Fate - First Reply Flower power

[Clementine]

Oh gods, in al her hurrying along today Clementine hadn’t been completely mindful of her surroundings, causing the strap of her satchel to catch on a twig and rip. Luckily she had been able to catch the bag before it would fall and spill all her belongings on the ground. Now she was on her way to find something to fix it with.
In a city as big as Elbion it shouldn’t be hard to find a tailor able to fix satchels, however, given that Clem’s bag was very teensy-tiny, finding someone else to fix it for her would be a neverending journey (unless she wanted to travel all the way back home to the Autumn court just for a broken strap). No, she’d just have to do it herself; not that she minded much, but she didn’t have the right materials at hand. She would need to collect hemp fibers, and locating the plant was her current objective. She didn’t think it would take that long, hemp was a.. popular plant in the city, for obvious reasons.
After fluttering around for a while, she found a potted hemp plant standing proudly in a dirty looking windowsill. Her high-speed wings came to a halt as she landed in the pot, inspecting the plant to see if there was any part of it that was harvestable. She muttered a little about the state the plant was in (‘not enough water at all, with the sun shining directly on it the whole day’) after which she picked the weakest root. There. Clementine flew down from the pot onto the windowsill, after which she went to work; separating the plant, gathering the fibers, weaving them together in a very fine strand. Well, that should do, right? Completely lost in her work, she started rummaging through the satchel she had carried with her, looking for a needle.​

 

[Baise]

Baise hadn’t meant to pause at the windowsill. He had only stopped because Jude had tugged at his sleeve, pointing toward the narrow street lined with pots and cracked clay jars overflowing with greenery.

For years, Baise had avoided any contact with the fae realms. Theirs was a world that remained mostly out of sight of the mortal world. Baise had been drawn into it, becoming a warlock to a powerful fae. After that disastrous end with his lover, Baise had stayed away. He discovered Jude and adopted him.

Even if he had become more comfortable visiting the Courts once again, he was always nervous around a sense of Ley magic.

Baise moved forwards, seeing nothing concerning. But then he noticed movement, something bright, quick, and delicate, and that was enough to keep him there.

He leaned an elbow on the frame, watching as the pixie fussed over a potted hemp plant as though tending to an ailing friend.

The sound of her muttering drifted to him, scolding the plant, coaxing fibers free, entirely absorbed in her task.

"Dad!" went Jude.

Baise realised he was being impolite.

"Good morning," Baise said. "You’ve a careful hand," he said softly, not wanting to startle her but failing to hide the hint of amusement in his tone.

He smiled faintly, the corners of his eyes creasing.

Jude peered around his coat, curiosity bright on his face, and whispered, "Is she a pixie?"

Baise’s smile deepened. The pixies were a lower order of fae. Even if they could create their own mischief, they were rarely as malicious as some of the lords of the courts.

Clementine

 

[Clementine]

Of course Clementine didn’t really notice someone was watching her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attentive, per se, her attentions were just very much focused elsewhere. Maybe if the others were a bit more threatening would she have noticed something was up, but no bas vibes were alerting her so she kept doing what she was doing - making thread. To fix the satchel. The satchel, which she had to grab a spool from, so she could stow the thread without it getting tangled and.. OH!

A ‘good morning’ pulled her from her tinkering trance, at which the pixie jumped up high in the air, almost stumbling over precisely nothing and fluttering her wings frantically. She came eye to eye with a man, an amused expression on his face, which she could very much not appreciate!
Before she could express her grievances, though, he spoke again; this time complementing her handywork. With a huff she crossed her arms, though considerably less mad than two seconds before. With a curious look she glanced down at the little boy standing next to the man - his father, she assumed? - and then finally spoke.

“Why, thank you,” she said, after which she fluttered back to the windowsill, once again looking at the boy with curiosity. “I’m a pixie, yes, you’re very clever,” she praised him. It wasn’t really true she supposed (the boy being clever, that was), as pixies and faeries were often part of stories and tales told to children, but she liked being recognized anyways.

She gestured at the thread, which she had now finished making. “I’m trying to fix my satchel, it got caught on a twig this morning.” Once again she gestured, this time pointing at the torn bag. “And what are you doing here today, misters..?” Clem trailed off, asking for their names. ​

 

[Baise]

Baise lifted his hands in a placating gesture, the corners of his mouth tugging upward as the pixie fluttered before him in a flurry of wings and indignation. Jude’s quiet laugh broke the moment’s tension, the sound bright enough to make Baise’s smile soften.

"Forgive us," he said, voice calm and low. "I didn’t mean to startle you. You were so intent on your work it felt wrong to interrupt."

He nodded toward the tiny bundle of thread she had spun, his expression openly admiring now.

"I see. That satchel will be good as new by the time you’re done with it."

When she asked their names, he placed a hand lightly on Jude’s shoulder.

"This is Jude," he said, "and I’m Baise. We’re travelers."

"Adventurers," Jude corrected.

"We're just passing through the city. The boy insisted we stop to look at the plants." His gaze flicked toward the potted hemp with faint amusement. "Seems we stumbled onto something far more interesting than greenery."

Jude tilted his head, eyes wide with fascination. "She’s really small," he whispered.

Baise chuckled quietly. "And likely twice as sharp as either of us," he replied. "You don't get many pixies in human cities," he added quietly.

 

[Clementine]

Well, the man apologized to her, which she very much appreciated. As she explained about her activity, she even managed to get a compliment out of him! With a slight buzz of her wings she made a little bow, clearly relishing in the attention given to her. “Ah, thank you for your vote of confidence! Well, it isn’t exactly a tough repair, but it’s much appreciated, anyway.”

Clementine flashed the man a big grin as he revealed both his son’s and his own name to her. Mortals were often so careless with their names! Luckily for this duo, Clem liked them much by now. She wouldn’t try and force them into any deal - maybe if she found out they were brutes towards nature, but she didn’t think they were, looking them up and down once again. “It sure is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she yapped on, after which she flew up to the little boy and touched his nose with a little pixie dust. There, a small blessing in exchange for his name, a contract fulfilled. Wasn’t she nice?

“My name is Clementine,” she said after flying back towards ‘her’ windowsill. Of course Clementine was not her true name, but no one knew her true name, it was foreign to even herself. Interested in their story, she settled down a little, sitting down with her legs hanging off the edge of the wooden beam. So they were adventurers-travelers, not uncommon in these parts, but probably with an original reason why. “Any particular reason for traveling through Elbion? Perhaps I can be of help,” she offered with a little gleam in her eye. Oh, she really was too curious as to why a father and son would just be passing through a city like this. Exciting scenarios crossed her mind, where she failed to consider that maybe there was a very simple and boring reason.

Clementine giggled as the boy whispered she was small. ‘t Was true, and she wasn’t offended at all. “You’re not big yourself,” she jested, though all in good fun. “I love being small. I can fit through almost anything and most of the time people don’t notice me fluttering about!” Her ears piped up as she detected a sort of question in Baise’s last remark. She nodded, mulling over what to tell him. “Well, that’s true. I’ve lived outside the city as well. But I take care of the nature here now, you know? A city like this often tramples on the natural.” ​

 

[Baise]

Baise’s mouth curved into something warmer than amusement this time. There was a spark of respect in his eyes, the kind one might give a creature of grace and mystery rather than novelty.

There was also suspicion. He might have been more comfortable around the fae since leaving the Courts, but it didn't mean he could always be trusting.

"I think Elbion cobblestones don't remember what grass feels like," he said. "Nature needs every bit of help it can get."

He watched as the last dust from her touch shimmered on Jude’s nose, catching in the sunlight.

The boy giggled and swiped at it, but Baise’s gaze lingered a moment longer.

"I'm not that small!" Jude protested quietly.

With a quiet exhale Baise leaned back against the wall, folding his arms. He decided to be honest.

"As for why we travel, I need someone from the college to translate something for me," Baise said. "We're investigating some mysterious events in a village a few days south."

Jude beamed at the pixie again. "Do you really take care of all the plants here? Even the ones people forget?"