Hometown
10 Tormentames, 321
Daina
The town had begun to come back to life, though some members noteably missing from the worn paths between the homes and shops. Daina had been keeping a little slower pace of things after the intensity of tending the sick. She still checked on some of the babies, those that had been the worst off, wanting to ensure they didn't get real sick again. She makes a little pout as she shoves her feet into boots, she was grateful for their warmth but she did much prefer her feet bare. Standing she grabs a coat off the hook and starts out towards the Green House, usually her first stop for the day to say hello to the plants and check in if they were well.
Slavina
Nestled among the plants in the greenhouse, Bozydar sits cross-legged on the ground. The skirt of his overtunic flares out around him, it's glittering embroidered vines almost lost amidst the actual leaves. This late in the day he's already finished chores, excercise, practice, and Pasha's lessons, so there's no rush. He's staring at the bowl in his hands. More specifically, he's staring at the single potato left in the bowl.
Daina
Daina hums a song softly, though she never got into the singing her words thing often there was a tune about her person in such a way. She happily enters the warmth of the green house and shrugs out of her jacket and toes off the boots. She decided to spend a little time with her friends the plants today. Humming still she'd pause as she walked through the rows and paused to check in here and there. "How are you today?" She questions aloud, pausing before continuing on to the next "I hope your roots are feeling better" to another. Humming resuming as she goes along here and there.
Slavina
A velvety voice rises up from behind some lavender. "Hello there, Narochka." Bozydar greets her with a bit of a grin. It's a good grin - it reaches all the way to his eyes. It doesn't quite reach behind his eyes though.
Daina
Daina smiles a little and turns "Oh Bo, Hi!" she greets cheerily. She walks over to where he's resting and peers down at his bowl. "having lunch?" she questions simply as she bends to lightly touch one of the plants near by, like petting a cat.
Slavina
"Having a staring contest. But he is winning," he gestures to the as-yet untouched potato. Bozydar holds up a hand in front of his mouth and lowers his voice to a surreptitious whisper. "Only because he has more eyes, the cheater."
Daina
Daina gives a soft giggle to that and shakes her head a little. "Well if you eat him like you're s'posed to then you're the winner right?" she offers as she pauses and bends towards another plant and checks the moisture level of the ground, seemingly it's ok for now though as she straightens again.
Slavina
Bozydar gives a theatric sigh. "Ah, wisdom from one so young! But it's easier thing to say it than doing it." Although his accent is all but gone, Bozydar hasn't entirely memorized all the common turns of phrase. He makes a bit of a face, then takes a very deliberate bite out of the potato.
Daina
Daina smiles a little bit and nods "Heh yes listen to your youngsters?" she squints one eye and the other looks upwards "eh nope doesn't sound so good as elders I guess" she shrugs a shoulder and goes back to plant tending but clearly he's not being ignored as she glances over her shoulder "So .. do you like changing ?" she questions
Slavina
He finishes chewing and swallowing before he asks, "Changing what things?"
Daina
She shakes her head and looks back to the dirt, picking out growing weeds. "Not things... changing you.."
Slavina
Bozydar looks at her quizically around another mouthful of potato. After another moment, he says "Learning new things? I like to do that." There's a bit of uncertianty in the statement, enough to clue Daina in that he isn't sure he understands the question.
Daina
Daina gives a half smile. "I do too.. like to learn new stuff I mean" she pauses "but I don't learn new ways to be with different people.. at least not all the time." She corrects herself. "I mean .. you do one Bo for me and then you do Bozydar of your people and there's Bozydar of the Arechivelida house.. and probably more?" she guesses. "I just wonder if that's what you like to do or .. if you're just trying to make other people happy? Neither is bad.. but.. well.. I " she hums and then shrugs as she turns and regards him "I'd be real happy if you were.. just you around me?" she smiles "The inside person seems real great so far"
Slavina
He makes a little ah-hah of understanding as she explains, and nods along. "So you don't like to make other people happy?" The teasing grin is back again and he looks up at her side-long from his place on the ground.
Daina
Daina scoffs "I looove making people happy.. but I love being me too!" she smiles as she regards him "I like being me but different sometimes too.. just I'm all the way me more." she tilts her head softly "You can be you all the way around me if you want to. I miss my bogolya and it's fun when you say things he would.. but it's not the same.. and I would like to have a Bozydar to add to my pile of good people too, if that's ok with you"
Slavina
"Who is Bogolya?" Bozydar sets the bowl on the ground beside himself and leans foreward, pausing briefly to flip his sleeves back out of the way.
Daina
Daina hums a moment and considers how to answer that one. "well .. to most people here he's The Guest" and that's fine but.. to me he's my Mommas best friend and he's just the best ever... he plays games with me and talks to me and makes Momma happy and me happy." She'd follow with stories about funny faces at the dinner table and playing games, and being wolves together.(edited)
Slavina
Bozydar prompts her to continue the stories and descriptions until she peters off on her own. Once she's done, he makes a thinking-face. "So I am doing things that remind you of Bogulya?"
Daina
Daina nods her head "Only.. you didn't do them at first.. you started doing them more.. and if say .. your Grandparents are around you're very different or you start talking to a different person you don't do it.. do you know what I mean?"
Slavina
He nods. Then, in a smoothe movement, he shifts from sitting cross-legged to kneeling and bends down in a bow so deep the peak of his hat brushes the earth. When Bozydar rises he looks at Daina for a moment, wheels turning behind his eyes. "Thank you, Daina. You do me a great honor."
There's more behind his eyes, but he stops - unsure how to go on.(edited)
Daina
Daina blinks a few times and looks a bit confused "I.. well you're welcome but.. ah what honor.. and how did I do it?" she questions as she beckons him with her down the rows. "I gotta get some more weedies outta the garden, you can help while you 'splain ok?" She offers with a friendly smile that offers him encouragement to go on but doesn't demand it.
Slavina
Bozydar rises, pushes back his sleeves to the elbow, and joins Daina in weeding. He watches carefully to see which plants she's removing before starting to pluck them out. "You told me I remind you of a god. How could it not be an honor, for the child of gods to say a thing like this?"(edited)
Daina
Daina smiles "You remind me of my Bogulya.. that's not the same as "A God" Sorry if that's disapointing.. " she pulls the weeds out carefully from the base to get the roots. "The things you say and do that remind me of him.. they're his people things.. but they're also the things I love the most about him" she pauses "Though the wolf stuff is pretty great too" she has to admit.
Slavina
"Okay. I think it is different for us. But I am not disappointed anyway." Bozydar adjusts his weed-pulling technique slightly to match Daina's, so the roots come out all the way. He adds the latest weedling to their pile.
"Do you want more for me to not do things that remind you?" His voice somehow fills every corner of the greenhouse without being at all loud. "I don't do on purpose, but if you like I will try to stop."
Daina
Daina hmms softly and smiles as she glances over "It's not so much that the reminding bothers me.. it's nice to laugh and you are good company.. but I do wanna get to know.. -you- the all the way you, but only if you're ok with that" She ducks down and lays flat on her belly to reach back through the plants for one of the weeds. Wiggle stretch "gotcha"
Slavina
Bozydar plucks a few more weeds while he thinks about that. Eventually, he says, "I am all the way me all the time. Who else can I be? But everyone, they...." he rubs a knuckle under his chin as he thinks. "...they see different things when they look at the same thing. I look different for different people, because they all see differently. And also because different thing are important at different times."
Daina
Daina considers that a moment and then shrugs one shoulder lightly to that, not feeling it applies to his way of being so much. "I see you differently with different people though.. not differently just to me.. it's not about how I see it's how you are and do and say.." She purses her lips "it's like.. hmm ok like a good zample .. around Arren.. I most times follow the way she's going cause.. can't do too much other. She's gonna go do the thing and if you want to be around her you gotta do the thing. With Shae though I can choose the thing sometimes and he goes along, or if I as 'im then he might have a thing to do and we go do that.. so I'm a little different around them each." she pauses a moment to let him think about that. "You seem kinda bigger different though with every person like you put an effort to be the things they want or expect. So .. well you don't need to be anything for me.. you can just be, and I'll be happy with that"
Slavina
He nods at her description and takes on a small half-smile. "Yes, yes, like that. You are the same person even if you look a little different around each of them, right?" He scans the bed for weeds, and seeing that they're all gone, wipes the dirt off his fingers with a handkerchief. Bozydar then offers the cloth to Daina. "I am different around different people, yeah. But it's all different parts of me. I am never not- me... just, me in different ways. You are not at all like my grandpa - thank you gods," he offers the little prayer with equal parts sincerity and humor, "so of course I am going to act different for you than for him."
Daina
Daina hmms softly and then sighs a little .. she'd thought pretty hard about this and explained it as best she was able so.. she would let it lie and hope the seed would grow. "So what is your grampa like?" she questions curiously, not having had much time with those not homed with the Arichaveldas sp so much
Slavina
"He is very... ah... 'Da-da-da!'" He emphasizes the woodpecker-like noise with a sharp shake of the finger. "Very good at keeping everybody on road - ah, on track. But" he drops his voice to a whisper and a joking tone, "a little scary, huh? You see how he yells already!" He's referencing an incident Daina witnessed earlier in the week, where Bozydar got (quite publicly and loudly) scolded about.... something. He never mentioned what, and didn't seem particularly upset. It happened in the Arichevalida's kitchen though.(edited)
Daina
Daina nods a little and smiles some "Yeah it happens though.. you know there is a Loud Man back home he's got a nice beardy face and he yells and even talks real loud a lot.. but he is nice and good.. he plays with me sometimes and calls me little bunny. Loud doesn't mean bad.. though I guess if you're getting louded at really hard then that might feel bad.. " she glances over with a sort of questioning look.
Slavina
Bozydar chuckles. "Little bunny? Next to the bunnies here, you are very little!" Now that the weeding is done, he sits back down and picks up the potato. It's cold now. He frowns at it a bit, then takes a bite. "He is good for us. Sometimes it's important to push someone. Otherwise maybe we are not able to keep up. That would be no good!"(edited)
Daina
She nods a little to that and then again nods "yeah super big bunnies some of them" she hmms and nods her head a little "well sure it's helpful but helpful things don't always feel good.. like.. the mission I'm on it's good and important but.. it's sad too .. cause I want to be home.. but I can't till I do the thing.."
Slavina
He sets down the potato-bowl again and raises an arm to Daina, offering hugs. "Leaving your family is very hard, isn't it? Whenever we get new cousins, they are very sad for a long time."
Daina
Daina smiles a little and leans over for a one armed hug "Yeah .. it's pretty hard.. " she makes a questioning sound "New cousins? If you get new babies then aren't they part of your family?" she questions
Slavina
Bozydar laughs as he returns the hug - it's a deep, throaty sound that resonates through his whole chest. "No, no, if there are new babies they are my neices and nephews. But I see why I make you confused." He gives her a bit of a squeeze and ruffles her hair playfully. "New cousins who grow up in another family, but then they come into our family when they are older. Eva was born in a different famliy for one. So was Atlishya." The first is one of the dancers who comes to visit Pasha, the second is the large, dark, tattooed man with a spear.(edited)
Daina
Daina wrinkles her nose and closes one eye at the hair ruffles but smiles as well. "hmn OH ok I get it now" she nods her head a little to that "do you get new cousins often, can anyone decide to join you?" she asks curiously as she moves towards the watering cans, giving the extra thirsty plants s'more water.
Slavina
Once Daina's up again Bozydar takes the time to actually finish his lunch before responding. "Hm. Maybe often? I don't know what you think. Maybe one time every five or six years. Mostly our cousins are from other Liudzi families. But outsiders can come into the family if they can keep up. Kenna wasn't born liudzi."
Daina
Daina nods her head a little bit and considers "Well that's not really often, but not too far between" she offers her opinion before her brow furrows. "Oh.. is that why you don't like her much?"
Slavina
The only sign of surprise he lets slip is a sudden blink. Then he laughs. "Who said I don't like her?"
Daina
Daina gives a little giggle snort "Well nobody -said- as much but it's not xactly a secret issit?"
Slavina
Given the look Bozydar has, he certianly thought it was a secret.
Daina
Daina smiles a little uncertainly. "You don't have to like all the people all the time.. it's ok to feel different things"
Slavina
"I don't have any problems with Keshya. It's good we have her." He runs a thumb over some of the beads on his sleeve while he talks. "Before she was our cousin, Mamochka - ah, Hostla to you - she was our only scout. Now she doesn't have to do all the work by herself, much better."
Daina
Daina hmms softly and just agrees "It's good to have people share the work!" she'd pause a moment between each watering, making sure the plant is thirst before giving it more water.
Slavina
Bozydar nods as he gets up. "Yes, very good! But, too bad, we don't have anyone to share my work." He shakes his head with a dramatic, deliberately-silly sigh. "Until Pasha is grown up at least, huh? Then maybe he will do everything and I will take a long break!" He winks at Daina.
Daina
Daina smiles a little bit "I don't know you don't seem like the long break kind of person but maybe by then you will be!" she suggests. "What 'xactly is your job anywho.. the meeter person?"
Slavina
"Meter person? Eh, I guess so. Usually I do the poems. But right now I do most of the talking because everyone else is still learning your language."
Daina
Daina nods her head a little bit to that "Gotcha" she pauses "Did I ask you about teaching me your language yet?" she questions
Slavina
"Yes, I think, but then everybody got sick. Now they're better you want to learn? I will trade you for some of your language lessons...." he waggles his eyebrows at her playfully.
Daina
She nods "yup sure do!" she holds her hand out "'ssa deal"
Slavina
He shakes her hand with an extremely serious expression (so much it's goofy). "It's a deal. But for now, I need to go meet Andre. So we will start another time, okay?"
Daina
Daina smiles a little and nods her head "Okie dokie, have fun, can't wait to start lessons!" she considers her next chore for the day. "Think I'mma go home and check on everyone see if they need anything"