sugar berry

[imeanforever]

Near a stream that pours off a high cliff and then snakes away is a garden, carefully tended, and a house, built of wood and stone and transmuted pearl. Fairies weed the plants. One is fixing the roof. A berrybush, hair atangle with spidery branches, is painting gold stripes onto her purple arms.

Comments

[imeanforever]

"I. I still remember where to find food around here."

[infinitely_stranger]

Arcane shrugs. "Then would you like to pack up and travel to that forest?"

[imeanforever]

Nod. Nod.

[infinitely_stranger]

"We can do that, then."

[imeanforever]

Nod nod. "I'll - I'll be a few hours finding - I need a bag -" She ducks into her tree. She comes out with a bag, somewhat dusty. "I'll take a while to find enough for two for fifteen days but I will."

[infinitely_stranger]

"For one for fifteen days," Arcane corrects. "Sky-veils can subsist indefinitely on natural light and rainwater. I only need to eat if I spend a lot of time indoors."

[imeanforever]

"Okay. It will still - I'll be back soon." She smiles weakly and then flies off into the woods.

[infinitely_stranger]

Arcane hovers just above her tree and pays attention to his surroundings. The current harmonics of the area are very aesthetically pleasing. There is still no one around but Promise.

[imeanforever]

Promise is back in two hours with her bag full of fruit and nuts and chewy leaves. She appears very relieved to find Arcane still there.

[infinitely_stranger]

"Hello."

[imeanforever]

"Hello." She seems to have perked up, probably from having eaten some of her food.

[infinitely_stranger]

"All set?" He holds out his hand.

[imeanforever]

"All set." She takes the offered hand with much less shaking this time.

[infinitely_stranger]

Arcane takes them up high in the sky and zooms toward the Sapphire and Emerald Seas.

He is not very talkative.

Landscapes pass under them.

[imeanforever]

Promise does not require that he talk.

She reaches into her bag with her free hand every now and then and eats things. She stashes their seeds back in the bag when they're denuded of edibles.

[infinitely_stranger]

The landscapes passing under them are very pretty. And going by very fast.

They approach an area where it is raining. Arcane flies just under the clouds and drinks rain which he sorcerously funnels to his mouth; the bubble of air remains otherwise pleasantly dry.

"Do you want a drink?" he asks.

[imeanforever]

"Yes please."

[infinitely_stranger]

The rain-funnel redirects to Promise. It is tidy and conveniently slurpable.

[imeanforever]

Slurp.

"Thank you."

[infinitely_stranger]

"You're welcome."

They zoom out from under the rainclouds. The rain-funnel's supply dries up. Zoom, zoom.

[imeanforever]

This is actually pretty boring after a while but Promise is definitely not complaining.

[infinitely_stranger]

And Arcane does not appear to get bored. He watches the ground and doesn't say anything.

[imeanforever]

Promise is not going to bother her benefactor. If he wants quiet travel he may have quiet travel.

[infinitely_stranger]

An hour or so past the rainstorm, it occurs to him to ask,

"Would you rather settle in a part of the forest with more complex harmonics, or less?"

[imeanforever]

"...You know the place that well?"