Between the Roots and Branches [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Don't worry, dreamers of Manhattan. There will be no humiliating episodes of sudden-onset-clumsiness tonight - at least, nothing more severe than what you might experience naturally. Your physical and mental faculties will be left perfectly intact. What a treat! And what luck, because if you do lose your footing, it's a long way down to the forest floor.

But hey, who wants to be on the boring old ground when there are so many wonderful treehouses to explore? There are dozens of them spread throughout the surrounding forest, connected by a series of bridges and catwalks (some, admittedly, a bit more stable than others). It's easy to forget - or fail to notice - that there really is no easy or conventional way down to the ground when you're surrounded by such splendor.

The houses' styles range from charming and rustic to modern and sleek, with many falling somewhere in between. There are viewing platforms for bird-watching or simply taking in the scenery (trees, mostly, though if you venture high enough, you'll be treated the sight of the forest canopy stretched across a valley far below). But the insides of the treehouses are comfortably furnished to varying degrees as well, so there's no need to immerse yourself in nature if you'd really rather not. Some are complete houses in their own right, with all the amenities of a Manhattan apartment and then some.

Go for a climb, or kick back and relax. The only enemies you'll find here are other dreamers... and, potentially, gravity.

Comments

[insectreflection]

Tara lets out a soft 'oh' and smiles at the explanation. Yes, she probably would've been more startled by the rocking of the bridge than the voice. She's got her feet firmly planted and is holding onto the rope railings though, so jiggling of the bridge doesn't cause much trouble now she's prepared for it.

And then she lets out another 'oh' at the question, not answering immediately, glancing over at where she'd conjured the lights. ...Well, given the fact this woman's first assumption was magic, that would presumably be someone at least passably familiar with magic as a real thing rather than just something from fairy tales. So, probably not someone Tara particularly needs to hide it from.

"Um, yes," she answers finally, and returns the smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tara." She gives a little wave.

[rae_of_sun]

"Likewise," Sunshine says, coming to a halt a few feet away.

So, talking shop can't be so bad, right? It'd be a hell of a lot easier if the topic was baking (she can expound at length about flour quality without feeling like she's constantly toeing a line between bragging and downplaying), but at least there's common ground, here. Which isn't actually all that common, since literally all of her relationships are inter-universal anymore.

"I know some small-scale transmutation," she says humbly, as if it's a mildly embarrassing family secret (which isn't too far off target, considering how she was raised). She'd add 'warding' to the list, but that still feels like some kind of miraculous fluke and not a learned skill.

And there's no way she's bringing up her counteraffinity, even if that is the more impressive skillset. 'I can help vampires' isn't going to get her a standing ovation, and 'I can also kill them really efficiently' isn't something she wants to even think about, let alone talk about. Yeesh.

Instead, she says, "But I'm not, um... professional. I'm a baker."

There. Both shops covered.

"Are you new?" she asks. The fact that she's never met Tara might not mean anything; Sunshine's pretty settled into a routine that doesn't often include Getting Out There or Mingling With Randos.