Community Garden Opening

[fulgency]

Community Garden Opening

It had been a challenge to find the space given the overcrowding that came as a consequence of Aefenglom's populace being shuffled about for the sake of the Mirrorbound, the community garden is settled in a semi-spacious lot. The building that once stood there had fallen into such disrepair that the costs to restore it would be far more drastic in price than simply replacing it altogether. But few have that sort of money on the western end of the residential district, and so it was agreed upon by those in the neighborhood with the Council members that had collaborated to bring this motion to life that the land and the adjoining empty lot would be of better use as a green space. One where residents and others in the district or city could grow what their small greenhouses likely could not support or simply have a place to relax in or send their children to play. But that is the hope for the space and not yet its reality. Because as most within the city are quite aware through fliers, mailed invitations, posting to the Watches, and advertisements within the local paper, the garden is not yet planted. But it's finally, finally ready and there is to be a celebration. Today, the space is a bit fuller than it otherwise might be. This is not because of the Council members who gathered a bit early on the first day before the first arrivals, the Parliament members who filter in and out throughout the weekend, or the various members of the western residential district. There is simply a lot to do here this weekend in both hard work and fun alike.

I. Good Seed for the Day A wider path winds its way through the space, leading either to the garden or to an open space in which nothing is necessarily meant to be planted. Following the path towards the garden proper, there is a modest stall set up, occupied with various volunteers throughout the weekend to sell seeds and saplings at a low price for those who have come empty-handed. The sign on the stall itself notes that all proceeds will be utilized to continue supporting the garden itself. They also have all the necessary gardening tools available, although you may need to occasionally share during the peak hours. Then again, those with a bit more of a green thumb might come prepared as everyone is more than welcome to bring their own supplies, whether that be in the form of seeds and saplings or gardening tools. As for where to plant, following the branching and more narrow paths throughout the garden space, there is a clear divide between food and ornamental gardening but plenty of space exists within each division. Various planters of various sizes and shapes are made available either on the ground or shelving as much as the earth itself has been transformed into something suitable for planting. A small greenhouse has also been constructed, although the majority of the space has been reserved for growing food rather than beautiful flowers. Those a little uncertain or more curious will be relieved to know they are not on their own. Monsters from the residential district with more experience are available to teach more about how to properly care for the plants and Witches make themselves available to explain more about the alchemical properties or provide magic lessons to encourage growth. For the more advanced, there's even a few who are willing to point out examples of helpful and harmful insects in the garden, and the best ways to handle them.

II. Never a Dill Moment Those with black thumbs or a dislike of digging around in the dirt needn't fret or feel left out, however! There are other ways to beautify the garden, namely painting pots and plant holders or signs. Tables are set up with the necessary supplies where people can either paint individually or work together in small groups. There is also the option to build birdhouses and feeders that will hopefully be of interest to avians not of the harpy persuasion. Of course, if there is a special someone that might appreciate these painted and built products or maybe you just feel your lawn could do with a bit of sprucing up, everyone is equally welcome to take their creations home and do as they please, too. And for those who are maybe a little less artistically-inclined or wary of hammers and thumbs mixing, there is always the option to do a little bit of cooking in the outdoor kitchen. Stations with various kitchen tools and portable gas stovetops have been set up with plenty of ingredients and one instructor to teach dishes that can be made with few ingredients and with fairly limited kitchen time as well. Different meals are taught throughout each day, so breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner plans can be made. Completed meals can be shared on the grass or at the provided tables and chairs spread throughout. Just be mindful when spreading out a blanket that you could potentially be in the crosshairs of some form of sportsball being played between the local children.

III. Thyme to Leaf Already by the end of the first day, there has already been a great deal of progress. Some sections of the garden are already thick with lush green foliage thanks to magical interventions. But as the sun sets and the twin moons rise in the evening sky, the garden begins to empty out. Even the local vampires begin filtering out to go about their nights. But there is still work to be done. Gardening equipment needs to be moved to the shed on-site while chairs need to be carefully stacked onto tables. Leftover ingredients and food need to be packed up and either properly stored for the next day or delivered to the neighborhood and Outer City. Any trash not properly disposed of also needs to be cleaned up. Those who choose to help in this effort will be thanked and asked to come again in the morning to set everything up for those that tolerate the sunlight. As the number of visitors in the evening of the final day begins to dwindle, the process of cleaning up begins earlier than the first. People are first instructed to take down the tables, stack chairs, and carefully disassemble stalls before anything else. For now, they are to be placed against the shed as they will be collected in the morning. Once those tasks are taken care of, it's more or less a repeat of the night before. However, those who opt to help both nights are given their choice of two leftover packets of seeds or saplings at no charge as a thank you. They are free to do as they please with them whether they choose to plant them at the garden or at home.

Hello, friends! Welcome to the community garden opening. First, I would like to give a big thanks to Skai for helping write this log! Second, please direct any questions you have here. Otherwise, please enjoy digging around in the dirt and picnicking! I'm real sorry about the puns. I can promise you that as much as they might hurt to read, they probably hurt me double to write.

Comments

[turmoiling]

No, not at all. Only that if none of those mistaken actions [My crimes, though he's loathe to say those words here; mistaken, well, what other choice did he have, back then?! Jin Guangyao's words are soft, even if frustrated.] had been taken, would Hanguang-jun have reacted as he did, or you responded as you did? Of course I understand, perhaps it cannot be any other way. It is just difficult to put the past behind me, when I am still being reminded so.

[Still doing his best to quell that hatred he bears for Huaisang, he lifts his gaze again to meet Xichen's softly, approach shifting still.] I am not asking for you to take action against him. Neither of us saw his intentions before, but if we are together, even simply Bonded as we are [to say nothing of other things] I worry you might be targeted at much as I. Perhaps together, we might catch sign of something before it happens. Besides which, if you would tell me what you spoke of regardless, it really isn't so different, is it?

[zewu_jun]

[Still drawing in his own frustrated breaths and attempting to even out the rising temper of his feelings, Lan Xichen shakes his head.]

It would be a different life if things had gone other ways, but can you really blame Wangji for being so upset? If you were caught off-guard by Huaisang, how do you think the rest of us felt, being caught by you? Rivers and currents aren't easy to bury, but Wangji hasn't spoken a word about you since that last time. We may not erase the past, but we can still move forward. Spare me some patience. I do feel guilty for breaking those rules, but I still chose you. You seem unsatisfied with my choice. Perhaps it was wrong.

[As Jin Guangyao looks toward him, Lan Xichen reaches the end of his own patience and withdraws, looking out to the garden instead.]

I am sure that between you and Huaisang, I am not interesting enough to be anyone's prey. If he focuses as much on you as you do on him, I have no fear at all of becoming a target. He has not made any move to approach me since his return and I see no reason to antagonize him. Or Mingjue.

[The name hangs in the air a moment as Xichen battles with more frustration.]

We were family.

[turmoiling]

[Maybe you don't have any fear of it, but I do! But that thought is interrupted by a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach by those last three words.

He really doesn't want to discuss Mingjue with Xichen. Or others of his family, whose deaths he was responsible for in one way or another. There's simply too wide a gulf of understanding between them.

Jin Guangyao doesn't let the silence that falls after those words rest more than a beat or two. If they were not in the middle of the public garden, his entreaties might be less tempered, but as it is, his voice is calmly quiet in its pleading, again belied by the turbulent emotions underlying it.]

I'm sorry.

I know it was wrong to have suggested such a thing, but these worries are not so easy to ignore. Perhaps I spent too long worrying over it before even bringing my concern to you in the first place. Of course I trust you, to tell me if there was anything untoward.

[As if he would even notice anything at all. Jin Guangyao's own frustration is not so easily staunched, when there's already other feelings being kept in check.]

I need your patience as well, more than anything else. I don't want you to think you had been wrong.

[zewu_jun]

Am I not wrong?

[Xichen's voice is soft and quiet, but not from forced restraint. There's a sad, empty note in his voice that isn't the tight, demanding questions he forced on Jin Guangyao in the temple. It's a still, reflective pond, absent and clear. He takes in the frustration from the Bond, looking at the other man and finding nothing to hold onto.]

I don't regret it. Even if I am wrong and I have to face consequences for that, I don't regret my choice. I have some comfort in what we shared.

[Comfort that was only his. When his Bonded asks for patience, Xichen wants to offer it, because that part has always been easy. But now, seeing and feeling the tangle of emotions, he doubts that patience will provide what Jin Guangyao wants.]

Do you trust me? [It's the heaviest question he has had to ask.]

[turmoiling]

[Lan Xichen can be trusted, in his intentions. That if he says he will protect, that he will, to the best of his ability. It's just that isn't enough when the subject of his hate and fear is possibly even more cunning than himself, as much as he hates to admit it.]

If I did not, there are many things here that wouldn't have happened. [He replies quietly in return, though worry still overshadows that affection, with all this talk of how wrong it is. Though he's not ignorant, especially now, of the sway both Bond and the moons have had. Would they have come together as they had without those factors? Possibly not.]

[zewu_jun]

Is that so?

[He wanted to believe that was true. He had assumed at the time it was, but now with the fear and tension coming through to him, Xichen isn't so sure. Maybe there is some affection, but maybe Jin Guangyao doesn't return his feelings. At the moment, he can only think that his Bonded thinks he is more wrong than he does, and that hurts. It's strange to find Jin Guangyao and Wangji looking at him with the same type of disappointment. His hand goes to Shuoyue's hilt, fingers curling around the pommel.]

Thank you. For your trust.

[turmoiling]

[It's impossible not to let his eyes slip down to that grip on the sword, but Jin Guangyao turns his eyes away quickly enough. That specifically is not what he's so worried about, not any more.]

It's not something that you need to thank me for, Xichen. Why don't we keep walking? There's quite a lot of garden space that's been set up, and much more to see still.

[Jin Guangyao suggests lightly, diverting the conversation. He doesn't ask if Lan Xichen trusts him in return. The answer to that goes without saying, and the complicated reality there isn't something he wants to hear either.]

[zewu_jun]

Perhaps it is.

[The ache builds when the golden eyes follow his hand and Xichen feels them watching his sword. He lets his hand drop back to his side, unsure of that gaze or what it means. How much of what Jin Guangyao sees is him and how much is just a blade? A mouthpiece to pass on useful things? He hasn't had these thoughts before, but now after being asked to help report on Huaisang, Lan Xichen suddenly feels like he's started to see himself differently. He isn't just a friendly support or affectionate companion to Jin Guangyao the way he wants to be, and the small glimpse of reality coming through like a ray of light hurts his eyes. His face is slightly wet before he really has time to digest that.]

I shouldn't distract you. I'm sorry. I understand your concern, but I cannot do what you ask. If I am too inconvenient, I understand.

[turmoiling]

[He'd hoped to lead him away, distract, at least long enough for them to both settle a little -- but the sight of tears on Lan Xichen's face is enough to send another spike of mild panic through him, because this doesn't look good.]

I shouldn't have asked. [he says, trying to reassure his bonded once more, shifting up on his long tail to partially shield his Bonded from easy view from the path and offering a handkerchief pulled from one sleeve. There has to be something else he can do. Maybe even some way to simply spy on Nie Huaisang's doings in general, beyond just assuaging his fears of how Huaisang might manipulate Xichen.] Please, don't think of it again. I'm sure you are right, that it's only my mind racing ahead, and not really something I should be concerned about at all.

[zewu_jun]

[The feeling of panic at least shakes him out of the shock that brought his tears and he quickly returns to the trained calm impassiveness that might be a little closer to Wangji's blank expression than his usual warmth, although it's much softer.]

I'm sorry. [He repeats it more formally, taking the handkerchief with a gentle glance away as he dries his eyes, trying to maintain calm.]

I should not have come.

[turmoiling]

Why would you say that?

[he has spent much more time consoling Xichen here than he ever had in the past. It was usually the other way around. Then again, a lot had happened around both of them... and Jin Guangyao was well aware of the effect his exit had on his sworn brother.

Though he's not entirely settled, himself, He can only appreciate Lan Xichen's attempt to regain his composure and attempts to do the same in his own mind.

Even if many things have changed... there are some things he really still cannot bring up around Lan Xichen.]

Your company has been welcome, and even much is still being planted, the new garden is quite nice to see, isn't it?

[zewu_jun]

[Jin Guangyao has been more than supportive since he came to Aefenglom. The two of them have done things that Xichen would never have dared to think of in the past, and while he's felt closer to his friend since they bonded, he's become aware that there is a strong difference between not only their perspectives, but their goals. And maybe he's wanted too much from someone that didn't see him the way he wanted to be seen.

That's a troubling thought. To want to be seen. He hadn't really worried about that before either, always happy to give over his wishes for the greater good.]

The garden is beautiful, but I'm afraid I have only caused you trouble by being here. If I cannot provide support or protection, then I suppose I have only been causing you trouble.

[turmoiling]

Please don't say such a thing. You have always done your best to support me and protect me. [He murmurs; in times when he was simply Meng Yao, through to times here when he struggled with the changes to his physical form. Even the suggestion that they all become sworn brothers, was an attempt, if ill-fated.] Even if it were true, what part of your presence here is trouble for me?

[The crying would have been awkward, it's true, but hopefully that's over for now -- and Jin Guangyao has no intention of bringing up any topics that might cause problems between them again. Instead, with a mind to what has been most effective before, looks up into his eyes before saying:]

I appreciate having you here, regardless.

[and embracing his Bonded -- if it's a little more platonic in nature than it might be in a more private setting, hopefully Xichen understands at least that much and can offer him a little leeway.]

[zewu_jun]

I have always done what I hoped was best.

[He echoes that back, because it is true. Xichen did try to spare Jin Guangyao in every way he knew, but in all those times it really wasn't enough. If it had been, Jin Guangyao wouldn't have died with all of that hate still in his heart. He might not be asking these terrifying deeds of Lan Xichen now, still lusting after revenge.

Good intentions don't do enough. Xichen smiles a little, his feelings settling into calm distance.]

Is this what you would prefer? I must have imposed on you many times already. I do miss walks through the gardens, and it must be even more fond for you. I'm sorry, I ruined your time out by saying too much.

[turmoiling]

Not at all. I simply worried too much and it led to mistaken thoughts. [And even if Jin Guangyao is quite sure those thoughts aren't mistaken at all -- he can only approach it from another angle, in the future.] And in looking for work, I am simply surprised, that is all.

Would you like to keep walking? Or would you rather we went home for the evening? I think I've put in enough of an appearance here if that's what you would prefer.

[zewu_jun]

Yes, it's my fault. I won't mention it anymore.

[So he says, with the disappointment and concern still weighing on his mind. What will Jin Guangyao do now? After outright refusing him, Xichen can't help but feel both guilty and apprehensive of where this might lead. He doesn't so much fear for himself as others, but even aside from that, he's gained a new personal doubt that leaves him wavering. Will Jin Guangyao see him as an inconvenient obstacle now?]

I don't mind. If you have more things to discuss with others, you should see to them. Although... I don't want you to think you were mistaken by telling me your worries. If you are still concerned, I will do what I can to reassure you. Perhaps we should talk more somewhere else.

[turmoiling]

[Hearing Lan Xichen blame himself once more sends a pang of uncomfortable sadness through Jin Guangyao. He doesn't like to hear it, or feel that guilt coming across to him -- and yet his own worries are not too distant from that final betrayal that he can't quite leave behind in his own mind.]

Perhaps. [Jin Guangyao agrees, even if he's not sure that Lan Xichen can possibly see the troubles he himself worries about, no matter how it's explained. If nothing else, at least he can properly distract him from their mutual worries and concerns in private.] Let's take the long way back around the garden so I can bid farewell to a few people before heading home, then.

[zewu_jun]

[Unlike Jin Guangyao, Lan Xichen's worries and priorities are pretty simple. He has straightforward desires and if they fail he naturally assumes it is only because of his own mistakes. There's no immediate suspicion of anything else. Even after what he has learned, Xichen still makes an honest attempt at living righteously.]

All right. If it isn't too much trouble, I still wish to discuss matters with you further once we are alone.

[It's important to be direct, right? That must be the main problem. He's not able to talk to his Bonded as clearly as he needs to.]