The endless waste

[aestrix]

Once, this planet teemed with life. It doesn't do that, anymore. The ground is dry and cracked and occasionally broken up by charred remains of trees. There are no birds, no bugs, no living plants - nothing but an empty, endless waste.

With one exception.

But the world is so very big, and the exception so very small. If someone showed up away from it, they could be quite forgiven for thinking this world is completely dead.




with Sable (Kappa)

with Aisilian (Link)

with Grendyne (Rockeye)

with Temple (Curiousdiscoverer)

Comments

[greatestgift]

Sable flies in circles, holding her bottomless bucket.

She actually doesn't pour water directly out of the bucket - it appears some distance below her, one 2' x 2' x 2' cube at a time, and splashes onto the wasteland from there. (She does not drop any on the plant woman, because she's nice.)

When patches of wasteland have had a moment to appreciate their newfound dampness, she bestows grass upon them with a Staff of Regrowth.

[light_another_life]

The patches of wasteland are so grateful! Yay! Grass!

.... The grass immediately starts wilting.

This is probably supposed to happen.

[greatestgift]

Yes, the blighted sickly node - the literally blighted sickly node - is draining them.

She can just keep putting down more grass. It is not like she will run out.

[light_another_life]

It's true! She will not.

Eventually the grass stops wilting immediately.

"Okay," says Sable's companion. "That's enough for now. We haven't cured it yet, but it's closer to being fixed. It needs some time to, er, essentially digest. Basically. I think it'll take, mmm... Two more trips for it to become normal."

[greatestgift]

"And would it be worth dropping water and grass wherever else we happen to pass by on those trips?"

[light_another_life]

"Yeah. Usually I get more than one node while I'm feeding them."

[greatestgift]

"And it doesn't cost anything to pour water and make grass while we fly."

[light_another_life]

"Yep! Though I might need you to water the grass later, so it doesn't all die immediately. It doesn't rain anymore."

[greatestgift]

"Honestly even dead grass would be an improvement."

[light_another_life]

Giggle. "One does get tired of the beige, yes."

[greatestgift]

"That too, but I mean - this place is only just better than blight, groundsense-wise. Dead grass everywhere would make it more alive."

[light_another_life]

"Ah. Yeah. Then grass of some kind we shall have. ... In that same vein, is my house uncomfortable for you?"

[greatestgift]

"Not really, why?"

[light_another_life]

"It occurred to me that too much life might be just as painful as too little. And uh. My house is obnoxiously alive."

[greatestgift]

"It's pretty obnoxious," she agrees. "But in a very positive way, you know?"

[light_another_life]

Giggle. "I am trying to save the world. I would hope it's positive."

[greatestgift]

"Saving the world is, generally speaking, a positive goal."

[light_another_life]

"Generally speaking, yeah."

[greatestgift]

"And being around that much obnoxious aliveness can be a little uncomfortable sometimes but it's much better than everything being dead and horrible."

[light_another_life]

"Well, yes. But I can tone it down a little."

[greatestgift]

"It's fine."

[light_another_life]

"All right then."

Flying! Watering! Grass!

Eventually the sun begins to dip closer to the horizon.

"Time to head back?"

[greatestgift]

"Seems reasonable. What are your nighttime monsters like exactly? Are there giant flying eyeballs? Giant flying eyeballs are annoying."

[light_another_life]

Snort. "There are not giant flying eyeballs. They're - sort of like personified holes in the world? Like a spot of darkness got up and grew claws and wanders around absorbing all light and sound."

[greatestgift]

"Well that doesn't sound fun. But do they make awful squishing noises? The giant flying eyeballs make awful squishing noises."