A Time of Renewals

[Malcolm Green]

Another month. Another flyer.

This one had been about a missing dog. The dog didn't exist; the fuzzy picture was code because in the immediate background was a tree that resembled the motley's Hollow. The words were simple and largely meaningless. Playfully thick borders almost overwhelmed the flyer and it was there the real code lay.

Xander Gwydden Nathan Griffin

In an unnamed hollow, Green the mountain was stringing up nets for more of his Goblin Fruit harvests; one third of a nameless motley, he waited on his confederates to arrive. Hot, pungent, earthy tones, seeped into the Hollow as the reigning summer sought to compete with the stifling aspects of autumn and winter which they motley bought to the Hedge. The mountain appeared not to mind as he hung his peculiar looking roots and leaves from the netting.

[Nathan Griffin]

The Hollow — our Hollow, he thought — never failed to remind him of one of those storybook illustrations. When he was a child he would open what then seemed like a gargantuan tome, run through the pages with care and inhale the pungent smell that came with brand new books before letting his eyes wander over the flowery print. He could almost feel the smell now, and it beguiled him that now, all grown up and all worn down, he wasn't looking at a picture.

"Hey, Green!" he yelled through the door and began getting the heavy load of his backpack of his shoulder. "You there?"

Home, sweet home. They would have to get a bridge and a troll to go with it. He hadn't seen a river nearby, but you couldn't have a fairy house without a bridge and you couldn't have a bridge without a troll. Or so he had been taught.

[Malcolm Green]

"Yeah." Green raised his voice and the earth shook. He lumbered out of the earthy shadows under the tree and into the light. "Seen any sign of Milo?" The Elemental hadn't seen their other motley-mate in some time and the balance of variables was shifting in his calculations, but it paid to be certain.

"Its been a while. Thought we should talk. Maybe get those old oaths going again. Don't know about you but mine's faded." He peered up into the well lit doorway that framed the autumnal Hunterheart.

[Nathan Griffin]

He was glad to see the Mountain. He was glad that he was glad at all. "Hey there," he offered as a greeting of sorts, "Nope, haven't seen him around. Though I've been a little out of the loop lately, to be honest."

The Hunterheart dropped the backpack on the floor, next to the door, and looked around to admire their hollow. He whistled. "Nice. Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm up for getting those oaths running again. Are those..." he finally noticed what the Elemental was doing, "... nets?"

OOC

Holy cow. I can't believe it's been a week. There's really no excuse and I hope I can make it up somehow. By responding on time, for starters...

[Malcolm Green]

"Well, I gotta hang my harvests up somewhere, man. Found a grove nearby, yeah. This is the first harvest. I'll work out exactly what we got here later."

Green looked up at his harvest, then back at Nathan.

"Good. I'd have hated to have lost another motley. I once had something going with a couple of other guys, but they both went their own way. Good people. It was... sad... that we couldn't get anything going." A note of emotion crept into the Elemental's voice.

His eyes drifted to the bag, then back to the Hunterheart.

"So. I was think we just revisit the original pact we made, yeah. Maybe extend it out for a year and a day. And... uh... yeah. You were talking about expanding the motley? Yeah, I think we need it. Did you have someone in mind?"

[Nathan Griffin]

The tinge of sadness (or at least he took it for such; emotion was a rare sight when it came to the Mountain's features) didn't escape Nathan. There was some shuffling of feet, and his fascination with the netting grew by the second. "Well, be sure you can count on me. Ain't going anywhere anytime soon," his voice quivered and he quickly changed the subject. "You'll have to give me the 101 on the harvest thing. Don't think I've ever grown anything in my life. If there's anything you need me to help out with..." he shrugged.

At the Winter's last question, the beast smirked and raised his hands like he had just been caught by the Sacramento PD. "Just throwing it around. I'm fine being a duo, Lone Ranger and Tonto style, if that's what floats your boat. But I think we could use someone to feed to the hobs if the going gets tough," but the Mountain wanted to know whom. In spite of all his efforts, L'aire intruded into his mind before he could force his thoughts to focus elsewhere. "What about Ms. Tascioni? Maybe she's come around since last time."

[Malcolm Green]

Green stared for a long moment. Then:

"Harumph! Her? High maintenance wasp who wants to know everything about you but wont even... share? I dunno. I doubt it. You hear rumours? I think she might have built a motley of her own. Yeah... Anyone else?"

Green had seen the Wasp's skill with a blade. That he could respect.

"Do you know Daniel? Or maybe... Morgan?" The Mountain asked after a pause. His gaze was heavy.

[Nathan Griffin]

At Green's indignation a chuckle escaped the Hunterheart's lips. "Well, yeah, but y'know... no one's perfect," he remembered Morgan well enough, but it took him a moment to realize who Daniel was. "I know them. Morgan's cool. Wouldn't mind having her around if she's up for it. Don't know Daniel that well, though. He's in your club, isn't he?"

[Malcolm Green]

"Yeah. Daniel is... good. Quiet. Gets things done." Green looked at his boot and ground it into the earth playfully. "So... Yeah. We can reach out to Morgan. Yeah. Daniel too... We'll have to you get you and he together some time, see how you roll."

[Nathan Griffin]

"Sounds good to me," thinking that was all, he took another cursory look around. "What do you think we renew that pledge and then see what we can do to make this place cozier? Wouldn't want to scare Morgan and Daniel off too soon," there was a slight emphasis in the last two words, and a mischievous half-grin insinuated itself around his toothy mouth.