voice; @elena » open

[otrazhenie]

Has anyone found a way to burn things yet?

[ The voice that comes over the network is clearly exhausted, an almost husky rasp to the words that are slightly muffled, as if her mouth might be covered by a layer of fabric. ]

Because I'd love to get rid of these damn flowers and burning them sounds really cathartic right now.

[ She sounds weary, frustrated, and a little bit sick. And for good reason: one of the perks of being a vampire is an enhanced sense of smell. ]

Alternatively, are there any magic users out there who could set up a ward or something to keep this smell out?

Comments

@riku; voice

[equinoctials]

[ So he's not the only one smelling that awful reek? Thank goodness, Riku's not sure he wants to know what's so dark that it smelled like the waste pit at the back of the butcher's. On the other hand, sounds like she's really having a hard time with it.

He blames location. Down by the lake, there's a lot more movement of wind off the water, not coming up from the forest, so it's a little more bearable - and a lot more cold. ]

Flowers? That's what stinks?

[otrazhenie]

[ Right, probably not everyone is dumb enough to get close enough to the things to get a good look at them. ]

I went out to look when the smell woke me up yesterday. They're called carrion flowers — they smell like that to attract certain types of insects. They don't usually just appear out of nowhere like this, though.

[ What, she paid attention in her biology class. ]

[equinoctials]

[ Of all the things that would pop up for seemingly no reason... ]

Just when all the bugs came back.

[ If there was something to that they could use to, he doesn't know, maybe get the garden growing quicker? Solve their supply shortage issues? Riku might devote more attention to it, but ugh. Without that incentive, the stink isn't worth the trouble. ]

To answer your other question, I don't. Sorry. It's not as bad down by the lake.

[ Give it time, Riku. ]

[otrazhenie]

Well, I guess I can escape to the lake if things get worse over here, then. At least there's that.

[ She sighs heavily against the tablet. ]

Are you doing okay? After the ferry, and now this...

[equinoctials]

[ He finds himself echoing her sigh, quietly. ]

Yeah. I wasn't hurt, what about you?

[otrazhenie]

Some bruises and a cut, but it's already healing.

[ She's not going to tell him she was stabbed by a giant splinter that could have killed her if it had gone higher than her leg. There are some things that other people just don't need to know, especially after the fact when there's nothing to be done for it. ]

[equinoctials]

Do you want me to help?

[ There are probably others who could also use the healing, except if any of them really needed or wanted help, they would have said something by now. Most of the really urgent stuff had to be taken care of right there on the shore. ]

My magic's pretty useless with the more life-threatening stuff. What you've got shouldn't be a problem, Elena.

[otrazhenie]

I—

[ The offer takes her by surprise despite the fact that it shouldn't. She's seen that Riku is a good person; even with their brief interactions, that has been perfectly clear. So, of course he would offer to help in whatever way he can. ]

Thank you for offer, it means a lot to me. But I'm okay. I need to see how long it takes to heal on its own.

[equinoctials]

Understood. It's good to see where your limits are.

[ Elena seems like someone who's been through a lot, it doesn't make feel any better about the fact she might be hurting for the lesson, but he can understand her reasoning and respect her decision. ]

If you need anything, reach out, okay?

[otrazhenie]

I will, thanks. You too, okay? If you need anything.

[ Because he seems far too much like herself and unlikely to do things for his own benefit. It's just an impression, a simple guess, but she's going to run with it he proves her wrong. ]