The Changeling

Clara+, Pathologic. Sideblog to aspity-sahba, partners with afoelikedeath and reenactcreation

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

“ Daniil let you borrow his copy of Carmilla? ”

There’s amused surprise in his tone as he walks with her, breathing in the air of an old bookshop. He’s frequented this one before, it seems, with how warmly he greets the clerk watching over the building.

“ A double surprise. Yes, that’s a pretty apt description. If you need assistance finding a specific type of book, then…well, I don’t mean to brag, but I am the second best book collector this side of the Diluvial, only behind our dear Dankovsky. So, if you tell me what you’re looking for, I can help you find it. ”

It’s a good way to spend the time after lunch. Peeking at the books, grabbing ones Clara can’t reach that he thinks would work well. Books about the local cryptozoological fauna, about survival tips…anything she’s looking for, he has a good memory for finding it.

They bring a hefty stack of books to the clerk to purchase once they’re done browsing, another thing to be arranged to send back to the manor. It means they should step back onto the road, but – ah, the soldiers from before were back to patrolling. He shifts, tucking Clara’s arm tighter to his side.

“ Let’s…wait out here for a moment. Just until they pass. ”

“Well...” she grimaces, “He didn’t exactly let me borrow it- see, the Stillwater- the creepy building he was staying in? It started flooding when he was gone the first time- and he left his books in there, and so I peeked, and then kept peeking, then started to read it... Khan took the other ones! But it was to help keep them from getting wet!”

She entreats Anatoly to the explanation she had already given Daniil, who’d been livid at the intrusion into that space... initially. She had good intentions, his books just had to be rescued, and all the kids in town didn’t have any books on their own.

Anatoly guides her to good books for her friends, and she finds a bright and colorful book about bugs for Murky. The illustrations were expensive, but she thought it would be worth it... most of these things they’d never see inside the town.

The soldiers stop standing around and begin to actively patrol. They make him nervous. They make Clara nervous too. She pulls him to a table to watch outside while obscured from direct view. Opening up one of the books, she glances at him.

“Hm. Maybe... we can stay here a little. I can read something from the book I got for Lara...”

Sitting up straight, she reads, “A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and of hate. The hour, some little time before sunset, and the place, the West Barricade, at the very spot where, a decade later, a proud tyrant raised an undying monument to the nation’s glory and his own vanity...”

The passage refers to guillotines, revolutions... the overturning of nobility. It’s... quite apt to everything that’s been happening in the rest of the world, and the town itself.

Eventually, the soldiers are far out of sight and not near enough to cause immediate discomfort.

She sets her gift up, and asks for the bounty to be delivered to the same address as all the others.

“Thank you for your help, Anatoly. Should we go back home soon? Or were there other places to go?”

She’s curious, but not too curious to brave the soldiers. She knew what they were capable of.

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

He ends up carrying a fair few things for her, carefully tucked under one arm while he explores alongside her. She has a discerning eye for things that seemed very nice for the people she planned on giving them to – the cologne smelled nice when he held it up, the snowglobe was a small miracle of delicate glass and careful sculpture…

“ You’re very sweet, Clara, to get these kinds of gifts for people. They can be quite expensive. ”

He considers getting himself something, looking through the small gifts, before he pauses and plucks up a soft scarf in a sharp shade of red that reminded him of Daniil. The one he had was worn from the trip to the Town on the Gorkhon, so maybe it would be a good gift.

He keeps it tucked under his arm while she arranges for the gifts to be delivered to Polina’s, letting her do the arranging until she’s ready to keep walking.

She explains a bit more – the name Yulia sounds familiar in some way he can’t quite place, and Artemy is – the other doctor in town, yes, that’s correct. She told him that before.

“ The…murder? And the plague. My, an exciting set of days for all of you. ”

He snorts a bit, nearly pulled off his feet when she detours towards the bookstore while his arm was hooked with hers.

“ Ah – yes, this place is a wealth of good finds. Come on, we’ll look in here as well. They have wonderful academic texts, as well as fiction. ”

A musky yet pleasant smell hangs in the air. Scents of papers, leathers, dyes, and inks, all mingle together into something uniform. The smell of books.  It’s far more present here than it was in the Trammel- though, to be fair, the perpetual fog of cigarette smoke stifled any other smell that may have been there.

This smell was... pleasant, however, in a way she couldn’t quite place.

She carefully paces, scanning the bookshelves and reading the embossed letters on the spines. Titles of books- but there was no way to really tell what it was about until you opened them up.

“It’s like... a double surprise,” she whispers, picking up a burgundy title, “First, you get the gift- and you don’t know what’s inside, then it’s a book- but then, you also don’t know what the book is about! Double surprise.”

Waving her arm to punctuate her speech, “Carmilla, for one. I didn’t know that it was about a cursed lady vampire and her bad manners with her crush at all!”

She furrows her brow. It would take her days to read the contents of every book here to determine which ones would be good for the people back home.

Looking to Anatoly, she puzzles, “... Is there a quick way to try and find out what books would be best? I don’t think we have time to figure out which ones are perfect- do I just pick one and hope for the best?”

The shelves make a labyrinth, and Clara made her way through the halls with uncertain steps, holding onto Anatoly’s arm all the while.

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

It’s a lot to follow when she starts explaining the townsfolk, but his mind has never failed him before. They walk with their arms linked, side by side and in step with each other, as she continues talking.

They all seemed like a uniquely strange set of people she knows, though it means he knows what to expect when he comes to town with them. At her descriptions, he suggests a few shops: a boutique nearby with things like perfumes, colognes, and accessories for the people who might like them, a bookstore not far from it, and beyond that, a handful of places to find handmade gifts.

The mention of bringing the photos back to her father makes him smile as he turns his head to watch the people in the streets near them. A mother nearby scolds both of her children for running ahead, while a man leaning against one of the other buildings flips the page of a newspaper idly. The soldiers they see pay them no mind – hell, they hardly seem to be paying much attention in general.

“ That’s very thoughtful for you to bring those back. I know people who don’t care much for gifts, but things like that are always nice, even if they don’t like gifts. ”

He nods a little bit, though his eyes continue scanning the streets. He’s…anxious about something. He’s not sure what, but there’s a force of presence in the city nowadays.

“ We’ll find what you need and send back anything that we can’t carry to the house. How’s that? ”

Anatoly’s suggestions are wonderful, and encouraging. It reinforces that Clara has a good idea, so she doesn’t hesitate in looking. She has no idea what she’s looking for, per se, but she knows she’ll know when she sees something.

The boutique is bountiful, but a strange collection of scents mingles together. She looks at the perfumes and colognes, and marvels at the glass shapes. There were ducks, swans, a turtle-

Then she sees a glass lizard filled with an amber fluid, the tail curled up in a makeshift handle, and the stopper rested in the jaws of the creature.

Taking it in her hands, she shows it off to Anatoly, “Look at it! It’s perfect for Andrey!”

In the boutique, she amasses several things for the people in town. A snowglobe with a castle and a wizard and a dragon that had a music melody that was pleasing, but had some kind of German name that she didn’t know the meaning of... that would be for Vlad Jr. A furry pillow for Artemy, a silk scarf for Grief, some jewelry for Taya, a weird horse paperweight for Yulia...

She has most of her gifts settled by the end of their stroll through the boutique- the only thing missing are things for the bookish people in the Town.

Clara pays for a special delivery to Polina’s and continues on with her explanations, her reasons for choosing the things she did.

“So Yulia just seems like the kind of person who could make sense of those horse things. Nothing scares her at all- at least I think that’s the case.  Artemy just needs to learn to rest, I think sleeping on those creepy old beds doesn’t help- and the house needs better things anyways. I know, because I was the one that helped him clean it after the murder and the plague.”

She careens over to look in the window of the bookstore, all but pressing her face against the glass.

“Oooooh! Look! All of those covers look so nice and new!”

[graveawakening]

halfasoulmore​:

@graveawakening

“ Come on. Yelena’s busy, she won’t say anything if I have a friend over. ”

Dandy huffs and puffs from the cold, tucking his face into his scarf as he dances up the stairs and towards one of the spare rooms. There were a few permanent residents here, and he turns the key in the door at the far end of the hall, pushing the door open to a somewhat comfortable room. It’s a bit bare, but that’s because he hasn’t brought all his stuff out here yet.

There’s the twitch of whiskers in Dandy’s pocket before Sneak climbs his way out and hops up onto the bed, finding a prime spot on the pillows before settling down in a dark, jerboa-shaped spot.

“ We can hide out here to get out of the cold. Have you thought of any new places for us to get into? We haven’t been to the Stone Yard yet, but that’s because Khan and his Dogs are out there. ”

Constance draws her hood over. Yelena’s seemed to be a busy hub full of people- and people still hated her. If Clara were in Town, there’d be safety in the natural sense of doubt over which of the twins she was. But since Clara was gone... The people could safely sense her nature, and she’d end up like that poor woman at the Bone Stake lot.

She quickly makes her way up though, certain that her features were obscured enough no one could see her.

The room is comfortable. Much warmer than the other houses they’ve been scurrying through, and once the door is closed behind her, she takes off her hood and slumps down on the floor.

Spreading out her arms, she hums, “Hm. Stone Yard’s a big risk, and there’s lots of patrolmen doing the same as us, going through the plague houses and clearing them out- and orderlies cleaning them.”

Constance groans and rolls over on to her stomach and props her chin up with her hands, kicking her feet lazily.

“If there was anything worth taking- there’s one in the Atrium. We could make it over there close without getting to the Crucible. It’s just right across the bridge from here, that house with the cache behind it.”

That was one of the ones that had recently been infected near the end of it all. She couldn’t sense the plague strongly anywhere else but there- and it was still weak.

But she can’t get sick, and Dandy had proven to be truly resilient.

And stealing from the burnt out houses? That kept them away from having to go to Town Hall for the rations.

“So, whaddya think?”

[graveawakening]

Sorcerer: Sorry for the chaos, I needed attention.

[graveawakening]

Sorcerer: Don’t correct me!

Wizard: Don’t be wrong!

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

He picks something simple to pick at with a cup of coffee while she hmmms over what to get. Eventually she chooses…a little of everything, which is how they get some eyes on them as they settle at one of the back booths of the bakery, out of the main space of people staring.

It also meant he had a good spot to watch the room, keeping an eye out for anything that might leap out to him as dangerous. Clara enjoys her sweets, picking out her favorites by which ones she tries more than once – ones that didn’t get her approval got one bite out of them and then pushed over to his side to have.

“ We can take some back to the house with us, yes. We’ll get them packed up into cake boxes and share them with Gurina and Daniil. ”

He smiles a bit, sipping at his coffee for a moment as he eyes the door out of habit, his fingers drumming on the table.

“ Your teeth likely ache because you aren’t used to eating so much sugar – and so much at once. It’ll pass soon enough, though drinking some water will help. ”

He slides her glass of water closer to her, careful not to tip it over, and folds his hands in his lap.

“ So, gift shopping next. ”

The glass of water Anatoly passes over to her, she thankfully drinks, wincing momentarily as the cold temperature agitate the already sensitive nerves in her teeth... but he’s right. It does help.

Too much sugar. As a concept, it doesn’t initially make sense to her, because she and all the other kids in town craved sweets... but now, looking at it, most of the kids in town didn’t get to that point- because there wasn’t a lot of sweets to be had to begin with.

Nodding to herself as she reasons with Anatoly’s suggestion, she walks back up to the counter, requesting cake boxes, and writing the address of her aunt’s place to have them delivered- tipping generously to have it be done.

As they head out back into the cold to go shopping, Clara excitedly begins by listing all of her friends that she wanted to get something for.

“So, Rubin? He’s a giant- no joke, he’s like... eight feet tall!”

She stands on her toes and outstretches her arms to get the point across.

“He’s so big- and he needs a lot of food- but he’s also really smart too- he was helping Daniil with making vaccine things. Oh, and there’s Peter- he’s kind of sad all the time, and he wears a blanket like a coat... Aspity- she’s real mean- but she’s helpful too... most of the time. She and Daniil like to yell at each other a lot, but she let us sleep at her house so... eh?”

She shrugs. Then resumes her rapid fire descriptions of people so that Anatoly can help with gifts.

Taya is the sweetest bossy kid he’ll ever meet, she likes her authority. Sticky loves myth and legends but also wants to be a doctor. Murky doesn’t talk a lot, but she’s knowledgeable about bugs and nature and enjoys the odd things. Capella takes responsibility seriously, but has no hobbies. Khan is authoritative, but broody with a passion for fiction. Notkin likes to be taken seriously, and is Khan’s rival. He also likes animals and being in the wild. Grace is adopted by Peter, and she can hear the dead- she was the cemetery keeper.

Artemy runs around all the time and was the person who saved the town. Yulia was the only person that seemed to make sense and knew what was going on. Lara is kind of lonely, but loves books and the idea of helping people. Bad Grief has the best fashion sense and is one of the best “shopkeepers“ in the town, as well as knowledgeable- she points out that when she had to leave home for a little bit, he looked out for her, like Daniil did.

Andrey’s vain, and likes lizard motifs- he also yelled at her for mentioning God in his bar, but she insists that he’s decent... enough. And Vlad Jr, she stresses, is kind of a shut in, and likes trying to learn about people- though is kind of useless interacting with them.

“I already know what I’m bringing home for father,” she says, near the end of her spiel, “He misses mother a lot. I’m bringing home some of the pictures of her that Aunt Polina has hanging up. Father doesn’t really need or want any gift things- and they had to leave those behind.”

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

The carnivorous plants had been Clara’s favorite – and his own as well, coaxing a fly into the maw of a venus flytrap that clutched itself closed around the offering.

They walk a while longer, until Clara’s stomach rumbles and he laughs at the mention of food. They should get moving anyways.

“ They didn’t let you buy food…because of your sister? ” It strikes him as incredibly strange, though he doesn’t say she can’t buy the food – he’s fine with letting her pay. She had shown she had quite the stash of coin, considering her boat fiasco.

They duck out of the gardens and back into the cold, though they avoid taking a carriage to simply walk down the busy sidewalks and streets. There are newsboys hawking newspapers, and street stalls that have yet to pack up and leave despite the cold.

The bakery sits quaintly at the corner, smelling of warm bread and sweets, and Anatoly finds himself sighing in quiet, nostalgic joy. There was something wonderful about it, honestly. It was a place that served coffee (though the prices had risen dramatically in the last weeks) and baked goods and a small selection of candies as well.

“ Get whatever you want – and I’ll get whatever I want, but if it’s too much, I’ll get my own. ”

The smell of a bakery is a miracle in and of itself. It has the quality of warming the cold straight out of the body through that sensation alone.

Coffee is a familiar scent too, but instead of smelling acrid and bitter like she normally expects- here, at least, it seems to balance out the honeyed sweet smell and the nostalgic scent of bread.

The most vexing thing about the situation is that there are so many choices- different kinds of pastries, stuffed pastries, pastries with circular stuffings, various chocolates, pralines...

Clara assesses her choices and comes to the conclusion that the only logical solution it to get one of each- and split it with each other- save the candies. She would get two of each candy to try.

The shopkeep looks incredulous at her orders, but then the look of incredulity of the expression changes to uninterested acceptance when she pays for everything in full.

She eats with Anatoly and, as expected, it is entirely too much food. She cuts into a treat that is brown as molasses and spongey, with a hint of ginger for the taste. It looks as if it’s been stamped with different shapes, which makes it as artistic as it is delicious.

“The pryanik is so fun! I love the little stamp shapes- mnnn...” Clara grimaces as she suddenly gets a sharp sting in the back of her mouth, “My teeth are starting to hurt- is that normal?”

She sets down the pryanik, and looks at the haul of goodies.

“This is the most food I’ve had in... well, ever. I’m not hungry anymore. Stuffed actually.“

She leans her head against her hand and smooshes her cheek, trying to massage the pain away from her teeth, “Do you think Daniil likes these things? We should bring some back to him.”

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

“ I’m quite excited to meet everyone. ”

He nods slowly, his attention taken by the plants around them, as she stoops for some of the blooms. After a moment, she tucks them into his lapel and he blinks, before he offers a small, genuine smile to her, and lets her walk them towards the other greenhouses.

“ Apologies. I’m letting myself get caught up in thoughts that – I don’t have much time for, really. ”

He shakes his head, though he brushes his fingers against the flowers. There’s a quiet thought there, and the pressure around them changes – holding the blooms in a small stasis until he could get them back home to be pressed in his things.

“ You’re a very sweet girl, you know. After this, we can go shopping – I know a few places that are near a bakery with the best sweets on this side of the Capitol. We can stop there for a break. ”

He pats her hand gently, explaining quietly the blooms he knew the names of, and facts about where they were from, what they could be used for – anything he thought might interest her.

Browsing through the gardens, Clara observed so many different biomes, and marveled at the shapes that plants could take, how they adapted. Earth really was beautiful.

She even saw plants that ate animals- and that boggled her mind!

It made her appreciate the steppe a little bit more. It wasn’t empty- just full of small things. Everything was different. Grasses, twyre, moss, lichens... The trees that craved blood.

She misses home.

Anatoly mentions food- and she suddenly becomes hyperaware that she only ate in passing, and headed out.

To be fair, she was used to eating on the go during the outbreak- but since living in the Rod consistently, and having scheduled meals...

She was hungry.

“Ah!” Clara exclaims, “Food sounds good- what kind of sweets? Candies? Pastries? Both?”

Clapping her hands together, she grins at Anatoly, “Can I buy the food? Please? You already got the tickets for the garden- I’d like to get the food! No one let me in their stores to buy food back at home- cause they thought I was my sister- so I’d like to buy something since you’ve been so nice to me!”

A break would be nice- truth be told, she was getting a little overwhelmed just by how much there was to do and see.

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

“ Well, let’s keep a few of the sights we see in mind for things to bring to your little town. ”

He nods slowly as she keeps talking, and their discussion of recreation turns into explaining the entirety of the social circle of the kids she knew as they find his favorite part of the exhibit – the royal azaleas that were wider than he was tall, almost spilling into the walkway.

Grace was her friend, who lived with…Peter, who was the brother of Andrey. Andrey cared for Khan, who was friends with – maybe friends with? – Notkin and Capella, none of whom like the adults in town.

There’s a moment where he wishes he had a notebook, but he knows his steel trap of a mind would hold the information for him.

“ I see. I can’t wait to see who you introduce me to first when we arrive. ”

It’s something to think about. The fact that he was, indeed, considering leaving the Capitol with them. Not even just considering, but actively planning for it. He couldn’t stay here.

Ah, he might not see these gardens ever again. It has a tinge of melancholy come over his face as he looks up at the flowers, letting Clara guide them to whatever piqued her interest next.

“Oh, you’re going to meet everyone,” she says, matter of fact.

She’s excited to bring him back. She thinks about who would get along with him- who wouldn’t. She thinks most everyone would like him. She thinks Bad Grief would irritate him though.

She’d still try to introduce him. Who knows if Anatoly would ever need contraband.

Though... she wasn’t certain what would or wouldn’t be contraband with her father solely in charge now. There was a lot of uncertainty.

The royal azaleas spill out on the walkway, and petals fall as the tree-like shrub sheds. Clara stoops to pick up a pink bloom, edges slightly browned from being disconnected.

She senses a kind of melancholy coming from her guide. He stares at the shrub, as if he’s trying to memorize it.

Clara gazes at the petals as well. They’re soft in her hands, and she turns to Anatoly to put a single bloom into his lapel.

She stands there a moment longer, and then guides him through the rest of the building, and the auxiliary greenhouses, taking in the green, the flowers, the bastion of warmth against the winter cold.

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

She counts the tiles and he walks behind her a few feet, careful to tread far enough from the edge that the water on the floor won’t trip him up. The roat of the water over them isn’t enough to drown her words out, but it is enough that they have to speak up once they get closer.

“ It’s lovely, really. With the right facilities, it isn’t even that hard to set up, so perhaps bringing one to the town is a good idea… ”

She gets thoughtful for a moment as she seems to consider something about the gardens – and the question that pops out of her makes him think as well, even if he’s trying not to laugh at the way she phrases it.

“ Ah, it depends on the person, but generally…I like going out to eat, getting fresh air. The gardens are a good place for me because there are plenty of places to sit if I need to.

Some folks go to the bars, some simply go on walks…sightseeing, going to the museums – there are a lot of places here in the city. ”

He considers a moment longer before he offers his arm to her again.

“ In your town, however, I’m not sure what all there is to do. And that’s not to say that there aren’t people who work all the time here. The industrial districts are packed with people who really only work. ”

There’s a frown to his face as he leads them away, so they can speak quieter.

“ The prices around here are abysmal. Rent is high in a lot of places, so high that you can’t do much else. ”

“Well...” she thinks, “There’s a bar in town- the Broken Heart- but that’s about it. Andrey runs it, but he also gets into a lot of fights, so he doesn’t get a whole lot of guests.”

What else was there?

“We have a theater too, but no one goes there because Mark’s creepy. Other than that? That’s it. Rent’s bad too- or at least it was. Prices for food got real bad too.”

She shrugs, “Most of the town just... works. There’s the people in the Factories, there was the people in the Abattoir... and other than my Father’s people in the patrolmen and in Town Hall- there’s no other jobs. I mean, the Kains and Olgimskies had mercenaries too, but... that’s- hm.”

Clara thinks about all the tension in town and Georgiy’s orders, and the conflicts that the Governor had to deal with constantly.

“... It didn’t make anyone happy. Probably less happy too when father had to disband all of them.”

Clara looks over to Anatoly, “It’s not great there- but I’m trying to think of ways to make it better.”

They walk beyond the corridor, leaving the rush of water behind, and pass by a few other exhibits, but Clara has to pause to look at a tree-like shrub with a multitude of speckled pink flowers.

“Oh! That’s pretty. Ah, I think Grace would like this plant! Grace is my best friend. She watches the Cemetery, but Peter takes care of her now! Peter’s Andrey’s brother. They’re twins. Andrey looks after my other friend, Khan!”

It devolves into Clara informing him of who lives with who and who is related to who and by what means, before she pauses.

“... Oh I’m pretty sure half the town is adopted by now- but I’m not sure what Capella and Notkin are going to do... I don’t think Vlad Jr.’s well- and Notkin doesn’t like the adults other than Artemy. He’s as bad as Khan.”

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

“ They are quite soft to the touch – the locals of where they normally grow, up in the mountains, use them for medicine. I’ve heard them called the bellyache flower because they can be used to soothe abdominal upsets. ”

They stop there long enough for a breather before Clara all but guides him towards the source of the running water – an indoor pond space that made the air humid and cool, but no where near the cold outside.

Fish darted beneath the plants, consisting of massive lily pads, local crocus plants, and all manner of things taken from abroad to grow here. There were lotus plants growing among them too, the broad seed heads bending low like they were taking a bow.

He’s happy to let her run to the fencing, following behind her to set a hand on the railing and lean over to watch the fish. Some came close, expecting to be fed, and he laughs quietly when she repeats the sound back.

“ The largest of the lily pads could probably hold your weight, actually. Some places use them to make floating walkways, but it takes years and years to get to that size. ”

It’s nice to be here. It’s good, because it gets him out of his thoughts a bit to wrack his brain for information to tell her instead of lingering on the reasons he came out to get away from what had happened only a few days prior.

“ These fish start out quite small – you could have held them in your palm to start, but look at them now. ”

“Oh wow! The babies get really, really big then.“

She makes one last ‘glub’ back at the fish, and starts to walk alongside the fencing, slowly. Making their way to the waterfall at the very end of the room. Clara steps one foot in front of the other, counting the tiles it takes to make it there.

The roaring water prompts her to speak more loudly as they get closer.

“...Seventy-four... seventy-five... That’s a lot of steps!”

She hums, thoughtfully- even though she can hardly hear it aloud.

“I like this place,“ she declares, “I like all the plants, animals, and people being brought together- I should tell Father about it- maybe we can get something like this- in the town!”

Clara’s thoughts drift back home. How dismal everyone seemed to be. A lot of apathy and sadness...

It doesn’t have to be this big, she decides, just big enough that other people can enjoy it. People are sad and unhappy because there’s... nothing to see or play with.

There were playgrounds, sure. Several of them. And before it fell, there was the Polyhedron, but only the children could play with those. Now that she thought about it- what did the adults have? Chores, constantly. Work.

“... Anatoly, what do grown-ups like to do? Are there other things adults are supposed to do when they grow up other than...” she thinks of a phrase she heard Saburov say, about life’s certainties.

“...taxes and dying?”

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

He pays for their tickets quietly, slipping into the murmur of the gardens around them. It’s warm in here, to keep the flowers from curling from the cold, and he untucks his scarf a bit as they walk into the main area.

There are trees growing to brush the top of the domed buildings, with flowers scattered in clusters around the room. There’s a waft of perfume from the flowers, stronger from the paler flowers than the more brightly colored ones.

It’s a place to relax – and he adores it here. He truly does, relaxing instantly as he pats her arm and guides her around. It’s good. If what he had heard was true, then this would be Clara’s first experience with flora outside of the Town on Gorkhon.

He walks them around the central part of the room, to one of the smaller greenhouses nearby. There are only a handful of people here, ladies in their day gowns and men dressed in warm wool coats, and he stops them near a number small white flowers.

“ There are nearly a hundred different species here, I think. Perhaps a handful more. My favorites are…hm. ”

He thinks for a long moment, leaning his weight on the cane for a moment.

“ There’s a royal azalea bush deeper in the building that is bigger than both of us, but I don’t think it’s flowering at this time of the year. And these – ”

He tips his head to the white flowers beside them. The plants were squat and quite fuzzy actually, almost like they had donned wool coats themselves.

“ These are edelweiss flowers. The white ‘petals’ are actually modified leaves. The small yellow clusters between them are the actual flowers. ”

“Ooooh...“ she croons in quiet wonderment, “They look soft too! The only other white plant I’ve seen is white whip- it’s a kind of twyre on the steppe- and it’s got tufty things, but you gotta be careful picking it, because some of the leaves are sharp- and it’s poisonous.“

The sound of running water, like a river seems out of place inside this building, but as they round the corner, Clara sets her eyes toward the source of the sound and stares in awe.

A massive room, filled almost entirely with water, with only a small walkway around the large rectangular space was before them. At the far wall were jagged and layered rocks  of slate and granite, where water rushed and tumbled down, roaring with its motion.

Strange, circular green shapes covered the quiet surface of the water nearest to her, each as big around as she was tall, and also sported a giant white bloom. Beneath the odd plants, she saw very big, colorful fish- spotted golden, white, red, and black with tiny whiskers by their mouths.

There were other plants too- some that looked like floating heads of lettuce- some that looked like someone had spilled a can of peas over the top of the water, some that had stalks that shot straight up out of the water, alongside grasses with brown bulbs at the head of it.

She points at the big circles, “Look! I could sit on that! It’s really big! Oh. look at the fishies! They’re really pretty! The ones at home are just... brown. Or dead.“

She says it offhandedly, and runs up to the fence to lean over and get a closer look at everything.

The slate, stacked rocks of the waterfall held different mosses, lichen, and a few draping plants, but her attention was captivated by the colorful fish now, that bobbed to the surface and opened it’s frowning mouth with a small ‘glub’ sound.

She tries to imitate the motion of its lips and the sound in turn.

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

Clara sinks down into her seat and Anatoly offers a hand out to her to comfort her. The soldiers make him very nervous as well – his health kept him out of the war, but it meant he was following it constantly from the news they were fed.

They were losing. They had lost, if the newest turn against the government was anything to go by.

She asks about picnics, however, and he smiles at how she explains it.

“ I suppose that makes sense. It’s more of a relaxation thing, to come out and enjoy the sunshine along with your lunch. ”

He laughs at how she kicks back into the seats again before he offers an arm out to her when they step out of the carriage. The gardens outside of the buildings are wilted, but the greenhouses are flourishing with bright blooms inside.

“ Yes, the glass houses are for the plants! They keep things inside warm and humid enough for the plants to grow in ideal conditions when it’s too cold to continue growing outside. Come along, I’ll show you my favorite flowers. ”

He offers his elbow to her, as if she were a proper lady he was escorting about the town.

Clara takes his elbow, careful not to lean too much into him and throw off his balance.

It seems like, despite everything, humanity here tries to cling on to a sense of normalcy. The botanical gardens were a truly neutral area- even if the old rulers started the place, other people came here to enjoy it too.

Tickets paid for, Clara and Anatoly cross the threshold into significantly warmer spaces. Voices of quiet conversation muffle together and echo through the chambers.

Patterned granite and marble tiles lined the floors, with some spaces opening directly to the ground so that trees could thrive inside- blocked only by fences.

Clara’s fascinated by the incorporation of nature into the buildings... how the trees lived on their own, tended to only by the water provided by the attendants, and the sun shining through the glass roofs... Vines crawled up trellises and columns, hanging far overhead.

Flowers, of all colors and shapes that she couldn’t even conceive of, coexisted with the very human structures.

In her head, she had always separated nature from human settlements. It seemed odd, alien even, to have them all sharing the same space and benefiting from it. The gardens weren’t a house to protect from nature, but it also wasn’t a house to protect the plants from the humans.

“... Murky would love this place.”

Clara turns to look up at Anatoly, “How many different kinds of plants are there? Which ones are your favorites?”

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

“ It’s a collection of botanicals from all over. Most of them are native to the region, but many are brought over from other places. Our rulers…er. Our former rulers were very fond of them. So, they collected them. ”

He says it quietly, laying his cane across his lap and watching the buildings pass outside once they started moving. It was…nice. It reminded him of the trips he took with Daniil to lectures or presentations.

“ It’s one of the few buildings still standing despite the upset, which surprises me. I suppose everyone has come to like them, and the city would be in even more disarray if something happened to the gardens. ”

There are people outside in caps and coats trying to ward off the cold as they walk from place to place in the city. The entire place might be at war with itself, but the people of the Capitol were nothing if not resourceful.

“ I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s always been a treat to visit whenever I did, even if I’ve been too busy the last few years to do so. ”

He frowns a bit – there are soldiers outside, huddled together and discussing something. They’re dressed down, not actively on duty, but they’re still soldiers.

Ugh.

“ This place is very lively in the summer – the garden district in particular is absolutely full to bursting with people having picnics. ”

Clara looks at the soldiers they pass, shrinking back a little bit from view. The Fourth Army never made it home, but she still can’t forget the General’s offer to put her on the frontlines. To have her judge who was worthy enough to live, and control the disease.

It sat wrong. She never wanted to kill, even though she had killed.

Everyone deserves to live, yet some must die.

That voice again. She bats it away, and focuses back on Anatoly.

“Hm? Oh I’ve never been on a picnic,” she confesses, “because  there was a plague, and then after the plague it got way too cold.”

She shrugs, “It seems fun- but what’s a picnic really? You just eat outside with a blanket- anyone can do that anytime.”

Leaning back in the seats, she pauses to think on it further, “I guess you normally eat inside, though. So I can see the appeal.”

The carriage draws to a close as they arrive near the botanical gardens. Clara is stunned when she steps out, and looks over to see a broad building that reaches as high as the Crucible, and smaller buildings that look as if they are made of glass.

“Oh! Are those glass houses for the plants?”

[graveawakening]

inthanatica​:

“ Ah, I’ve apologized so many times over that already. I was a nervous wreck and – well, you set off my personal alarms, so I had to be ready for anything. ”

He looks apologetic when she praises him for the swing, tapping the cane a little as he leads her downstairs. Indeed, they would be taking a carriage out into the city, the horses pulling it bundled up against the cold as well.

A historic freeze, the papers said. Unfortunate for all of them.

The rapid fire questions are met with a laugh as he processes each one.

“ The gardens are indoors for the most part. You’ll see when we get there. Yes, we’ll be taking the horses once more. The museum – we can stop by and see it while we’re out, I don’t mind it. I haven’t been in a long time. Your friends sound…interesting. ”

He helps her into the carriage before pulling himself in, huffing a bit as he sinks into the seat and calms the barest spin of the world. He needed to get moving. Hiding had done no wonders for his health.

“ Gardens first, then we’ll do some shopping. Perhaps we’ll get lunch and then we’ll stop at the museum. ”

Clara nods at his explanations, satisfied with the itinerary for the day. He’s very patient with her questions as well, even with her inability to focus on just one thing.

The horses don’t scare her as much now, even with their massive size and odd proportions.

Inside the carriage is nice and covered from the snow. Signs of turmoil still sat outside, but people were always going to be people- and try to carry on with a normal life, regardless of the situation.

“Oh warm inside gardens sound so nice! I wanted to play around in the snow, but now I’m almost tired of it. I’d like to see grasses and trees and flowers again.”

She wistfully leans her head against her wrist, propped up at the base of the carriage’s window.

“... are they all from this place? Or all over? Or is it a surprise?“

[graveawakening]

Anatoly:

He waits for her, tucked into his own warm coat and leaning on his cane, until she comes bounding down the stairs. There’s a moment he can’t resist where he reaches to straighten her coat and pat a wrinkle out of her sleeve before he offers her a smile and his arm.

“ I thought you might like to see some parts of the Capitol that are…hm…more pleasant to be around. ”

He’s hailed a ride for them, because there’s no way he’s walking that far in this weather, and he’s glad to explain as they step outside.

“ There’s a botanical garden that should still have some blooms, even now, and a museum…and a shopping district near that area. I remember you saying you wanted to get gifts to take home to everyone. ”

He wants to get some fresh air as well. He hasn’t been out into the city just to…see the sights in some time.

(It was hard to do that when there were a thousand things trying to kill him at any time, but the district they were going to was completely opposite of his normal haunting grounds. It would be fine.)

“ Daniil had some errands to run, so I hope you don’t mind my company? ”

“No, I don’t mind! I like you- you’ve been nicer to me than Daniil was when he and I first met anyways. And you were still nice to me when we met-“

She says it with a gleam in her eye, miming the wicked swing with a cane that she saw Anatoly thwack Daniil with when they broke into the apartment.

“-so I think it would be fun!“

Her interest is piqued by the mention of blooms. It’s cold and dismal outside- how could any plants survive? Surely it’s not inside a building... she thinks back to Yulia’s sad plants in the Trammel.

Well, it was possible, she remembered the slightly better looking plants in Town Hall and the Rod. But they were only slightly better.

She takes Anatoly’s arm and shoots off rapid-fire questions, bouncing a little on her toes as they walk.

“... How do they keep the plants alive this cold? Are we going to be riding with the horse again? I had a friend who wanted to make a museum! His name’s Notkin- you’d like him a lot- he has a cat named Jester- and Jester’s kind of a special ghost cat- I need to get a gift for him! And Khan too- oh this is going to be fun!”

She can barely contain her excitement.