[open] apples and quinces, lemons and oranges

[nedofpies]

Who: Ned, open to all
What: Here be species-swap logs involving Ned the unlikely fertility god.
Where: Anywhere (preferably outdoors).
When: Duration of the event (58 - 61); put date in header, please.
Warnings: Blood, kidnapping, creepiness and general Ned-terrorizing? [will add more as necessary]

Ned wanders the town barefoot, leaving a path of fruit and flowers and vegetation behind him. There are daffodils and bluebells, hyacinths and crocuses, irises of all colors, primroses and poppies and periwinkle in profusion. When he stops to sit quietly under a tree, by the edge of the woods, the vines spread out from his body like paint creeping through water. They slowly wind their way up the trees, or else sprawl across the ground, swelling with strawberries and blackberries, grapes and kiwis, passionfuit and cherries.

He doesn't understand why it is happening, but from the sound of the messages over the communicator, everyone has been going through some strange changes. As far as Ned's concerned, being some kind of plant conjurer is better than some options.

Since he can't think of much else to do with his time, Ned lounges in the dappled shade and makes bouquets. All he needs to do is rake his hands through the soil and a few minutes later, up come the snapdragons, up come the cala lilies. He finds that, if he focuses on a particular kind of flower as he does it, sometimes it is mixed amongst the others. As he sits the hydrangeas are bubbling up around him, shielding him from view.

Ned isn't worried about resting in the woods, despite all the dire warnings he's heard in his short time here. He is at the very edge, just in the shade of the first few trees; the lions and tigers and bears can't possibly have any objections. So he lounges in his cozy bower, hazy, half-awake (he hadn't exactly slept well, the previous night), weaving crowns of camellias and garlands of gladiolus.

Comments

Day 58

[thezerothlaw]

Being outside is vastly different than it was. He's aware of temperature in a way he wasn't, as being too hot or too cold is actually uncomfortable now. There are also smells: not the same as detecting smoke or gas or other compound in the air, but actual scent, which is altogether a new and complex sense.

So it's the flowers that get Daneel's attention. He doesn't remember there being flowers here, which is curious in itself, but the smells. Flowers are valued for their scent as well as their colour, and this is worth investigating.

He hadn't expected to find anyone else, though. "Hello, Ned."

Day 58

[recognize_an_opportunity]

It had taken until it wasn't quite so bright outside for him to be comfortable going out. While the sun didn't seem to seriously injure him the way it injured the vampires of legend, it still wasn't pleasant, and he wasn't sure he wanted people seeing him in this state anyway. Unfortunately, with an angry dragon for a roommate, it had become necessary to leave the house for awhile, which was why he found himself wandering to the edge of the woods.

He noticed the flowers before he noticed Ned, and in fact, started counting the flowers before he realized that the flowers were a new addition. Halfway through counting, he looked up, having realized that someone else was there. "Oh, hey."

[nedofpies]

Ned is resting with his back to an apricot tree in full bloom, his lap full of flowers, fingers idly lacing together some Queen Anne's lace. He does not hear Daneel's approach, staring into thin air with a distant, unreadable expression. When Daneel says his name he looks up, eyes brightening with recognition.

"Hey."

He sets aside the flowers in his hands, notices just how much his garden has grown since he last drew out of his thoughts enough to notice. The honeysuckle has draped and dangled its way between the branches of the trees, closing his resting spot off from view of the woods. He turns to Daneel and says, with a wry smile:

"I hope pollen doesn't interfere with your circuitry?"

[nedofpies]

Ned made the decision, sometime around sundown, that he wasn't going back to the house tonight. He's weighed the odds and done a bit of soul-searching and overall he thinks it is safer to sleep out here. He doesn't know how long. What he knows is that he doesn't want a repeat of the night before.

So he is concentrating on moss - springy, soft, wonderful moss, lovely to lie on. That is, until he hears footsteps approaching, spots Meyer coming closer, counting carnations. Ned had glanced at his communication earlier in the day, been curious at the blank screen, the recitation of numbers.

"Counting blades of grass?" he asks, by way of greeting. "I wouldn't bother. There will only be more a minute, look."

With that he reaches down and rips up a clump of petunias, only to have a mass of silvery-green stalks of lavender begin to creep up out of the soil a moment later, purple buds slowly uncurling.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

"I wouldn't be counting if I didn't have to."

But, at the very least, he can count quietly, so as not to bother Ned's lounging, and he moves over to the lavender. That's a bit harder to count than the blades of grass, and eventually, he looks back up at Ned, raising an eyebrow.

"So. This is what you turned into. A... flower conjurer?"

And maybe he's a little jealous. He'd have much preferred being able to make flowers grow than being stuck as a counting vampire. He's been trying to avoid face to face contact with people as much as he can today, unsure of whether he'll want to attack them or not. So far, he's found that as long as he doesn't stare intently at someone, he doesn't seem inclined to attack. He hopes that luck holds.

[thezerothlaw]

"It would not, except..."

Daneel falters. Behaving appropriately as a robot is easy; doing the same as a human is less so. Before he was speaking to his superiors, and now it's... equals? It's hard to conceive of.

"I no longer have circuitry. I appear to be fully human as of this morning."

So many flowers. He can smell them, deep and heady and musky, a complicated perfume he was never before aware of, as well as the emotional component that comes with such a pleasant aroma. It's good. "Are these your flowers, Ned? May I... smell them?"

[nedofpies]

"So it seems," Ned says, with a small smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He feels bad for pointing out the counting, now that he knows Meyer can't help it. The last thing he'd want to do is make someone else feel self-conscious for something they aren't in control of. He sits up a little straighter, patting the ground beside him, offering Meyer a seat, if he wants one.

"What about you?" he asks, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. Meyer looks paler than the few times Ned had seen him before, but it may just a trick of the fading light. "If you don't mind my asking?" He guesses that the counting is involved, since it's not something he noticed in their previous conversations. It's no stranger than spontaneously causing vegetation to grow, Ned supposes.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He takes the seat beside Ned, although he maintains a healthy distance between the two of them. "Vampire," he answers ruefully.

Pale, certainly, and colder than usual, too. He's almost always cold to the touch anyway, but this is different -- a little icier, a little less human feeling. He hadn't immediately realized he was a vampire, not until people in town had taken it upon themselves to explain his affliction to him. If Ned looks closely, he might notice the fangs; that was what had first tipped him off that something was wrong.

"I'm just hoping it doesn't last long."

Because eventually, vampires must get hungry. And that's not particularly the way he wants to introduce himself to the people in the town he hasn't yet met.

evening of day 59

[rigging]

The woods is where Jesse spent half of his day, so when he catches the scent of what he thinks is Ned, and a metric fuckton of flowers, he - pretty much sneezes forever, actually. But he hasn't seen much of Ned, and he remembers what Galen told him about what happened, so Jesse's maybe a little concerned. He's definitely going to have to investigate this.

So he does! Ned will see a wolf trotting up to his little den of flowers, sniffing at them and immediately sneezing like seven times in a row. With a whine, the wolf paws at his nose, and then scoots back to growl at the flowers. He can smell you in there, man.

[nedofpies]

Ned is willing to concede that, as far as options go, vampire legitimately sucks. Particularly the arithmomaniac variant that Meyer has clearly been landed with. Once Meyer gives him that hint, Ned does notice the fangs as Meyer speaks, does his best not to stare. It isn't his fault, and he must be feeling self-conscious enough already without any outside help.

"That's why you didn't show up on the video," Ned makes the connection aloud. "Do you at least have super-strength or super-speed, or can you turn into a bat, or mist, or a shadow?"

And, Ned wants to ask, how bad is the craving for blood? But that's not exactly polite, is it. So long as Meyer doesn't make his way through the town ripping out throats, how bad he might want to isn't any of Ned's business.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He's not exactly pleased by the fact that his fangs are noticeable enough that they glint even in the dimming light, and he's certainly not pleased by the counting problem. He'd always enjoyed math, especially statistics, but this had taken the interest to a new and unpleasant level. Several people had already attempted to diagnose him with some kind of psychological disorder, as if the vampirism wasn't bad enough.

"I'm slightly faster than usual. No super strength that I've noticed, sadly, and I can't turn into a bat, or mist, or a shadow, but I've found myself able to climb walls."

The craving for blood hadn't started out bad. Throughout the day, he'd mostly been able to avoid thinking about it, although there had been an unfortunate moment when he'd lingered too long gazing at his roommate's neck and had unpleasant thoughts. Somehow, though, sitting beside Ned is making those thoughts crowd to the front of his mind again -- which is probably evident from the slightly hungry expression on his face as he gazes at him.

[nedofpies]

"Oh!"

There's no other way to describe Ned's reaction than delighted. He doesn't know Daneel terribly well, but from what he's learned, Ned doesn't think he would do very well with a form that led him to hurt or frighten people. If, like some of the others in town, he had turned into a vampire or... or whatever the hell Galen is... Ned doesn't think he would cope all that well.

But a human - that's another matter entirely. Of course, being a human doesn't rule out hurting other humans, but it doesn't require it in the way that other species might. Besides, the idea is just, well, fun.

"Of course." Because Daneel hadn't had a sense of smell as a robot, had he? Not in the same way. "Sit, sit." Ned pats the ground beside him, starts searching in the flowers around him for things to share with Daneel. "You should try this one, and this one, and this one..." He plucks up white freesias, blushing amaryllis, lilacs and bright yellow roses, tearing them out of the ground without remorse and laying them out for Daneel. There will be more to replace them soon enough, he knows. He stops after a minute or so, hands full of wisteria and jasmine, asks, "Are you liking it? Being human, I mean?"

[nedofpies]

At the sound of very distinctly canine sneezing, Ned sits up. He didn't think there were any dogs in town; his mind jumps to the dire wolves that are supposed to roam around in the woods. Surely he isn't far in enough for it to be one of those? They hadn't come bothering him last night, so why would they be bothered now?

He stands up just in time to see the wolf making an irritated noise and swiping at its nose with one paw. Ned can't help but smile at that. It's such a Digby-ish gesture, and it makes him miss home with a sharp pang. His fear vanishes as quickly as it came. The wolf is alone, and there's nothing dire about it.

"Sorry, buddy," Ned apologizes warmly, dropping into a squat. He watches the wolf with bright interest, staying still, not wanting to spook it. The smile that he uses on animals isn't like the one he uses on people; it is bright and unreserved, all teeth and crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, extending one hand in the wolf's direction, slowly, in case he feels inclined to test Ned's scent. He isn't stupid; he keeps an eye on the animal for any signs of fear and aggression, but its body language is all wrong for an imminent attack.

[rigging]

Jesse's going to morph back (now that he knows how) but Ned comes out of his little den of flowers with a smile, and Jesse pauses. Obviously he's not recognizable in this form, so Jesse thinks maybe he'll just... stay this way for a bit. Just to see if he can cheer Ned up. The nightmare thing - it's something Jesse's been through, though maybe not to the same extent. He feels bad. It's something like solidarity, right?

So Jesse just lets himself settle down into the wolf mindset. It's not hard. He's basically a big, dumb dog anyway.

Ned offers a hand, and Jesse scoots forward to sniff it, then lick it, and then immediately sneeze again. Dammit. But he ignores it, because he's decided he's just going to barrel forward and lick Ned's face. Why not? He might be a wolf, but that smile made him happy.

[nedofpies]

Ned lets out a surprised 'oh!' and topples back, laughing at the wolf's enthusiasm. He's had Digby all these years, but of course, they haven't been able to touch. Somehow (who knows how animal senses work, anyway?) Digby always seemed to know that just as well as Ned. And they got by just fine. Ned takes him for walks, plays fetch with him, makes sure to put on gloves and long sleeves at least once a day to give him all the scratches and pats that his heart could desire. But face-licks are, of course, out of the question.

"You're in an awfully friendly mood aren't you?" he comments, wiping his face clean when the wolf has stopped licking it. He seems perfectly happy to continue the one-sided conversation. "I don't have any food for you, you know. Bless you." The wolf had sneezed again. "But you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

And then, because the wolf seems perfectly comfortable in his presence, Ned reaches forward to scratch behind its ears. All the while he keeps moving slowly, though he really doubts at this point that the animal will turn on him. No, this wolf is domestic. How, or why, he isn't sure, but Ned can tell the difference. He digs his fingers into the thick fur around its neck and gives it a quick but thorough doggy massage.

There is rather a lot of dog hair on his sleeves, and soon enough Ned sneezes. "You've got me doing it, too," he says, gently accusing, sighing and laying back on the moss, hands behind his head. He is less tense than Jesse has probably ever seen him, the way he can be when he's alone, or at least, away from other humans.

[nedofpies]

Ned doesn't notice the change that seems to be coming over Meyer's face. He's not exactly big on eye contact most of the time, and he's very concerned with not staring. So instead he is looking up into the trees and the canopy of flowers that's been making its way up into their branches. He reaches up and plucks down a kiwi, running his fingers along the fuzzy skin without realizing he's doing it.

For the most part, Ned doesn't think that the change has affected his mind, but he does notice that he is much more tactile. He seems to have swung from one extreme to the other. Normally he walks around with his hands in his pockets, tries to avoid touching things, and particularly people. Now, he can't seem to stop himself. Perhaps it is the knowledge that earlier, when he caught a dead leaf in his hand, it stayed dead. His usual powers are nowhere to be found, and the respite is utterly delightful.

"Do you want one?" He asks, gesturing with the kiwi before taking a bite. "You could be one of those vampires who can eat human food, too. I think I've seen a few movies where they could do that."

[rigging]

It'll probably be awkward when Jesse morphs back, but whatever, he's not thinking about that. In fact, he's not thinking about anything except for that scratching. It's like all of his senses just shut off. He's very content to just flop down and let Ned scratch behind his ears, and the quick massage, if it'd gone just a little longer, probably would have made Jesse's leg kick.

Ned's sneeze makes Jesse sort of snort, his tongue lolling out in a sort of wolfy grin. It's actually kind of nice to see the guy this way, all relaxed - Ned's constantly on edge when Jesse talks to him. It's why Jesse's content to settle against Ned's side with a huff of air, head on his paws. Definitely domestic.

And he'll stay that way for a while, if Ned doesn't move, and probably fall asleep. It's nice out, and the grass is soft, and Jesse can't really help himself. And if he does, he'll... probably morph back to human. Oops. Enjoy your half-naked housemate curled up next to you, Ned.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

He looks at the kiwi, then back at Ned. Normally, he wouldn't think twice before accepting the offer of the kiwi, but he doesn't even know if he can eat normal food, and besides, he's more interested in finding out just what Ned's blood tastes like. It's a struggle not to think about it, but he's trying his hardest, so he nods at the question. "Sure, I'll take one." It's an attempt to refocus, just like staring at the flowers instead of staring at Ned is an attempt to refocus.

Maybe sitting this close to someone wasn't a good idea. From here, he feels like he can practically smell Ned's blood -- whether or not that's true or just his imagination is debatable, but his mind just keeps returning to unpleasant places. Without conscious realization, he scoots a little closer, ostensibly with the excuse of accepting a kiwi. Somehow, though, he doesn't think regular food is going to cut it.

In fact, he feels almost intoxicated, far more so than he'd felt this morning. Maybe the lack of blood was getting to him -- he had no idea how long it took for a vampire to really need to drink blood -- or perhaps Ned had extremely alluring blood. Either way, he's vaguely aware he's leaning closer, yet not stopping himself from doing so.

[nedofpies]

Ned doesn't realize that something is of until Meyer is quite close, in his personal space, and his regular defenses kick in. Perhaps he ought to have been more concerned, when Meyer admitted to his vampirism. He is all alone here, with a blood-drinker, acting as if nothing could possibly go wrong.

He goes still, like a startled rabbit, eyes widening. His heart is racing, blood pounding in his ears, the vein at the side of his neck showing his quickened pulse. Ned doesn't pull away or try to run. He doesn't want to be rude, if this really is nothing. But that look Meyer is giving him, as if he were dinner, makes him pretty sure it's not nothing.

"I-is everything alright?" he asks, nervously. "Meyer?"

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Everything's not all right, not even close, but he has no idea how to express that, because this close to Ned, the only thing that's going through his mind is how hungry he is. He can't believe he's been able to repress the urge for this long, now that he's come face to face with someone. Just looking at the vein on the side of Ned's neck is bad enough, and smelling him -- he's almost certain he can smell his blood, something that he'll later think is crazy, but which makes perfect sense right now -- is even worse.

He may not be much faster than usual, but he's still moving quickly enough to grab for Ned's arm with one hand, a fumbling attempt to hold him right where he is so he can lunge for his neck, or his shoulder, or whatever he can reach. Having never done this before, his motions aren't smooth, and he's acting on sheer instinct, but if it allows him to sink his teeth into bare skin, he'll take what he can get.

The only time he'd ever tasted blood before had been his own blood, blood in his mouth from being punched in the face, most likely, and he hadn't enjoyed the taste of it. He'd never even thought about tasting someone else's, never conceived of himself as the type of person to lunge for someone's veins and attack them as though he was starving. But then, he'd never been a vampire before, and the taste of Ned's blood promises to be just as intoxicating as it smells.

[nedofpies]

Ned too, was beginning to nod off. He hasn't been sleeping so well, lately, and it's beginning to catch up with him. But with a wolf at his side, warm and breathing steadily, he feels safer than he has in some time. So his eyes start to slip closed, and he's just slipping towards sleep when the sound of the breathing changes. The feeling changes, too, but not in a way that makes sense. Ned opens his eyes and lets out a comically loud gasp when he spots Jesse.

Moving away is an instinct, and Ned doesn't hesitate. He is gaping like a fish out of water, because the wolf is gone and Jesse is curled up just where it had been, in the exactly same position, sleeping lightly.

"Jesse?!"

[rigging]

Oops.

Jesse's mostly asleep, and so when his pillow moves, he groans and stretches, this time more catlike than wolf. A beat, and then he realizes he's - well. Human. And he blinks, and then raises his eyebrows at Ned. He can play this two ways, and he thinks he knows the best way.

"Uh. Hey Ned." Jesse grins a little, rubbing at the back of his neck. He glances around. "... Where are we?"

[thezerothlaw]

He sits down cross-legged in the midst of this impromptu garden, making himself comfortable, which is in itself a novelty. Daneel takes the flowers in turn, breathing them deep. Each unique, some stronger than others, but so much to learn. He feels rather dizzy, but that might be the flowers.

"I'm not certain," Daneel says. His brow furrows with thought, done unconsciously. "I am finding it very... overwhelming, right now. Everything is very intense, in unfamiliar ways." He pauses, looking at a spray of lilacs in his hand, and smells them deeply again. There's some sort of reaction there, some emotional response, and it takes him a moment to realise what it is.

"I like this one," he says at last, sounding faintly surprised about it.

[nedofpies]

Ned automatically accepts that Jesse wouldn't remember anything from when he was a wolf. Why would he lie, anyway? He's more than happy to fill the gaps, can imagine how disorienting it would be, waking up half-naked outside with a guy who is only a hop skip and a jump from being a stranger.

"We're at the edge of the woods. You... you were a wolf," Ned says, shrugging his way out of his cardigan and holding it out towards Jesse. It's not all that cold out, but if their places were reversed, Ned knows he would appreciate it. "It must be something to do with everything that's been happening these last few days. I guess you're... a shapeshifter or a werewolf or something like that. You just kind of walked up and smelled the flowers and fell asleep and that's all that happened."

Ned is, quite possibly, the worst liar to have ever lived. But his concern is completely genuine, "Are you feeling alright?"

[rigging]

It's not that cold, no, and Jesse runs a little hot most of the time, but the offer is appreciated. Besides, Jesse always feels a little bare when his tattoos on his chest and back are on display like they are. It's a weird personal thing, and so he takes the cardigan gratefully, pulling it on. It's... a little small, since Jesse's a bit broader, but it works.

"Huh." Yeah, if he didn't already know that Ned was lying, he'd be able to tell. Ned is... really bad at it. But either way, Jesse accepts it. He rubs at the back of his neck for a moment more and then wrinkles his nose. "... I feel fine, yeah, s'just, uh. Man, I guess I must've just... wolfed out or some shit."

He looks down at his hands, and laughs. "Jesus, it makes sense. Everybody's flipping out, and I knew it wasn't just gonna be that I could smell stuff I ain't smelled before." He peers at Ned. "You okay? Uh - sorry, by the way."