Eddie might be the chicken man, but at least this isn't Philly... [OPEN]

[batteryacid]

Who: Eddie Kaspbrak (batteryacid) & Anyone who'd like a chicken.
and of course Angel (graveling) is probably on the farm as well
What: more about the chickens
When: Mid-March
Where: Kaspbrak Farm
Warning(s): There may be some discussion of chickens as food, but it will be serious. Eddie intends most of these chickens as egg-layers or companion animals, but other fates may come up.

The chicks who remain at the farm unclaimed, all about a month old by now, are milling around in the open 'yard' area around the chicken coop. At the moment, they are all about five to seven inches tall... not quite the little yellow floofs they used to be, as the down is gradually replaced by normal feathers.

The girls are Abby, Calla, Dena, Fay, Ida, Katy, and Leah. The boys are Art, Chuck, Dave, Ernest, Frank, Grant, and Huck. (I give you this information so you can more easily refer to the animals in threads going forward. The names are meant to be temporary, so you can talk about changing them once you've claimed one or decided to take it home.)

As he said before, the female chickens won't be ready to lay eggs until they are four months old -- which will be in May. So Eddie is perfectly fine with caring for the chickens until then. But his gate is always open for friends, and friends may want to claim their chickens beforehand to bond with them.

Especially if someone decides to take one of the baby roosters on as a therapy animal or pet. (Or alarm clock, maybe!) Since there's really no timeline on when the boys will be useful, unless breeding is the goal. And if it is, maybe trading one of the boys for an unrelated rooster would be a smart plan.

Either way, Eddie is still expecting to hear from Sam Porter, Mairi Miann, and Arthur Morgan about how many chickens they'd like. They could just send word, and Eddie will take note to send the birds along in May, but a visit would be welcome! At least to figure out which of the flock gets along with each person.

You may find Eddie scattering some feed for the chicks, carrying a bucket of fresh water to fill their various drinking dishes, running Kit the collie through his paces on herding the chicks, or just leaning against a fence post and watching the flock.

You're welcome to join him, or go right for the fluffy widdle babbys.

Comments

[decohere]

She vanishes, seemingly, at being called out. And then reappears next to him a short moment later, the air flickering around her like a tv station trying to properly tune in.

"They're funny looking," Ava points out with some amusement. Stuck in that awkward inbetween stage.

[batteryacid]

"Heh. They are, yeah. Got regular feathers coming in, but still a lot of baby fuzz." Eddie offers, "Would you like to pet one? Calla is very calm, and I could pick her up for you."

[decohere]

Her face immediately lights up at the offer, an eager nod. She's never gotten to play much with animals. But her nervousness comes from an entirely different issue. "Ah... can you. Put your hands under mine, in case I drop her?"

[batteryacid]

The request mystifies him for a moment, but that vanishing... he smiles nonetheless and nods. "Sure, of course."

Eddie walks over to the chicks, who swarm around his feet and demand pats for a while, until he extracts Calla by picking her up with both hands. She gives a curious cluck and looks around from her new higher vantage point, then nuzzles at Eddie's chest when he brings her in close.

Eddie transfers Calla to the palm of one hand and walks back to Ava. "Here, hold out your hand, and she'll hop right in. I'll move my hands when she jumps."

And Calla does indeed hop toward Ava's open hand once she mimics the gesture. Eddie does just as Ava asked, as well.

[decohere]

Ava watches his handling of the chick attentively. How the little creature behaves and responds to the movements. And so when it's offered to her, she holds out both hands in concentration, solid and stable.

"Here, chicky chicky..." and she waits for Calla to hop over.

[batteryacid]

"Peep!" Calla 'replies' before hopping into Ava's hands.

Eddie moves his hands when the chick hops, smiling indulgently when Calla puts a foot on Ava's wrist and looks up at her curiously.

"Eep peep!"

"She likes having the top of her head rubbed," Eddie comments. "If you even lift one of your hands near, she'll probably nuzzle it."

[decohere]

Ava earnestly nods at the instruction, and very gently moves her other hand cupped above the chick's head, looking between Eddie and Calla for approval until it comes in the form of the promised nuzzles.

"Aw... her feathers are softer than the sort I'm used to."

[batteryacid]

[[ OOC: Sorry for the delay! Sometimes Eddie's voice slips away from me. ]]

"She's still a baby, so that's why she's so soft. But even when she grows up, she'll have soft under-feathers." Eddie smiles. "If you want to hang around, it's good for them to get used to people."

[decohere]

"If you don't mind, I'll try not to get too much in the way," Ava accepts, still gently stroking and patting the chick.

"I have a farm, but admittedly I don't know all that much of what I'm doing."

[batteryacid]

"I don't mind at all. I like meeting new neighbors."

Eddie nods at her 'confession', and says, "The farming community knows the importance of helping each other. The locals were a big help in getting me set up, when I showed up here in autumn. And Greymare Library is a good resource. I picked up almost all my farming know-how by reading a bunch of their books."

He gives a grin, just a touch nervous, after admitting that.

[decohere]

"Ah, I'll have to check it out. I'm used to... a library full of only fictional works. Forgot they could have useful things too," she grins in return, not quite sure of the source of the nervous hint, but trying to ease it anyway.

[batteryacid]

There could be a case made that learning out of books does not a farmer make. Eddie cultivated a take-charge streak in himself, thanks to business, but maybe people don't want to be 'bossed around' by someone with limited experience.

People have been nice so far, but Eddie is still on guard for a call-out. Hence the nerves.

But her friendly smile does make him feel better at the moment. "I'm Eddie, by the way. And, no offense, but a library without reference materials sounds weird."

[decohere]

Most of what Ava knows on most subjects comes out of books rather than practical experience, she's hardly in the position to criticize.

"Mrs. Ava Starr," she introduces fully, letting the chick nip a bit at one of her pigtails. "And it was weird, yes. But the place operated purely on... mn, chaos magic. Ideas and instincts and feelings. Rather than natural law. Nothing could grow there, nor even spoil. Everything was just stagnant. Sterile. So the opportunity to actually... touch life again..."

[batteryacid]

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Starr. I spoke to your husband about the orchard you two are planning -- as I said to him, don't hesitate to reach out any time you need help."

Calla cuddles Ava, perhaps sensing her distress in remembering the sterile before place, even if the little chicken doesn't know the cause.

Eddie nods thoughtfully. "I wasn't much for growing things before I came here, but now... I can't imagine being in a world that didn't have plants and animals. I'm glad that all of you are free of that now, even if we're not exactly 'free and clear' of trouble on the island."

[decohere]

"He might have mentioned it," Ava confirms, perhaps a bit distracted still playing with Calla but spares a small smile.

"What sorts of troubles? I'm afraid I... really don't know much about this place."

[batteryacid]

"Well, there's the Pine Devil. It lurks in the woods at night and it tries to eat people. Tried to eat me once, but I got rescued." (That's the reason that Eddie won't go out to check his traps if the sun is already setting.) "It kind of looks like a deer, but with carnivore teeth. It's bipedal and has wings."

Eddie sighs. He paces himself as he speaks, simply because there's a lot of information to convey:

"The locals of Pumpkin Hollow have basically been the playthings for a group of demons, going on five years before any of us outsiders started showing up. The king of demons and his three sons are the big ones, but there are minor demons, monsters, ghosts... basically anything they can throw at us to make trouble.

"Every month or two, they make a big move... and we have to deal with that while trying to figure out how to bring down the barrier that surrounds the island so that people can go free."

The little chicks continue to mill around and play, heedless of the heavy topic of conversation. Elsewhere on the farm, one of the hired hands is humming to himself as he builds a crate, faintly audible to Eddie and Ava. And the two horses can be heard running around in the pasture. Life goes on, despite everything.

[decohere]

"Out in the woods..." Ava frowns, because she's wandered through them plenty of times alone at night, oblivious that anything else was lurking. But usually under the cover of her invisibility. She shivers slightly, taking the chick intangible with her almost protectively. She doesn't want to fall prey to something.

The talk of demons also makes her more nervous, uncertain. "I'll try to stay out of their way, then," she promises. "I'm not wanting any trouble. I got too involved with these sorts of things before, and it didn't go well." She only made things worse. Sticking to her farm, there's no danger of that, is there.

[batteryacid]

"I'm with you there, on the not wanting trouble front. But at least you know about the risks now, which is better than not knowing."

[decohere]

"Other people are handling it...?"

[batteryacid]

"Handling..? Oh, like... opposing the demons and trying to solve the mystery? Yes." Eddie hunches his shoulders briefly -- less of a shrug, more of a defensive posture, as if anticipating a negative response to what he says next:

"I don't really feel like I'm qualified to do that stuff. I'm not powerful, and I certainly don't feel clever enough for the big issues. But... someone has to take care of the little things. Making sure we have food, maintaining good relations with the locals, you know? So... that's how I try to help. And maybe it's not enough but it's something."

So it's okay if Ava would rather not handle it. She can be a support, like Eddie tries to be. Front line fighters need a support staff, after all. That's just good tactics.

[decohere]

"Ah," she says softly, nods in agreement. She doesn't blame anyone for feeling incapable of taking on such a fight directly. Against demons, of all things. But he's right. Support roles are vital in maintaining everyday living conditions, and she's happy to slide as far back into the background as possible.

"Not any good at that sort of thing either. It's better to recognize our limitations, rather than... getting involved and making things worse." Trying to help, she's found out the hard way, turns out to rarely be helpful at all.

"Demons are way out of my depth. I'll stick to apples." Another snuggle of the chick.

[batteryacid]

"I'm decent against things that can be hit with a big stick. Demons usually laugh at that kind of offense, though." Eddie smiles wryly.

The wryness fades away and his smile is more genuine upon watching the gentle way that Ava handles Calla.

"We're incubating a new batch of eggs, too. Whenever they start hatching, how about I give you a heads up? So you can meet the new babies, too."

[decohere]

"Not really one for weapons," Ava says honestly, even if it is a bit deliberately misleading. She's used to using her bare hands to take things down. But demons? No amount of phasing would make her feel safe against crossing one.

Ava perks up at the mention of new chicks on the way. "Yes, I'd like that a lot. Can I watch them hatch?"

[batteryacid]

"We've got a bit more experience anticipating when the hatchings will happen. So I think I'll be able to know when to call you so you don't miss it." Eddie grins.

[decohere]

"Oh, please," Ava so very desperately hopes it won't be on one of the days she's dying. She really wants something nice to look forward to.

"Have a couple chickens that came with our farm, but don't think those eggs will be hatching into anything..."