[visual]

[thornandmoss]

Briar is stretched out on the peak at the center of a slanted roof, a makeshift shelf for building supplies set up next to him. He has obviously just finished modifying the roof, widening the ridgepole of it. Not to make it easier to reach, but to give him a comfortable seat when he does. Briar leans back and rests his elbows on the lip of the chimney, the weather warm enough that no fire is lit below. Running water forms faint background noise, his home located not far from the river.

"Has anyone else noticed how strange the plant life here is?" he asks idly, alternately basking in the sun and enjoying the view. The garden, the sun, and the cloudwatching are all doing him more good than he can say after recent events. Being up on a roof always did seem to help some.

During Briar's first explorations of the city, he made note of both familiar and unfamiliar plants, anything he could find as many of them went dormant for the colder months. "The weather here fluctuates more than the usual climate for a lot of vegetation I've found. I wondered whether they adapted to cope with a wider variety of temperatures and rainfall levels." He pauses, frowning. "But they haven't."

Briar's garden stands out in stark contrast to the neighboring areas to someone who knows what he's looking for. Seeing it from above only makes what he has already observed from ground level even clearer. "My garden is still growing what I planted in it recently, but nearby? That's different. There's plants that weren't there before, plants that wouldn't have survived the colder months here. Decade-old trees that hate cold temperatures are flourishing, and they weren't in the city when we got snow."

He grins now, informing everyone, "Fruit trees that weren't even around to get pollinated are in season. I've transplanted some vegetables that are near the end of their growing cycle but definitely weren't last time I checked them. If anyone wants lemons or oranges, I've found a lot. I've also got--" He reaches into his pocket, retrieving a brown and fuzzy-skinned oblong fruit. Briar peels half of it with a small knife, biting into the juicy green fruit inside. He chews, swallows, and smiles again. "I don't know the name for these, but they're good."

He shrugs a shoulder. "I'm in the northwest district, Wilde, a mile upriver from the tram line to the center of the city." City still seemed a misleading word, given the massive size of the place. "You're welcome to stop by and visit if you'd like some fruit or some company." Briar adds as an afterthought, "Or a sparring partner. I haven't gotten much practice with a staff lately."

Comments

[visual]

[thornandmoss]

Briar chuckles at the raised eyebrow. He exercises charm more often than most, but he means everything he says. Briar just sees no reason not to make it clear he thinks well of someone. He does consider Cain a friend. "You're welcome anytime," he informs Cain. "I'll see you soon."

He wonders about the disclaimer regarding what sort of company Cain will be. Briar isn't sure whether that has something to do with the city's most recent nightmare or the talk of home, or something else entirely. He won't ask, though, unless Cain brings it up.

[location]

[hasaheart]

One tram ride later, Cain follows the marker on the map and soon finds himself walking side by side with the house that just speaks to him of home, with it's burnt orange tiled roof and half stone, half wooden exterior. There's something almost whimsical about it that he approves of. More importantly, it suits the young plant mage to a tee.

Now as long as he doesn't depress the plant life around here without meaning to, this'll go just fine.

"Briar?" He calls out, gazing towards the roof. "Where the green hills are you hiding?"

[location]

[thornandmoss]

The windows out onto the roof were Briar's favorite part of the building, but he is rather fond of the whole thing, right down to the mismatched materials. It is not a building style Briar is used to owning, but it's close to what he would design for himself. He is rather happily settled here now, and glad for friends coming to visit.

Cain can probably get by without depressing the plantlife, especially if Briar hasn't managed to do it yet. They're rather susceptible to Briar's moods if he isn't careful. Thankfully the plants themselves do wonders for his emotional state, so they haven't suffered any negative effects from his nightmares.

"Not hiding. I'll be right out!" Briar calls from somewhere inside the house, his voice drifting out through an open window. When he comes out the door, he has a smile on his face and a broad, shallow pot in his arms. Inside the pot is a miniature oak tree, straight and tall with rough bark and tiny leaves. "I have something for you," he announces with a grin.

[hasaheart]

"Is it a kiwi fruit?" Asks Cain, feigning ignorance, though the way his eyes light up at the sight of the tiny tree belies anything but delighted surprise.

"Really. For me?"

[thornandmoss]

Some of that light always shines in Briar's eyes around shakkans, and he drinks in the mirrored reaction from Cain. Briar was never in any doubt that he wanted to give Cain one of the trees, but if he had been, that look alone would've been enough to erase it.

"What's a kiwi fruit?" he asks right back, amused.

To the serious question, he nods. "Shakkans are what I'm most known for at home. I love all plants; can't help it, really. But these've always been something special. I've been meaning to give you one for awhile."

[hasaheart]

"It's the fuzzy brown-skinned thing you were eating earlier," Cain offers, but it's an aside. It's a tangent at best, and one that brings back memories of a pair of wiry hands peeling, then slicing the vibrant green fruit into a bowl.

It's a pair of hands he'd rather not think on right now, and as previously noted, the kiwi fruit is a tangent at best.

It doesn't at all compare to being gifted with a miniature oak tree. "This is one fine piece of work," he says, reaching for the pot as his mind spins with the slightly jarring thought of keeping an oak tree indoors.

"I'll take good care of it. Thank you. I just-- I don't know what to say."

[thornandmoss]

"Oh, so that's what it's called," says Briar, his mild tone one of dawning realization. "I liked it."

Briar grins. "I'd never shaped an oak before. Not traditional. I work with pines and maples most often. It was an experiment, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. The texture of the bark holds true even in miniature." Oaks have rougher bark than any tree Briar's worked with, and while it might not work on some shapes, something about it seems perfect on this tree. The oak looks sturdier, less delicate, for it, and the miniature leaves balance out the large-textured bark, keeping the tree from looking comical on this scale. The shakkan is happy in its shape. Briar is pretty sure it will grow believing itself every bit as strong as a big forest tree, if not more so.

"You already said it," Briar tells Cain with a shrug and a smile. Between that look on his face and the promise to take good care of it, Briar doesn't need to hear anything else.