[Room 1001]

[2goodarms]

Curtis is getting better at remembering they have unfettered access to water. He still forgets to shower sometimes, but when he does remember, he makes up for it by indulging for a good long while.

Sorry, Edgar. It's probably gonna be another forty-five minutes before you can get into the bathroom this morning.

Comments

[2goodarms]

Oh, yeah. Innocent as a newborn puppy, that one.

"Breakfast?" he repeats.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah smirks and jerks her head towards the door. "Come on. I can answer questions as we go."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Oh, breakfast. Sure."

He falls in next to Curtis, grinning.

[2goodarms]

Some minutes later, they're all settled in with their food. (Well, Edgar and Dejah are. Curtis' pancakes arrived in a to-go box; he excused himself, food in hand, without trying to make a big deal about it.)

He's back quickly enough, though, and soon after, the three of them head out the door to the lake.

It's a gorgeous day: sunny and clear, no oppressive chill or uncomfortable heat. A gentle breeze stirs the grass as they walk.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah tries to keep her distance. She really does. She walks with her hands tucked into the crook of her elbows, but she still ends up shoulder to shoulder with Curtis.

"How far from the Bar have you explored so far?" The question is directed to both of them.

[hate_gettin_older]

"Up to the lake," says Edgar. "And over by the, what's it, the house for horses?"

[2goodarms]

"The stables," Curtis supplies. "Yeah, pretty much the same with me. Lake to the stables."

Plus the forge, of course.

[dejah_thoris]

"Well," Dejah begins, clearly excited but still a bit trepidatious. "The meadows begin on the far side of the lake. It's a bit of a walk, but it's a beautiful day for it. There's a bit of forest along one part of the trail, but it's daylight, so we shouldn't have any issues. Someone told you about the demon rabbits, didn't they?"

[hate_gettin_older]

A momentary stare.

"The what," says Edgar, without a question mark.

[2goodarms]

The what, says Curtis' face, also sans question mark.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah's expression shifts to that of an excited professor. "You know what a rabbit is, yes? Well, I'm not sure how it came about, but there's a subspecies that lives out here that they call 'demon bunnies.' They come in a variety of odd colors and some of them breathe fire. Some are poisonous. And if you do manage to hunt one, you can only use the fur, if it's not one of the flammable ones. The meat is completely inedible."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Oh," sounding every so slightly strangled, "of course. We'll look out for those then, shall we?"

[2goodarms]

This fucking place, he swears to God.

"How aggressive are they?"

Poisonous, fire-breathing rabbits aren't that big a deal if you can scare them off by stamping your feet.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah holds up a finger and dips her chin.

"Well, let's just say if you do hunt them, be prepared to finish the job quickly. They tend to hunt back."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Of course. Of course they do. Christ."

Edgar rakes fingers through his hair and shakes his head. This fuckin place.

[2goodarms]

Curtis slants a glance Edgar's way, considering.

Lightly, "We could probably still take 'em."

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah's smile sidles towards somewhat predatory. That's better.

"But not today. Today is not a hunting expedition. And if you'll notice," she drawls, holding up two empty hands, "I didn't even bring a notebook. No specimen taking today. Just -- a walk in the meadow."

And if her eye starts to twitch, maybe Curtis can distract her?

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar might be muttering something like why would we want to under the first words of Dejah's explanation, but not loud enough to call for a response.

"Just a walk in the meadow," he agrees. "I'm for that."

[2goodarms]

Because it's fun, Edgar.

Curtis smiles, reaching to capture one of Dejah's hands. "Have you, uh, done any specimen-taking out there before?"

[dejah_thoris]

She easily laces the fingers of her left hand through his, and her right hand nestles in the crook of his arm.

"Only at the lakeside. I'm doing a biodiversity profile, as I was explaining to Edgar. When we get to stage three..." Her voice trails off and she shakes her head. "That's work. You're not going to get me to talk about work. I will bore you to death with details."

[2goodarms]

He snorts out a tiny laugh.

"Okay, no work," he allows. "Tell me about it later. I don't know a lot about what's living around here either."

[dejah_thoris]

"Well, I've counted over four hundred different species of plant and animal life just in the distance between the bar and the lakeside. And the amazing thing is, 90% of them can be classified as benign. That is, not a threat to you or me. With water, the richness of the food chain means species evolve in much less predatory ways. It's simply astounding."

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar's eyebrows go up. "Meaning, like ... they don't have to fight each other 'cause there's plenty of food and water to go round?"

[2goodarms]

Ah. Yeah, that...makes sense.

(To think Curtis feels a twinge of jealousy toward a bunch of plants right then.)

He stays quiet, watching the grass ripple as another breeze passes through.

[dejah_thoris]

"Precisely. It's one of the reasons I'm trying to bring the Age of Oceans back to Barsoom."

Dejah leans against Curtis's shoulder, gaze turned upwards towards the clouds.

"There's so much water here, it condenses out of the sky. See how sluggish they are? Those clouds are water vapor, not dust."