Dragoncrest Cliffs fall apart twice a day

if dalia was to do anything it was because her mother asked her-- usually, at least. but lately she was trying to do better. trying. today she left to head to the redwoods to try to find some dandelion. her mother's stash was running low, she'd noticed, so maybe she could gather some. they were mostly weeds, so she was sure they'd be growing somewhere in the territory and-- ah-- they were.

she spotted their bright color from not too far off, growing in a sunny patch in the forest among some tall grass and sandy spots-- probably blown in from storms. carefully, the young sylph padded over and examined the plants curiously before nipping the base of the stems to cut them free.

PLANT FRIEND

 everything is currently imploding in blixen's life but that's fine. she's succeeding at work if nothing else. still, it doesn't feel great. she wishes hux were still around to garden with -- spring is on them now and she hasn't had a chance to go tend to the garden by the graveyard. but hux isn't her only friend that shares her hobby. dalia!

spotting her pretty cousin in the forest, the redhead makes her way over quickly, tail wagging. "hei," she chirps, eager for a distraction, "whatcha doing?"

her bright gaze flickers up from the grass, a single dandelion stem in her jaws. "hei, blixen," she purred in greeting, her tail wagging, "mother is running low on dandelions, i thought i could find some for her." her explanation is as short as straightforward as ever, her ears pricked and curious. she hadn't seen blixen in a while-- it was her own fault, of course, and perhaps her boring, useless personality-- but the two shared a common interest, and therefore a sort of bond. dalia liked blixen.

"what are you doing?" she returned, ducking her head to place the first weed down, snipping a second one at the base and setting it beside the first, looking back up to the fiery gona with interest.

it seems like an easy enough task -- she doesn't know much about how to use plants, not really having the patience to study up on all that stuff (nor, honestly, the empathy required to pursue healing as an art form). gardening is different: there's a routine, a list of tasks like there is with patrolling, and she's satisfied enough with seeing the plants thrive.

to dalia's question she answers, "nothin'," with a shrug. "kinda looking for something to keep my mind off other things," blix adds, "can i help with the dandelions?" it doesn't really look like a two person job but she's desperate for a task and she hopes dalia will oblige.

oh. dalia wanted to ask her what was wrong, her mother's undeniable desire to be nosy poking through. but if she wanted to keep her mind off of things, maybe she didn't want to talk about it. dalia minded her manners and stayed quiet, merely nodding. "i understand," the freckled yearling said softly, offering blixen a nudge to the shoulder. and then, nose twitching, she looked over her herbs thoughtfully. "you can come with me?" she said hopefully. there wasn't much else to be done but... dalia was lonely, that was for sure, and she enjoyed her cousins company.

"did you hear?" dalia asked, snipping the final dandelion from the bunch, scooping them up in her jaws, "portia is pregnant, so we're going to have more puppies to look after." she shot her friend a smile, tail wagging. wildfire had already had her litter, so they'd maybe be at a good age by the time portia's puppies arrived.

dalia agrees to let her join, and she steps closer, going to brush her nose against her cheek gratefully. there doesn't seem to be any more dandelions for her to trim, but she's fine with just tagging along. she falls into step with the other girl as she announces portia's impending litter. "oh," she says, and smiles back, "cool." more puppies, huh? it's nice news in the way news of impending babies and things are always nice, but all the happy couples really only remind her that her own relationship imploded before she could even get to the adult stuff like having kids. still, now that she's thinking about it "d'you think you'll have kids one day?" blix asks, looking at dalia curiously (trying to imagine her fully grown with a family).

the two yearlings set off side-by-side, dalia padding with her tail waving. maybe blixen didn't care too much about babies, and so watching them wasn't all that exciting-- but dalia was pretty excited. her friend's sort of positive, sort of indifferent response didn't bother dalia too much though-- everyone had different interests.

but then she asked about having a family-- dalia specifically having a family. of course, dalia didn't want to outwardly be angsty, so she bit back the gut response she had 'well i think i'd need someone to have a family with.' instead, she went with a small shrug. "i hope so, mother seems so happy to have a family," dalia told blixen, glancing her way. portia did always seem thrilled about her and her soon-to-be baby siblings-- somehow, since she and sirio were failures and these new ones weren't even born yet. they had just as much potential to suck.

and besides, no one wanted to have kids with her.

blixen hums at dalia's response, falling quiet again (weirdly quiet, considering, yknow, how talkative blix is normally). it makes sense -- as much as it makes sense for anyone, and it seems like most folks wanna do the whole kids thing. it's not like they're surrounded by childless couples to look to for representation. 

"yeah, my mom and nomi too," she agrees, smiling a little at the thought. "it'd be nice to have kids some day," she goes on, "but i dunno if it'll ever happen now... and i wouldn't wanna do all the, uh, mating stuff anyway. and pregnancy. seems like, gross and weird." yeah, maybe it's for the best (would furi have wanted to do the pregnancy thing?). siiiiiigh.

"mother said it's nice," dalia says without thinking, her brow furrowing as she looks back at blixen. had wildfire told her all of that stuff? portia was always a little more carefree with her words and stories. "sex, i mean, and then getting to see your babies once their born," she explained a bit further, and then, with a soft shrug, dalia added, "i think pregnancy is just a weird but fulfilling middle." she hoped she was making sense.

dalia moved on. 

"what do you mean now? you still have plenty of time," she said to her cousin, offering her a soft nudge to the shoulder, hopefully a comforting nudge. blixen and furi were an awkward thing that wasn't not common knowledge among the youth of the pack. though, dalia typically stayed out of the drama. 

and funny, how she was offering such advice to blixen when she herself refused to believe the same thing for herself.

it figures news about her and furi has spread -- they'd been near unseperable, of course their sudden distance would be obvious. blix doesn't mind, but she shakes her head at dalia's statement, giving a wry smile. "yeah, maybe, but i don't know if i want -- if i'll want anyone else, y'know?" to blixen's dramatic and youthful mind, furi was the one, an irreplaceable figure. she doesn't mind being single, she's got her family and all of drageda to keep her occupied, but another girlfriend? she just doesn't see it.

her own supportive smile faltered. was it... was it that simple? not on blixen's end, of course, dalia's gaze settled on her cousin quietly as, in her mind, she tried to imagine everything the redhead had been through. but for furi, she meant, was it that simple, to fall in and out of love and leave someone so distraught they couldn't even begin to imagine a life with someone else? 

the thought stung, and dalia suddenly found herself wary of a relationship. of course she was lonely, but if furi could hurt someone as strong willed as blixen then... what could someone do to someone as fragile and self-depricating as herself? dalia didn't want to think about it. but, remain positive, she reminded herself, it's not all about you, dalia.

"i think there's someone for everyone," dalia said, trying her best to remain reassuring, "i don't think it's supposed to be easy to find, not at first, but i think one day we'll all just stumble into something that's meant to be-- and that will be easy." such wise words, dalia! of course, she still would refuse to listen to her own words-- since she herself just didn't fit the bill. "but, i understand what you mean," she added, softer this time. because she understood. dalia had never been in love before-- but the concept seemed so far fetched to her that she just couldn't imagine being in love. or anyone being in love with her, for that matter.

blixen sighs, appreciating dalia's effort but not really buying it. after all, wasn't furi her meant to be? still, it's not an entirely unpleasant thought and -- and it's not like she's unhappy, anyway. so she nods and bumps her cousin with her nose, offering a smile. "thanks, dal," she says, drawing out the nickname like daahl. "enough about that," the shilkru decides, her tone devoid of room for disagreement, "let's talk about something else -- like, what does your mom use the dandelions for?"

"oh," croons dalia right away, "that's a much better conversation." she smiles brightly at her cousin, her tail wagging as the conversation shifted towards something she was much more familiar with-- the earth! "dandelion leaves are used to calm wolves down or help with severe shock," she recited with a flick of her ear, "and the juice inside the stems can help with bee stings." 

in light conversation, just like her mother, dalia continued on with a soft giggle, "i used to mix up dandelion and marigold all the time-- but marigold is good for infections and stuff."

dalia cops to the change of subject quickly, earning a laugh from her cousin who quite agrees. the information she gives is pretty valuable, she knows, even if she herself is not really interested in pursuing medicine. after all, what happens if she's out and about and like, sprains her ankle or something and has no idea what to do to help it get better? "cool," blix says, then smiles at her cousin's confession. they do look pretty similar, come to think of it. "marigolds are a little softer looking," she offers, "like.. more full, the way the petals are. how do you guys use them? just eat them or do you have to like, apply them to the injury?"

realized i avoided this thread because i genuinely didn't know the answer to blixen's question and forgot to ask... can we fade? <3 sorry i held it up

dalia nodded thoughtfully, "yeah, i think you're right-- that's how i'd describe them, anyway," she agreed, smiling to her cousin. "apply them-- i think... mush 'em all up into a ... poultice, is what portia calls it, and the apply it-- at least for marigolds and infection, i think you can just eat the dandelions," she informed the other, thinking hard to make sure she didn't botch the information. "oh, except for bee stings, i think you apply that too," she added, ears pricking. at least, common sense would tell her that, dalia had never treated a beesting first hang before. 

and soon enough, the girls were at hougeda, leaving dalia to look at her friend thankfully. "thanks for coming with, i needed the company," she admitted meekly, ears falling half-mast.