The Increasingly More Explored Woodlands, Sunday Afternoon

[witchoftheflesh]

Last week, Adrian had invited Yelena and Lydia both to watch him bury his heart and properly claim the land. Lydia, because he thought that a fellow practitioner would appreciate watching a ritual of this size, Yelena because...well, if nothing else, he figured that she'd enjoy having something else to tease him about.

He'd brought out a nice picnic blanket and some refreshments, including several bottles of his homemade fruit beers that he'd shared with Logan, water, fruit juices, a light herbal tea, sandwiches on a thick, hearty bread (made fancy because he'd cut them into quarters), and a nice, freshly-baked cake that he'd cooked because he'd wanted to, not because he was nervous.

"You're fretting," Boston noted, sunning himself in a tree while Adrian made sure that all the utensils and plates were just so for his guests.

"I'm new to hosting," Adrian said. "I want to make sure that everything is nice for them."

"Uh-huh," Boston said. "...You're going to do fine." He wasn't talking about hosting. "We've practiced a hundred times back home."

"I know," his witch replied. "I just kinda wish it had been a hundred and one." Or maybe a hundred ten.

***
Once his guests had arrived and seated themselves, Adrian pulled out his trunk, went over to the black steamer trunk that he'd flown in with and, after rooting around amongst various things (he really needed to unpack this), he pulled out a beautifully carved wooden box and clutched it reverently to his chest. "Would you care to hold it while I finish preparing?" he asked, offering the box to Lydia. Boston made a grumpy sound, but forewent commentary as Adrian knelt down in front of the oak tree, plunged his bare hands into the acorn-covered ground, and began to dig. He moved handfuls of soil with surprising efficiency. "This has to be done by hand," he explained, figuring Yelena, at least, might be wondering why he wasn't using a shovel. "I'm a good digger, though. It won't take me long."

He wasn't kidding. Adrian Blackwood dug a three-foot-deep hole through hardpacked, rocky soil using nothing but his hands. He worked calmly, methodically, but fast, and didn't so much as rip a nail. There had to be some magic behind that, but he didn't say a word the entire time. He just kept going until he had a neat, knee-deep, root-filled pit wide enough to sit in, finished. A hole that size should have taken hours, even with a shovel; Adrian had finished in maybe twenty minutes. "There," he said, brushing the earth off his fingers as he stood up. "Now we're ready."

Adrian took the wooden box back from Lydia. The moment his hands touched it, a hush fell over the clearing. Whatever Adrian was doing had the attention of the whole woods - or at least, the section he'd claimed for himself. Silently, reverently, he climbed back into the hole he'd just made and got down on his knees, placing the wooden box into the nest of roots at the bottom. When everything was positioned exactly where he wanted it, he removed the box's carved lid. The wood came off with a delicate scrape, revealing the object inside, which looked exactly like a human heart. A live human heart. It contracted as they watched, the dark-red muscles pumping in the deep, regular motion of a heartbeat. It didn't look bloody or wet; it was just a heart beating in Adrian's hands as he removed it from the box and began to bury it in the ground.

The hush got deeper with every handful of dirt he scooped over it, and then a pulse began to run through the soil under where they were sitting. The thumping sound got louder and louder as Adrian filled in the hole he'd just made. By the time he stood up to press the dirt flat with his boots, the whole hill was pounding with the beating of the heart. It shook the trees and frightened the birds, filling the air with flapping wings and the crushing feeling of something huge and ancient, something larger than human. The weight of so much power was palpable, pushing down on all of them in a way that made it hard to stay upright. Just when they might have become certain it was going to flatten them to the ground, Adrian brought his hands together in front of him with a clap, and the horrible pressure vanished like it had never been.

"Well done!" Boston called from the branches he'd climbed up into. "That went even better than it did in practice."

Adrian was panting too hard to answer. He'd been perfectly calm the whole time he was filling in the hole. Now that he was finished, he collapsed onto the needle-strewn ground with a gasp, sprawling under the trees with a triumphant smile on his face.

[Text taken and adapted from Hell For Hire by Rachel Aaron, because you know how I love me some perfectly normal canons. While the two ladies mentioned were invited, post is open for other folks, either before or after the ritual.]

Comments

Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

Welcome! Show up, have some cake and tea, settle in, do whatever!

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

Lydia had chosen her dress with extreme care, prepared for the possibility that she would find out at the last minute this was a skyclad sort of undertaking (although she was very relieved that it wasn't!), and had stopped by J,GoB on the way to pick up a box of pastries, since it seemed rude to show up at someone's home and very important ceremony empty-handed.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

"Miss Bennet!" Adrian waved when he spotted her coming into the clearing where his house was that I had totally meant to describe in the OCD, lol, a charming wooden cottage that was one thatched roof shy of looking like it had been taken from the pages of a fairy tale. "Welcome to my--oh! Are those treats? Thank you! They're more than welcome, though I hope you didn't feel obliged."

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"Oh, it was no trouble," Lydia assured him. "I often go to the bakery on Sundays." On her way to church. Totally.

Listen, it could happen.

"You've a lovely home," Lydia told him as she did her best not to look like she was gawking at it.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

Any week now! Anything was possible, really.

"Thank you!" he said proudly. "I built it myself. Back home, of course, then brought it with me."

Doing it the other way would have taken much longer.

"Afterwards, I'd be happy to give you a tour? I think you'll really like my greenhouse."

Because obviously he had an attached greenhouse. What was he, a peasant?

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"Yes, there was something about that on the radio," Lydia said. She had several questions along the lines of 'how,' because being able to shrink things would make packing ever so much easier, but for the moment she moved on to, "I would love to see your greenhouse!" She bet he had some great herbs in there.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

He'd be happy to explain, too, so long as we all recognized that canon was unhelpfully vague and it came with the likelihood of getting jossed!

"Of course," he said. "I'm very proud of it. And it'll be nice to get to show it to someone, finally."

Since he and Raiden had gone back to Raiden's place (the breakfast alone had been worth it) and Logan didn't seem to really be a 'come inside and admire my cottagecore aesthetic' kind of guy.

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

It would be the most handwavey discussion of magical theory ever!

"You should be very proud of it," Lydia said stoutly. Imagine, making something like this all by yourself! "My greatest skills lie in mucking up needlework, I'm afraid...although that can come in rather handy in certain circumstances."

Ooooh, a cottagecore aesthetic! Lydia was in.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

"Where I'm from, it's called witchcraft for a reason," Adrian said. "Carpentry, woodworking, masonry, sewing...I'm not particularly skilled at metalworking, but I can get by. Magic works better if you can channel it through things you've made with your own hands. You've already invested your own energy into it."

And also it was more ecologically friendly, sustainable, and self-sufficient!

"I tried explaining that to Yelena when we were arguing over riding broomsticks, but I think she was more entertained by the concept of a flying roomba than in getting what I was saying." Or just enjoyed arguing for the sake of arguing. "How often does mucking up needlework come in handy?"

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"That's fascinating," Lydia said. "For me it's much more about intent, I think, although there are of course charms and such where one must make something...

"As far as needlework goes, once I--well, it's very complicated, but I found myself the sort of...slipped stitch in a magical tapestry, and I believe it saved my life." She'd have to start by explaining the Order of the Rose, and they'd be here all day. "They quite deserved for me to ruin their working," she added, defensive, as if Adrian might have thought otherwise of people he didn't even know.

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

Yelena had left Fanny at home and had changed from her clothes from earlier in the day. Granted they were in the forest but there was no reason to wear shorts and t-shirt that had dirt and paw prints all over it. So she opted for a simple leather jacket, grey t shirt, jeans and boots. She had no idea what to expect but came anyway as it gave her a chance to see what this whole burying the heart thing was all about.

She grabbed one of the beers and made herself comfortable.

"I feel like I should have brought something," she said looking at the spread. "Want some Allen wrenches? I've got plenty of those."

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

Boston scoffed from his perch in the tree. "No thank you. We like real tools."

"Boston," Adrian sighed. But also didn't argue.

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

Yelena just chuckled at Boston. After all she always appreciated sarcasm from any source even if it was a talking cat.

"Then next time I'll bring something just for you," she called out to Boston. "What's your favorite? Salmon? Tuna? Mahi-mahi?"

She gave Adrian a smirk. "Clearly he needs to be spoiled."

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

"Yes, because he's so clearly wasting away here," Adrian snarked. "But hey, if you think you need to bribe your way into Boston's affections--"

"Hey Adrian?" Boston interrupted. "Don't ruin this for me." And then turned to Yelena. "Sushi-grade salmon or yellowtail is my overall preference, but, honestly, so long as it isn't tilapia, I don't mind."

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

“A cat with class I respect that,” Yelena said with a nod of respect. “No garbage white fish for that kitty.”

She took a swig of the beer and was surprised at the taste. “Hey, this is good. Who makes it?”

Because obviously were no labels on the bottles. Or Yelena didn’t bother to notice.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

There were handwritten labels, but they listed only afruit and a date written in one corner.

Adrian just grinned at her, giving her fingerguns.

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

“Yeah, okay, whatever respect you earned for the beer was lost with that gesture,” Yelena snarked.

Re: Before the Ritual

[witchoftheflesh]

"Enh, I would have lost it again eventually anyways," Adrian said amiably. "But I made everything there. Cake, beer, juice, tea blend...Maybe one of those will win me back my lost points."

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"Hello," Lydia said to Yelena. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Miss Lydia Bennet." Yes, with a bob of a curtsey. What else was she supposed to do, just stand there? What did she do with her hands then? No, the curtsey was less awkward.

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

"Yelena Belova," she replied as she tried to figure out what kind of gesture to make in return. After a brief pause, she gave an awkward nod and half-raised her hand in what could only be described as a cross between a wave and a salute. Her lips twitched slightly, amused but still unsure.

"Friend of Adrian's?"

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"I'm afraid we hardly know each other," Lydia admitted, although she liked to think they could be friends, eventually. "Like Mr. Blackwood, I happen to be a witch, although from another universe, of course. I suppose you could say I have a professional interest in learning about new and different magic."

Wait. A bell was being rung in Lydia's brain. "Oh, yes, Miss Belova! You had the furniture assembly party that I read about on the radio! It's so nice to meet you."

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

“Ooooooh! That’s why your voice sounds familiar,” Yelena said relaxing a bit. “You got chosen by the squirrels like me, huh? Fanny seems to enjoy them so I don’t mind the early alarm. So you’re a witch but not like Adrian, huh? Or at least I don’t see you in a pointed hat like him.”

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

"That's good. I'm not much of a morning person, myself, and they can get rather...determined," Lydia said, then protested, "I should say not! It's hardly fashionable!"

Sorry, Adrian. But your hat was not quite the thing.

Re: Before the Ritual

[the_best_sister]

It did make him stick out.

“I brought him over here from the airport and I made him take off the hat,” Yelena said rolling her eyes. “I’m not sure how he expected to keep a low profile wearing that.

Re: Before the Ritual

[mustbeawitch]

Literally stick out.

"It is...certainly a choice," Lydia said delicately. "I suppose it's traditional, though? I've heard of witches wearing such things, but none of the ones of my acquaintance actually did it...of course, witchcraft is illegal when I am from, so that might have had something to do with it."