ph_logs | [November Open] | And so the chain continues!

[November Open] | And so the chain continues!

Who Bart and the village at large!
What Settling in and learning how things work
When November, through the winter months
Where The Oak & Iron, Winterbottom Clinic, the Library etc
Warnings N/A (so far)

1. Oak & Iron
For better or worse, for now, this is home. It's busy and noisy and there always seems to be something going on even if it's just a friendly card game or a group dinner, and all the while, if Bart isn't up in his room, he's down in the main room with a cup of tea, a new joy of his now that it's not synthetic from a machine that would routinely cycle through many flavors and not get cleaned often enough. If he's occupied with the writing that he can regularly be seen doing, it may take a couple of attempts to get his attention. He's gotten very good at tuning out chatter and bickering when he has something to do, and this, writing down as much as he can remember from his life before Marrow Isle, has been what he's dedicated himself to in the time since his arrival here.

When he breaks from that, he instead writes about the things that he's encountered here. The people, the plants that he cross-references from one of a dozen books grabbed from the library, the little spectral creatures that have been following townsfolk around, everything at least gets a brief note.

Accompanying his writings, sketches and diagrams take up full adjacent pages. Portraits with names beside them and brief notes about the people in question, or small things that indicate those people to him personally. A pumpkin from outside of one of the farms. The Mipha's Grace docked near the beach. Yorick's hat. A stuffed rabbit with its ear chewed and wrinkled.

He might be spacing out in your general direction as he tries to put words to a thought. Sorry in advance if he's been staring too long.

2. Clinic
On suggestion from Doctor First Aid, Bart has started helping out at Winterbottom's clinic. He's also offered an extra hand over at Dr Pierce's in those instances when he needs it. He's pleasant and chatty and eager to get to know his patients, and has extensive knowledge at least in both human and xenobiologies. If allowed, he will tangent on whatever line of thought that comes from a conversation that might have been started up over the course of examination or treatment.

During downtimes if he's not cleaning he can be seen drawing people and diagrams to be added to his notes, or reading. He's rather enjoying being at the front desk to meet whoever might be coming in to see one of the doctors, or drop things off as kind gestures.

3. In Vivo
Bart is determined to learn as much as he can about Marrow Isle's native flora so as to learn how best to approach his future farming venture. As such he can be seen out in the woods, out at the beach, out at the farms. He generally has his notebook in hand. He's started carrying more writing utensils in a pouch slung at his waist, and every so often, he will bring out a thin folder into which he's begun pressing the occasional plant for study when he's got better facilities at his disposal.

4. The Library
When he isn't at the Oak & Iron, or getting ready to move himself into a new home, or at the Clinic, or assisting First Aid or Chris Freeman out on a house call, Bart is here. He checks out stacks of books at a time and reads them when he's got time, or else keeps them nearby him as he seemingly does homework there where it's quiet, though bustling with villagers and staff alike. He's still in simple clothes, a small act of rebellion against the clean-cut image that his father always demanded that he present, and looks quite content in his work.

Currently the books arranged in neatly sorted stacks around him are all focused on mycology and related fields of study. Again, it will take a couple of attempts to get his attention if it's needed.

5. Misc
The Wildcard Option. If you want Bart, just sent him a message, give him a call at the end, say hello to him and generally be interested in him and he'll happily follow along and help however he's needed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Little Shadow?" Because he'd been tucked in at the gravesides in the dark no doubt. He smiles at the thought despite himself.

The confusion is mirrored on his own face. "While it was meant to be smalltalk, does that mean you don't have a place to stay? Somewhere to be out of the weather at least. I know that the rooms at the inn are gratis, but I've never seen you there when I've been. Unless there are places to tuck in out here that I haven't found yet."

"I'm not human. I don't need it," Emery insists. "I dug myself a den out here, and sleep in wolf shape. It's fine."

And yes, that means he hasn't collected his money or eaten any food aside from what he can hunt.

"Not being human doesn't mean you don't deserve somewhere warm and safe," he argues gently, but he realizes that he's imposing his own values here where he really shouldn't. "You get enough to eat out here, at least? If you ever need anything supplementary, I'm working on eventually having a place where I can have access to a proper kitchen. I don't know if you're a true obligate carnivore, but even they can use a bit more every now and then."

"I'm plenty warm in my den, don't worry." Emery smiles, "My fur keeps me very warm, as you already know."

The rest of what Bart says gets Emery thinking some more. "They make you live on your own? Young one like you? What else is required for living in their city?"

Bart settles to rest more comfortably on his knees with his pencil closed between the pages of his notebook to keep his place.

"I think it's less accurate to say that they make you live on your own, and more they give you the option to. You don't have to stay in their communal space if you don't want to, and I have work to do that requires more space to be available to me," he explains. "I'm a scientist, first and foremost. I want to use what I know how to do best to help the people here. That's best done if I have my own space to work in. As far as I can tell though, the only real requirement to have a space in their city is to want to contribute to it in some way. For now, while I work toward having that space, I help at the medical clinics as necessary."

Emery listens to Bart speak. And he considers the information quietly, before he says,

"I don't understand humans. Worry about me being alone out here, when the other option is living alone in that place." He huffs, and admits, "I wouldn't mind contributing. I volunteered for the levy. Maybe you could take my money, get the space you want."

That takes Bart by surprise, and it shows on his face. He knew that everyone received a stipend from the city to be able to keep the economy running decently well, but he hadn't really thought about how even the people like Emery that might not need such things would also have the funds made available to them. Money was his father's obsession after all, not his.

"I...I don't know what to say. Perhaps you could set something up to be able to save your money, in case you end up needing it later for something," he suggests. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the offer, I just don't have the most solid plan for exactly how I would apply the extra funding just yet. I've found a lovely little home that will suffice to start with, I just need to move some things around within it. Then...I'd planned to construct a small greenhouse and start a garden, but first I need warmer clothes, more food, the bare essentials. Unfortunately, I'm not the fuzzy sort," he jokes with a look back at Emery. Though on that thought, he twists in place and reaches into the bag at his side, to take out another notebook similar to the one he was working in. He flips through it until he comes to a page with a few loose sheets wedged in between, and turns it around for Emery to see.

The page is crammed with small, neat handwriting, and the loose pages all have sketches of Emery himself, in all three forms. There is real artistic talent there, but it's been applied to detailed diagrams, all with little notes around them. "I hope you don't mind; I've been trying to write down as much as I can since coming here, since I don't have access to any storage methods I had before. I'd never encountered someone like you, so I wanted to be sure to remember it all..."

Emery shrugs. Worst comes to worst, he'll end up stuck in his human form on a full moon night, and he already knows the way to the Oak and Iron.

But perhaps Bart has a point. Emery is living amongst humans now, with no way of wandering away from them. Certainly, he could go live deeper in the woods, but he made a promise to be part of the fighting force should it be needed. So he should stay close to the village.

"... you want to remember me?" Emery reaches out and lightly touches one of the sketches, of his were form. How strange. No one's ever wanted to do that before.

Bart frowns softly at that. Of course he does, why wouldn't he? Emery is a fascinating creature, and a good man. He's never met someone like him before.

Looking down at the drawings, Bart lays his fingers on the true wolf form that rests just above a sketch of the human form's face in profile.

"Would you prefer that I didn't?" he asks quietly, looking back at Emery with that same gentle furrow of worry across his brow.

"It's not that. I'm just... surprised."

"...more accustomed to being overlooked, I'm guessing." What a terrible feeling.

"Being overlooked isn't always a bad thing. When the prey overlooks you--" Emery snaps his teeth to demonstrate, playfully, "sometimes you can benefit."

Emery looks at Bart, and those signs of worry. Melancholy, maybe. He wonders if they are talking past each other.

"I'm a wild creature, more than anything. And my kind, we keep to ourselves. What is remembered is that which helps the pack to survive and to thrive, which might include my own deeds... but the fact that it was me will eventually fade from the pack's memory."

"Mh, I suppose so. There were times when I was out in the open ocean documenting the behavior of creatures that I always hoped would simply ignore me and go about their business. Especially when they were big enough to eat me in one or two goes. But... that's different from being overlooked by other people," he points out. "You were important to your pack, at least for a little while, weren't you? And, you're important to people here. I happen to like when you decide to come and see me, even if I'm a bit busy."

"Why are you sad?"

Maybe it's not following the rules and engaging in conversation the right way, but that's the important question to Emery.

"Why does my surprise about you wanting to remember me make you sad?"

Emery is very direct and to the point, and it saves Bart having to try and explain his logic where it would come from intellectually, instead making him simplify the thoughtdown to the heart of it:

"Because it seems like such a lonely existence. I lived isolated and died alone. I don't want that for anyone else."

"I wasn't lonely with my pack. And... I have some friends here, even if we aren't a pack." He gestures to Mournblade, who is still floating around and clearly on guard for the approach of anyone else. "I'm not even alone all that often."

He studies Bart for a moment.

"If I'm isolated, Little Shadow, it's by choice. In my experience, there are very few humans like you. Most of them see something new to them and they get scared."

"I'm not arguing that the life you had before might have been lonely, like you said, you had your pack, people that cared about you. But here..." It's a change. A downgrade, he feels. He wants better for the people that he cares about, and he cares quite a bit about Emery even in the short time they've known one another.

"I apologize. I'm projecting standards of living onto you again that aren't necessarily appropriate. I think that may be one of the downsides of being very unfortunately human."

Emery listens quietly, right up to the part where Bart calls himself 'very unfortunately human'.

And he says firmly, "Here I have you, and Tarantulas the spider-shifter, and my ghost friends -- Mournblade and Humbaba. And the order matters, silly boy. I don't need a lot of friends, just good ones."

Bart's cheeks color as he's so gently chastised. He looks down at his hands still holding his notebook and pen, fiddling a bit with the latter.

He does at least brighten up at the mention of Tarantulas. "Tarantulas is a friend of mine as well. We've been talking about possibly collaborating on projects when I've got a for-certain list of equipment I'm sure I'll need." He doesn't know the extent of what Tarantulas might have talked about on the subject, if anything at all, but it is nice to know that his friends are getting along. Especially when they share the woods and the hunting territory.

{OOC: Since things have moved on from November, I figure we can wrap this thread and start a new one somewhere? Don't be a stranger - Emery would like to know how Bart is handling the famine and all that...}

"It's good you have someone who can follow everything you say when you talk." Emery shrugs. "I try, but sometimes I don't feel smart enough."

Emery slides closer if Bart will let him, and will lean in so they are sharing some warmth. Currently, Emery is not nearly as warm as when he's furry, but the contact is nice regardless.

"But I still like spending time with you. You're a good kid, kid."

[[Sounds good to me! They can stay out in the woods talking about nature and things for a while and Emery can come and see Bart's refurbished house all shaken apart by the earthquake.]]

Without thinking about it much, Bart huddles in where it's warmer against Emery's side and flips his notebook open to another page to explain what he'd been doing before he'd been found out here. A drawing of a spider, stout and furry, in the middle of a thick web between tree roots, with as many notes as Bart could fit into the blank spaces in between.

"Between you and me, I don't think you need to be smart in that way. People are specialized, some fitting into roles far better than others. I can't fight worth a damn. Taking care of others is not my strong suit, but research, information gathering, and discovery is. What is important is what you do with what you're good at. I, for one, am grateful that you're here. Even if I worry sometimes."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[November Open] | And so the chain continues!

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