1933/Old Friends and New Threats

Old Friends and New Threats
Date of Scene:	14 September 2016
Location:	Waldians Home
Synopsis:	Pergola planning with Rune and Gaofele!
Cast of Characters:	Gaofele Doiru, Runealy Waldia

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Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Out in the yard, Gaofele has a couple of piles of lumber and paver bricks sorted out, plus some shovels, a spool of twine, several stakes, and a notebook with weighted pages. It had taken some time to figure out how to apply Waldian adjustments to Earth's pergola designs, but now he feels confident in putting up the basic framework.

"Let's see... need to allow some space for the plants for next growing season," he murmurs to himself, checking some measurements and pushing stakes into the ground. While his designs incorporate plants thoroughly into the structure -- forming a second level to the structure, in fact -- they'll require lots of time to grow. Besides, constructing the pergola in multiple phases means that the Waldians and friends can enjoy it even before it's fully complete.

Still, after a few months of planning, work has begun!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
It's possible Rune noticed some of this earlier. It's also possible there wasn't enough of these materials gathered until just very recently for it to go from 'noticed' to 'noteworthy.' Yet a glance out the balcony glass has shown her that something is definitely going on and it merits a look.

Heading downstairs, she emerges from the front door and begins walking up toward Gaofele's new project. Most of this is unfamiliar to her, but she knows enough to at least stay away from anything laying about. "Whoa... so when did this get started? Need help with anything? For that matter, what /is/ all this supposed to be?" A quick smile follows as she ads, "Besides 'something good', which I'm pretty sure it's going to be when it's done."

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru looks up as Rune come out and gives her a grin. "The delivery truck came by about an hour ago," he explains. "Had to sort out the components to make them easier to go through, so the actual start was about now."

The forester sticks another stake in the ground, then grabs the notebook and brings it over to Rune. "It's going to be a pergola -- a sort of open-air outdoor 'room'," Gao explains, showing the pictures in his notebook of other pergolas. "And next growing season, I'll plant some climbing plants to help cover it."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"The delivery wh-- oh, right." The nuances of modern logistics took a moment to sink in, but Rune gets it now. "I've seen pergolas before, but this..." Her voice trails off as she leans in to check out his notes, eyes raised in clear interest. "That /is/ neat, we could really use that! The only thing I don't get, is... why would it have plants over it?"

Her tone with that question is one of curiosity, rather than judgement against the idea.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"For additional shade -- or at least, that's the obvious reason," Gao grins. "I'll also be training the plants further upward to make a forester's nook over the crossbeams. Sort of like some of the growth-camouflaged places my family makes in the forest."

He points out the stack of paving bricks. "Speaking of plants, the floor of the pergola will still have plenty of grass visible," the forester explains. "These bricks are shaped to form a latticework on the ground, allowing grass to grow among them while still working as a firm surface."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"There's some days I wouldn't mind more shade. The air conditioning is nice, but sometimes it just feels loud." Rune's complaint is born of not being used to electrical noise. At least not fully so, even if spending more time on Earth has dulled the worst of that problem.

"Okay, so..." She follows where Gao is gesturing, leaning down to try to take this idea in. "So we're going to get basically half and half, some grass, some firm ground right along it? That sounds kind of neat, but... what's this about a nook overhead?"

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru gives a mildly sheepish grin. "Basically, a small room for having a bit of sheltered relaxation among plants," he explains. "Sitting among the tree branches is enjoyable, but not so much during bad weather -- and even in good weather, it can be hard to balance other items, like books."

His grin widens slightly. "Besides, making it is good practice, and the setting poses a nifty challenge as well: can I make the nook without it being obvious?"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Ohh..." Rune's gaze drifts upward, blinking a few times as she paces around the area. Her mind is busy trying to visualize what this will look like when he's done, and at least the basic idea follows. "I see it now... that would be pretty nice! Though,"

Her eyes return to Gaofele. "There's one thing I want to mention. You probably already know it, but I'm just saying it because it's still on my mind. Be careful while you're working on this." Her mood dims some, "We've had plenty of attacks lately, and there are going to be more now with what are either demons in disguise or people from our world being tricked by monsters here in Tokyo. When you're building this, please have some way to get our attention really fast, okay? Or have someone with you?"

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"Will do," Gao nods, his grin fading out. "Having people here could make it easier to build this, too."

His eyes widen slightly as an idea comes to mind. "In fact... if you're okay with our allies in Virtue coming over on a regular basis, I could ask around and see if anyone would like to help out," he suggests.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Huh?" This idea throws Rune off guard for a moment; she hadn't considered it until just now. "Well..." Her arms fold, head tilting down. A few seconds later, she drops back to a normal posture. "Sure! Can't think of a reason why not, so long as they know what's going on. You don't even have to clear them with me, just go ahead and bring them over. It'll get them to start thinking about this place, so they can help if we need it, or..."

"...Or we can help them, though at this rate I think we'll need to see about getting another safe room built," Rune concludes. "By the way, do you know much about swans?" That must seem incredibly off-topic, so she adds something: "The latest attacker was controlling some kind of huge swan-thing that could use lightning. Doesn't sound natural at all to me... and since it combined into her after a while, I'm guessing it wasn't a real swan at all? Still, maybe it has something in common with them?" That's a lot of conjecture all at once.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"I'll be sure to make sure that any volunteers are reminded of the threat," Gao agrees. "Also, if they know we have a yard that they can visit, that can give them another reason to visit." Because sometimes you want to do something out in the grass without being in the park, after all.

The question about swans makes him blink for a moment, but the forester thinks on it. "Well, mundane swans are surprisingly strong, and can be vicious if they're protecting their nest," he muses. "Wingstrikes hard enough to leave bruises, and painful pecks. Some kinds are utterly loyal to their mates, but in all cases it's wise to give them a wide berth."

Shrug. "Dunno how much of that might be applicable, but at least it's something," Gao admits.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Something in what Gaofele just offered seems to have really sunk in; Rune can be heard quietly whisper-repeating fragments of what he just said. Then, "A nest, huh? We'll have to figure that one out sometime. It's not just 'something', that's way closer to any sort of real start than I got."

A sharp nod follows, "So thanks! Between that and this," her hand sweeps in gesture of the area he has been working on, "It looks like you're really on top of things."

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru gives Rune a grin. "Well, if that helped, great!" he beams. "And I'll send the message on HeartNET once I finish staking out the footprint for the pergola." After all, best to have the plan defined before asking for help!