aterat | Wandering Around in November

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Wandering Around in November

Who; Llewellyn and whoever!
What; November logs! (Open ones below the cut, closed ones in the comments!)
Where; The market, park, and all around
When; Mid to late November
Warnings; None but I will warn accordingly if something comes up!

There’s something to be said for the bustle of a market - Open to All

Between one job and the next, Llewellyn had found himself wandering the market with a pretzel in hand as he browsed the wares on various tables and through windows of smaller shops that had opened up over time.

It was quiet moments like this that reminded him of his world, in a way. If you tuned out the chocobos and other oddities, squinting just a little…

In many ways, it was better than his world, of course. Society was a little more relaxed here, for one. There were fewer things for him to hide. But he still felt out of place sometimes in other ways he couldn’t quite explain to people.

But there was something relaxing about moving from one table to the next, admiring the craftsmanship of one person’s work or chatting with another about what news or gossip there was to be heard while he bought a snack.

Llewellyn seemed to be on the lookout for something, though it was hard to say what at a glance. One might even wonder if Llewellyn knew what he was trying to find... But he was a bit caught up in some musings, brought on by the time of year. It was a complicated one for the detective, and he seemed intent upon keeping himself busy.

Sometimes Llewellyn would get so distracted with a thought or a conversation that, unsurprisingly, he’d almost bump into another person. “Oh- er… Pardon!” He uttered at one point, nearly walking into someone, only to awkwardly spin a little and lean around them instead. How he did so without falling over was something between extensive experience of almost walking into people and a small miracle.

Progress with a pupper at the park - Open to All

It was a brisk autumn afternoon at the park, leaves caught in breezes to fly through the air and eventually land to only be crunched underfoot. It had quickly become a favourite haunt of Llewellyn’s and his pup Pretzel alike. The open air, the space, the sounds of ducks or excited squirrels were pleasantly familiar. The man always felt far better outside than he ever did inside, often taking his casework on walks with him, even in his own world.

Today was not about work, though. Instead, he’d gathered up a few things from the apartment and hooked a leash to Pretzel’s collar. His intentions were to continue training his wrinkly companion, hiding toys and setting up trails for the dog to follow. He wanted to work the canine up to the point they could practice with people, hoping the dog would help with finding missing persons should such cases arise.

Of course, it had eventually devolved into tug-of-war games and Pretzel taking off at a run to burn off some energy or if another animal or person had caught his attention.

He was a sociable pup, good-natured and often confused over the idea that not everyone would want to be friends… So someone might be surprised by a dog tripping over their own ears to get to them to say hello.

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"That is rather true." Ignis replied, now getting his own tea ready. But then he looked at the window indicated by the detective with a small nod. "Yes, that one and another nearby seems to get the most sun during the day. So that would be quite useful as far as them being in the home." Until they could be turned loose outside though that might take some careful planning but of course Ignis was up for that. Plus as had been mentioned, he had all Winter to figure out a good and decent transplantation process.

Turning back to his tea, the advisor worked on it and reached over for plates. Setting one over for Llewellyn, he then took one for himself and placed a few of the pretzels on it before sitting down and grabbing the nearest book and his journal.

He smiled at the detective and nodded. "Indeed. It is rather peaceful to enjoy spending an afternoon with a friend and getting plans ready for Spring." While it was cold in the Winter, Ignis did enjoy the mornings where he had time to snuggle with Nida. And of course they'd need to figure out where to put their tree this year and various other things.

The winter celebrations were wonderful, but with Nida they truly transformed into a kind of magic.

Llewellyn glanced at the plate, offering a quick thanks to his friend before setting the pretzel he’d been eating down on the plate. Grabbing a few books to open, he started flipping through absentmindedly.

“Yes, gives one something to look forward to once the season finally returns and uh- all the greenery wakes up.” He responded with a small dip of his head, nodding in agreement. “I find it rather helpful to keep busy at this time of year, myself. Though I suppose most people have more than a few things to occupy their time during the season.” He responded thoughtfully, knowing that most people were about to get in to the holiday mindset. It was… Complicated for him compared to other people, to say the least.

Picking up the pretzel again to take another bite, he settled on another notebook of his and tapped the cover thoughtfully. “Have you considered what colours or flowers you’d like to plant? Or are you still undecided about that?”

He smiled and picked up a pretty good sized tome as he nodded along to the part about the greenery. That must be why people packed trees into their homes because they missed that sort of thing when the cold weather and snows came. But he just smiled at hearing that people had things to occupy them.

"And what do you do for christmas? Do they have that in your world? Or is it something completely different?" Ignis knew they had deities and he hadn't really heard of anyone even passingly familiar with that with the exception of Nida. Here, people insisted on one god and had all sorts of prayers. He even was treated to hearing some children recite prayers over the meals he gave to them when they showed up at the lodge. And of course he made sure they had a chocobo ride home in a cart that he had the hunters construct for such occasions. And some children came for food for their hungry families.

But at the inquiry about the flowers he nodded. "I've thought about planting some of the ones that were at our wedding." And that of course was a surprise for Nida.

Now there was a complicated question that Llewellyn had largely avoided answering when all this world travelling began for him. “Mm… Well, uh-” He rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully, “It does exist in my world, but not everyone celebrates. It depends on the person and their beliefs, or situations.” The detective took a moment to think.

“I um… I didn’t really get to know much about my family, my sister left me when I was young… So I grew up in a household that did celebrate Christmas, but it wasn’t really the way most people seem to celebrate? We didn’t really have much, but the woman who took me in sometimes stuck an orange in our socks, and sweets if she could, as a surprise. The food was delicious though, she was a very good cook.” He smiled a little. That much was a nice memory. “But after she passed away, and some uh- things happened.” One of his adoptive brothers got murdered, and because of complications around the case, he and Daniel had to pretend that they didn’t know one another… Clearing his throat a little, he continued. “So I didn’t really celebrate it much after that. A colleague invited me to his celebration one year.” And then he’d also been murdered.

Humming lightly, he gestured a little. “Then I discovered shortly after that my family was actually Jewish.” He didn’t expect Ignis to know what that even was based on most people’s worlds. “There was a kind family who helped me learn more about what I’d missed growing up... In December my family would have celebrated Hanukkah, and they invited me one year.” If his sister had bothered to tell him anything about their family or heritage before she abandoned him… He at least could have grown up knowing that much already. Instead, he had to learn himself, years later, from a stranger when he recognized a Yiddish lullaby his mother used to sing…

“It’s an eight-day celebration. We light a menorah to symbolize the eight days that the oil lasted. It’s um… A multi branch candelabra?” He wasn’t sure how to describe it to someone who might not have seen it. “It has 9 candles, and every night you light one. They also make a lot of fried foods, the latkes in particular were delicious. Sometimes I wish I knew how to make them... There was a game, as well, played with a top called a dreidel. Though I’m not particularly good at games. But it was nice to learn about it and the other traditions for the holiday… Helped me feel a little more connected to my family again.”

But… then he’d lost the last family he had and gotten mixed up in a very messy case that had sent him spiraling in a bad way. “Then other things happened, and I confess I haven’t really celebrated either holiday since. Not um… the way everyone else does, anyway.” Too many things had happened, too many people dead or lost in some way… So his holiday spirits had been dashed. Then the Sphere had happened, and it was easier to focus on surviving in a strange world.

“I don’t like to bring other people’s spirits down, though. So if I’m needed somewhere I do try…? But otherwise I tend to keep busy with work.” He shrugged a little, grabbing another pretzel. “Rhy’s world doesn’t have either holiday, or anything similar, so it… worked well for us both. His world celebrates New Years, and so did mine… So we celebrated that together.” A more genuine, fond smile finally returned. “It was actually the night he proposed. So… I look forward to celebrating the new year and the anniversary of that night more than other things, I think.”

Llewellyn considered the flowers Ignis had intended to plant, and that gets a little nod. “A lovely idea. I think having things that mean something to you both in a garden is a wonderful idea. It’s why I intend to uh- take up cultivating roses for Rhy when we find a place. We should be able to find a lovely way to arrange them as well, perhaps find some things to compliment them as well.”

Ignis paused and laid the book top over his arm as Llewellyn started to explain. For some reason this seemed pretty damn important and he said nothing. He did take a sip of his coffee as he listened and nodded as the man went over points. Obviously this was personal and he felt bad for his friend as he described the sock and all of that. Still, he was happy the woman who had taken care of him was a good cook.

Food was important after all.

However, this whole new religion of Hanukkah was a new word he didn't know of course and he cocked his head to the side in interest as the menorah was described to him. So when the detective paused, Ignis asked a single question. "I beg your pardon. But you mentioned eight days that the oil lasted. What oil?" His scholarly mind was turning this story over, trying to make sense of the whole story. But he was of course enjoying hearing Llewellyn go over all of this and talk about it.

"Latkes? Do you know what they're made from?" Food was definitely something that piqued his interest. He wasn't sure he'd find anything about them in this world but he'd definitely try if his friend didn't know. And then of course the unfamiliar dreidel word was brought up. But he was silently delighted to hear about a game. And Ignis smiled to hear that all of these things helped the detective feel connected to a family he didn't really know.

And then the man brought up his husband and Ignis was happy to hear the two celebrated the New Year. After all, he'd celebrated with Nida last year and that had been really nice. Ignis let out a small laugh to hear about the proposal, taking another sip of coffee. "And how long after he proposed did you two marry, if you don't mind my asking?"

The flowers were brought up and Ignis nodded. "I'm sure you and your husband will find a lovely home. But what colour of roses are you looking at getting?" Because the scholar in him was indeed a curious sort.

It was important, really. Llewellyn wasn’t prone to sharing, he went out of his way to not share most of the time. The last world had been… Terrible for forcing things from him. But this was something that he still had shared with very few people. Rhy, certainly, and a couple people in his world at most… But when he was in the right kind of mood, and with a friend he trusted, and it seemed like an explanation was owed… He at least tried.

It was still a bit clumsy, random details blurted out between bites of a pretzel or sips from his drink. But at Ignis’ questions, he does his best to explain, wishing he had more to refer to for his friend. Especially since Ignis seemed interested to hear about this, it was nice to share. So Llewellyn explained the story of Hanukkah from what he could remember when the family who’d offered to teach him more about what he didn’t get to learn from his own family…

About the victory of the Maccabees who retook the temple from those who wanted the Jewish people to give up their beliefs. How when they went to light the menorah to re-dedicate the temple, there had only been enough oil for one day. How it had miraculously instead lasted for eight nights until new oil could be prepared properly. “So every year families gather in honor of that. Each of the eight nights at sundown they gather to celebrate with food, games and lighting the menorah.” He ended, smiling a little as he hoped it hadn’t been too confusing of an explanation. It wasn’t something he’d had a lot of practice with, it wasn’t something easily spoken of in his world.

“Latkes are mm… these fried potato pancakes. You serve them with sour cream or applesauce, they’re quite good. I’d offer you a recipe, but I’m afraid I don’t really have one.” He responded, before breaking off another piece of a pretzel to eat. He wished he had some memories of his parents during such holidays, but it was sadly not meant to be.

The laugh gets a clumsy grin and a soft sound. “Mm… I confess I was quite surprised.” Delightfully so, of course, after he’d asked a few times if Rhy was sure about the proposal. Because… Well, he was him and Rhy was… Better than he deserved, in Llewellyn’s opinion. “I don’t mind, we liked the idea of a spring wedding- well… as much of one as we could manage, considering there weren’t seasons at the Sphere. We were married on April 2nd, which perhaps was sooner than expected but… Well, we had a lot of friends who helped.” He just wished that they could have been there when the date actually arrived… But the nature of these places was so unpredictable. Instead, they had a private ceremony and then invited everyone who was there to join them for the reception. It had been fun, and both he and Rhy had taken a moment to remember those who couldn’t join them.

Llewellyn was happy to speak on the subject of roses. He’d grown rather fond of them, after all. “Ah, red and perhaps a nice golden yellow… They’re um… Rhy’s preferred colours.” They were the colours of the Maresh family, and roses a symbol… So he wanted to at least give his husband something nice that meant something to him. “I’m hoping to work on a hybrid… A colleague of mine- back in my world, I mean, his wife, is a rosarian. She grew these beautiful hybrid tea roses. They were pink with hints of red in them.” And it seemed to him that something similar in red and some hints of yellow might be nice to look at. He hadn’t really been exploring his interest in flowers back in those days, so caught up in work and trying to forget other things. Otherwise he could have probably asked…

Although Ruth Newsome was… a lot. So it was hard to say how much he would have learned from her.

Of course Ignis listened to all of the details with his scholarly mind. It was interesting to hear of something else being celebrated besides christmas. And he had heard of the Winter Solstice from a few people. But no one seemed to be fighting over which holiday was the correct one as some folks seemed to suggest which helped out. "And on each of these eight days, is there a gift exchange? Or is it simply food and games?" He wasn't going to write any of this down in front of Llewellyn, but Ignis was going to make a note or two to study it further to appease his scholarly curiousity.

The advisor found he'd snacked on more pretzels than he'd planned to while listening respectfully, but of course he had more just waiting to be eaten. And of course he might try to start quietly asking about these Latkes. But when Llewellyn apologized for a recipe, he only smiled. "Well I will see what I can find out."

Hearing about the marriage only made him smile. "Perhaps the two of you can celebrate your wedding anniversary here along with the season." And if he could, he'd plan an anniversary dinner for them, just them two. But that was a discussion for another day and another time.

At hearing about the roses, he had to think. "I can't say I've ever heard of a golden rose. But if one could be cultivated here, that would be delightful." He nodded along to hearing more about Rhy and was especially interested in hearing about this new hybrid of rose that Llewellyn knew of. "I can't say I've ever heard of a tea rose." And he searched his memory banks at getting the details of what would've been Noct's wedding but the bride was going with her native blue Sylleblossoms.

Llewellyn hummed a little at the question voiced, “Mm… Gift giving isn’t a part of it, no. Though in the last world, I did read in future years that some people do introduce some form of small gifts, but it’s really not a tradition of the holiday during my era. It’s very different from the holiday of Christmas.” He presumed it might have something to do with the fact that it sometimes fell very close to Christmas, which might get confusing for some.

Grabbing another pretzel for himself, he had definitely noticed that Ignis had snacked on his fair share. It was good to see them being enjoyed, especially where Ignis had put so much work into learning to make them. He should be enjoying them just as much himself, in Llewellyn’s opinion. He’d be quite touched if Ignis did find a good recipe for latkes, of course. “I’ll be interested in hearing if you do find something.”

Llewellyn certainly liked the idea. An anniversary was something he never expected to have cause to celebrate… And here they could enjoy the actual change in seasons. He was already looking forward to the spring and saying goodbye to winter, but the idea of having a small special celebration with Rhy was a nice idea. “I rather like the thought of that… I’ll have to give it some consideration and bring the idea up with Rhy.” He commented thoughtfully, a vague mental image of a nice quiet dinner, perhaps in their own garden if they had one by then. Ignis’ thought was definitely a kind one that Llewellyn would not have expected of his friend, but he wasn’t used to friends thinking of such nice things.

“Oh- no, I don’t imagine I could ever figure out a true gold rose… That seems a bit more er- magical for someone like myself.” A world without magic had his mind considering more… symbolic colours than literal. “So I’d try for something more in a similar shade, I suppose. A golden yellow colour would likely be the nearest I could achieve.” He smiled a little. It would still be a fun challenge… His ever curious mind would enjoy that, especially as it was a puzzle that would be more positive to solve than most of his usual work.

At Ignis’ comment, though, his brows perk up again. Putting the Pretzel aside for a moment, he awkwardly tugged his notebook out from under a pile and flipped it open. Dozens of pressed flowers were preserved between wax paper between each page. “A tea rose is um… Like this, well, they look a little nicer when fresh, but I’ve rather been mm… sentimental, I suppose, in preserving flowers as I happen upon them.” He was so prone to grabbing and picking at plants, needing something to fuss with when walking or explaining something. So… rather than drop them to death, some ended up pressed and preserved between the pages of his notebook.

"I see." he replied in reference to gift giving. Different things for different people even here he knew. He himself would be hard pressed to find anyone who knew some of the deities that he did. But as fate or luck had it, Nida had happened to be the one person who had a familiarity. It was a one in a million shot of a chance and Ignis knew that.

Shifting a little in his chair, he couldn't help but smile. "I've written myself a note to see what I can find for recipes." Ignis replied with a nod. He also intended to quietly inquire among the hunters as he usually did. A well placed question on a slow night or if he found a hunter that was chatty would be all that he would need, should they prove to be knowledgeable about such a thing. The advisor was definitely good at his research and knew what to do and how to do it as far as questions went. His court training had provided that.

Having married friends was never something that he ever planned for in his life. Back home his goal had been to become the general of the king's armies, but that idea got shunted off to the side while keeping Noctis safe was of the highest priority. Marriage and settling down just wasn't in his cards, until he got here. And even then he'd had no idea what fate had in store for him. But that was the same fate for everyone here and he knew that. "Well if you do decide to celebrate, and need a place, the Lodge is always open to you and your husband."

However, the gold rose and magical made him smile, but he was quick to hide it under his scholarly gaze. Maybe magic and the detective weren't friends or just not a thing that happened back in his world. And of course his own curiousity would have him look things up too, much like the other was doing now.

Green eyes looked at the roses the detective produced and he curiously peered at them before looking up at the other man. "Why they're lovely. They'd be a very fine addition to anyone's garden for certain."

He wasn’t sure if Ignis would find anything; it seemed fairly rare on these world jumping events to run into people who had more than a vague passing knowledge… But he appreciated that the man was going to try at all. It’s not an offer anyone’s made before. “Thank you, Ignis.” Llewellyn responded with a small duck of his head, and he meant it…

He considered the idea. The lodge was a lovely setting, after all. Perhaps if they still didn’t have their own place by then… The lodge would be a nice place to have dinner. “We certainly appreciate that offer, Ignis. Both Rhy and myself have enjoyed it in the past, depending on what this year holds for us… I think that would be lovely if we still don’t have a place by then.” Even if they did, he still might want to ask for a little assistance from Ignis. There were a lot of things he liked the idea of, but dinners were not something he was particularly good at beyond enjoying them. Rhy had made it further than he even had, after all.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t fond of magic… He simply came from a world where its existence was questionable at best, despite what some people in this world insisted. If anything, Llewellyn felt it more likely that Rhy was correct and his world was simply the ‘Grey’ version of Rhy’s, where magic had been cut off and lost to time. Otherwise… It was something he didn’t have, nor did he quite understand. It had gotten to be something of a… complication for him of late. His usefulness feeling a little obsolete where magic seemed able to do so many things more quickly than his methods. His curiosity and feelings aside, at least gardening, were something he could understand, and it soothed some of his anxieties.

“They are, most of these…” Llewellyn flipped a few pages. There were quite a lot. He was so prone to picking flowers to fuss with when out and trying to think. “I collected in the last world, aside from more recent notebooks I started here. I believe we could find seeds or starters for any of them to plant. Should you see something you like? Well-” He paused, tapping one page. “Not this one. This one will only bloom for the person who gave it to me, and she's not here.” He'd met some interesting people... It looked a lot like a red carnation, but somewhat different as well… He’d done his best to preserve it, though, even now. Sometimes, he supposed, he was a bit (a lot) sentimental.

"I'm happy to help." Ignis smiled. Really helping Llewellyn or his husband out was no trouble at all. He would be more than happy to cook something special for the two of them or whatever he was directed to do. He could shut the place down so that they had the entire place to themselves and that would be a thing too. Of course he'd thought about adding a more private dining area as well so that something like that could happen.

Well this might just be the occasion in order to get that project going.

Right now though, he leaned over to look closer at the pages that the detective was flipping. And of course he could only smile because it really was quite the collection. Of course he was curious about the person who wasn't here and about the flower, if it had any sort of significance, but Llewellyn could choose to share that story or not as he saw fit.

"I daresay you have quite the collection and I do know some people that might be able to obtain some seeds to get this gardening idea off the ground.

A private dining setting would probably be considered quite nice to many people around, as more arrivals found their place in this world and made connections… And both Llewellyn and Rhy would probably prefer that to shutting down an entire business for one evening.

“Thank you, I have uh- been collecting for a while… A whole year in the last world, and longer in mine, I suppose. But it was more important to me at the sphere…” He hummed a little. “I don’t always have the best memory sometimes. I er- forget things. Conversations, sometimes people.” He gestured awkwardly, blundering on. “And with how often people tend to disappear from these places, I liked keeping things that reminded me of them or of occasions.” He would gladly share stories if Ignis pointed something out and asked him. There was the flower from before, from the goddess Persephone, bits of a friendship bouquet that he’d made for several people, some blooms from the courtship one he’d made for Rhy... There was a lot.

Llewellyn hummed a little, “There are a few nice shops in town a friend and I went through earlier this year. They had excellent seed packets. For starters that are already prepared for going to the ground, I certainly recommend Aerith. I’ve been working with her when I’m not at the Gullwings, and she’s quite experienced.” And there was something about her talent with growing things that amazed him. It was downright magical, in confusing and beautiful ways.

He listened and nodded. "That is quite an excellent idea. A way to remember others that we've known." Ignis looked at his notebook, the one that the detective had given to him. "I could write things about people I've known here that have disappeared. And should they by some chance come back there would be stories I could share with them whether they remember them or not."

Yuna, Namine and Caelan came to mind immediately of course.

But he didn't really have any questions even if he would quietly take note of one or the other. He wasn't trying to be nosey and get into memories that Llewellyn might not wish to share and so inquiring even politely was out of the question. And he could only smile as he heard Aerith's name. "I had her assistance at the wedding. She was recommended by that Cloud fellow that seems to follow her around." It was adorable and Ignis never said as much because it was just simply none of his business to be honest.

Llewellyn nodded, “Yes, it’s quite helpful I find… And even if they don’t return, it’s a nice way to remember them…” Even if you might not remember them after a while, memories were a funny thing for him to begin with… And sometimes he found that since arriving in this world, certain names and faces from the last had faded. Whether that was a result of being transported between worlds or his own spotty memory was uncertain, but he at least liked that he had vague impressions of those he’d known still.

The detective beamed a little to hear that Aerith had helped with the flowers for the wedding. It made sense to him. She was the best in the city, in his opinion, and she had helped add on to his own knowledge since arriving. A small, amused expression crossed his face at the mention of Cloud. “Mm… Her bodyguard and odd-jobs-man? An interesting man… I’ve only met him once myself.” Most of Llewellyn’s experiences had been with Aerith thus far… And her stories about the man. He seemed a tad grumpy, and an excellent target for the woman’s teasing. “But I’m not surprised he would recommend her. She is the best in the city… And they seem rather close too.”

It was rather cute, in his opinion, that she seemed able to rope the man into various projects and things.

"Funny, I never thought to create such a thing. It's quite a splendid idea indeed." Ignis smiled. And of course he wrote it down in the green notebook that was given to him so that he would remember to do it. Of course while the three had been missing for some time now, Ignis remembered them and things about them. So if they ever returned, he would have ample stories and anecdotes ready.

"That would indeed be him." the advisor remarked with a smile. "I too have only met the man once but I do believe I saw him dancing with Miss Aerith at the wedding." Of course he'd been so very busy dancing and socializing and trying to ensure that everyone was having a good time as well as trying to keep an eye on who had shown up.

"That they do. They seem very well suited for each other." And of course he wondered if they were a couple, but again prying wasn't a thing he did.

“I noticed that myself, couldn’t help but wonder…” Llewellyn responded with an absentminded hum and a grin. “It was nice to see them enjoying themselves. He seemed so serious when I met him.” While Ignis was not one to pry, the detective was a horrible little meddler sometimes. Especially if it meant seeing someone he cared about to find a little happiness.

He was the sort who tended to worry if he saw those around him unhappy, and felt the need to fix it somehow. It was why he’d stuck his nose in the minute he picked up on Effie Newsome and George Crabtree’s almost annoyed infatuation with one another. George was miserable and alone, and for all he grumbled about Effie… There were sparks. So. Llewellyn meddled. And now? Now they were quite happy together.

At least his meddling mind was currently on another pair of people who’d arrived here. Of which, now that he thought about it, he should check in on again soon.

Still, he had a job to do here, which he hoped would assist Ignis with making his and Nida’s space nicer and thus add a little cheer to their lives. “So… What sort of colours are you considering? That might, uh- assist with selecting particular kinds of flowers or plants.” He tugged a pencil out of his pocket himself, wanting to make note himself in case he could see about helping with finding things.

"He does seem to be a rather serious lad. But with the way Aerith handled him, I do believe that says quite a bit about them." Prying with his mouth no, but Ignis definitely tried to keep an eye on them during the wedding. Of course that was a tall order most of the time spent with Nida and checking on other guests.

Turning his attention back to Llewellyn now, Ignis shook his head. "I suppose something green or patches of it would be a start." He had to smile as he thought. "I have thought of taking some of the hunters up on their offer to plant some of the smaller trees here as well, but green is a start." Green meant so many things to them, from the green tree Nida had been high up in, and where they'd first became a couple was in the green building. Then of course was the green jade necklace Nida had given Ignis and it just went from there. And that was why the colour featured in their wedding theme too.

"But.." And he went to grab one of the reference books he'd found to flip through it. "I may select a few roses though they have different meanings."

A garden without greenery would be a strange thing, in his opinion, but he nodded with a grin. “Of course, perhaps some nice shrubs as well…” He jotted down a couple more notes for himself. The more verdant the plants, the better was what he was getting from this. He smiled a little to hear that the hunters had offered to help Ignis with his plans as well.

“Mm… Trees are nice. There were a lot of them where I grew up. It was not so dissimilar to here aside from the lack of magic.” He tapped the side of his face lightly, trying to get an idea of how a few trees might look in the area Ignis had to work with. He was very good at visualizing things that weren’t there yet, for all his thoughts tended to race and jumble. “Are there trees in particular you have in mind?”

The mention of roses gets a small grin. He doesn’t mind going back to the subject of roses, after all. As he’d just told Ignis, they would be an important part of his own garden one day. “There are indeed several meanings, and it seems to depend on the world. Are there particular roses you’ve already considered, or are you still deciding?”

"I'm not quite sure what all of the different species are. But I do plan to look into them." He'd like a pine tree of course, but how much of a pain in the ass that was going to be if it had to be transported from say the Lodge to his house might be right out. "And I will simply have to confer with the husband if he has a preference. So do hold that thought if you don't mind."

He picked up another book as Llewellyn spoke and found a really striking pink rose and another had a white rose. "I should think these two would be good starters." And he turned the books around to show the detective. "I wonder if our Aerith would be able to find seeds, or if she would have roses in these particular colours."

Llewellyn might have suggested starting with a sapling or a younger tree for ease, because a large and full grown tree really would definitely be a more difficult… But Ignis probably had help from the lodge, he supposed. So he nodded instead as Ignis explained, jotting it down in his notebook. “Of course, I’ve noted it and we can mm… return to that subject at a later date.”

His eyes darted to the books as Ignis turned them to show him, reaching out to tug the books closer for a better look as he studied the blooms with a curious smile. “Ah, yes, those would look quite nice. They would compliment the greenery and each other.” He quickly jotted down the varieties, “Blush noisette and white floribunda… Both are excellent choices.”

At the mention of Aerith, Llewellyn’s head ducked in a quick nod. “I expect she’ll have something. I can uh- inquire next time I’m working with her at her garden shop.” He always had this notebook with him, after all. It was his all-day-every-day use notebook for things he wanted to keep in mind or have at a moment’s notice.

Ignis just had to smile and grabbed his coffee cup. This was going to be interesting and the scholar in him was definitely set to learn a lot of different things he supposed. "I have to thank you." he said as he set his cup down. "I had no idea really that there were different varieties of all of these plants."

Of course he knew some from home, but those weren't here and mostly he'd studied geography and local customs in each place so he could be somewhat of a compass for the king. Sure he loved gardens himself, but there wasn't really time to read up on it once they set off to Altissia. and on the road he had to keep the King safe as well as keep the other two alive and well so they could help him protect the king.

And he picked the coffee cup up and stood slowly because it was empty and needed a refill. "Indeed. When will you see her next? Do you know?"

Llewellyn smiled and gestured vaguely, “Think nothing of it. I’m happy to share my knowledge with someone who appreciates it.” He didn’t often have much cause to, but he was a fountain of information on very specific subjects. This was one he’d had the occasion and encouragement to expand on during his time at the Sphere, and he’d been eager to continue it here. So it was nice to share it with a friend again, “It’s fascinating, really. Plants seem to be a constant in most worlds, with varied varieties that survive in so many conditions.” A world without seemed sad to him, but he didn’t write off that there might be one or two.

“In the last world I was in there was a library that contained the books from… Well… All the worlds and times, if you can believe it... I learned a lot about flower varieties and hybrids that didn’t even exist yet in mine.” So, Llewellyn supposed he had a little bit of a leg up on knowledge there. And between the goddess’ flower, the flower his angelic friend had showed him, and those he read about, he continued. “Even those that don’t exist in mine.”

As terrible as the place had been, sometimes he wished he had more time with the library… But he’d already spent a lot of his days there, jumping from one subject to another. That happened when you weren’t sleeping and trying to avoid talking about it, he supposed.

The question gets a shrug, pulling his own coffee mug to him and picking up another pretzel. “I’ll probably be there tomorrow? I work for her on a part-time basis, so a few times a week opposite of my time at the office. Sometimes more often when I want to, though she’s been mm… a bit stubborn about me taking more time to do non-work related things.” She’d picked up on his habit of burying himself in various kinds of work and making excuses to snack all day instead of sitting down and recharge with a full meal, so she had begun teasing him till he agreed to try a little harder.

"Indeed. The greenery and foliage was quite the splendid backdrop to the wedding." Aerith had helped him work quite a bit of magic and being able to step back and look at all of their hard work had been breathtaking. And while he was a normally patient man, it made Ignis wish he could speed up the days to the wedding. Even if there had been a ton of more things to prepare and make.

Hearing about the books made him cock his head to the side. "I must wonder if such things exist at the Wizard's Tower." He'd been through the Historium with his husband and while they found a wealth there, he'd never really visited the place. Of course it was on his list of things to do, but he was so busy still setting up hearth and home with his husband and they both worked so he could secretly admit to liking days off spent with the man he married.

Smiling at the image of a bossy flower girl, Ignis had to laugh. "I've worked with her myself and her will can be quite formidable. It's no wonder Cloud has a hard time saying no to her."

“Yes… It was one thing that was a little more challenging for ours.” He had handled the floral arrangements at his own wedding, getting input from his husband at times, but there hadn’t really been anyone to work with on the matter. “There was an agricultural dome, but much of the Sphere was very… Well, lacking in nature? Not like here at all… I Had a bit of a challenge in migrating things and arranging them.” Too many people had disappeared by that point, as much as he’d wished to have friends to refer to. Rhy had handled the clothing with Inesa, though in the end his husband had finished the endeavor on his own as well… It was sad, but most of their closest friends had disappeared well before the day.

“Mm… I haven’t spent much time at the Wizard’s tower? But I know the curator of the historium- Percy, I believe his name is- can occasionally locate books from our worlds. Though I think we need to know specifically what we’re looking for… I think this place operates a little differently in that compared to the last. At least, I presume so since it might have to do with the way we’re brought here, and that it’s not as futuristic to have access to everything regardless of the residents…” At least that was Llewellyn’s hypothesis since arriving and doing a look around to try to work out how things operated.

“This place feels like it’s between Rhy’s time and mine, honestly. Aside from some of the more recent additions.” Rhy was from the Georgian era, while Llewellyn was from the Edwardian. It was… An interesting thing to consider, at least in his opinion. It was a little more like Rhy’s world in that there was magic, but slightly closer aesthetically to his time.

Llewellyn chuckled a little, setting down his cup of coffee. “Formidable is a good word for it. Not that I’m unused to having friends and acquaintances like her… But I certainly have a hard time arguing with her logic when she gets to trying to convince me of something.” He rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully. He wouldn’t change that for anything, though. He appreciated her nudging sometimes. The detective needed that in people. Plus, he was grateful for the chance to continue practicing with gardening for when he could plant his own… And it settled his nerves, often enough. “I don’t doubt Cloud has experienced it and rather wonder what the confrontation might look like.” Again, Llewellyn was a nosy man. Suitable for being a defective, one would suppose… But the mental image also seemed amusing to his mind. Stoney faced young man vs. a cheery, energetic young woman.

Ignis really tried hard to picture this agricultural dome but all he was getting was a garden in his mind's eye. And he was pretty sure that wasn't going to be a thing that would happen so he pretty much set it aside. "I can imagine it would be hard to find things to grow under the ocean." He didn't envy Llewellyn due to that at all, it had to be completely tough.

"I admit I haven't spent time there since we received that new curator." And Ignis didn't know if he trusted it. He could try again he supposed as it wouldn't hurt. So he grabbed another cup of coffee and automatically started to get another cup ready in case it was needed by the detective. But it was still fun to hear how the times were different between Llewellyn's time and that of his husband's. It kind of reminded him of the chats he had with Nida regarding things like that.

Still, it was nice to hear the other laugh as they spoke of Cloud and Aerith. "I don't believe he has a chance against her because she does seem to rather drag him along for any adventures she might have in mind." And as he finished getting the coffees ready, he set Llewellyn's down in front of him before taking his own seat again.

"I do wonder if they'll marry."

Should we start moving this towards a close?

gadaboutdetective - 2022-02-02 22:47 (UTC) - Expand

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Wandering Around in November

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Apologies for the length, pls know I trimmed this a lot before posting OTL

No worries!

<3

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Sorry for the wait!

Never late!

Thank you! <3

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Should we start moving this towards a close?