Puttering about the Grounds

[Lynn]

Mid-Morning, July 11, 2013

Now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the gray,
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
I've been kissed by a rose
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
...And if I should fall along the way
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the gray.
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain.
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the gray.
Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the gray
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the gray.

The music shimmered into the air from deep within one of the aging groves of trees, the voice that sang it deep, and slightly pitchy-the singer was obviously not the BEST at it but wasn't caring, not thinking they'd be overheard. Soon enough, some of the bushes began to shift and shake, and a hand appeared, pushing them out of the way. The music had finished by this point, and been replaced with good natured grumbling. A basket followed the hand, shoved by an impatient foot, and soon enough, the owner appeared, tossing his tied back hair out of his face. He was somewhat sweaty-it was the weekend, and he'd been here since a little after daybreak-but his blue eyes sparkled as he looked at the weed filled basket with satisfaction. One less place he had to clean up later. Well, at least for now, he thought, a smile twitching on his lips. Picking up the basket, he padded down one of the overgrown trails, heading for the semi-lake to watch the fish that had found their way and could not get back out.

He'd been feeding the beasties frequently, getting them nice and fat, just in case they were needed later. Dragons liked fresh meat after all, and you could only get so much of that from the grocery store or the butcher, so he'd decided to try and help it along some. He'd also located a wild covey of turkeys that he was working on gaining the trust of, through food and constant contact. Hopefully, their babies would be well fed with no one the wiser.

A frown touched his lips as he looked at the clear sky, wiping some of the sweat away. Was the Red Star really coming HERE? he thought unhappily. The world was seriously going to suffer if it did. They weren't anywhere NEAR ready for it. Although, without the presence of the Oort cloud from which the Thread spores supposedly came, was it truly that much of a threat, this wandering star?

[Cait]

Darius wasn't the only one that looked after the fish, though admittedly Ellie's reason were far less logical; she liked watching the fish. So she set out, can of fish pellets in hand only to be sidetracked by some flowering weeds in the grass. It was the sudden start of a song that drew her attention back to her initial destination. Hopping back into the overgrown path, Ellie drifted closer before finally being able to discern the tune. Grinning, she joined in for the final verse to harmonize.

Moving closer to the lake-pond she rounded a bend and a vine covered tree and spotted the singer. Darius. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the guy though being the congenial sort she treated him as a friend as she did most people. Besides, he was almost worldly with all the places he'd lived and his grasp of the mechanics of Anne McCaffrey's world astounded her. She'd never been able to memorize such things as the planetary system and threadfall...she'd been more keyed into things like cooking and crafts and the mundane practices on pern. She'd even tried to discover a plant equivalent to numbweed on earth and the group was subject to her latest attempt at a pernese recepie on a weekly basis.

"Hey Darius! Watcha doin' down here on your own?" She called out as she approached, all smiles and bouncing red-gold curls.

[Lynn]

Darius turned as he heard someone join him in singing and smiled. "Hello there Ellie," he said mildly. Waiting for her to approach, he inclined his head respectfully to her-she was a lady after all-then motioned to the fish. "Came to check on their progress. The dragonets WILL need food after all, and we can only count on those in town who sell it so much before they start growing suspicious. Dragons eat a LOT after all," he explained, then chuckled as she saw the fish food she had. "Did you have the same idea? Or do you just like looking at them?" he teased her gently, even as he turned to continue. "I also found some wild turkeys we can see about trying to tame and pen up if we need to," he added thoughtfully.

[Cait]

Ellie wasted no time in unscrewing the lid of her fish food and dumping some pellets into her hand though when he spoke of dragon food she faltered momentarily and looked over at him. The moment passed and she tossed the food out onto the surface of the water and watched the fish dart about in the shallows and surface to grab the pellets. For all that dragons were natural predators it was the natural way of things for fish to be preyed on. "I had wondered about that."

A smile back in place, Ellie looked over at Darius as he mentioned turkeys and her eyes lit up. She'd been turkey hunting before but found the toms so comical that she often giggled and scared them off. Of course she'd gotten good at imitating the call and demonstrated it spontaneously for Darius before giggling. "We should get some feed from the fleet farm and lure them in...and we could wait in ghilie suits and then jump up when their in the pen and lock them in." With a propensity to talk with her entire body, Ellie threw her hands up at the word 'jump' and sent a shower of fish pellets raining down mostly onto the water though some were wasted in the weeds. Blushing and staring at the now empty can, Ellie pouted. "Oh Hades."

[Lynn]

When she hesitated, one ebony brow quirked ever so faintly. Apparently she'd NOT thought of that, he thought, watching her quietly. She still fed them though, having seemed to have gotten over it really quickly, and he nodded almost imperceptibly in approval. Oh yeah, she'd be an awesome Rider, he thought, then mentally chided himself for thinking more as a leader than as someone who had NO idea of what time would bring their way.

As she lit up at the mention of the turkeys, he chuckled, then listened to her intently, eyes turning thoughtful, hand going for the notebook in his back pocket. He swiftly wrote down her suggestion and then put back, just as the fish pellets showered all over the place, hiding his laughter at her blush. He didn't want to insult her after all, even though it was slightly amusing. "I have more," he reassured her, reaching under the weeds in his basket and pulling out another thing of fish food, this time live shrimp. "Here."

[Cait]

Yup, Darius was nice; he didn't laugh at her when she said or did stupid things though sometimes she wondered if he wasn't a little too serious. Screwing the lid back onto the now empty can? She watched as he jotted down her idea. Even she knew it was a bit silly but the luring bit could work as might using lures. Certainly they could just buy baby turkeys and say they were for a project for class.

"Where would we put the pen and who's going to build it? I don't like power tools." She wrinkled her nose. Sure she could shoot a gun and could in theory hunt both with gun and bow and arrow though she'd never killed anything bigger than a rabbit or a squirrel. She could gut and clean a fish like a pro and all manner of strange tomboy things but power tools and...what did Darius have now? She leaned in for a closer look then let out a squeak and jumped back, staring at the container as though it might sprout legs and chase her. "Warn a girl, would ya?"

[Lynn]

"I'd have no problem building it," he replied. "I've been saving since Jessie told us about the eggs, and I could rent power tools, buy lumber, etc." When she jumped at the shrimp he did have to chuckle. "Sorry. I thought you'd have an idea of what they might be," he said apologetically. "I know that Bettas like them, and these guys seem to as well. I've been feeding them the live shrimp, since it seems to be better for them health wise, and we need THEM healthy if we want our dragons to have healthy stomachs." He then gave her a wry smile. "Make sense?"

[Cait]

"My dad has some tools I think. But yeah it makes sense. This is the good stuff too, just doesn't have creepy little legs is all." Smiling she abruptly plopped down at the edge of the pond, not seeming to mind his amuesment in the least. She preferred when people laughed and usually didn't mind if she was laughed at. "So have you told Jessie and the others about your grand plans?"

She stretched her legs out and crossed them at the ankles, propped up by placing her hands behind her. She was wearing a loose tank that went past her hips and a tweed blazer over it that was light blue with flecks of pink and purple; truly atrocious but she adored it.

[Lynn]

He chuckled and scattered the shrimp into the water, which promptly began to bubble again as the fish went into a flurry over the food. He then moved to seat himself beside her, sitting 'indian style' as he'd heard it termed. "Yes and no," he said calmly, watching as the pond settled again. "I've implied that there's something I'm planning, but I haven't had a chance to REALLY implement it yet, and I want it to be a surprise." He then glanced at her. "I'm also considering getting my hands on some adult chickens and a couple roosters for a breeding program if I can." He wondered what she thought of his plans.

"Although I honestly do wonder sometimes if Thread will even be a danger," he admitted after a long moment. "After all, the Oort Cloud is where Thread comes from... And unless it's traveled WITH the Star, will the danger ever come?" He rubbed his neck absently as he finished, glancing at her again.

[summerrain]

Acacia walked up to the mansion, a small smile on her face. She was excited. The eggs were due to Hatch any day now. She knew Darius watched the eggs more often than the rest of them, so she was planning on giving him her cell number in case the eggs started Hatching while he was watching them. She knew he'd be here. She walked around to where the pond was and was pleasantly surprised to see Darius and Ellie talking. She walked over to them. "Hey," she said, still smiling. "Mind if I join you?" She sat down with her feet to the side, so her skirt didn't ride up her legs. Her outfit for today consisted of a denim skirt that stopped about six inches above her knees, a purple tank top, and a pair of black flats. Her hair was pulled in a side ponytail, finished off with a dark blue ribbon. As elegant as she could be on such a hot day.

However, the girl was quiet today. She was still unsure about keeping the eggs a secret from the two most important people in her life; her brother and sister. They always told each other everything. It was strange for her to keep something from them. The triplets had only really had each other, after all. Maybe... Maybe this would be the thing to bring them back together. She sighed softly. She missed the casual time they used to spend together when they were little. Before Aster had her sports and Galax had academics... She just had her dreams, though. Their days of being the adorable triplets that everyone knew were gone. The days of sitting together on the couch and watching a movie, also gone. They still walked home together, now that each of them had their own things to do, but it still wasn't all that Acacia wanted.

Whatever was going on between the triplets, Acacia didn't feel right hiding something so important from them. She knew they'd want to know, and that both Aster and Galax would be angry when Acacia introduced them to her dragon.

[Lynn]

The male looked up as he heard footfalls and smiled to Acacia. "Hey there," he said lightly, looking at her carefully. His head cocked and he motioned her to seat herself, then continued examining her for a long moment. "You're worried," he said finally, his tone gentle. "What is it?"

He liked the girl, he really did, heck he liked all 'His' females-Jessie a little more than the others if he was honest-and didn't like seeing her like that. Hence his gently prying question. He knew, as they all did, that she had two siblings, but she was the only current member of the Club, therefore the only one privy to the Secret. He'd heard that they used to be really close but had drifted apart as they aged and their differences had come into play, and he wondered if that was part of what was bothering Acacia now.

[summerrain]

Acacia looked over at Darius, not at all surprised that he noticed. He was smart, observant, and kind. When he wanted to be. If he was mad at you, there was no hope. She knew she could trust her Club friends, they were all hiding the same secret.

"Well... I just... I don't like keeping this from my brother and sister," she admitted after a little while. "It feels like I'm betraying their trust. They've already begun to suspect that something's going on. Galax especially, he's the smartest of the three of us..." She couldn't remember if she ever told the Club that Aster, Galax, and herself were triplets. "And Aster's in sports, so she's gotten good at reading people's body language. They're both going to find out eventually... And I know they're going to be mad when they realize I kept it from them..." She sighed again. This had been bothering her for a while now. And the others had probably noticed the change in the girl's demeanor. She was much quieter than she had been. She wanted to tell her siblings about the eggs, but she'd have to wait for that to happen. "I don't want them to get mad if they find out before I tell them... That'll just make things worse between us. And they're bound to find out eventually. Galax or Aster will end up following me here one day and see the eggs, or the dragons if it happens later." She looked into the water, lost in thought. She didn't want to destroy the trust her friends had in her, but she didn't want to ruin her relationship with her siblings either. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, or perhaps dragon egg was a better fit, and none of the other Club members would completely understand her predicament. After all, Acacia and her siblings were triplets. None of the others were in the same circumstances.

[Lynn]

He listened to her carefully and nodded for her words, considering them. A hand rose and he lightly tapped his chin, thinking, his gaze focused and yet not on the pond. Her siblings would be a problem, he thought unhappily, especially if they did do as she said they would and followed her. "Is there any way to keep them distracted so they don't?" he asked quietly, watching her. "Some way you can keep them from coming here and potentially discovering what we're trying to hide?"

[Cait]

"Hmmm, I've never really been good at the details like Thread and the Oort cloud thingy." Ellie smiled as one of the others approached; it was Acacia. When she called out a greeting, the redhead waved and then glanced at Darius; the look on his face said that something wasn't quite right. Frowning, she looked back at the other girl and tried to fathom what the problem was. While she was a clever enough girl, she wasn't always the best at reading body language. So in a rare show of subtlety, she remained quiet as Darius did the talking. What she heard set her little heart a fluttering. No one else could know about the eggs until they were closer to hatching and even then it would only be a select few that would be let in on the secret. Acacia wasn't the only one keeping the secret from her siblings; Ellie was keeping the secret from her brother Sean and surely every other one of the members had someone. Eyes wide, she drew her legs up and looked to Darius.

"They can't know. No one else can know. If the wrong people found out, the eggs would be gone and shipped off to Area 51 before we could sneeze."

[summerrain]

Acacia quietly listened to their words. She sighed quietly. "You don't know Aster," she said quietly. "My sister isn't easily distracted... It won't work very well." She sighed again. "But I know they won't tell if they do find out. No one would believe us if we told them we were hiding a bunch of dragon eggs, after all. People will think we're crazy." No one really believed in dragons any more, after all. Well, besides the Club members. It was like the super-heroes in movies. People loved the movies, but no one really believed in them. "But they're my siblings. I know we can trust them. I mean, Aster and Galax know Jessie. We would hang out in middle school, go over to each other's houses..." She stuck her finger into the water, watching as one of the koi swam over to investigate. Her worried expression didn't change.

"They've already gotten suspicious... I just... I don't know what to do." She'd finally admitted it. She'd been worried about this since they'd been told about the eggs. Of course, they were bound to find out eventually. It was inevitable. Acacia was almost certain her sister knew something was up already. Aster wasn't stupid, and Galax definitely wasn't. After all, Galax was the one who always tutored the identical girls.

Acacia pulled her finger slowly out of the water, watching the fish swim around. Her eyes were unfocused as she thought about how she would break the news to her siblings.