![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
It had taken awhile to get everything ready, especially with the break in the middle to go to Quebec, but Adrian and Boston had been working like mad to finish getting the stones ready. He wanted to make sure everything was done by the time the ground froze - which, sure, might not be as much or as soon as he was used to in Massachusetts, but neither witch nor familiar were keen on taking chances and the rocks still had to settle into their new locations. It had been several days of intense labor, hoisting rocks and digging ditches, moving in patterns that left beautiful markings on the ground wherever they went. Or, at least, he thought they were beautiful and that was what mattered. Some of the stones had been put flat into the earth, creating large stone spirals like the one in front of his house. Others were standing stones, dotted around his grove. There were a few more rocks to place, these ones nearly Adrian's own height, and a large hunk of natural quartz he'd found, but these were the last, getting placed not far from his garden.
"Proper circle or elliptical?" he asked Boston, using the bottom hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat and grime from his face before peeling it off entirely. There was a definite chill in the air, but he'd be working too hard to notice it soon enough.
Boston hopped down from the tree he'd been perched on, and wandered around the planned location, then began drawing a spiral pattern in the dirt with a claw. "Circle," he declared. "Make the radius bigger than the last one, though. Between the garden, greenhouse, and your heart tree, this will end up handling a lot of magic and the less we need to diffuse through the spiral--"
"--The better off we'll be in the long run," Adrian finished. "At least we got good rocks. I was worried we'd be working with shale."
"So you've said," Boston noted. "You've got the markers, right?" Adrian held up a fistful of long, wooden stakes. "Excellent. Let's mark out the proper places and then you can start digging."
"And then hauling. And then more digging," Adrian said, though he sounded happy about it, rather than complaining. "Let's get this done then, huh? After lunch, there's vegetables to harvest in the garden and the tomatoes should be done simmering by the time I'm done with that, and that'll leave us the evening to bottle more potions..."
"Less talking about things on your to-do list, more actually doing them," Boston said. "Get to work."
[Open! Conversation about Natasha NFB, please!]
"Proper circle or elliptical?" he asked Boston, using the bottom hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat and grime from his face before peeling it off entirely. There was a definite chill in the air, but he'd be working too hard to notice it soon enough.
Boston hopped down from the tree he'd been perched on, and wandered around the planned location, then began drawing a spiral pattern in the dirt with a claw. "Circle," he declared. "Make the radius bigger than the last one, though. Between the garden, greenhouse, and your heart tree, this will end up handling a lot of magic and the less we need to diffuse through the spiral--"
"--The better off we'll be in the long run," Adrian finished. "At least we got good rocks. I was worried we'd be working with shale."
"So you've said," Boston noted. "You've got the markers, right?" Adrian held up a fistful of long, wooden stakes. "Excellent. Let's mark out the proper places and then you can start digging."
"And then hauling. And then more digging," Adrian said, though he sounded happy about it, rather than complaining. "Let's get this done then, huh? After lunch, there's vegetables to harvest in the garden and the tomatoes should be done simmering by the time I'm done with that, and that'll leave us the evening to bottle more potions..."
"Less talking about things on your to-do list, more actually doing them," Boston said. "Get to work."
[Open! Conversation about Natasha NFB, please!]
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 10:58 am (UTC)Pam had known where Adrian's grove was for some time. It was hard not to notice: the beating heart in the soil, the whispers of the tree among themselves.
Still, she'd let him be for a handful of days.
Until, finally, curiosity got the better of her. And now there she was, lamia freshly removed from her skin for the time being so she wouldn't risk bringing it into contact with the trees of this grove.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 03:54 pm (UTC)"Huh?" Adrian glanced up from his shoveling and grinned at Pam. "Hi! And nah, I'd never joke about something as important as rocks," he teased. "But hey, welcome! You mind if I keep working while we talk? Or is there something that needs my full attention...?"
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:31 pm (UTC)"And you don't have a second shovel," Boston added. Very helpfully.
Adrian sighed. "And I don't have a second shovel," he admitted.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:37 pm (UTC)She strode a little further into the grove as she spoke. "But I'll survive sitting."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:54 pm (UTC)He didn't entertain much.
But Pam was rolling with it, which he appreciated. "Chair or ground?" he asked, reaching for his discarded shirt to tug back on. "And you want some water, or a fruit beer, or...?"
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:59 pm (UTC)Adrian seemed a touch off balance. A funny piece of insight, Pam reflected, as she looked for a good place to sit.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:28 pm (UTC)His home had been placed in a clearing in the near-center of his grove, which meant that there was a carpet of soft ground cover for her to sit on, as well as several of the outermost rocks of the spiral. His lush garden also had a layer of stones around it, though they were more to demarcate 'garden' versus 'not-garden.'
Adrian did flash her a smile before heading back into his house, though it was several minutes before he returned, clan hands holding a sturdy wooden tray with a pitcher of water and two glasses, a loaf of tangy sourdough bread, a small crock of herbed butter, and a plate full of chopped vegetables: cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, and chunks of a sweet onion.
"Here you go," he said, setting the tray down next to wherever Pam had settled. "The butter is from a farmer's market near the Blackwood, it's delicious."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:41 pm (UTC)"You didn't need to go all-out," she said, halfway between amused and, perhaps, a little touched. "I'm just passing by. I wanted to see what you've been working on."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:49 pm (UTC)Then he gestured to the grove around them, encompassing the garden, his greenhouse, the clearing, everything. "I'm very pleased with how it's going," he said. "I'm scrambling a bit to make sure everything's done before the frost, but things are settling in nicely. I should at least get a few more holes dug, but if you want a tour, I'd be happy to show you around. And, of course, you're free to wander the grove itself. He smiled warmly. "It likes you. Wary, but it likes you."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:52 pm (UTC)(And other things; she could hear the trees speaking, and underneath all that, unconsciously, her being still reached out to the Green.)
She picked up a glass and filled it with water. She took a sip. "I would like a tour, though. If it doesn't interrupt your plans too much."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:56 pm (UTC)He cleared another foot or so of space in the hole he was digging and asked, "So how was your week here? Not too boring with everyone gone?"
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 12:26 pm (UTC)And she's from the MCU. That says something.
Still as she approached the grove, she was not in her usual mode of snark and attitude. She carefully approached trying to get a sense of Adrian's mood.
"You've been busy," she said looking around at the house and grounds.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:00 pm (UTC)As for Adrian's emotional tenor, the surprise he showed upon noticing her seemed to have melted into cheer at her approach. "I have," he said proudly, gesturing at the garden full to bursting with vegetables easily double the size of what Yelena might expect, and then the stone spiral she was standing on. "Still behind where I should be, though."
"You're the one who wanted to take a week's vacation," Boston called from his tree. "Good morning, Yelena."
"I want to see more of the world," Adrian said simply.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:32 pm (UTC)Hey at least he wasn't crying in emotional pain at the moment.
And then she turned to Adrian and nodded in approval of his garden.
"Well for someone who is behind, I'd hate to see this place if you were on schedule. Pretty sure it would put the rest of gardeners and farmers to shame."
She paused a second before adding in a half-joking fashion: "Have you recovered from having the world's worst roommate, yet?"
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:44 pm (UTC)"Thank you, Yelena," Boston said politely, ignoring Adrian's comment. Hmph.
"My shoulder and left kidney may never be the same, though."
Someone was feeling sassy today.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:50 pm (UTC)No, he wasn't making that claim but he's not the only one who can sass. She made her way over to Boston to see if he might be in the mood for a ear scritch.
"I did come by to apologize. I know I was a shitty roommate and gave you more than your fair share of crap last week."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:02 pm (UTC)And then a couple of blinks.
"Oh? And what is that?" she asked, curiously.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:31 pm (UTC)See, Yelena! Totally figured it out!
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:36 pm (UTC)We'll just go with that. Yes. Made total sense.
"I would like to make it up to you," Yelena replied. "Obviously I cannot have you as a client and have any kind of ill will between us."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:44 pm (UTC)"There's ill-will between us?" He asked, now confused for a different reason. "You're mad at me?"
"Adrian." From his perch in the tree, Boston sounded pained. "Let Yelena make it up to you."
Not that she was feeling guilty or anything! Purely business!
"But--oh! Oh, I got--uh, yeah. You're right. Good idea to make sure the air is clear between us."
There was a slight tapping on the window, like say a broom was hitting the end of its handle against the glass at this conversation.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:48 pm (UTC)She paused.
"I'm sorry, does the broom need to go on a walk or something?"
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 05:50 pm (UTC)"Dramatic," Adrian replied at the same time Boston said, "Exasperated."
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From: