A Walk in the Park

Log Info

• Title: A Walk in the Park
• Emitter: Ashes
• Characters: Ashes, Gadget
• Place: A06: Lower Alexandrian Gardens District
• Time: Sunday, August 30, 2020, 12:29 PM
• Summary: Ashlee and Gadget are in the memorial gardens, out to enjoy the day and smell what can be smelled. They converse about various things, the arrest of Ogres that Ash asssisted with. Also, the flowers, the statues, the minimal diet the gnome now needs, her and Ashlee's education, the dangers of overly affectionate riding animals. After a time Gadget has to leave, and Ash remains to stare at things.

-=--=--=--=--=--<* A06: Lower Alexandrian Gardens District *>=--=--=--=--=--=-

The city is divided, unofficially, into Upper Alexandria and Lower Alexandria. The Upper resides further up on the slope of the mountain, and rests to the east of the great river. The Lower resides to the west of it, and if the Lower could be said to have a heart, this verdant park might be its center.

Amid all the bustle of the Lower City, its Gardens District provides a peaceful respite. The warmth of Althea holds sway here, and though Daeus receives the occasional nod, this is clearly Her domain. She shares it with Dana, in the verdant green of this area. Vines and trees, remain green no matter the season and numerous flowers bloom along the park's walkways. Faerie-light lanterns hang from branches and along hedgerows.

A number of shops may be found here, most notably the city hospital, for which the park was originally built. Though now open to the public, the gardens by and large, remain underneath the hospital's care. However, in the Althean tradition, much of the work is provided by volunteers.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

It's a nice day, the sky is a brilliant blue with a light breeze from the west. It's warm and clear as far as the eye can see. Which is further for some. The gardens are busy, with families, couples and singletons out enjoying the flowers, as well as many bees.

In the midst of all this is a mildly disturbing presence. A grey figure, with old, worn clothes and a skull-face. She is pushing a baby carriage, one that is low to the ground with large wheels. A second handle has been fashionned and attached so she does not have to stoop over it. No longer does she resemble a hunch-backed crone; instead, Ashlee looks like a crone with impeccable posture. She's far too young to be considered a crone, but hopes to be one, one day, so it's always good to get in some practice. She squints up at the sky, this is another day a parasol would have been nice to have, then looks down at the bassinett.

"Anywhere you'd like to go?"

"No," Gadget says. "Don't go too fast. I can smell the flowers and hear the birds. It seems like a beautiful day. Tell me about the clouds, today."

Ashlee looks up. She looks around. A lot of the sky is blocked by trees. She peers around them, finally saying. "There are no clouds. It's blue."

She slows down, finding a spot which has a little shade she can stand in, while leaving the bassinett exposed. Presuming that the gnome would want some sun. "The flowers are nice. Round spikey balls on stalks."

Mr. Jinglewidget walks next to the cart. He adjusts the canopy so Gadget's exposed skin is shaded. "I can feel the warmth," Gadget admits. She smiles and just relaxes, enjoying the sounds and smells of nature.

"I arrested some Ogres last night." Ash says randomly, relaxing and enjoying the sounds and smells of the gardens as well. She's also staring at people who pass by, which tends to make them pass a little quicker. It's always a little unsettling when she's around, there is a distinct atmosphere to her presence and any family that gets close tends to bounce off it like a forcefield and pick a new direction.

Gadget listens, then after it's clear there's no more to that story, she says, "That sounds interesting."

Ashlee nods, and surprisingly there does seem to be more. Speaking in monotone she explains what she found most interesting. "Four in ten warehouse deaths are caused by overloaded shelves, collapsing. Five, are a crushing death caused by some object falling off a shelf. The last one is in a fight."

After a moment she adds, "Usually around the shelves."

Gadget is quiet for a moment as she tries to figure out what to say to that. Mr. Jinglewidget makes some monkey noises. "Yes," Gadget says. "That. One hundred percent, I agree. Thank you, Mr. Jinglewidget."

"It was in a warehouse." Ash finally adds, which completes her story. She looks over at Mr. Jinglewidget, then looks around. "Someone is selling candy apples. Do you want one?"

Gadget shakes her head. "You've given me so much tasty food. I can't eat a whole apple in the best of times." She stretches a little. "Too much sun, now," she says, trying not to sound complaining about it. Mr. Jinglewidget takes the spokes of one wheel and just rotates it, moving Gadget into the shade of the tree and closer to Ashlee. "Thank you," Gadget adds. "I know I'm half the height, but even before I lost my limbs, I was only eating a quarter to an eighth of the food talls can eat. Now, I feel like even that's cut in half. I know I'm not very active right now, too, so that might have something to do with it."

Ashlee nods, looking down as Gadget is moved into the shade. "You will be more mobile with arms and legs but they won't burn off food. Reduced rations will have to be the norm. Or you'll turn into a ball."

The gnome might already be heavier than she prefers, the Arvec has no real way to tell, having not seen her before the accident and still not seeing much of her because of the blanket arrangements. "I'll bring less food."

Mr. Jinglewidget makes a vaguely protesting noise, but Gadget smiles. "Thank you. I appreciate everything you've been doing. Others have come to visit me, but very few have done anything to actually help me. Without you, I could get by with Mr. Jinglewidget, but you've definitely made our lives a lot easier."

"Ok." Ash says, blinking briefly and wondering if there are other things she should say in response. She briefly considers her pamphlet, but then she's distracted by her choker. It unwinds and turns into a centipded, a rather large centipede which runs down her arm to her wrist. She leans over, and sets the creature in a patch of flowers.

It starts hunting bugs. She watches it silently, then offers in monotone, "I could describe the flowers to you."

"Oh, that would be lovely," Gadget says. Meanwhile, Mr. Jinglewidget watches the centipedal display with equal parts curiosity, confusion, and disgust.

"There is a bunch that look like they should be weeds, except they are nicely arranged." Ash says, focusing on the patch that the centipede is currently prowling. "They are waist tall, for me, so they would be over your head. The flower is white and bell shaped. It opens up like a little platform. The small bees like it a lot."

She stares silently for a little, "It has a lot of leaves. When the top is spread open, it closes into a bulb."

"It almost sounds like a tulip," Gadget says. "Tupils are--" she made some random sounds with her mouth. "Tulips," she corrected, "are pretty tall and look like a bell, I think." She grumbled slightly, "Oh, I should have spent more time outdoors when I could see."

Ash nods again, a gesture only Mr. JingleWidget can apprecaite. "There's another one that looks like a cluster of elongated teardrops. They are also white, and hang down. Each flower has ten to twelve of the tears, and a lot grow on the stalks."

"Is white the predominant color of the flowers here?" Gadget asks. She squirms a bit, aching to see, but of course, that's lost for her.

"Yes. The section we're in has all the white and mostly white flowers." Ash confirms, flat and monotone. "There are statues of heroes."

"Oh yeah?" Gadget asks. "What have the heroes of renown done here in Alexandria?"

"Well, recently they cured a magic plague, defeated a vampire, drove off some major demons and a faerie queen." Ash thinks back, "There aren't any statues for them, though."

"There's another one for Crown Princess Liana Rena, smaller than the Memorial Gardens one, and a different friendship statue for Myrddion and Alexandros, holding their standards. I haven't been in Alexandria long. Blar statues have a lot more horses, and military."

"You did say you were Arvek Nar," Gadget says, seeming to remember in that moment when Ashlee mentions Blar. "Do you like it here in Alexandria?" she asks.

"Yes," Ashlee says, still speaking flatly, but with a slight emphasis so it sound stronger. "Goblintown is like home, and there are a lot more interesting things to look at. The Temple is more relaxed and fewer people tell me what to do. In Blar, everyone is expected to know their place and stay in it."

"And obey." She adds.

Gadget nods. "I see," she says. She's quiet, obviously hesitating to ask for anything more, since Ash has been so kind to her in the time they've been together. Mr. Jinglewidget is also quiet, but for different reasons.

"Except the goblins," Ash elaborates, "No one really expects the goblins to follow orders."

There's no real indication how she feels about her former home. She left it, which is a clue, but there's no sound of regret. It's all relayed in the same distantly, mildly distracted flat tones she uses all the time. "I miss the horses, but I always have one with me."

Gadget lets out a soft 'hmmm'. "Horses are scary," she says. "Ponies are big, but horses are just enormous things. There are horses I could have stood under before what happened."

"They are big but they're frightened of most things. They can be great friends once they learn to trust you." Ash says, in defense of horses and with an Arvec's natural love and appreciation for them. She still sounds like she's reading from a book. She imagines being small enough to stand under one, reflects that she could get a spell that would let her actually experience that. Intriguing. She makes a mental note to possibly try that out, "They are tall."

"They are," Gadget agrees. "I've ridden ponies. I can't imagine riding a horse. Especially not like this."

"It wouldn't be safe. Like you are now." Ash agrees, nodding. She reaches down, holding her hand out for the centipede. It crawls off the flowers and coils around her wrist like a bracelet. She straightens back up, "Goblins ride wolves. I've seen a lucht on a spider, and a gnome on a beetle. Ponies are nice too."

Gadget is thoughtful for a while. "My uncle had a riding dog," she tries. "He was a good boy. Very loving. Probably too loving for a riding animal."

That seems to get her attention, Ash stares at the bassinette. She brushes her hair back over one ear, with the hand with the free wrist. "How was he too loving?"

"Imagine a dog the size of a horse rushing at you to pounce on you and lick you," she suggests. "Leg humping is bad enough from tiny dogs," she adds, but doesn't finish that statement. "Just imagine all the affectionate behavior a dog can produce in an animal the size of a horse. That should give you a good indication of how a riding dog would be too loving."

Ash imagines all those things. A horse galloping at her to jump up and lick her face when she come homes from work or school. Tug of war would be a terrifying game. More of a dragging game. She considers the implications. Finally she says, "I see how he could be too loving."

Not really intending to change the subject, but more because she's run out of things to say about overly affection riding animals, and the thought of a happy horse galloping at her to lick her face is startling, she says, "Do you want to move to a different patch of flowers? There's some orange ones nearby."

"If you want to, we can," Gadget says. "I'm fine here. The sounds are nice. The smells are nice, too. If you like the other flowers, let's go there."

"They're all nice. We don't have to move." Ash has some decent shade, so that is a reason to stay put. She's watching the various pedestrians flow around her, and considers other topics, finally asking, "Were you taught at home?"

"Taught what?" Gadget asks. "I went to school. I went to a good, gnome school in a gnome-heavy neighborhood. I had teachers and stuff. What are you asking if I was taught at home?"

"Oh. I thought you were a noble and had personal tutors." Ash says. "What is gnome school like?"

"If I was noble," Gadget says, "I'd already have replacements, and my family would have pulled strings to get the mage's guild back where I used to live disbanded and potentially people put into jail." She doesn't seem happy about things as she touches on that subject. "No, you asked about gnome school. Okay, um...well, I was a terrible student. There were lots of classes on wizardry and illusions and artifice and whatever, but there were a lot of classes I just...checked out during. I actually /have/ a spellbook. It is full of all the doodles I did when I was in class."

Ash nods, which is a bad habit and also something Gadget can't see, so she says, "Oh." It doesn't seem like enough, and it's clearly a bad subject as it's getting her upset and tense. She wonders whether talking about her own schooling would do any good. Those aren't fond memories either. Finally she says, "I was teased a lot. Hobgoblin school has a lot of marching, and uniforms, and merit badges. I never had enough badges."

Gadget listens dutifully. Soon, she says, "You have plenty of merit. You don't need anyone else to give you a badge to prove it."

"Thanks." Ash says, no inflection to her voice. The lack of badges still bothers her, though she has decided not to care. Yes, she does not care. "It's ok. We learned how to read maps, and orders. Write reports. Calculate trajectories and odds."

"Very fitting for the type of schools I imagine the Arvek Nar have," Gadget says. There's a pause. She then says, "I feel like your talents would be wasted on a battlefield, though. In a nation full of lumps of coal to fuel the fires of war, you are a diamond."

"Thanks. I was in the cavalry, as the healer." Ash explains, still sounding distant. It's all stuff that happened which she doesn't think about too much. "I got my own saddle, and armour. I was assigned to a bunch of different heavy and light units. Normally the healer would stay with the same one."

"What happened?" Gadget asks. "You're clearly not in the army, now."

"The war stopped and I didn't re-enlist. I went back to the Temple of Vardama." Ash explains. "Some auguries predicted a war would start again, so I came here. Then the war with Bludgun started up."

Gadget nods as the situation's explained. Meanwhile, Mr. Jinglewidget is keeping an eye on the shadows and the sun. Soon, he hops up and moves to the back of the buggy. He makes some monkey noises and starts pushing. "Sounds like it's time to head back," Gadget says. "Thank you for talking. I look forward to hearing from you again," she calls out.

Ashlee watches the monkey and the small bassinette roll away, then she returns to staring at random people and letting Chippen be the terror of the flowerbed.