[Winter Open] So if "Rizz" is Charisma

[listenforbirdsong]

Who: Mairi Miann and YOU!
What: Mairi getting settled in her new community
When: Late winter/early spring
Where: Oh, you know, around
Warning(s): None for now!




That implies the existence of:

"Tren"

Once she's signed up to become a farmer, moving her meager belongings out to the farmhouse formerly owned by the aptly named Milo Fields is no difficult task. Neither is clearing the snow in order to get started planting some late winter crops, thanks to Shape Water.

No, the hard part is plowing the icy fields. Had someone been here, they might have prepared the land a little better for such early-year planting, getting seeds for snap peas and spinach and beets and artichokes into the ground for a mid-spring harvest. But Mairi unfortunately has withered fall veggies and the thaw to contend with.

Outside in her fields, she can be seen smacking away violently at the ground with her till, grunting and yelling with the effort. Maybe some help would be good.


"Izz"

As promised to Jean, Mairi posts on the bulletin board in town that she's looking for people interested in learning her magic to form a druid circle. She advertises that she can train others to heal, grow plants, or form psychic bonds with animals. Any takers can find her on her farm or in the Oak & Iron! Her phone number is also on it. Mairi is extremely excited about phones. Please call her.


"Terr"

There isn't a ton in the way of groceries to get right now, what with the food situation, but Mairi can still afford the basic staples and some extra rations to get herself set up in her new home. It's a long way from the market to Northwest Hollow, though, and Mairi's hair is constantly dripping and creating ice underfoot. So it's no surprise that eventually she slips on a rural road and eats shit.

Hello, bystander. Perhaps you might be able to catch a falling water genasi to prevent her from spilling all her damn rations everywhere? Do you help her pick them up? Or do you just laugh at this pathetic wet lady whose brand new bag of flour split open, blasting her in the face with white powder that is now getting wet and clumpy?


"Telly"

How does one catch a siren? How does one avoid getting caught oneself? These are very important questions for Mairi's very important side quest.

In the late afternoon, it is easy to find her in the library, reading up on sirens and their hunting methods, or in the general store pondering trap supplies. A little help with this project certainly wouldn't hurt, and the product of these labors will mean the world to her.


And "Toosh"

People gotta eat. Hunger makes everything harder, be it working, fighting, or thinking. And it's important that the meals folks do get are balanced--- that means protein, vitamins, hearty veggies, and clean, potion-free water. Time to put that druidcraft cantrip to work.

Not far from Cecil's cooking pot, Mairi has taken it upon herself to plant row covers around the community garden, using old bed sheets and particularly pliable sticks. Inside the little veggie tents, she has used as much magic as she can muster to get some kale and broccoli and squash to the blooming stage. The rest is up to time.

But she only has one set of sheets to spare, and her noodle arms can only find so many sticks. Donations and volunteers are appreciated! And if you're going hungry, you'll be the first to get a cut of her harvest, alongside the community stew of course.

Comments

Tren

[batteryacid]

Speaking with César and being reminded of how the locals reached out to help him, Eddie decides to finally head back to his old neighbor's farm when he hears that it's been taken over by someone new.

Which is how he and Missy come to be at the edge of Mairi's field... with Missy giving the most skeptical looks toward her as she yells and smacks at the ground. (Missy thinks all of these new people are weird, so it's nothing personal.)

"Normally I'd ask if you're all right there," Eddie calls out, "but I suspect the answer is no!"

Re: Tren

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi jumps, having been focused on her nonsense so keenly that she didn't see him walk up. For some reason, her instinct is to hide the hoe behind her back.

"Oh! Hi! Uh--- I was just. Trying to. Plant snap peas."

[batteryacid]

"It's a bit early for that. I'm sure you've noticed how hard the ground is... and depending on how cold it gets, your pea plants would die off in a hard freeze."

But Eddie is not one for letting bad news sit, because he considers the situation for a moment before offering up, "My partner Angel is very strong. I'm sure he could break up the soil for you. And my workers and I could build planter boxes for the soil. You could put the boxes in a warmer place like the barn and begin growing that way."

[listenforbirdsong]

"Well, if you plant snap peas in Alturiak, they'll usually be ready to harvest by as soon as Tarsakh... But I guess this place is a lot colder than where I'm from. So you're probably right." Her shoulders slump. "You don't have to do that. I can make the planter boxes, or some row covers, depending on how cold it stays. But I might need help getting some soil inside to thaw."

Tren

[lastofthefirst]

Vika's audible before she's visible, the steady puff of her dash system echoing over the snow preceding the robot - hovering? - no, it's more like that thing cheetahs and dogs do where all their legs are off the ground for part of their stride.

There's a pickaxe over her shoulder.

She pulls up a dozen feet short of Mairi and just starts talking, no breath to catch: "Is there an opposite of curses?"

[listenforbirdsong]

"A blessing," she answers easily, having set aside her task upon hearing Vika's approach. "I'm hoping you're here to be one."

[lastofthefirst]

"Tch. Wasn't what I was asking, but I can break the frost if you like." By way of demonstration Vika stomps; frozen earth meets metal and sheer mass, and it loses, crumbling into icy chunks. "...There was another mammal here. One of the first I met. When I thought the deer and the birds were hostile entities he talked me down, and I wasn't in a place to receive his kindness."

"He went back to death before I really had the words to tell him what he'd done. Now you've come to his land to continue his work. And now I'm here."

[listenforbirdsong]

"You knew Milo?" She'd heard the name once or twice, when she was getting the plot. Didn't seem like he got out much, aside from hunting and fishing. And Mairi can tell by how thoroughly the fields had been worked and how much firewood there still is over by the shed that he spent a ton of time here, whoever he was. "Life's funny that way, I guess. Seems like he had kind of an impact on you, huh?"

Terr

[lordoftheozarks]

There's soft whoosh and, suddenly, she will find herself propped up in the arms of this town's premier whore. Thanks to his strength, speed, and agility, he's able to catch her long before she or her rations hit the ground. Couldn't quite prevent the flour mishap, however...

"Steady. I've got you." He can't help but grin at her white-powered face, but it's an expression of sympathetic amusement, not cruel mockery. "Are you all right?"

Re: Terr

[listenforbirdsong]

With a comical "pppffffbtbtbtbt" of sputtering flour out of her mouth, Mairi blinks away the powder. "Yeah, I think so, thank you---"

She looks over at her rescuer and sees a stupidly attractive man. (Seriously. Mairi is bisexual and her idea of beauty is admittedly very broad, but this is just ridiculous.) Gobsmacked, she stops mid-sentence to just gawk at him. Her hair abruptly begins flushing with more water, sending trickles down her face that create streaks in the flour. "I uh. Just. Ice."

[lordoftheozarks]

Goodness... that is a lot of water running out of her hair. He shakes a handkerchief out of his breast pocket with a flourish and offers it to her.

"Here. I'm glad you're unharmed. Though, I worry you may catch your death of cold out here with all that water." She may notice that he is doing nothing to add to the body heat, because he has none. But, she could just as easily mistake the chill in his limbs as a product of the fact he isn't wearing anything in the way of a winter coat.

"I don't believe we've met before. I am Lord Erik Osborne."

[listenforbirdsong]

Oh my god. He's so smooth. What the fuck.

She takes the handkerchief, wiping her face to get rid of the flour. "Oh, uh, that's mine. The water, I mean. I kind of make it? I'm a water genasi. Ice can't really hurt me, except for... when I slip on it, I guess."

Mairi shakes the wet flour out of the handkerchief, then pockets it with plans to wash it before returning it. Then she offers a hand. "Mairi Miann. Nice to meet you."

Izz

[somebodychildofanyone]

RING-A-LING YOUR WETNESS IT'S THE PHOOOOOOOOONE -

(This tag brought to you by Needless Exuberance; get excited about the mundane wonders of the world today!)

Re: Izz

[listenforbirdsong]

YAAAAY PHONE CALL!!! FIRST PHONE CALL!!!

Mairi gleefully runs to the phone, picking it up and answering with the script she was taught like a kid who just got phone access. "Hello! Miann residence!"

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Lady of Ravens bless and keep me, this is my fifth try. 's River." RIP to Dahlia, the newspaper office, Erik, and Oak & Iron for the misdials, River still isn't sure how phone work. "You still wanna talk shop, Mairi? I need to start taking the wolf skeleton out and around so people get used to him, though I might come on over."

[listenforbirdsong]

Oooh, a wolf skeleton. Neat. "Hi, River! Sure, that sounds great. Just mind the weather, the snow's really picked up since last night."

Toosh

[lovinglefthand]

Oh, are we improving the soup kitchen? First Aid is all for efforts to improve the soup kitchen!

As soon as First Aid hears about what one of the newcomers is up to, he's out there with her, his arms full of sheets and wooden stakes. He's much taller -- and broader -- than Mairi, and his near-featureless metal face may be somewhat disturbing. But his voice is warm and very friendly as he says, "Hi there. I'm First Aid, one of the doctors in town. May I be of assistance?"

His voice doesn't sound like a machine's, but neither does it have the hollow quality of a person speaking from inside a suit of armor. If the suit of armor itself were invested with a living heart and a giving spirit, maybe it would sound a little like this. Will Mairi let him help?

[listenforbirdsong]

Mairi continues working but watches curiously out of the corner of her eye at this huge dude coming over. She can't tell if he's a construct or a living armor or just a really huge fucking guy in armor.

Then he talks, and she recognizes his name.

"Oh hi! Jean mentioned you. I'm Mairi, I'm a magical healer. And yes, I'd love the help! Have you built row covers before or do you need a tutorial?"

[lovinglefthand]

"I'll need you to show me what to do, sorry." First Aid kneels next to her, adding his supplies to hers. "And welcome to Pumpkin Hollow. Jean probably already gave you the long and short of our current medical situation, so I'll just say it's wonderful to have another specialist on the island. I'd love to hear about how your magic works sometime."

Telly

[tisnotthehouse]

Ah, a newcomer? Tarantulas pauses in his own shopping to look over the shelf she's examining, before shaking his head and offering this piece of advice, "If you're not already an experienced hunter, it's better to wait until the snow thaws. It's brutal out there." And this is before the blizzard coming up in a few days, so. Turns out Tarantulas is slightly prescient! Or he just really, really hates walking around in the cold and assumes everyone else does too.

Re: Telly

[listenforbirdsong]

"Ah, yeah, I know this is a really terrible time," Mairi admits. "But I'm in a bit of a hurry to get an enchantment done... Plus, being aquatic myself, I know that they'll be slower in the cold."

It's only then that she looks up at her conversation partner. Immediately her eyes light up. "Oh my god, cute!!"

[tisnotthehouse]

Tarantulas, bless his spark, immediately looks behind him to see whatever it is Mairi is looking at. Finding nothing that fits the bill, he turns back to her, his face alight with surprise -- but also tentative pleasure.

"You mean me?" he asks her, and preens a little. "I'm glad you think so. I designed this form myself, after all."

Tren (also hi hope this is okay, druid party)

[actuallyawolf]

Ylva hesitates around the borders of the farm, a little, not quite sure what she's going to say or do when she introduces herself. It's one of those things she's never quite got the hang of. Does she hang around uselessly afterwards? Unsure.

But there's another druid, and that's kind of exciting, and also it's very important that she know what sort of person the other druid is if they're going to get along peaceably. Territory negotiations, of a sort.

She does watch the hoe-smacking for a moment as she approaches "Is that how you do it?" she asks, when she's close enough. It's an honest question. She doesn't know.

Druid party!!

[listenforbirdsong]

Finally, Mairi uses the question as her cue to give up, and hucks the hoe to the ground. "Ugh. No. It's really not. I think I suck at this?" With a sigh, she turns to her visitor. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I promise I'm usually a lot cooler when it comes to planting stuff."

[actuallyawolf]

"I mean, I know I'm no good at farming. I'm not going to tell you how to farm."

Ylva sighs, but she makes an attempt at a smile. It's a little awkward and has too many teeth, as her smiles tend to be when she's trying too hard. "You're Mairi, right? You're a druid? I had to come see you because, well, so am I."

Should she shake hands? The thought comes to her too late, and offering a hand after a pause seems weird, so she does not.

"I'm Ylva."