-Just a {Moment} in the Woods-=-{Earthling!}

[Tsarashi 2.0]

For as long as he has lived Severus Cornwood had never been able to predict the free spirit of a mind that was his elder sister. It was a great mystery how she thought and how she reasoned her actions. Today was one of many days where Severus had been left behind by Octavia with only his thoughts as company. He wondered how he could continue to allow her to bully him even in their adult years.

Being only seventeen years old Severus wasn’t technically an adult yet, but he felt that maturity wise he was probably older than his easily excited sister and he considered that good enough reason to be called an adult. She was in her early twenties and yet she still took him on nature walks, even though they had been through that same wooded area near their home innumerable times. Every time they had gone it had been against his will, and this day was no different.

He had woken up at the crack of dawn, much like any other day, and headed over to his grandfather’s field after dressing to help to water the okra. They had spent the entire day before weeding and his hands were still sore form that so their grandfather had given the two of them an easier morning. His sister was reasonably late as usual, but he could see that she was brimming with excitement. Apparently she had overheard some people talking on the way over to the farm; they had been talking about seeing something sparkling through the trees on a walk, something that shined like a metal they had never seen before.

Severus figured that they the strangers had probably been drinking or were seeing things. They had been through those same woods and never had they come across anything metal before. But his sister insisted that they go to investigate. He of course refused, but Octavia had grabbed his hand and pulled him into the woods as if she hadn’t heard him speak. Then when they were far enough away from civilization she came up with the marvelous idea of splitting up. Which was why Severus found himself alone in the woods, scowling to himself as he slowly but surely made his way back.

If it were up to him he would be relaxing under a tree right now learning some new fact about a plant or watching his grandfather whittle. He liked the calm, serenity of the farm. But no, he had to have a sister who liked to go on wild goose chases. Severus sighed to himself as he carefully stepped down from the rock he was walking to a lower part of the ‘forest’ floor. It wasn’t really a forest, just a small wooded area. But it was still big enough to get lost in.

He wasn’t lost though, he had been brought there so many times that he knew exactly where he was, he was just moving slower because he didn’t want to break something or get cut up or worse, catch poison ivy. His worn jeans brushed against leaves on the ground and the birds were singing in the trees, the sounds were calming, but not enough to make him want to stay in the woods. He just wasn’t as adventurous as his sister and preferred controlled environments.

His thoughts were distracted as he walked and he didn’t see what was right in front of him until it was too late. There was a small crunching under his foot, it was too wet and soft to be a twig, and too substantial to be a leaf. Severus practically jumped as he stepped off of the plant he had just stepped on, breaking the stem. “Whoops, sorry there… I didn’t see you little guy.” He apologized quietly to the purple iris as he picked it up. He was grateful that it wasn’t a snake or any other animal, but he still felt bad for killing such a beautiful flower.

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[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I'm more than just a number, I doubt you'll find another
so every single summer, I'll be the one that you remember

It wasn't technically Marsh's turn to go foraging, but it wasn't like he ever got a day off, either. The whole concept of having time to relax, to be still and listen, was foreign to the boy - and not just because of his District. Marsh was a man with coals under his feet, a desperate and unyielding need to be constantly moving. So, although he should have been among the last of the season's fruit trees, boosting his little brother to their highest boughs, he found himself in debt to his buddies.

It was stupid, really. But then, what bets were smart? They'd goaded him into swapping chores for a few minutes of entertainment as he tried to woo a girl way out of his league. He saw that now, which was something - something new. He wasn't as young or blind as he had been last summer. Still, the attempt was well worth it; she was a beauty, and he would never regret paying a compliment, a few sweet truths, to a young lady. Even if it meant he was forced out of the cocoon of his peers into the solitary woods.

He'd never been very good at foraging. He was built as a tank, muscle and no brains, good for lifting and pulling and dragging. To scan the branches, trunks, trees and lined horizon for food was information overload. Still, he tried. He kicked over rocks, leapt over fallen trees, peered into their hearts. His feet landed loudly, no doubt scaring off any prey that might be lurking. He wasn't exactly prepared to hunt, lacking any weapons. But if a squirrel happened across his bootlaces, Marsh knew how to end its life quick enough.

Instead he ought to be searching for mushrooms, but the truth of the matter was, Marsh hated fungi. The texture, the taste, the look of them buried in dirt. They belonged in the ground, maybe under it. Nasty little things. But, if he didn't come back with any, no doubt he'd just be forced back into the woods, by himself, which was pretty much hell for Marshelder Cane.

He'd found a particularly angled white tree, which had snapped some fifteen feet up and lay three times on the ground. It was a challenge, and instead of looking into the hinge's shadow for the fungi, he stepped onto the fallen top, balancing on his worn-thin leather boots, arms outstretched so that his muscles tensed. And then he teetered all the way to the breaking point, turned, and looked down.

It was considerably steeper in the other direction. Nothing he couldn't handle though. Really it wasn't the angle of descent that stopped him, but the sight of another boy who had emerged from among the trees. Marsh must have heard of him, or felt him, because his eyes locked onto Severus. A human being! Just what he had been looking for. And yet, as he watched, he realized that this wasn't one of his posse, not even close. Apologizing to the ground?

Well, that was weird, but maybe the boy could hang anyhow. Marsh was willing to chance it; he'd seen the boy around school, although he couldn't remember seeing him with any friends. "Finally! Thought I was going to be stuck out here all damn day by myself." Marsh waved, in case it wasn't immediately obvious where he was, perched on top of a broken trunk. "You climb?

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[Tsarashi 2.0]

The moment Severus straightened himself, the small purple flower held between his thumb and forefinger, he had the strange feeling. It was like he was being watched; he could feel the eyes at his back. It was a familiar feeling since he felt practically daily while he was at school. People often looked at him out of the corner of their eyes. It was he was the quiet one, the brooding one, the one no one wanted to get near because he hated company. Those thoughts of him were no more true than they were false. He was quiet and he did tend to ‘brood’ as people put it, but he wasn’t an outcast because he wished for it, it was simply his personality.

As soon as he heard someone calling out to him his fears were realized, he wasn’t alone and it wasn’t his sister that was with him. He twisted the flower in his fingers before reluctantly looking back to see the dark skinned boy atop a tree that had fallen last winter. His face dropped when he recognized the boy as someone who when to school with him. He was a flirt and the girl who sat right in front of Severus talked about him often.

The boy had a name, as most people do, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It was a strange name, a very strange name, though he wasn’t one to talk since most people didn’t have four names. ’What is his name?’ Severus mused silently to himself, his eyebrows furrowing. ’Mar…Mar…Marven? Marvrick? Marshmallow?... Sheldon?’

[/i] When the boy’s name didn’t come to him he settled with referring to the boy by his last name, since that was one thing he easily remembered; Cane, like the sugar cane that his neighbors grew in one small plot.

It wasn’t that Severus was bad with names; in fact he was quite good with names once he was introduced to somebody. And therein lays the problem. Severus scowled as he looked up at Cane once more after he had finished speaking. Did he truly expect Severus to join him in the woods for the rest of the day? That was a really strange way to ask for company as well. But Severus was caught on his last question.

Sev hadn’t climbed in years and he wasn’t planning on doing it anytime soon. The only times he ever had climbed was when he was being forced by his sister to cross a trench by a log or climb a tree in search of a direction. The memories made him shudder and when he did finally reply his words came out almost cold. “No. I don’t climb.” The words sounded harsh, but that was only a kneejerk reaction. He wasn’t used to talking to people from his school, and that made him somewhat nervous and his nervousness was always portrayed as indifference or even disgust. He really needed to work on that, but at least his personality suited him.

After saying that Sev refused to say anything else about himself or ask anything to Cane. Cane had a close group of friends and if he were to be seen with Severus things might be said. It could ruin both of the outlooks that they have strived to achieve, although Sev probably worked harder towards his and Cane’s probably came more naturally. If they were seen hanging out together what would people say about the outgoing, flirtatious Cane and the cool, stoic, standoffish Severus?

Quickly Severus looked back down at the delicate flower in his hand before he crushed it in his fist and threw it to the side. Wasn’t reputation everything?[/size][/justify][/blockquote]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I'm more than just a number, I doubt you'll find another
so every single summer, I'll be the one that you remember

Marshmallow Marshelder felt a little like the famed King of the World, standing atop the broken trunk. He was a good twelve feet in the air, which certainly wouldn't kill him if he feel, but it wouldn't be a good thing, either. It was great, just great, being so high off the ground, and so sure that he could get down whenever he felt like it. But he could taste freedom in the air, feel it behind his fingers as he brought his hands down to his slender hips. This was definitely the life. If Marsh had it his way, he'd build himself a house among the trees, with enough space for himself, a wife (definitely a very good looking woman), and his brother, too.

It would be perfect. They could camouflage it from the Peacekeepers, and build a network of ropes and suspended paths to walk among the trees. They'd build it all the way to the fields so they could collect fruit to eat. It was a solid plan if he'd ever had one, and Marsh immediately wanted to get to work on it - or at least share it with his brother, and friends, because he'd probably need to recruit their help to build something like that.

But first, he needed to come down from the trunk, and there was already someone who could listen to his plan. He wasn't a climber, so maybe he wouldn't understand the scope and brilliance of his idea, but Marsh was willing to give it a try. "Hey, no big, man." He flashed a quick, wide grin, and then flapped his arms out, so that they came to be even with his shoulders. He used them as a balancing beam on the quick slip-and-slide down the trunk. His feet began to move so quickly over each other that he stopped paying attention, and was just grateful they hit the mossy forest floor.

Marsh whooped and stretched out his right arm for a fist bump, except about halfway through the motion he realized that Severus probably wasn't that sort of bro. He changed the momentum, made it more of an air punch, which probably wasn't any better, but at least he didn't make contact. Now that he was able to look the other boy in the eye, he realized that definitely knew who he was, and the name finally sorted itself out of his tangled thoughts. "Severus, yeah, random." He looked around the forest, as though that made everything obvious.

"So, no climbing. I feel that. What would you rather do?" Marsh shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, which made him look a good few years younger. It was his standby posture, something that felt comfortable.

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[Tsarashi 2.0]

Severus watched on in boredom as the boy took in his surroundings from his high throne and seemed to lose himself within his own thoughts. Then, without warning Cane had started to race down the trunk of the tree, sliding in some spots where the damp moss gave way. All Severus could do was roll his eyes and look away to surreptitiously rub his temples. If Cane were to fall, Severus would be a witness, and therefore was responsible of the boy. He would have to carry his limp body back for medical attention, and that would have been such a hassle. But if Cane killed himself? Sev could be blamed for murder and killed himself!

Relief flooded him when he heard the dark skinned boy land on the moss and leaf ridden ground, seemingly unscathed. He looked back just in time to see Cane throwing his fist awkwardly into the air, leaving Severus to raise his left eyebrow in slight confusion. Severus silently cursed Octavia for his current predicament. If only she had been the one to run into Mar-something; they would have gotten along smashingly! But no, every single action that his elder sister takes always seems to backfire and negatively affect Severus in some sort of way.

The sharp rustling of leaves jolted the teen out of his thoughts and a sharp pain accompanied it shortly after. It didn’t take very long at all for Severus to realize that he had taken two unconscious steps away from Cane and ended up backing right into a tree which was currently stabbing him in the shoulder blade with a broken twig. He couldn’t quite tell if it tore through his skin or not, so, ignoring the pain and pretending to lean against the tree while crossing his arms before his chest was the only logical thing he could do at that very moment.

When Cane asked his question, Severus was taken aback. What would he rather be doing at that moment? What a stupid question! There were hundreds of things that he would father be doing, the most prominent of which was to get as far away from his adventure crazed sister as possible. A close runner up was to leave Cane in his midst as well as he headed home, but he had an itching fear that that particular wish wasn’t going to be fulfilled very soon. Severus would have left the question unanswered, but that would have been rude, so instead he opted for glaring in the direction that his sister had left and spoke the words “There is a shaded tree back home with my name on it, I would rather be sitting under it.”

He glanced back at Cane, his eyes still chilled from his lingering anger towards his sister. “You’re pretty far from your group.” Severus said, stating the obvious. “Or are they fooling around nearby as well?”

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[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

I'm more than just a number, I doubt you'll find another
so every single summer, I'll be the one that you remember

Marsh was pointedly oblivious to Severus' discomfiture. He continued to sway slightly, hands disguised on his pockets, glancing from the other boy and back towards the woods. Where was everyone? He thought that maybe, just maybe, he should've stuck around longer for the harvest. The bosses didn't usually notice his absence, since he was one of the climbers and their assistants, and they were hard to keep track of in the foliage. But sometimes they were amazingly psychic and knew right away when he was ditching out. And then things got bad, real bad, because his family needed the money and he hated disappointing them.

But it could also just be that his friends were lame and wanted to nap or something in their free time. Ugh, sleeping. It was such a waste of time. It wasn't like Marsh didn't feel the lull of it, the teenage drowsiness. He just had fire under his feet, and couldn't for the life of him understand why escaping the world was better than exploring it. Besides which, he never remembered his dreams, so it wasn't exactly entertaining. He'd give them flak for it later, for ditching him, and leaving him to wander alone.

Well, not quite alone, as it turned out, although he clearly wasn't functioning on the same level as Severus. There was just something between them, a wall or a bridge, that made talking a little disjointed. Marsh followed his gaze through the woods and gave a little shrug. Shade didn't seem seem difficult to find in a forest, but he wasn't exactly a connoisseur of the stuff either. And then he didn't really know what to say, which was dumbfounding for Marsh. Luckily the other boy picked up the conversation slack and charged ahead.

"Yeah, they're being lame somewhere, I'm sure. I dunno, I'm not really in charge of them, except for my brother, and I got the feeling he didn't want to hang today, y'know? But if you're looking for shade I think we can find some. Locally," he said, opening up one arm to indicate the surroundings. "Or whatever, I'm down with anything. We could like, go deeper into the woods, or there's the drinking pond. I swim in it sometimes and no one seems to really care." And it did not occur to Marsh at all that given the color of Severus' skin, he probably didn't swing a whole lot.

banner credit: this girl
lyrics: drake find your love

[Tsarashi 2.0]

Severus shifted uncomfortably against the tree that was holding him captive. He was forced to hold back a wince of agony as a sharp electric pain raced from his offended shoulder blade down to his left foot. The warm substance that was now slowly trickling down his back told him that the darned sharp twig had indeed broken the skin, and the pain told him that it was dangerously close to a nerve. He didn’t like nerves, they only made pain last longer when they were injured, which he had experiences a few timed before. That was how he learned that nerves, sisters and farming tools didn’t mix well. Ever.

What he truly wouldn’t give to be back at his grandfather’s farm, lulling under that favored tree of his, book in hand and nothing on his mind other than the clouds in the sky. But, he thought for the thousandth time, he didn’t have that luxury thanks for his good for nothing sister. A rumor of something that sparkled in the sun, that was why he was here now, speaking with a person who would never normally converse with him, being stabbed by a tree branch.

He felt as if it was his own sister’s hands that stabbed him in the back. How could she never realize that he found no enjoyment in being out here like she did? Everything was all her fault. He didn’t care about her mysterious treasures, her shimmering who-knows-what. What kind of person would believe some silly rumor like that anyway? Something in the woods that shimmered like metal in the daylight….

Severus blinked and looked up at Cane, replaying what his classmate had just told him in his head. The drinking pond. Of course. How had he not thought of that before? It was so ludicrous! What else shimmered in the sunlight like metal other than water? All this running around for something that they had discovered when they were still practically in diapers. Severus’ eyes closed as he calmed his breathing before opening into narrowed slits. He almost felt murderous towards his sister, but he couldn’t follow through with those thoughts, since he more so hated himself more for being a fool.

“I don’t want to be in the forest.” Sev retorted to Cane’s offer. It was almost as if the boy wanted to spend time with him! Him, Severus Cornwood, the mysterious, silent boy at the back of the class who everyone whispers about from a distance. The person no one has ever bothered getting to know because they feared him, thought he was too cool, too pompous, good for nothing, for whatever reasons. “My sister dragged me here, and all I want to do is get out.”

He bit his lip as he readied himself for the pain that he knew was sure to come as he tried to disentangle himself from the tree at his back. “I don’t like the forest.” Severus said between gritted teeth as he pressed his palms against the trunk of the tree and positioned his foot at the base to push away. “Because the forest only ever… brings me…” His words trailed off for a split second as he pried the branch out of his back. “…pain!” The word gasped from his throat as he stumbled slightly away from the tree. That branch that had been wedged behind his shoulder blade was a good three inches longer than he had expected it to be and the relief of having it gone was quickly burned away by the angry pain that spread from the wound.

Before the teen could gather himself back together he looked over at his classmate who was much closer than he had expected him to be. His mask had fallen and there was agony and confusion in his now tear filled eyes. If he was in a normal state of mind Sev would have never shown his tears to anyone, let alone this person! The very thought of it was so embarrassing that he wanted to fade into the background. But before he did, he had to ask. “…Why are you even talking to me?”

The darkness started to fade in then before Severus could even try to struggle against it. Even though his body was strong from working on the farm and working out to keep up his image, his will was rather weak. No matter how much he could have fought to keep his eyes open Severus simply didn’t care. The pain was debilitating and the lull of sleep was just so enticing. Why was he suddenly so tired? Wouldn’t it be bad for his image to just fall asleep right there? He was pretty sure that bleeding was bad for his image as well, but soon all of his thoughts were blown away as if a strong breeze had passed and his thoughts were leaves. It was then that he finally ceased staggering and fell to the ground in a limp heap.

He promised himself that he would only sleep for a few minutes, then he could get up and yell pointlessly at Cane.