[video]

[bulletbiter]

[ the feed opens to julius in the garden, standing beneath a fruit tree - a young man in his early twenties, with blond hair and clear golden eyes. he looks a tad tired, with dark shadows under his eyes - but for those who knew him from before, he appears to be in better condition than they last saw him.

notably, he wasn't at the icebreaker. but - those are minor details. ]

Hello, everyone. My name is Julius.

[ he gestures to the greenery behind him with a sweep of his hand, a slight smile tugging at his lips ]

I'm interested in developing the garden - we may need to upkeep it ourselves in the future, and I would imagine the relevant skills would be necessary in other worlds for ensuring a consistent food supply. However, I don't have much knowledge on cultivation myself. If we work together, we'll have a better chance at succeeding.

[ his expression settles back into its usual quiet seriousness now, as appropriate for something more dangerous ]

I was a soldier back home, and I used to teach drills to my teammates. In the interest of keeping our skills sharp, I would also like to propose some sparring sessions and other exercises.

[ a pause, before: ]

If you're interested in either of these, please let me know. I look forward to working with everyone here.

Comments

[rootbound]

Mmhm. I'd been keeping Shehui seed samples, but they don't seem to have made the transition.

You're planning to start it after we go to whatever this world is and come back, though, correct?

[bulletbiter]

Yeah. I can't possibly make any significant progress now.

Though, that also means we might need a caretaker for when we leave....

[rootbound]

I don't think you're actually going to get any possible takers for that one except Astoria herself . . .? Unless someone's got some kind of stasis magic on hand.

[bulletbiter]

Maybe some sort of mechanical system? Though, it'd be hard to build too. I'm a little dry of ideas on that front.

[rootbound]

[shrugs a little bit]

Baby steps. Resource acquisition first, care plans later. Has anyone told you they're an actual gardener yet?

[bulletbiter]

No.

[ it's... sad. ]

It's impressed on me the dearth of knowledge I have about anything that isn't fighting.

[rootbound]

[...

a little more gently]

If you want to take up some other pasttime outside what we're asked to do for Astoria, I don't think anyone's going to shout at you for it.

[bulletbiter]

[ nods ]

I'd like to help everyone, in some way. [ thus, all of this ]

[rootbound]

Mm. Good luck with that.

Don't forget to try to do something for yourself too, though.

[bulletbiter]

[ that catches him by surprise, prompting a blink ]

Oh. Yeah. I'll try to remember that.

[rootbound]

[dryly]

I can get Geir to remind you.

[bulletbiter]

[ julius chuckles, just for a moment ]

I'd appreciate that. Though, he might try to remind me of that regardless.

[rootbound]

[Vern's expression cracks into a brief smile, too.]

He would, wouldn't he...? He's very persistent at that.

[bulletbiter]

Yeah. It's....

[ a pause, as he sifts for the words ]

... it's very nice. He's honest in a way that's rare.

[rootbound]

He doesn't have...much life experience. It's hard for him to learn and understand without being candid and asking a lot of questions...

[shifts on his feet, visibly uncomfortable for a moment]

Thank you for being his friend.

[bulletbiter]

[ julius smiles, a honest one this time, unrestrained by self-deprecation ]

I'm honoured to be his friend. And yours... if you'll let me.

[rootbound]

[what]

I--ah?

[it's not a no but he clearly wasn't expecting it

error error]

[bulletbiter]

[ vern's response starts making him second-guess his own words, but he's already said them so there's no taking them back - ]

I'd like to be your friend, too. If.... you're fine with it....

[rootbound]

[after another hesitant moment, almost...shy?]

No one's ever told me that before.

[bulletbiter]

[ that makes two of them. it helps ease a bit of that anxiety, even... ]

I know it's a bit odd, but... I mean it. Honest.

[rootbound]

I'm not rejecting you, I just -- need a moment to process, okay.

[huffs, dipping his head so his heavy hair obscures most of his face, briefly]

I'm still so bad at this.

[bulletbiter]

Oh, okay.

[ maybe he was being too earnest.... ]

Um, me too.

[rootbound]

[snorts a laugh into his hair, bringing a hand up to cover his face briefly]

Ah, why not. Let's be friends and bad at it together. Perhaps we'll get better.

[bulletbiter]

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

[ much better than being talked down to. it's good. ]