#outside time

Okay 😸

As many of you may know, in my heart Phantom was not really doing so well before being summoned by the ministry. He arrives looking kind of like a stray that's been running the streets for a while, but has known love long ago and wants so bad to believe he can have it again. He's pretty underweight, maybe has a persistent cough, fur and horns and claws dull and unkempt, shy... Certainly not thriving.

All of the ghouls play their parts in helping him heal, of course. Today, I was thinking about Mountain!

I think our big, sweetie pie of an earth ghoul takes Phantom for walks. Just around the grounds, through the gardens and forest paths. At first, Phantom gets tired pretty easily, so Mountain takes it slow. They meander and mosey and dawdle, stopping almost every few steps those first days so Mountain could point out something new to Phantom. There's a lot to see and learn about life topside, after all!

He shows him flowers and talks about when they bloom, and what critters like to visit them. They listen to birdsong, and Mountain identifies them for Phantom and teaches him ways to remember their calls. They turn over rocks, pet moss, smell herbs, and generally just soak in the beauty around them.

Once Phantom is comfortable going longer distances, they start taking the forest paths. Mountain introduces him to all kinds of edible plants! They stop to taste berries, nuts, flowers, roots, shoots... Mountain knows these plants by heart, and he's delighted to feed Phantom from the bounty. Phantom opens up so quickly to Mountain, and is so eager to learn and try new things. He doesn't always like them, but he trusts Mountain enough to give it a go anyway.

Before long, they switch roles a bit. Where before, Mountain spent the most time talking and guiding, Phantom quickly becomes a chatterbox of questions and observations. One day, he gets so excited to show Mountain a little puddle with bug larvae that he found, he grabs him by the hand and drags him along. After that, Phantom insists on holding hands through all of their walks.

I also got some Lavender plants transferred today AND...I saw this idea on tiktok, you take the 3$ bag of 15 Bean Soup and you plant the beans directly into the ground and harvest later.

I was super excited to get a half a bag planted today! I had an old raised bed and just tossed them in. Hope it works out!