Blessings of the Earth

Sonja had only learned last year what Christmas really was about, and had to make up for missed opportunities. She supposed that’s what would happen when you come from an island with not a lot to do, but now she had friends and family to celebrate with! So the first person in question definitely had to be the guy that had supposed them both as much as he could. One of her first friends on this island, so long ago.

Making her way to his farm, she knocked on the door with a strawberry shortcake in a cute tupperware and a card on the top.

“Hey Raguna! Merry Christmas! Thanks for all you’ve done this year, and I hope that you have a great one!”

The card was obviously handmade, with cute flower drawings on the center, with the words “Merry Christmas” written in cursive. Opening it, there was the following note.

@therunefarmer​ – Raguna,

I probably said this earlier when I gave you the gift, but thank you so much for supporting me (and Zavier)! You are a really good friend, even if we don’t talk a lot, and even if you tease me. You have a good, genuine heart, and I hope that you and I become better friends in the following year!

From, Sonja~ ♡

[✿] — When Raguna answers his door to see Sonja, he smiles, “Oh hey, Sonja! Merry Christmas to you, too.” He sent her gift in the mail a few days early, so he was sure it would get to her, if it hadn’t already. 

His eyes travel down to the tupperware in her hands, brow raising at the very obvious outline of cake on the inside. That wasn’t his favorite, was it...? Taking it, his smile widens when he sees that it was, in fact, a strawberry shortcake. And after reading the small note attached, he gives an affectionate little scoff.

⋅: ☼ — Christmas was something that he had to read up on, once he had heard about it. It was a pretty nice holiday, all things considering. It left a warm spot in his heart, but whether that was because there was something that he wasn’t remembering or that was because Christmas was a fuzzy type of holiday anyways, he didn’t know. 

So when Raguna came by to give him something, Micah already had something for his roommate in return. Looking at the pendant in awe and taking the potion gingerly into his hands, he smiled at the man that so kindly took him in. “Thanks a lot, Raguna! The pendant’s cute. And I’ll be sure to test that out later.”

Before the other could leave though, he stopped him. “I have something for you too, though!” Micah pulled out a handknit scarf. “It was supposed to be a sheep, but it kind of came out looking more like an alpaca? But I tried. And it’s winter, so you can use it now if you want!”

With a sheepish smile, he scratches his head. “I hope the next year will be great for you too, Raguna. Merry Christmas! And thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”

[✿] — Raguna wasn’t really expecting to get anything in return. Not because he thought Micah was the type of person to not do that sort of thing, but simply for the reason that the possibility hadn’t crossed his mind. So when the blonde hands him a scarf, thick and soft to the touch, the farmer looks down at it in surprise.

“Oh... wow, thanks for this, Micah! It looks really warm, so I’ll be sure to put it to good use.” He grins, patting the other man on the shoulder. “And either way, sheep or alpaca, this came out pretty cute, too! You did a great job.”

“Well, it’s not my fault! You teased me!” He really was flustered. It was different from Sonja teasing him, since he always managed to surprise her in the end. With Raguna however, well… How much Raguna knew about him and Sonja was a complete mystery. At the very least they knew he and Sonja were dating, but he was a little terrified to know how much the other knew about him and Sonja. But then again… I missed this. When was the last time they were able to mess with each other? The next comment made him laugh, “I hope so, because here’s wishing you’ll be my best man for the wedding.” Whenever that is. 

The gesture towards the sofa made him forget that they were just standing. Now this was awkward. They were going to talk for awhile, so it made sense to sit down. At the mention of something to drink he was completely thrown off. He was ready to just get to it. Oh man, that would have been bad. Just straight up telling him, without sitting. Regaining his composure he nodded. “Water? I don’t really wanna bother you more than I have.”

Making his way towards the sofa, he couldn’t help but look around their friends home. It had a nice to feel to it. Homey. Feeling more at ease he hesitantly took a seat on the couch, Even though he knew Raguna for a couple of years, he still didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. Touching anything in this house seemed like a crime. “Uh… Nice house?” WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! YOU SHOULD’VE KEPT QUIET!

[✿] — “Hey, no need for wishing, man. I’ll definitely be there.” If Zavier really wanted him to take on such an honor, whenever it happened, Raguna would be there to support his friend.   

At his request, the farmer nods and goes to pour a glass of water. He was fond of keeping pitchers of it in the fridge so that it could always be cool, as opposed to drinking the stuff lukewarm from the tap. Zavier is quiet as he does this, so much so that when the other man does speak again, Raguna is a bit caught off guard.

The incident. Raguna was always so polite. “Y-yes…e-everything is okay, now…” Simply put, anyway. The house had been rebuilt, she and Russell had gotten out safe…they had their lives, which was the most important.

But there was no denying that things were different here; the walls that protected them now were not the same ones that contained years and years of memories. It was a shame, but Tori tried to push back the wave of nostalgia with a smile.

“Th-thank you…! D-don’t worry about that, I-I’ll take it…”

[✿] — Since he was only a guest, Raguna didn’t want to be so rude as to reject her offer in her home, so he hands over the basket, nodding as she takes it from him. “Alright, thanks! I hope you guys enjoy it.”

Licorice raised an eyebrow before remembering that yes, not everyone was fluent with lab management and methodology. It was still a bit of a weird concept for her, but she had to accept it. Then again, when someone thought about botany they rarely thought about a lab.

“Yes allow me to show you. Let’s take this box with samples from the native plant exhibit.” Licorice replied bringing one box to a small counter. On the right side of the counter was a song with a thin nozzle, a spray bottle labeled “50% isopropyl, 50% DI”, and chemwipes.

“This part is relatively simple. You take the probe, pull it out of its sheath, and check the sheath to make sure it isn’t contaminated. If you think it might be, spray the isopropyl mix into it, then rinse it with distilled water from this faucet.” Licorice pointed to the thin faucet.

“If it’s obviously dirty, it make take a while to clean but it’s in proper condition now. Non the less the most important part is the probe. Uncap a sample, keeping it in the box for organization, and slip the probe in. You’ll see a percent moisture and a pH on the screen momentarily.” Licorice showed the screen to the man. The probe itself was on a long wire that connected to the screen, so it wasn’t hard to demonstrate.

“Most soils need to be around 6.5 pH, just slightly acidic. That’s where levels of various nitrogen compounds are abundant enough to keep plants healthy without accidentally killing them. Since pH can change within a few days depending on fertilizers, we do this roughly once a week.” The screen ready 6.43 pH, which was good for Licorice. She removed the probe, sprayed it with the isopropyl mix, wiped it down with a chem wipe, and rinsed it with DI water before wiping it down one more time. She then inserted it into the next sample.

“Just make sure to write down the results in the book here.” Licorice instructed, giving the man a pen and showing him the book. Everything was prelabeled and matched the markings on the tubes and boxes. “Percent moisture is not as important as it’s mostly checking if the irrigation systems are working properly, but each soil, depending on the plants, needs different levels but I’ll compare them for now. You shouldn’t need to worry about that.”

[✿] — Raguna nods as she goes through her explanation, not finding it too difficult to get a handle on. It didn’t seem too hard, but that didn’t mean he would take it easy, either. It was important work, and he didn’t want to mess it up. 

“I see.. In that case, the medicine is not working as intended. You should have been able to tailor whatever it is you say, without lying- meaning, you should never have to say anything unintended. That is, of course, unless you were trying to tack on a lie at the end. In that case, the potion would either prevent you from speaking, or force you to blurt out the truth without thinking.”

The doctor sighed, eyes flicking down to his clipboard as he jotted down one other note. “If you didn’t try to do that, however… it seems I’ll have to adjust the dosage. The potion should wear off before too long, but you’re welcome to stay around for a short while after we are finished here. If it doesn’t wear off within a reasonable amount of time, I’ll give you a counter-potion to neutralize it.”

Ford’s eyes flickered back up. “Well then, I could give you one last potion today… Or we could call it quits here. How are you feeling?”

[✿] — “Oh, no, I definitely didn’t do that... try to lie, I mean.” What would be the point? It was interesting to know what sort of effect the potion would have on that, though. Honestly, it was a wonder these sorts of things could even be created.

“Hm?” Mist made a small hum of confusion- or perhaps interest- when Raguna suddenly signaled for her to wait. She stopped walking, a little caught off-guard by the smirk. A look like that undoubtedly meant that he was up to something, and Mist found herself rather intrigued as to what that might be.

She watched as Raguna brought forth a ball of light in his palm. She could feel the spirits collecting nearby- Was he summoning something? He really had gotten quite skilled with his beastmaster abilities, hadn’t he? It had been quite some time since Mist had trained with her own abilities. She’d have to stop slacking off so much, if she wanted to improve even a little bit. Still… What exactly was her dear friend planning?

She didn’t have to wait long for her answer.

“Oh…” Mist turned to Raguna, completely surprised. “Are we going to ride your dragon…?” Despite being someone who usually had no trouble going with the flow, Mist seemed need to take a moment to collect herself. In fact… She almost looked flustered. However, after a few seconds, she looked like was completely back to normal.

“…Well, that’s better than taking a silly old ferry! What a clever idea! That is, if Mr. Dragon is really okay with taking us.”

[✿] — “Haha, yep! I figured it’d make for a more memorable experience, too.” He chuckles, hand running over his dragon’s scales. 

Raguna wanted to give Ashe a little more room to spread his wings, too. With all the incidents involving dragons, and the increasing stigma against them, it was hard to go out flying in broad daylight. This way, not only would he and Mist be getting a spectacular show, Ashe would also be able to fly safer.

He turns to the dragon in question, and asks him again, “So, how about it, buddy? Are you alright with taking us?” In response, Ashe nuzzles his hand and makes a small grunt of approval. Raguna grins. “Awesome! Looks like he’s all for it.”

“Hmm,” Mist hummed, still patting and fussing over Torte. “But you know, Raguna? I think that’s all someone needs, sometimes. A really good friend, who comes over to help them out when they’re in trouble, and do their chores for them sometimes.”

Mist stood up, and flashed him a smile. “You’ve been a very good friend to me all these years, Raguna. And that’s why…” She took a big step forward, so that she was right up next to Raguna. Then with a playful grin, she went to tap him on the forehead with her finger. “…I want you to help me raise Torte’s dragon baby~”

[✿] — All a person needed was a good friend, huh? Raguna guessed he couldn’t see the fault in that logic. Even though he wanted to distance himself from close relationships, out of fear of regaining his memories and losing those bonds, he certainly wouldn’t have made it the way he has if he didn’t have the friends he did. 

There were a few names that came to mind, but Mist? Mist was always on top. If anyone had been a good friend, then it was definitely her. For her sake... or maybe his own, he hoped that things would stay the same.

“Um, lemme see… Well, she was a girl, for starters. And she had, uh, pink or purple hair. I think it was straight. Um… her eyes were…” Lest screwed his eyes shut, trying very hard to remember. “Red? Er, no, wait- I think they were pink too…Ugh, this is hard…”

Lest opened his eyes back up, giving a sort of crooked smile. “I, uh, know that’s not a lot to go on… I guess my memory of back then is a little spotty too… It’s really easy to lose memories, huh…” 

He frowned, looking a bit discouraged as his shoulders sagged for a moment. “I wonder what else I’m gonna forget…”

[✿] — Pink hair. His first thought is Sonja, but red or pink eyes definitely didn’t fit her profile, nor did purple hair... Honestly, Raguna didn’t think he knew anyone that had purple hair. The only person he could think of was the former Leudan guildmaster, but...

Wait...

“Er, wait. I think I might... do you know a name?” Gods, what had it been again? “Does... Evelyn ring any bells?”

Iris nodded. She could guess, from his expression, that free time was hard to come by and appreciated that he was even open to it. But the evenings worked perfectly well for her, so she nodded immediately. “I’m flexible for either, I don’t mind traveling to you, if you give me the best address for it. I mean, certainly if you’d rather meet me elsewhere, we can do that, too, but I’m getting the impression it might save you time not to have to travel.”

And she certainly didn’t mind doing it herself. It would probably be a bit of a walk, but she liked that, so long as the weather wasn’t too disagreeable.

[✿] — “Oh, wow, you’d do that? The weather’s been pretty rough lately, so I know how much of an inconvenience it might be...” He appreciated her kindness, but Raguna really didn’t want to have to put her through all that trouble. Outright rejecting her didn’t seem like such a nice thing to do either, so...

He smiles. “Alright, how about this? We can meet up at the neighborhood park? Or a cafe, maybe, if the weather’s too cold for that... “