#growing grass after stump grinding

[chrisstumps05]

How deep does a stump need to be ground to grow grass?

[canadatreecare]

The Importance of Professional Stump Grinding Services: Why Your Yard Needs It

Tree removal doesn’t always mean your yard is completely cleared. Often, you’re left with a stubborn stump that, while easy to ignore at first, can turn into a long-term problem if not dealt with properly. So, what’s the solution? Stump grinding services. Let’s break down why removing stumps is essential and how professional stump grinding can make a real difference in your yard’s appearance and safety.

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore That Stump After a tree is removed, the stump left behind can quickly become an eyesore or, worse, a hazard. Many property owners make the mistake of thinking they can live with the stump, but over time, the issues can stack up. Here’s why stump removal, specifically through grinding, is an important part of tree care:

1. Pest Magnet Old tree stumps are a prime spot for pests like termites, ants, beetles, and even rodents. These pests won’t just hang out in the stump—they could eventually move on to your home or other parts of your yard. Grinding the stump eliminates this nesting ground, protecting your property from unwanted invaders.

2. Hazardous Obstacles Stumps may seem harmless, but they can be dangerous. Children playing in the yard or even adults walking around can trip over them, leading to potential injuries. Plus, if you’re mowing your lawn, you’ve now got an obstacle to dodge. Grinding the stump down to below ground level solves these problems once and for all.

3. Regrowth and Lawn Interference Many stumps will try to regenerate if left alone. Sprouts can start to grow, meaning you’ll have to deal with an unwanted tree trying to make a comeback. Additionally, stumps and their root systems can interfere with new plantings or your lawn’s overall health, sucking up nutrients that could go to other parts of your garden.

What Exactly Is Stump Grinding? Now, you might be wondering—what’s the difference between removing a stump and stump grinding? The main distinction is in how the process works. When a tree is cut down, the stump can either be pulled out, roots and all, or ground down.

Stump grinding uses a specialized machine to shred the stump into mulch-like pieces, grinding it down several inches below ground level. This method is more efficient, less disruptive to your yard, and prevents regrowth. After grinding, the remaining wood chips can be used as mulch or removed entirely, leaving the ground ready for fresh landscaping.

The Benefits of Professional Stump Grinding Services While some might think they can handle stump grinding on their own, this job is best left to professionals. Here’s why hiring a team like Cañada Tree Care for your stump grinding services makes all the difference:

1. Safety First Stump grinding machinery is heavy and requires precision. Without proper training, there’s a risk of serious injury or damage to nearby structures. Our professional team has the expertise and equipment needed to grind stumps safely, without posing risks to your home, garden, or yourself.

2. Preserve Your Landscaping Grinding a stump without damaging the surrounding landscape is a delicate process. At Cañada Tree Care, we use state-of-the-art machinery that allows us to target the stump while minimizing any impact on your lawn or garden. You won’t have to worry about torn-up grass or damage to nearby plants.

3. Complete Removal of Unsightly Stumps A stump left in the yard can be an eyesore, taking away from the overall beauty of your property. Stump grinding doesn’t just make the area look cleaner; it opens up space for new possibilities. Whether you want to plant new trees, start a garden, or even pave over the area, stump grinding ensures you have a fresh slate to work with.

4. Prevent Future Problems Tree stumps can be more than just an aesthetic issue—they can also lead to underground complications. The remaining root systems may decay and attract fungi, or worse, sprout new shoots. Professional stump grinding eliminates these risks by completely breaking down the stump, leaving no chance for regrowth or root interference.

The Stump Grinding Process: What to Expect So, what’s the process like when you hire Cañada Tree Care for stump grinding services?

Initial Consultation We start with a free consultation, where one of our specialists visits your property to assess the stump and discuss your needs. This allows us to determine the best equipment for the job and give you an accurate quote. Preparation and Safety Measures Before we begin, we take safety precautions, ensuring there are no underground utilities or obstacles in the way. This step is crucial to prevent damage to plumbing, wiring, or irrigation systems.

Grinding the Stump Our team uses professional stump grinders to safely and efficiently reduce the stump to below ground level. This method minimizes any disruption to your landscaping while thoroughly removing the stump. Clean-Up and Final Touches After the stump is ground down, we either leave the wood chips for you to use as mulch or remove them entirely—your choice! We make sure the area is clean and ready for whatever you have planned next. When Should You Consider Stump Grinding Services? Not sure if it’s time to deal with that stump? Here are a few telltale signs:

Old tree stumps left after removal: If you’ve had a tree taken down but the stump remains, it’s best to remove it before it becomes a bigger problem. Stump attracting pests: Notice more insects or critters hanging around the stump? This is a sure sign it needs to go. Lawn care issues: If the stump is in the way of your mowing or landscaping efforts, grinding it down can restore the full use of your yard. Planning new landscaping projects: Stumps can interfere with future gardening, construction, or even patio expansions. Grinding clears the way for these projects. FAQs About Stump Grinding Q: How deep does stump grinding go? A: Typically, stump grinding goes about 6-12 inches below ground level. However, deeper grinding is possible if you plan to build or plant something on the spot.

Q: Will the tree grow back after stump grinding? A: No, once a stump is ground down, it eliminates the tree’s ability to regrow.

Q: Is stump grinding environmentally friendly? A: Yes! The wood chips left behind from stump grinding can be used as natural mulch, and the process itself doesn’t involve harmful chemicals.

Wrapping Things Up Getting rid of stumps is about more than just making your yard look nicer. It’s a key step in keeping your property safe, healthy, and ready for future landscaping projects. With Cañada Tree Care’s stump grinding services, you can ensure the job is done right, without risking injury or damage to your yard. From safety to efficiency, we’ve got your back.

Don’t let that stump stick around—contact Cañada Tree Care today for expert stump grinding services in La Cañada!

[highlinetreecare]

Tree Removal 101: What to Expect Before, During, and After

Removing a tree is a big task that needs careful thought and steps. When a tree is sick, hurt, or just in the way of new work, taking it down is not as easy as it may seem. For those at home, knowing the steps can help calm fears and make the process smooth. This guide shows you what to expect before, during, and after tree removal in Werribee, sharing key tips and the best ways to go about it.

Before Tree Removal

1. Assessment and Planning

The first step in tree removal is a full check by a skilled arborist. A trained team of high-line tree care will check the tree’s health, site, and any risks. This check is key as it finds the best way to remove or prune trees and keeps things safe.

Key Points:

Tree Health: A sick or dead tree is more at risk of sudden falls, so removal is more urgent.

Close to Homes: Trees near homes, wires, or other sites need special removal ways.

Impact on Nature: Think about how taking out a tree might change the nearby area, like other plants and wildlife.

2. Obtaining Necessary Permits

In most places, tree pruning in Geelong needs a permit, more so for protected trees or large ones. Highline Tree Care helps with local rules, making sure all is set before the work starts. Not getting the right permits can cause fines or slow things down.

3. Preparing the Site

Before tree removal in Werribee, clear the space around the tree. This means moving cars, furniture, and other items. It’s also smart to let neighbours know about the work, mainly if the tree is close to their property.

Best Practices:

Clear the Space: Make sure the area has no items that could be harmed or block the work.

Inform Neighbours: A kind note can stop issues and keep things calm.

During Tree Removal

1. Safety First

Safety is the key focus when trees are cut. The team at Highline Tree Care uses tools and ways to bring down even big trees with care. The job often means tree removal in Werribee in parts, starting from the top and working down.

Steps Involved:

Tree in Parts: The tree is cut into parts that are easy to move. This helps keep nearby things safe.

Safe Drops: Each part is slowly brought down or guided to the ground to avoid harm.

Handling Debris: Small bits like branches are often chipped on-site. This cuts waste and makes cleanup quick.

2. Communication and Coordination

Clear talk among the crew is key for a smooth task. Homeowners can count on the Highline Tree Care crew to work as one, making sure tree removal in Werribee is done well.

Best Tips:

Stay Safe: For your safety, stay inside or keep clear during work.

Follow Steps: If told to move cars or clear the area, doing as the crew says keeps things on track.

After Tree Removal

1. Stump Removal

Once the tree is down, you must choose what to do with the stump. Some will leave it as part of the yard, but many prefer to grind it away. Highline Tree Care has stump grinding services that clear the stump, leaving your yard neat and set for fresh landscaping.

Perks of Stump Grinding:

Stops Regrowth: Grinding the stump deep down ensures the tree won’t grow back.

Boosts Looks: Removing the stump gives a more crisp look to your yard.

Lessens Risks: Stumps can trip people, more so where kids play or where mowing is done.

2. Site Cleanup

Tree removal in Werribee makes a large pile of waste, like limbs, leaves, and wood chips. Highline Tree Care will do a full cleanup, leaving your yard neat and tidy. The team clears all waste or, if you like, leaves wood chips for your yard or garden.

Best Practices:

Use Wood Chips: Reuse wood chips as mulch for your beds. This keeps the soil moist and stops weeds.

Inspect the Site: Once the team is done, walk the yard to check that all waste is gone and the area is safe.

3. Post-Removal Care

After the tree is gone, the space may need some care to return its look or prepare it for new plants. Based on the size and spot of the tree, you might want to plant grass, shrubs, or even another tree there. Highline Tree Care can give ideas for good replacement trees or plans for the area.

Points to think about:

Soil Health: Tree roots can drain soil nutrients, so think about boosting the soil before you plant new things.

Future Growth: Pick plants or trees that won’t outgrow the space or cause issues later on.

Concluding Words

Tree removal in Werribee is more than just cutting down a tree; it’s a task that needs careful plans, skilled work, and thoughtful care afterwards. By knowing what to expect before, during, and after the job, you can make wise choices and keep your space safe and lovely. Highline Tree Care’s team of skilled arborists is here to help you at each step, giving you expert, safe tree removal services made just for you.

Highline Tree Care is a team of expert arborists. They work to give top tree removal help. They put safety, skill, and joy first. They make sure each tree job is done with care. Reach out to Highline Tree Care to find out more about what they do and how they can help with your tree care.

[johnsonlandscaping]

Nurturing Nature: The Comprehensive Guide to Tree Services in Your Area

Trees are nature's pieces, standing tall and providing life, beauty, and shelter in our communities. However, maintaining the health and safety of these natural wonders is a task that requires knowledge, precision, and care. As homeowners or property managers seeking tree service near me, understanding the range of services available to keep your trees thriving is essential. In this article, we'll explore the various tree services offered by professionals dedicated to nurturing nature's giants.

The Importance of Professional Tree Service

The vitality of your landscape directly impacts the appeal and value of your property. Seeking out professional tree service ensures that every aspect of your tree care needs is addressed with expertise. From regular maintenance such as tree trimming to more complex procedures like tree removal or land clearing, trained arborists bring a wealth of experience to protect both your green assets and property.

Tree Removal - A Delicate Operation

Tree removal is sometimes necessary when a tree becomes a hazard or an obstruction that cannot be solved through trimming or other means. It could be due to disease, storm damage, or encroachment on structures or utility lines. Skilled professionals use state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to safely remove trees from any location, minimizing risk to people and property.

Regular Maintenance with Tree Trimming

Tree trimming goes beyond just improving a tree's appearance—it plays a crucial role in its health and longevity. Removing overgrown branches can prevent potential damage during storms and reducesreduceight on a tree's structure. Precision trimming also allows for better sunlight penetration and air circulation throughout the canopy, which promotes healthy growth.

Forestry Mulching for Land Management

Forestry mulching is an eco-friendly way to clear land without damaging the soil or surrounding vegetation. This method uses specialized equipment to cut, grind, and disperse vegetation over the ground surface as mulch. It's an efficient process for managing overgrowth that enriches the soil while helping control weeds and erosion.

Advanced Techniques with Crane Work

When trees are located in tight spaces or near valuable property elements where traditional methods are not feasible, crane work comes into play for safe removal. Using cranes can significantly reduce the amount of time required for tree removal while ensuring there’s no damage done to nearby structures.

Efficient Land Clearing Services

Land clearing involves removing trees from an area in preparation for construction or other land development projects. Whether it's for residential building lots or commercial properties needing space cleared quickly and effectively—professional tree service providers have you covered with comprehensive land land-clearingons?

Stump Grinding – The Finishing Touch

After a tree has been removed, stump grinding provides a clean slate for new growth or landscaping projects. Stump grinding machines turn stumps into wood chips below ground level so that grass can grow over it seamlessly without leaving any unsightly remnants behind.

In conclusion, finding reliable tree service near me encompasses everything from routine maintenance to specialized operations requiring advanced equipment like cranes for intricate tasks such as forestry mulching—all aimed at ensuring safety while enhancing natural the beauty around us.

Professional arborists bring their deep understanding of arboriculture into each task they undertake—whether it's clearing space through strategic land clland-clearings or artfully shaping trees via meticulous trimming practices.

For those who cherish their leafy companions on their properties but recognize when it’s time for skilled intervention—knowing what comprehensive services are available locally is key.

By entrusting your arboreal needs to seasoned professionals who provide these important services ensures you're investing in not only your immediate environment but also contributing positively towards larger a ecological balance.

Patrick Johnson Landscaping, LLC FLOYDS KNOBS, IN, 47119, US (502)-895-5582

[treeaestheticswa]

Stump Grinding Is it Right For Your Yard?

A rotting stump can attract wood-eating pests like termites and carpenter ants to your property, destroying other trees and plants and possibly invading your home. Stump grinding is an environmentally friendly way to get rid of these unwanted pests, while also creating a more visually appealing yard. Stump grinding is a quick, relatively cost-effective, and DIY-friendly alternative to tree removal. However, it’s important to weigh all the factors involved before deciding whether to tackle the project on your own or hire a professional service. In some cases, hiring a professional may be worth the extra expense to save you time and hassle, and ensure a safe and quality job. Stumps are unsightly and take up valuable space, making them difficult to use or enjoy in your landscape. Even worse, they can create tripping hazards and provide hiding places for dangerous pests to hide out. Stumps can also cause soil erosion and deterioration around the base of the stump, which can lead to further damage or expensive repairs in the future. Stump grinding not only improves the appearance of your yard, but can also increase curb appeal and value for your home. There are a few instances when stump grinding is not the best option, including when a large number of above-ground roots need to be removed, the stump is located in a hard-to-reach spot that requires equipment access, or it is too close to a building or foundation that could be damaged during the process. In these instances, consulting a professional can help determine the most appropriate method to meet your goals and budget. When evaluating your options for removing a tree stump, the first thing you need to consider is the size of the stump. Is it small, medium, or large? Then you will need to consider other factors like how much time you have to work on the project and how close it is to flammable objects, other trees, or buildings. To grind a stump, an arborist uses a machine called a stump grinder, which shaves away the top of the stump and buries the remains below ground level. A professional will assess the area and make sure that it is safe to work in, including ensuring there are no obstacles like rocks or other debris in the way. In addition, the operator will check to see if there are any nearby power lines or other structures that need to be protected from the grinding process. Once the safety checks are complete, the stump grinder can begin its work. Smaller grinders typically run on gas, while larger ones are powered by diesel fuel. They use a rotating blade with teeth arranged in a spiral to cut into the stump and break it up into smaller pieces. The resulting mulch can then be used to cover the stump and prevent it from growing back or attracting pests. After a stump is ground, some clients prefer to replant the area with grass or another tree, which can be done either by physically removing the root ball or using a chemical method. If you have this in mind, be sure to communicate it with your arborist so they can grind the stump deep enough for proper replanting. via https://treeaestheticswa.wordpress.com/2024/08/04/stump-grinding-is-it-right-for-your-yard/

[caboolturetreeremoval]

Stump Grinding Caboolture

Stump Grinding Caboolture

If you’re tired of seeing that unsightly stump in your yard, it’s time to hire a professional tree service. Whether you need a full tree removal or just want the stump ground down, you’ll find that these pros can help you get rid of it quickly and easily.

Stump grinding costs an average of $320, depending on the size of the stump and the number of pros that are needed. You can also rent a stump grinder for around $190 to $270 per day, but it’s best to call in a pro to do the job correctly.

You’ll need to pay for permits if your stump is close to a utility line or the area where you live. These can cost $100 to $500, depending on your city. You’ll also need to cover the costs of getting the stump removed from your property.

It is usually cheaper to remove the entire stump than to grind it down. This will ensure that the area is completely clear and that you won’t have to worry about a stump growing back in the future.

Stumps can be a safety hazard and can potentially attract pests to your home. They can also damage your foundation and pavers if left unattended.

They can also be a big visual problem in your garden, especially if they are rotting and decaying. Rather than leave them there, hire a professional tree service to remove them and give you a clean and well-kept lawn.

When you hire a professional tree service to handle your stump, you can rest easy knowing that they are licensed and insured to do the job safely. This is particularly important if you have children or pets at home.

You’ll also need to consider the amount of debris that will be left behind after the stump is removed. A contractor may charge you to haul the debris away, or they may give you a flat rate based on the diameter of the stump.

This debris can include wood chips and sawdust, so you’ll need to pay for it when you hire the pros. It can also include leaves, branches, and other items that have fallen from the tree.

After the stump is removed, you’ll need to replant or lay sod in its place. This can be a costly process, but it’s necessary if you want to make full use of the space.

It’s important to note that it can take years for a stump to decompose, so it’s best to have it removed sooner rather than later. Leaving it in the ground can cause problems for your soil, suffocate your grass or plants, and make it easier for pests to enter your home.

Having a tree stump removed can be an expensive task, but it’s a good investment that will improve the overall look of your lawn and increase your property value. Having a company like Hidden Oak Tree Care do your stump grinding will ensure that you’re left with a beautiful and healthy lawn.

source https://caboolturetreeremoval.wordpress.com/2023/03/23/stump-grinding-caboolture/

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 8: The Egg Festival

SATURDAY - SPRING 13 

True to the Sacred Timeline (as Shane had started to refer to it whenever Achilles brought it up), Strawberry Farms was well on its way out of the wilderness. Between Shane’s help, the occasional hand from the trio, and Alex who had stopped by Friday evening, everything was looking, as Achilles thought to himself, pretty damn good. One could finally walk across the land without having to make a detour around stray logs or boulders or weeds. 

In an alcove over by the western side of the farm, Achilles had ultimately kept a number of large, leafy oaks standing. He would have grinded the two thick tree stumps that Grandpa Dan had left behind out of the ground, but in a moment of inspiration during a midday search for shade, had decided to leave them as little chairs for sitting. To Pierre’s delight, he had purchased grass seeds to plant in the area, too. It could be… a fun sort of fairy garden for kids, or something. Put up a tire swing, plant some perennials… He had even ordered a small bird bath fountain. 

The repair company had finished the most pertinent mine cart route that morning, and Achilles had spent the better part of what was typically breakfast sending cart after cart from the bus stop down to Clint’s. That being said, an empty stomach was a small sacrifice to pay for no longer having to wheel 80 tons of rocks into Pelican Town and across the river. 

By noon, Achilles was knee deep in newly tilled flower beds, and loathing every second of it (not that he’d admit it to Shane)—if he hadn’t already been determined not to be a farmer, this really sealed the deal.

Yoba, why were there so many earthworms. Pink and slimy, wriggling their way through the dirt. Even during his lunch break, he hadn’t been able to escape their phantom crawl across his skin. And now, he thought, scowling at his latest victims squirming in the soil, there were two times as many damned worms as before (thanks to some overly-aggressive shovel work). 

“Disgusting, aren’t they,” Achilles said aloud, though nobody seemed to be there. He winced, flicking a few worms aside before stuffing a tulip bulb into the hole he had made. “Absolutely nauseating. Though they say they’re good for plant growth. Which perhaps you’d all like, I suppose?”

Ever since Shane had told him about the junimos, he’d had the peculiar sensation that someone was watching him. Even inside the farmhouse, Achilles hadn’t been able to shake his paranoia. Unperturbed however, and honestly more annoyed than afraid, he had simply decided to address his mysterious watcher head on. Perhaps the forest spirits wouldn’t mind his chatter. Perhaps they’d say something back. Or perhaps they’d grow tired of it all and leave him be. 

“Hey you! Achilles!” 

Achilles turned abruptly, spade brandished—a junimo? 

But no, to his slight disappointment, it was the grey mustache of none other than Lewis who was cresting over the small hill at the farm’s eastward entrance. 

“Good morning, Lewis—”

“Why aren’t you at the festival?” 

“Hmm?” Lewis or not, Achilles was happy to use this excuse to look away from the worms and stood to meet the mayor at the porch. 

“The Egg Festival! I left a note in your mailbox.” 

Ah. Achilles never checked the mail. But he didn’t see a need to share that right now, not to someone whose mustache was bristling this hard, so he simply responded with, “Oh, the festival. Of course. Well, I’m working.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’m… working.” Achilles waved his gloved hands down towards the pile of flowers waiting to be planted. “I have to clean the property up if I want to sell it—”

 “It’s a festival day, nobody should be working. Come on down, we’ve been waiting for you.” 

“Pardon? Waiting for me? Why?” Achilles laughed politely. “I don’t need to be there, do I?” 

Lewis’ mustache dipped dramatically to this sides as he frowned. 

“Well… everybody comes out to these things.” Then he puffed himself up and adjusted his newsboy cap. “We’ve got folks from all over Zuzu who visit, and it’s a good way for us villagers to show those outsiders our sense of community. You know, show them what a great place Stardew really is. We’d love for you to be there, too.” 

“Ah, I see.” Achilles dusted the dirt from his gloves and took a suggestive step back down from the porch. “Well, Lewis, I really appreciate the invitation, but I’m afraid I have quite a few things I need to get done before dinner tonight—Evelyn and George have been kind enough to invite me over.” He shot Lewis what he hoped was a bright enough smile before grabbing his spade and making his way back to the pit of worms and tulips. “But please tell everyone I said hello!” 

“You come down and tell them yourselves!” Lewis, now clearly cross, folded his arms and gave a mean little stare. “It’s the first festival of the year—your grandpa and your dad never missed a single one when they lived here, you know.” 

Not the grandpa card! And his father—who had been a literal child at the time…

Achilles turned to face him, gearing up to fight back—how dare this sorry excuse for a mayor command him to waste a valuable day watching children hunt for eggs.

“Listen, Lewis, like I said, I really appreciate you coming out here to invite me like this, but I’m on a bit of a tight schedule— ” 

“I’m not leaving until you come with me to Pelican Town right now!” 

All right, fuck you, too.  

He was ready to throw politeness out the window, but a glance at the growing, wriggling pit of earthworms (truly, where in the world were they coming from?) weakened his resolve. And the sky—oh, such an effortless blue, not a single cloud…

He was way ahead of the Sacred Timeline (he hadn’t been entirely truthful about being on a tight schedule), perhaps it’d be good to… take a brief break. 

Swallowing his retort, he set his shovel gently on the ground with a sigh. “I should change.” 

“Hey now, maybe you’ll meet some nice out of towners,” Lewis called as Achilles made for the farmhouse. The old man’s eyes had softened just a smidge at Achilles’ surrender, but there was still a tinge of suspicion as he followed Achilles closely back onto the porch. Gross. Get away. “Maybe even a prospective buyer. We have folks from all over come out, you know. I’ll just wait out here for ya.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Achilles muttered for his (and any watching junimos’) ears only, shutting his front door behind him with as much bitterness good manners allowed. 

*****

Twenty minutes later, dressed in khakis and a button down featuring pastel orange rabbits, he accompanied Lewis back into Pelican Town, which had been brightly decorated for the occasion. 

Maypoles wrapped in flowery vines had been erected through the square alongside long tables piled high with deviled eggs, egg salads, frittatas, quiches—multiple chicken coops’ worth of eggs— and clothed in a lovely pistachio green. 

It wasn’t uncomfortably crowded, but the town’s population of 30 (give or take) had definitely at least quadrupled in size. A sea of pastel people.

Good choice with the shirt. 

Contrary to what Lewis had said though, he had definitely not been missed. Nobody shouted his name or said hello, he hadn’t waltzed in to any sort of applause. In fact, the mayor himself had straight up abandoned him after Achilles had firmly turned down the offer of a basket for the upcoming egg hunt.

At 5’11” (well, maybe 5’10” if you discounted his hair) Achilles wasn’t short, but he still struggled to locate a familiar face as he maneuvered among the crowd, squeezing past children with face paint while politely smiling at their harried parents and dodging rabbit-shaped balloons. 

A flash of dull purple hair caught his attention after a few minutes, and he gently pushed his way closer to what seemed to be a photo-op. Someone dressed in a giant pink rabbit suit was posing with children in front of a flower-filled backdrop.

“Hey, Shane!” he called, raising his hand in greeting. The man was currently waiting in the line with a young girl; it must’ve been his goddaughter, Jas. They supposedly weren’t related by blood, but she shared Shane’s purple hair, hers currently pulled into two short pigtails. 

His greeting had caught Shane’s attention, but after also catching his eye, Shane proceeded to look stubbornly away. 

Achilles scowled. “Ok that’s fine…” He turned back north towards the food tables. Perhaps he’d be able to grab a bite and sneak back to the farm… 

“Heard you aren’t participating in the egg hunt.” 

Another shock of purple hair—this one attached to a much friendlier face—had appeared. Leave it to Abigail to track him down, she always seemed to be just a hair’s breadth away. 

“Don’t be a party pooper, bro, everyone participates, it’s just about to start.” 

“Hello, Abigail.” Achilles stuffed his hands in his pockets upon seeing the extra basket in her hand. That didn’t seem to dissuade her though, as she waved it in his face, the green and purple ribbons whipping his nose. “Ah. I don’t believe it’d be quite fair for me to compete against children in an egg hunt.” 

“Fine, but your loss.” She popped her bubble gum and stacked her baskets. “There’s usually a pretty fab prize.” 

Just as she finished her sentence, Lewis had taken to a stage that had been erected by the side of the saloon, clearing his throat into the mic: participants in the annual Egg Hunt should please head over to the center of the square, right next to Meteor Elementary’s art gallery.  

“Does she… at least go easy on them?” New habits died hard, too, it would seem. He had spoken aloud to no one in particular as he watched Abigail sprint full speed to the graveyard at Lewis’ whistle, her stride double that of the scrambling children left in her wake. 

“That wouldn’t be very Abby now, would it,” came Alex’s voice from beside him. 

Achilles jumped. Alex and Penny—a Pelican Town ginger whom Alex had introduced Achilles to last week (Alex just knew all the women, didn’t he)—had joined him by the face-paint tent.

“Oh, hello, didn’t see you there.” He made some space so the two could stand next to him as they watched the carnage unfold. Alex’s hands, Achilles noticed, were gripping Penny’s shoulders. “I suppose you’re right, it wouldn’t…” 

“Elderflower soda?” A teacher at the local elementary school, Penny had a sweet face that matched her light, breathy voice, although the dark circles under her eyes seemed to suggest there was something else at play beneath her sunny disposition. She handed him a glass, just as Abigail “accidentally” sent a young tween sprawling. 

“Is this allowed? It’s a bit much, isn’t it?” said Achilles lightly, taking a sip as Alex moved to stand in between the two. 

“Abigail at the Egg Festival or Abigail in general?” 

Achilles made a rather noncommittal noise. She had been a friendly face, all things considered. Very welcoming. But… 

“I get it. She’s great! In small doses.” Alex flashed him a conspiratorial grin. “Don’t worry, I know Penny’s not a fan.” He bumped her shoulder with his, causing the soda to spill slightly. 

Penny’s mouth tightened as she searched for a more diplomatic phrase. “I never said I wasn’t a ��fan,’ Alex. I just think she��s…” 

Achilles lips couldn’t help but turn upwards just a bit, but his smile was quickly dampened as Abigail herself came barreling past, screaming at the top of her lungs in what may have been an intimidation tactic. “Young. She’s… young.” 

*****

All in all, she indeed did not go easy on the kids, swooping in twenty minutes later with 28 eggs, having bulldozed her way past Vincent, Jas, and the other visiting children alike on her road to victory. 

Achilles watched her claim her “pretty fab prize” (a straw hat) with a vague sense of nausea, but his well practiced poker face failed to betray his feelings of secondhand embarrassment. 

*****

The festival passed fairly quickly after that. Achilles had managed to dodge Abigail and her antics after the egg hunt, but still found himself bullied into getting his picture taken with the Egg Festival Rabbit (whom he strongly suspected from the smell was Willy, the local fisherman who owned the fish shop along the beach) by none other than Mayor Lewis. 

“Be a team player, Achilles.” He had hurled the words from across the food table. “We are a community.” 

There was in fact quite a lot of bullying going around today, Achilles thought ruefully to himself as he checked the time on his cell. That reminded him, he still needed to order a new battery for his watch… should’ve added that to the Sacred To-Do list (Shane had re-named that as well)… 

But after getting bullied into purchasing some strawberry seeds by Demetrius (“Correct me if I’m wrong, but your farm is called ‘Strawberry Farms,’ if I’m not mistaken?) and some sort of thick stalked, seasonal plant by Pierre (“You’ve got to liven up that house somehow”) it was finally time. 7 o’clock. Dinner with the Mullners.

Alex had introduced him to Grandma Evelyn and Grandpa George last week shortly after the Mine Endeavor (as Achilles had dubbed it in his head), but it had been very quick—Evelyn had been in a bit of a rush to get back to something left in the oven and George had merely hacked a loogie and told him to buzz off after a curt hello. But it was all smiles this time as he entered the foyer of 1 River Road. Except, oh fuck, he had left the bottle of wine he had purchased for the occasion back at home. Fucking Lewis, messing with his plans… 

Showing up empty handed now, you idiot…

“Oh, you look just like your grandfather did when he was your age!” Evelyn exclaimed with a warm, if frail, embrace. “He was such a handsome man!” 

At this, Grandpa George had huffed, but he gave Achilles a smart nod and said, “Good to see you again, young man.” 

“Likewise, you as well, George—oh, but who is this!” Achilles gasped as a chunky brown dog came tottering its way through the brightly lit hall, paws clattering on the hardwood floors. 

“Dusty! Come here, boy!” Alex knelt down as Dusty the dog burrowed his head into Achilles’ waiting lap, wriggling into his khakis. “Oh, he likes you.” 

“Dusty likes everybody,” George grunted. 

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true…” 

“What kind of dog is he?” Achilles asked, scratching behind Dusty’s long ears. 

“Not entirely sure, we figure maybe part beagle just cause of the ears, but he’s so big. The pound thought maybe part German Shepherd?” 

“He is a big boy, aren’t you, Dusty? Aren’t you?” Yoba, he missed dogs. They had had a number growing up, but in Hyacinthia, he had spent so much time in the office he had felt it’d be irresponsible to adopt one.

“Well you boys have fun now, George and I’ll finish up here,” Evelyn said, making her way back to the kitchen as Dusty, excited at the unusually exorbitant amount of attention, began to whine and drool steadily on Achilles’ arm. “I do apologize, dear, I thought this casserole would be ready in time, but someone forgot to purchase onions!” Over by the pantry, George rolled his eyes and gnashed his dentures.

“Oh no, no problem whatsoever.” Achilles immediately stood, following her while surreptitiously wiping his sleeve against the side of his pants. “How can I help?” 

“Oh, nonsense, dear! We’re just about almost done, you and Alex go have fun, we’ll call you down.” 

“No, really, happy to help—let me set the table—”

“You’ll be more of a nuisance than assistance,” George grunted yet again. The long knife in his hand caused Achilles to take an unconscious step back. “This woman is very particular about how she runs things in here, you take my word for it—you don’t much look like someone who knows their way around a kitchen anyway. Now you two go hang out or whatever the kids call it these days.” 

 And so, feeling like he was in middle school all over again, Achilles found himself following Alex down the hall, Dusty traipsing behind them. A handful of crooked photographs lined the walls—Alex in a grid ball uniform, baby Alex laughing on a swing set, high school Alex at prom with an unmistakably gorgeous teenage Haley… 

“My room,” Alex said, opening the door rather sheepishly. “Um, we can just chill here, if that’s good with you. We don’t have people over too often…” 

It was large; judging from Achilles’ estimation of the house’s dimensions (which he now found himself subconsciously doing ever since toiling over the farm’s proportions), it must’ve been the master bedroom.

Interesting. 

Yellow gridball wallpaper covered the walls under faded posters of bodybuilders and other sports stars. Charts displaying the alphabet and multiplication tables hung next to a nearly-bare desk, while a small row of stuffed animals and action figures lined the window, painfully neat. Similar to how he had described Abigail just hours earlier, the room felt… young. 

Alex took a seat on the bed and looked determinedly at the slightly discolored orange rug that Dusty had decided to lie on. 

“You play?” asked Achilles, nodding at the wallpaper, more to break the silence than anything else. “I saw the picture in the hall.” 

“Yeah, in middle school, a bit in high school. I’ll still throw a ball around with Sam every once in awhile, but was actually kinda more of a swimmer, I guess…” Alex trailed off, biting his lip as he leaned back on his bed, fingers digging into the red duvet. “Grandma put the paper up when I moved here.” 

“Oh, how long have you been with them?” 

“Since I was 12.” But if Achilles had wanted to know more, Alex was being unusually cagey.

Clocking the discomfort, Achilles swiftly walked over to a tall bookshelf across from the door. Books! Always a great neutral topic… “A ha, this is where it’s at.”

His fingers danced across the spines—pausing at the books he recognized, taking a second here or there to savor the selections of this mini library—until they found, with a small thrill, there on the second shelf from the top, a well read copy of Henry Spector and the Main Street Manor. 

He gently pulled it out. Holding it out in front of chest, cover facing away from him, he did a bit of a half-jig towards Alex who seemed to instantly relax. He stood from his bed and took the chapter book from Achilles. 

“I told you I wasn’t lying.” Alex tapped the cover. “I was a big fan.” 

“Was?” Achilles said in mock outrage, returning to the shelf where he gestured at the other five books in the series, each with its own well-creased spine. 

Alex laughed, face beaming as he pulled them all out one by one, turning to stack them atop the desk. “Was, am—you’ll have to sign these now, you know.” He handed Achilles a fountain pen. How perfect, he had always preferred signing with those… 

“And who shall I make it out to, young man?” Achilles took the chair Alex had pulled out for him. He scooted it forward, noticing, as he reached for the first book, a small framed photograph of what must have been a toddler Alex laughing in the arms of a kind faced, young woman. 

“Hey, you know what? Surprise me. Write whatever you want.” Alex’s grin was wide. “You know, 15 year old me would be dying right now.” 

Swiftly readjusting his gaze from the photo, Achilles opened the first book to the title page and signed, “To Alex. My only fan. Achilles Desrosiers.” 

“Okay, well that’s a little depressing.” Alex leaned on his arms atop the desk, squinting over Achilles’ shoulder. “Seb’s a fan, too.” 

To one of my two fans. -Achilles Desrosiers 

Alex took the second book from him and watched closely as Achilles signed something equally pathetic in the third. 

“Hey, write something a little happier, will you?” Alex smacked Achilles on the head with Henry Spector and the Ghoul in School (#3). “I won’t stand for my favorite author ever doing this to himself.” 

To my rudest fan, who violently assaulted me in the head with the book preceding this one. -Achilles Desrosiers.  

“You were a Ferngill Times bestselling author,” Alex groaned after a minute, leaning back against the desk as Achilles feverishly scribbled a note in the fifth book in the series, somehow already back in the heightened rhythm of book signings. “Didn’t you have a TV deal at some point? What happened to that?” 

A sharp inhale. Achilles gripped the sixth novel (Henry Spector’s Final Phantom), his knuckles white against the paperback as he took a pause from signing. Taking a deep but silent breath, he flipped rapidly through the pages, letting them flow meditatively against his thumb as the scent of the yellowed paper lightly washed over him.

It was an unusual edition—he noticed that now, flipping through. Left justified, wide margins, an unusual, cartoonish sans serif font. 

A long-buried memory resurfaced; a special edition of the series had been printed as a part of his publisher’s celebration of National Dyslexia Month. Huh. Well that explained why Alex hadn’t read Apparition, since according to Eddie Bloomsbury, Apparition was “a struggle to read for even the most capable readers…”

He pushed out those thoughts and flipped through the book again until he landed at the cover page. 

To Alexander Mullner, my favorite neighbor in Stardew Valley. Thanks for reading. -Achilles Desrosiers 

“Alex is short for Alexander, right?” Achilles asked, fountain pen resting against his chin. Fool, should’ve checked first. 

Alex, who was still taking a beat to decipher Achilles’ pointy handwriting, nodded.

“Well, there you have it,” Achilles said, popping the cap back on the pen and taking all six books into his hands. “Thank you for coming to the signing.” He headed back to the shelf and slid them neatly in place.  

“No, thank you, really!” Alex moved to clap Achilles on the back but smacked air instead, as the latter had knelt down to get a better look at the rest of the shelf. 

“You’ve got a lot of good stuff here,” Achilles said, but he didn’t touch anything further. Digging around had already been rather impolite, he thought to himself with minor embarrassment. It’s not like they were friends…

Friendly, sure, but friends… 

From behind him, he heard a sigh. He could see out of the corner of his eye Alex shuffle his feet. “You know, I haven’t actually read most of the books on this shelf.” 

Achilles stood back up to full height and glanced at Alex who was bitting his lip again and running a hand through the gel in his hair. “Hmm?” 

“Yeah, I mean I’ve read your stuff of course, and some of the other stuff down there… but like I’m not a… great reader. It’s why I used to listen to a lot of stuff on tape.” 

“For sure, I get it.”  

It was Alex’s turn to kneel, his hands digging around for something on the cluttered bottom shelf. 

“Sometimes I get worried, you know. About, I don’t know, being stupid or something. Worthless…” 

“You’re not stupid—” 

“My mom got me into comics though, when I was a kid. She thought maybe it’d be easier. A ha.” He had found what he had been looking for and pulled out from the back of the shelf a stack of colorful comic books emblazoned with various super heroes and villains. “Haven’t really kept up, so these are pretty old. Gotta wonder how much they’re worth now—not that I’d sell them, of course— but they were fun. Used to draw my own.”  

“Oh yeah? No way, me too.” Achilles knelt down next to him, sifting through the bright covers. “Nimbus was my favorite, I think.” 

“Wait seriously? Me too!” Alex shuffled through the stacks and pulled out a couple thin volumes featuring a blue-caped superhero flying among the clouds. 

“A thing like that.” Achilles took the volume Alex was offering. “It pushed me down a serious weather rabbit hole, I wanted to be a weatherman like Zedd so badly… I can still probably name you all the different types of clouds.” 

Dusty, inspired by their laughter, trotted over and took a seat between them. 

“Wow, I haven’t looked through these in years,” Alex murmured, just the tiniest glint in his eyes as he flipped through the Nimbus volume in his hands. From his position, Achilles could make out familiar panels featuring a showdown between Nimbus and arch-nemesis, Tsai Clone. Flashes of neon blue, green, and pink were likely Zedd Finch, Nimbus’ best friend (and side kick, depending on the era). The hero’s on-again off-again girlfriend, Meg Maizel, had her own cover, the history-making volume now peaking out from under Dusty’s paws. 

Achilles joined him in flipping through an issue with his own hearty dose of nostalgia. It had been awhile for him, too. 

After a minute or two, Alex began to neatly stack the comics and set them gently back on the bottom shelf. 

“When I moved in with my grandparents they tried to get me to read like, real books and stuff. But it just gave me a headache—I mean, it’s my fault, I know I could’ve been better about practicing and stuff…” Alex reached to pet Dusty as the dog settled into his lap. “It’s not that I don’t want to read—like some of my favorite TV shows and movies and stuff are based on books, of course I want to read them some day… I don’t know. It’s annoying. And I guess I’m just too… lazy to really sit down and try to do it…” 

“Do you still listen to things on tape? Maybe while you exercise.” Achilles nodded at the neat stack of weights in the corner. “Although I get it if you don’t like doing that, I usually jog in silence.” 

“No, yeah, I usually listen to stuff, but mostly music, easier to concentrate. And those books are so long, you know? And my headphones are also messed up—I’m just making excuses now, aren’t I?” Alex laughed lightly as Dusty stuffed his nose up his shirt. “Hey, excuse you, Dusty.”

Shit, can I be Dusty?

Stop that, you perv. 

“Well… we all have our strengths and weaknesses.” Achilles shrugged, nodding once again at the weights. 

“Sure, and my strength is being able to row 2000 meters in six and a half minutes and yours is being able to read a menu without wanting to gouge your eyes out. Which one’s more helpful in life, do you think?”

Alex had half-spat the words—some sarcasm, sure, he had come to expect, but Achilles had never heard Alex so… bitter before. 

Assuming (and hoping) the question was rhetorical and deciding he’d give Alex a beat of figurative privacy, Achilles began to focus on brushing Dusty’s tail with his fingers. 

We all have our strengths and weaknesses…

When he was younger, his parents had emphasized that the ideal career for any individual, what one should ideally want to pursue and commit to in life in order to maximize success, lay at the intersection of three different points: 1) what you were good at, i.e. your strengths, 2) what you enjoyed doing, i.e. your interests, and 3) what there was a market for, i.e. what society valued. 

Those words—while well intentioned, and meant to educate more so than intimidate—had nevertheless plagued Achilles over the years and were partly the reason why he was in Stardew Valley stripping paint and carving up worms to begin with, rather than making six figures at a desk over in Hyacinthia. 

He hadn’t quit in a blaze of anti-capitalistic glory fueled by an eagerness to escape a soul-crushing job and find solace and meaning from the natural world. No, it had been much simpler than that, the reasons far less admirable. 

“Sorry.” At Alex’s voice, Achilles glanced up from the small pile of fur he had managed to absentmindedly brush from Dusty. His host’s eyes and tone both had brightened to their usual selves once again.

“Didn’t mean to complain. You’re right, of course—strengths, weaknesses and all that, everyone’s different.” Achilles had to hold back his snort. “But hey, who knows. Maybe I’ll take another crack at the books and one day we’ll be able to have dinner and discuss… phi-lo-so-phy. Isn’t that what you smart people talk about?” 

“You’re smart, Alex,” Achilles said in a softer tone than he had intended. 

“Eh, you can’t really make a decent living in this world without a brain, I’ll tell you that,” Alex said with a whistle that caught Dusty’s attention. “Hey, speaking of which, you need to stop by the gym some time. Can’t remember if I told you, I teach classes down at Orange Grove over in Zuzu, you should swing by.” 

That explained the mini-first aid kit he had had in his duffel that day down in the mines. 

“Swing by? Why? Are you calling me weak?” Achilles narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “Or are you paid based on class attendance and need me to help you in your quest for a brainless decent living?” 

“Ha ha, very funny. No, I’ve been trying for years to get people from the Valley to stop by but people rarely ever do… it’s just nice to see a face from home, you know?” 

There was a knock at the door. They hadn’t closed it behind them and George was lurking in the doorway.

“Dinner’s ready, boys.” 

“Perfect timing, thank you, George,” Achilles said as Alex gestured for him to exit the room first. “Alex here is ready to discuss philosophy.” 

[treeremovalpensacola]

Step by Step: Top 5 of 2022

If you live in Pensacola, it's just a matter of time that you have to do the inevitable and remove a tree. Tree Removal Pensacola is a tree removal company that specializes in stump grinding, tree removal, and arborist services. They have been in business for over 10 years and have the experience and expertise to get the job done right. Fully licensed and insured, so you can rest assured that your property is in good hands. Pensacola tree service is a company that specializes in removing trees. They have been doing this for over 10 years and they are really good at it. They also do stump grinding, which means they get rid of the stump left behind after the tree is removed. They are fully licensed and insured, so you can be sure that your property is in good hands. 1. How to effectively plow a parking lot Before it snows, survey the property you’ll be plowing to check for obstacles—such as speed bumps, curbs, sidewalks, shrubs, fire hydrants and fences—that may become hidden by fallen snow. When plowing in dirt or gravel, lower the plow shoes. This will raise the blade to prevent scraping away the surface. When plowing on asphalt or concrete, raise or remove the plow shoes to scrape as close to the surface as possible. Follow these steps to effectively plow a parking lot. Source: Boss Snowplow 2. How to quickly install annuals Instead of having your crews spend hours hunched over miles of empty beds, use this method from Cartwright Landscaping, a full-service design, installation and maintenance company in Richmond, Va., to install annuals quickly and efficiently using only the plastic cells they’re purchased in. Follow these steps to quickly finish the job and fill the bed with colorful blooms—no digging required. Sources: Cartwright Landscaping; University of Illinois Extension 3. How to achieve good stripes For many landscape pros, there’s something satisfying about creating perfect stripes on a client’s lawn. Achieving this high-end look is as simple as bending the blades of grass in different directions and waiting for the sun to shine, which creates “light” or “dark” stripes. When blades of grass are bent away from the viewer, the stripe appears lighter in color because sunlight is reflecting off the long, wide part of the blade. When the blades of grass are bent towards the viewer, the stripe appears darker because the tips of the blades are less reflective. Mowing a lawn in rows of alternating directions provides visible stripe patterns. Follow these steps to create different styles of lawn striping patterns. Source: Scag Power Equipment, Scag.com | illustrations: David Preiss 4. How to calculate mulch needs When it comes to mulch, having too much can be just as bad as not having enough. By using a few simple charts and equations, contractors can determine how many cubic feet of mulch they need for jobs with beds of any shape and size. The same equations also will work to calculate needs for other materials, such as topsoil and stone. Source: Kalamazoo Landscape Supply 5. How to prep a landscape bed Annual color, perennials, ornamental grasses and other plant selections can make a huge impact to your clients’ landscapes. But before you start installing them, you need to prep the bed to make sure the plants will grow and thrive. Here are your three steps. Source: Ben Bowen, landscape designer, Ross NW Watergardens in Portland, Ore. Illustrations: David Preiss Save The post Step by Step: Top 5 of 2022 appeared first on Landscape Management.

[sinkix]

Haikyuu!! │Boys reaction to you calling them ‘Daddy’│ Ft. Daichi, Iwaizumi, Kuroo & Kageyama

Okay SO, I took inspo from @animewh0re ‘s  ‘Kuroo Tetsurou x Accidental Daddy HC’  post so big shout out to her ly bb - be sure to give them a follow <3

For this post I picked some of the characters I felt would be more likely to have a daddy kink so their reactions would be the most interesting/comical whether the reader was doing it was intentionally or not. There were some others I had in mind that I may make into a second part. I got a little carried away writing these as you will see lmao, oopsie.

! All characters are 18+ - Contains NSFW content !

My Ko-fi  - Because a caffeinated Kix is a productive one.

Without further ado, enjoy ! ~

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･

Daichi:

I feel like Daichi low-key already knew he had a daddy kink

Like somewhere deep in that dudes soul he just had a fuckin hunch.

However he never brought it up to you because he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, being the kind and considerate dude he is.

One night you were both just relaxing and watching a movie, he was tracing his finger along your thigh because let’s face it he is 100% a thigh man.

At some point you began getting restless, so you shifted yourself to face him, propping yourself up against his knee as you leaned down to kiss him, cupping your hands around his cheeks. He grunts in approval, cheekily sliding his hands down to squeeze your ass, using the moment of surprise to slide his tongue in and deepen the kiss. He’s pretty crafty when he wants to be.

After a few minutes you could feel yourself growing impatient, raising the hem of your baggy shirt and grinding your clothed slit against the ridges of his thigh. 

Daichi’s weakness #8 activated, thigh riding.

He drags his palms against your hips, taking control of your vigorous movements and forcing more pressure against your cunt and causing you to whimper. Lowering your head next to his, soft moans grace against the shell of his ear in wisps that send shivers down his spine.

You can sense Daichi’s own dwindling patience as the momentum becomes desperate with the way he’s now hastily grinding your hips down onto him, groaning at the sensation of your juices dripping through the thin fabric and cooling against the skin of his thigh.

All of a sudden a long and breathy “Mhmmm~ daddy” escapes your lips, and this dude is so taken aback.

Snapping your head up to face him, his eyes are glazed over with an intensity enough to make your core tremble, your cheeks flushing at the realisation of what you just blurted out starts to sink in. 

“Fuck, I want to hear you say that again baby.”

Without warning he flips you over and on to the couch, hovering over you as his hips buck against the wetness covering your clothed core, eliciting more moans as he sucks on the tender skin of your neck.

“A-ah daddy...” 

“more.”

His tone was desperate and commanding, only further igniting the pleasure growing between the two of you.

Trailing his hands down to the edge of your underwear and slipping them inside, his fingers find their way to your clit and rub the area in soft, circular motions, sucking harder against the skin of your neck and streeling his tongue along the bruised aftermaths.

“Daddy..”

“Again.”

You didn’t pay any mind to the rest of the movie, and you both had a lot of fun with this new found kink the two of you shared.

Iwaizumi:

Since Iwa radiates big dom energy and you cannot convince me otherwise, I feel like he is also one that just has a hunch that this is something he’s into.

You already have a hella Dom x Sub relationship sexually so this experimentation was probably long awaited. A slip up no less, and an embarrassing one.

It was a late Friday evening after school, the sun was already long gone yet you were still helping Iwa and Oikawa practise by tossing for them as many times as they requested. How they weren’t already beyond the point of burn out you didn’t know.

Glancing at the wall clock which read ‘8:23pm’, Iwa huffed and rubbed the back of his head. “All right, it’s time to call it a night.” “But Iwa-chaaaann--” Oikawa interjected. “No. Plus, I’m sure (Y/N) is exhausted by now hm?” He whips round to face you and you nod in agreement, eyes hooding from fatigue at the long days events. “Fineee.” Oikawa grumbles, pouting his lips playfully and sending you a wink, rolling your eyes and sticking your tongue out at him in response.

A few minutes later, most of the balls and club equipment are packed away. You’re tossing the last few balls into the basket when Iwa saunters up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist which sends the ball tumbling across the floor. 

“Ah, daddy don’t-” 

silence.

Pure. utter. silence.

The words had escaped from your mouth before you could stop them.

The sound of the ball rolling echoes throughout the room and you can feel Iwa’s entire body tense up while in his hold, hands digging into your hips as he lets out a low grunt. You sheepishly look in Oikawa’s direction, who’s shooting you both a glance as if to say ‘so this what y’all get up to?’ Attempting to stifle his snickers and the sudden light his face has been brightened with.

Little did he know this was the first time you had actually called him that, and it was raging a lustful fire through his body. The body now roughly thrusted up against you.

You had a feeling Iwa would never hear the end of this.

Walking a fine line between pressing against your body and full on grinding, he utters his next few words as abruptly as possible. 

“You can head on out Oikawa, me and (Y/N) will finish up cleaning.”

This only furthers his amusement, the cogs in his head turning as he gives a quick nod, strolling toward the gym doors painstakingly slow as if savouring every last ounce of tension brewing in the air. “Ooookay, have fun, daddy-chan.” The howls of his laughter can be heard even after the doors swing shut, you two stay rigid until his voice fades off in the distance.

“Follow me, now.” 

Without waiting for a response, he grabs you by the wrist and drags you into the storage room, slamming you against the locker, he stares down at you hungrily as his lips crash against yours, hands ravaging every curve of your body. Pulling away, a string of saliva connects as his lips brush against the crook of your neck. “I want you to say that again, little slut.” Snaking into the waistband of your shorts and dragging a digit against your slit, the words flow out effortlessly. “D-daddy please...” 

“Fuck, I’m going to have so much fun with you, kitten.”

And fun with you he did.

Kuroo:

Y’all are always clowning and pulling some buffoonery on each other so this time you figured you’d kick it up a notch.

Kenma and Kuroo were talking while the rest of the team were doing warm-down stretches after practise. 

Cue operation ‘Make Kuroo squirm’. Commencing stage 1.

Lingering behind Kuroo, you rest your chin on his shoulder and fold your arms around his waist, pulling him in for one of your behind-hugs that he adores.

oh how naive he was.

Swaying lovingly from side to side, you take the opportunity when Kenma looks away. With the most innocent of tones you could muster, you tilt your head upward, dragging your teeth gently against the lobe of his ear, and strike.

“Daaaaddy?”

When I tell you homeboys body freezes up, I mean that shit is like an iceberg that could cause Titanic 2.0

Kuroo whips his head round to face you, wide-eyed and eyebrow cocked as if to say ‘damn you really just went there?’ 

You smile sweetly, fluttering your lashes and feigning an innocence which you know drives him up the wall, a ‘try me bitch’ expression darting in your eyes.

He smirks at this, huffing under his breath so quietly it’s barely audible. 

“You’re so in for it later, kitten.”

You knew this, but it was more than worth seeing him suffer for the time being.

Kenma’s attention is now directed back to Kuroo after watching Lev get tangled in the volley net like a fly done dirty by the Darwin theory.

Commence stage 2.

They continue their conversation, all the while your hand is roaming stealthily under his shirt, trailing along every line, curve and crevice of his abs and pectoral region. 

Kuroo is whipped for the sensation of you feeling him up, he won’t ever admit to it but he caves under your touch.

You feel his posture stiffen as your hands hover above the region of his crotch.

Gotcha.

“What’s wrong, daddy?” Your voice is only loud enough for Kuroo to hear, and judging by the way Kenma looks at him next you can imagine his face is nothing short of priceless.

Pudding head senses something awry with Kuroo because my guy looks well and truly stumped.

“Uh, excuse us a sec.” 

Kuroo without warning flings your body over his shoulder and strolls toward the gyms entrance. You playfully whack his back with your fists and flail your legs, barking at him to let go. The whole team turns their attention to you and laughs.

“Get some (Y/N)! Lev hollers, and the last thing you see is Yaku slapping him up-side the head before the doors close.

Placing you back on your feet, he doesn’t give you a second to adjust before kabe-donning you against the building wall, the rain only further adding to the steamy atmosphere you had created.

Grabbing your wrist and guiding it to his shorts, your fingertips brush against the tent straining against the crimson fabric.

“See how hard you’ve made me princess? I can’t go ahead with the team meeting like this. Be a good slut for daddy and get on your knees, I’ll gladly make a mess of that pretty little face.”

You comply, shivering as the damp grass caresses the skin of your knees.

“You like calling me daddy, huh? That turn my little whore on?” Kuroo grunts, thrusting himself repeatedly into the back of your throat until his balls touch your chin. Tears well in your field of vision and start streaming down your cheeks which he wipes away tenderly. “Well, I’ll make sure you call me that more often.”

10 minutes and a very sore throat later, you both finish up and Kuroo looks more than satisfied, running his fingers through your disheveled hair and marvelling at the mess he made of your makeup.

“Clean yourself up in the restroom princess, I’ll see you back inside and we’ll continue this later. I’m far from done.”

With a sly smirk and a peck on the cheek, he walks back into the gym.

Needless to say he’s definitely going to make you call him daddy from now on, and you got many suggestive stares when you made your embarrassing debut back into the gym.

Kageyama:

Okay so the thought has probably never crossed Kags mind since his head is filled with like 98% volleyball.

The other 2% being the undying love he has for you. But hey, 2% is still 2%, I’ll take it.

Your sex life was although very satisfying, pretty vanilla. The only time it got really intense was if Kags had a bad day or was bubbling with jealousy, in which case a surprising and un-tamable dom side of him emerges. 

This often made you ponder what would happen if you addressed him under a title with said connotations. The curiosity of how he would react was slowly ebbing away at you.

So one day, being the scheming little shit you are, decided to test the waters.

The day had started off pretty well, it was a Saturday and you were taking a walk around town. 

Kags wanted to grab some snacks so you headed to the store, agreeing to wait outside. 

A few minutes go by and he still hasn’t come out, however the roaming eyes of a guy opposite left you feeling incredibly uneasy.

You shifted in place awkwardly, until he decides to approach you.

Up close he was sleazy, with a menacing glint in his eyes that made you recoil.

Resting his elbow on the wall beside you, he leans in way too close for comfort.

“Hi baby, you’re not with anyone are you? Mind giving me your number?”

His voice was low and threatening, as if daring you to decline his order than was snidely masked as an offer.

Mustering up all the courage you had, you raised your chin and stared up at him defiantly. “No, I have a boyfriend.” 

He chuckles at this, leaning in closer and challenging you further.

“Well, I don’t see him.”

“I’m right here.”

There Kags was, standing outside the entryway to the store, bearing the most livid expression you had ever seen. You’re pretty sure there were flames surrounding his aura.

The guy backs up, letting out a causal whistle before wordlessly turning in the other direction, leaving the two of you alone again at last.

“Tobio wha-”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fi-”

“We’re going home.” 

The walk was silent and you could sense the tension in the surrounding atmosphere.

After opening the door and tossing the bags to the side, Kags pins you against the front door and pulls you in for a fervid make out, intertwining your tongues and fighting for the dominance which he easily obtains.

He runs his hands ravenously over every inch of your upper body, making his way down south until he reaches your underwear, using one hand to grind his digits along your folds while the other fondles your breasts.

Suddenly, you have a lightning bolt moment and decide to put your thoughts to the test.

“Mhmm-..Daddy..”

What you just did flipped a switch on inside Kags he never knew existed.

He pauses for a moment, staring at you with wide eyes and heated cheeks, he actually looks choked up.

“w..what did you just say...?”

“...Daddy?”

At this point he straight up loses it.

Picking you up bridal style, he carries you to the bedroom and bends you over his knee, hastily unbuckling his belt and folding it into a make-shift whip.

“Count each time I spank you, and fucking thank me when you do it.”

Stunned, you nod feebly, still processing this side of him you have never seen before.

whack.

“A-h! One. thank you...”

“Thank you what?”

“Thank you, daddy.”

Kags traces the red mark decorating your ass lovingly with his finger before raising the belt again for a second blow. “You belong to me and only me, I’ll mark up your pretty body beautifully.”

You had belt marks on your rear for over a week and couldn’t walk right the following day lololol.

[chrisstumps05]

Removing Stump For New Grass

[officialscaramouche]

Companions

pairing: Chongyun x Xingqiu

summary: As playful, oddly suspicious, and teasing big Xingqiu was, the duo leave with some pretty good intel. With the end in sight, little Xingqiu feels a sudden disconnect with his traveling partner and begins to worry about going back to his time period.

warnings: none

word count: 4,106

also posted on ao3!

Ch. 4 of 5 < prev | next >

Xingqiu crossed his legs, leaning back against the tree. The bark dug into his back too uncomfortably but he knew that if he sat up again, it would tug at the delicate silk fibers and he didn’t want to ruin it any more than he already had. He admired the sunset before him as it flowed into the edge of the plains across the river. This was nice, he admitted, eyeing the area they had come from and began to understand a little bit about why he chose this secluded area to reside in later in life.

He observed the river closely, watching the current pull gently along, leaves drifting unbothered in the slight breeze. Lolling his head to the side lazily, he watched Chongyun drop small stumps of wood onto the ground. He stripped himself of his long, linen vest, his arms stretching either way to shrug the material off. Then, he rolled up his sleeves to air off his arms that procured a bit of sweat from cutting the small trees, his moisture-wicking sleeves clinging tightly to his muscle. And one by one, Chongyun placed a small log onto the large rocks there and brought down his blade with harsh force, splitting the wood in two. The longer he did this, the more tired he became. Soon he was panting heavily and sweating more than before. He tugged his sleeves off, exposing the skin finally, and wiped his forehead with the cloth.

Xingqiu was in a trance. Watching the exorcist chopping wood over and over again had him hypnotized. It wasn’t until the pole in his hands flew off his lap and down the river that he came back to Teyvat. “A-Ah!” Xingqiu dashed after it, feeling the bark pull apart the silk threads once more. “The pole!”

Chongyun, sitting on the rock now catching his breath, groaned when he saw the young boy chasing after the fishing rod knowing that he had to get it himself. He gets up reluctantly and begins a light jog that quickly becomes a sprint, swiping the rod from the river and pulling it back to at least try to catch the fish. He tugs it back firmly, reeling it in when the line tightens. He’s wrestling the fish as it tries desperately to swim away with it’s free meal but Chongyun is just as desperate to catch it after Xingqiu let every other fish go. “X-Xingqiu!”

The boy perks up and looks at Chongyun for orders. “Y-Yes! How can I--”

“Get the knife! I’ve almost got it!”

Xingqiu grimaced. “You want me to touch--”

“Quickly!!”

The scholar whines a little, stomping his feet in disgust. “Oh..fine!”

The boy kneels by the edge of the water, watching with disgust at the water thrashing about. Behind him, Chongyun plants his feet firmly on the ground, turning to the side and, with the last of his strength in a final attempt to get some food, he swings his arms down with a guttural shout, sending the fish flying into the air. It flies right over Xingqiu’s head and onto the ground, flopping in the dirt and grass. Chongyun tumbles to the ground, exhausted from the sudden burst of energy. Xingqiu stood there, holding the small pocket knife with both hands and staring at the fish. “Will you stun it already?” Chongyun breathes, his chest heaving.

Xingqiu shuts his eyes tightly, and slams the blunt end of his knife into the fish’s head. When he feels the fish still in his hand, he falls back and lets out a dramatic sigh. “I killed a fish…”

“Yeah and you’ve eaten plenty of em. Hurry up, give me the knife so I can clean it.” Chongyun crawls over to the boy and grabs the knife from his limp hand before crawling over to the fish and taking it to the rock. Xingqiu lifted his head slightly to watch Chongyun cut the head off the fish and slice it in half along the bottom. He stares intently at his back, admiring his broad shoulders for the first time since they left his estate. Oh, Xingqiu quit it, he thinks, laying his head back down. He rolls over and slowly picks himself up, dusting off his now ruined outfit.

He watches on, again, now filled with a tinge of sadness. After being on such a wonderful adventure-- his first adventure-- Xingqiu had briefly forgotten that he didn’t belong here. The Chongyun in front of him was not his Chongyun. This Chongyun was a seasoned exorcist. This Chongyun had lost his innocence a long time ago. This Chongyun does not look at him the way he looked at him. And most importantly, this Chongyun belonged to a different him. It was painfully obvious how loyal he was to his Xingqiu. His expressions when he talks about him are softer and kinder. His words are carefully selected and intentional. But when he talks to this Xingqiu, he’s terribly sarcastic and irritable.

Xingqiu missed his Chongyun. He missed the puppy-like devotion and the few words spoken. He missed being looked at like a treasure and being touched like a paper thin vase. His Chongyun was always so gentle and tender with him. His Chongyun appeared anywhere he wanted him to and at any time. His heart ached at the idea of not seeing Chongyun again, perhaps the same way that this Chongyun ached for his Xingqiu.

The boy watched as the older man ran bamboo sticks through the flesh of the fish, each puncture meticulous and careful. He placed them on his linen vest that he discarded moments ago to prevent the fish from getting dirty and opened a rolled-up pouch that had little vials neatly stored inside. Taking only a specific few, he dusted the fish skewers with what was inside the vials and the smell wafted over to Xingqiu. He recognized the smell of salt, pepper, dried onions, parsley, and mint. These were the spices Xingqiu liked in his fish. The boy shakes his head slightly and sighs with a small smile on his face. Maybe this Chongyun wasn’t very different from his at all.

It was quiet with the exception for the croaking frogs, the rippling river, and the fire cracking. The stars twinkled particularly brighter this far out from the city. Xingqiu had never seen the sky so plentiful and bright before. He stared up at the sky, resting his head on his arms beneath him. As he was getting lost in the stars, a bouquet of fish skewers wrapped in a leaf popped into view. Xingqiu sat up and took the skewers, noting the absence of any more on the fire. “You’re not gonna eat any?” Xingqiu took a bite out of the chunks of fish on his skewer and watched as Chongyun crushed different dried herbs between two rocks.

“No,” he answered, twisting the stone to grind the flowers into a fine powder. “I need three of them to give to the you hun ye gui. There’s only two left.”

Xingqiu blew gently on the steaming fish. “Yeah, two. One for me and one for you.”

Chongyun funneled the powder into an empty vial with a leaf and continued with other herbs. “Two would hardly be enough for you. It’s fine, I don’t eat much. I’m okay with fruits and nuts.”

Xingqiu peered at the exorcist through his lashes and pursed his bottom lip into a pout. “Is it because I’m a ‘growing boy?’”

“No, it’s because you’re a glutton.” Chongyun held the half-full vial up to look at it.

“What are you doing?” Xingqiu scooted over to the other side of the campfire, cradling the other skewer in his arm.

Chongyun gathered the next dried herb onto the center of the rock and began grinding it beneath another rock. “Making incense.”

“Oh yeah,” he said with a mouth full of fish. “What else did I say we needed?”

Chongyun paused and sighed. “...Guidance talismans.”

“Oh right...and you can’t make any?”

Chongyun chuckled, shaking his head. “No way. I don’t even know how to.” The man turned to face Xingqiu. “See, the difference between guidance talismans and, say, a sealing talisman is that it moves. It’s easy to make a talisman that doesn’t need to make its own decisions-- especially since I have no clue as to what this demon wants. But if you need a good one that stays still, I’m your man. The only person in my family that could make guidance talismans was my great aunt…”

Xingqiu tossed his bamboo skewer into the fire and eyed the last one. “I’m assuming she didn’t leave any notes, huh?”

“No…” Chongyun placed his elbow on his thigh, resting his chin in his hand. “The steps can’t be any different, though...right?” Xingqiu shrugged. He didn’t read a lot of exorcist, Taoist, or talisman books. He always kind of assumed that Chongyun knew everything. Chongyun leans back onto the ground, laying in his hands. “Well you should go to sleep. We’re gonna set off bright and early.”

Xingqiu felt that wave of sadness wash over him again as he looked on at Chongyun laying down and gazing at the stars. In the beginning, he felt like his journey would never end but now that they knew how to quell the demon, he wasn’t all too sure about what would happen for him next. Over these past days, almost week, he had grown attached and used to this older Chongyun. He found himself accustomed to sleeping in the dirt rather than a freshly made bed. And he found a bit of joy from traversing over the spanse of Liyue. But the most pressing question was whether or not he was going back home.

When Xingqiu woke up, Chongyun was sitting criss-crossed with his hands on either knee, his forefinger and thumb touching delicately as his palms faced the sun. He was incredibly still. Xingqiu had never seen Chongyun meditate as he wasn’t very good at it. He was always too restless and often found himself bored and seeking enrichment elsewhere. But Chongyun was a master exorcist now. Xingqiu wasn’t sure why he imagined that Chongyun couldn’t meditate now, and perhaps he did this often while he slept, able to rest peacefully while also keeping watch of their camp. And he knew Chongyun was aware of the area surrounding them, because when Xingqiu opened his eyes, he was greeted almost immediately with a grumbly “good morning.”

“Ah, good morning,” he croaked, his voice laced with sleep. “Did you sleep?”

“I haven’t slept this whole trip. Not like you, anyways.” He was right, he had been meditating all this time. “Are you ready?”

Xingqiu smoothed down his bedhead and combed his fingers through the knots. “Can I at least rinse out my mouth?”

Chongyun stood up, twisting left and right to crack his back. “Fine, but be quick.” Xingqiu hurried to the river to swish water around in his mouth, remembering his lingering thoughts from last night. If he could return to the beginning of this adventure, he probably would once more. But he was also very anxious to return home to a bustling harbor.

When the scholar returned, Chongyun wrapped something neatly into a thick leaf, tying it closed with strong fibers into a little box. Xingqiu’s footsteps grew louder as he approached the exorcist and he extended the box over to the boy. “What’s this?”

Chongyun chewed something and spit it onto the ground, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Mint. I use it to freshen up when I’m out on a journey.” Xingqiu untied the fibers and inside were crushed up mint leaves. The refreshing smell wafted out of the box and Xingqiu smiled, putting his nose to the rim. “You can do this,” Chongyun swiped a finger through the mint and Xingqiu watched as he rubbed his teeth and gums with the mint. “Then you can chew it until the taste is all gone.”

Xingqiu mirrored his best friend, swiping a finger through the mint to gather a bit and rubbed his teeth, cheeks, and gums before chewing it. “Thank you for sharing your mint,” he sings, handing the box back to Chongyun.

“No, that’s yours. I picked the mint this morning while you were sleeping. Keep it.”

Xingqiu looked at the box in his hand and blushed, tying the box closed to save the mint. “Thank you,” he said with a toothy grin. “So where are we headed now?” The boy asked, seeing Chongyun straighten out his linen robe and setting off. “Closer to the harbor.” Chongyun turned around and extended a hand for Xingqiu to grab, helping him up and over a big step. “The you hun ye gui stays in that area. I’m assuming it used to live here when the harbor was still being built.”

“I don’t know,” Xingqiu hummed, recalling one of their earlier nights together. “You said it only sought out exorcists and others similar. Didn’t exorcists only grow popular a couple of generations before you?”

Chongyun ran his hands through his hair, pulling his fringe out of his face. “Exorcists have always been around. It just didn’t become a large career until a few generations ago.”

“So I’m guessing that guidance talismans weren’t often made way back when either, huh? Since it’s hardly in production right now.”

“No, they were made more in the early years of Liyue. People were still very close with their archons and were often granted ‘favors,’ if you will.”

“Like what? What do you mean?”

“Exorcists weren’t a thing until Rex Lapis shared his power with my ancestors. Mortals were not to interact with the dead, but you can consider Rex Lapis as the escort to the other life.” Xingqiu closed his eyes as he thought, listening to Chongyun’s history lesson very carefully. “Now, the archons’ powers are watered down into these little pendants we call visions. We get a bit of their elemental prowess, but none of their omnipotence. I’d eat a million chilis right now if it meant Rex Lapis would reincarnate and give me but a pinch of his power.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that about visions! But why don’t we have geo visions?”

“We were recognized by other archons, that’s all. Anyways, we’re here so get comfortable.”

Chongyun dropped to a grassy spot underneath shade and crossed his legs once more. “What’s the plan?” Xingqiu sat atop his knees and placed his palms delicately in his lap.

“This whole trip, I’ve been meditating to try and communicate with my great aunt...but so far nothing has worked,” Chongyun said, without opening his eyes and with only moving his lips. “Hopefully I’ll be blessed by Rex Lapis’ spirit and he’ll give me wisdom.”

Xingqiu clapped his hands together in excitement. “You can speak with Morax when you meditate?!”

“I’m being sarcastic.”

“Oh.” Xingqiu sat back down and enjoyed the moment in silence for a bit. He studied Chongyun’s perfectly straight posture, the entirety of his body as still as stone, and his breathing so small that his chest was not visibly rising. “Is there anything I can do in the meantime? “Yeah, see if that book says anything more.” Chongyun opened his eyes suddenly and slouched a little, relaxing his hands. “Shit, I should’ve asked Xingqiu for the enochian decoder. Oh well.” Just like that, he resumed his straight posture and closed his eyes again.

Xingqiu pursed his lips and quirked an eyebrow. “Hmmm.” He laid the book flat on the ground, flipping through the pages and scanning the text for any recognizable words. Only few and far between words were revealed, but none of it helped to translate. ‘Demonic hatred coursed through the fingers wrapped around my throat. This is where I die, without answers, in the hands of my beloved.’ He revisited the early translations to try and find similarities in other words.

He looked back to Chongyun who sat motionless. He looked peaceful-- the most unbothered he’d looked this whole trip. Chongyun had grown into a capable young man who can take care of himself all alone. And he, too, became a successful individual doing what he loved. It was clear to himself, though, that he may not have gathered the courage to do certain things but he was still as constant in Chongyun’s life as much as he could. He remembered the somber look on his face when Chongyun explained to him that they’d both become busy. And when he got sick, Xingqiu was hardly around to help him get better. The boy sighed, telling himself that he needs to do better. He looked back to the book and clapped his hands on his cheeks. They were going to be here for a while, he might as well be productive.

‘The privilege to be bored was something I took for granted. I had realized that I had done not a single thing, not been helpful with the exception for entertainment. Which, in hindsight, I believe is what kept us together for so long. I am intolerable and loathsome, but my dearest sees through me and the facade and brings me along anyhow. Quiet moments like these will forever warm my heart in memories. We are not sharing a single activity, yet we are bonded by the coexistence. The rays of the sun stunk like poorly washed laundry and our hair clumped together from the bodily oils but it is fun to reminisce and I enjoy being sullied every now and then.’

“Ugh!” Xingqiu threw his brush as far as he could across the plain in frustration. “This has nothing to do about the demon! Stupid book!” Xingqiu crossed his arms in anger and huffs to the air. He jumps a little, afraid that he had been too loud and slowly turned to peek at Chongyun. He continued to sit there as lifeless as a rock. The shade he was in had now moved as the sun positioned itself differently in the sky and his cheeks began to flush a bit red. The stray strands of hair stuck to his face from the sweat, but he still looked as cool and collected as ever. But Xingqiu had an idea.

“Hey, Chongyun!”

The exorcist was shaken awake. He opened one eye to see what the matter was. “Yes?”

Xingqiu pushed something into his lap. Chongyun closed his eyes. “Can you freeze this for me?”

Chongyun, in a desperate attempt to get back to undisturbed meditating, grabbed the round object and coursed ice through it. He held it out for Xingqiu to grab.

“Thanks!” Chongyun could hear the young boy shuffling around. The sound of water being sloshed around hinted that he used his vision. Then, the boy came running back. “Here!”

Chongyun huffed in frustration, irritated by the harsh sun. “Please, I’m trying to--”

The exorcist opened his eyes to an amateur wooden carving of a bowl filled with a messy, dirty looking bowl of frozen water. Inside, he could see little blades of grass and granules of dirt but also recognized the petals of the qingxin flower. “I don’t have popsicle sticks, but I still remembered how to make it!”

Chongyun took the bowl in tired, shaking hands and stared into it in shock. “You made this for me? Where did you get the flowers?”

Xingqiu pointed to a small hill behind him. “I climbed up there! I got a little dirty, but that’s fine. Taste it! Is it good?”

“You climbed up there?!” Chongyun shot a finger in the direction of the mountain, his brows turned down in anger. “That’s dangerous!” Xingqiu didn’t know how to respond. Chongyun had never yelled at him before. Maybe raised his voice, but never yelled. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m burning up.”

Xingqiu sat next to the exorcist. “Then eat up!”

Chongyun eyed the contaminated water in the bowl in his hands and shrugged. He held a hand out to the scholar. “Can I borrow your short knife?” Xingqiu slipped it out from the inside of his boot and Chongyun hacked at the ice deliberately, cutting out a small piece and popped it in his mouth. He sucked on the ice for a bit before it started to melt and gulped down the ice. It didn’t take long for the medicinal properties in the flower began to take effect. Chongyun continued to tear pieces out of the bowl, popping them in one by one each time with more vigor. Once the bowl was empty, Chongyun got to his feet with newfound energy, his sweat nearly gone. “That was so good, Xingqiu! Thank you!”

Xingqiu stood too, and tugged at Chongyun’s sleeve. “Before you go back to meditating, I want you to look at what I’ve done these past few hours!” The boy leads him to where his book lay and pulls out a paper from underneath it. “I haven’t got much, but I managed to decode some of the script.”

Chongyun looks at the messily written notes. There were enochian scripts next to legible characters and various drawings of symbols. “These,” Chongyun references, pointing to the drawn symbols. “Are the designs for the talisman. You did all this?

Xingqiu grins, holding his hands behind his back. “Yeah! And look, I got some of this translated. I didn’t care to check the beginning yet because we’re nearly done, so we only need the ending, right? But none of this seems relevant to the demon and what we’re doing.”

Chongyun reads the translated text and looks at Xingqiu who stood on his tippy toes to see the book. “Can I?” He asks, lifting the book and paper.

“Well, sure.”

Chongyun leads the two of them to a shaded area and he sits against the side of the mountain, flipping the decoded notes over to the blank side. His eyes shift from the book to the paper, making notes as he reads. They sat there until the sky had darkened and the book was no longer legible. “You were right,” he says with a smile. “This is a diary!”

Xingqiu snaps awake and throws himself over the book. “How do you know?”

“The writer continually refers to himself in first person. And these last two chapters are all written from his perspective. He’s travelling with his significant other and he’s talking about the you hun ye gui. The style of writing though…”

“Hey! Kind of like us!” Xingqiu grabbed the paper and read what Chongyun translated.

“Anyways, what I translated gave me an idea. Can you fill this bowl again and also draw me another talisman, but bigger this time?”

“Sure!”

Xingqiu pulled his finger out of his mouth and held it in the air. “The wind stopped, finally.”

Chongyun organized the fish on a large leaf and picked up the incense on the floor. “Good, maybe this time it will stay lit.”

The moon was high in the sky and the world was oddly quiet. At least to Xingqiu. They weren’t close to the harbor, but usually the liveliness could be heard from out here. He looked back to the moon and felt his stomach flip. He missed home. “How do you think I’m gonna get home?”

Chongyun struck flint, causing sparks. He stopped to look up at Xingqiu, who stood above his kneeling form. “I don’t know, I’ve never dealt with time travel before.” He looked down to continue striking the flint. “You’re probably the first.”

“Do you think I’m stuck here? Forever?”

The incense lit and Chongyun stuffed the flint into his pocket. He threw an arm around Xingqiu’s neck and they walked back towards the mountainside to hide behind some shrubs. “Well...if you’re here in the future, doesn’t that mean that you do? I mean, we grew up together. If you didn’t then you’d probably have disappeared by now. Or I might have even lost my memories of you.”

“Maybe another Xingqiu took my place!”

Chongyun laughed and ruffled his hair. “I think I’d be able to recognize a fraud, fanboy!” Chongyun paused and blushed. “But, in all seriousness, I did have fun on this trip.” Xingqiu looked at him quizzically. “And...seeing you as a kid again...I should’ve told you how much you meant to me more. I really did-- and still do-- enjoy hanging out with you. So thank you for being my friend.”

Xingqiu felt his heart beat a little harder. It was relieving to finally know that his strong feelings weren’t unrequited. But he might have to work on expressing his feelings just the same.

[treefellingexpert]

Hire the Most Efficient Palm Tree & Stump Removal Services in Cape Town

It is often taken for granted that palm tree removal and felling are the same process. They are in fact very different. Know about them in brief below.

·        Felling is the method of cutting down a tree. You still have the roots sitting in the ground. You are no longer in danger of having the tree fall on your home or growing over your wall or fouling the power lines, but it has a chance of regrowing since the roots are still there.

·        Removal encompasses the felling of the tree and the removal of all its connected parts. It is much more in depth and requires a lot more time and skill. It is also a lot messier than tree felling since the roots have to be removed. It depends on what kind of problem you have. If the tree is just crushing a wall and not causing damage with its roots, the simply chopping the tree down is enough. If the tree is digging up your swimming pool or growing into the foundation of the house, then you need to think about removal.

Is There Really a Requirement for Palm Tree Removal?

This is the initial issue that you ought to address. If palm care is not possible as it is diseased or is posing a threat to your building, then it is ideal to have it removed. Palm whose branches are interfering with electricity lines may also cause damage to your property. Yet, if you are getting rid of it only for ornamental purposes, then think before you act. You can trim it so as to present a more defined look. If it is really urgent to get rid of it, then seek the services of a professional Palm Tree Removal in Cape Town service rather than trying to do handle the job on your own.  

About Stump Removal:

After a tree is removed from an area, an unsightly eyesore known as a tree stump is left as a haunting reminder of the terrible deed. A natural technique of plant part removal could be a nice option to appease the tree spirits in distinction to ancient stump grinding or manual removal. Nature's method of recycling is known as decomposition. Decomposition, also known as rotting or decaying, is easy, simple (for humans), and healthy for the environment.

How Stump Removal Works?

Whether you are felling a tree and need to get rid of the stump afterwards otherwise you have a stump that has been there for years, the method of getting cut it is the same. Many tree service professionals utilize Stump Removal in Cape Town methods, using a machine to grind the wood down until it's even with the earth around it. While the roots remain underground, you can plant grass over top of where the stump used to be and enjoy a smooth, flat lawn. Those underground roots, meanwhile, will decay naturally over time.

[carolyn-vancesa-blog]

Tree Surgeon Companies Near me in Rosedale Austin

Tree Surgeon Companies Near me in Rosedale Austin

Our areas of expertise include trimming, pruning, thinning, crown reduction, topping, tree removal, stump grinding and hillside clean up for fire regulations. Once tree or grass upkeep is a problem, you deserve a professional that respects your time and property. Our main concern is your safety and knowledge of a great job. Setting the scene plus safe-guarding the work space is the first thing we do and when everything is organized we complete our work quickly. Everything is cleared up when we are done and you are left with a clean yard and peace of mind.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1225562584591425536

Tree Surgeon Companies Near me in Rosedale Austin

The author is making a few great observations on tree cutting overall in this great article on the next paragraphs.

Elegant Plans For tree cutting - Some Emerging Facts

How To Trim Your Own Trees Many people have been learning how to conserve the health of their trees! From planting to mulching plus all things in between, people have really started to work out their horticulture tendencies. Yet with regards to tree trimming, it might be best to get a few pointers before you begin working with pruning tools. Since of course, one wrong move and you could kiss your tree bye bye! This is what you need to know regarding effective DIY tree-trimming: Be Safety Conscious Before you get started, it is critical to minimize the risk of injuries, even if you are trimming a small tree. Remember to always wear some goggles (this can prevent splinters from getting into your eyes), thick pruning gloves and a helmet. Additionally, make sure that the ladders you use are sturdy plus firmly rooted on the ground, otherwise you could really hurt yourself from a fall. After all, your best tree trimming efforts would go to waste should you end up in the hospital! The Key Is In The Cut When clipping, do not cut the branch too tightly to the trunk of the tree; this risky move may backfire, as healthy bark might be torn from the base of the tree when the limb is removed. However, you do not want to leave a lot of the dead branch behind. Look for a happy medium by cutting at the collar of the bough, which should leave a bit of a stump. Know When To Trim Most landscaping experts and arborists recognize that you can trim most trees when ever. You will find a few varieties of trees along with fruit trees which you may want to trim during the fall months, but most trees could be trimmed any time of the season. Do Not Tackle Major Branches You need to know the best time to bring in a specialist if the job is too big, so if you are thinking about taking on any big limbs yourself, put down the tools and back away. Large branches ought to be removed by a professional, so ask your arborist to handle the bigger and more dangerous tasks.

The Advantages of Cutting Trees

While homeowners are often dedicated to mowing and maintaining their lawn, they tend to overlook trees when it comes to lawn maintenance. Trees don't need cutting as often as grass, flowers or shrubs, so annual pruning is usually sufficient. However, if you are hesitant to hire a professional tree service, consider the many advantages that come with cutting your trees regularly yourself. You may find that the benefits are well worth the cost or effort.

Improved Appearance

Cutting the trees on your property can help improve their appearance. Regular pruning can ensure that trees maintain an attractive and appropriate shape and train them to grow in a particular direction or shape. Removing old fruit clusters or faded flowers can also help encourage the growth of new fruit and blooms. Because trees are usually one of the larger elements in your landscape, keeping them neat and trim makes a significant impact on the overall look of your property.

Improved Health

When cutting trees, remove any broken, diseased or dead sections. Doing so prevents fungi or bacteria that might rot other areas of the tree from spreading further. In addition, if a tree becomes overgrown, the branches can become crowded, which may weaken them. Removing excess growth can promote better air circulation and greater sun exposure as well, both of which are necessary for the overall health of your trees.

Safety

When a tree has weak or diseased branches, strong winds or storms are more likely to blow them around. If a tree branch should fall across a sidewalk, driveway or road, it could seriously injure passing individuals. In addition, if you allow trees to grow unchecked, they may begin to put pressure on your roof, neighbors’ home or power lines that run to your home. Cutting them back can help reduce the possibility of tree branches falling and causing damage to physical structures during heavy storms.

Increased Structural Integrity

With newly planted trees, conscientious cutting can ensure that they grow in a structurally sound way. It helps the trees to become sturdy and encourages the branches to grow in a balanced, symmetrical way. This type of structure improves the trees’ chances of surviving without problems going forward and helps prevent the need for structural support as they develop.

Improved Visibility

Keeping your trees neat and trim improves visibility for your landscape. Overgrown trees may block views from your home’s windows or deck, which can be frustrating. They can also block other elements in your landscape or architectural details of your home that you might wish to showcase. However, you can still utilize your tree cover to provide privacy around your home if you are careful about the way you cut it.

https://www.gardenguides.com/12542147-the-advantages-of-cutting-trees.html

As a serious person who reads on tree pruning, I imagined sharing that topic was beneficial. I beg you pause to distribute this content if you appreciated it. Thanks for going through it.

Safety must always be a top priority. No-one will stop you from doing the work, just make sure that you consider everything carefully and keeping safety in mind.

If you need tree care work done call us for a quick quote by phone, so you know what you are looking at. Our office number - (512) 645-1337

No job too big or small, we can handle it. When you need plumbers or are looking for professional faucet repair we are the right choice. Recommended by your friends and neighbors as their go-to sump pump installation experts. No matter what the problem, you can count on us. For the fastest service, use this phrase in search plumbing services near me. Our name usually comes up

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Tree Cutting & Trimming Service Authority Phone: (512) 645-1337 1308 E 7th St, Austin, TX 78702 Place ID ChIJlVEn_MK1RIYR0qNFjX_rznc

Office Hours: Monday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Tuesday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Wednesday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Thursday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Friday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Saturday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Sunday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00

Tree Surgeon Companies Near me in Rosedale Austin

[treeaestheticswa]

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Land Clearing

Land Clearing is the process of removing unwanted vegetation, trees, and stumps from a property. This is often done to prepare it for construction or other projects. Land clearing can also improve the health of nearby plants and animals. It can be done manually or using machines. It is important to consider the environmental impact of land clearing and take proper precautions. In addition, it is necessary to consider maintenance considerations after land clearing has been completed. Failure to do so can lead to negative consequences for the surrounding environment. One of the primary benefits of land clearing is that it increases the amount of arable land available for agriculture. By removing the dense vegetation, it allows for more sunlight to reach the soil, which promotes healthy plant growth and increases crop yields. It can also help control pests and diseases by preventing them from spreading through the dense plant growth. Another benefit of land clearing is that it prevents fire hazards by removing dead and rotting trees and shrubs. It can also prevent flooding during rainy periods by reducing the amount of water pooling on the ground. Land clearing can also remove airborne viruses that can be spread by wind and infect nearby plants and trees. A common method for land clearing is to use machines like bulldozers or frontend loaders. These machines are able to push over the trees and grind them into mulch. This is an effective and efficient method for removing large amounts of vegetation quickly. However, this technique is not recommended for areas with sensitive wildlife or habitats. Other methods for clearing land include hand clearing and chainsaw clearing. These techniques are less labor-intensive than using heavy machinery, but they can still be time-consuming. Depending on the size of the project and the desired outcome, the best land clearing method may be determined by evaluating its environmental impact and the availability of equipment. While land clearing has many benefits, it can have a number of downsides as well. Destroying habitats can lead to the loss of endangered species and local wildlife populations. It can also contribute to climate change by releasing carbon into the atmosphere. In addition, land clearing can cause erosion by removing the natural soil cover that protects the environment. Maintenance considerations are an important part of the land clearing process. It is important to make sure that any land clearing project is implemented with proper erosion control measures. This can prevent soil erosion that could damage the surrounding environment and harm wildlife. For example, a recent land clearing project in a remote area caused significant erosion that was not adequately addressed. The erosion destroyed nearby waterways and habitats. This could have been avoided by properly assessing and implementing erosion control measures during the initial clearing process. In addition to maintaining the environmental and ecological integrity of the land, maintenance also helps keep property values high. Having overgrown grass, brush, and weeds on your property can reduce its value. Regular trimming, watering, and maintenance can keep the vegetation in check and prevent it from growing out of control. via https://treeaestheticswa.wordpress.com/2024/06/09/the-benefits-and-disadvantages-of-land-clearing/

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Tree Service Contractors For Hire in Austin Neighborhood

Tree Service Contractors For Hire in Austin Neighborhood

Our areas of expertise include trimming, pruning, thinning, crown reduction, topping, tree removal, stump grinding and hillside clean up for fire regulations. If tree and lawn maintenance is a problem, you deserve a company that respects your time and property. Our main concern is your wellbeing and knowledge of a job well done. Setting the scene plus safeguarding the work space is the first thing we do and when everything is ready we complete our job quickly. Everything is cleaned once we are done and you are left with a tidy yard and peace of mind.

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Tree Service Contractors For Hire in Austin Neighborhood

The content further down pertaining to tree maintenance is quite entertaining. Don't skip it.

Emerging Options For Picking Primary Details For certified arborist

How To Trim Your Own Trees Many people have been finding out how to conserve the health of their trees! From planting to mulching plus all things in between, folk have really started to work out their green thumbs. Yet regarding tree trimming, it is best to get some pointers before you begin working with pruning equipment. After all, one wrong move and you could kiss your tree bye bye! Here is what you have to know concerning successful Do it yourself tree-trimming: Be Safety Conscious Before you start, it is important to protect yourself from injury, even if you are trimming a small tree. Always wear some goggles (this can prevent splinters from getting into your eyes), thick pruning gloves and a helmet. In addition, make sure that any ladder you use is sturdy plus firmly rooted on the ground, otherwise you can really hurt yourself in a fall. Since of course, your tree trimming efforts will go to waste should you wind up in the hospital! The Secret is In The Cut When clipping, do not cut any branch too tightly to the trunk of the tree; a risky move like this can backfire, as healthy bark will probably be torn off of the base of the tree when the limb is removed. On the other hand, you really do not want to leave a lot of the dead branch behind. Look for a happy medium by trimming at the collar of the branch, which should leave a bit of a stump. Know When To Trim Most landscaping specialists and arborists recognize that you could trim most trees at any time. There are some species of trees as well as fruit trees that you may prefer to trim during the fall months, but most trees could be trimmed any time of the season. Do Not Undertake Major Sections You ought to know when you should bring in a professional when the job is way too big, so if you are thinking about taking on any big limbs yourself, set down the equipment and back away. Major limbs need to be removed by a professional, so ask your arborist to handle the bigger and more hazardous tasks.

The Advantages of Cutting Trees

While homeowners are often dedicated to mowing and maintaining their lawn, they tend to overlook trees when it comes to lawn maintenance. Trees don't need cutting as often as grass, flowers or shrubs, so annual pruning is usually sufficient. However, if you are hesitant to hire a professional tree service, consider the many advantages that come with cutting your trees regularly yourself. You may find that the benefits are well worth the cost or effort.

Improved Appearance

Cutting the trees on your property can help improve their appearance. Regular pruning can ensure that trees maintain an attractive and appropriate shape and train them to grow in a particular direction or shape. Removing old fruit clusters or faded flowers can also help encourage the growth of new fruit and blooms. Because trees are usually one of the larger elements in your landscape, keeping them neat and trim makes a significant impact on the overall look of your property.

Improved Health

When cutting trees, remove any broken, diseased or dead sections. Doing so prevents fungi or bacteria that might rot other areas of the tree from spreading further. In addition, if a tree becomes overgrown, the branches can become crowded, which may weaken them. Removing excess growth can promote better air circulation and greater sun exposure as well, both of which are necessary for the overall health of your trees.

Safety

When a tree has weak or diseased branches, strong winds or storms are more likely to blow them around. If a tree branch should fall across a sidewalk, driveway or road, it could seriously injure passing individuals. In addition, if you allow trees to grow unchecked, they may begin to put pressure on your roof, neighbors’ home or power lines that run to your home. Cutting them back can help reduce the possibility of tree branches falling and causing damage to physical structures during heavy storms.

Increased Structural Integrity

With newly planted trees, conscientious cutting can ensure that they grow in a structurally sound way. It helps the trees to become sturdy and encourages the branches to grow in a balanced, symmetrical way. This type of structure improves the trees’ chances of surviving without problems going forward and helps prevent the need for structural support as they develop.

Improved Visibility

Keeping your trees neat and trim improves visibility for your landscape. Overgrown trees may block views from your home’s windows or deck, which can be frustrating. They can also block other elements in your landscape or architectural details of your home that you might wish to showcase. However, you can still utilize your tree cover to provide privacy around your home if you are careful about the way you cut it.

https://www.gardenguides.com/12542147-the-advantages-of-cutting-trees.html

We had been introduced to that write-up about tree clearing through a friend on another blog. Sharing is good. Helping others is fun. Thank you for your time. Don't forget to pay a visit to our blog back soon.

Regardles, make safety your key concern. You may accomplish the task yourself but be certain that you know what you are doing and that you have taken safety measures.

If you need a stump removed call us for a quick quote by phone, so you know what you are looking at. Our office number - (512) 645-1337

No job too big or small, we can handle it. When you need master plumber or are looking for professional plumbing services we are the right choice. Recommended by your friends and neighbors as their go-to emergency plumber near me experts. No matter what the problem, you can count on us. For the fastest service, use this phrase in search sump pump replacement. Our name usually comes up

https://www.google.com/maps?cid=8633096468779344850 https://tree-service-care.business.site

Tree Cutting & Trimming Service Authority Phone: (512) 645-1337 1308 E 7th St, Austin, TX 78702 Place ID ChIJlVEn_MK1RIYR0qNFjX_rznc

Office Hours: Monday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Tuesday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Wednesday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Thursday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Friday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Saturday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00 Sunday: AM 9:00 to PM 5:00

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What Only You Can Provide (3)

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Prompt: Seasons | Sun & Moon

           Adora has taken quickly to the practice of cutting down trees. Only the first two times had her axe gotten stuck and she apologized both times. The woods forgive her, though it scolds her carelessness. In time she will be strong enough to cleave trees of a decent size in no less than three swings. It is more her strength than her form that makes her believe she can achieve this and each tree gets her closer and closer. Every day the woods leads her to larger, taller, denser trees and every one of them pushes her strength and endurance to their limits. She pushes onwards, growls into the swings as the strain lights her arms aflame and the handle of the axe rubs new blisters into her calloused palms. Whenever she thinks she has found the very limit of her ability she looks deeper, presses herself farther, and takes and takes from herself. With each day her limit grows and she finds herself drawing less and less power from the sword. As she sits on the stump of a freshly fallen tree she wonders if it is like this for all of the other princesses. Perhaps, if she had trained from her youth in this way, would she already be strong enough to cut down these trees with ease? She can’t be sure, and when she asks the woods it gives no answer.

           She rests the axe against the side of the stump. She prefers to keep the sword in this form most days. It erases the inscriptions upon the face of the blade, written in a language she can read but not understand. As an axe, she can decide what lies on its face. And so, the axe becomes a canvas that she molds each morning into a new shape and design. Some days she will mold it into a list, written in the common language, of all the things she must do in the day and how much she needs to bring back before sundown. On others, she makes maps of the insides of trees and counts the rings one by one by one. Most days, and more often as she spends time away from home, she molds it into the likeness of Catra. It’s incomprehensible at first, but over time she improves. She is able to make her smile from memory, though she prefers the days when she wakes before Catra and can spend those early moments tracing her features in the dark.

           Adora takes the knife from her belt and begins to carve runes in the stump. They need the wood to build a cabin for the coming winter and for each tree they take from the woods they pay some kind of toll. On the southern side of the woods they must carve runes into the stumps and fill the lines with a paste made from blackberries mash and mastic. To what end, Adora is unsure, though the woods is pleased with their work and she takes pride in such simple praise. On the northern side, they face a more difficult challenge. For each tree they take they must give something to the villages that border the Whispering Woods. What they give is up to them, and need not always be something material. For the first tree they hunt a lone wolf that had been hunting too close to the home of a farmer, who the woods tell them is afraid it will come after her children. For the second they mend a two-foot-long length of fence upon the perimeter of a village, that had been damaged in a recent storm. Though the woods make no comment upon maintaining their secrecy, Catra insists. The less people are aware of their presence the less likely the Horde—or the rebellion—are to find them.

           Though they have been gone from the Horde for almost two months now, Adora cannot bring herself to consider turning to the rebellion. She knows they are their best option, in the long run. They can survive in the woods, hope to live out their lives in isolation as the war continues to burn the world around them. But there would come a time, sooner or later, that the Horde or the rebellion would push into the woods, and at that point there would be no hiding. The woods silence on the subject speaks to the truth of it. Catra and Adora will be always be welcome in the woods, but there will come a time when they have to make a choice one way or the other. It is inevitable.

           Adora finishes the runes and blows the sawdust from top of the stump. She places the knife in its leather sheath at her waist and begins to spread the sticky paste in the grooves she carved. The knife comes from Thaymor, and it is one of many tools they have retrieved from the deserted village. She keeps the mastic and the blackberries in pouches made from special cloth she found in a shop full of herbs and spices. The fragrant smell it once carried has faded, and by the time the first trees had taken root in the outskirts of the village it was gone. She finishes a line and wipes her sticky fingers in the grass before taking a chunk of mastic in hand and crushing it between her palms. She grinds it to a semi-fine powder over a large leaf and then takes several blackberries in hand and mashes them into the powdery base. It is, by far, a more pleasant mixture to smell than to feel.

           She finishes the runes and looks for the sun. It is just a few hours past mid-day, and the journey back home will take her several hours. If she leaves now, she could arrive before sun down. She takes the axe in hand looks out past the edge of woods and into the plains beyond. The southern border leads into Horde territory, an unruly expanse of jagged, flat rock with clear visibility for miles in any direction. The eastern side of the woods dip closer to the walls of the Horde’s capital, and so this far west the only indication of the crater is the orange glow against the distant black clouds that linger over the capital. In between here and the capital are number of forts, each connected through a series of supply chains. Those closest to the capital had armored monorail systems that carried supplies to and from the forts. Those further out had to be supplied by drone operated convoys. From where she stood, she could see the very edge of the walls of the closest fort, and the road leading to and from it. She takes the axe in hand. On one side is Catra, her face half-covered in the furs atop their bed, one visible ear peaking mountainous through the mess of her hair. She turns the axe over and the other side is blank.

           Adora walks the edge of the woods and traces a rough sketch of the terrain around the fort into its surface. They have food stores in the works, not all of the trees Adora brings back will be used for the frame of their cabin, though the amount of non-perishable foods available to them are small. The woods can provide some assistance, but no more than the advice of squirrels storing nuts or the wolves hunt in the winter time. If they miscalculate their stores, or they fall ill and are unable to hunt, it will be disastrous for them. They need options, and the Horde supply caravans carry many of the supplies they might need. In the last few weeks Adora has found two suitable forts they could attack, and devised strategies for both.

           The fort she sees now is only a few miles away from Thaymor, the closest of the three, and is the most likely of them to have been the staging point for the raid. She marks down the number of guard posts, lights, weapon installations, and what little she can see of their exterior security.

She stays hidden in the woods as best she can make her way back the fallen tree. Preparing the tree for transport takes little time, and with some effort she is able to lift its full twenty-foot length onto her shoulder. Her shoulder is pulled tight by the weight and she places the axe in its loop so she can support it with her other hand. She grins, despite the pain. Adora could never have been this in the Horde. Would never have been strong enough to smash boulders with her fists or carry massive, whole trees on her back for miles at a time. This limitless strength, for all that it made her the object she had been trained to destroy from her birth, it was exhilarating. There was attraction in this power, a magnetic force that kept her wanting to push it more and more, to see just how far she can take this and other budding powers at her disposal.

Adora arrives home just as the sun is setting. Their home is dark as she approaches, the many tarps drawn over their tent deepening the darkness that creeps into their home. She must have missed Catra, who was set to go hunting this evening and would not return for at least a few hours. She carefully places the tree next to the stack they’ve made close by. The cabin’s foundation was completed last week, and they were well on their way to building up the walls. If they kept their pace the cabin would be finished well before the chill would become unbearable. She inspected the collection of rocks on one side, and the mortar they’d started on last week. It was a slow process, one that was quickly frustrating her. The consistency was never right, and no matter how long she spent mixing and mixing the mortar she could never get it to the point that the woods deemed passable for their fireplace. They would need it. Or they would need to find some kind of space heater for when the snows came and that would require trade or theft, neither of which where attractive options.

From behind the stack of rocks, nestled between the first few beams of the cabin’s floor, she retrieves a hide wrap and a few pieces of pressed charcoal she’d found in an old storeroom in Thaymor. Adora starts a fire, grabs a few pieces of jerky and a handful of the fruits they’d foraged and sits on the bench they’d made next to their firepit. Inside the wrap there are multiple pages of blank white paper of varying thickness. Before she reformed the axe she used the thinner sheets to rub off etchings of whatever she placed upon its surface at the beginning of the day. She starts with the map, taking care to move lightly and keep the charcoal from smudging the finer details. She finishes quickly, and places it next to her on the bench before turning the axe over.

The image of Catra is much harder to capture on paper and there is only so much the rubbing can do. She takes the outlines on thinner paper, tracing carefully with a light hand before setting the axe aside and transferring it onto a thicker piece. From their she free hands the illustration, adding the shadows and the tufts of short fur on her shoulder and the little markings along her arm. She spends the better part of ten minutes on her ear and the bit discolored hair below it. Adora’s never been sure how to describe the feeling she gets when she looks at Catra, especially like this. In the Horde, she would sometimes stay awake just long enough to watch Catra fall asleep. That was the only time she ever got see the other girl lower her defenses and—seeing her curled under her legs with her laying on her hands and the soft release of her eyebrows as she drifted off—it allowed her to relax as well. It was captivating, all consuming, and so much more profound now that they had left the Horde behind and she got see that side of Catra without fear of discovery. Rendering her to paper was a special thing, that warmed her more than the fire before her and let the distractions and worries of the day pass away into white noise.

She didn’t hear Catra until her breath was on her ear. “This is kinda creepy, y’know.”

Adora shrieks and clutches the papers to her chest. Catra cackles behind her, doubled over and clutching at her stomach.

“Oh, wow!” she leans herself against the bench, cackles turned to giggles as she covers her mouth with one hand, “That was so good.”

“Shut up!” Adora flushes, straightening the papers in her arms and putting them back in the wrap. “I was—you just caught me off guard!”

“Oh, I know, Adora,” she grins, teeth flashing prettily in the firelight. As Adora closes up the wrap Catra reaches out with a hand toward it, “Hey! I wanted to see that!”

           Adora quickly shifts way from the girl, holding the wrap tight to her chest. “You saw plenty over my shoulder already!”

           “But I didn’t get to see that much,” she whines, “come on, Adora, please?” Catra pouts out her bottom lip, looking up at her through loose brown locks.

           Adora huffs, turning further in her seat from the other girl. She knows this game. Catra will pull that face, look all pitiful for about three seconds and because Adora just can’t stand to see Catra sad she’ll get whatever she wants. But it won’t work this time! The kitten eyes have no effect if she can’t see them happening.

           A moment passes, and Catra groans, “Fine. Whatever, if you don’t want to show me your secret collection you don’t have to.” Adora sighs in relief, and turns back to her just as there is a gentle rustling at her side. She stops dead when she sees what is in the other girl’s hands. The map. “I’ll just settle for this instead.”

           “Give me that!” she hisses, and tries to grab it out of her hands but Catra is too quick. The other girl is up and out of her seat in a flash and Adora’s closes on open air.

           Catra clicks her tonuge and holds the map up to the light. “Come on, Adora, I just wanna see what’s so special. I know we didn’t get art classes in the barracks but at least we…” Her expression clouds as she examines the paper in her hands.

           Adora shifts uncomfortably on the bench, kneading her fingers against her legs.

           “Why do you have a map of a Horde base?” Her tone is low, near growling. Adora looks up at her to see Catra glaring at her over the paper.

           “Catra…” she starts, and her voices breaks, “It’s not—”

           “Not what, Adora?” She turns the map around in her hands, pointing to the dotted lines across the area around the base’s exterior and the little notes that point out the various week points in the west wall. “Because this looks like a battle plan to me and I know you aren’t planning to attack a Horde base. Right?” She spits the last word with a look of disappointment that has shame boiling deep in her gut.

           “It’s just a map, Catra. I wanted to know if it was a viable option for us during winter, that’s all.”

           “Well it’s not! We can’t take on a whole base by ourselves armed with sticks and rocks, Adora.” She motions to their shelter and the map crumples in her grasp. “We’ve barely even started making progress on an actual home in this place.”

           Adora takes the axe in hand, “I have a magic sword.” She says, and Catra hisses.

           “That you barely know how to use!” Adora gets up from the bench, eyes blazing, and drops the wrap to the ground beside her.

           “I know that! But I’m trying, Catra! I have powers, like it or not, and I can use them. And if we took their base? We’d have rations that could last us through winter, armor that could stand up to Horde weaponry. We wouldn’t have to be afraid of them anymore.”

           Catra growls. “And then they’ll send in a full attack force to look for us when they find out that we aren’t dead.”

           “I could transform. They can’t look for an eight-foot princess with a magic sword if they never see her again. You wouldn’t even have to come.” At her words Catra drops the map. Her eyes, so full of fire from the moment they’d started arguing, go cold as she gets into her face and hovers inches away from her nose.

           “What do you mean I wouldn’t have to come.” Her words are ice, freezing down Adora’s back but she holds her ground.

           “You could stay here. I can go in alone, with my powers it wouldn’t be a problem to clear out the fortress.” As a princess, she could easily lift a tank, or crush the walls of the fort. It would be easy. It would be justice.

           “So, what, I’m just supposed to stay home and wait for you to come back cause I’m too weak to come with you? Like I’m some kind of pet?” Adora hears the fury in her words, and underneath, far below it all, there’s something like a blade sticking into her as she hears them. Sharp, stinging at her gut as she watches the twitch in Catra’s eye, and the ever so slight tremble of her lips.

           “Catra that isn’t what I meant.” The pain grows, and Catra grabs her collar, claws ripping into the fabric.

           “Isn’t it?” She whispers, “When you asked me to stay here with you do you know why I didn’t just knock you out and drag you back to Horde? It’s because when you asked you said wherever we go after then we go together. You’re good, Adora, almost as good as me. But even you can’t take on a whole fort by yourself, princess powers or not.” She lets go of her collar, and in her face Adora sees a mix of fury and hurt. “I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed, Adora. Whatever we do, we do together or not at all. And we are not going after that base.”

           Catra turns away from her. She picks up a deer carcass, the fruits of her day’s labor. She lays it down by the fire and turns back to their tent. “Clean this up. I’m going to sleep.”

           The tent flap opens and closes and Adora doesn’t move from her spot. She turns, and stares into the fire. It crackles, the ends of the orange and yellow wisps curl and stretch higher and hotter into the night sky. She kneels down, picks up the hide wrap and sets it down on the bench at her side. She picks up the map of the Horde base. Despite Catra’s rough treatment it is mostly intact, and legible. She straightens it, runs her hands along the edges of the base’s walls and the patrol routes. In the Horde, her map making skills were one of her prized talents. When she wasn’t being pushed to move faster and faster in training, Shadow Weaver would instruct her on the proper way to map topography and place encampments on a page. This map in her hands, she wonders if Shadow Weaver would have praised her for the detail? She surrenders it to fire and watches the edges curl and blackened ends crumble.

When the map is no more, she drags the deer over to her place at the bench, takes out her knife, and gets to work.