faderift | all of nature wild & free

"Hey," she asks quietly, slowly unrolling a stretch of wire and not really able to glance in the direction of whoever she's talking to, "can I ask you a favour?"

Ruby is sitting at a table in the gardens, enjoying the sun on her back and the bright light for her task, which for now is assembling all the pieces she needs to make an alarming number of ice grenades. "I wouldn't ask," she continues, and her tone is apologetic, "but this wire is super determined to be curly and I need it stretched out for cutting the lengths-- yeah."

Buttercups and daisies and forget-me-knots and little purple and red flowers she doesn't have names for grow thick under her feet, ending a path of them that mark her steps across the garden.

Sam had noticed the woman sitting in the gardens, bent over her work, and had been curious, but not curious enough to let it overcome his manners and lead him to snoop and pry. He'd gone on with his own duties, weeding and watering and tending the plants, though always aware of the new presence in the familiar gardens.

He pauses, brow furrowing in confusion, at the sight of the new flowers trailing across the garden, even more at a loss when they seem to lead right to her. There are too many, and most are too small, to have been transplanted there - and who would plant a meandering trail of flowers across the neat rows of herbs and vegetables anyhow?

But it's nothing he can explain, and in the end he leaves them there, too softhearted to think of digging them up even if they had needed that space for other things. The royal elfroot'll just have to be planted somewhere else, that's all.

When she calls out quietly, he looks up immediately - not as wholly engrossed in his own thoughts as he'd appeared - and then approaches her, peering with confused interest at the strange assortment of things on her table.

"Of course, Miss," he says, and immediately reaches out, holding the wire taut.

"Thank you."

His response is so quick and so polite and so-- so gentle seeming that Ruby looks his way with a slight smile. "I really appreciate it."

As he holds the wire she grabs up the cutters and carefully snips, before measuring out the next length. "I don't think we've met before, which seems... really negligent of me, with the amount of time I spend out here. My name's Ruby Lucas."

She'd offer to shake his hand but they both seem to have their hands full. He seems extremely small for a human, and too small for any dwarf she's seen, whether from Thedas or Misthaven. The scent of dirt rolling off him seems warm somehow, comforting, although maybe not all the surprising given their location. It's endearing all the same.

Sam bobs his head, unable to give any more of a bow than that while holding the wire. "Samwise Gamgee, at your service. Only most folk call me Sam. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ruby." He watches curiously as she snips the wire and sets it aside, trying to guess what it might be for and coming up short. "Begging your pardon, but what is it you're making, exactly?"

"Likewise, Mister Sam." She goes with Sam purely because there's a part of her that prefers Red, even if she rarely highlights it. It's not so dire a preference, anyway. The option of a more casual name, even dressed up a little more formally, just seems like something she shouldn't set aside too quick.

"There's no need for pardon at all," she replies brightly, offering him a smile as she clips the next length of wire, and tilts her head in a silent invitation for him to stop what he's doing for a second and come and look. "Are you familiar with traps, at all? The Artificer stuff?" Carefully, she picks up a particular component, before tossing it in the air and catching it, in a display that it's safe before holding it out to Sam. "This is part of a frost grenade I'm working on. They go off when enemies step on them and make them move really slow, which gives our guys a chance to get more done without getting hurt." Although the tug at the corner of her mouth is a little wry, "in theory, anyway."

"Oh, I'm no Mister," Sam replies, flustered. "Just Sam!" He peers at her work, shaking his head silently in response to her question, then taking the grenade as gently as possible when she holds it out to him.

"It don't sound very pleasant," he admits, glancing up at her. "Is this for the War? For Corypheus?" He says the name as carefully as he'd picked up the grenade, stringing the unfamiliar syllables together slowly.

Oh no. Ruby grins, a mesh of delighted and sympathetic. "If you insist, Sam." But she might have to chuck a Mister in later.

Her smile softens off, a fading that doesn't come from unhappiness so much as contemplation. "Unfortunately they aren't meant to be. But yeah, for the war. I'm trying to practice making as many as I can, so scouts and all have supplies when they go into the field."

A little shrug, and, "sometimes I make flower crowns. Those are a whole lot more pleasant, but probably less useful."

Sam gazes soberly at the grenades. He still doesn't like the look of them, but neither does he like what he's heard of Corypheus. "I suppose it's better to have them than not," he says at last, then wrinkles his brow in confusion. "Flower crowns?" He glances down at the trail of flowers under her feet, but none are wearing crowns that he can see.

"It's a good back up," she agrees, looking at them seriously. "I figure that it's impossible to protect everyone all the time, but if I can use free time to make stuff that'll help keep them safe then it's worth doing."

'Oh no' is now officially being upgraded to oh no. Ruby sets down her wire and clippers, and tilts her head to the seat next to her. "I can show you. Or, if you like, I can teach you how to make them. This is the perfect weather for flower crowns."

Sam is as confused as ever, but always eager to learn something new, especially anything regarding flowers. He hesitates only a moment before clambering up onto the seat, glancing shyly up at Ruby.

"Perhaps you could show me, and then maybe teach me afterwards, once I see it myself," he suggests. "That is if you don't mind of course - I'm sure your traps are much more important than any crowns for flowers."

Ruby beams, delighted at the company, leaning down and starting to pluck buttercups and red daisies from the grass below, collecting a generous stack of them and keeping the stems as long as she can before placing them between her and Mister Samwise.

"Traps are definitely important," she agrees. "But I think sometimes doing the fun stuff is just as important, you know? I mean, we have to remember why it is we want to save the world. Enjoy the little things, and all."

As she speaks, Ruby starts to braid some of the stems together.

"I suppose that's true enough," Sam says thoughtfully. "It does help, to have nice things to think about and remember, when everything around you's not nice at all! Not...not that Skyhold isn't nice," he adds quickly. "It's just...everything else."

Before his mouth can get him into any more trouble, he falls temporarily silent, studying Ruby as she braids the flowers together. His face clears in sudden understanding, his eyes going wide.

"Oh..." he says quietly. "Why, you're not making crowns for the flowers at all! You're making crowns out of flowers!" This prospect is somehow even more delightful, and he grins widely.

"I get what you mean," she replies, tone gentle - reassuring, she hopes. "There's a whole lot of everything else. I think it can be easy to get kinda mired in that."

She knows all about that. The darkness and the danger and not being able to see beyond it. She's working really hard on that. It's not easy and she doesn't always do so well, but she's trying.

"Crowns for flowers?" Ruby echoes, bemused at first before her mouth catches in a bright smile. "That would be so cute." Looking down at her crown-of-flowers, Ruby can't help a delighted laugh. "I might need to start working on those, next. They sound super adorable."

Sam blushes. Super adorable is not a term he's - well, ever heard before, actually, much less heard describing any of his ideas.

"These are lovely too; even better I should think," he says, with genuine encouragement. "Only who's to wear them?"

Ruby beams at the encouragement. She was already smiling, so maybe it's not really all that noticeable. More noticeable, maybe, is that she hums thoughtfully.

"Now, there's a thought. You know anyone who always makes you smile? Or who you think needs a reason to smile, sometimes?"

"A reason to smile? Why that'd be Miss Sina, of course," Sam replies without missing a beat. "Or Miss Merrill, perhaps, confined to bed as she is, poor thing. Miss Hermione and Mr. Fate always make me smile too, but I don't know that I could see Mr. Fate wearing such a thing. Why if nothing else it'd be a trial, getting one to fit over his hat!"

Edited 2016-08-08 19:03 (UTC)

"If you like we can try to make one for each of them, once you've gotten the hang of it. I mean, when you're happy with what we're making then we can make sure to get them to them. Maybe Fate's can be more like a hate decoration."

Ruby collects a few more flowers, some leaves and glances at him. "What do you say?"

The hobbit nods eagerly, beaming up at Ruby. "I'm sure they'd all like that, very much," he says solemnly. "I know I would!"

He pauses, looking up at her thoughtfully. "And it's very kind of you, Miss Ruby, to offer at all! Thank you."

"Perfect." Making other people makes Ruby happy, so making Mister Samwise happy in the quest of making even more people happy? Yeah, that works pretty well for her.

"Anytime, Sam. By the time we're done, you'll be a flower crown king."

all of nature wild & free

( closed ) Samwise.

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wanna wrap it up?

SOUNDS GOOD also "hate decoration" sigh phone why