(Private)Spring Gathers

[Sonnie Wu]

Her eye twitches slightly, "No jungle."

"Besides," Sonnie barreled forward on the topic, not wanting to stop and explain her answer, "I dunno if we can change the local flora. It is what it is. So, that thing looks HUGE. How much bigger can we make the Tavern?" Some cider was slurped. "We might have to rename it the Hotel, or something."

[Liam Gelt]

The eye twitch speaks volumes for Liam. Maybe that wasn't the best suggestion... "Sure. Makes sense terrain-wise." Perhaps the big ideas were best left to the 'bigger thinkers'? But he's not discouraged at all. "But I agree having a more spacious Hollow for Spring would help in a lot of ways. Hosting events for one, especially with numbers growing again." There had been several new faces at the last Coronation. "We could also use the Hollow for special housing in a pinch, in case somebody in the Freehold needs a place to stay after a fire or eviction."

Stone pulls the Ogre to more grounded thoughts, and so scratches the pine-bristle beard on his chin. "We'll need those railings along the stairs for safety. None of us can fly, as far as I know. Though we've got at least one good climber." He looks good-naturedly to Sonnie. "I think we could keep most of the Tavern trunk-level; the dining room, bar, etcetera. Storage spaces could be transferred to the roots. And then further up the spaces can be more private: guest rooms, observatories, perhaps even an aviary." His eyes light up."Boy would that be a sight! As long as they're friendly Hedge-birds, of course."

[Seraphina]

Then no jungle it was.

A thoughtful look, “Hmm, never really thought of it like that. But you’re probably right about not being able to change it.” A glance down at the picture, “I’m not sure to be honest. Things work a bit differently in the Hedge after all. The only draw back I see is it drawing more attention, unless we were able to build it in a way to blend in with the tress and whatnot.” Shrugging, “I don’t see why it couldn’t still be the Tavern. A lot of hotels and what not still stick with one general name, focusing on a bar, restaurant or whatnot. And I think the name is kinda iconic now.” It just fit.

To Liam, “I suppose we could go that route, I’m not against it. But it also means welcoming those outside Spring to spend time here, well, without us. Is that something we as a whole are ok with? You’re right in your thinking, having a safe place to offer those who need one is needed. Though not many are comfortable spending any amount of time in the Hedge.” And there was nothing wrong with that.

Laughing with a shake of her head, “No flying ability to report.” But wouldn’t that be cool! “We could also add an infirmary of sorts. Spring as Season is known for it’s healing magic, maybe we build something just in case.” Always good to have a place to take the injured.

At the mention of an aviary, her Mantle flares into life, petals pushed to the corners and walls in a sudden rush. “Only if there are no cages.” Her voice a bit softer. There could never be any cages. “Sorry,” looking a bit sheepish, “I can’t do cages.” But she wasn’t going to get into it. Only Rhodes had seen that part of her past.

[Seraphina]

Little Bump

[Sonnie Wu]

"I mean, I'm cool with a big place! We can have a bunch of rooms, and we could practically live here!" It was a neat idea, anyway. "I guess an infirmary is possible. Where is Titania, anyway? She's a doctor or something."

The Beast gave the aviary idea some thought, then nodded enthusiastically. "I like birds. Birds are noisy!" And she liked noisy. She was quick, of course, to pick up on Sera's dislike of cages. Sonnie could not disagree with that sentiment. "Exactly. No cages."

So sorry! Somehow I forgot about this thread!

[Liam Gelt]

Liam nods to Sera. "Absolutely! We should use as much of the tree's natural growth as possible, since adding to it will just take extra time and need more materials. I've got some experience in both." His own Hollow is made up of a hollowed-out tree, after all. He scratches his chin as Sera mentions the logistics of making the Spring Hollow open, or at least more open than usual. "Hmmmmm. You're right. We'd need to have someone in the Hollow more often than not. But the infirmary's a good compromise just in case we need it. Especially after..."

Gerrit

Liam looks downcast for a moment, remembering the close call with his Ogre friend in the Hedge. With the weird rust.

Speaking of metal things...cages sound like a definite no-go. "Oh no!" Liam puts both hands up defensively, a bit of color leaving his face out of shock. "No cages. I was just thinking of a part of the tree specifically to hang out with birds, not contain them. Maybe aviary was the wrong word." He looks genuinely concerned that what he's said has hurt his friend's feelings. "I'm sorry, Sera."

At any rate, it sounds like the general consensus is that the improvements are a go; however they might look. "I think this all sounds like a wonderful project. Especially as we prepare for next Spring. When should we start?" ​The Ogre is eager and willing to put his hands to good use building up his Court's Hollow.

[Seraphina]

“There isn’t much we couldn’t do. I just believe we, Spring, deserve to have the best Hollow of the Freehold.” And she truly meant that. She viewed her Season as the best one in the Freehold, and they deserved the best. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see her at the Autumn Coronation.” But she had missed those before, so not much thought was put into it. “Have you heard from her? Because I haven’t, maybe we should reach out, make sure she’s ok.” Concern in her voice.

“Bird are wonderful animals, and the Hedge has some truly stunning ones.” She had no issues with birds, and was glad Sonnie agreed about the cages.

“Wonderful!” sounded like they were all on board. “I believe the Freehold, as a whole, understands not entering another Court’s Hollow without an invite or reaching out to someone. I’ve never come across anyone not respecting that boundary.” So she wasn’t too worried about that. “I know that I, personally, do some of my best healing while in a Hollow. So it can’t hurt to have some place setup in case it’s needed.” She catches his words, then the downcast look. “Everything ok Liam?” her voice full of concern.

A translucent hand waves off the apology, “No need to apologize,” a warm smile offered, “it’s just memories for me that I’ve been struggling to forget.” But probably never would. “I genuinely love the idea of having a place for birds to perch and be watched.” It was known to be a relaxing past time.

Sounded like Liam was eager to begin! “I say we get started whenever we have the time. There is no rush or pressure. Nor should anyone feel forced to help if they don’t have the time or simply don’t want to. I just want Spring to flourish.”

[Sonnie Wu]

"Of course we deserve the best! Because we are the best!" Sonnie nodded, proud of her Court.

A grin spread across her mouth. "If we have birds, maybe we should add some monkeys!" Because that sounded like a wise idea!

She looked between the Fairest and the Elemental, "As soon as possible? Autumn is almost over, and then we'll only have the winter to work on this stuff. Best to get it done before we start prep for the Spring Coro, right?"

[Liam Gelt]

Liam relaxes physically and audibly, his shoulders resting with a creak of muscles against his barkskin frame. “I understand. We all have something that we’d rather not remember from Back There.” Himself included. “All the more reason we should celebrate what we have here, birds and all.” He looks a bit surprised at the thought of having monkeys hanging around the Tavern, but only for a moment. Then he bursts into laughter. “I suppose it would make sense, given the treehouse look. Just make sure you clean up after them, O Monkey Queen.” He mock bows to Sonnie, but all in good fun. Given his own acquired knowledge of Fang and Talon Contracts, he’s sure Sonnie has a good handle on keeping monkeys in check. Though Hedge-Monkeys might be another matter…

But that’s neither here nor there. Now it sounds like Sera’s got a plan in mind. “I think we can use the holidays to think about any plans we might have, then start in earnest once we hit the New Year. There we go! An easy New Year’s resolution. We can have the rest of the year easy.” He chuckles. “I like the idea of a healer’s chamber, Sera. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of ideas to make it a comforting space.” He looks over to Sonnie. “What special rooms would a Claviger have?”

[Seraphina]

Raising her cup, “That we are!” it was good to see others have pride in their Court. That little voice in the back of her mind telling her that Spring would always be the best Court and she would always be the ultimate Monarch.

Blinking a few times, she tries to silence that voice. There were others who were better leaders then she was, she wasn’t the best. But she knew it was going to be a back and forth with that voice, which some day would win.

Laughing, “If you can find them, they are always welcome here.” Didn’t sound like a bad idea to her.

“That sounds sound to me. I’ll be more then happy to dedicate as much time as possible to the Hollow. Where did we want to start? If we’re looking to prep before our Coronation, then did we want to expand the main tavern area, add more luxuries to it? Or focus on something else that will make us stand out?” not that they didn’t already stand out.

“Exactly Liam! Plus, it’s kind of our thing to live with style and defy where we once were. We need to remind others to live in the here and now, to live each day to it’s fullest as a fuck you to Them.” And she would always do that.

“Good idea Liam.” Though she already had plans. “Now what about you? What special room would you like to have? I think it’s important that we each have a mark on this, something that means a great deal to us.”