a hand on the plants and grinning.
Glancing down, Pollen held the five-point flower set with minor awe, leaning in and taking a deep breath. Could she get closer? This was nothing like the thorniness of that wild rose plant, and she chittered softly as she reached out through her magic. That five point vine flared through her arm and twirled around, a faint twinge coming through her skin, and she drew back as that same smell came from her. Wow! Grinning and giggling, Pollen pulled back and twirled on one foot, holding her flower-laden arm up to the sky.
How beautiful!
oo temporary table baby. @Aethril
RE: the new hire - Aethril - May 05 2021
The breeze whipped against her face as she lay back, lounging on a chair on the balcony. It'd been a long day. Waking up and pacing throughout the wings of the palace, trying to get her mind back together. It was a surprisingly difficult process; she hadn't expected it to be so rough.
It was nice, too, to sit. Aethril liked to look down at the garden in between bouts of lazily drifting in and out of various naps, in cool fresh air, and if she were lucky enough-- to hear Eggbert's little nails clicking as he went about his Very Important Business.
When she looked at the garden this time, however, there was something in it-- a little ball of fluff (a wet one) was prancing along and smelling the flowers. What did Isra call them? Gembound? She leaned right over, but-- no. She could see a glint of amber tangled with white fur, and aside from the colour, it did look like it was shaped... a little like an Amber.
Aethril liked Ambers.
It was a few minutes before Aethril was on the ground floor and stepping out into the gardens, cloak billowing out behind her as she drifted along the cave. A closer glance over the Amber showed that it wasn't just discoloured; it was too small, too thin. It had no claws for tunnelling.
Poor thing! Who left this failure to walk around on its own? Maybe its just young?
Shoes clack-clack-clacked against the ground as she wandered to Pollen, leaning over to look at her face. It looked about right. The horns were growing in. It was definitely some kind of quadraped.
Her brow furrowed. "Hello," Aethril said very gently, in the same tone you'd use when talking to a small animal. "What's your number?"
She popped a half-squat next to Pollen, hands on her knees. "Where's your Overseer?"
@Pollen
RE: the new hire - Pollen - May 05 2021
Pollen- who definitely was not old, and perhaps a little discolored- stopped twirling in place and blinked hard, her balance escaping her. A small gasp and she was crashing into the soft grass, just off the stone path. Another bout of giggles rose up from her, and she rolled forward, propping up on her front hands while her back legs swept to one side.
What a fun life! She loved this place, so pretty, and she gasped again as she glanced up. There was someone coming! Pollen's near-white fur fluffed out as much as it could go, making her look like some angry sheep made of a mint-flavored cloud, and she wiggled with delight. Did they have Amber, too? They were so pretty! Why were they blue? What was that gold stuff? Was she like Niamh? Throughout the questioning, Pollen's tiny, kitten-puppy tail wiggled across the ground, cutting under the nearby hedge she'd planted herself next to.
"Mine's Pollen!" Because 'Pollen' was definitely a number. "Because it's really nose-itchy! And it's easy to remember when your nose-itchy stays for a while." She snuffled, a bit, one wrist raising up to wipe across her dry nostrils. A few of the flowers from that arm got caught, and, well-
achoo!
It was the tiniest, squeakiest sneeze ever to grace the caverns, but enough to rattle Pollen, enough to send her giggling even more. "Like that!" As if that proved her point. Her eyes squeezed tight as she grinned as much as she could, sharp little baby teeth in canine-formation all throughout her mouth.
Her grin faded, though, when Aethril dipped down closer. Oh! Was she too short? Shuffling up, Pollen scrambled to get her feet under her and to balance on them, wobbling in place. Her front paws tucked in much like you'd train a small circus dog to when they stand on their hind legs. "Hmm-- You're over me and seeing me! I think? So that makes you my Overseer, until you look away!" Wobbling a bit more as she lost her balance, Pollen fell forward, aiming to prop herself up on Aethril's knee. In all, she was about the size of some 8 year old child, and wouldn't be able to exude much pressure on the poor Valkhand.
Looking back up, Pollen grinned again, letting out a small laugh behind her teeth.
@Aethril
RE: the new hire - Aethril - May 05 2021
'What the fuck,' Aethril mouthed as the Amber stood up-- bipedal kind of standing --and propped herself up on Aethril's knee. She didn't mind too much, she was fairly certain that it wasn't harmful, nor did it seem to have any particularly dangerous thoughts.
"Pollen isn't a number," Aethril said. She began to assume this was her designated name-- but considering she didn't have an Overseer, either, it seemed unlikely.
Overseeing was lowly work; something Aethril was most definitely above-- but better to fill the gaps than to let them rot and expand. "I see," she responded with patience reserved only for clueless, fresh-out-the-wall Valkhound. "I'll have to give you one."
She considered. There weren't many Ambers, but to be safe-- "Amber Eighteen," she announced. "That's your gemstone and your number-- tentative, of course, until we find out who made you. You can keep the name Pollen if you'd like." She didn't mind.
Aethril also had the feeling that Pollen would forget eighteen. "What do you do?" She asked gently. "Have you been given any work yet?"
... probably not. "What do you... like doing?"
@Pollen
RE: the new hire - Pollen - May 05 2021
For whatever Aethril mouthed, Pollen didn't seem to notice, too busy wiggling her whole bottom half with her tail. Like an excited puppy, she splayed out her paw-hands on Aethril's knee, leaning in for a second before getting her balance on straight.
"It's not?" As if that was news to her, but then she pulled back. What were numbers- she could think of A, that was one-- No, wait, one was one! Two? Three, four- her mind reeled as she gasped, mouth hanging open for a full second as the idea left her starstruck.
Pushing back off of Aethril, Pollen managed to balance a little better this time, letting her arms drop. They were still somewhat facing forward- but, now, at least she looked a little more normal. Meerkat-like, maybe? If either of them knew what meerkats were, anyways.
"Amber is good! I like amber!" She rattled off like a person performing affirmations. Amber was a pretty name, like the gem itself. For a moment, she twisted around and grabbed at her tail, staring back at at the chunk of gem. "Mine has roses in it, too. Can I keep the name Rose, too? I like Pollen-Rose. Pollen-Rose-Amber-18. That's a lot." She paused, frowning, before untangling herself to face Aethril again.
"I like plants!" Apparently, she was just stating what she liked, and not what she did. What did she do? Humming, Pollen looked down to her honey-suckle covered arm and held up a hand, pads up in inspection. "I like to make them. They smell really nice. Is work like making plants?"
Focusing, Pollen drew into whatever made the honeysuckles appear once more, dredging it up and placing it right on her palm. From the center, a small cluster of daisies began to appear- tiny, white little things that could break off at any second. And-- wow! Pollen winced, her other paw coming to gently hold the wrist of the other, hissing out a hot breath. "It kinda hurts," she whined from the back of her mouth.
@Aethril
RE: the new hire - Aethril - May 05 2021
Aethril considered this-- but the mere sight of Pollen was hitting that little soft spot of hers-- the spot that fawned over the various creations in the cave. "Pollen-Rose," she said with a faint smile. "Or Amber Eighteen. Until we find your Overseer."
The things Aethril would do to said Overseer, for abandoning a project and letting it run around the gardens, were largely vast and likely not for the eyes of a new Amber, and she tucked these ideas away for the time being, focusing instead on Pollen.
"You can make plants as work," she said, gently taking Pollen's hand by the wrist and inspecting the delicate little flowers in her palm. "We call them gardeners-- they make plants and take care of them. They make sure they look pretty and smell nice."
The Valkhand twisted Pollen's paw a little, inspecting. "It hurts because you've grown it into yourself," she explained, then gestured to the dirt. "Plants like to eat away at what they take root in. These ones eat the nutrients in the dirt and drink the water that falls on them. --you'd have to water the plants, if you were to be a gardener."
Such a strange little Amber-- but Aethril was partially determined to find some form of use for it, Overseer or not. It seemed sweet, and that was enough for her.
"Do you want to try growing something into the dirt instead?"
@Pollen
RE: the new hire - Pollen - May 05 2021
"Someone who'll watch me for a longer time?" Pollen took a jab at the Overseer title. So important- she didn't remember having an Overseer. Actually- "Did an Overseer make me? What if I don't know mine?" Did she come out of nowhere? She had no idea about other people, other than her siblings, and yet-- well, they didn't just come out of ntohing, right? Someone had to put their chrysalis there!
She blinked down to Aethril's gentle touch, her digits spreading further. It hurt- stung, really, as the roots had spread through the soft muscle, desperate to keep her still. Gardener. That wouldn't be too hard. Could her siblings be gardeners? Her head craned up to look at the archway again, looking to the faint yellow honeysuckles and wishing she could take care of them. They were pretty!
But, she glanced back down as Pollen's hand turned, just slightly. "Oh." She had a lot to learn about plants, it seemed. "Is there a way to make them not hurt? I want to look pretty and smell nice, too. Maybe it'll make the other plants feel more con- Confydent!" She huffed out at the word. That wasn't the right way to say it, but she couldn't get her mouth around it, only working her jaw for a brief moment. "Confident!" There you go, Pollen.
She nodded fiercely at the suggestion. "Yes!" Pulling back her paws, she clenched her digits with the daisies falling away, a determined expression on her face. Dropping to her knees, Pollen reached forward and cupped the general air over a patch of grass, and focused. 'Don't do it on the hand,' she begged silently. 'The... Ground?' Shutting her eyes, Pollen strained before she could feel something flowing from her, a faint tickling running across her white paws.
The cut grass had grown and sprouted, twirling up and up until it had long stalks, breaking off into twin points with seeds on either side. It looked perfect for sticking in some cowboy's mouth- and, Pollen admitted, for some reason, the idea seemed very cool. If she was a gardener, she should decorate herself with plants, after all! Letting out a cheerful noise, Pollen's tail whipped across the freshly-kept grass behind her as she leaned in, plucking the longest and sturdiest grass from its home.
She tucked it in her mouth, between her canines and back teeth. "I'm a proper gardener now!" She laughed again, leaning back and placing her paws on the ground, grinning up to Aethril. She could take care of plants, just like the gardener she was!
@Aethril
RE: the new hire - Aethril - May 05 2021
"Your whole life!" Aethril added enthusiastically, and someone to watch over you your whole life was either very comforting or very alarming, and it was blatantly clear which one Aethril thought it was. "An Overseer will train you for your duty. Make sure you're the absolute best you can be."
They'd also kill you if you were a failure; but it was also clear that Aethril was very proud of herself for finding a better job for this broken Amber-- efficiency as its best, of course. It was less of a waste of time and resources.
The Hand spent a moment overlooking Pollen, and for a moment she supposed the Creator could have created her himself-- or perhaps she's from the Natural Order? She didn't seem like any Earth animal she knew, however. "An Overseer, or maybe a Master," she said. "Until we find out, you tell people you report to me, yes? My name is Aethril, a Hand."
She was nodding along to Pollen a little. "There are plenty of other gardeners around who would be better at teaching you than I am-- perhaps we can arrange something to help you learn." She could always call on whats-their-face or whats-their-name for gardening-- unless they'd died. Unclear.
Her hands dropped onto her lap as she watched Pollen go for the dirt and grow grass, humming with gentle encouragement. She leaned in a little to get a good look-- bland, but a very good start. "Wonderful!" She said, hands clapping together with delight. This would work out very nicely.
"If you find some seeds, you can plant them here. As a gardener, your priority is finding the nicest plants and bringing them here. They grow from seeds-- do you know seeds?" She didn't have any on hand to show, but perhaps it'd be fine. "You can use your magic to make seeds blossom."
@Pollen
RE: the new hire - Pollen - May 05 2021
"Oh!" Pollen had said, will the full confidence of knowing that's Just What Life Was. "Okay!" She wanted an Overseer, then. Was there an Overseer of gardening? Did they live here? "Are there other gardens with Overseers?" She blurted out, barely realizing she'd rattled off the question.
She paused, watching, listening. Aethril. "Okay, Miss Aethril." Miss was right, right? She was older, definitely, and seemed to be a miss, so the title would work.
Pulling her paws up somewhat, she folded her digits and tapped her knuckles together, listening. Other gardeners... She saw the deer eating some grass? Were they Gardeners? "Do they live in there?" There went her big mouth again, but this time she'd pointed towards the Palace proper, craning her head back to look up to the Hand. What an important word! Gardener was an important word, too, but not as important as Hand if they were looking for Overseer or Masters under them.
Her grin widened at the encouragement. "I know seeds! I came from a seed!" she helpfully affirmed. "Pollens are-- parts of seeds, that's why they're so tiny." The little muta nodded to herself determinedly, huffing out. "Plants don't like to leave their seeds. So I'll find good places to put them! I like it when they curl up like that." Her Pointing Hand pulled back to point to the archway, looking over the plants there. "I wanna do that!"
She'd have to learn how to braid plants together, maybe, but she could do it. She was going to be the greatest Gardener!
@Aethril
RE: the new hire - Aethril - May 06 2021
Aethril considered this-- but well, Overseers and their duties were nothing she really concerned herself with, nevermind if they had gardens or not. The Overseers she did know of-- Overseer Ogvraz, for instance --definitely didn't have the demeanor of someone who'd like to... garden.
"There might be," was what she eventually offered. "I don't think you were necessarily made for gardening, though. Other Ambers are diggers and tunnelers, they made the caves and tunnels here."
She couldn't quite shake the implication, however-- what if someone had twisted an Amber in such a way for... gardening, of all things? "We'll find them eventually," the Hand reassured regardless.
Her head twisted to the archway Pollen pointed at. "We can find someone to teach you," she offered-- plants weren't Aethril's specialty, after all, and at best, she could manage a daisy-chain. "How about I show you your duties here, hm?"
Aethril pushed up and went for a garden shed; from it she produced a watering can (her favourite, shaped like Eggbert's little face, big cheeks and all), shears, and a trowel, lifting them back to the Amber. She set them down for her perusal, gesturing to each one in turn-- "This is a watering can. You fill it with water and tip it onto the plants-- carefully! --and it comes out of here. It sprinkles the water evenly."
"Shears, for cutting off the bad parts of plants. Sometimes they get sick, or diseased-- just snip them off and the plant can get better. And this-- a trowel. Seeds do better under the ground where their roots can take place, but you can use it for getting rid of weeds, too. We don't want weeds in the gardens, they'll make the other plants sick."
A painted nail tapped on the metal trowel. "Do you understand?"
@Pollen
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