demonicbeauty | Deer Country Inbox

Sure. But him dictating your actions because of that is gross.

There's a line there and he's crossing it. Do you see?

Of course I see.

[It's not her first encounter with snarly males. Just a strange and complicated one.]

I told him that Dean is my friend and he doesn't even know him!

Well why would he care if he's viewing you as his wife. Like he's got a claim on you.

Well. He doesn't.

I didn't think so. That's why it's gross.

[Sam sighs. This wasn't his plan in calling but it needs to be taken care of.]

Alright.. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again. In the meantime if he approaches you, tell me.

Oh, no, Sam. I don't need you to do that.

I can handle Anakin.

Because you don't want to ask for help or you're comfortable dealing with him? Because I don't mind. I've dealt with a lot worse than for way less.

You sound like a knight. Like you want to charge to a maiden's rescue.

[Which is admirable. Don't get her wrong. A nice reminder of home, in some ways.]

But you don't have to. I'm just going to ignore Anakin.

I'm not trying to suggest you aren't capable, I've just seen it get dark with guys like that.

Ignoring him might not be enough and by then it could be too late.

So.. so he feels entitled to you. What happens when he gets sick of being ignored?

You don't really think he'd try to do something unchivalrous, do you?

He's a knight. Something called a "Jedi."

I think he would. I don't trust him at all.

And Jedi is just a religion. I wouldn't say he's a knight in the way you're thinking.

Oh...

[This is a troubling thought.]

How do you know Anakin, exactly?

He uh.

[Consider your words, Sam. Like he doesn't care about preserving Anakin's privacy. He cares about preserving his own credibility.]

He's a pretty famous figure back on Earth.

Edited 2021-09-16 02:14 (UTC)

Famous?

[This catches her off guard.]

I didn't realize...

It doesn't mean much, I'm just saying I don't trust him. And ignoring people who feel like you owe them something never pans out.

I'm not gonna make any decisions for you but I'm happy to talk to him man to man.

Thank you, Sam. I'll...I'll have to think about it.

[This is a lot. Her mother used to talk about being feuded over by snarly males, but this is an entirely different story.]

But, um, why don't you come around and get some fruit?

[He gives a little shrug and accepts her decision. After all, does he super duper want to get in a slap fight with Anakin Skywalker? No. Not really.]

Right.. the fruit. Yeah, I will. Are you up to anything now?

Nothing that can't wait.

The orchard is near the border of the Willful Machine. I've hung a red banner from the cinnamon tree, to help people find it.

[He smiles]

Right, well. I will head your way, then.

Ariadne decided to head outside to the orchard to wait for Sam. The things he was telling her were troubling, to say the least. But she wasn't sure she wanted to make the situation even more complicated than it already was. She felt for Anakin, she really did. His heart was no doubt in a great deal of pain. Although she'd never been in love, she had a sense of what it was like, from watching others. And she knew how fiercely it hurt to be apart from the person who completed you.

In theory, anyway.

Better to set all of that aside, she supposed. Focus on the things she could manage, the familiar.

Which happened to include her orchard.

Forever eager to please, she grabbed a ratty, old basket she'd picked up in town and started filling it with the best, ripest fruit she had on the low-hanging branches. By the time she picked up Sam's scent, she already had several lemons, pears, and nectarines ready for him. She raised her free hand, giving him a small wave and a very big smile. "Over here!"

[Sorry for the delay I was away with work!]

A friendly, familiar face was never a bad thing to see, either. Someone safe, (mostly), and trusted. Things towards the end of Deerington had been heavy and tense and violent, but sticking together had made existing just on the other side of bearable until they could all pick up the courage to try the door go on to the next great adventure. Whatever that meant.

Turned out it meant Trench, which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't all that bad.

Sam hadn't discussed it with his brother, or anyone for that matter, but he was sure there was a blip in the middle of the transition that brought him back to his own world. Things were different for him now, more different than they should have been, but he wasn't sure if something being wrong with him was an issue, or if saying something would be the actual issue, so for now it was best to carry on like business as usual.

And while his fruit mission carried an ulterior motive, here he was all the same.

Once she was in sight, Sam smiled and held up a hand in greeting, sauntering up with a cocksure aura he very rarely (if ever) held before.

"Ariadne, look at you right at home."

[<3]

The strange way he was walking didn't escape Ariadne's attention. But she knew that some people had a rougher arrival to Trench than others. Maul had been covered in lacerations and barely coherent. So she supposed it might just be some kind of limp. And she let it go.

"As long as there are trees, I'm always at home," she said. Which was partly true. And easier to say than expressing how difficult it was to reconcile the sense of permanence she was feeling in Trench, compared to Deerington. It was both a relief and...not. A guilt she was wearing on her shoulders.

But one that didn't alter her feather-light gait.

She trotted over to Sam, giving him a quick, one-armed hug. She was careful not to touch his legs, in case it might exacerbate his limp. "It's good to see you, Sam."

"Good to see you, too," he answered and returned the hug. It was brief but that was fine. He was never a touchy person and, to be honest, most of his physical contact with women was unwanted or ended horribly.

He didn't seem too bothered by that now. Maybe New Sam could move on from all that business.

"I hope I didn't stress you out earlier," Sam says as the hug ends and they break back.

"That wasn't my intention. That guy just rubs me the wrong way."

"I'm not sure he would ever have occasion to rub you," she said, figuring even as she said it that it was clearly an expression. She'd already made a fool of herself several times over with Sam alone, so she decided to push past it as quickly as possible. "Don't worry about him."

Smooth recovery.

Which probably explained why she was very, very quick to hold up the basket, bumping it lightly against his chest. "I've started putting together an assortment for you. Varian and Fern seem to think that there's something special about the soil around the trees that's making them a little bit stronger than the native ones, but we haven't figured out what it is yet."

And 'we' was being generous. Ariadne knew when soil was good or bad. But for the life of her, she had no means to determine why.

"The fruit tastes normal, though. I don't think there's anything unusual about it."

Very smooth. And moved over so fast he didn't have a chance to react.

Sam took the basket and looked at the fruit for a moment, noting their color and textures. They looked normal enough to him but the thing about the soil was interesting and tied into a few theories he'd already started to form about the transition from Deerington to Trench.

"Maybe it's not the ground that's making them strong."

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Action?

[ACTION] (But not the kind Sam wants...)

But what if it waaaas

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