We haven't seen much of Attikias, have we? There's not much to show- he's been in his own lane, doing his work with the Chaos Forge and unsuccessfully trying to wrangle in animals to keep in the pen. At least the fence was done- he had a good barrier between shorter wildlife and the plants he'd started to cultivate there.

It wasn't anything like the Chaos Forge's farm, but it would be enough for his family, he figured. It'd be better than foraging constantly. He'd got a few bushes cropping up along the edge of the fence too, along the side that faced the lodge. It's near the latter that he'd found himself, next to a veritable pit he'd dug into the ground. Water coalesced at the bottom, despite all the rough patches of digging through rock the lower he got. He needed to put some bricks along the edges to keep it from collapsing in, but it was good work in his opinion.

Attikias sighed out as he pulled the rope from his hair, releasing it from its ponytail. When he shook it out, it fell past his shoulders and down his bare back. He'd made good progress. Wiping off his arms, Attikias peered into the hole and watched the dirty water, frowning lightly. Could he make a siphon to get it up properly? He was glad that the substrate was soft enough here for this, not like Draco. He could offer to dig a well over in Pegasus for the farm, maybe. It'd save trips going to the river, definitely, and maybe he could get paid for it.

Well. That was enough for today. The elf rolled his shoulders, turned, and-

The soil underfoot fell away as he stepped on the edge of the hole. Caught by surprise, he crashed backward with a splash into the muddy water, drenching him even further than he was drenched before. Pain lanced across his back- he didn't break anything, did he? Twisting in place, Attikias spun in the water to sit up, struggling to look at his back. Nothing but mud, but that was gonna be sore. He landed on his tail wrong, too, but he could lift it just fine and hold it, even if he had to wince at the dull pain that came with that.

Attikias stared up at the entrance to the hole. He'd need to make some kind of cover so someone else wouldn't fall in... Breathing in deeply, Attikias let out a huff, muttering under his breath as he stood. Yeah, it definitely needed some kind of barrier.

And he needed to wash off the mud now.

@Pollen

It was a stretch to say something snapped in Pollen, but something had changed. After emerging from the rubble of the game show's studio, a rock had settled deep in her gut, gnawing away at her dreams. It wasn't like the frantic chaotic nightmares she had before- instead, it held impressions, afterimages across her psyche that lingered even after waking. Images and thoughts ate at her like memories just out of reach, and it was more maddening than the chaos she knew personally.

His appearance was a corruption and blessing all at once. She had paid her price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time- an eye for a glance, but one that broke open a geode in her soul. It struggled to emerge, scrabbling at her mind. The feeling of something brushing against her body, of someone she knew, of water down her spine as she faced her end.

It came in pieces. There was no stopping it, but she refused to find herself lost in it, drawing it out of herself by writing down what she'd seen. Symbols came too, ones from the memories and ones of her own hand, coalescing on paper into various descriptors and recreations. It gnawed at her. It was like some integral part of her she'd never realized, forced into the neon green light of the Creator's eye.

Maybe it was a bit impromptu, but she needed something. She needed to give physicality to the ghost that haunted her, to appease the house it found its spirit in. This was one solution. Something to give it presence, right on her pelt. A mark- a note of what she had seen. The pattern was angular on a piece of paper she held clutched in a hand, the sheet crumpled and unfolded again and again.

She knew the way to the Elenyas. She didn't come by often, but it was hard to miss the smoke that often trailed from their home. They enjoyed their meats, and she had come by a few times in the night to see if anything had changed. It had stagnated- which, perhaps, was for the best. She didn't want them to overstay their welcome in this cave. Of course, nobody owned it, but she didn't want them to do anything too drastic in the presence of the Palace. At least they didn't come around as often anymore.

"Attikias?" Pollen stood straight as she approached the clearing, a sharp eye glancing about the place. "Are you home?" Knowing her, she'd probably get one of his kids, and-- why did he have so many? Pollen set her jaw for a moment as she strode through a worn path, her ears perked for noise.

A faint splashing got her attention. Jogging up, Pollen pinpointed the hole in the ground and approached, peering in and noticing the top of Attikias's head.

"... are you busy down there?" Her face was serious, a light tone of humor- muted, compared to usual- in her voice as she watched him fumble in the water.

Melody fluttered along as Pollen traversed through Cepheus, studying her along the way. Attikias noted it somewhere in the back of his brain- she'd trailed the inhabitants of the Palace rarely, so it wasn't uncommon that she'd follow them. He didn't have time to think about where she was, but a string of curiosity pinged across the link anyways.

It didn't take long for Pollen's voice to ring into the hole. "Over here!" Attikias could barely get his arm out as he stood in calf-deep water. Her blunt snout came into view, and Attikias waved up at her, Melody circling around her with interest. What did she want? Did Aethril send her to him? Wait- what happened? The elf's welcoming expression morphed to one of concern, one dirty hand raising to touch his own cheek, mirroring her's. Did it hurt?

Attikias glanced down. "... 'm buildin' a well." He held out his hands to the hole around himself, gesturing idly. Nevermind the fact he'd been covered in mud- maybe she wouldn't notice he'd fallen ass first into it. It was a little unbecoming of him to talk to someone staring down at him in a hole. Yeah, he was a workin' man, but he had dignity!

Reaching up, Attikias found a hold for his hands and tugged himself up, trailing water to the muddy dirt around the rim. "What's up?" The elf's tail curled up and he twisted in place, wringing out water from the hairs on the end. He hoped this wasn't about her eye. Did she still see through it? Was it magic..? Wiping off mud as best he could, Attikias's glance slid to Pollen as he studied her face, concern dominating his expression.

He stood up taller as he looked at the hole. "I could use a break from digging holes. Is there anything I can get you?" And, anything he could do to stay on her mentor's good side?

Pollen pulled back to give Attikias room to ascend, holding one arm in her other hand. Even with her overalls, she didn't want to go down there and actually get to work right now. She saw the farm, yeah, but her mind was on one thing.

"I want you to dye this on me." Uncrumpling the paper in her hand, Pollen turned it around and showed it to Attikias. Four points stretched out like a dragonfly's wings. A diamond coalesced in the center, with a slit pupil erased from the middle, to which Pollen pointed at with a digit. "On the center of my back."

Her hair tossed lightly as she turned her head to her side, looking at the fences. "I can grow something here in exchange. I've been practicing? I can help get the materials, too- the sigil could be... green on black? I'm not sure how well it'd look."

An air of professionalism took over her as she spoke, a faint imitation of Aethril's conduct with the man. Even while short, she stood tall, spine straight and proper. The tone of her voice carried a more assured weight, determination behind it. If she wanted this done, she would make sure she had it done. If it was not by Attikias's hand, then someone else- there was always someone else.

"Do you have a particular area you'd prefer anything grown in? Any sort of tree important to you?" Pollen stared across the fledgling field. They were trying to farm, much like the Forge was, but they did not have the luxury of plant magic like she and the Forge did. She wasn't going to take even more responsibility on top of the two gardens she already had to take care of. At the very least, she could give them a boost? Her eyebrows lowered partly as her hand raised to her throat, resting over the bag hidden away under her bandana.

The way Pollen acted dampened his spirits. She was notably different- what had happened to her? He pointedly kept his gaze on the scar across her face. It looked like her gem, but... cracked? No, smooth. Something about it set discomfort in his gut, drew his lips tight and eyes away from the scene. It'd be rude to stare. Yeah.

He looked down and took the drawing when she showed it to him. This? ... Of course she'd just come to him for dyeing. It crushed him just a little that this was what he was reduced to; someone who just enchanted things and dyed them for people. He had a family, for caves' sake! He was three-dimensional! He was more than just his work. Though, there was something to be said to the fact that she'd come to him for this rather than someone else. Maybe he'd started to make his brand in creativity. It felt like it'd run out eventually, but, for now, he could ride that high. Perhaps he could lament the choice in profession to the Blacksmith, or take on some fancy moniker, too.

But, that was neither here nor there. Steeling himself with a breath, Attikias offered an uneasy smile, holding the paper to keep it as uncrumpled as it could be. It was an interesting marking. "It'd probably look good against a darker spread, and you don't have any complex markings in the way... Does it mean anything?" He asked conversationally, turning his body to walk towards the lodge. He beckoned her with one hand holding the paper, the other opening the door on its creaking hinge. Melody flew in the crack before either of them could enter. She'd found her perch, right by the oven, and settled into her nest of grasses and shed fur. Right where she belonged.

Attikias held the door for Pollen. "I've been trying to um-- grow food out there, but it's slow going." He chuckled warmly, shrugging. "Why a tree in particular? I mean, fruit trees would probably be good, but I wouldn't want you to push it. It's not too much of a problem for dyeing- enchanting'd be another thing, but dyeing? Easy." Attikias let the door shut and waved a hand, rumbling out another laugh as he turned for the lodge proper.

He bee-lined for the oven and peered in experimentally, making sure it wasn't glowing with warmth. Nope. He hadn't left it on. Reaching in, Attikias swiped burnt charcoal out into his other hand, staining both of them black with the powder. "We got black here- it'd look better with a fade, probably? Not solid. Unless you want a pattern in the backdrop?"

Melody gave a small cheep at that.

Pollen let him take the paper and crossed her arms before her, watching him walk until he beckoned her. "... it's personal," she stated.

It was more than personable. It marked a story, something that she had seen and lived through. It was a beginning to a trend, perhaps, a physicality to her memories and writing on the tapestry of her body. Maybe she was a bit impulsive with it, but she finally had something happen to her with meaning. She was not going to squander this.

Pollen's eye tracked Melody as she stepped around Attikias. What kind of food was he growing? Wheat? Vegetables? It seemed to be a mix- she could do something with that, she supposed. There were the berry bushes too. Maybe they needed attention? Pollen set her jaw, already thinking about what she'd need to do for payment. She had a few seeds she could use...

"It'd be okay payment, right? It's not-- I can do trees fine, and I want to help out." She hadn't been inside the Elenya residence, and she stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of a stranger's home. "... you um- have a nice home," she added in quickly, looking back to Attikias as he gathered dye material.

... right. Reminded, Pollen shoved her hands into her overall's pockets, fishing for something. Not there..? She patted her hips and found the vial in one of the side pockets, pulling out glass filled with Oil. "Can you add this in to the dye?" She rolled it in her hand before putting it down on a nearby table, returning her paws to her pockets. "... and make the ah- the green glow. Maybe. Can you make it glow?"

Lost in place, Pollen looked about before deciding to just lean on the table.

With the charcoal in one hand, Attikias reached for a working bowl with the other and poured it in, clapping off the dust that clung to his palms. "I won't pry," he assured her as he set to work, gathering up a few brushes and a pestle and setting them next to Pollen. With it came a cloth- and he wiped himself off briefly, making sure he got the mud off of his top half, at least. "I don't need payment, but help around the farm could help-- ask Nedies if he wants anything in particular? And- thank you! Your mistress hasn't been by to burn it to the ground, so I imagine it's good enough." The chuckle that came from him was almost genuine, but it held back a hint of worry. She could just burn it down on a whim, but they seemed to be in neutral graces now, at least... maybe? Pollen was here, so it must be okay?

He paused when he saw the vial. Nevermind what he just said about prying, this got his interest and his concern. With his nose scrunched, he pointed to it as he gestured, tail swaying side to side. "Are you sure? This could... hurt. I don't know if it's safe to put on your body." And what about the strings of black through her eye? He didn't ignore that, either. His pointing hand pulled back and clenched into a brief fist, before he laid both down on the table itself. "I can make it glow, but I don't want--" He inhaled, and exhaled, slowly. Pollen wasn't his child. He didn't have to tell her what to do and not to do.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He nodded up once at her, looking to the scar. "What... happened, to you? I know I said I wouldn't ask, but..." He looked back to his bowl of charcoal.

"I don't... know you well, but this isn't like you. At least, not the Pollen I remember." Did he ever really know her? Had she just matured? No, something scarred her- not just physically, but... What? It must have had something to do with her appearance, this tone shift that'd taken over her, this request. She still held her under all that, but it was like a weight had been dropped on her, dampening the excitement she had before. He didn't like it. Where was the excited gardener he knew? Was it Deathmatch? Something else?

And what did the symbol she wanted even mean?

Pollen's hand traced the rim of the mortar and pestle that was delivered, tracing along the instrument and the bowl in idle curiosity. Ask Nedies- she nodded. "... it'd be rude to um- destroy your home," she spoke in a smaller, meeker voice, more like herself. Why would they do that? Aethril was... she didn't like Attikias, but would she do that on a whim? Well- maybe, but other people lived here too. She didn't hate them too, did she?

Pollen looked up and to her left at the archways of the other room, divided by hanging cloths and pelts. Was anyone else in the house? She didn't hear anyone, but they could be sleeping, for all she knew. It seemed much more communal than the Palace. Maybe they shared their bedroom.

Her eye glanced back to Attikias at his unease. "I'm sure." As sure as she could be, with her artificial confidence. "I'll be fine." She pulled her paws from her pockets and planted them at her hips, her shoulders tense. "I'll be fine."

Pollen's lip raised for a second before she avoided his gaze, staring at the door. "People change. I changed. I'm still me, I just-- I got purpose, I guess, outside of being a guard now. Or gardener. Or gladiator, or just a pretty face in the Palace." One paw raised to run over the side of her neck, cording through her mane at the back of it and over the knots of her bandana and necklace. "... I'm trying not to think too deeply about what happened, but it's all I can think about. I'm hoping this-" and she gestured to the paper that'd been laid flat on the table- "will help somewhat."

She put her paws on the table and hopped up on to it, sitting at the edge. "... I saw something I shouldn't have, I think. So, I guess the price was growing up." She finally looked at Attikias. Her expression was somber, serious, and gloomy as she silently pleaded for him to stop digging for things she wouldn't tell. It'd be best for this to be done and over with so she could get back to normal. She wanted to be happy again, not plagued by these thoughts and memories racing in her mind, on her face.

She took in a deep breath. "Anyways- apple tree? I should have a seed for that." The subject change was abrupt, but she'd fallen into it determinedly, staunchly refusing to linger on that game show floor for a second longer. It was followed by the untying of her bandana and rope necklace, plonking the seed bag in her lap. "Let me see." Running a hand over the top, Pollen shut her eye as she focused, feeling for the specific contours of any sort of fruit tree. Ah- there, and she fished it out with her tongue stuck out.

"It should help with the plants on your farm. You could hang lights in it too, maybe, so plants can grow better under it?" She held the seed between her forefinger and thumb before moving it to her palm, offering it out to Attikias.

Pollen's assurances didn't settle Attikias. Something was wrong. He showed it with his fingers, dragging closer to his palms on the table, forming loose fists. He had his mind on both her and work- he'd needed a softer gem for grinding for dye, something green, and his mouth twisted into a brief frown. He needed something to channel the magic onto. Channel the magic..- as he considered it, the magic formed itself, digging into the wood and piercing a solid green gem right into the surface. "-- shit," Attikias muttered under his breath, recoiling from his mistake.

Well, he was a magnet for these kind of things. Still listening to Pollen, Attikias leaned over and tapped a nail on the surface of the smooth peridot that formed a green-tinted looking hole through his dinner-table. Well, it didn't fuck it up too badly, so it'd be fine. Still.

He looked up when she made eye contact. The look settled in just what she felt- there was almost despair under it all, an exhaustion that someone her age should not have. Attikias's nostrils flared as he sighed, standing up taller. She didn't want to talk about it. He wouldn't talk about it, then. "An apple tree would be good," he noted, watching her look for it. A whole tree, just from one seed.

Attikias held out his palm to take it, staring down at it. "... do you mind staying here for a moment? I need to go ahead and get some substrate." The seed was lowered to the table before he sweeped outside, gathering up some mud from the hole's debris. It didn't take long- he was back in a moment, cupping the dirt in both hands.

Pollen blinked down at the result of the misfiring magic, an ear flicking. The seed was lowered onto the table, and Pollen crossed her legs, swinging them idly. "... okay," she said plainly, nodding to Attikias.

Her eye glanced up to Melody while Attikias exited the building. She seemed content, and Pollen was doing fine enough just sitting there, looking about the place like a kid waiting for their doctor's appointment. Experimentally, she whistled towards the bird, who peeked open an eye and glared at her.

Oh. Pollen recoiled a little at the utter malcontent in that gaze, hands working together as if she'd just offended a stranger. She didn't even know this creature's name, but- it must be just someone who was very quiet. Yeah. Pointedly glancing away, Pollen studied anything else but her- the ceiling, the floor, the table, and she eventually settled on the peridot in the table, scratching at it with a nail. How awkward.

Attikias's return was a godsend. She eyed the dirt, a thigh bouncing in place, as she stuffed her paws back into her pockets. "... should I uh- take off the overalls? I don't know how you want to do this."

Melody settled back into sleep like the good bird she is.