Lilies

[ultima_mortis]

Who: Death and You

Broadcast: Yes

Action: Caprine
When: Today

[The Caprine has many wonderful little additions, including a lovely little garden in the cargo hold. In the video feed, Death can be seen tending to various flowering and fruited plants, plucking and trimming what he can very carefully. There are even a few stalks of grain to be tended to, and he strokes the long stalks with the greatest of care.]

I LIKE GARDENING. IT MAY SEEM LIKE A STRANGE HABIT TO GET INTO, BUT IT MEANS THE WORLD IN MY MIND.

[Death lifts up the baskets he has been placing the fruits and plant scraps into and tilts them towards the screen.]

EVERY PART OF A PLANT HAS IT'S PURPOSE. THE ROOTS FOR TAKING IN WATER AND NUTRIENTS, THE LEAVES FOR CREATING FOOD, THE FLOWERS FOR POLLINATION, AND THE FRUITS FOR DISPERSING SEEDS.

[He sits cross legged  on the floor and sighs heavily.]

PLANTS CAN, BY AND LARGE, TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. THEY THINK NOTHING OF THE FARMER WHO FERTILIZES THE SOIL, NOR THE SUN AND THE RAIN THAT PROVIDE THEM WITH LIFE. EVEN LESS DO THEY THINK OF THE REAPER MAN WHO COMES TO THRESH THE FIELD AT THE TIME OF HARVEST. AND YET...IF EVEN ONE OF THEM STRAYS FROM THEIR DUTY, THE PLANT WITHERS AND BECOMES LESS THAN WHAT THEY COULD HAVE BEEN.

I MISS MY WORLD. THERE ARE MANY THINGS ON THAT PLANET THAT NEED ME. ALL I CAN DO HERE IS HOPE THEY ARE SAFE.

Comments

Video

[tallasaking]

...

[All right, he just has to ask.]

Pardon me are you a talking skeleton?

Video

[ultima_mortis]

I AM JUST AS YOU SEE ME. [So yes. Talking skeleton, nigh on seven feet high, in a long black robe.] MY NAME IS DEATH.

Re: Video

[tallasaking]

...Right. So. You are the ...actual Death.

[The Lords of Atroma brought an actual - THE ACTUAL - Death here. Somewhere he felt like pinching his brow at the gall of these people, but that would be rude to their new companion so ... yes no.]

Well, thank you for avoiding me for so long. I appreciate it.

Video

[ultima_mortis]

UNLESS THE PEOPLE OF THE DISC HAVE BEEN LARGELY MISGUIDED AT THE NATURE OF MY BEING, THEN YES.

[Goodness, he can really start to appreciate the sheer varieties of reactions in the Fleet. They make such funny faces!]

IT WAS LIKELY EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT IMAGINE. MY JURISDICTION IS BUT A SINGULAR PLANET. YOUR DEATH AND THE DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE ARE BOTH VERY MUCH INDEPENDENT FROM ME.

Re: Video

[tallasaking]

Well I sincerely doubt that, as you ... exemplify the part. Most dramatically.

[Yes, Tyrion's face was a mixture of wryness and amusement, along with, What The Hell.]

Well, if you ever speak to the broader Death, please send along my regards.

[He nods his head at the gardening.]

You've got a real gift. I should give you some of my terrariums and we could compare notes.

Video

[ultima_mortis]

IF THERE IS ANY DRAMA TO MY APPEARANCE, IT IS A MATTER OF HOW PEOPLE THOUGHT I SHOULD LOOK. SHOULD I SEE THE GREATER DEATH, I WILL BE SURE TO PASS ALONG YOUR MESSAGE.

[He picks up the basket with the fruits in it and pokes through them.]

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WORKED ON A FARM FOR A WHILE. I LEARNED TO APPRECIATE HORTICULTURE AND PEOPLE IN THE FIELDS. WHAT SORT OF PLANTS DO YOU GROW? I HAVE A FONDNESS FOR GRAINS LIKE WHEAT.

Re: Video

[tallasaking]

So, what you are saying is ... how you look is influenced by how people wish you to appear? Rather sounds like nobility.

[He smirks at the sight of Death poking through fruit.] For myself, I usually like foods I and my crew and friends can eat ... but I have a fondness for roses.

Video

[ultima_mortis]

BELIEF IS A UNIQUE POWER THAT IS NEARLY EXCLUSIVELY USED BY PEOPLE. GODS AND MY KIND TAKE OUR SHAPE AND GAIN OUR STRENGTH FROM WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE.

[There's quite a few varieties to behold. Death carefully turns them over one by one in his fingers.]

ROSES ARE A VERY DIVERSE FLOWER. THEIR MEANING IS ATTRIBUTED TO BOTH THE SHAPE OF THE STEM AND THE COLOR. FLOWERS ASSOCIATES WITH ME TEND TO BE THINGS LIKE POPPIES, POSIES, AND LILIES.

Re: Video

[tallasaking]

... so if someone believed you should look like a fluffy puppy, then Death would appear to us as a fluffy puppy.

[Well that is interesting.]

I haven't tried growing any of those yet - mostly because I haven't found any good seeds. Lilies are notoriously delicate however.

video.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor's seen a lot in his time. It happens when you're centuries old and constantly on the move between worlds. Somehow though, he's yet to encounter a living skeleton quite like the one he sees on the network today. Hela's undead soldiers immediately came to mind, only those were mindless ravaging things. This being clearly had a mind of his own. And what a voice.

He flips the video on with a look of unbridled curiosity.]

How did you come to learn about gardening? It sounds close to your heart.

[Is it rude to talk about hearts to a skeleton? Oh well.]

video.

[ultima_mortis]

[Death would likely have an opinion or two about Hela, and not very likely kind.

He never had squishy things like a heart to begin with, so it's not like he has offense to take...]

I WORKED AS A FIELD HAND DURING A PART OF MY EXISTENCE. THE SKILLS CAME HOME WITH ME, AND NOW I CAN TEND TO THE SOIL AGAIN, SUCH AS IT IS ON THE CAPRINE.

video.

[rebuildyourruins]

A field hand? [Thor doesn't know what he expected, only it wasn't that.] An interesting role. Is that what you need to get back to in your world?

video.

[ultima_mortis]

I WAS FORCED INTO RETIREMENT BY JUMPED UP BUSYBODIES WHO THOUGHT THEY FOUND A LOOPHOLE I COULDN'T CLOSE. IN A SENSE, THOUGH, I DO HAVE QUITE A BIT TO REAP WHEN I GET HOME. MY TRUE JOB IS COMMONLY KNOWN AS A "GRIM REAPER".

video.

[rebuildyourruins]

[It's a term Thor's heard tossed around once or twice back on Earth, so he has the gist of it - which makes him blink, squinting at the screen a bit closer.]

The Grim Reaper. That would not be the one responsible for death, would it?

[Best to check that sort of thing before leaping to a conclusion.]

video.

[ultima_mortis]

AYE, I AM DEATH. ONLY OF A SINGLE PLANET, HOWEVER.

[Surprise! It's a force of time and nature itself. Death might have even smirked if he could.]

video.

[rebuildyourruins]

[You're lucky you don't look like his sister, Death. That would cause all manner of questions. Though there are plenty of questions that arise anyway, such as 'How?' and 'Are you serious?']

These Atroma are setting their sights too high, to claim beings such as yourself for their own.

[It's something he takes as a personal offence as well, given he's a god in his own right. And still captured.]

video.

[ultima_mortis]

YOU THINK SO? THEY SHOULD HAVE A GO AT THE AUDITORS IF THEY REALLY WANT TO SET THEIR SIGHTS ON WORTHY OPPONENTS.

THIS IS...NOT THE WORST I HAVE BEEN PUT THROUGH.

action

[angelofthevored]

[Yes indeed, Cas wanders in while Death is gardening and just parks himself in the corner to watch. At least he's not trying to creep invisibly this time, content just to see Death examine all the plants in the garden.]

action

[ultima_mortis]

[Death doesn't mind the company. Nay, it's a good feeling to not be alone. He used to not understand such things before Ysabelle and Mort ran off together.

He holds up a promising looking berry to the light to inspect it.]

YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN ME. I MAY HAVE TEETH, BUT I DON'T BITE.

action

[angelofthevored]

I prefer to observe. [It's kind of relaxing.] Usually I'd hide myself, but there's no point with you.

action

[ultima_mortis]

AN ASTUTE POINT. I CAN FIND JUST ABOUT ANYTHING WITH ENOUGH TIME. SHE AND I WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER, EVEN IF WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH CAUSE TO INTERACT.

[ audio ]

[signifies]

Glad to see one of your hobbies is going well. What are you growing?

[ audio ]

[ultima_mortis]

PERSONALLY, I HAVE INTRODUCED A KIND OF GRAIN, BUT THESE OTHER PLANTS ARE USEFUL FOR SOME BAKING I AM GETTING INTO. IDLE HANDS ARE OF NO USE TO ME.

[ audio ]

[signifies]

You could always try herbs. They smell wonderful - wait, can you smell?

[ audio ]

[ultima_mortis]

NO, BUT I ERR TOWARDS TRUSTING THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS ON THESE MATTERS.