Day 317 (Backdated)

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Who: Anyone. Rob if you want him, but there are more interesting things than him here.
Open: Open
When: Backdated to Day 317
Where: The northeastern part of the Bastion
What: The Bastion has a forest now
Format: Whatever you want. If you're threading with Rob I'll match.

So guess what? The Bastion has a forest now. A rather big forest, with white birch, cork oak, sugar maple, black locust, and European beech mixed together on the flat areas and white cedar and Sitka spruce mixed on the hills, a number of the Sitka spruces being at their maximum size already: 300 feet tall and 15 feet in diameter at breast height. You could make a really awesome treehouse up in there. Or a small elven village. There are trails running through the forest and a few clearings of various sizes. Most of the clearings are small ones centered on plants that other people have brought in, allowing them to still get enough light, but there are three larger ones: one around the phonebooth, one in the gap between two hills and running up against a cliff face, and one to the south next to the river. Away from the trails and clearings the canopy closes in overhead to block the light and the trunks of the trees line up to block the view, making it possible to actually get lost despite the forest not being that big.

If for some reason you're more interested in a nerd than the new forest, Rob can be encountered wandering the trails for a bit, but you're more likely to find him in the southern clearing by the river, lying on his back in cargo shorts with his sandals next to him and using his shirt as a pillow. He's basically claiming this clearing for himself. He hadn't realized how relaxing this could be until now.

Comments

[notachickenhawk]

[A]

It's easy enough to spot Tobias flying through the trees, terrifying any small animals or people that might be around. He holds his wings out like he's a fighter jet as he zips around trees, flapping to gain altitude and then diving back down. You might hear him screech while he does it, and maybe his whoops of thought-speech laughter. He's not bothering to hide his joy - while hawks may be more at home on the plains, a forest is pretty great, too.

[B]

You might also encounter something very different in the trees. A large, bladed monster is jumping from tree to tree, stopping at a few to climb up to the highest branches that can hold its weight and shimmying out to grab at branches that look like they're about to fall anyway and breaking them off. Occasionally it drops down and uses one of its arm blades to strip the bark off of the fallen branches and chew on the strips of bark. It looks scary, but it also doesn't seem to be acting violently.

B

[daughterofursa]

Okay, a big spiky lizard monster was not what Zuko was expecting to see when she came to check out the new forest. Are these... native to someone's world? Did someone ask the Monument for lizard monsters for some reason?

She's just going to watch cautiously from a safe distance, and make sure Kizuna doesn't go scurrying towards the thing before she's figured out if it's dangerous or not.

[notachickenhawk]

Tobias looks up at Zuko, and grins as much as he can with a beaked mouth. Right. Of course this would startle people. It's not like Hork-Bajir are fluffy-looking.

<It's just me. Again.>

[daughterofursa]

Zuko relaxes. "Tobias."

She gives Kizuna a pat on the head. "It's okay. He's a friend." She's not sure if the dragon can recognize Tobias at all between his different forms, or if she even hears when he talks? But he should be the only spiky lizard monster, so she can know he's safe.

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. It's a Hork-Bajir. They're not native to my world, but they're actually peaceful, naturally.>

Without Yeerks, at least. He chews on some more bark, scraping off another piece to eat later.

[daughterofursa]

Zuko can see what he's using those blades for, but still...

"It seems like it'd be hard not to stab anyone."

[notachickenhawk]

<It takes a little practice, though Hork-Bajir have pretty tough skin. A lot of the free Hork-Bajir that I know are very careful around any humans that visit.>

[daughterofursa]

"'Free' Hork-Bajir?"

And 'naturally' peaceful...

[notachickenhawk]

<... The majority of them are Controllers. They're infested by Yeerks. I helped lead some Hork-Bajir to a hidden valley, and they've helped free some others.>

[daughterofursa]

Tobias has never fully explained how the Yeerks operate to Zuko, but she was pretty sure...

"Weren't the.. Yeerks the ones doing the controlling?"

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. ... They slither into their ears and take over their brains. We call the ones that have been taken over 'Controllers'. Like a human-Controller or a Hork-Bajir-Controller. ... I don't know who came up with it.>

[daughterofursa]

Zuko's hand immediately goes to her good ear.

"Th-that's disgusting!"

And horrible but the disgusting part registers first.

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah, I know. It's... even more terrifying to watch in person. Even people who fight go perfectly calm after they get their heads stuck under the water of the Yeerk Pool.>

[daughterofursa]

It took their willpower?

"...I don't think I can imagine anything more awful than what you're describing."

[notachickenhawk]

<And that's why we fight. We try to keep people from getting in there and falling into their hands. It doesn't matter what species those people are.>

[daughterofursa]

Even if they're alarmingly spiky lizard monsters.

"Right." A pause. "Sorry to bring it up."

He probably just wanted to... eat trees?? in peace.

[notachickenhawk]

<It's okay. You wanted to know. And... it's pretty much always on my mind when I think of home. So it's not something that's exactly shocking to me.>

[daughterofursa]

"You don't have happier things to think about when you think of home?"

Not that Zuko has a lot, but she has some.

[notachickenhawk]

<I do. But a lot of home has been just... fighting for the past few years.>

[daughterofursa]

"I get that. We were at war since long before I was born. But there were still good things."

What is this optimism. Zuko, are you okay.

[notachickenhawk]

<... There are good things at home, too. Good people. ... People I miss.>

Now he's thinking about Rachel again, and he almost seems to droop.

< I miss the mall and watching TV and arguing with Ax about soap operas and tagging along with Rachel while she goes clothes shopping. I miss school and books and learning things. ... I miss my friends.>

... He hadn't meant for that burst of sadness, but there you go.

[daughterofursa]

"I didn't mean..."

Shoot. This wasn't supposed to be about missing things and especially not about missing friends.

"W-well, can you get any of those things here?" Zuko doesn't know what malls or teevee or soap operas are but maybe one of them is shard-worthy?

...soap operas aren't operas about soap, right?

[notachickenhawk]

<I guess. It's not the same.>

He kind of wants to watch old Disney movies now, but that's not the point. The point is that it's not home and he misses it.

... He just chews on some more bark in the meantime.

[daughterofursa]

"No, it's not. But it is a way to honor where we came from."

[notachickenhawk]

<True. And... I really do think we'll find a way to get back there. Maybe it's a vain hope, but I have to believe in that.>