2024.11.06:Tumblestone/Text

Tumblestone - Lakeside(#13608R)

        This small lake lies nestled among towering trees, its tranquil surface reflecting the fiery colors of autumn in a mosaic of gold, orange, and crimson. Formed by the gentle damming of a nearby stream, the water rests calm and glassy, a natural mirror that amplifies the beauty of the surrounding forest. The dam itself is simple-a line of mossy stones and fallen branches carefully woven together, as if placed by a pair of patient hands. The water spills over the edge with a soft, endless murmur, feeding back into the stream below and filling the air with the soothing sound of a small waterfall. Leaves drift along the water's surface, gathering in little coves and bays at the edges where lily pads and cattails grow in quiet abundance.

        Around the lake, the forest holds its breath, watching over this quiet oasis with an almost reverent stillness. Sunlight filters down through the golden canopy, casting soft, shifting patterns across the water and illuminating the occasional fish darting beneath the surface. Near the shore, gnarled tree roots extend into the lake, their twisted shapes softened by blankets of green moss. Birds flit from branch to branch, their songs echoing across the water, blending with the gentle rush of the overflow. This place feels hidden, sacred, as if it were a favored resting spot for wandering spirits or a gathering place for forest creatures at dusk, a place untouched by time and woven seamlessly into the heart of the wild.

        +Views here.

Tyler stands just outside the greenhouse, one hand resting on his hip as he surveys the task ahead. The morning sun filters through the trees, casting dappled light over his sturdy boots and cargo shorts, which are already streaked with a little mud from previous days of work. A t-shirt fits comfortably, though a little rumpled from the earlier morning chill. He has one arm raised, wiping his forehead with the back of his wrist, his eyes focused on the clusters of dead plants and overgrown herbs that have taken over.

He leans into a stretch, hands on his lower back as he glances over at the lake nearby, taking in the peacefulness of his surroundings. With a small nod to himself, he bends down, grabbing a pair of gloves and a trowel from a nearby bucket, and prepares to dive into his project, mentally marking out which plants to salvage and where to start clearing.

        Things like fences, gates and other put up borders of percived territory are not exactly a thing Xiu adheres to. Especially not in the woods. During her prowls, she has tresspassed many a property. Many of them actually not abandoned. The primal witch is silent enough, and even venturing this far north into the woods is not something she shies away from. The woods are her hunting grounds and favorite environment, after all.
        So on this day, as her predatory shape carries itself between trees and the undergrowth near the lake - near a house she *thought* abandoned - the motion in the greenhouse over ther emakes her suddenly stop. Freeze. Eyes narrow as her little mental map of which places are and are not standing empty in the woods gets a little update.
        Time to 'meet' the neighbors.
        Silent steps carry her further through the green, as her eyes stay fixed on the figure on the other side of the lake, and...
        ...is that...Tyler?
        She freezes again, confused. Natural suspicion rises. What are the *odds*? But still. It's Prospect. She has been guided to 'interesting' places before, including Prospect itself.
        And so she begins a patient, silent and hidden circling of the lake. Working her way around. She is not the type to yell and wave from afar, and thus - quite a good amount of minutes later, she is approaching that greenhouse from the other side, eyes watching Tyler's activities...

Tyler is kneeling in the greenhouse, tugging at a particularly stubborn, shriveled-up root embedded deep in the soil. His gloves are thick with dirt already, and a few strands of his hair fall into his face as he leans in to get a better grip. He grunts as he pulls, and finally, the root gives way with a satisfying snap. Tossing it onto a growing pile, he pauses and looks around, pleased with the small bit of progress he's made.

Under his breath, he hums the tune of "Witches' Road," low and almost tuneless at first, then gradually picking up the rhythm and muttering the lyrics as they come to him: You say, "Circle sewn with fate...unlock thy hidden gate..."

The greenhouse, with its glass fogged slightly from the damp morning air, catches bits of sunlight filtering through the trees. The song echoes faintly in the otherwise quiet morning as he works, humming on autopilot, blissfully unaware of anything outside the glass walls. He doesn't notice the way the green beyond shifts slightly, or that somewhere out in the trees, eyes are watching."

        Slow steps carry Xiu closer, moving in a lowered posture. Her eyes wander over the outside of the house, then the greenhouse - before she circles it slowly, just to the entrnace. She hears that song, that humming, and moving ducked into the entrance she stops and crouches - her hands moving to place themselves onto the ground, arms going down between spread, raised knees. She watches Tyler there, for a longer moment, her head subtly canting.
        And then she lightly grins. Best *not* to give the guy a heart attack.
        So she withdraws, just as slowly. Just a couple yards. Outside the green house, out in the lawn, where she takes the same posture as before. And then lets out a soft, rhythmic whistle to get his attention.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Tyler rolls Willpower(7) (7 dice) vs 6 for 4 successes. 3 4 4 +7 +7 +9 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <OOC> Tyler does NOT yelp :)

        And should he turn, she looks...well. Normal! No extra arms. No horsetail or anything. The girl *is*, however..naked. Even here. Naked and her skin decorated, head to toe, with green tribal markings, lines and sort of sigils or runes. A bit of leather is on her, too - a leather sheath holding a blade of sorts, judging by the handle, strapped to her right thigh. A woven leather cord going diagonally around her torso, a leather satchel and some smaller leather pouches tied to it. All in all, a sight you might expect out in the amazon, but not in the woods of prospect. Yet there she is. Grinning.

<OOC> Xiu says, "Nah!" Tyler blinks, caught completely off guard by the sudden, soft whistle. He glances up, hands paused mid-movement in the soil, and turns toward the source of the sound. He squints, adjusting to the sunlight spilling in through the open greenhouse door, and then his eyebrows lift as he realizes who's standing there.

"Xiu??" he murmurs, half to himself, bewildered. For a moment, he's unsure if he's still dreaming or if the morning fog is playing tricks on him. But, no-she's there, clear as day. With her markings, leather gear, and comfortable lack of anything else, she looks like a force of nature that simply belongs here, as much as the trees or the lake itself.

He clears his throat, glancing aside for a beat before finally looking her in the eye. "Didn't expect to see you out here," he says, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I thought this place was remote, but I guess nothing's out of reach for you, huh?"

A bit self-conscious, he dusts the soil from his hands, feeling distinctly more civilized in his shorts and t-shirt than usual. He straightens up, shoving his gloves into a pocket. "You, uh? make yourself comfortable wherever you go," he observes, his tone a mix of admiration and curiosity. "What brings you all the way out to..." he smiles, "...my nook in the woods?"

        Xiu grins - and softly cackles at his bewilderment, the girl swaying a little left and right in her lower crouch, her hands playfully drumming on the grass and soil with their fingertips. Those braids of hers, with how exessively long they are, all positely are just draped all around the grass.
        "Oh, you should expect me out here." she murmurs. "Moreso than the city. I told you that I have a place to stay despite being 'homeless', didn't I?" She grins. So she meant...the woods?
        The girl pushes herself up from her crouch into a stand, and she streeeetches (And what a sight that is, in motion), before her posture relaxes and she slowly steps towards the greenhouse. "Oh, I was just on the prowl, so to speak." she remarks. And 'so to speak' is, in this case, exactly what it had been. She turns at the entrance, not quite entering yet, and instead gazes at the much larger building, her arms - the *two* she has now - crossing. "..is that the project you mentioned?"

Tyler watches Xiu as she moves with that fluid grace of hers, the long braids trailing behind her like serpents, and he can't help but smile despite the surprise. There's something both comforting and wild about her presence in the woods.

"Yeah," he chuckles, scratching the back of his neck as he glances over at the greenhouse. "This project? it's taken me about two to three weeks to get this far. I only just moved in this past weekend, though." His voice dips with a little more sincerity as he explains, a hint of something deeper in his words. "After my accident, I realized I needed to be around more life, you know? I thought that meant I'd need to be around more people, but?" He trails off, a light, almost wry smile crossing his face as he gestures to the surrounding forest, the greenhouse, and the peaceful quiet of the lake beyond.

"But that didn't work. People can be too? loud. Too much noise..." he points up to his temples and adds, "...up here, ya know? So I found this place, and it's been exactly what I needed. It's not just the solitude. It's the life here. The nature, the growth? it feels like I'm healing more just by being here. It's like this place is, I dunno, giving me a new kind of energy."

He turns back to look at her, the faintest hint of a grin still playing on his lips. "I don't know if that makes sense, but? yeah. This is the project. Clearing out the old stuff, getting this place back to life." He pauses, eyes flicking back to the greenhouse. "What about you, though? What draws you out this way, beyond just? prowling - or patrolling?"

        "....your accident?" Yes. Xiu still has not exactly heard any details of said accident. Or that such an accident happened. She eyes him for a moment, before a light grin reappears on her lips. "I love the woods." she remarks - probably to no surprise - and spreads her arms, inhaling deeply. "Fresh air. No sounds of honking and machinery and yelling people. No huge canyions of metal and stone. No. The circle of life, raw as it should be..."
        Well, that might have gone just slightly off the religious deep end. She lowers her arms again and smacks her lips. "It is a good place." she finishes her thoughts, whatever those are, in a simple manner. Her eyes find him again. "Though, I'm afraid that I certainly do not need a place to stay around here. Good for visits though." She winks, her smile turning into a smirk there for a moment, before she turns to fully face him again - and finally steps into that greenhouse. The space, in a way, might have gotten just a bit smaller with a second presence in there.
        "Nothing." she remarks. "That was pretty much what drew me here. Coincidence. I *thought* this place was abandoned, yet here you are.."
Tyler's expression softens as he catches the change in Xiu's tone, noting her curiosity. He runs a hand through his hair, almost absently, before he leans against the doorframe of the greenhouse, trying to keep the mood light but knowing he can't avoid it. Not with her probing like that. He exhales slowly and meets her eyes, the weight of the memory settling in.

"Yeah, my accident?" He pauses for a moment, the words sticking a bit more than he thought they would. "It was a car wreck. I was? pretty much dead. The EMTs pulled me back after 27 seconds-just under half a minute-but it wasn't really like that. It felt like 27 days. In the Shadowlands. I guess time moves differently there."

He looks down at the ground for a second, like he's choosing his next words carefully. "I don't really know how to explain it. Everything stopped. I was-dead-but not gone. It felt like I was stuck somewhere, outside of time. In a place where everything was wrong but familiar at the same time." His voice dips slightly, heavy with the strange gravity of his experience.

"And when I came back, it was like waking up from the longest nightmare you could ever imagine. Everything had changed. I didn't feel the same. I couldn't shake that feeling of-" He shakes his head, clearing his throat, as if to dismiss the feeling that lingers from that place. "So, yeah, the woods? This place? It helps me? reset. Get grounded. The sounds of the city, the noise, the people-it's just too much for me. It's like a constant buzz in my head, but out here?" He looks around, taking in the green, the trees, the hum of life that feels far less harsh. "It's more peaceful."

He finally looks back at Xiu, a small but genuine smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Anyway, that's my big dramatic story. Nothing quite like what you might get from the city folk, I guess." His voice lightens again, as though he's deflecting, trying to make it sound less heavy. "But enough about me. What about you? Sounds like you've got some stories yourself."

        Xiu's eyes subtly narrow at the description of the accident. Another mental note, taken. A candidate, not for her kind, but another. Interesting. Though her expression gains a certain curiosity - and perhaps a bit of surprise as she hears 'Shadowlands'. "You know that term?" she asks, blinking once. "..interesting. What you describe sounds a *bit* like what I read about them. Not quite. Perhaps a sort of limbo.." A light frown comes and goes. "But I understand why you *really* want to embrace life a bit more how."
        She is smiling again, and begins to actually take a look around the *greenhouse*, while she speaks her next words - her eyes busy taking in the details of the place. "Oh, I have many stories, Tyler. The question is, which stories do you want to know?" She tilts her head, peering over at him. "Even more importantly.." She nods sideways. "Need any help? I do not exactly shy away from physical labor."

Tyler watches Xiu's shifting expression closely, noting the subtle narrowing of her eyes and the flicker of surprise at his mention of the Shadowlands. He's not sure if she fully grasps the depth of what he's talking about, but something in her reaction tells him she at least understands it in some way. Her words echo in his mind, and he feels the weight of what she says. "Limbo... Yeah, that feels about right. It wasn't quite hell, but it wasn't quite peace either. Just... an in-between place, and no matter how much time passed out here, it felt like it was never going to end when I was there."

He watches her smile again, nodding slowly. "Yeah, this place, the woods, it's grounding. Helps me get some of that back." He falls silent for a moment, letting the peace of the space around them settle in. "I think I could use a hand," he admits. "I was thinking the previous owner probably wanted this to be a kitchen garden, you know, for herbs and vegetables. But there are some plants here I don't recognize. They're more like something you'd use for magic... witchcraft or alchemy. Maybe they got mixed up. There are some that look like they were harvested for their properties, not food."

He moves over to a few of the plants, gesturing vaguely toward them. "I'd like to clear out the dead ones, though. Start fresh." He hesitates, clearly trying to figure out how to phrase the next part. "I was thinking? maybe... we could make something else out of this space. Or out by the lake. Something symbolic. Like an altar to life or to the forest. You know, to honor the place, to keep it alive in a way, if that makes sense?"

He shifts his weight, feeling a bit awkward. This wasn't exactly his area of expertise, and he knows it, but something about the land here-since he moved in-has been calling to him. "I've been having these dreams, Xiu. Strange ones. Beautiful, but confusing. About the land. About life." He fidgets a little, pulling at the hem of his shirt. "Do you know anything about... a Horned God?"

        Xiu shifts her focus back to the plants, and she begins to slowly walk along the beds of soil. And then crouches, before inspecting some of the flora contained within. "No, certainly not plants for cooking. At least not most of them.." she murmurs, fingertips gliding over the green, turning a few leaves as she slowly shuffles her way sideways with light bounces of her rear, and crablike sideways steps. "The question is what *you* want to make of it. A kitchen garden sounds absolutely lovely." she says and lightly grins without looking at him. "I keep a good selection of fresh vegetables and herbs for that very reason.
        Whatever else a girl like her might keep. She still hasn't even told him what exactly she *is*, aside of 'weird Xiu'. And even that wasn't exactly her phrasing.
        And then she stops. Blinks. And turns her torso, one hand reaching behind her to place fingertips on the floor of the greenhouse, her eyes finding his. "Yes, I do."
        The way her *tone* was there just now, it's less of a simple statement. More...loaded.

"Yeah, a kitchen garden sounds practical and fun, right?" He scratches the back of his head, thinking about it. "I've always liked the idea of growing my own food. It'd be... grounding. Plus, it would feel good to use what I grow in a meal. But, I'm not sure I'm too familiar with witchcraft, or alchemy, yet. I've got some books on it, though, so I guess I'll learn as I go." His gaze wanders for a moment, considering the plants. "If I had to choose, I'd probably make it all about herbs and medicinal plants. Something practical and peaceful."

There's a subtle intensity in the way her voice changes when she says, "Yes, I do."Tyler raises an eyebrow, unsure of the weight behind her words, and he instinctively takes a half-step forward, his curiosity piqued. "You do?" he echoes softly, unsure what that means but feeling the shift in energy. There's a lot more to Xiu than he's figured out so far, and her cryptic responses only draw him in further.

Tyler glances over at the house, then looks back at her. "Speaking of which, I sketched out something I saw in one of the dreams. If you want to take a look, it's in the house. I'm not sure if it means anything, but..." He shrugs. "Maybe it'll make more sense to you than it does to me." He feels a little self-conscious about the idea of showing her his sketches-he's not much of an artist-but there's something compelling about sharing it with someone who might understand more of this world than he does.

        A soft, but short chuckle leaves Xiu, before she pushes herself onto her feet, straight, and turns towards him. She leans forward, slightly, peering upward at him given that she is shorter. "I know the horned god. I know many old gods.." she says as she steps towards him. "Gods old and obscure enough to not have any names in modern language. And I know the Horned God. Companion to the Goddess at the head of the pantheon. A Goddess with many names in many cultures. Laki. Nuwa. Aditi. Thetis. Mawu. Kali. Isis. Calleach. Tiamat." She softly inhales as she holds her gaze. "And the Horned God is her companion. Her mate." A wry grim moves her lips. "Naturally he only goes by names that his enemies gave him. Satan. Lucifer. It was easy for the christians to villify and demonize a horned, hooved, wild and lustful god. To drive away the old ways and make place for their own.."
Tyler listens carefully, captivated by Xiu's words. The way she speaks of the Horned God, the ancient deities, the interplay of names and myths, he can feel her deep connection to these forces-forces he doesn't fully understand yet, but is now becoming aware of. When she mentions the Horned God's connection to the Goddess, the power of the old gods, and the demonization by Christianity, a shiver runs through him. There's a depth to her words, a weight he can't ignore.

When Xiu finishes, Tyler hesitates for a moment, unsure how to respond. His mind flashes back to the dream he had-the figure with the horns of a stag, its animal legs, and the eerie stillness as it stood at the edge of the forest. His thoughts drift through the memories of that strange vision. "Yeah," he starts, voice low. "I saw a figure in my dream... it was like a man, but with the horns of a stag, and his legs weren't human-almost like a satyr, but not goat-like. It wasn't exactly what I expected when I heard about the Horned God." He chuckles, but it's a confused, uncertain sound. "He was just standing there, near the forest's edge. Watching me, I guess, to see how I'd react."

Tyler runs a hand through his hair, smiling a little, but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I wanted to go investigate, but then I heard shouting-men with torches and spears, chasing him, it seemed. And then I woke up. It was all so vivid, but... well, I just try to shake it off as just a dream, you know?" He shrugs, trying to dismiss the intensity of the vision, though part of him wonders if there's something more to it.

"Maybe it's just my mind making up stories, but I don't know... it felt real. Maybe it's nothing," he adds, his voice trailing off a bit as he looks away for a moment, lost in thought. Writing reality out to disk. Please wait... Reality saved. Thank you for your patience.

        Xiu's posture straighens again, slowly, her eyes fixed on Tyler while she listens. Idly, one of her hands brushes through some of her braids and she...nods. Smiling in a subtle smirk. "Hmh. Perhaps coincidence. Your description is vague. Perhaps it *was* a satyr or faun of sorts. The Horned God certainly would not *run* from people witch pitchforks and torches." She lifts her chin a bit. "But on the other hand, dreams and visions more often have a symbolic meaning more than cold logic." With a braid wrapped around one of her fingers still she leans forward a bit. "Follow him, next time. In your dreams. Follow him before the villagers reach him. Perhaps you will gain more insight..."
        The girl definitely is not a *dabbler* in mysticism. If anything, she could have been until he saw her, yesterday, changed and strange and casual about the same.
Tyler listens to Xiu's suggestion, his brow furrowing slightly as he processes the idea of following the figure in his dreams next time. He'd never really thought about the possibility of doing something more intentional during a dream before. But given everything that's been happening lately, all the strange encounters, the pull of the forest, and the odd sensations in his own life... he's not sure what's real anymore anyway.

He shrugs, his voice a bit uncertain but still willing to entertain the idea. "Yeah, I mean, can't hurt to try something new in a dream, right?" He lets out a soft laugh, though it sounds more weary than amused. "With everything that's been going on lately, I'm not sure what's real anymore, honestly." He looks down at the ground for a moment, his eyes unfocused, as if trying to make sense of everything. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I can figure out what it means if I follow him. I'll give it a shot next time."

Looking through the glass of the greenhouse out towards the lake he asks the 'local expert', "Anything interesting about these woods you could tell me? The vibe on this place is friggen off the chart - but I just figured that it's all this life around here. Never felt such energy before."