My Land, My Rules

Nell and Gladio had made their way out to the end of the dock, nicely wrapped up in Nell's case, at the end of a long and glorious day. It was still fairly light, the sun wouldn't set till just after nine, but they were in a perfect position to watch the sun set.

A strange sound caught Nell's attention and she shifted in Gladio's arms to see what it was. "Look, those are the loons!"

Their beautiful haunting sounds echoed over the water and Nell just closed her eyes for a moment to listen. "So amazing. And eerie."


[For the Tall Man and nfb for distance.]

Nell had arranged for tonight to just be a small get together to celebrate Gladio's birthday, which was actually tomorrow, but since the chocobros were all free tonight, tonight it was. Nell had planned to serve a great deal of Cup Noodle (sorry, Ignis) with a variety of very tasty ingredients to add in, as well as some actual home made ramen for those who preferred a less cup based food.

There were, of course, the usual side dishes and a beautiful three berry pie for dessert, though she was counting on Ignis for the fancy birthday cake.

Nell and Gladio stepped through the portal shortly before sunset onto the grounds of Soulwood. The sun was setting through the trees to the west, beautiful colors suggesting a bright tomorrow.

As soon as Nell stepped onto the land its energy rose up to greet her. Even someone without Nell's connection to the land couldn't have missed it. Everything was suddenly a little more vibrant, the trees seemed to lean in close, the birds hushed then sang louder than before, and Nell positively glowed.

Her hair and face seemed more vibrant, and everything about her seemed to reach out and connect with the land until an imaginative person might have almost thought he could see the bright lines of force connecting them.

She pushed a wayward strand of hair off her face - was it the breeze or was her hair floating gently in the energy currents? -and took a moment to kick her shoes off and sink her feet into the dirt, eyes closing for a moment.

"Ain't no one watching us'uns here," she said, sliding back into the language of home, and smiled up at him, reaching for his hand. "Just we'uns and the land and its creatures. Welcome to Soulwood, Tall Man."



[Nfb for distance and for the lightly modded tall man in question.]

Nell was glad that she'd arranged for someone else to cover her shift at the flower shop today. After their odd vacation she was glad to be home and able to relax a little - after she'd cleaned the house and shop from top to bottom (relaxation was a different animal for Nell).

She wasn't sure if people would be coming over tonight after the events of the last week, but there was fresh bread made and plenty of the usual stuff to nibble on. If anyone wanted more they could always order something in.

By midafternoon Nell had cleaned and organized everything to her standards and was able to settle in with a cup of tea and a good book to cuddle with the kittens - and Gladio if he was around.

Guests could stop by (or not) when they were ready.

Nell had messaged Gladio to see if he'd make sure there was some sort of food for the evening - take out was more than fine - since all she really wanted after work was to put her feet up and read by the fire for a while.

Liliana and Ignis were still away - or back away - and Prompto and Liz were having a quiet night after the party, so at most it might be Detective Watts, Steven, and Lana.

Or it might just be Nell and Gladio, which was just fine as well.

Still, there would be food and by the time anyone might arrive Nell would be rested enough to greet them properly.

Nell had brought some of the puzzles home with her, figuring that she and Gladio might have fun doing them in front of the fire on a snowy or rainy day. For some reason she hadn't felt like cooking today, so shehad ordered a variety of pizzas for them to have. She did have some freshly baked cookies and brownies as well as various ice creams and toppings for anyone interested.

It was cold outside. Very cold. Nell had gone out up on the roof about noon to check on the hives and the plants in the greenhouse. That done she'd retreated indoors again where she planned to stay. The house was clean and she was caught up with all her chores, so the next thing to do an a really cold day was to cook.

And now she had someone in the house who'd be happy to eat whatever she made, so she didn't have to restrict herself to only what she felt she could eat herself or freeze easily. Which is why she had a pot of chicken soup, another of spaghetti sauce, and a third of the spicy stew she'd made last Monday. And once those were going her bread dough should be ready to go in the oven.

Then she could curl up with a good book - or a warm Gladio if he was around and willing - in front of the gas fireplace. It might not be quite as good as a real fireplace, but it was warm and looked good.


[Open for the new housemate or anyone else who might smell the food and want to stop by.]

This would be the first time people gathered here in the New Year, so Nell wanted to make it a little special for everyone. She had carefully handpainted and baked mugs for each person so they'd each have their own special one for when they were here.

Nell and Gladio made their way back to Nell's in one of the brightly lit rickshaws. They required less thought and ample opportunity for kissing, though Gladio had joked that they could have just strung him up in lights and let him carry Nell. To which Nell had responded that she'd rather he save his energy for other things.

She'd set out honeyed rum for the squirrels before she headed to class in anticipation of Gladio's response - not that there'd been much guess work needed there - so, once the rickshaw had dropped them off, all that was left to do was break off their latest kiss, unlock the door and lead him upstairs.

Leaning into the plates of latkes that kept appearing, Nell had prepared various toppings and sides to go with them, including applesauce, a pomegranate and honey topping, and a cilantro mint chutney. She also had a curried butternut squash and apple soup simmering on the stove as well as a variety of pastries for sweets after dinner.

The kittens were mostly dozing, though they'd no doubt rouse themselves when company came in to get their petting and snuggling in.

Nell was rather tired after her day at work and then rushing home to get the orders from her own store ready to ship out in the morning. Which meant her food offerings were a little less involved than they might otherwise have been. Still, there was a stew and freshly baked biscuits as well as various nibbles and the usual offerings for dessert.

Once everything was all set out and ready to go, she settled herself in front of the gas fire with a book and a cup of tea. And, within seconds, she had two kittens snuggled in her lap as well.

Nell was in the mood for comfort food today so she made a big pot of chicken and dumpling stew and a smaller pot of a veggie stew for the Detective if he should stop by. She also prepared a batch of sourdough rolls to pop in the oven so they'd be piping hot when it was time to eat. Then, with time to relax, she curled up on the chair by the gas fireplace with the cats and read her book.

Nell had added the basics for making a variety of nachos to her usuals tonight. Lana and the Detective had been handwavily notified of the date change and Nell hoped they'd be able to make it. She was also hoping Gladio would be interested in staying over again tonight since that would be just the perfect end to the evening.

The kittens were out and about being adorable and getting into everything.

Nell wasn't sure if anyone would come by tonight given all the strange things happening in town, so she hadn't put anything out. Of course she could easily put something together and she'd done a fair amount of stress baking, so no one who showed up would go away hungry.

She had some quiet music on and was sitting in the living room with the kittens and a good book. The Soulwood soil at the base of the stairs would let her know if someone was coming and if it was anyone she knew.

Nell had been looking forward to tonight and had made an angel food cake to add to the usual foods she set out. There was also a hearty stew simmering because she'd felt like making one, which was also available for anyone who wanted some.

Well, there was the fruit salad to end all fruit salads tonight as well as various fruit purees to have over ice cream or in drinks - alcoholic, smoothies, milkshakes, whatever. And Nell was there to welcome everyone with an offer of hospitality and safety.

Tonight continued with apples. She'd put together an apple crisp that she'd pop in the oven just before they were ready to eat, with some vanilla ice cream and freshly whipped cream to top it. She'd also made, largely in case the Detective came, some apple caramel soft pretzels. And if he didn't come she'd bring some of them to him later in the week.

She was still feeling a bit tired and lazy once she'd gotten things ready so she curled up with the cats and a book while she waited for her guests.

Nell and Gladio had set out to go camping Saturday morning despite the weather reports. Neither of them was much bothered by the heat or the idea of rain. They found a suitable place, set up a tarp large enough for both of them to sleep under easily, and got a sheltered fire going. The afternoon passed comfortably, despite the heat and intermittent showers, with a lot of laughter, some nudging, and Cup Noodle by the fire.

Part of the afternoon found them lying next to each other on their own sleeping bags reading to themselves and occasionally sharing a perfect paragraph or two with one another. There might have been a little dozing and there was certainly a shared kiss or two.

But as it got closer to the time for Gladio to go get Iggy out for Three Minute Dates the weather became more violent, with loud cracks of thunder and the wind whipping up, and there was no way Gladio was leaving Nell alone out there in all of that. They managed to get everything packed up and back to Nell's just as the skies really opened, dropping everything just inside the back door to Nell's shop, laughing delightedly at being safe and back under a roof.

There might have been some more kissing, till finally Gladio pulled himself away reluctantly to dodge the raindrops back home. He told her to leave everything downstairs, that he'd help bring it up when he got back, but Nell put her hands on her hips and told him that she'd bring it upstairs if she wanted and he'd better hurry or he'd be late.

Whereupon he laughed, kissed her again and headed off.

Whereupon Nell got to work.

*******************

Nell spent her time well, setting up the tarp and sleeping bags again with some extra cushions to make up for the hard floor. There were fairy lights strung along the top of the tarp and among the plants filling the sides of the room. One had to have stars when one was camping, right?

She'd closed off the back room from the main part of the shop and shifted some of the bigger plants around to serve as trees, their containers large enough for even Gladio to lean up against. Candles in protective globes stood around the edges to give enough light to read by.

When Gladio returned he'd find Nell curled up on a cushion, reading quietly as she waited.




[For the one who was modded with permission.]

The theme of the day was lemon, apparently, though Nell had used actual lemons instead of just lemon juice. She had lemon cake with lemon frosting, lemon poppyseed bread, and lemonade cookies.

They were all delicious, but it might be a long time before she made an this lemony goodness again.

Twilight found Nell up on her roof, all her work done, cup of tea in hand, one leg tucked under her as she gazed out over the horizon. It had been a very nice week and she'd managed to catch up finally from all she'd left undone or half done during the two weeks Gladio was gone. Also, she'd managed to harvest some honey from one of her hives and was thrilled to be using some of her very own honey in her tea.

Mostly she was just here to relax and watch the sun set and the stars come out. Maybe there'd even be a shooting star to wish on.


[Mostly just a quiet Nell post, but open should anyone want to stop by!]