[un: sprite bulb] voice;

[bearshermark]

[An aggrieved breath brushes through Eleven's crystal. He sounds tired and annoyed in the moment, as though speaking directly to someone of something]

I'm trying to grow things, here.

For Goddess' sake, I only just planted this patch yesterday.

[He sighs, temper easing, though his voice remains underscored by a thread of tension]

..Has anyone found anything about the dark waters? How to remove them or purify them or.. something. I've been working around them much as I can, but something will surely need to be done to clear it up if this village is going to thrive after we've gone.

[He's going to leave one place better than they found it okay.

..Maybe. Hopefully]

Comments

[soloritur]

[ El... Marcos still would rather he stay away, but he recognizes his determination. ]

You feel responsible because of your power?

[bearshermark]

..It's something like that.

It feels like a problem I should be able to solve. If I can't, then it might be that I don't have a purpose here after all.

[soloritur]

[ That's something he relates to a little too well; wanting to find meaning to why they're here. He's worried he's losing sight of that every time they leave somewhere worse than before they came.

He's still not sure this is a good idea, but he knows his curse is getting worse. It won't fix itself if he doesn't try. ]

Let me help. I can at least point out what to look for.

[bearshermark]

I'd appreciate it. I think we should be able to manage well.

[soloritur]

[ ...He's not sure he emphasized the danger enough. He still feels lucky they got away from it once. ]

Have you seen anything like it before?

[bearshermark]

[Things are always dangerous. He has a tank]

Hm. Of a sort. Not quite as much as what it sounds like you found.

[soloritur]

How close?

[ What do you normally talk to trees about? ]

[bearshermark]

In the forests of Sa-Hareth, I managed to commune with a tree spirit that felt like death and rebirth. It was cold, and stole my warmth for the trouble of.. impressing upon me that it had absorbed the energies of those born and dying around it over centuries.

[You know, #justtreethings]

[soloritur]

[ Here he was naive enough to think he'd found the only evil soul-sucking tree. That's more than a little alarming, for all of them, but especially for Eleven. ]

Somehow I missed hearing about that. What happened after?

[bearshermark]

Nothing, that I recall. I was able to warm up again after awhile thanks to help from a few people. I don't think the tree appreciated me bothering it, but I'd learned what I wanted.

[soloritur]

[ Rubbing his face. Okay. So the tree was justified because he bothered it, that's something he can get his head around. ]

I guess they're not a problem until they get aggressive. [ Or the water influenced it and turned it bad? He really has no idea. ] You know I'm not going to take its side if you can't reason with it.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven laughs]

I just want to understand what its purpose is- what it's trying to do. If it proves itself dangerous, then well enough.

[soloritur]

[ Okay, so it's true that what Marcos had just said was ridiculous, but Eleven was the one bringing up talking to trees. As long as he won't object to him burning them down if this goes badly.

He sighs, but doesn't do any more to insist that he's seen how dangerous they are. ]

Just let me know when you're ready.

[bearshermark]

I will, thank you.