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

[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.>

[daughterofursa]

"I'm not going to tell you not to." Even if she doesn't believe it herself. "No one has any solid proof either way."

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. And I've traveled through time, so I have to think that there's some way to fix it.>

Even if he's aware that things have gone south that way here before... maybe it won't this time.

[daughterofursa]

Zuko frowns. "I don't like the idea of time travel. You're not just cheating consequences. You have no idea what you're really changing in the long run."

[notachickenhawk]

<... Trust me, I know. But sometimes those changes had to happen. ... One of the choices we had to make involved killing off a species, but if we didn't do that humans would have never been able to be like they were. ... The others didn't know that I fixed things until after it happened.>

[daughterofursa]

"... I'm sure you did what you felt was right, but I don't think that's a choice anyone should have the power to make. It's not our place."

[notachickenhawk]

<I agree... but I didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to actually exist.>

[daughterofursa]

Zuko starts to think that through, but--

"I'll skip the details on this one. This time travel stuff makes my head hurt."

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. Mine too, honestly. I try not to think about it too hard.>

[daughterofursa]

"There's another reason to avoid it."

If it just doesn't happen, they don't have to figure out how to think or talk about it.

[notachickenhawk]

<I guess.>

He looks down at the bark, and makes an approximation of a shrug.

<I'd offer you some, but somehow I think you'll probably want to pass.>

[daughterofursa]

"Uh, yeah. No, thanks."

Can humans even eat bark? Zuko doesn't know the answer to that but it seems immensely unappetizing. Kizuna gives a curious trill, though.

[notachickenhawk]

He considers Kizuna for a moment.

<I think this might be a little big for you, even if you broke up the pieces. Sorry, Kizuna.>

[daughterofursa]

What? Is she being refused potentially delicious foodstuffs? The little dragon huffs and starts to climb around Zuko's shoulders as a way of turning her back on Tobias.

Zuko rolls her eyes, carefully detaches Kizuna, and walks over to let her climb one of the trees if she wants. "Look, it's just bark. I don't think you'd want it anyway."

[notachickenhawk]

<Sorry about that, Kizuna. I just don't want it to splinter or something and hurt you.>

He'd try to smile at her, but Hork-Bajir smiles are kind of scary.

[daughterofursa]

Kizuna still flicks her tongue out at the bark experimentally, but makes a little cough of distaste. This is not food.

...but you know what's better than eating trees? Climbing them. She's just going to scurry on up because she loves being in high places.

"I guess she needed to decide for herself," Zuko says, watching her. "She still thinks all food is for her."

[notachickenhawk]

<She's still littler. That's understandable. The world is still really big for her. ... It's only when you get older that you realize the world's actually pretty small.>

[daughterofursa]

"I don't know. The world seemed smaller to me when it was just on a map."

She takes a few steps back from the tree so she doesn't have to crane her neck so much to keep an eye on her dragon daughter. "It is all new for her, though."