We are dust and shadows

[sweetd3lights]

By Adrian Sky

[lipat]

[gardeninglovers]

Foto “pinnata” dalla nostra lettrice Manù, blogger de La casa di Manu Djupedalsgatan 6 | Stadshem

[outofthisxworld]

             To be fair, it was not the worst wound he suffered. There had been that unfortunate               incident a few years ago back home, where he had snuck into a noble’s home only              for a guard to find him rummaging through a jewellery box. He had barely gotten              away but he still had a nasty gush on his right leg where the guard slashed through              his flesh. He was sure he would never see the light of day again with the amount               of blood he spilled on the floor. But magic was far more potent in his world than it              is on Earth and he had claimed many times that luck favoured him for a healer               had found him and patched him up sending him off with only mild pain where the              air pressure dropped around him and lightning cracked through the sky. 

             He prayed that his luck hadn’t abandoned him again. 

             The shake of his shoulders had him groaning, feeling every muscle and bone              move under the soft pressure of her hand. Like sparks, pain shot through his               side, adding fuel to the fire of agony that boiled in the pit of… well it was               everywhere, except maybe his feet but those felt like they had thousands of              pins and needles being stuck at the soles of them. If he looked as half dead              as he felt he imagined the ghostly pale skin and bloodshot eyes were not the              best of visuals. But he turned to his hopefully would be savour and forced his              eyes open at least a crack. 

             His vision was going dark, edges around the woman shadowy and, well, black               and the porch light above her head did actually make her look of the angelic              sort and if she managed to actually stitch him up, he’ll just be inclined to believe              she.  ❛ Barely. You’re more on the muted side. ❜ Talking took effort out of him,              energy he didn’t have and if he were any less stupider he would have stuck to              simple yes and no answers. Wittiness was all he had when his lungs felt              like they were on fire and his tongue tasted of copper.

             ( he always did say his loose tongue would get him killed but he didn’t think                                                     it would be this literally )

              ❛  Pardon my rudeness, miss, but I think I’m about to pass out.❜

              And he did. A moment later when the last waves of shadow took the                porch light halo into their snares and any sort of thought ceased immediately.

[fatalux-blog]

Pardon my rudness he says. Ria shook her head in exacerbation as the stranger slumped to the ground. It was probably the first time she’d ever been apologized to over something like passing out. At the very least, she knew now that he wasn’t dead. Kneeling closer to him, she ran practiced fingers across his wound, trying to get an idea of where to start with his treatment. 

While she wasn’t exactly small, Ria was fairly unimpressive and she really didn’t know if she could get the man to a more comfortable place. Instead she grabbed hold under his arms and began pulling him inside the doorway. It took a few tries, but eventually she was able to get him just far enough in to close the door. He had enough weight to him that she was out of breath and sweating by the time she managed to lay him out on the floor of her living room. Now that she was closer to her equipment, she reached for a disinfectant and began peeling away the cloth hiding his wound. It was spattered with dirt and bloodstains that almost entirely hid the full extent of the wound, but a few douses of the liquid began to reveal the torn skin beneath. She was actually fairly grateful he’d passed out; the disinfectant could sometimes hurt more than the actual injury. It would help stop his bleeding, and then she’d be free to bandage him. If he woke up in between, she’d have to get him something for the pain.

As she worked, the healer reached deep into her mind and sealed off her wards. Between the stranger’s bedraggled appearance and the clear knifing that had happened, she didn’t want anyone surprising her on the stoop in an effort to finish him off. With the wards closed, they’d have to force their way closer and she’d know in a heartbeat. Until the stranger could wake and explain himself a little more thoroughly, it was better to be safe than sorry.

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     He hadn’t known it possible for his grin to split wider, a fierce flash of amusement swirling in his deep amber hues. ❝Did you just make an innuendo?❞ He practically purred out the words, smug smirk quick to take over in place of the grin and leaning back onto the heels of his feet before rocking forward. 

               ❝I’ll have you know that I always leave my conquests happy, love~ It’s           something I pride myself on after all.❞

     Not that he didn’t also leave a few people thirsty for his blood as well. But what fun would there be in life if people didn’t want him at least partially dead? 

     As if sensing the other’s contemplation, Ian only winked before snatching the pot of his head once more, lazily holding the prize above his head and far out of reach. It would be a shame to have their fun end so easily after all. 

               ❝How about this. I have a proposition for you, should you choose to accept. As you’ve so gracefully pointed out, plants don’t seem to exactly like my method of sporadic care. So, I will give you this plant, but only if you agree to teach me how to keep the rest of my plants from dying. Deal?❞

[fatalux-blog]

    “Happy with you or happy to impale you?”

Her voice slid inadvertently into a growl as she registered the innuendo he’d both picked up and shot right back at her. There was an absurd amount of self-satisfaction in his tone, yet sick as it made her feel to admit it, she could see both being true. Running her eyes over his figure, she could admit, he was decent looking. Or at least he would be if he could stop being an ass for two seconds. Of course, that seemed utterly impossible for him, so it was a moot point. 

She sighed heavily as she picked up on the pot’s movement to sit very clearly out of her reach. She really should work on being less obvious with her silent plotting. It was far enough away now that she had to look almost completely upwards to keep it in sight. Putting a hand on her hip, she worked very hard not to scoff immediately at the offer that followed his motion.

     “That proposition implies that you’re capable of being anything except inept with plants. For all I know - and I know a lot - it’d be a complete waste of my time.”

Still, even as she spoke she considered it. Agreeing to help him was an immediate solution to getting that succulent. Plus, she could always agree to help, get the plant and leave him to deal with his own insanity. She’d have her prize, and he didn’t know where to find her, so he couldn’t enforce the agreement.

[won-der-land89]

[wonpilie]

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     Her approach only had his grin slipping into a smirk, one that tugged at the edge of his lips and had eyes blazing with amusement. She wasn’t exactly short, but compared to him, it was like a house cat picking a fight with a wolf and he couldn’t help but snort at the mental image. 

               ❝Oh, you wound me. Such biting, bitter words for someone so sweet.❞

     He caught the plant once more, effortlessly plucking it out of the air before he rose it higher with a pleased hum to balance the small pot atop his head, hands held out as if in a silent tah-dah and his grin challenging. 

               ❝Bodies huh? Something we share in common then, wow. We must be           made for each other, huh? First this plant and now hobbies.❞ One hand rest           against his heart, his look mockingly joyous. ❝Where have you been all my life,           princess?❞

[fatalux-blog]

If anything, she had to admire his immediate responses. Unfortunately the only thing they accomplished right now was making her want to shove the plant in his mouth for some damn peace and quiet.  She raised an eyebrow at him, her sarcasm shifting slightly into more of a challenge.

     “At least I can claim happy conquests after. Can you say the same?”

Somehow she had the feeling he left plenty of people pissed after his presence.

The plant on his head was practically begging to be smacked off, but she was still harboring at least a little hope that she’d walk out of there with the piece. Instead she eyeballed the distance between the top of his head and her arm’s reach. She was honestly considering doing a tackle and run at this point. If the pot did get a little battered, Jade would get over it. The damn woman had conveniently vanished after noticing her predicament, so she better be willing to work with her.

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     Alright, he would admit it, this was fun, vastly more entertainment found in one individual than he thought the entire nursery capable of providing. And all over a measly plant. The grin that spread across his features was devious from the curl of his lips to the glint in his auburn-honeyed gaze. If he felt threatened by the brandishing of a small plant, he didn’t show it, instead only leaning a margin closer, words practically a purr on his lips. 

               ❝I’m afraid my personality is a tad bit too much for them to soak up.           Perhaps you’d have better luck though?❞

     Smart enough to at least sense danger when it stared him in the face, his grin only spread wider, dancing back a step and out of the potted plant’s range - unless she was planning on throwing it and paying for the damage of course. Just to see how much further he could push her, he tossed the succulent back and forth between his open palms, a ‘thoughtful’ glance cast towards the plant in question. ❝Really, my dear, is this small thing really worth some much animosity?❞

[fatalux-blog]

Without really meaning to, Ria followed his movement as he stepped back. She was officially feeling confrontational now and there would be no winning if she looked like she was giving in. Once more within arm’s reach, she rolled her eyes viciously and responded,

     “You're too much period. I wouldn’t blame the plants one bit.”

Watching the plant go back and forth in his hands was increasing her irritation exponentially, but it was his second quip that really got under her skin. Sure, it was just a plant but stupidly enough it was important. It was her one pleasure these days - building her garden. She honestly didn’t feel like getting into all that with him though. Her personal life had absolutely no place in this conversation. She kept her response to him short and sweet. 

      “When you spend all day elbow deep in people’s bodies, you need a hobby or two. And unlike your unfortunate skill at herbicide, I actually function with wildlife.”

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     Oh, he liked this one. She had spunk and enough personality dripping from those few sentences to have Ian deciding one thing very, very easily; he was not going to be satisfied until he could count her among one of his conquests. That smile alone was enough to have some level of respect slide through his thoughts, the jab and pointed tug only solidifying that.

     Too bad for her, Ian was rather attached to this particular pot, and not in the emotional sense but physical, a mental link made with the pot itself to keep it firmly in place, which meant, of course, her effort to get the ‘succulent’ closer to herself only ended with the opposite, force and physics working against her to have the stranger rebounding into him. And honestly, just for safe measure, he did the same to that spade she was eyeing as well, grin never leaving his lips and only widening at the sudden proximity.

               ❝Really, no need for the harsh words, my dear. It’s obvious that you just           wanted to be closer, huh?❞

[fatalux-blog]

--The sudden shift in her center of balance was entirely unexpected and Ria found herself letting go of the pot in favor of bracing herself against the sudden roadblock in her way. Refusing to give him any headway, she stood her ground. Unfortunately, she came about up to his chin and was forced to stare the extra five inches up to his smug face. In a vague effort to restore her sense of intimidation, Ria grabbed another of the potted plants, brandishing it menacingly at him with a fierce glare.

     “Only close enough to shove this pot clear down your larynx. Who knows, you might finally provide a plant enough moisture to live for you.”

Honestly, she was more annoyed at herself now. For such a seemingly simple trip to the garden center, this had turned into something of a circus. It wouldn’t only take about a week to order another plant, so it really wasn’t about the succulent anymore. She’d reached a point of utter indignation now at just the thought of this asshole winning. It was about the principle, not the plant.

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     Ian would be the first to admit that he was an asshole. It wasn’t even a conscious choice on his behalf really; there was just some part of him that thrived on pushing all the wrong buttons, especially when it came to strangers. Most of the time his jabs and general jackassary was met with irritation and frustration but ended with only disappointment on his end. A given when people were prone to giving up so pathetically easy.

     So when he was met with something different for once, it was enough to leave a startled look upon his face for all of a split second before a decidedly wicked grin slid into place, a piece of the puzzle finding home. ❝Does it really matter whether I know what I’m holding right now,❞ he purred out, his grip on the pot tight as well and half tempted to shift and hold it above his head, out of reach.

               ❝I believe the phrase is finders, keeper, love.❞

[fatalux-blog]

--At the sight of his grin Ria found herself heavily considering kicking the man directly in his shin. They’d see who was grinning then. It was her better judgement that won out though, and she chose instead to flash a dangerous smile of her own.  Her grip adjusted with his to ensure her hold on the small pot. 

     “That’s what the first pilgrims said. Why don’t you ask them how well that went? It should be a friendly conversation. You’re about to have something in common after all; no heads.”

With little ceremony she yanked hard on the pot, intending to wrench it from his hands while his focus was on her remark. A large part of her recognized the absolute absurdity of this fight, but part of her was itching for a good fight to burn off some stress. Her sneaking attempt was a low blow, but she was absolutely done with losing to this asshole. Much more of his snark and she really was going to consider taking the spade nearby to his head.

[outofthisxworld]

                                       He never did know how to pick his fights.

          Particularly, he never knew how to pick his fights when he had to use his           fists instead of his wits and magic. He was a good fighter, granted, but he           preferred to snipe from a distance with his bow and arrows and especially           when he was outnumbered one to ten. 

          Honestly he should have seen the knife coming at least.

          He stumbled through dark and empty streets with his vision blurry from            tears and dizziness, pain shooting through his body in waves and the dirty           shirt he pressed against the wound to stop the bleeding was soaked in blood.           His teeth gritted in effort to keep the pain – and his location – silent and            normally he would have turned to Ren or his supplies for help but his            motel was too far away and he could not reach his familiar ( which was           cause for alarm in itself but he had to fix himself up first ).

          He heard of a healer outside of town from various sources on the street a           few times before, curiously storing away the information of magic she            seemed to have according to them. He had meant to check sooner, really,           but he never got around to it. He figured now was as good a time as any           to see if she was as good as rumours would have her be.

          Even if it could be considered a little rude to crash shoulder first into her           door, his fist loose and weak banging sporadically as he slid down onto           the ground, breathing heavily and fighting off dizziness and blurriness that           threatened to have him pass out at any given moment.

                                               @fatalux​

[fatalux-blog]

--Living as far outside of town as she did, Ria had the luxury of setting up a protective barrier along the perimeter. Since she did get any number of visitors a week, it wasn’t a defense mechanism so much as an early alert system. When the familiar ping went off in the corner of her mind, the healer set aside the poisonous root she’d been dissecting and made her way to the front of the house after locking her workshop. Too many times she’d had a nosy child get into trouble back there. It was just bad business to send someone’s son home with green boils. They’d make her heal it anyways and that was just a hassle. 

When her visitor finally knocked, she almost missed it. The faint pattering at the door was so unlike the usual demands she got. A muted thump solidified her curiosity, making Ria move a bit faster than usual to unlock the door. The sudden appearance of a grown man bleeding on her freshly cleaned stoop was absolutely not what she’d expected. With practiced eyes she glanced over his body to narrow down the source of the blood, quickly finding the knife wound. From his clammy skin and confused eyes, he’d likely gone into shock from blood loss. 

Heaving a monumental sigh, Ria crouched near the figure, giving him a brief shake on the shoulder. The man looked half dead already and she really hated wasting her efforts. 

      “Hey, you. Can you hear me?”

It’d be so much easier just to shove him back out and into the woods and let him sort himself out. Though if he did survived that he’d probably create more problems to deal with. With this in mind and against her better judgement, she began mentally compiling a list of necessary equipment and medicine for treating him. 

[writeawaytheproblems]

I’d like to think that I’ve gotten less lonely, but to be honest I think I’ve just gotten used to being alone

[luckofthedrxw-blog]

     It would take only a moment and hardly a glimmer of his energy to water his plants. For any one with an actual attention span it would have been easy. Ian was not one to remember such a simple task though, and so, with very little surprise on his part, another one of his plants died. Of course he could just throw it out and let that be the last of it, but Ian was stubborn, and he actually liked having plants in his apartment. 

     Hence why a few short hours later, he found himself wandering rather aimlessly through the garden center, looking for whatever a ‘succulent’ was supposed to be. The assholes could have just told him that it was a cacti, for fucks sake. At least he knew what that was supposed to look like. Even better, there was someone standing in front of the small section so it was slightly easier to find, a grin splitting his lips when he promptly leaned forward and snatched the last one, eyes drawn to the spiky ends and multicolored ( leaves??? ), well whatever they were. Taking one glance at the name, he only scoffed, though it did nothing to damper his grin. He took one look at the strange woman, grin spreading on his lips.

               ❝DIBS!❞

[fatalux-blog]

The abrupt disruption from her right had Ria whipping around, an incredulous look on her face. With her hair half up and face bare of makeup, she knew she looked a little mad. As the asshole next to her took the Haworthia she’d been so carefully investigating, she was glad of it. Without pause, she threw him a look of utter disgust and snapped out her hand to grab the plant’s pot. Normally she’d at least attempt politeness but it was absolutely clear that the guy had no regard for that himself. Time to pay back in kind.

    “Do you even know what the hell you’re holding? Judging by your vacant expression with Jade up front, the answer is no. And funnily enough, that’s my answer too. Find some other plant to torture with your ineptitude.”

She just wanted her plant. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. This was why she never went anywhere.

[fatalux-blog]

"Succulents, succulents...ah, there they are. Can't believe it took them so long to get the stash in." Standing in the greenhouse of the garden center with her head bowed over the cacti table, Ria was a haphazard, hyper-focused mess. She'd waited all week for the plants to get in and when they finally sent the email, she’d run out of the house without pause. Nothing was going to get in between her and her goal today.

[fractuspuer-archive]

                         ɪ lσvε ʏᴏᴜ                                                  { ᴀɴᴅ }                                                                     dεsριsε ʏᴏᴜ

[nordicsublime]

garden