Motley of a Nameless Hollow

[Malcolm Green]

If you go into the Hedge today you'll be in for a surprise.

If you go into the Hedge today, you'd better go in disguise.

For Green is working on his motley's Hollow and he'd really not like to be disturbed.

The humous has been cleared out of the Hollow and now lies in a big, spongey mass just a little back from the trod. The mountain spent all morning (by his reckoning; its hard to tell the time with the diffuse light pattering down onto this most spooky and neglected trod) cleaning out the hollowed tree and the spaces beneath its roots; how much of that reclaimed space would remain was ultimately up to his motley-mates and what their plans for the hollow encompassed. Green was focusing purely on external security: the humous would provide the material to landscape the Hedge around their Hollow, hiding the entrance from the trod.

But first he was working on making a door: door frame, door, hinges, locks. He'd learned just how powerful a simple lock could be in this Wyrd drenched demi-world. The door and its materials were imports from Their Side of the Gates. Carpentry was not exactly his speciality but he'd worked on enough construction sites to gain more than a few insights.

Right now he is delicately putting the door frame in place. Its a very special moment - turning a wild and irregular hole into the entrance to a cute Fairy House. A cute Fairy House thats human sized and set in a very wild part of the local Hedge, tinged with Autumn and Winter; the turn of the season is barely noticeable - a faint shift in the quality of the light.

Xander Nathan Griffin Gwydden

[Milo Chernobog]

It took far more time then it should have, but eventually Milo made his appearance. Lost within the Hedge trying to find his way to his new home, the Fairest had picked up the pace on his approach. His cheeks were only lightly flushed as he finally entered eyesight, though the shortness of breathe from his total lack of regular exercise couldn't really be helped.

"Malcolm!" He called from a distance as he swiftly continued his approach. The glimmer of knife could be seen under his black leather coat. "My deepest apologies for my tardiness!"

As he finally jogged up to the side of the Mountain, both hands fell to his knees as he hunched over. Short but rapid breathes poured forth for a few seconds before he finally stood back up right. It was only then that the door where the black hole had been registered.

"Nice work." He pointed to the door between huffs before his hands finally settled on his hips. "It's always easier to sleep when you know some random Hedge thing isn't going to try and devour you over night."

So sorry this took so long! Time got away from me more then usual.

[Malcolm Green]

Green paused as he finished his work on the door. His big head turned slightly and his gemstone eyes dropped squarely onto the Fairest.

"Milo. Welcome."

The mountain made an enigmatic smile.

"So what do you think? Door is up. I just gotta test it and make a few adjustments, yeah. Then I work on the landscaping. See, I reckon we can use the Hedge in our favour, yeah? Hedge hides things... So. I use the humous to make an embankment that'll screen the door from view, right? No one will notice it, yeah? Only us. Secure and private."

He gave a conspiratorial nod.

"Insides been cleaned out, mostly. Take a look. You'll see how much room we gotta play with."

[Nathan Griffin]

He had hoped not to get lost. That would have made for a very unfunny pun. Seeing his motley-mates was a relief, and he didn't even try to hide it.

"High ho!" he yelled as he approached.

He had put on a jacket this time, for the cold, and he carried with him not only his backpack but also a pickax and a shovel over his shoulder. The Hunterheart dropped everything on the floor the moment he was near the Hollow, letting out an exhausted sigh, before taking a look at the door. He whistled.

"Nice... job there," he was panting a little. "I'm guessing it was you, Green? No offense, Milo" he gave the Fairest one of those wide, wolfish grins. Then he nodded in the direction of the tools. "Borrowed them. Don't know if we'll be needing them or not but I figured that just in case..."

He stopped and stretched while letting out a long yawn.

"Sorry. Didn't sleep so well. I'm hoping we don't have any neighbors?"

[Malcolm Green]

Green was fiddling with the door, making last minute adjustments.

"Yeah. Figured we needed a door. Best security, really. I got some keys to hand out when we're done."

He glanced over at the Hunterheart.

"Yeah we might need 'em. I cleaned out the hollow but its walls are weak and the floor could probably be levelled out. You'll see when you take a look inside. Anyway... I'll keep working out here. Uh. You guys do the inside stuff, yeah?"

[Milo Chernobog]

"None taken." Milo says between breathes."And I think we can handle any unruly neighbors."

The right side of Milo's lip twitched up into a smile as his thumb ran across the palm of the blade at his belt. The twitch was fleeting though, as Malcolm indicated the interior. Part of him flashed back to that rancid stench that crashed out last time, but from the sounds of it the den had been mostly cleared out.

"Will do." A nod to Green and one hand extended towards the entrance. "After you Nathan."

[Nathan Griffin]

"Keys?" he gazed around at the empty wilderness and laughed. "How civilized."

He took a look at Milo's knife and smiled a conspiratorial grin while making as if he was taking some leftover food from between his fangs. The smile quickly turned sardonic at the Fairest's offer.

"You do know I'm not scared of the dark, do you, Milo?" he chuckled before going in.

[Malcolm Green]

A small smile cracked across the mountain's face.

"Hey, man. Never mock a Door. Specially round here, yeah. Doors are... magic." He rumbled as the Fairest and the Beast passed through the door.

Green was already turning to the mount of humous and the gap between their door and the trod. His expression turned... contemplative.

[Milo Chernobog]

"Oh, I don't think anything so simple would scare you." Milo said, returning the Beast's chuckle with a wide smile. "I think there were a lot of loose roots and things, and seeing you trip will be an adequate warning for me."

It was mostly a joke. His attention did seem focused towards the ground as he walked through Green's new door.

[Nathan Griffin]

Doors are magic. He liked the idea. He smiled one last time before going in and losing sight of Green.

"I am hurt, man," the inside was dark, and smelled of musty earth and littered leaves. "What if I trip and break my nose? Putting your nose before mine isn't very motley-mate like."

He reached for a lighter in his pockets. It provided even less light than he had expected. For the first time in a while, he missed the fairy fires. He had used them more times than he cared to remember to drag poor sods like himself back to his Keeper, but had lost them after crossing over. Doors are magic, he thought dryly.

"This looks... empty," he scratched the ground with his shoes. "How do you feel about sleeping in a dirt floor, Milo?"