El Pasar Del Morado
20 Zorromes, 334
Daina
Daina had gotten things well started on the food growing angle and now wanted to work on defenses. It was a sunny day and it would be easy and tempting to pretend they were all safe and no threats were around them.
That would be foolish though and she wasn't going to leave them unprotected this time. She scooted herself on out to the river found a likely spot to work. The sun is warm so she sits partially in the shade and has her work area just outside of that to make it easier to see. She built a small town with rocks to represent buildings and stuff like that. She then sits in front of it and starts to experiment. Humming her thinking song as she does so, using her hands and various arm postures in a seated sort of dance to help encourage her little planty friends to grow as she wishes. The tiny saplings rolling and turning and twisting. A sweet sap like scent coming from them that she enjoys and then checks with the local bugs to make sure won't be too much a temptation. She did not want to make a giant flypaper wall
Slavina
Since the day is sunny, and the water relatively warm (at least not mountain-glacier cold), it's the best laundry day Slavina is liable to get for a long time. She makes her way down to the river, openweave basket on her back piled high with both her own clothing and that of hometown residents.
She's still shockingly un-liudzi, with unsleeved arms, no garlands or facepaint, and her bared hair pulled back in a single utilitarian braid.
Daina
Daina hears the rustle of clothing and senses the chemicals released by the plants as a being passes I'm assuming they do that cause like grass getting stepped on etc?
Looking up from her work she sniffs the air and then relaxes, calling out "Top o the Mornin'" to Slavina as she looks back at her plant work. She starts a second sapling and starts to urge it to grow and gently twine with the one next to it to form a firm bond.
Her song is open, if faintly distracted, she's doing a thing but she can surely talk at the same time.
Slavina
Slavina slows her approach, sets her basket on the gravel bank. "Good morning Daina." She gives the plant-project a lingering look. "Should I find a different spot?"
Daina
Daina looks up again and offers a smile "Not unless you mind the company" she shrugs "I'm just doing some trial growing here" she points to the little village and two plant starter wall.
Slavina
With a nod, Slavina starts unpacking the washing. She wrinkles her nose at the smell—everything from blood and vomit to even worse filth. In preparation for the dirty work she removes most of her own clothing before she wades into the river.
"Trials?" She asks. "What for?"
Daina
Wrinkles her own nose and grimaces even more as she shakes her head and then looks up. "umn oh ... for a wall around the town... for protection. So if we gotta go and get really busy... hopefully we don't come back to this nonsense again!" She has an upbeat tone because they'd fixed the immediate problems but there's an undercurrent of a deep concern that a repeat might happen.
Slavina
"Oh." Plunk. Plunk. She dunks some shirts in and out of the water. "Yes. That's good. But don't you want to spend more time with your family right now?"
Daina
She nods "'course but I want to make sure I do all I can before I get drawn away ... I have a responsibility to make them as safe and cared for as I can before Gods know what else happens." She shrugs "if I do it this way then if we get a call to go elsewhere right away I have a way better chance of seeing them all again when we get back..."
Slavina
Slavina makes a hum of acknowledgement—not much to say to that. She throws one of the shirts over a river rock and starts working it back and forth, scrubbing out the stains.
Daina
Daina smiles some. "Besides that... I think ... they will need space to ... resume being a whole town again and to learn to work with each other ya know? Feels like everyone is stepping on everyone's shadow a little since the reunification."
Slavina
"Of course." She shrugs, sounding melancholy but not surprised. "They became two separate families in a sense. You can't just undo it like that," She snaps her fingers.
Daina
Diana nods a little "yeah, exactly and so like... I... am not the one to really help with that or even be a big part of it... so I'm doing what I can do for them here" She gestures to the seedlings and scratches her chin. "So far they're really hard and fire proof... but that doesn't seem... enough" she mutters as she pets her fingers over the small leaves at the tops of the 'trees'
Slavina
Slavina frowns at Daina's proclaimation, but shrugs and goes back to her scrubbing with a little shake of her head. She pauses briefly to brush a hair out of her eyes.
Daina
Diana looks over to Slavina "so... how're you... you're not ... dressed like yourself... still I mean... I know you went undercover but... "
Slavina
"I know it's not my normal style but I don't look that bad, do I?" Her mouth tugs up at one corner, giving away the tease.
Daina
Diana smirks faintly "Oh yeah ... totally the worst" her tone clearly returning the taunt. "Just isn't your usual, and seemed to me like ... that was important to ya? You almost always had your... ya know the things and then other stuff" she makes motions with her hands around her face and body indicating different arraignment etcetera.
Slavina
"Oh, my garlands?" She holds up her empty wrists to look them over. "Yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to travel like this. Or do any heavy-duty wayfinding, for that matter."
Daina
Diana smiles some. "Just having some... down time like with the look?" she questions uncertainly as she leans down and rolls a fairly big rock towards the now three trees in a row and watches it bounce back with no shifting even with them being so smol.
Slavina
Slavina shrugs. "I've been busy... not much time to make new ones. It feels weirder to go around as a Liudzi with no garlands than a bakersfieldian. And... you know... It's pretty safe here. As long as I don't try to go between or anything I think it's alright."
She wrings out the shirt and sets it on a higher rock with a plap. Then grabs another. "Besides, everyone here already knows me. They're not going to forget who my family is."
Daina
Diana nods her head slightly "I can grow you some when ever you decide you wanna get them back on" she offers with a glance up and a small smile. "just lemme know" looking back to the plants she hmms "maybe this would be good enough... with like... ... like if it does get broken by something it should have a fast regrowth cycle probably" half to herself but her song indicates that she wouldn't turn away ideas.
Slavina
"Thanks. But it needs to be things that are spiritually connected to whatever place I'm in. That's what makes them work and whatnot."
Slavina looks at the little tree babies. "You could..... make it make fruit on the insides?" she offers.
Daina
Daina smiles and nods her head "Ok... no worries" she nods again at the suggestion. "Hey that's a good idea... maybe ... hmm maybe make some sort of ... space for the residents to add ... fertilizers as well so the plants can get somethin' outta the deal too ya know?" She makes a small scratchy motion with her finger and a small groove and bowl sort of thing appears on the inside side of the trees.
Slavina
"Like poop?" Slavina asks. "Poop is fertilizer, right?"
Daina
Daina grins "yeah exactly though I mean other things too like compost can go in there, if they don't need it all for the food gardens I mean" she taps her chin some "maybe some like... guard towers so they can see people commin' ?"
Slavina
Slavina lets Daina use her as a sounding board for a while, although she has little to contribute to the idea of a wall (liudzi being, of course, a notoriously wall-less people). After about half the laundry is done, she stops. Slavina looks Daina in the eye, completely ignores the last question asked, and instead says, "Why don't you just go in there and hug them all?"
Daina
Daina looks up and frowns "well for one they might not want to be hugged and I've done some hugging... and also hugs won't protect them from the shitty horrible things that can hurt them" she frowns.
Slavina
"Fine. Hug them, sit with them, sing songs with them..." Slavina waves a hand to imply plenty of other options. "You know. Be with them. Be their family."
Daina
Daina takes a breath and then heaves a Sigh. "I will... after I make sure they're going to be ... safer." She gestures back over her shoulder. "Do you realize how vulnerable they are to the army just coming right the heck back. I can't stay and make sure I'm here to keep them safe so I gotta do this \first... " she says firmly yet and with an undercurrent of fear. "and then ... I'll see who needs hugs and company and songs and ... ... well anything else I can manage to do for them..." she shakes her head softly. "I know I'd need a little space to find myself after such a shake up..." her brows furrowing slightly. "some of them are so... I mean they went through a -lot- while we were away..."
Slavina
Slavina washes off her forearms and splashes water over her face, then shakes it off. "Maybe I don't. It seems that between the attack-plants and the bogatyr, plus Domochlovek not knowing there's anything wrong with the troops here, they're not really that vulnerable. Unless the mechanical Tsar comes here himself, in which case nothing you do could possibly help. But what do I know?" She shrugs.
"I just know I'd spend every second possible with my family, if I was in your shoes right now." She does a good job sounding normal, but not good enough to completely hide the bitterness and jealousy that lurks beneath her words.
Daina
Daina shakes her head "They don't know yet... but we could leave and never ever come back... " she falls silent though at the conclusion of Slavina's words. Her next are rife with sympathy. "Yeah... I plan on spending time with them... I just ... I need to at least try to protect them first. I can't... my other family is probably not exactly safe right now either... if Bogulya can be taken then... I mean that's an act of war right? This guy... he... he must think he can do anything and how do we know he can't... we don't and so... " she takes a deep breath and releases it before scrubbing her arm across her eyes. "I gotta protect who I can when I can or else I'll regret it forever..." she shakes her head "besides that... I need to be clear headed when we go to rescue the others... and I won't be if I don't do all I can to make sure this place and these people especially are ok..." she looks over "ya know?" her face a bit flushed and her eyes suspiciously glassy but she's being clear and reasonable she thinks and trying very hard to take care of this while really really hoping Mokosits is ok. "Gotta work fast too... I know Bogulya can talk the ear off a cat but" snort "or Bat... but I can't be sure how long he's gonna be ok"
Slavina
Slavina puts all her attention on her laundry, so her back is conveniently turned to Daina. "Right." Her voice is steady, smooth, like glass. Just the one word, dropped into the water alone. The sinews in her back ripple over spine and rib as she works on the cloth. Tense—as if holding something up. Or in. Or both.
Daina
Daina sighs faintly and her brow furrows. "Hey... if you want to try and get to your family next... I'm with ya..." she pauses "Not saying it's the best plan but... well I've never been the best at strategy and stuff anyway so... I'm ready ta follow your heart if you wanna do that..." frowning still. "I don't want you to loose your family too... even if I'm willin' to be part of a new one for you... dun want that loss for anyone"
Slavina
There's a long silence, and with it a smoothing over and folding away. When she speaks, her voice is calm again (although her scent is still thick with fear and greif). "Thank you Daina, I appreciate the offer. But Renina has made our priorities very clear. I wouldn't dream of disobeying." A pause to fold some robes, to catch her breath. "Besides, I already lost them a long time ago."
Daina
Daina frowns some. "hey... she's not the boss of you..." she shakes her head. "you can do what ever you want to do..." she murmurs as she tilts her head a bit and drops that to offer this. "I... well you know i lost my family years ago... but ... I can go find them again... you can too" she murmurs "might not be exactly the same but... it can still be good and make you happy and them... if you want to try..."
Slavina
Slavina laughs, dry and dark as charcoal. "And when I lose myself between and do something horrible? Will they still be happy when I've ruined their reputation in a town or gotten us thrown out of our lodgings or worse? No."
She starts tossing the pile of wet-washed garments into the basket (just a bit harder than necessary). "I care about them, I want to help them, but I've left them and I can't go back. I can't. La Dama is my grandmother now. I know you want to go back to your family, even after so many years, and... well, I've said enough about that." Plap. Plap. Each piece gets a few wet folds before being slapped down on the stack of other soggy things.
Daina
Daina looks over and wears an expression of sadness but not for herself. She thinks... Slavina can't trust herself and till she can... she'll never trust that she won't hurt her family and she wouldn't risk hurting them.
She digs up her plants so far and holds them carefully in the dirt in her hands. Hesitating
"Well... alright... I can understand that... still we can go ta help them as you said..." she looks down and her face screws up in a look of frustrated thoughtfulness. "I wanna help you but I don't know what you need right now." She looks over "Slavina what can I do?" she questions directly.
Slavina
Slavina lets out a little breath just short of a sigh. "Take care of your family." She says. "And... if it's not too much trouble, let me borrow Frankie's time for a day or two. I'd like to send some messages....."
Daina
Daina nods some. "Sure... just eh be careful he's ... I think he's still a bit... well he's got no pack..." she murmurs "and he's tryin' to figure out how to be ... without being part of a whole..." She glances over to Slavina and it's not lost on her that that applies to the woman and the wolf. "Don't teach him any curse words ya haven't taught me "she jests gently.
Slavina
"So what you're saying is I should teach you all the curse words I know first?" Slavina raises an eyebrow. "You might want to sit down, this'll take a while......"
Daina
Daina giggles a bit at that "Well let's walk and talk eh?" she nods towards the town. "I can't go further on this till I talk to Vir and Vanya so I maybe will go make some dumplings and see who wants to talk" she smiles a little. "we can spice to dumplin's with the curses, I'm sure it'll be fine"