saving grace - open; tree home and garden

SORBET MONROE ROUX

I'M LIVING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE.
SUPPRESSING WHO I WAS INSIDE.

It was time for him to at least try and make his own home. He had been living in a temporary shelter but had recently gotten the idea to make his own house and well he liked the twisted forest. It was a mysterious sure and he could say he was afraid of it sometimes, especially given the fact that he had recently been attacked in the forest before he had died and sank into the ocean. But he didn't want to continuously have a fear of the place and he needed to be stronger, smarter, at least be able to defend himself. He had never had and proper combat training but he was slowly learning and picking up things here and there. He just needed to keep practicing. Taking a deep breath he left the boardwalk early that morning and started to make his way toward the twisted forest, trying to ignore the tiredness that clung to his limbs. His eyes roamed over the massive oak trees that made up the thick place and he allowed himself a moment to sense the earth. It was not as dormant now as it had been in the middle of winter, the time for spring was close. But there was still some week to go before it actually got here. With a light step the maned wolf would venture forth, remembering the path as he weaved his way through the forest, the crunch of ice underneath his white glowing pawpads.

The spot he was picking was near the stone house, not next to it but a bit of a walk away. A large oak tree with a massive trunk. It seemed taller than most of the trees around it and it's canopy arched over the others. A mighty protector of the forest he supposed and it would due nicely for a home. As he looked at the tree he hoped to not kill it but instead morph the tree. Closing his eyes he slowly felt for the thread of the tree, feeling the bark, the flow of water, the arching branches. He willed it with his earth manipulation to twist and become hollow, thickening the trunk at the sides and causing it to change. It hollowed and shifted, the groaning and cracking of twisting bark, moving at his will but it took a lot and the maned wolf squeezed his eyes shut tighter, angling his head down a bit more. The tree began to look more like a home with hollowed out window openings and a gap that was a place for a door. The inside was dark but he would fix that with a oaken floor and shelves on the walls. He didn't need much and all he needed to do was decorate it. After this he moved water, pulling moisture from the cold air and making transparent ice windows to fit in the openings to keep out the cold.

Finally opening his eyes he breathed out a soft sigh before flowers began to bloom around the base of the tree, one side was wild and tangled but various in plants while along the ground and along a fallen log nearby the growth of mushrooms began to sprout up. A soft smile fluttered across his tired muzzle and he stepped forward to look at the plants. Yellow orange petals caught his attention and he lifted a paw to brush against them gently, hoping that they survived the frost given that they were born through powers. ''Marigold...sort of the cure all for medical wounds. It'll be nice to have some of these....'' There were various other plants and some he could identify but others were a mystery to him, especially the mushrooms but he hoped that they would be useful. Looking at his new home he hummed softly before walking inside and trying to get to cleaning. Pushing some debris out that was not incorporated. Now he could move his blankets in here...maybe...ask Quasar.. No, no, no, that was a bit much.

All this time he hadn't noticed the strain using his powers had caused on him. Blood slipping out of his ears and dying his coat, but he paused when he felt it against his nostrils. Pulling his ears back he lifted a paw to dab at his muzzle and looking at the abnormally dark liquid. ''Well, that can't be good...'' He breathed out before shaking his head and moving to find a cloth to place over his muzzle.

code by Reggan

Rhinestone had never really been a big fan of the Twisted Forest, if she was being honest. It all stemmed from when she was a child, being teased by the older apprentices and told that there were disturbing and terrifying beasts within the trees. Obviously she now knew that such rumors weren't true, but those old stories still sometimes came to her as she walked through the trees, eyes seeming to gleam out of the darkness. She wished, truly, that she could overcome such a childish fear, and for the most part, she had. Still, there were many other places she vastly preferred over the Twisted Forest, so she had a tendency not to go there unless she was going to hunt, or speak to Medusa. Even then, she usually liked hunting more in the sea, rather than on land – aquatic prey had always been her specialty, after all. However, there were times where she simply didn't have a choice. This was one of those times, although not for the usual reason. Rather than prey being hard to come by everywhere else, Rhinestone was instead trying to test her hunting skills in the forest, since she was a bit more clumsy in her new tasmanian tiger form. She needed practice, and she could only get it by going into the forest.

Of all the things that the legate had expected to see in the forest, however, a tree shifting into a home was not one of them. As she had approached where Sorbet was making his new house, she hadn't even initially noticed the way that it was moving. Instead, her attention had been on the ground, newly green eyes searching frantically for any signs of prey. But then, the sound of wood twisting and splitting as it was carefully manipulated by Sorbet's elementals caused her to lift her gaze. She almost jumped back in surprise as the tree was opened up and hollowed, all of her worst nightmares from her childhood suddenly slamming into focus. Rhine's heart was beating wildly in her chest as she tried to force it to calm down, knowing full well that it was just the use of someone's elementals. Still, her mind raced with thoughts of those old rumors – of the very trees themselves reaching out to try and grab passersby, only to rip them limb from limb. It didn't help that visions of her first death suddenly flashed in her mind, razor sharp wolf teeth sinking into her flesh and producing noises eerily similar to the wood splintering in front of her.

Rhinestonestar was only finally ripped from her panic when a voice reached her ears, snapping her out of it – Ares. That new girl that had shown up only a few days ago. She was young, and yet she seemed utterly unbothered by her surroundings – as Rhine should've been, honestly. That was enough to finally make the legate's spiked up fur settle, a relieved and shaky breath leaving her as she shook her head. Nearly having a panic attack over something so trivial, especially after surviving a full blown assassination attempt just a few days earlier... it seemed so silly. She gave another little shaky of her head before making her way over to the front of the structure, sitting down and inspecting Sorbet's handiwork. It was certainly impressive what the other could do with his powers, especially since Rhine had never done something similar with her own. After a moment of admiring the new tree home, the tasmanian tiger found herself muttering, "This is pretty impressive, Sorbet. And it almost looks... cozy, honestly. The Twisted Forest isn't really my cup of tea, but I'm sure you'll like it here." Not my cup of tea was an understatement, but that felt like the safe thing to say.

Just as she was about to offer her own help with cleanup and home decoration, the legate was caught off guard by the scent of blood on the air. With a small frown pulling at her muzzle, she took a step forward to look Sorbet over, her frown only growing when she noticed the stains of blood near his ears, and nose. Shaking her head in disapproval, Rhinestone then muttered, "Oh, Sorbet... you shouldn't have done this all at once. You could've really hurt yourself. Has Rosemary taught you enough to make sure you're alright, yet?" It really was a pain, not having Vaas around as their medicus legionis anymore. Not only that, but the other's absence did leave a bit of a whole in Rhinestone's aching heart. However, she maintained that Vaas's practical disappearance was more of a loss for the Glades as a whole, rather than just herself.