aterat | [Closed] Carving And Cuddling

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[Closed] Carving And Cuddling

Who; Rhy Maresh, Llewllyn Watts
What; Carving pumpkins and trying to talk self out of getting a rabbit ~~and failing~~
Where; Their Home
When; October 14th (forward dated)
Warnings; N/A

Fall was, in Rhy's experience, a time of festivals. There was the harvest festival early in the fall, celebrating the wonderful foods and works of the Arnesian people. There was of course the brewer's festival, where those who specialized in ales and lagers and beers shared the first tastes of the creations that had been laid in before to ferment (Rhy particularly loved that celebration). And, of course, in November there would be the celebration nearest and dearest to Rhy's own heart: his own birthday. Yes, it might seem vain to others, but Rhy had been focused for years on turning his birthday into a week long party for commoners to celebrate during with no cost to them, because he saw how rarely they got to enjoy their own contributions to the nation.

None of it had anything to do with the fall festivities he'd heard of from Llewellyn's world. Strange that Gray London's world would have things so very different, though he supposed that it had to do with the fact that his love's world had things like religion and science and machines. Clearly with all of that you needed good decorations.

Which was why Rhy was here now, in their recently finished kitchen, spreading out old cloths they could clean later, and setting large orange gourds on top of it. He was even lying out knives for the process. All of this was being done while he kept glancing to the side at a book he has borrowed on his latest topic of research: Rabbits.

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Llewellyn himself couldn’t disagree with Rhy on how strange his worlds celebrations were at times and the complexities behind them compared to other places. Generally, the detective didn’t really observe any of them over the years beyond his childhood with his brothers before a distinct shift towards only enjoying New Year’s and one other holiday in particular as time passed and life took a rather unfortunate path.

The other holiday in question, of course, was Halloween. His boss had rather detested the holiday, but Llewellyn thought it had a particularly fun energy to it. The fall always brought about delicious food and activities that he started trying his hand at more recently when last there in his world. He hadn’t been particularly good at it, but it was one of the few things he rather wanted to try again as the season arrived now that he was here.

It was a particular delight that Rhy had agreed to try it with him, even as he knew it was a bit of a confusing tradition in general to anyone not from a world that celebrated similarly. But the idea of enjoying something a bit festive with his husband in the comfort of their own home and maybe starting a tradition of sorts was exciting in its own way, and was why he had a light spring in his step as he returned from taking Pretzel for his afternoon walk. Letting the little pup off his leash to explore the fenced-in yard while he entered the house and took off his hat to find Rhy in the kitchen.

“Afternoon, my love.” He greeted, moving over the counter and pressing a light kiss to his husband’s cheek before looking over the things set out for their little decorating project. A hand reached out to turn one pumpkin thoughtfully, “These are perfect, they’ll uh- make excellent jack-o’-lanterns.” He added with a smile, before pausing as he noted the book set next to the counter. The subject was decidedly not Halloween themed, and seeming to have his husband’s attention. “Hm… Rabbits?” He asked lightly, with some obvious curiosity, finally letting his arms rest on the counter in front of him.

"Afternoon," he greeted as well as he looks up to smile at his husband. He still didn't truly understand what a 'jack-o-lantern' was, and was eager to learn. All he'd done was prepare as his husband had asked.

"Yes, rabbits. I've been learning about them since that whole thing with asking about sweaters and gloves of animal fibers thing," he points out. "I was used to Inesa's bunny back in Sphere, but I'm learning so much more."

Llewellyn hoped that it wouldn’t be a disappointing project at least, especially as Rhy had seemed interested enough to learn. He was just happy to get to share it with his husband and to spend the afternoon together. Maybe it could even become a new tradition, if they enjoyed it enough together. He began checking over the supplies the other had gathered, and it seemed like he’d already covered most of what they needed to begin.

“Ah, I had wondered if anyone had known about it to share some information on the topic.” He smiled a little at the explanation. This was a subject that he didn’t know much about himself. It was rather news to him as well, given the most he’d ever considered for gathering fibers for clothing were sheep. “I admit until you brought it up, I had never really known about it myself. I’ve only been around Inesa’s bunny, or spotting some in the wild around Toronto… But they don’t quite seem the type for that sort of thing. Did you learn what kind of rabbits would be best for such a project?”

"Yes. A lovely young woman named Haru as a starting point," he admitted. She made knitting sound so nice. But she had also made him more intrigued over different forms of rabbits.

He was mostly only use to Lancelot and the ones that graced dinner tables for the wealthy.

"I've never seen a wild rabbit, if I'm being honest," Rhy admitted. He so rarely had left London in his life. So very, very rarely.

Still, he's smiling to himself. "I do not know how to knit, so I can't imagine I would need something for a project."

Llewellyn’s brows perked up at that. “I believe I met her a little while ago now. She was looking for someone to try some kind of fancy iced green tea drink.” She was a polite, pleasant young woman. The detective had liked her, though he hadn’t seen her around in some time. So it was nice to hear that she was still around, and that she had offered a little information and help on Rhy’s studies concerning this rather interesting subject.

“You haven’t? Mm… I suppose that makes sense. It wasn’t as though there were anything beyond Inesa’s bunny in the last world, either.” So between Rhy’s life in his world, and the sphere, it wasn’t as though his husband had a chance to see such things in the wild. You could run into them at parks or on the outskirts of the city where he was from, though, so he had seen them at the odd time if he was paying attention.

The smile on his husband’s face, though, brings one to his own. Even if Rhy didn’t know how to knit yet, he was sure that he was clever enough to learn… Then the rabbit could be quite necessary. And it seemed to him, that between the questions, the research, and their conversation, that Rhy probably wanted to… “Then perhaps the next step while you learn about rabbits, is to learn to knit as well? I, um… Remember my landlady knitting during the winter months when I was young. It seemed like a rather relaxing task.” If slightly confusing to work out how she did it.

Iced green tea? Rhy, who is newer come to tea, just cringes to think of it. He will most definitely pass.

"There was that boy's sloth," he points out. And of course Pretzel. So three pets there then. But he looks amused at Llewellyn.

"I don't know that I am suited to learn knitting. My hands are already so occupied. I'm just intrigued over the care of the creatures."

Llewellyn raised a curious brow at the face his husband made. Somehow, he wasn’t sure if Rhy would make that face if he tried it. It was done with cream and strawberries and had been quite decadent. The young woman had talked about wanting to open a cafe, and he hoped she tried while she was here.

That said, the man smiled a little at the comment. “True enough, though I had been thinking more along the lines of rabbits than other creatures.” He responded, eyes drifting thoughtfully to the book again. “I don’t know about that, my love. You’ve already proven to be quite clever with your hands and the clothing you make. I think if you wanted to try it, that you should.” He responded, wanting to be encouraging. “The winter will be here before we know it, and some cozy knitted things might keep you warmer.” He’d had a few sweater vests and scarves back in his own world for that time of year, specifically for that reason.

That said, he had considered the idea of adding to their family’s furry companions before… It only seemed right to the detective that the other man choose something that suited him. “But if your intrigued in their care, would I be wrong to wonder if you’re considering one for your own?” Pretzel did seem to like Lancelot, sometimes Llewellyn wondered if the dog didn’t see a fellow small creature with long ears and think they were the same somehow. So it seemed like a reasonable enough choice.

"It sounds as if such creations are not quick," Rhy dismissed before turning his attention to the pumpkin and petting it.

"And this is the skill I wish to know today. And..."

Wait, what?

"We have a puppy."

He said it as if that was all one needed to hear.

Llewellyn couldn’t deny that the knitting he’d seen done did tend to take a while. “True enough, but still worth keeping in mind if it’s something you’re ever interested in.” he responded lightly, before turning his attention to the pumpkin with a grin. “But for today, the art of pumpkin carving.” He agreed, pulling another pumpkin closer to himself.

“A nice, fun way to spend an October afternoon. At least I think so.” He considered the side of it thoughtfully. “That said! It’s uh- a bit messy, as I warned. Our first step will be cutting the top open to make something of a lid to the pumpkin. Then we’ll need to scoop the insides out to make it hollow.” He started to explain, picking up a knife and carefully angling to show his husband.

The comment gets a soft sound, knowing it was almost like a statement to remind him as if he might have forgotten. “Indeed we do, though he’s a little less of a puppy since our time at the Sphere.” He chuckled a little before continuing. “And he still hasn’t lost his social nature, if every time I try to take him around the park is anything to go by… So I admit I’d been considering he might need some company now that we have a house big enough to accommodate?” And why shouldn’t it be a rabbit if that was what his husband wanted?

"Why do you carve pumpkins? It seems a strange thing to do," he said. He liked learning while doing the task, so he picked up his own knife to mimic the angle.

Company in the house was it? Rhy considers that briefly.

"Does that mean you want us to get another dog?"

“I cannot deny that.” He responded with a little chuckle. It was terribly strange as traditions went. Carefully cutting the top into something of a lid and fussing with tugging it off for a moment. “The lanterns In Ireland they used to carve turnips instead of pumpkins, though. Historically, there are a few varied suggestions of why. The most frequent I’d read about was the celebration of Samhain when the souls of the dead and spirits were said to walk the earth. The lanterns left on porches and window sills were said to ward off negative spirits and entities to protect the house.” Finally succeeding at getting the top off the pumpkin, he set it aside as he continued. “It’s not taken as seriously these days, of course. It’s mostly just a fun activity to decorate one’s space.”

Offering a small smile to his husband, he shrugged lightly. “I, um… only just picked up the tradition a while back when I was in my world for something to do... So I thought it might be fun to try my hand at it again here. Thank you for agreeing to try, my love.” He added with a small duck of his head before he looked to Rhy’s pumpkin to check on how he was doing with the lid.

The comment gets a shake of his head. “Doesn’t have to be a dog. I’m not even sure sometimes if Pretzel knows he’s a dog with how he gets on with Lancelot or tries to sit with the ducks at the park.” The little hound was an odd creature, certainly. “So what I mean would be that if you’re interested in something like a rabbit- or anything, really, you should consider it?”

"Ah, this has to do with your practices related to death," Rhy noted, voice thoughtful. His people were so much more flippant with that than most. Though for memory of it, his hand raised to his chest where the scars of his death, and the marks of his brother's magical working, still linger.

"We shall make a few then, to make our home more comfortable for you, love."

Though he doesn't much understand the whole practice behind it, his lover wants it, and thus it matters to him.

"Oh Pretzel is so very very much a dog, even if he is not a hound such as my father would find appropriate. But he is so very placid. Perhaps that is from his origin."

The Sphere was indeed a very strange place after all.

"Rabbits are cute..."

“Yes, although it’s not thought of in that sense much these days.” Llewellyn had been a little more fond of the slightly whimsical, artistic aspect of pumpkin carving more than anything. Still, the thought behind Rhy’s agreement was appreciated. “Most of the time it’s small parties, and uh- something new that’s been taking off has been children dressing up and going from one door to another. Although I haven’t seen many doing it yet, given I was in a boarding house and not an actual home in a neighborhood. My boss did, though.” They’d gotten pranked, which was honestly more amusing to Llewellyn than anything.

Smiling a little, “He is, and yet he seems very confused by that at times.” So very like and sometimes unlike, it was curious… But he was theirs, and terribly sweet, so Llewellyn adored him regardless. The detective had to nod at the observation, though. “Alex and I discussed that possibility once… It seemed likely enough based upon him and some of the other animals that were there.”

And there it was, a little evidence that he had been right about his husband’s wish for a rabbit. “They are quite cute, and seem to make good companions if the ones I’ve been around are anything to go by.”

"Indeed?" Rhy asked. He hadn't realized people had considered it enough to discuss it.

Still, he does want to wax poetic about rabbits.

"They have the cutest little noses."

“Mmhm… We spoke on it a little more extensively during that uh- unfortunate situation with the domes.” Not that he liked to think about that particular point in time, it had not been pleasant for anyone.

“We considered that, given animals weren’t normally found there in a natural environment, that the sphere may have created them specifically for those who they were given to based upon memories or the needs of the recipient.” And while he hadn’t wanted it pointed out, he knew it was a good point. Pretzel had mysteriously appeared out of the blue and been… more or less what the detective needed at the time. An overly friendly creature with a peaceful mindset that tended to get along with him and everyone around him that he had come to like himself. It had been before he was seeing Rhy, and he’d been… dealing with some things. So Pretzel had been a therapeutic presence.

He chuckled a little at the comment, “I have noticed that, Lancelot’s seems to twitch rather sweetly at times too. And they’re quite soft, too.” He added, keeping the conversation going to see if it helped the idea along.

Oh. Then. Rhy shuddered to remember it, to remember questing to ask his questions. Still, it's rather interesting. The fast young man had something that was slow. The investigator had a dog that could seek by scent. Very interesting.

"Soft is a positive. So soft and cuddly."

Which is not a reason to get an animal

It’s not, but Llewellyn would point out it could be counted as one of several deciding factors if someone desired a pet that was both soft and cuddly. “And these seem rather varied as animals go, more so than I had realized before now. Perhaps while we work, you could tell me more about the kind you’ve been learning about?” He asked, carefully scooping the insides of the pumpkin out and dropping them in a bowl next to him, once the top was off the pumpkin.

"Oh," Rhy said, smiling at the very idea. "Alright then. But you have to show me how you intend to clean out this gunky thing."

Because he was definitely watching his husband with large, and worried, eyes.

“Excellent. I’m rather curious to hear what you know on the subject.” Llewellyn responded with a smile, before he finally noted the slight worry in both his husband’s expression and tone. Ah, this was probably one of the slightly concerning aspects of the job. It wasn’t hard, not really, but… It was messy. “Hmm… So uh- basically, what I’m doing now is about the extent of cleaning it out.”

Reaching for one of the large metal spoons he’d grabbed from the kitchen drawer, he held it up. “That said, scraping at it with this will make it a little easier to loosen everything up.” He offered a wry smile, tilting his head slightly. “Then we deposit it all in the bowl to keep the mess from spreading much.” The detective paused though, glancing at Rhy’s expression again. “I could also do this part of it for both of them, and we can proceed with carving together.”

Rhy definitely looked... uncomfortable with the idea of getting his hands into all the goop that Llewellyn had revealed. Sometimes his coddled and pampered noble background came through. This was clearly one of those times.

"I could agree to that arrangement of things."

Luckily, Llewellyn had at least thought about such a possibility in advanced. He hadn’t been about to just assume that Rhy wouldn’t want to try, and taken the choice from him entirely… But he had a feeling if given the choice that this particular point to their joint project would go as such, so he had been prepared for both possibilities. “Then let us begin. I’ll work on cleaning these out and you can educate me on the subject of the variety of rabbits you’re looking into.” He responded with a light smile, pulling the other pumpkin over to work on after the current one was empty and scraped clean.

"Alright then."

He moves to the book and opens it up.

"So there is something called Flemish Giant rabbits. They would get larger than even Pretzel by quite a bit. They are apparently very gentle, and were raised for meat."

Llewellyn smiled, listening with interest as he continued to clean the gunk out of their pumpkins without much fuss. Sometimes reaching for the spoon to scrape and disconnect more of the filling from the inside. “I didn’t realize rabbits could get that large? Though that they’re gentle does sound like they might be a good fit as well.” Something calm and agreeable to the company (and probably cuddles by default).

"Perhaps. Though there's these super soft, fluffy ones. Fluffy like a long hair cat. Those are supposed to be sweet. They're called Angora rabbits, and they are the source of the fibers for cashmere."

And yes, fibers makes Rhy very interested and amused.

“So you did learn what those are called.” He tilted his head with interest. He had never really known about this variety himself until Rhy had brought up the idea. “Then I suppose that would be rather fitting considering your creativity?” Rhy would never cease to impress his husband with the clothes he made and the designs he came up with, and he didn’t doubt that would continue if Rhy had a chance to learn to knit as well.

That said, he had to voice his curiosity on the subject of using rabbits as a source for fibers. Tilting his head to look down into the current pumpkin to see if it was clean enough to move on to the next, he continued. “How does one harvest fiber from a rabbit, I wonder? Is it uh- like sheering sheep?”

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