Hey, I got the time to hear as much as you'll tell me. [He tries for a smile, something a little more genuine manages to surface.] We did talk about trying tea from there before too. Gotta know who I'm drinking, right-?
Hmm... [He leans forward, lifting the teapot to swirl it around a bit, then tilting it towards Leonardo's mug to fill it. This is a good distraction, he thinks.] Well, I can't get you the tea just yet, but I can give you, ah, the tea. [Bad pun about gossip for you, champ.] How about, pick a letter?
[The pun does its work of earning a hoarse sounding kind of laugh from the turtle. His expression warming by a few degrees now.] Hmmm, hard choice, but, let's see, how about K?
K... ah. [Caduceus nods, his expression fond.] The Keencreek family, we laid to rest the last one about 30 seasons ago. Most were halflings, so the grave site was smaller, lot of little stones clumped together. They liked it that way, a quieter family. Very devout to the Wildmother- they were farmers, always praised her whether their harvest was heavy or thin. Without fail they'd donate a portion of their crop to their struggling neighbours, and just before winter, someone would bring a half-cart of grain to the Grove, so we'd have bread for winter. Good, kind people.
[Leonardo raises his mug, blowing against the surface of the tea to cool it off. He listens quietly, his lips curling into a gentle smile. Discussing the family feels like a good distraction.
It's morbid in a way, but, Leonardo finds it comforting. Death isn't something that frightens him these days. Everyone dies. The hard part is being remembered.]
They sound like people you'd want to know for sure. People you want to take care of in this case.
That's kinda how it was, growing up. We had people who took care of us in little ways, and we took care of them in turn. And the Wildmother took care of all of us. The wheel was always turning.
[They weren't quite a community, too isolated, too far from civilization. But those who believed remembered.]
[Leonardo tentatively takes a sip of his tea, managing to not scald his tongue with it after enough blowing on the surface.] that sounds pretty damn comforting, I gotta admit.
Certain bases we lived in sometimes got close to that feeling, never lasted long though.
That feeling can be ephemeral, no matter what your circumstances start out as. The woods have grown more corrupted and dangerous in recent years, so most people don't risk the journey. But for a long time, it's how we lived.
I'm hopeful you'll get to go back to how you lived before. No more corruption, and plenty of visitors when the time is right. [He can hope, at least. There is a lot for Caduceus to get back to, his friends, a grand journey of some kind and protecting his own home from corruption.
Leonardo wishes he could go in and help, do something for someone whose helped him so deeply.] If I could, I'd help you figure that out. Little outside either of our controls right now.
[Even with how long it's been, he sounds so certain. His freedom is inevitable. Sooner or later, the Wildmother will find a way to free him, or at least help him free himself. If not her, someone will. He has faith.]
The woods are on the mend, now. We found a way to fight the corruption, and as far as I know, things have been improving, though I haven't yet gone back to see it for myself. So that's one less thing to worry about.
[Leonardo is visibly relieved at that news. He may have never seen the grove, but, he's fond of what Caduceus has told him about it. He just wants the firbolg to live peacefully.]
Okay, good. Even if I'm not likely to see your home anytime soon, I still want it to recover. The place has a lot of history and people who rest there.
Thank you... you won't catch me disagreeing. It's been a mess for my entire life, and we've been trying to fend off that corruption as long as I can remember. It was nice to hear from my sister that things have finally started to improve.
[This is a lot more comforting than dealing with his own issues. Leonardo feels like he's done enough crying today. He wants to think about anything else.] How do you think you'll feel when you go back and see it different?
I know I'd have a few mixed feelings in that kind of situation. Relieved, but, things changed too.
[Anything else can certainly be thought about, for a while. Caduceus knows it's only delaying the inevitable, but sometimes it's what you need to live.]
I'm not sure. Definitely relieved, it's something my family has been working towards for literal generations. I don't know what else I'd feel, though. It has never been about what I feel.
Still, it's change, good change, but- change nonetheless. Even if it's not about you, it's still something to mull over. [Leonardo offers back before taking a sip of his tea.] Your home will be better, you're just going to miss seeing that for yourself for a bit.
It's enough to hear about it for now, and I did get that much. Now that I've seen how big the world is, and how much trouble still remains to be handled, the grove should be a much lower priority, in the grand scale of things. It was a symptom of something bigger.
[That thing that had devoured his tattoo forest, to start. Though he suspects something else will come, something worse. It's too far away to worry about a lot, but... still. Not out of his mind.]
You're in for the long haul of heroing, huh-? [He questions with a weak little laugh. He understands you can't run from that kind of responsibility. When you're needed, you have to go.] Don't get too lost in the weeds, Caduceus. I wouldn't want you to lose yourself in it.
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It's morbid in a way, but, Leonardo finds it comforting. Death isn't something that frightens him these days. Everyone dies. The hard part is being remembered.]
They sound like people you'd want to know for sure. People you want to take care of in this case.
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[They weren't quite a community, too isolated, too far from civilization. But those who believed remembered.]
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Certain bases we lived in sometimes got close to that feeling, never lasted long though.
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Leonardo wishes he could go in and help, do something for someone whose helped him so deeply.] If I could, I'd help you figure that out. Little outside either of our controls right now.
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[Even with how long it's been, he sounds so certain. His freedom is inevitable. Sooner or later, the Wildmother will find a way to free him, or at least help him free himself. If not her, someone will. He has faith.]
The woods are on the mend, now. We found a way to fight the corruption, and as far as I know, things have been improving, though I haven't yet gone back to see it for myself. So that's one less thing to worry about.
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Okay, good. Even if I'm not likely to see your home anytime soon, I still want it to recover. The place has a lot of history and people who rest there.
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I know I'd have a few mixed feelings in that kind of situation. Relieved, but, things changed too.
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I'm not sure. Definitely relieved, it's something my family has been working towards for literal generations. I don't know what else I'd feel, though. It has never been about what I feel.
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[That thing that had devoured his tattoo forest, to start. Though he suspects something else will come, something worse. It's too far away to worry about a lot, but... still. Not out of his mind.]
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