[A knock on the door, but nobody is there upon answering it. Instead, there sat a pair of horned 'His & Hers' rubber ducks in their respective colors. An ornate spiral pattern of shiny flecks marked their chests, a sheen akin to diamond. Both come with a small key to wind them, and they swim in any body of water they're placed in without a care.
The 'Zev-duck' emits a plume of gold flame when squeezed alongside the squeak.
The 'Anthy-duck' emits a deep red flame when squeezed alongside the squeak.
There is no accompanying note to identify who gifted them, though. That's helpful!]
Asta and Chiara are not plow horses. They're very pointedly not plow horses, and Zevlor rather thinks Asta would be insulted if presented with a plow, and so it's been Zevlor himself that's spent the last day and a half (not including rest breaks) digging up a large patch in the yard for a garden. The work has him sweaty and breathless, and so Anthem gets treated to the sight of him coming indoors, flinging his shirt into the laundry and immediately pouring cool water over his own upper body, so...enjoy that, perhaps?
"It's all tilled," he says. "And I put in the fenceposts. I think if we want fruit trees we could probably hire a dryad in Grey Ward. Or ask one of the other Visitors, one who has plant-growing powers? But for now, I thought we could plant the rest ourselves."
He's let her choose more than half of what they're putting in the ground. There were some vegetables he wanted, and he has a soft spot for foxgloves, but aside from that she's been more or less set loose in the garden shops with a purse full of Bones.
"So now you have to come help me pick places for everything. Unless there are still plants you wanted to get?"
You would look at Zevlor laboring in the yard, toiling and tilling for hours in the sun, and then look at Anthem and see her in the significantly cooler farmhouse, books laid before her, and surely think, wow, she isn't really contributing much to this garden, right?
Wrong!
All the books laid before her were garden related — and she even had a spreadsheet with each vegetable seed they bought, how far and how deep to plant them, ideal soil type, when to plant them, how long until harvest... you get it.
"We have enough," she said without looking up. "We should place the lettuce, carrots, kale, and dill down — I have some potatoes that have begun to sprout that should—" she looked up. Paused. Enjoy it she shall...
"...we should grow an apple tree." Also that. Anthem stood up after bookmarking the page she needed and strode over to Zevlor, hand on his chest. "Make sure you hydrate, love."
Zevlor would never say, nor think, that Anthem wasn't doing her fair share! He's never grown a damn thing, himself, so she's the brains of this operation. He is, however, very much looking forward to fresh hot peppers and tomatoes for cooking with. And kale. And ground cherries.
He's not retiring, okay? Hellriders don't retire. But maybe he's going part time, so he can garden and enjoy fresh food and ride horses and make love to his wife. This is a rich, decadent life by the standards of...everything else he's ever experienced.
He raises an eyebrow at her when she pauses, realizes what she's looking at, and laughs, sheepish but pleased. "I would love an apple tree."
"Mmn. Are you going to make sure I don't overwork myself? I'm fine, Beloved, just a little overheated."
A clawed finger traced idle circles on his chest. "I can tell." Which was impressive for a tiefling. "And of course I am going to make sure. Now drink a sufficient amount of water and meet me outside. I have the seeds ready."
Overheated, and yet he shivers when she runs a claw across his chest. He hums quietly, pleased by the attention, and leans in to steal a kiss. "Mn. Yes, ma'am. I won't be long. I'll just cool off for a few minutes before I join you."
And in the meantime, she can appreciate all his hard work.
Anthem lingered for a few seconds, but willed herself away before she got too caught up in kissing and blatantly admiring his toned body glistening with water. Nope. Focus. We're focused.
"Very well." And off she went after slipping her boots on. It really was impressive how much he had managed to do on his own. She'd need to give him a massage later. For now, though, she was crouching down when he finally came out, book in hand and seeds in the other, measuring with her fingers as she pressed them into the dirt. "Do we have signs to mark these?"
He's as toned as ever, but he might be putting on a little more bulk, as well. Good food and the opportunity to exercise as he wishes, rather than fight demons for days on end, has been good to him.
He watches her go; if either of them had their tails up any higher they'd have trouble walking. After another cup of water dumped over his head, and then a third one which he drinks, he emerges from the house, still shirtless but toweled off.
"I have some little wooden sticks we can write on," he says in answer to her question, and crouches next to her. "Nothing particularly fancy, but they'll do for now."
"Mmm." She hummed, shoved her finger into the dirt to make a tiny hole, and sprinkled in a few seeds. "Can you start making those? Unless you want to plant the tomatoes first." She pushed the dirt over the seeds. "These are the carrots. I suppose we should grow as many as possible for Chiara and Asta, lest they complain."
"I suppose since I've been raking the dirt all morning I can take over the easier task now," he says with a smirk.
"I hope Chiara and Asta don't find a way to steal them before they're ready for harvest," Zevlor says, picking up the wooden stakes and sitting cross-legged to write on them. "I'm going to weave some vines in between the posts to make a light fence. No idea if it will keep the local wildlife out."
"I suppose it's all trial and error the first time you try growing something. At least we won't have to worry about going hungry if our best efforts fail to produce anything."
"Well you don't need to give them ideas either." Said horses were off grazing and definitely couldn't hear them, but that was beside the point.
"We could get a scarecrow, or several." She suggested as she moved onto the next patch of dirt. "Isn't Lucian the son of a farmer, or am I imagining that?"
Zevlor laughs at the idea of giving the horses ideas. It's only of late that he's started to consider just how much of what he says Asta can understand. Back in Elturel, his relationship as a Hellrider with his mount, was pretty mundane. Having the ability to speak with animals at his fingertips has been educational.
"It's going to be a potential problem with apple trees, as well," he points out. "Asta loves apples."
Two horses can't eat all the produce from a full-grown tree, though.
"Scarecrows. Or train Aurora to wander around and hiss at anything that threatens to eat our plants." He glances up at her and nods. "I think so, yes. You think we should ask his advice?"
"Well the apples will at least be harder to reach." Eventually. Sooner if they cheated with some Dryad assisting them.
She snorted out a laugh. "Or both, to be safe." A shrug. She dropped some more seeds into the dirt, covered them, and then held her hand out toward Zevlor as if awaiting the arrival of the 'carrots' sign in her palm. "It could not hurt. Maybe he knows some secret to keep our crops safe that we do not."
"Let's plant a few, just in case." He beams at her, then sobers a little. "Beloved? What do you want to do, after Caldera no longer needs us? It sounds as though they would not reject a request to settle here, but we both have friends and loved ones in Faerun, as well."
"I like it here. But I'd be sorry to never see Dammon or Alfira again, let alone the other Hellriders." He leans across the tilled earth to place the sign into her palm. He's drawn a little carrot with a smiley face on one side. "That, and it's hard to be sure what's going on behind the scenes yet."
"It may be too early to make a decision, but it's something worth thinking about, and talking about."
Anthem kept her gaze on the dirt, but it was clear in the increased speed of her swaying tail that his words had hit her fairly hard. What did she want to do? Stay with him, no matter the world, but that didn't exactly answer the question.
"I would stay here." She offered after a moment, a smile on her lips as she looked down at the smiley face on the stake. She shoved it into the ground to mark the spot above where she planted the seeds. "Somehow, it's.. quieter. Calmer. I would miss the others as well, but what of those we befriended here?"
Oh, there is no question they will stay together, one way or another. If the Hells couldn't tear them apart, and a whole new universe pulled them back together, they're in this for life. This life, and the next, he thinks, and returns to his own sitting spot to make another label for the next row.
Her eyes are brighter than the sky.
"I think...we're in accord, there," he says softly. "I would be sorry to miss the camaraderie of the other Hellriders, but they're just as certain in their purpose as they ever were. They welcome me, but they don't need me. I think Faerun will do well enough without us, if we have to choose between worlds forever."
There's a shadow of a smile, again. "We ought to keep our options open, perhaps, but I'm glad your feelings on the matter are the same as mine. Hellriders don't retire, but perhaps we've been reassigned."
"The stars will guide us, one way or another." She said confidently despite the ambiguity of the statement. "You will have a purpose still — be it protecting the realm or simply watching over our farm and the myriad of creatures you have taken to adopting."
Anthem dusted her hands off, assured they were free of dirt, and then reached over to press her palm against his cheek. "For all we know, we may all be whisked away to another odd world that needs our help."
"As long as we're together," he says softly. "In love, in partnership. In whatever duties we choose to take on. I'll be happy."
He nuzzles against her palm lazily and grins. "I suppose that's a thing that can happen. Never heard of it until coming to this place, but we wouldn't be the first to jump to world after world together, would we?"
Okay, maybe he's not quite ready to be fully retired after all, because that appeals to him.
"Your happiness is promised, then, because I will always love you." Unless the universe split them apart, somehow, and even then they'd just be distressed until they found each other again.
She chuckled. "Apparently not. Lioriley and Astarion did so. We could always purchase one of those permanent stay passes to assure we remain, but we can discuss that in the future, once this world calms even a little."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
HAPPY SINSMAS HONK HONK
The 'Zev-duck' emits a plume of gold flame when squeezed alongside the squeak.
The 'Anthy-duck' emits a deep red flame when squeezed alongside the squeak.
There is no accompanying note to identify who gifted them, though. That's helpful!]
action
"It's all tilled," he says. "And I put in the fenceposts. I think if we want fruit trees we could probably hire a dryad in Grey Ward. Or ask one of the other Visitors, one who has plant-growing powers? But for now, I thought we could plant the rest ourselves."
He's let her choose more than half of what they're putting in the ground. There were some vegetables he wanted, and he has a soft spot for foxgloves, but aside from that she's been more or less set loose in the garden shops with a purse full of Bones.
"So now you have to come help me pick places for everything. Unless there are still plants you wanted to get?"
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Wrong!
All the books laid before her were garden related — and she even had a spreadsheet with each vegetable seed they bought, how far and how deep to plant them, ideal soil type, when to plant them, how long until harvest... you get it.
"We have enough," she said without looking up. "We should place the lettuce, carrots, kale, and dill down — I have some potatoes that have begun to sprout that should—" she looked up. Paused. Enjoy it she shall...
"...we should grow an apple tree." Also that. Anthem stood up after bookmarking the page she needed and strode over to Zevlor, hand on his chest. "Make sure you hydrate, love."
no subject
He's not retiring, okay? Hellriders don't retire. But maybe he's going part time, so he can garden and enjoy fresh food and ride horses and make love to his wife. This is a rich, decadent life by the standards of...everything else he's ever experienced.
He raises an eyebrow at her when she pauses, realizes what she's looking at, and laughs, sheepish but pleased. "I would love an apple tree."
"Mmn. Are you going to make sure I don't overwork myself? I'm fine, Beloved, just a little overheated."
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And in the meantime, she can appreciate all his hard work.
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"Very well." And off she went after slipping her boots on. It really was impressive how much he had managed to do on his own. She'd need to give him a massage later. For now, though, she was crouching down when he finally came out, book in hand and seeds in the other, measuring with her fingers as she pressed them into the dirt. "Do we have signs to mark these?"
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He watches her go; if either of them had their tails up any higher they'd have trouble walking. After another cup of water dumped over his head, and then a third one which he drinks, he emerges from the house, still shirtless but toweled off.
"I have some little wooden sticks we can write on," he says in answer to her question, and crouches next to her. "Nothing particularly fancy, but they'll do for now."
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"I hope Chiara and Asta don't find a way to steal them before they're ready for harvest," Zevlor says, picking up the wooden stakes and sitting cross-legged to write on them. "I'm going to weave some vines in between the posts to make a light fence. No idea if it will keep the local wildlife out."
"I suppose it's all trial and error the first time you try growing something. At least we won't have to worry about going hungry if our best efforts fail to produce anything."
no subject
"We could get a scarecrow, or several." She suggested as she moved onto the next patch of dirt. "Isn't Lucian the son of a farmer, or am I imagining that?"
no subject
"It's going to be a potential problem with apple trees, as well," he points out. "Asta loves apples."
Two horses can't eat all the produce from a full-grown tree, though.
"Scarecrows. Or train Aurora to wander around and hiss at anything that threatens to eat our plants." He glances up at her and nods. "I think so, yes. You think we should ask his advice?"
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She snorted out a laugh. "Or both, to be safe." A shrug. She dropped some more seeds into the dirt, covered them, and then held her hand out toward Zevlor as if awaiting the arrival of the 'carrots' sign in her palm. "It could not hurt. Maybe he knows some secret to keep our crops safe that we do not."
no subject
"I like it here. But I'd be sorry to never see Dammon or Alfira again, let alone the other Hellriders." He leans across the tilled earth to place the sign into her palm. He's drawn a little carrot with a smiley face on one side. "That, and it's hard to be sure what's going on behind the scenes yet."
"It may be too early to make a decision, but it's something worth thinking about, and talking about."
no subject
"I would stay here." She offered after a moment, a smile on her lips as she looked down at the smiley face on the stake. She shoved it into the ground to mark the spot above where she planted the seeds. "Somehow, it's.. quieter. Calmer. I would miss the others as well, but what of those we befriended here?"
no subject
Her eyes are brighter than the sky.
"I think...we're in accord, there," he says softly. "I would be sorry to miss the camaraderie of the other Hellriders, but they're just as certain in their purpose as they ever were. They welcome me, but they don't need me. I think Faerun will do well enough without us, if we have to choose between worlds forever."
There's a shadow of a smile, again. "We ought to keep our options open, perhaps, but I'm glad your feelings on the matter are the same as mine. Hellriders don't retire, but perhaps we've been reassigned."
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Anthem dusted her hands off, assured they were free of dirt, and then reached over to press her palm against his cheek. "For all we know, we may all be whisked away to another odd world that needs our help."
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He nuzzles against her palm lazily and grins. "I suppose that's a thing that can happen. Never heard of it until coming to this place, but we wouldn't be the first to jump to world after world together, would we?"
Okay, maybe he's not quite ready to be fully retired after all, because that appeals to him.
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She chuckled. "Apparently not. Lioriley and Astarion did so. We could always purchase one of those permanent stay passes to assure we remain, but we can discuss that in the future, once this world calms even a little."