001 - If I Keep Looking Forward I Won't Fall Back [Vault]

[purplexing]

I. The Armory
Donnie hasn't talked about the last mission. He hasn't talked much to anyone. Not entirely strange, but then nor is his preoccupation with work. At the moment he's taking a break from fixing up the armors that had been acquired during the taking of Hesaeth, working instead on more personal weapons. Or in this case, repairing them.

His staff is in pieces. Normally it collapses into something discreet enough to carry, but some of those pieces have very obvious indentations, damage sustained from the encounter with Lord Gundhir's son. The turtlekin picks up one of the cylindrical segments, holding it up in closer inspection. Repairing it would be possible although he'd likely have to reforge some pieces, but what good would it be if it would still essentially break under pressure?

...

Pushing aside an errant thought, Donnie sets the piece down, pulling out his notebook and a folded sheet of paper from within, flattening it out. The original designs for his collapsible staff, and extra notations for other additions to it. It still needs to be sturdier, but lighter too, especially if he plans to include more capabilities.

He doesn't look up at whoever approaches, only barely hearing the footsteps thanks to the mufflers he always tends to wear, especially down here where there's just so much noise. "Hey, know if there's any scrap titanium I can use?"


II. Subterranean Farms
Tucked away from the main fields and nestled in a smallish nook along the carved out walls, the little garden can easily be overlooked if one isn't paying attention to the strange, spiraling growth of vines dotted with small purple flowers that have started to crawl along the edges of the rock there. That's as far as Donnie's allowed them to grow, always taking care to trim them back before they can get out of hand.

He's rigged his own little light source here, simultaneously taking advantage of where crevices throw shadows across the space to allow for all kinds of plants to be cultivated. At a glance they're definitely more of a decorative sort than to be used for food, but he wouldn't advise eating most of these anyway. There are many flowers and herbs, and even a few types of fungi that grow within the natural rock 'shelves' of the flanking walls.

The turtlekin can be found tending to his beloved plants, removing any dead leaves, carefully watering the flowerbeds or tilling a patch of dirt in preparation for planting something new.


III. The Library
The library's become as much of a retreat as any, and in particular Donnie liked to hide away here because of how much quieter it is compared to other areas of the Vault.

He had come here to do some research but the peacefulness of the area paired with poor sleep has managed to lull him into an unscheduled naptime. Hopefully you didn't need that book he's currently using as a pillow, but be forewarned; he's a drooler.

Comments

[purplexing]

This...clearly isn't the answer Donnie wanted, but it's one he realizes he's more or less expected. He's not sure why it stings to hear it, more than it probably should. It's not that he ever asks for much, and back home with his family he'd hardly heard a flat-out rejection, but that was mostly due to the fact that their father more or less let them do much of their own thing and when it comes to brothers, sometimes you just had to help yourself.

"...o-oh. Okay," the turtlekin says quietly, shoulders hunching up like he'd tuck his head into his shell, had he the ability to do so. He pokes at the things Link had pulled earlier from his pack.

[newmemorywhodis]

Perhaps it would have been different, if Donnie was someone Link knew better. Someone he could call a friend, someone he trusted. But he'd only met Donnie once before. Link didn't really know Donnie, not yet.

But he feels like maybe he owes...something. An explanation, maybe.

"...Empire took it," he says softly. "Just got it back. Most my things were gone."

Inside it still had about half of his materials. But all of his weapons, his armours, his paraglider - the Sword that Seals the Darkness - was gone.

[purplexing]

That's a point Donnie really can't argue, and neither is the explanation given once Link thinks to say something more.

The turtle's expression darkens considerably, and while there's a complicated mix of emotions there on his face, it's clear what he thinks of the Empire. He can't really be surprised when the Empire's involved. They take everything.

"That's unfortunate," he says carefully, frowning.

[newmemorywhodis]

"I'll get them back," Link says. There's an unwavering determination to how he says it - like he won't hesitate to fight the entire Empire if he has to. No matter what, Link is getting what was taken from him back.

Although it's...probably going to take a while.

[purplexing]

That confidence is certainly something to note. Donnie blinks, nodding then as he's not sure how else to respond.

Fighting the Empire for one's belongings might seem a trivial reason, but is it really that much different from anything else? The Empire has taken something from the people here, whether it be belongings or freedom or something else.

[newmemorywhodis]

It's not the only reason. Link would have fought the empire anyway. But it does give a little extra vindictiveness.

"Can't get more from home," he says, suddenly switching back to their previous conversation. As he does so, he starts pulling out more items. It's like Link has a near endless supply of ingredients in there, and he's bringing all of them out.

Including what seems to be...flowers shaped like bombs?

"...But they're useful," he continues.

[purplexing]

"Oh. Yeah, that would be a problem..." Seeing as how the only way 'home' for those who weren't from Esthere was apparently the gate that the Empire had created, and Donnie had only heard about it. It still sounds hard to believe, even when surrounded by people who tended to drop strange words now and then, or talk about unknown places. And yet Donnie couldn't really say that they can't have been talking about anywhere on Esthere when he's only seen so much for himself.

Naturally he's fascinated by the...wait, is it a flower or..? Donnie reaches out to pick it up.

[newmemorywhodis]

"[Bomb flowers]," Link says, in Hylian. But he then very helpfully follows up with a translation: "Bomb flowers. They explode."

He is very matter of fact about that. And oddly nonchalant, considering that Donnie's about to pick it up.

"Very useful," he adds.

[purplexing]

The turtlekin's fingers halt but a centimeter from closing around the thing.

"Wait, seriously?" he blurts, eyeing Link critically. "-how do they work? Do you actually light it?" Given Link's just had stuffed in his magical bag and set it down like nothing, Donnie doesn't think it should explode from merely handling it...

[newmemorywhodis]

"Fire or impact," Link says. "Usually throw them."

Or attach them to arrows; but without his ability to Fuse items, that wasn't really something he could do anymore.

[purplexing]

Donnie had by then regained his curiosity to pick up the thing, turning it over as carefully as any ammo he's handled. Gunpowder charges weren't things to be played with, so he takes care as he looks the thing over.

"If they're a type of flower, are there seeds?" he asks, nodding towards the box with the glowing ones he'd been given earlier. "Can they be grown?"

[newmemorywhodis]

"Maybe?" Link says, with an uncertain shrug. "I don't know how to grow them."

He wasn't a farmer. He had a pack filled with various flowers and vegetables and plants, but he hadn't grown any of it. He'd foraged and found it all.

[purplexing]

"...which is why you were asking in the first place," Donnie suggests as he looks to the initial pile of things that Link had removed from his pack.

"Hm. Well... experimenting with a plant that's explosive isn't something I want to do near here. I wonder if soaking it in water will help... Although I'd like to see it in action first, to get an idea of how much damage it's capable of. -not here," he adds on.

"What about the others?" He gestures to the fruits and things. "What do they do?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods.

As for the rest, Link starts pointing to them and giving brief descriptions of each. As it turns out though, there's quite a lot of variety. Some are described as having elemental effects, like the ice and fire fruits. Then there's ones like the muddlebud or puffshroom, which create clouds that cause confusion or impede vision.

Then there's ones that are a bit less direct. Ones that have effects after being cooked into food or made into an elixir. Some increase a person's stamina, their ability to withstand extreme temperatures, their speed, or even their ability to remain quiet and stealthy.

And then there are others, which are clearly just...food. They don't explode or glow or make anyone able to move faster. They just make for some tasty meals.

[purplexing]

When Link begins to go about with descriptions, Donnie has to flail a bit and get him to pause so he can pull out a notebook and a pencil. He starts to write down notes, taking his best guess at words he might not have learned yet, doing a very rough sketch of the things that went with them. He adds in quick little descriptors on the side of each picture, like colors and defining characteristics to help for later identification purposes.

"That's a lot to work with. How have they not spoiled in your pack? Unless that's just another property..." That seems the easiest thing to account for it. Flowers and herbs should have been long crushed and withered, especially given how long Donnie knows Link to have been here.

"There's a lot, and clearly whatever magic your pack has is keeping them from getting ruined, so we'll do this a little at a time. Choose maybe two or three to start, and I'll need at least three samples of each to work with- if you can spare them."

[newmemorywhodis]

"Pack keeps things the same," Link says. And then he pulls out a hearty lizard, just to prove it.

The lizard is alive, and wriggling in Link's fingers. It does not appear to be any worse for the wear for having been kept for an untold amount of time in the pack. And then Link puts it back in the pack, and considers the question of which ones to get Donnie to grow.

The brightblooms were a given. Also Link had a ridiculous number of them, so he could afford to give a bunch away. But which ones would be the most useful?

In the end, Link puts forward the bomb flowers, puffshrooms, and muddle buds. Those all grew underground, so they should well in Donnie's subtenant farm.

[purplexing]

"What the-?!" Donnie blurts, nearly dropping his notes mid-flail. He's staring again, Link once again shooting back up on his mental list of weirdos no doubt. He watches as the lizard is stuffed back into the pack, briefly wondering that if he were that small and Link so fancied, would even he be added to that amassed collection?

He turns such disturbing thoughts away as he looks at what Link offers, instantly approving of the purple flower although mindful of what it had been described to do.

"Tell me more about the environment you got these from. Like...location, climate..."

[newmemorywhodis]

Don't worry, Donnie. You're far too big to fit in. Really, lizards are the biggest living thing that can go in there light that.

Although, maybe Link shouldn't mention fairies...

"Puffshroom and muddlebud grow only in the [Depths]," he says. Not knowing the Imperial word for depths, he uses the Hylian word instead. "Bomb flowers, in the [Depths] and caves."

[purplexing]

Link....

Donnie gestures for Link to provide more input. "Descibe the...whatever you said. Is it underground, is it in a field or an ocean? I'm assuming it's different since you mentioned caves separately," he says.

[newmemorywhodis]

"Underground. Deep. Very deep," Link explains. Although really, how do you explain the Depths?

Especially when you're Link, and explanations aren't your strong suit in the first place.

[purplexing]

"Uh-huh..." Donnie says as he writes this down. At least he finds these helpful, especially given that the main term Link had been using was not one that Donnie could understand. "Warm? Cold? Dry, damp?" he prompts helpfully, or so he hopes. Wow, why is this like pulling teeth?

"Look- if you want me to try to grow these things, then I need a really good understanding of where they came from. That's important, that's the sort of place they can grow, and if I can't get things as close to what they might be in their natural setting, then it won't work."

[newmemorywhodis]

"Not cold. Not hot." Then he pauses, thinking about it. "Except for the parts with lava."

Those tended to get pretty hot. And flammable.

"It's dark."

[purplexing]

The turtle nods, adding these to his notes. "Humidity? I'm assuming there must be some humidity, fungus does better in damper conditions," he muses, already considering how to replicate such things. Maybe he'll have to make his own cavern...

[newmemorywhodis]

Link thinks about it, then nods. Yes, it could get a bit humid in the Depths. And in some caves too, actually.

[purplexing]

"Okay, so current location should not be too difficult to adapt for such. ...although since I don't know how long these usually last after they've been harvested- and outside of your pack, I might have to start working quickly. But then fungi at least tend to maintain their properties for some time. Hmm..."

Donnie looks at his notes and then pushes to his feet as he starts to look for a good place for this experiment. Typical, he's getting right to it. "Might have to carve out something," he mutters to himself as he studies the cavern walls.