[Video]

[beyondthegreen]

[It's the middle of the day and somewhere in a city park, greenery behind her, Tefé finally ends up turning on the video feed, scowling. Under other circumstances, finding herself in a whole new universe might have been like some kind of omen, a fresh start. But the military thing sticks in her craw, and frankly, so far Tefé hasn't seen anything to indicate that, in a more planetary sense, things are much different than back home, which leaves her back with the same dilemmas as ever.]

How many of you Registered Heroes actually believe it's a good idea to basically be signing up with the military? You know, the guys that come up with new and creative ways for humans to keep killing each other, along with the rest of the planet as a hapless casualty? Do any of you even think about how completely fucked up it is being tagged like this? Knowing they've got a file on you is creepy as hell, too.

[Even though there's signs of anger on her face, she honestly sounds more pensive than anything, with one other question on her mind.]

And has anyone else found out that some things just... stopped working since they came here? Things you used to be able to do, I mean.

Comments

[fehus]

Who said I was?

[pretends he's Blind and Can't See that, this next statement is just a coincidence]

I work in Maurtia Falls, and it's a crappy neighborhood. De Chima's nice in the country. Heropa's probably the nicest city. They have a ton of different take-out places, and one of those stores where all they sell is coloured sand in weird-shaped bottles. Which I can't believe is a thing, honestly?

[beyondthegreen]

[Hey, look, don't try to distract her with stories about weird shit humans buy. She's got you now, cool guy.]

It's a city. [She shrugs. None of them are very nice from a plant's perspective, although some are a lot worse than others.] I thought you just said you did whatever you wanted, and now it turns out you have a job? Where?

[fehus]

[he actually has three jobs]

An imPort garage. It's not through the government, and I have a job because I don't use photosynthesis to eat. I prefer tex-mex or schwarma.

[beyondthegreen]

You're excused. [That's another weird offhand remark that doesn't really come off like a joke either. Excusing him for having to eat food? Yeah, that's right. Wheat died to make your schwarma wrap, you animal.

But she likes his attitude. And doesn't really like talking over the network, the more she uses it.]

Are you there right now?

[More matter-of-fact statements. Look, Magnus is getting a visit whether he likes it or not by this point.]

[fehus]

Yeah.

[a matter of fact answer. He's probably thinking about Schwarma wraps]

[beyondthegreen]

Are you going to tell me where it is, or do I have to find it myself?

[She says petulantly. Not like there can be that many imPort owned garages, but he's talking to her right now, geez.]

[fehus]

[lmao! what a brat. he is instantly endeared]

-- Oh, do you need your car fixed?

[nah just joshin]

It's at [ ADDRESS ].

-> [action?]

[beyondthegreen]

I don't have a car.

[Yet. Oh, sorry was that a joke? It sure didn't register as one with her -- the moment she needs to go on a road trip, it's hotwire central in Tefe's immediate vicinity. Which, come to think of it, is just another good reason to go check out this guy in person.]

Don't go anywhere. I'm coming over.

[It's more than a few minutes, really. She's used to schlepping it by foot even when she still could access the Green to move between places. Dad always had some greenery somewhere around that he could build a body out of, but in her case, finding a corpse to use as a base body is a bit harder.]

[action!]

[fehus]

[not that hard -- she's on her way to meet one, after all]

[and this particular corpse will be sitting outside the garage, on the hood of one of the garage's trucks, eating some kind italian sub. the heels of his mucked-up sneakers kick lightly against the grill, and he puts his sandwich down and raises a blank hand as he's approached. in person, Magnus looks like a somber, vaguely homeless teen, with tousled hair and a ratty flannel out of a grunge scene. he has the added benefit of a few oil smears, on his arms, as well]

[simply;]

Hey.

[beyondthegreen]

[Tefé's nose crinkles a bit at the smell of oil, plastic and metal as she approaches. Well, that's definitely the smell of transportation.]

I wouldn't have thought someone working in a place like this would care about doing anything for city plants.

[fehus]

I don't actually care about cars. I just hold grimy stuff and move levers, sometimes.

[an easy shrug]

I'm sort of, connected to nature too, I guess? So I feel a little weirdly responsible. It's complicated. What's up? Tefé, right?

[beyondthegreen]

Yep. I know, it's a weird name. Not my choice.

[She comes right up, giving him the once-over curiously.]

What do you mean by connected to nature? I know... a lot about complicated, don't worry.

[fehus]

[Magnus moves obligingly over on the hood of the truck, to make room for her, if she'd like to sit or lean against it. it's almost like a bench, right?]

[with a sort of blank delivery, because it never gets less Weird to talk about with people he's getting to know]

-- I'm a dead demigod of the Norse god Frey. The god of peace, healing, summer, nature, fertility, elves, backyard barbecues, that kind of stuff. Basically, I can make things, grow, and warm, and heal. Hippie undead friend to plants and animals everywhere.

[pause, and more like a regular teen:]

Also I just, like it. Hiking and camping was a big part of my pre-dead life. And your name isn't weird just because it's not like, Kelsey.

[beyondthegreen]

Plants and animals?

[Like it's a little hard to believe or something. She hops up beside him, actually a little bit up in his grill. This is just another reason the network sucks in comparison to the real world. She can actually tell what's going on nearby.]

You seem alive to me. Your heart's beating and blood's flowing through your veins. And you were eating a sandwich. I saw it.

[fehus]

[Magnus stiffens a little at that -- he's weird about people in his personal space. but apart from that, he doesn't lean away, picking up his sandwich again]

I'm -- [damn, she's in his grill? it's fine, Chase] -- still living, I eat and sleep and stuff, but I'm reanimated by spooky pagan death-god magic. My first death was the end of me being alive in the natural sense. I'm eterna-teen.

[he pauses, addressing her other question after a bite of sandwich]

I've done more with plants than animals because of my whole sun-demigod deal. Animals just seem to dig me, and I can like -- sense them? Like I know there's a nest of eggs in that tree across the street, I can feel them just sort of being alive and thinking egg-thoughts if I try.

[points with his sandwich]

[beyondthegreen]

[Tefe sits back, giving him a little more breathing space and follows the line of his sandwich and... yeah, vaguely, almost through the tree itself, she can tell they're there too. But...]

Animals don't like me very much. [She compares, a bit sourly.] I like the trees here, though. They seem nice.

[fehus]

Do they? What's it like talking to plants?

[he does literally breathe, exhaling a bit as his personal bubble is returned to him. homf, homf, sammich. there aren't -- more, like him, in Valhalla. it's sort of low-key exciting, talking to someone connected to nature in a really intense way, like he is]

Do they find things funny? Or is that anthro-centric to assume humour is something every living thing has...?

[beyondthegreen]

I... don't think I ever heard one tell a joke.

[Now that you mention it.]

Maybe dad, a long time ago.

[fehus]

What kind of plant was your dad?

[this should be a weirder question to ask, but his best friends have sisters and brothers who are eight-legged horses and giant-world ending serpents and categorically evil wolves. he hopes it isn't rude]

[beyondthegreen]

[You can always count on Tefé to spend more time being perplexed by human reactions than by supernatural and metaphysical weirdness. And with more than one way to interpret that question:]

I don't know. I never really understood him.

What's it like having a god for a father?

[fehus]

I don't know. I met him once for like 5 minutes.

[dads are clearly something they both kick ass at]

You didn't answer, about talking to plants. I can't do that, I can just sort of feel their life and help them grow.

[beyondthegreen]

[Dads. Terrible all around.]

They're ...concerned about different things. They were here first, you know. But now, between being preyed on, cut down, and abused for so long, a lot of them don't like people, or even animals, very much. [She admits.]

But they know when people care about them, too. It's just another one of those things where you have to say 'It's complicated', I guess.

[fehus]

Honestly, I kind of feel that way about people, too.

[maybe it says something about his own antisocial tendencies he feels that way about Civilization, but he's been through some bullshit and can feel however he wants. Magnus thinks about that all, for a while, and then adds]

If you want a hand helping them feel cared for here, I wouldn't mind coming along sometime.

[beyondthegreen]

[Tefé usually has a lot of strong feelings. Most of them mean there's not too much to smile about most of the time, but right now... it's nice to hear something like that once in a while.]

I'm going out to the nearest forest tomorrow to ask a few more questions. [She says, frankly a little bossy for someone who doesn't like to be told what to do.] You can drive. You have a car, right?

[fehus]

Uhhh, no.

[a pause, and he kind of laughs]

I know, it's really misleading that I work at a garage. But I died before I got a licence, and then didn't like, need mortal transportation anymore. I can ride a horse, sort of?

[Sort Of. the eight-legged children of Sleipnir don't need much input to do their thing]