historicals | pc catchall | turboheaven

[ skill: being beloved by birds ]

Oh! Good day, Laurence....! [ taair says where he is currently being groomed by a seagull. this is normal, apparently? maybe? maybe a little. ] I think so. They're quite friendly! Perhaps they just were hoping for a bit of food.

[ one of the seagulls squawks happily in laurence's direction. food? ] Are you out for training?

I thought wild animals were supposed to be dangerous. [ ?????

he does not have any food leave him alone. ]

Nothing that special. Just a jog.

Are they...? Well, I suppose wolves and the like certainly are. I don't think this type of bird is usually this friendly, but... they don't mean any harm.

[ he finally reaches up and manages to remove the seagull from his head, setting it down in his lap, instead, where it seems to accept its new fate. ]

And still! It must be nice to do so with a change of scenery. I'd offer to join, though I don't think I could keep up for long.... [ he could keep up for about five minutes and is blatantly aware of it - he's clearly joking on himself. ] ...and I'd hate to interrupt, but if you want to take a break, you should come enjoy the view with me for a bit.

If you say so. [ ... ] I've never seen birds like this up close.

[ is this, like, allowed ]

It's... different. [ running somewhere new. ] I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

[ anyway he'll come join taair... but he's still eyeing the birds. ]

I don't mind. Do they have places like this Iria? Or... the Papal States, I guess.

[ probably hasn't gotten that far in the book yet ]

Oh! Well... here.

[ the bird in his lap is just vibing, so he gently shooes away the one on his shoulder, and turns his body a bit towards laurence. forget about the rest for now. ]

No better time than the present, right? [ that is a bit curious - laurence's reaction - but he keeps it to himself for now, instead keeping his voice soft, gentle as he strokes a fingertip over the top of the seagull's head. ] Birds are very intelligent creatures, and the smaller ones are more likely to be very low on the food chain. Because of that, they can be a bit skittish, or even reclusive, mostly because they're trying to protect themselves.

But... with patience and gentleness - and respect, of course - you can find that they are excellent company. [ the seagull in his lap cooes a little, clearly very content. sometimes you are just a friend to birds. ] If you hold out your hand to him and let him get a sense for you, I imagine you could befriend him today.

[ oh time for school

laurence looks... doubtful. but to his credit, he does listen, nodding. ]

We have to study the food chain in biology class. [ he's familiar. ] Why bother befriending them, though? We're only going to be here for eight weeks, anyway, and then we'll never see them again. They won't even remember us.

[ they're just birds ]

Does that make the act of befriending them matter less in the moment?

[ it's not a judging question - just gentle and patient, head tilting slightly to the side as he pets the little bird. ]

I don't know...? Just seems pointless if they won't even remember.

It's not like I would have gone out of my way to hurt them, either.

I don't think I'm a particularly memorable person.

[ he says, thoughtfully - petting the bird still. no judgement of himself, this time, just sort of an objective fact. or. well. at least a fact in his opinion. ]

And... the interactions I have had with others are fleeting at best. But, while those interactions may not have been long, and likely barely made a dent in another person's mind - to me, they mean quite a bit. So I treasure them for that.

We don't always know what the perspective of others may be - be they a human being, or be they someone or something else entirely. So... I don't think it hurts, to enjoy those fleeting moments for a little while. Perhaps if they don't stick with them, it will stick with you, mm?

Why would you say that?

[ he's pretty weird. would be hard to forget him, in laurence's opinion. ]

I guess it's not hurting anything. [ with the tone of someone who's not really convinced it's worth the time. not his circus, though. ] But I've never really been interested in things like this. It's not like there aren't any birds in the Tower.

Ah - well, it's more so brevity than it is anything else...

[ but that hardly matters too much right now - something else laurence says catches his attention, and he smiles a little, resuming to petting his little buddy. ]

That's the second time now you've mentioned the Tower. Towers typically tend to have quite a few birds...

What you said before about "fleeting interactions" could go both ways, you know.

There are birds. Outside the Tower.

[ duh? ]

[ ah. he was... afraid of that. ]

...Will you tell me a bit about it?

Uh, well... It's a safe place for demiflora like me, one of the only places like that in the world, as far as I know. Spawncampers can't get in - those are people who hunt us for our powers and body parts - so as long as we don't use our powers, we can actually live normal lives there.

But we don't leave, and people only go in or out if they're cleared to. Birds or other animals don't really count.

[ he thinks they're still on that ]

[ a ]

Wait - wait, hold on, my dear friend, I think you've lost me. A bit of context, first. You said that you are a demiflora, and you've powers...?

Oh... Sorry. [ backtracking... ] Demiflora are just people with supernatural abilities. Some people here said it's like magic? Which... I don't know if it's really the same.

My power's teleportation, though. I can open portals and go to other places instantly, as long as I know where I'm going.

[ drift aura... ]

Teleportation... [ the first impulse is to say how amazing that is, but the context of laurence's story cuts some of that joy down - if only because it sounds dangerous, too. to live in a tower by choice, to be unable to explore the outside world despite having every tool in your arsenal to do so... that's difficult. ]

Goodness. [ taair says, softly. ] Are there many of you that live there?

[ 🧍‍♂️ ]

A lot. I don't know the exact number, but it's definitely in the thousands at least.

Oh.

[ there's like a weird moment of relief? and then he shakes his head to clear it. ]

...Those "spawn campers"...how awful that must be - how very terrifying, for you and yours. Still... safety can be just as much of a cage as danger, can't it?

A cage...? I never thought of it that way. If it's safe, that's all that matters, isn't it?

...Perhaps so.

[ a slight crook of a smile, a little enigmatic, but. moving on! ]

It must be an incredibly vibrant community. Are the powers that you have - are they similar across members of the demiflora? Or do they vary?

[ there's a vaguely curious, mostly confused look at that. ]

Demiflora powers are different based on species. So any Daphne demiflora like me could teleport, but a Lily or a Narcissus would never be able to on their own. And I wouldn't be able to hypnotize someone like a Lily - not that I'd want to, even if I could.

[ it's creepy. ]

[ i will keep my secrets

anyway he does a little !!! ] Oh - demiflora! That makes perfect sense...! [ FLOWERS ]

A Daphne, a Lily... there's not a Convallaria, is there?

...I don't know. Maybe. I'm not an expert on demiflora; I mostly just know about the species of people I know in the Tower.

[ laurence, named after laurels in a world where all things are flowers, is also not a flower expert. convallaria flowers and demiflora could be out there. ]

Is that your favorite flower or something?

It's a flower that is native to Iria, and the center of a very important festival - it's also the name of a town, and the mercenary group that protects it. So... a dear flower, indeed.

[ something something player character group

the easy warmth returns as he brings it up, hand to his heart briefly, but!! nerdy excitement wins. ] Tell me a bit more about the people you know. Are there many Daphne like yourself?

pc catchall | turboheaven | laurence

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)