永程

He had been thinking a lot recently. The move from the Oasis to the Plains had been trying for the small healer, who'd been doing his best to keep up while sore. But after a few days of settling in and digging out his den, Yong Cheng felt it was time to really start pulling his weight. He'd been asking questions and trying out herbs he'd found while exploring, and even collected a few, too.

But every time he'd wanted to get a herb, he had to hunt around Boreas for it. It was time consuming and inefficient; if there was something he dreaded, it was inefficiency in the face of immediate necessity. What if someone needed healing and he couldn't get to them in time? The thought troubled him. Perhaps it was best to have a garden, or at least a stockpile of some sort? But where could he find one?

Perhaps Sirius might know? He girded his loins and prepared to ask the Warlord -- or at worst, have a very insistent talk about its necessity.


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OOC:

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Sirius was adding logs of water to the pile beside the communal fire pit. The grand meeting spot for the Armada would be here, and he loved Io’s addition to it. A fire pit was not something he would have thought about. The great obelisk stationed beside it, with the pack rules and regulations etched into its stone surface was of his own design. And before the fire pit was a stand for himself and Zee to stand on, with room for her handmaiden and his sister to sit just below them, the fire at their backs. The pack could assemble before them, in the wide open, cleared space there. The communal cellar was dug into the earth near this central-location and all their meat supplies were stored there. All of these creations had been months in the making, well before the ash had cleared. The Warlord finished stacking the wood, and took a step back, proud eyes grazing the land, before falling on the form of Bird. “Ah, Bird, settling in well?” he asked politely. "Speech"

永程

Sirius had really done something to the place. It was all neatly set up, very organised, and unlike anything Yong Cheng had seen before. Spring and Summer, it seemed, were to be seasons of fresh revelations. He was learning much, and learning fast, and pack life didn't feel so cloying and restrictive anymore. For the first time since his "kidnapping", Yong Cheng didn't tense when Sirius spoke to him.

The Warlord was as tall as ever. His figure, which had been imposing in the past, now felt a little less scary, and a little more secure. The wound he'd sustained was pretty much gone; Yong Cheng was secretly pleased that it was. After all, treating it had been his work, though he wouldn't be surprised if Sirius had taken it to see Iolaire later on.

"Yes," he nodded at the Warlord. The boy fiddled with the grass underfoot, before squaring up to look Sirius in the eye. "I wanted to ask about a garden," he said, getting straight to the point. "It would be prudent to produce our own herbs and plants, especially in this time."


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OOC:

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The small slave spoke, paused, and then looked back to him. Sirius was patient, he but his back to the firepit, and waited for the boy to find his words. He was comfortable, he was in the lands he had hand-picked and worked hard to perfect. The move had been a success, his Wife was pregnant, and someday soon he would have young heirs running amok. There was very little that could ruin his good mood. “Yes, in fact we already have a garden” it was still a work in progress, everything needed to grow now that the land was clear and the sun could reach it. He believed Io was planting a lot of herbs as well, to speed things along. “However, I believe it would be a good idea to give you a piece of land to grow on” he said thoughtfully. “Come with me” with that, he moved away from the fire pit, and towards the North side of the territory. Near where the river flowed through the territory. “Io’s garden is just here” he said, pointing to her fenced of section with his nose. “We can build yours next to it, and fence it off as well. If you work on the actual garden, I will fence it myself, and any other heavy lifting you need.” Sirius volunteered. He was an Alpha, but one that believed in getting his hands dirty. He also knew he was one of the strongest wolves in the pack - he might as well put that to use. "Speech"

永程

"...We already have a garden."

"Oh." Said Yong Cheng, not really surprised. He supposed he really shouldn't have bothered. From all the landscaping he'd done, he should have known that Sirius would have thought of everything. He turned his eyes to the ground -- he really needn't have tried. Well, if they were all fine...

..."However, I believe it would be a good idea to give you a piece of land to grow on. Come with me."

"Oh," Cheng breathed. He couldn't see any sort of natural beauty in it, but oh was it technically so, so sweet. His mind was racing, thinking of ways that he could grow and improve it. Io had been thorough, but if Sirius was really offering Cheng his own plot of land... The things he could do!

"Yes." He decided firmly. "I'll take it. How much material 'm I gonna need? I'm thinking I could channel the water from that nearby river... Oh, and seeds, too..."


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OOC:

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Sirius smiled a secret smile behind the back of Bird. This was perfect. In giving the healer his own plot of land, he was giving Bird something to invest it. Something to build on, and grow, so that he would feel within himself a sort of ownership over this land. He wanted his wolves to feel like they belonged, to grow a loyalty to him and this pack. That was all he wanted, their loyalty. The brutish Warlord might not go the best way about it, but sometimes he still got there in the end. “How about you tell me what material you need, and we can work on it together. If you need seeds, I can venture out with you, you can search for seeds, and i can get the material to build the fencing.” that way Bird would not be out alone, and Sirius could ensure the safety of the much smaller wolf. Thus far he had given the man one spar, and he intended to increase his training He also needed to appoint someone to train all new members to bring them up to a standard level. "Speech"

永程

Yong Cheng let out a breath of excitement. He still didn't smile at Sirius, but the fear in the depth of his gaze had been replaced with grudging respect. "Okay, Mr. Warlord." His eyes sparkled with excitement. He felt like a boy again, toddling around his mother's legs. Even though the sky was slightly cloudy with residual ash, he felt warmer than he'd ever been this last season. "You got yourself a deal. When do we begin?"

Yong Cheng found his own question giving him pause. When did he want to begin? He'd been taking direction from Sirius in all things, all this while; having his own project was an oddity. Did he still follow Sirius' timeframe, or was he allowed to work on his own schedule? How often should he do it? Could he really tell Sirius to do, and have the Warlord follow? Yong Cheng couldn't quite believe it, himself. He'd been under the impression that alphas were an entity separate from their pack, who had nothing to do with the little peasants. And here he was, a slave, talking directly to his master about what actions to take!

What a weird world.

"Because we should go. Now. There's no time to waste!" Of course, they had the whole season, but plants took time to grow!


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OOC:

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Sirius would have told the man to give his own time frame - after all, this was his project but before he could point that out, Bird eagerly said they should go now. It was hard not to be amused at the young man's enthusiasm, to see him take such a vivid interest in something. Even Zee would be hard pressed to find fault in Sirius for offering this to the man. “Now it is” he agreed, thinking for a moment about the lay of the land. He had spent a great deal of time exploring the surrounding lands as he had built upon this one. “Let’s head East of the stream and make our way to Weeping Woods. I should be able to find wood material there and you can get the scoop of the available herbs” he suggested easily. "Speech"

永程

"Okay," he bubbled, "I have no idea what there is available there, but okay!"

In hindsight, Yong Cheng realised that the Weeping Woods was quite a sad name to give to a place. Was the name there for a reason? He didn't really want to think about it; if Sirius said that was where they would go, then Yong Cheng would happily follow his leader. It wasn't like Sirius was bad at defending himself anyway, and Yong Cheng felt he was such a small target that he could easily dodge any surprise attacks.

He might even have bounced a little. Yong Cheng was brimming with so much nervous excitement that he truly felt like a child, especially when eclipsed by Sirius' massive bulk. "Lead the way, Mr. Warlord."


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OOC: You wanna make a thread in the Woods?

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