The Increasingly More Explored Woodlands, Monday

[witchoftheflesh]

The past few days of socialization had been fun, but Adrian was glad to get back to work on creating his grove. There was only one last thing to take care of before he could create a heart tree, and that was getting rid of whatever the weird, magical effect was that littered the topsoil. Yesterday had been spent verifying that that spell wasn't hurting the earth at all and that removing it would not either, and so today, he and Boston were going to get rid of it entirely.

It wasn't easy work; a mixture of a purification ritual and a nullification spell, mixed together in exactly the right amount so neither the purification nor nullification could go overboard and start affecting anything else in the woodland. Ironically, this was something that would be much easier to do if his grove had already been established - Blackwoods were excellent at removing things that were unwanted and the demarcation between 'mine' and 'not mine' were very clear - but Adrian didn't want to risk anything interfering with the creation of the heart tree. It wasn't like he had a second one just hanging around.

What happened next probably didn't look much like magic to anyone expecting a lot of handwaving and chanting in foreign languages. That was the province of sorcerers and you could tell Adrian wasn't one of those by the fact he had self-respect. Honestly, it looked a lot like yardwork when you got down to it; there was a lot of digging, and holding up handfuls of soil before letting it trickle out of his hands and back down to the ground, and stomping down circles of different sizes into the ground below. Whole armfuls from different parts of his property got scooped up and carried into the pit he'd dug, as well as different bits of bark and rocks and bits of plants, and then he was laying firewood in another one of the holes he'd dug and, once the fire had properly caught, lugged out a medium-sized cauldron from his house, filling it with jugs of water he'd sourced from both the nearby lake and also the onsen. This was his secondary cauldron; the first one too big to be moved easily from his fireplace inside the house. This, he filled with various herbs, flowers, and, most importantly, a mushroom the size of his chest, cradled in a mat of its own mycelium, from his glass-in greenhouse patio. While he did start muttering then, it was him going over the instructions step-by-step. Not the most dignified, but he wasn't about to let ego cause him to misstep in his work.

Forty minutes later the bubbling mixture was ready and he lifted the cauldron up off the fire and dumped the contents into the pit, then went and shoveled the coals and ask into the pit as well - Boston's idea, since charcoal was also a purifier. He took out a knife and a moment later blood welled and was flicked into the pit as well, spattering over the greenery within, and as he did, he sent a silent message into the woods. Great forest, hear me. There is something here, some magic within that is not of your woods. I would remove it from you, negate it and purify, and leave you be once more.

A breeze came from nowhere, cool and refreshing against his sweating skin, redolent with the scent of pine and oak and birch. Adrian smiled at that and snapped his fingers; the sound far louder than it should have been and echoing over the whole of the territory he'd claimed for himself. It was followed by a whumph more felt than heard and the entire contents of the pit burst into flames that burned a brilliant, dazzling white.

"Well done!" Boston called from the porch, away the the fire's heat. "It feels like the bulk of that spell is gone and the rest is fading as the mycelial network chases it below the surface. Let the fire burn itself out, it should all be gone by then."

"Great," Adrian said. "Will do." And then sat down heavily in place and resolved not to move for a good five minutes.

Working magic could take a lot out of a witch.

[Open!]

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[mylandmyrules]

Something was happening in the woods. Something. Near where she'd felt that... whatever it was happen before. She kicked herself for not making time to check on it over the weekend, but she'd gotten busy with the bees and harvesting here and on Soulwood Saturday and time had just slipped away from her.

But now... things were being moved and worked on and disturbed and Nell closed up the shop and headed out that way at an easy run. Time to see what was happening in the woods of her new home.

She was close, just approaching the area where whatever it was was going on, when she felt the blood fall onto the land and the bloodlust came roaring up into her. She could take this life, feed it to the earth as the earth wanted, demanded, send all that life energy into it and grow it another hundred years old and stronger.

And then all of her Soulwood connection was washed away and that loss made it even harder to fight the bloodlust. She could feed the life to the earth and take the land so deeply that it would be hers forever and connected through time and space to Soulwood. And she wanted to so badly that it almost brought her to her knees.

She forced it down, hardly able to catch her breath as she fought it, and burst into the clearing, skirts tangling around her legs as she ran, roaring, "What in the name of all that's holy are you'un doing!"

[witchoftheflesh]

"Excuse me?" Adrian asked, still sitting spraddle-legged on the ground enjoying the bonfire. He looked almost comically startled, but then, nobody really expected a complete stranger to run into their yard yelling at them.

Wait, did they? It didn't happen in the Blackwood that often, but...

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Maybe there was an emergency somewhere? That possibility had him scrambling to his feet. "Can I offer you some assistance?"

[mylandmyrules]

"Can you'un please," she tried to catch her breath, fighting against the land, "Please, please, can you go on your porch? Get off the land. Please. Just long enough for me to... catch my breath." Sure, that would work for the moment.

"Then we can talk?"

And he could tell her what the heck he was doing to the woods.

[witchoftheflesh]

Getting rid of some really weird magic was what. And, if he'd known this was related to that, he'd already be doubly certain he was doing the right thing.

"I'm sorry, what?" Adrian said, brows furrowing.

"Adrian, come up to the porch," Boston said, his hackles raised as he stared at the strange woman with unblinking yellow-green eyes. His fur was twice the size as normal and that had Adrian heading to the porch with alacrity.

"What is it?" he asked his cat in an undertone.

"I don't know yet," Boston replied. "But it's hungry."

[mylandmyrules]

As soon as his feet were off the land the bloodlust subsided and Nell sank to the ground, exhausted. "Thank you," she said, a bit muffled because she'd covered her head with her arms as she went down.

She took another minute to compose herself and catch her breath before she looked up again and managed a wan smile. "Sorry about that. I don't usually run in and yell at people I've never met before. I'm Nell Ingram. I run the flower shop and Plant Parenthood back in town and I don't know what you'un just did, but it hurt"

Well, less hurt than a sort of nasty psychic shock to suddenly have that deep connection severed.

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian started forward to offer his help, but a yowl from Boston had him standing still. There was a moment of intense, silent communication between the two of them - nothing fancy like telepathy, just born from having known one another for so long - and Adrian sighed, but remained where he was.

"So, you're the one who put the spy dirt everywhere through the woods," he surmised. "If I get you a glass of water and put it on the ground, you gonna be cool about it?"

Boston growled his displeasure but didn't otherwise protest the offer.

[mylandmyrules]

"Spy dirt!?" Nell said, eyes going wide and ready to be angry again. "I didn't -!"

She stopped, her brain catching up to her emotions, and took a deep breath. "All right. I see what you're thinking there. But it's not to spy on people," she said trying to speak clearly and calmly. "It's soil from back home. From my Soulwood. It let me make a connection to the land here. And yes, if I look I can tell what's moving on the land - birds and animals and such. People too."

She wasn't going to discuss just how much she could sense if she put her mind to it. Nor was she going to tell him that even without it she could commune just as deeply if she sat and put her feet and hands on the ground. Some things strangers just didn't need to know.

"I felt when you - well, it must have been when you put this house here," she said, taking it in for the first time. "Very pretty. I planned to come out here some time this week and see what had happened. I should have. Maybe it would have prevented this..." Whatever it was. A wicked pounding headache at least.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just... it hurt." What an understatement. "And then when you'un got blood on the land... well the land... it wanted me to - I could have... it could have been bad. Now that I'm calm it's okay, though. I won't hurt you'un even if you set foot on the land again. And yes, a glass of water would be mighty fine if'n you have one to spare."

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian and his cat exchanged another long glance and Adrian went into his house, carefully closing the door behind him. He returned a minute or so later, wearing a clean shirt, his long black coat, his witch's hat, and a necklace in an old-fashioned setting. He carried a handblown glass of water cold enough to cause condensation to form. He descended the stairs and placed the glass on a flat rock about three or four feet away from his porch and then walked back up to his previous spot, backwards, never taking his eyes off of her.

Boston's hackles were slowly lowering, but he, too, kept a steady and unblinking stare going at Nell.

"Please, drink up," he said. "You look like you could use it." He waited for the woman - Nell - to take the water or not before continuing. "Please let me make sure I'm following. You put down wild, nonnative soil that is magically connected to you in places where you don't live or do not own. Basically all around the island, at least in the wooded places, am I right?" he asked, voice calm and conversational, though his eyebrow was raised. "Through this connection, you have at least a vague idea of what's happening on it." He was guessing a lot more than a vague sense, just from what he knew of magic, but he was offering her the courtesy of not clarifying that further. "And when somebody bleeds on the land, it awakens a kind of hunger in you that can lead to violence - enough violence that you needed me to get off my land--" the lightest emphasis there "--and onto my porch so you would not harm me until you could get yourself back under control. Do I have all that correct?" He looked around; in the direction of Ahsoka's shack, towards the creepy mansion with the uncomfortable vibes, and then towards the preserve with its own, deep magics and secrets.

"Did you tell people you were doing this? I mean, I know this island has a deeply permissible view of ownership--" not a complaint, he had benefited nicely from it "--but even as a warning?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell managed to get up and take the glass, admiring the workmanship as she took a sip. But the cup went right back down sharply when he started talking. Oh no, he was not!

"First of all I do live here on this island and nobody owns this land. I didn't put soil anywhere that people lived," Nell said firmly, hands on her hips and a set expression on her face. "Did I tell people I was putting soil on the earth deep in the woods? No, I did not. Why would I? Think them deer and such are going to complain that I might know of their comings or goings or if a plant might need an extra dose of water or healing? And if I happened to know someone was walking through the woods, what of it? Most anybody would hear about that on the radio next day anyway. I don't misuse the gift I've been given."

She glared at him. "Did you ask before you started tramping aorund putting up a house in the middle of woods that aren't your'un? Got you'un a little paper from thr government saying you can slap up some house here in the woods? Don't think you do. But that's not any of my nevermind.

"As for the other, only time it rises up in me is if I've been hurt or threatened and then someone gets blood on the land - and I don't feel the need to warn anybody who's trying to hurt me 'bout it, though I still try to hold it on back. You may not have meant to hurt me, but you did. Bad. Did you ask around about this 'spy dirt' as you'un calls it? Check in one of the shops dealing with plant type stuff to see if anypne knew what it was? ' Cause iff'n you had I'd have been glad to explain and find a way that my soil didn't encroach on your space. A way that wouldn't have hurt me deep to my soul."

She stood up, brushing off her long skirts before her hands went back on her hips. "I was of a mind to apologize for what came up in me and for coming in yelling, 'cause that's not the way I choose to be. But I got you a warning so you could be safe and I'll thank you not to go on judging me for things you don't know as much as a flea's ear about."

After another deep breath, which she let out in a long sigh, she let her hands fall to her sides. "Now. Maybe we can try this again more civilized like. Hello there. My name's Nell Ingram and I'm sorry I yelled and I'm sorry if my connection to the land caused problems for you. Will you be needing to do ... whatever it is you did... again? And if so, can we try to find a different way to manage it?"

[witchoftheflesh]

He would appreciate the compliment about his glasswork if they ever got around to her delivering it!

"I actually did go to the town hall to ask about buying the land," Adrian said mildly. "And told them I'd be putting up a house here. Also--" He pointed. "There's a shack back that way with someone living on it, and a house over yonder with...something in it, and an onsen that way. With the kind of turnover I've heard the island has, someone moving into a place that was formerly uninhabited doesn't seem to be completely out of the realm of possibility."


He relaxed enough to lean forward on his porch railing, arms folding on it which was a gesture of peace whether she knew it or not. "Also, I've been told that sometimes people don't want squirrels talking about them and their business and can send the squirrels away with rum. I don't think it's as easy to do that with your soil. Furthermore, people also might engage in...certain activities...that while they don't mind getting reported after the fact, might still not appreciate knowing that someone else could be aware of it at the moment. What I did was find a spell laced with the soil on the land I've claimed for my home and removed it, and did so only after verifying that it wouldn't hurt the land to do so. No, I didn't go into the flower stores on the island, but that's because the flower stores, at least in my admittedly limited experience, get their stock from various gardens and nurseries and not the woods themselves. I did spend the better part of a week walking through these woods and the preserve and didn't see anything that struck me as a potential flower or plant farm. Furthermore, it didn't register to my magic as 'magic soil,' and so it seemed like a spell - quite clever, actually - that used the soil as a medium, not part of its intrinsic nature."

"And why would we ask around to see who was using magic to spy on people?" Boston asked, most of his fur smooth again, though his tail was still puffy.

"Boston." Adrian frowned down at his cat. "She said that wasn't her intention and I believe her."

"Intention and action are not the same," the cat sniffed.

"Which we are discussing," the witch replied. "And there's no reason to put things as rudely as possible just because you're still spooked."

Boston glared at Adrian a moment and then deliberately turned away from him and began washing his face.

Adrian sighed and looked back towards Nell. "Apologies, for his rudeness." But...cat. All cats had opinions and Boston had more than most--and the ability to make it known. "I am also sorry that my purification and nullification ritual hurt you--although I am glad it was taken care of before I made my heart tree." If a bit of blood could create that kind of response in her, what would a full blown living human heart do? "I disagree with your actions and methods - I think that it is inconsiderate to people to not inform them that you would have some level of knowledge of their actions whenever they choose to go into the woods, and irresponsible to not let them know that there was some potential danger in it. I'm not the only magic user on the island and therefore not the only person who has the possibility of triggering that from you." Lydia and her pins sprang immediately to mind. "But also, I'm new to the island and this happened before me and you're right, I should have made more of a concerted effort to find out who the soil belonged to - though, if nobody knew about it, I'm not sure how much I could have otherwise found out. Still the attempt should have been made and it wasn't, and I'll offer apologies for that, too. But this is my grove and I will protect it as I see fit, so long as it doesn't harm the land." He was very firm on that last line.

Another glance at the clearly-ignoring-him Boston and Adrian unfolded himself from the porch and walked over to Nell, offering his hand. "I'm Adrian Blackwood. As you might have guessed, I'm a witch." He gave her a smile at that. "But no, that's the last time I'll be doing anything like that, at least that I know of. I have no intentions of claiming any more of the woodlands more than I actually have and so have no reason to do so. If that changes, though, I absolutely will let you know. After all, I don't actually want to hurt anyone. Souls are more my Aunt Muriel's purview than mine, but that doesn't mean I want to harm anyone's." He looked at her. "Can I offer you a cup of tea? I have a blend that helps soothe magic shock that might help?"

[mylandmyrules]

Well, she certainly wasn't about to tell him that she didn't need the Soulwood soil to see what was happening on the land, thank you very much. Or that the danger was about her and had nothing to do with whose land she was on. Still his words - most of them - soothed her a little.

"I know about all them places, and you might have noticed there's none of my soil - which isnot 'magic soil' or a spell by the by - is near any of that. It was just a way to help me connect to my home soil. Anything else is a side effect and just part of who I am. And were I to notice people here I'd just slip on past, just as I would if I was out in the woods myself and noticed people - not that it's happened often in the years I've been wandering them. I wouldn't think to warn them anymore than I'd think to announce that I've got really good hearing and might hear somebody as I wandered by them in the woods. If you'd like to announce it to the island feel free. You can disapprove all you'un want, but I'm not hurting anyone and I'm not beholden to you."

She made a face. "As for danger. Unless someone is hurting me or threatening me, you could bleed your ownself to death on the land and it wouldn't do a thing to me. I don't see the need to warn people that if they try to hurt or kill me that I can fight back.

"If you'd come looking into the flower shop or Plant Parenthood you'd have found me and I'd've told you'un whatever you wanted to know. It's not a secret and lots of people know about it. But that's neither here nor there. My main concern is that the woods are safe and well-cared for and as that seems to be your intention I'm very happy about that."

She took his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Blackwood. And now, I don't know much of anything 'bout witches, but I'm glad you won't be doing more of whatever you did."

The tea... she considered, but shook her head. "M'not sure what a witch tea for a magic thing would do, though I'd sure be interested in knowing what was in it and how it was made. I make and sell a good deal of teas and tinctures and such in my shop. Made 'most entirely from plants I've grown or carefully sourced myself - and you're welcome to come try some out."

Nell bent to pick up the glass of water, trying not to show just how exhausted she'd become. Weakness was a vulnerability and he was a strange man no matter how polite he was being now. Nell didn't trust easily.

"Water in this beautiful glass might do me for the moment. And I apologize for upsetting your cat as well. It was not my intention."

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian had several points he could make in rebuttal, but he'd already made them and just continuing to beat that horse clearly wasn't going to make it get up and run to the finish.

"Thank you," Adrian said. "I made the set. That's the best one, I'll admit. The others...well, there was a learning curve." They were all usable, but uniform they were not.

"And it does seem like we're in a similar field; my coven has been making magical potions and cosmetics for centuries now." It was how they'd remained unmurdered! "But I'll be selling mine through Pick Your Poison, so I don't think there should be any kind of overlap between us. I'm not here to snipe your customers."

The shake over, Adrian once again retreated to his porch, sitting down on the bottom step. He idly pulled off his amulet and tucked it into his left pocket. "The wood and the land are of the utmost importance to me. We may not always agree on what that means, but I assure you, I respect the land and want it only to thrive." He glanced back at Boston, who still had his back ostentatiously to them both, his tail swishing. "Boston will get over it, I'm sure. Especially now that you are no longer a threat to me."

If Nell thought she'd heard something like a Hmph!, surely she understood it was only an errant wind, as anybody else within earshot Was Ignoring Them.

[mylandmyrules]

"I'm not worried about that," Nell said. "I wish you well with it. Mine aren't magical - just herbal. I can't do magic in any case. But if you'd like a good non-magic tea or a particular plant, I'm happy to help. If I don't have it I can most likely either grow it or get it for you."

She nodded at him and the woods around him. "As long as you're taking care of the land I'll have no problem with you. And as it's your land, I wouldn't involve myself regardlesss. Boston will have nothing to worry about from me.

[theworst_verine]

Logan just wanted to not be social for a hot minute. This weekend had been just way too busy for him and as such, he deserved to spend time alone. In the woods. While not being a skeleton/murder weapon for it.

But that was a god damn pipe dream, so of course his nose had him investigating the weird smell over here.

"Well, shit. Guess you weren't kidding about the house."

Honestly, he expected more of a pretty, Polly Pocket look to it.

[witchoftheflesh]

Hey! His house was plenty pretty! Look at that front door with its intricately carved decorations on it! That front porch complete with swing! Those tall, ancient glass windows!

...Okay, it wasn't bright pink and plastic, but it was definitely giving 'cottagecore fucking wishes it could' vibes.

"Hey Logan," Adrian greeted, though his smile had a weary edge to it. In the pit, the last of the fire was burning down to charcoal and embers. "Welcome to my neck of the woods."

[theworst_verine]

Not nearly pink enough, Adrian. Get it together.

Logan sniffed again, wrinkling his nose and the overpowering smell of smoke that neatly covered up the rest. "I take it that's not a barbecue."

[witchoftheflesh]

Make an honest man of him, Logan, and then you can have a say in decor.

"I probably wouldn't try to put hamburgers or hot dogs over that," he said with a laugh. Somewhere, Arden hissed, suddenly angry for no discernible reason. "No, that's the remains of a ritual." His voice was tired, but there was a fair bit of lingering satisfaction. "It's what I spent most of my day doing. I was about to get up and grab a beer to celebrate if you'd like to join me?"

[theworst_verine]

Uuuugh, dont make him vaguely concerned uncomfortable like this.

"Sure. You doin' okay?"

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian waved a hand. "I'm good. Had an interesting visitor earlier, but I'm hoping we got that sorted." Because you had to talk vaguely about in-progress threads, you know how it is, Logan. "Mostly just tired. It was a large-scale ritual, which always requires some extra oomph, and the while we had a defined target, it was well-dispersed and hard to target, so we had to add complexity by--"

There was another minute or so of rambling witchspeak there, because he was tired but also loved his craft.

"...you know?" He chuckled like he'd made a joke (he had and also it was hilarious, his coven would be rolling right now, okay?) and leveraged himself up. "Which, I think means that I'm overdue for a beer."

"Water first," Boston called from where he was a loaf on the porch railing. "Then beer."

[theworst_verine]

If he thought Logan followed any of that, he was so, so wrong. It was basically just Background noise. Like the parents in Charlie Brown!

"Right," Logan said slowly. "Listen to your cat."

[witchoftheflesh]

That was a fair reaction, honestly.

"Yeah, yeah," Adrian said, pulling up his shirt to wipe the sweat and grime off his face. "I know, I know. The cat is always right." He started towards the porch. "Feel free to come in or take a seat on the porch or something." Or, you know, just stand there and glower. You do you, Logan. "Sour cherry or raspberry?"

[theworst_verine]

He could sit! There wasn't a small child to cause him to be extra awkward even! But he did eye Boston with that same wary energy he'd eyed Lexi as he stepped up onto the porch. And look at that, it didn't collapse or anything! Congrats, Adrian.

"I'm not exactly picky." This man once drank rubbing alcohol, folks. Meant for the outside injuries, not the inside ones.

[witchoftheflesh]

Rubbing alcohol? For heaven's sake, man, love yourself.

And goddamned right the porch didn't collapse. The smooth-lathed wood felt solid as a rock. All of it did. There wasn't a creaky board or misaligned hinge to be spotted. Adrian might be so-so at metalwork, but he was an excellent carpenter, thank you.

"Got it, be right back," he said and trooped inside.

Leaving Boston to stare at Logan from his perch on the porch railing. Look at that. Another staring contest for you, Logan.

[theworst_verine]

He was going through some shit! It was a process! That process involved a staring contest with a magical, talking cat, it seemed.

Maybe he was just pinpointing the most dangerous thing around, okay? Maybe that was it! Two predators, facing off!

Which said something about Lexi, honestly. Dangerous kid.

[witchoftheflesh]

Well, Boston wouldn't argue that he was the most dangerous thing around, true. He might have had some questions about Lexi, but he wasn't particularly fond of children (they frequently demanded to pet him and had sticky hands), so he might also have let it slide. He continued to stare at Logan, unblinking and seemingly unbothered.

Which was how Adrian found them, holding a tray with a glass of chill water for himself, a bowl of water for Boston, and a few bottles of fruit beer.

"I brought a variety to--oh," he said with a sigh. "Boston, must you?"

"He started it," the cat said with questionable veracity. While continuing to stare.

Staaaaaare.