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video | un: 🎂 Linneus

Oh--!

[Linneus has some experience with technology - it wasn't without learning anything that he lived on Amoi for the better part of three years - but he's still a little taken by surprise when the video starts up, startling and straightening from where he had been fiddling with his device]

Ah- good day, everyone.

[heavens, but starting addresses such as these never feels any less awkward, even if "good day" has always served perfectly well. In contrast his familiar, Bisou, is nothing but at ease, a little ball of light bobbing contentedly by his shoulder]

I fear I am here again only to trouble you once more for help, as I am... searching for somewhere more permanent to live. Only I have never house-hunted on my own before and I'm not necessarily confident as to where to begin?

How does one start, exactly - beyond, say, a list of what they might like?

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Well.. isn't that the most important part?

[ Okay, so maybe Minako is viewing this a bit too simply. And maybe she's never had to do this before herself since she could just move in with friends the moment she showed up here.

But still. She apparently feels like she has some important opinion to contribute here. ]

You have to make sure you find a house that suits you, after all!

Oh - it is not that I am... without ideas. [with a sheepish laugh, his hand rising to tidy his hair] I do have at least that! But I am trying also to remain realistic - a small cottage with a decent garden may not be the easiest find, I fear...!

Yeah, a cottage might be kind of hard in the city..

[ And Minako doesn't even think people live outside of the city. Maybe people native to this place, but.. all the people who were drawn to this place from other worlds just stuck to the city itself, right? ]

But a garden isn't impossible! There's one at our place as well! [ That's definitely why she dares to claim that so boldly. ] If you like gardening, you could even start a garden yourself, as long as the house as some space around it. That might be fun too, right?

[He makes a face and narrows his eyes.]

A house should have a roof and be sturdy. Maybe a stove or oven. Running water. What more could you want?

Well-- you are not incorrect. But I should like also for it to be a home, rather than simply a roof over my head?

That's up to you no matter where you end up.

But seeking out compatibility certainly helps a way towards that, surely? It ought at least to "fit", before I make it mine?

Let me guess, you lived somewhere nice before.

If you need to guess, I must be slipping...!

[and here Linneus always thought he dressed himself quite well, even without the Teahouse to keep him in fine things.]

But the answer is yes, in a way?

[It's not as easy to tell when styles/cultures vary so wildly. Regardless Xue Yang can at least tell Linneus is a gently born man - probably a noble.]

When you grow up in a gutter, you don't care if the house you're given feels right. You're just happy for a roof.

Well, no - and I could never have hoped to have my own "roof" before. But in the world we find ourselves now that is an eminently possible goal - not just to have one, but for it to be a pleasant one, too.

And I am trying, also, to be better about pursuing the things that I... want.

[even if the very phrase "I want" often still feels awkward in his mouth]

I'll help you look for a good home, then. I can test things to make sure you're not staying somewhere unsafe.

[He won't ask for details about the past. Stuff like that hurts in his experience.]

That would be very kind, thank you.

Might I perhaps know the name of the gentleman aiding me? Mine is Linneus.

[almost sheepish about that, too - he never really had any ideas for getting creative about his username so it just... is.]

I'm Xue Yang. [Who cares about usernames? Xue Yang was just being cheeky (and honest) with his.] I can't say I'm a gentleman, but I know what I'm doing.

[~~yes but surely not actual literal demons though?~~]

Xue Yang.

[dutifully repeated, carefully enunciated - he does so with all names, but he takes special care over those that feel unfamiliar - removed from the Ivorian ones he is most used to. He would hate to mispronounce and cause offense; but he thinks he's got it. With a little dip of his head-]

Well, that shall make one of us - I fear I am rather feeling my way! But it is a pleasure to meet you.

[It's this person again! From the ball! Cleve gives him a thoughtful look for a moment. Thinking over his question.]

To be honest, neither have I. But I'd imagine you can start by simply walking around areas you'd like to live in?

I suppose that is a start! Though truthfully if I am picky at all, it is not so much about the location as the property.

I think I should like to find a small cottage, in particular, and with a garden.

That's fair! But I think location is also important.

Hm... a small cottage though? You might wanna try lookin' out somewhere in the country then? Or just outside the city.

Perhaps so - though I shouldn't like to be too far removed from everyone! Though in truth, the fashion of the building itself is negotiable... the presence of a garden, I fear, is not!

[She nods her head at that.]

Being separated from everyone would be super lame. Right! A place with a garden, that'll help widen what you're looking for, I think! Maybe there's something around that'd be more of a middle ground? A place that has a garden and something similar in fashion to what you're looking for.

[with a smile as he echoes-]Right...!

And truthfully it needn't be anything overly large - there's only so much one can manage by oneself. But I do miss tending things, so far better any place with a garden than the cottage I would like with no garden at all. Though I could use pots, admittedly.

Of course, I shall have to save one to try growing the bonsai tree you mentioned!

[...he may have over-estimated the size of the pot needed]

Hm... There's honestly quite a few places that would match that description then! And given the whole aesthetic of this place, it really shouldn't be too hard to find somewhere designed to kinda look like a cottage. I'm sure a couple of townhouses here and there will probably be up to snuff for ya.

[Probably, she's still stuck at the inn, but has been looking around here and there herself.]

Oh-! Hehe, but you're gonna try your hand at growin' a bonsai huh?

[ Well, he helped her questionnaire in a way, why not return the favor? ]

It's best to narrow down your choices and be firm on what you absolutely need. For that, let's start with... how does your day normally go?

[in a way...!]

Quite ordinarily, I think! I get up, I go out to work, I come home at the end of my day. But if I were not in temporary lodgings - the inn, or otherwise - I imagine it would be a little different.

At the moment, if I would like to spend time with others, I must go to their homes, or one of the businesses here - not that I object at all to doing so, but I much prefer being the one to host people. Which is quite impossible, in my current arrangement. To be able to do so in a space of my own... I think that would be more comfortable for everyone.

Likewise to pursue hobbies. I should love to have my own garden to tend as well.

Hobbies are an excellent start when it comes to looking for places. Are you leaning towards a flower garden, vegetable, or both?

Oh, both!

[it's almost blurted out in his enthusiasm, overlapping her, and he catches himself a moment before proceeding]

It's just... in the world I was in before this one, nothing could grow at all. There was all sort of wonderful technologies that would allow one to play pretend, but there was no... reward for the work. The house where I was raised, on the other hand, had an beautiful garden - I was practically grown in it myself, so often was I foisted on the gardeners...! But I think it would be no understatement to say it sparked a passion in me.

[ Goodness, what sort of awful world was that?! Maribelle bites her tongue, trying not to comment, and focus... ]

A-hem. It's a starting point. When looking for a home, you don't just want space for a garden - but also space for all the tools you'll need for it, and where to store your vegetables and fruits. If it has shade, if it has an available water source, the condition of the soil... these are all important factors.

They are. There are only a few things I can "help along", so to speak...

[raising a delicate hand to point toward a vase of freesias near his shoulder - as if in response, a couple of the flowers still in bud pop open.

It does feel a little like showing off, though, and he gives a little throat-clear of his own]

...but I'm not intent on leaning on magic - in some ways I'm wary of it being just... another way of playing pretend.

Maybe it sounds silly but I'm excited to be able to have my hands in the soil again, even if it is just in the places I help out now. But I would like a garden of my own, and a home to go with it.

[ a gentle but quick nod. ]

I understand completely. You should never wholly rely on any one thing - otherwise you become stagnant, and you can never grow as a person. In my realm, I can heal very easily - but sometimes, it can't beat genuine actual rest.

No, this is very true. Healing and growing... they are two of the most delicate things, I think. Not best rushed, especially not in people. These things take time for a reason.

[if only it were always so.]

I am trying to learn the balance of that, with my green magic. To... encourage, rather than to force. And I expect more time in a garden will help that understanding as well...!

I think that will help as well. And it's a refreshing attitude to hear! We could use more level heads like yours around.

[a gentle chuckle at that]

Well, I am happy to take level headed. I may be behind the times on several things but hopefully my sense is good enough--

[realisation]

--though not my manners, I fear! We've spoken so much and yet I've failed both times to properly introduce myself - my name is Linneus.

Ah!

[ Her cheeks flush with embarrassment. ]

I fear these damned machines make us far too lenient with such matters... I am Maribelle.

Miss Maribelle - they do rather encourage us to forget ourselves, don't they? I never know whether or not to take a person's name on the network as their real name. Sometimes it is - most often it isn't! - an as much as I have learned, it's quite difficult to judge, either way.

I agree... though that makes me wish perhaps I hadn't gone with what I chose for my "name".

In my realm, I am part of my kingdom's army, the Shepherds. So, shepherdess was... a bit of a pun, you could say.

[Hijikata had no plans to advertise the vacancy he just left behind at the outskirts of the Forest of the Felled... but Linneus seems sincere, just like a harmless person looking for a home, not at all like some scoundrel trying to find a hide-out for shady business, so he trusts his gut instinct and calls in.]

The location is probably going to make this a no-go, but if you don't mind living really remotely I'd have a small furnished hut with a vegetable garden to offer. It's not really mine, but the owner died last autumn and let me move in, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind someone else looking after the place after me.

[He realises with some delay that this probably sounds weird, so he adds:]

I'm a death mage, that's how.

I would say that starting with what you might like is an excellent beginning.

[But beyond that? Hm. Admittedly, being here was the first time Jane had really needed to consider finding a place of her own and she had had an easy time of it given that she had been offered a place to stay with somebody.]

Then I suppose that... location would be important, and whether or not you want to live alone. I wouldn't have chosen it myself, it's a little lonely, but the woman I moved in with isn't here anymore.

[The only problem is the cooking, really. Jane is not the best cook.]

[a sympathetic smile at that]

I understand. I was raised in a large, busy house - lots of staff, lots of comings and goings - so I have always found myself better suited, too, to living with others around me. Anywhere overly large tends to feel like it doesn't quite... fit.

Or-- maybe that sounds silly. If nothing else, I lived more than twenty years in the same place - which I fear it makes me something of a stranger to upheaval, too...! But thank you; I'm reassured that I at least seem to be taking the right first steps!

I think that you are! At least, you're taking similar steps to the ones I took and I didn't do too badly out of it in the end.

[Even if she would like to get a housemate again at some point, probably.]

I've travelled a good deal but I always had my father with me. I know how hard it is to get used to a new situation. [There's a touch of sympathy in her own smile, too.] If I can help in any way, I'd be happy to.

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