In Search of More

Ivy Keller // Researcher // Fen Wondering Soul

[abautandrea]

[ivymurinakeller]

dominicloveless:

Dominic looked up at the sound of another patron entering. There was a little uptick in his heart-rate as he considering the possibility of it being a mourner looking for a post-ceremony platter of fries. But then it wasn’t. No, in fact it was a face he knew well and liked just as much. “Hey, Ivy!” he greeted brightly, smile coming easily.

Ivy Keller was probably the only citizen he could expect to be happy to see him. Especially on a day like today. He gestured to the empty bench across from him – he was more than happy to share the booth with her. Conversation and time spent with Ivy was always smooth and positive. It was hard to find someone in Foxcroft who appreciated the swamps almost as much as Dominic himself. He respected her respect for his home and origins. And at the end of the day, that’s all they really asked of each other.

“Help yourself to some fries,” he offered, craning his neck in search of the server. They had disappeared into the back room but Dominic couldn’t blame them. It was just about dead and he had only just gotten his food. “I’m glad you came along, actually.” He turned his full attention back to Ivy, sliding the plate a little more to the center of the table, encouraging her to take part. “It was starting to feel more than a little lonely.” He didn’t mention why – didn’t want to bring up the very reason for his ostracization.

“Did you want to see more of the swamp any time soon?”

It was always a pleasure when Dominic greeted her with a smile that felt like it could make flowers bloom. As eager as she had been to strike out on her own it had been harder than she expected to work alone. It was not her first time on a site without her parents but almost always there had been someone to share her excitement with. She had done solo projects before for school but the swamps felt different. They were consuming and brilliant and the fact that almost any time she mentioned them to a towns-person their mouth twisted into a fearful scowl was... disappointing to say the least. More so because she had come to feel somewhat protective of the waters that had washed over her mind and swept her away in a tide of fascination.  The animosity she faced when her excitement broke through the surface dragged at her heart.

Then she found Dominic. He stepped into her life and the way he smiled at her, uncharacteristically hesitant, questions about the swamps felt like the sun breaking through gathering clouds. They had been fast friends ever since and the sight of him warmed her heart as she slid in across from him.

“Thanks.” Ivy had a tendency towards vegetarianism that occurred naturally in the field but as she considered the fries- hot, fresh, and emitting an aroma that said they lived up to their reputation as the diner’s specialty- and decided they counted among the number of other local cuisines her mother had urged her to try across the globe. An experience and best of all - she took popped a cheese covered fry into her mouth and savored the burst of salt and carbs - one she could share with a friend. “I’m glad too.” She understood the desire to see a friendly face. Just having an interest in the swamps warranted enough scorn from the locals and she’d heard more than her fair share of the rumors they threw at the place and people she was growing so fond of.

The mention of the swamp lit up her eyes. “Of course! I’ve been exploring that little inlet you showed me last time. I found the most charming little frog...oh! and a whole mass of eggs that will tadpoles any day now if you want to come see with me. But I’ve collected a fair amount of samples from that area and I’d love to go even deeper when you have a chance. I’ve been working a bit on a map but there’s just so much and of course I prefer my favorite guide with me.” 

[faerieforests]

Am-dec_9774 by Peter Warne

[ivymurinakeller]

dominicloveless:

rudford’s diner//open

There wasn’t much that a large platter of buffalo chicken cheese fries couldn’t cure. Unfortunately, though, losing your best friend was one of those few things. That had been a year ago but, unfortunately, all the business with Adam Foxcroft had reopened old wounds. Even now, there was some sort of ceremony going on for the kid – apparently, not hindered by the fact that his body was gone. The whole thing sent stirrings of fear and paranoia deep into Dominic. That could mostly be explained, though, by the local police jonesing to pin the whole of everything on to him. He kept expecting red and blue to light up his sight line.

So, yeah, that was a lot to ask a plate of fries to cure, no matter how good they were.

But it did cheer him up superficially. Brought a smile to his face as he dug out one of the more smothered, crinkle-cut beauties. Taking his first bite, Dominic let out an appreciative hum. Then he dug in with real gusto.

Adam Foxcroft was dead.

Of course he’d been dead for six months but that hardly seemed to matter.

The town proclaimed his loss with CLOSED signs on almost every business door. Black dresses and armbands in the early morning and ...hauntingly empty streets thereafter as they all rushed to Honor him at his empty coffin and then rush the doors of the hallowed was it hollowed now? Foxcroft Manor. It made a certain sort of sense the whole town coming together over a tragedy grasping at each other to fill the gaps that had been left behind by the deceased. 

But Ivy hadn’t lost anyone. It was strange driving into town and finding it damn near empty lights out in all the windows. It was only when she thought hard for a minute that she remembered the notice in the paper about the Foxcroft boy’s funeral and realized that it must be the reason the entire town had slipped into an absent mourning. She had been about to turn around and resign herself to another dinner of her own foraging perhaps supplemented by the half-stocked snack machine in the motel lobby when she noticed the bright neon lights of Rudford’s all too tempting against a grey sky. 

She sighed with relief when she pushed open the unlocked door and her lips bloomed into a full smile upon seeing a familiar face inside. 

“Dominic! I was beginning to think I was the only soul left in town, is it okay if I join you?”

[ivymurinakeller]

Despite evidence to the contrary Ivy was aware that there was more to Foxcroft than the swamps that cradled the town. It was just that, thus far, the swamps were the part that held her interest. It was almost demanding the way they seemed to pull at her attention from the moment she awoke and cling to her thoughts until long after dark. Even after hours spent among murky waters and bright blooming flowers it was hard for her to make herself leave. It seemed as though the land itself was reluctantly to loosen its grasp on her and her last moments on site always seemed to turn up some unusual reading or a surprise discovery of a new sample that would keep her there for a few more moments...a few more hours...all night long. It was as though the swamp was a lover offering coy glimpses of flesh to draw her back to bed and she a green girl too stricken by love and wanting to resist. 

Still after three days spent from sun up until after nightfall even she had to admit a breather was in order. She dropped her notebooks in her room and resisted to urge to settle into her desk to pour over them instead opting for a shower and a trip into town to find something other than a bagel for breakfast and perhaps reward herself with a trip to Calypso. 

People always said civilization was loud... and there was truth in that she supposed if you only factored in cities or if you didn’t know how to listen. Compared to the swamps where the world around her seemed to be singing in a chorus of birds, frogs, and ripples of water Foxcroft was quiet. Still with the swamps still babbling loudly in her thoughts, did I remember to catalogue that last sample? It was such an unusual flower for this time of year. I wonder if that frog has a favorite lily pad...it sure seems like he does or else he’s just decided to keep meeting me there... it was easy for her not to notice the person walking behind her until they were almost on top of her. It was probably more her fault than theirs she had a tendency to shift her pace and meander along with her thoughts

“Oh, I’m sorry have I been in your way?”

[foxcroft-rpg-blog]

“’Cause she’s just like the weather, can’t hold her together. Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow. ‘Cause it’s burning through the bloodline, it’s cutting down the family tree, growing in the landscape, darling, in between you and me.”

IVY KELLER / TWENTY-SIX

↳ LORE

The wind has been blowing her this way since the day she was born. Every time she’s put pen to paper she’s been drawing a map. Each word out of her mouth was just another way to ask for directions. The path could lead to destiny or demise, it just depends on how quickly she finds answers to questions even she doesn’t know she’s been asking.

IVY KELLER IS A FEN.

↳ HISTORY

Ivy bloomed like a flower, surrounded by books, animals and plants of all shapes and sizes. Her parents were professors – her mother a botanist and her father a zoologist that specialized in rodents. As a child, they lived in a small house in the countryside; it was attached to a large greenhouse that held her mother’s plants and her father’s animals. Ivy was encouraged to spend as much time in the greenhouse as possible. Her parents told her to touch, to feel, to explore anything and everything that caught her eye. Of course, Ivy learned very quickly that some plants are poisonous and some animals bite. While this may have scared most children, it only made Ivy more curious. When she was ten, her parents received research grants that would allow them to travel and do research and collect samples across the world. Much of Ivy’s life was spent traveling with her family. They brought her along on their expeditions and had her help collect samples. Soon, Ivy had her a book full of pressed plants and a pet ferret of her own. 

It went like this, Ivy and her parents collecting samples across the globe, until she went to college. She graduated with a masters in ecology. After school she rejoined her parents for a year before they both retired back to their home in the countryside. Her parents days of exploring the globe was over, but Ivy’s time of exploration was just beginning. She and her parents had done a lot of traveling abroad, but she’d spent little time in the country she was born in. Once her parents were situated back in their house, Ivy bought a hunk-of-junk van, got all her stuff, and started driving. Little did she know where that hunk-of-junk van and a map would take her.

She’d been driving for so long she almost didn’t know where she was, and when coffee didn’t do the trick Ivy knew she needed to stop at a motel. The next morning Ivy was gassing up her van and getting ready to leave when she heard someone say something about some boy’s body being found in the swamps. Swamps. Without even thinking about what it’d look like showing up at murder scene, Ivy drove out to the swamps and started collecting samples. Not long after she’d started the police found her. “Why’re you out here miss? Did you see anything?” “I’m collecting samples of the swamp. I did see some really interesting looking fungi over there!” The police asked Ivy not to leave town. Little did the police or even Ivy know, she had far more to discover there. 

THE MASKS YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE YOU DON’T …

[tatianes]

[foxcroft-rpg-blog]

[ivymurinakeller]

foxcroft-rpg:

Congratulations, Lex! I honestly can’t wait to have Ivy literally digging up the swamps and revealing all the secrets it holds. It’s so nice to have a researcher character in this group so we can finally unveil a little bit more about the mysterious murder scene. I’m so happy to have Ivy join the gameplay. 

Thanks again for applying! Please create your account and send in the link, track the right tags, and follow everyone on the masterlist as soon as you can. Welcome to Foxcroft!

Keep reading

[steepedmilk]

6. Argument: Being born is like turning into light. A billion particles coming back as one body. We are like whales, we feel too much. It becomes easier and easier not to feel at all. We turn back into light. Argument: There is no such thing as the living or the dead. We are all in here somewhere. There is no reason to be afraid. Argument: Flowers are sad when they come up in the Spring and can not speak to us.

excerpt from “The Poetry of Heavy Breathing” // l.b. (via apollq)