Trying Not To

[thepurpleone]

WHO: Donnie and you?
WHERE: Between and within Orange, Blue and Green
WHAT: Wall
WHEN: Late September
WARNINGS: I was in a write-y mood


It's hard to fix things when it seems that people don't care about having things fixed.

Back home, when things needed to be fixed, there'd be no peace until the problem was corrected. Donnie had slotted himself right into that role and performed it without complaint, and he prided himself in keeping things in working order and up to date. His family could live in comfort and despite having to live apart from humanity, was still fully connected to the world around them so long as the wifi was working.

So of course when he'd found himself dropped into the late snows of an alien planet, once it became clear that there was a problem to be attended to, Donnie assumed that his purpose here was obvious. Could a fourteen-year-old possibly be so arrogant to think he was the solution to fixing the problems of a displaced alien race?

Yes.

Admittedly, after being here for a year and with little actual Storm experience to show for, it had started to temper his ambitions, but Donnie had been much too stubborn to give up. He couldn't give up, because that meant never going home, and for someone who had never been away from his family for so long, this simply wasn't an option.

He'd found his drive again, in spite of the things that had happened, and in other instances, because of the things that happened. He now had his brother to lean on when things got difficult. And things had certainly gotten difficult.

This whole murder witch-hunt however is wearing down on him in ways he'd never considered. The confrontation with Stu had been a disaster so far as he had seen, and the more that had been said, the less he'd felt that putting in an appearance then would have helped matters. All the jumble of emotions had balled up so tightly in his gut and he had no name to any of them, save that he could probably do without the experience. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to just not be there, but every time someone said his name, it just felt like couldn't leave. Maybe he shouldn't have told anyone else. Maybe then things wouldn't have gone so horribly wrong. Again.

What was the point of it all? Any efforts made to try and get them any closer to figuring out what was going on with this planet and their mystery-watchers were being effectively waylaid because someone decided they were going to try killing people for the heck of it. Maybe that was evidence in itself, maybe they didn't really take the situation seriously. But did that really matter? Words hadn't resolved anything yet, which is why Donnie usually let his work do the talking. His confidence was always in his work, and in getting things done. And yet that had brought up another realization.

What's the point of being the tech-guy when anyone can fix things or code things with the touch of a sphere and an instant upload into your brain? It feels like his abilities were cheapened. Sure, he'd been ecstatic when he'd gotten Leo to figure out how to work with and understand code, and it was bad enough not being able to do two things that otherwise went hand-in-hand so far as he was concerned. But those uncomfortable, familiar insecurities have been working their way into his thoughts.

Is he even really needed here? If anyone can figure out how to fix or put together machines or program a tablet with a data point, then where did that leave him? It's a crippling thought that hurts even more than admitting to himself how bad he is with people. It swirls and builds with everything else like a steadily building cyclone and trying to pull anything from it to make sense of it has been an exhausting cycle in itself.

The emptiness that eventually rolls in after is almost welcoming. Maybe that's not quite what it is. Can someone get tired of feelings? Not his area of expertise. At the moment he doesn't particularly care so long as it saves him the discomfort. He has... Well, he thought he had things to do. He doesn't feel very motivated to continue them at the moment, but with the power being unreliable of late due to the strange storm patterns, maybe it doesn't matter too much.

So it's outside that he goes.

It's cloudy out but for the moment it doesn't seem like there's any rain just yet, not that the wet weather particularly bothers him so much as the hints of Storms with a capital 'S'. But with the instability of tech that comes with such Storms, that also means it's probably better not to fly around. Crash-landing from equipment failure seems somehow more embarrassing than getting caught walking around alone despite all the insistence from people not to, but it's one of those rare times where his overthink's not running wild, and he wants to enjoy the silence while he can. The walk out to the space he's planted his test garden is a long one given it's on the opposite side of the city and it's only longer if he doesn't cut through the city center, but at least he's more or less managed to regain his usual stamina since the accident aboard the Agrii ship.

Comments

[thepurpleone]

That used to be easier to answer, but Donnie still fishes for his original reasoning.

"For study. I was first told by Dustin that the plants here were being affected- or rather kept 'tame', as you say, by the funguskin, but otherwise grow a lot faster, particularly due to the inclimate Storms."

He gestures to the area making up the garden. "I've had to move this since the volcano, but otherwise I've also made sure the other plantkin don't tamper with it so I can gauge how fast the growth might be whenever a Storm hits. The Storms also affect us, but differently, and it's a concerning matter. Since we also are not native to this world, we're wondering if there could be a connection between how the funguskin's treatment for these plants to keep them tame might also be able to help us. That's what Dustin was trying to figure out before...well, he left."

[trpmods]

"You knew the Dustin. Came to meet that one. But they are gone. Is unfortunate."

But it seems that this creature is very knowledgeable. How nice.

"This One cannot explain the storms. Not This One's Journey. Apology. But they started in the time of This One's seedparent. Not long after this hive was made."

[thepurpleone]

"Yeah... People just kind of come and go without warning," Donnie says. Dustin had...kind of been a friend, maybe. They'd had a big argument once but while neither of them really ever apologized, they'd eventually started to talk to each other again.

"Wait, really? Is it known how long this hive was populated before the storms first began?"

[trpmods]

"No leaving of messages? This is improper means of socializing," the creature laments. Clearly it does not approve of being rude in this way. Or maybe it just doesn't understand.

"It is known by this one. What form of unit is requested?"

[thepurpleone]

Donnie shakes his head. "No, but...they never know when they're leaving either. It's like how we just suddenly arrive. We're just taken from home and dropped off here without any real assurance that we'll ever get to return."

He tries not to look too bothered by that although he folds his arms a little tightly. Maybe before he might not have minded if his trip here decided to be cut short, but there'd be people he'd miss. And now that Leo's here, he's loathe to leave his brother alone, not after having to go through being without them himself for a year.

"I'm not sure if you're familiar with the same units. Years might not be the same- ah...how would you call one cycle of full seasons?" Would the seasons even be the same if everything had been affected like the super-heated summers? "From the start of the cold season to the next cold season after things warm up."

[trpmods]

"The term This One's people use is-" and then the plantkin starts to shudder and rustle, like a tree whipped around in the wind. "-but if 'year' is what you use for a seasonal cycle, then it is useful."

It moves forward then to touch Donnie's arm.

"The living such as is given to you is difficult. May your roots sink deep and hold strong as the winds of time buffet you around."

[thepurpleone]

Wow, that's a mouthful. Fascinating, really, and it makes sense when they're talking plants. Which...also works as a pun and he's glad he didn't say that one aloud.

Donnie jerks his head up at the contact, which is unexpected and weird but he manages not to flinch away once the plantkin speaks again.

"Trying," he says, attempting to push down those feelings back into a box as he rounds back to the subject of time itself. "-but yes, that's what we'd use for a year. I think a year here may be a little longer than what we'd define as years just because the hours of daylight alone are a little more than what most of us are used to. But for simplicity's sake, we'll stick with year."

[trpmods]

"This one understands. This is knowledge that This One keeps close. This hive was created roughly two-hundred and seven years ago, as is reckoned by the cycles of this planet."

And it says this with confidence.

[thepurpleone]

"Two hundred and seven..." That's both a big number yet not that long at all. Donnie commits this to memory, even as he pulls out a notepad to jot down information.

"Do you know who created it? And how long before anyone came to live here?"

[trpmods]

"This One can answer your question. But this is an exchange of information. Surely This One should ask first?"

It seemed more fair that way.

"Thing on back seems like not plant or animal thing. What is?"

[thepurpleone]

"Ah, right. Sorry- I was getting caught up in it," Donnie admits, ducking his head a bit.

"This? It's metal. Armor. It's my battle shell. I built it for protection. My natural shell doesn't really do that very well, not like my brothers. Their kind have a hard shell, a natural armor."

[trpmods]

It is a lot and the creature moves to look over it. Better not to touch. Clearly that would not be welcome. Then it returns to look at Donnie's face.

"This One's Seedparent did not see who made this hive, as This One's Seedparent's Seedparent did not see the who of making the stone hive. There were no animals in the making. Or plantkin. But things that hard and shine like fake shell, they do crafting. Theory is that these were a form of drone, like little hive bugs have, or like berry-kin have."

Question answered it then reaches to point to the cloth covering part of Donnie's face.

"Is this cover akin to the 'clothing' put on by other speaking animals? For modesty?"

[thepurpleone]

"So like...robots? Fascinating...and annoying because that means we still don't have a good confirmation of who's behind all this..."

Donnie blinks and then laughs. Sort of? I think my father meant it more for identification purposes. He calls us by colors most of the time. And I guess we just stuck with it. But purple looks good on me so who am I to complain? -when did the first animals come to live in the hives? Like, how long after these places were built?"

[trpmods]

This was not a word that it responded to, perhaps because it was unfamiliar.

"The color is nice, yes. Very plant color. You look like a good sort of flower. It is nice."

Of course all the turtles had an edge their with their greener skin tones. Humans were far stranger to look at.

"Approximately two or three of these years you use between the beginning of the hives and the coming of the animals to them. Places seemed made to fit the animals brought. This is why speculation suggested they were pets. To properly keep animals of even moderate awareness and thought, one must give much space and meet needs for nourishment and enrichment. This was explanation Seedparent got from the one who has the Journey of the Keeping of Animals. Their line is very invested in their pets."

From there the Wanderkin curled back up into its ball form and considered before speaking again.

"Are the plants you kept here an attempt at keeping pets?"

[thepurpleone]

Donnie likes plants, and he figures that being likened to a plant by a plant has to be a compliment.

"...looking at them as pets or some kind of twisted zoo probably isn't far off," he mutters, frowning. "Especially with the monitoring system- there are places that look like they're specifically for someone to watch the 'animals' in their hives..."

He looks at the plants in his garden, shaking his head. "Sorry if it looks that way. I'm trying to find out why the storms affect them the way they do. Because we're also affected by the storms, just in a different way. Dustin thought that maybe with the help of the plantkin, we can create something to stop us from being affected."

[trpmods]

Ah, that earns a very strong nod. Because it understands.

"They start during time of Seedparent. Very bad things. Make the branches itchy."

It clearly did not approve either.

[thepurpleone]

"It doesn't affect you the same way, does it?" Donnie asks as he looks towards the brushy plantkin.

[trpmods]

"This One and ones like This One are of here," the plantkin says with a mimicry of a shrug. It's just how it is in their opinion.

[thepurpleone]

"Yeah. And those native to this world aren't affected like those who arent, by the storms that I suspect aren't of this world either."

Donnie strokes his chin as he eyes the plantkin.

"Would I be able to take a sample from you? You don't bleed like we do so I'm not sure how else to put it, but...if I can maybe study your...body make-up, then maybe I can figure out if there are any major differences....well, aside from the obvious."

[trpmods]

The storms clearly exist in this world, so the comment really does confuse the creature. Not that it can convey this very well.

"You wish to study the cells of This One to understand the things passed down from Seedparents. Yes, there are plantkin that do this practice."

[thepurpleone]

"-oh good, you understand cellular science," Donnie sighs, relieved that he doesn't have to explain that part. "There are? Are they here?" Focus... "But yes, that is exactly what I wish to do. I'm trying to study every available avenue that caused these changes to your world, so we can try to fix things and figure out who did all of this in the first place."

[trpmods]

"Is not This One's Journey. Most of This One's kin do not attempt it. It is the realm of one of the flowerkins. Which do not live near here. This biome, suited more to the funguskin and the fruitkin. Once the needlekin as well, but they have gone to their own domains. This is good for the thinking animals, they do not like animals at all."

And that could be dangerous.

[thepurpleone]

"O-oh..." Yeah, that doesn't sound foreboding at all.

"...so does that mean no sample?"

[trpmods]

"Of course sample!" it says, tone brighter, more like a light spring breeze in its twigs. Then it considers. "Can give a small twig if animal can cut. Will recover easier with thin bit gone."

[thepurpleone]

Donnie brightens as well. "Yeah, I can do that. I uh, hope it won't hurt too much."

He produces a pair of slim pruning shears more suited for bonsai trimming than hedge-keeping. "Whenever you're ready," he says, holding a hand out.