The weather is as good as one can hope for during a construction project, either by chance or because some weather spirit approves of the endeavor. A series of stakes and twine marks out the area where the fountain footprint will be dug, and a pile of panels sit nearby, waiting to be used in making the foundation form. In the backyard proper there is a large box of heavy nails and some tools that have been borrowed from anyone who had them to loan; hammers mostly, and saws of varying lengths. Wooden boxes have been stacked to form an ad-hoc table for the workshop plans, and the papers are weighted down with numerous rocks. Danny is looking over the details one last time, absently correcting a few measurements.

Bryce seems perfectly confident that the weather, though cool, will stay pretty nice. He's wearing some shorts that were once pants but that were cut (or torn) off just below the knees, and an old beat up t-shirt that must've been a very pretty light blue at one time. His hair has gotten longer and is now held back with a strip of red cloth, making him look kind of like an Apache from the Old West. His bare toes wiggle absently on the steps as he checks over his own set of plans on the computer, the screen from which hovers in the air in front of him.

Rex ambles into the yard, a spade over his shoulder, and pauses to inspect the layout. He's wearing a pair of faded jeans and one of his aged flannel shirt hand-me-downs from Old Man Collins, along with his usual boots, and his hair is braided tightly back into a long, smooth line. El Cid's scabbard rests against his right thigh. "Hey," he says with a casual wave. "Need strong back, weak mind?"

Miki, dressed in a white shirt and jeans, is sitting on the back porch with a pair of pliers and a claw hammer, prying nails out of various boards which presumably came from the now-demolished shed. He looks up and smiles a lopsided smile as Rex enters the yard. "Hello, Rex."

Justin steps into the backyard from the house, carrying a tightly sealed jar of some weird oily greenish fluid. This he sets down close to the house. "Don't let me forget I put that there," he instructs the backyard at large. "Hi, Rex!"

Danny glances up and grins at Rex. "Yeah, but we'll settle for a strong back and a reasonable mind," he says in greeting. "And a good spade."

Rex grins and waves around at his various greeters. "We-elll, at least you're gettin' a good spade. It's the Old Man's, but he was willin' to loan it in a good cause." He makes his way to the back porch, where he leans the spade briefly while removing his swordbelt. El Cid is set lovingly in a corner of the porch.

Bryce looks up and waves at the new arrival. "Hi Rex!" he calls cheerfully, then focusses back on the computer screen. He taps the keyboard a few times and seems pretty engrossed.

Miki glances over at Justin as he emerges, and his smile dimples slightly. "Should I continue with these or do you need me somewhere else?" he asks, indicating the pile of boards he is working on. He glances down at the splintered surface that he's gripping with one hand, then he rests the board across his knees and puts his finger woefully in his mouth.

"Go ahead and finish that--and be careful," Justin adds dolefully as Miki is besplintered. "Bryce, do you have that...well, whatever it is you're going to do, ready?"

Serendipity strolls around the side of the house, looking -- well, much like usual, actually, hands in his coat pockets. "So I was at the farm the other day," he remarks conversationally to no one in particular, "and they said somethin' about you guys planning to build a shed t'day." He takes one hand from his pocket, bringing with it a decent size jar of assorted slightly used nails. "I brought stuff. Hi."

"Workshop," Danny tells Ren. "Shed's what we just dismantled. And any help's appreciated." He points at the box of nails, indicating where the jar can go. "We're gonna dig the foundation footprint as soon as Bryce gets the layout to display, and then get it poured."

Bryce pokes a few more keys, then pokes at the holographic display a bit, then nods at Justin. "Yeah, it's all set. Hang on," he says, and scootches his little black computer so it's facing the back yard. He pokes one final key and the holographic display vanishes. A moment later, ghostly outlines of the new building appear right over the spot where it's to be. Every beam and wall is there, complete with lines notated with measurements. "There, that should be pretty accurate as to what we want. Danny's got his markers all set and they line up just right, so we should be able to follow those with the pouring and stuff, and then refer to the holo-schematic to check our progress." He sounds like this is completely routine and almost boring, but underneath the facade it's pretty clear he's excited and proud.

Rex turns, picking up the spade to, apparently, go start digging for the foundation. The sudden appearance of the electronic building-ghost finds Rex somehow magically teleported onto the porch. "What th' FUCK?" he exclaims, attempting, after a moment, to hide the claws that have appeared at his fingertips.

Miki looks up from the last bent nail he's wrestling out of the splintery board when Bryce says, "Hang on," and his eyes go wide at the transparent building. "Computer magic!" he exclaims. "Bryce, that is neat! It will be easy to build something which is printed on the air!" Then he tilts his head up to look at Rex beside him. "It is just a computer," he says, with the all-encompassing acceptance of the totally computer-ignorant.

Justin seems genuinely touched at the gift of nails and coyote muscles. "Thank you, Ren! That's very kind of you. We're almost--there we go," as the computer hologram comes up. He blinks at it; apparently not quite what he expected. "Holy shit," he says, in high bemusement. "That's great, Bryce. It's like building-by-numbers!"

Serendipity waves the jar-holding hand negligently toward Danny. "Shed, workshop, whatever. Some kinda structure involving wood and hammering and stuff," he replies, with a fleeting grin, and makes a note of where the nail box resides. Justin gets a genuine little smile in return, and the start of a "Hey, least I can-" before the holoprint pops up and distracts him as much as anyone else. "...=That= is cool," he decides after a moment, admiring it, and makes his way up toward the porch.

"Wow, that's really incredible," Danny says, turning to stare at the holographic display. He nods at Miki and Justin in agreement, saying, "Much easier than referring to the--Rex are you okay?" He peers at the Oroszlan Kin just as his hands go into hiding.

Miki reaches up, careful to keep his hand in Rex's vision so that it will not be a surprise, and pats Rex's leg comfortingly. "It is neat, yes?" he asks. He glances at Rex's hands, but makes no comment, instead calling out to Bryce, "Will it go away if we walk through it?"

Bryce soaks up the compliments like a sponge soaks up water and positively beams. "It /is/ neat, isn't it? This computer is really great, but yes, the hologram won't display there, it'll display on you. It's just a projection," he says to Miki, then laughs at Justin. "Whoa, you didn't swear in Yiddish. I think my bad language is rubbing off on you."

"Oh, er, yeah, I'm fine," says Rex, turning his back on the proceedings and peering down at his hands, frowning with concentration. After a few moments, he turns back and his hands are normal. He retrieves his dropped spade, shooting a grateful glance at Miki.

Justin gives Bryce an annoyed 'he's right but I wish he wasn't' look. "Hrnf," he says, and steps off the patio and heads for a shovel. "Let's get this dug, lads."

Serendipity strolls up behind Rex and rests the hand with the jar of nails in it on one of his shoulders, leaning his chin over the other. "Y'seem tense. We oughta help you relax," he remarks, and the other hand emerges from his pocket to dangle another jar full of small metallic objects in front of the other kin. He breaks into a grin, and makes one of the oldest jokes in the world, "...wanna screw?"

Danny nods smartly at Justin, and takes up a shovel from the porch. It's not nearly as nice as Rex's spade, but serviceable. "We only need to dig a few inches. Just enough to get it below ground level. Then I'll stomp it all nice and flat, and we'll set up the concrete form."

Bryce sets down the keyboard where it's not likely to get stepped on, makes a note to roll his eyes at Ren, and gets a shovel for himself. "Screwing later, digging now," he declares.

Miki tosses the board he's holding onto the "denailed" pile and hops to his feet. "I will help!" he says unnecessarily, as he jumps down the porch steps and towards that interesting transpartent building-drawing-thing. He picks up a shovel and eyes a wall-diagram uncertainly.

A runner of ivy from the hedge-monster suddenly finds itself on Miki's shoulder. And a random tangle of roots is suddenly much closer to Rex and Ren's feet than it previously seemed.

Rex snorts and twists around -- heaven only knows how -- to seize Ren's earlobe in his teeth and growl while shaking his head back and forth, more like a dog than a cat. Then he relents and releases the tormented Ren bit, patting Ren on the ass and saying, "I'll relax by doing some hard labor." He skins off his shirt and tosses it to the Coyote Kin, takes up his spade, and begins to dig within the bounds delineated by the holographic plan.

Miki glances back at his shoulder, obviously expecting to find someone's hand there. Upon discovering that the touch is nothing human... or animal... he drops the spade he's carrying and reaches up to knock the ivy away with a bit more force than is properly necessary.

Justin, about to boldly step into the hologram, turns at the clatter of Miki's spade. "What is it?" he asks, not quite falling into full mother hen mode but ready to at a moment's notice.

"Hedge monster," Bryce answers Justin, looking annoyed at the plant. "Man, where /is/ Safi anyway? We could've really used her to keep it quiet." He threatens it with his shovel briefly, then sets to digging.

The ground is soft enough that the digging itself isn't an issue, only the overall size. The workshop's footprint is roughly twenty feet long by a little over fifteen feet wide, with one end having a roughly circular protrusion to it. Danny digs in his shovel and tosses a good heap of dirt aside, then turns and points in the general direction of the hedge-beast's largest concentration. "Stop it, you, or I'll eat you thorns and all. I mean it."

Miki glares at the ivy. "I wish Anderja were here. He cannot talk to plants, but they like him anyway. Go away. Shoo. I am not going to dig you up."

Serendipity emits something between a squeak and a laugh, which gets much closer to the latter when his ear is set free again. "Fair 'nough," he agrees, catching the shirt, and finally heads to the nail box, eyeing those moving roots as he goes. "...hedge monster?"

Rex stares at Miki, the ivy, the Frat Boys. "Hedge monster? Like, your fucking bush is ANIMATE?" He rakes a hand through his hair. "I just thought you were joking, talkin' about the hedge monster."

"It's not...animate, per se," Justin hedges, eyeing the woody tangle balefully. "Several people have talked to it, though. I think it's getting ideas." At the mention of Safi, though, he scowls darkly and stalks into the hologram (which projected on him, looks quite weird), and stabs the soft ground with the shovel.

Miki picks up the dropped shovel, keeping a wary eye on the ivy, and steps into the hologram. After a moment of being distracted by how the hologram changes when he sticks his arm through it (look! It's on me!), he sets to work.

With so many hands helping, it doesn't take too long to dig out the footprint. The ground is reasonably free of large rocks, and those that do show up don't take more than a few minutes of coaxing to get free. Once the basic shape of the workshop is done, Danny sets aside his shovel and pulls a thick, dark purple plank that's a good foot in width out from one of the piles. He drops it into the footprint, then shifts into his crinos form and clops one hoof down on it firmly. The wood doesn't show a single mark for the abuse, and he repeats this several times, flattening the exposed ground into a firm, smooth surface.

Bryce long ago abandoned his shirt and now leans on his shovel while Danny stomps things flat. "Hey, you're getting better with that form, Dan-o," he says, grinning like everything thus far has been pure entertainment and is going to keep going that way.

"Da-a-a-amn," Rex says admiringly of the crinos form, but also peers curiously at the purple board.

Miki has rolled up the sleeves of his shirt (an overlarge white dress shirt, rapidly becoming less-than-pristine), but has not removed it. Having seen Danny's crinos form before, he steps hastily out of the way, nearly backing into the thorny hedge. "Why is it purple?" he asks. "It is magic, too?"

Justin grins at the crinos Danny, and leans on his shovel. "You shifted into the right form on purpose! Very good."

Serendipity's managed to lose his shirt along the way as well -- well, lose might not be the right word, since it's actually folded up neatly atop his coat and pants on the porch. He's changed into a pair of jeans produced from somewhere in his coat, which is probably a good choice since they're rather dirty by now. However, they fit just as well as the usual ones. Vanity. He gets himself and his shovel out of the hole, watching the process with interest, but no comment, for once.

A few more stomps, and the area is flat and even. Thundersnow tosses his mane, which unfortunately gets the small blue ribbon in his eyes. He grunts in annoyance and tries to coax it out of the way with his knuckles, which aren't really made for the task, then gives up and shifts back into his human shape. He gently tucks it back behind his ear. "It grows like that. I got this piece a month or so back, it was in a salvage pile. Probably another carpenter had it." He hefts the piece up and offers it to Miki for inspection. There are a few scuff marks, especially around the edges, but no significantly deep scratches mar the surface. "No magic, it's just really, really dense and hard. It gets dark like this when it ages, but new it's a lot lighter, almost violet."

"Purplewood is cool," Bryce declares, like he knows what he's talking about. "Anyway, now we do some concrete alchemy!" he says as he heads over to a dilapidated wheelbarrow with several sacks of dry concrete stacked next to it. He hefts one of these upright and tears the top off, then tips some into the wheelbarrow. "Water!" he calls, his back and arm muscles showing taut as he holds the bag up.

Rex looks around for a means of carrying water to the demanding Onza.

Miklos pages the room: There isn't a hose, is there?
Danny pages the room: No hose, but there's a few (2-3) large pails, already filled with a first batch of water, in the backyard.
Danny pages the room: They're from the barn, and BIG ones, like for feedind/watering livestock. 10+ gallons or so.
Danny pages the room: Er, the Farm, not the barn.
Miklos pages the room: How heavy is 10+ gallons of water?
Danny pages the room: It's pretty heavy. 60 odd pounds?
Danny pages the room: Make that 80 pounds.
Bryce pages the room: They can be refilled inside the house, right?
Danny pages the room: Yep.
You paged the room: 'At least 80, yeah.'.
Danny pages the room: ...assuming the plumbing hasn't failed. ;>
Justin pages the room: It's fine! :P

Miki examines the board carefully. "That is interesting. I do not think I have seen anything like it before," he tells Danny. He glances over at Bryce when he yells for water, then gives Justin a look as though he expects the mage to produce a specialized rainfall just for his housemate. After a moment, though, he spies the buckets of water standing by and goes to pick one up. After a first try which does nothing but wet the ground a little, he walks very slowly and carefully with it towards Bryce's wheelbarrow, wobbling a little.

Rex's keen powers of observation notice the water pails... after Miki has gone and picked one up and is carrying it along. He stalks over, hoists one of the pails single-handed, muscles straining in smooth, bronze bunches in his shoulders, back, and chest, and walks it carefully its appropriate destination.

Justin is not watching that. No, really, he's not. Okay, maybe a little. He takes the handle of a bucket, mutters something and glances meaningfully at the heavens, and picks it up as if it was full of packing peanuts instead of water. He only gets a step before the bucket charges for the ground as if into a long lost lover's arms. Justin says a very bad word in Yiddish and lugs the thing the usual way.

Serendipity =is= watching that, oh yes indeed. Especially since he's a moment or three too late to pick up the last of the buckets himself. He seems surprisingly unfixated on the scene, though, casting periodic (and not quite so appreciative) glances in Danny's general direction.

Danny takes the plank and sets it down in the yard, and shrugs out of his shirt, folding it up and setting it on top of the wood. He joins in mixing up the concrete, bringing along a short-handled shovel, and gestures for Miki to empty his bucket into the wheelbarrow. "We need one bucket for each batch," he tells everyone.

"Yeah, just one bucket right now," Bryce says. "Pour it slowly while I pour in the concrete while Danny mixes it. It should go easier that way, right Danny?" he says, looking to the Perunka craftsman for confirmation.

Rex sets his bucket down and waits his turn for straining and pouring. He takes the opportunity to eye both Miki and Justin appreciatively.

Miki eyes the bucket, which he has set down next to the wheelbarrow with a thinly veiled expression of relief, and then peers into the mix. He puts both hands on the handle of the bucket and lifts, staggering, until he barely gets it onto the edge of the wheelbarrow. It tilts and slops water all over the front of his shirt, and he bites back a yelp. With most of the weight of the bucket resting on the edge of the wheelbarrow, he tips it slowly towards the mix, pouring it out evenly.

Justin's wincing and prodding his shoulder gingerly, muttering dire things under his breath. He glances up to unwittingly see Rex eyeing him, and goes red, mouth quirking wryly. He clears his throat. "Once it's all poured, I brewed something to set it quickly."

Danny nods at Bryce in agreement. "We also need to get the forms in place--that'll take only a few minutes, though." He starts stirring the concrete, which quickly begins to clump up, and glances over at Ren. "Ren, how about you mix, and I'll go set up the forms. When you're done mixing, bring it on over to the footprint and just dump it into a side where I already have the form in." That said, Danny helpfully offers the short shovel to Ren, and trots over to the pile of smaller, thinner planks of wood that are all a few inches taller than the depth of the footprint. He starts flattening them against the edges and pushing them down so they're an inch or two above ground-level, using two long sections for each of the straight sides, and a series of short, cut pieces to make up the arc of the remaining side.

Serendipity accepts the shovel with a nod, studying Danny with a thoughtfulness that, coming from a Trickster-child as it does, would tend to make most people feel at least a touch uncomfortable. "Will do," he agrees easily enough, though, and heads over to do just that.

Bryce spares only a glance to Ren at the changing of the mixer. "Pour! Stir! Mix!" he chants, then giggles, having way too much fun. He keeps adding concrete at the same rate Miki adds water to keep the mixture consistent.

Miki empties his bucket and steps smartly back to let Rex step up with his.

Rex hoists his bucket again and, if Bryce indicates that more water is required, steps up to pour.

"You know, you're having far too much fun with this," Justin informs Bryce sternly, as he sets to his part of the concrete-creation process. This involves being close to Rex. He concentrates.

"There's no such thing as too much fun," Ren responds with immense solemnity, and dives into the job assigned with all due vigour, and possibly some additional. He mixes it to the appropriate consistency, and then takes it to an edge to pour in as instructed, both activities causing all sorts of intriguing ripples and shifts beneath his dark skin, for those as like that sort of thing. Apparently a small selection of various birds may, as a small gallery of them seems to have formed in a nearby tree over the time the boys have worked.

As each batch of concrete is mixed and emptied into the footprint, Danny uses a simple garden hoe to start spreading it out, urging it to all the form edges first before letting subsequent batches fill the footprint. After a handful of mixes and trips into the kitchen for more water, there's enough to fill the forms, and with some diligent work from the whole group the concrete is soon sitting in the forms, struck, edged, and smoothed into place. After the last bit of edging on the arc is completed, Danny lays out on the ground for a moment, sighing happily. He watches the clouds overhead for a second, toying absently with the ribbon in his hair, then abruptly sits up and looks at Justin. "Your turn, al-chem-ist."

Bryce, after this bout of work is done, takes a break by dunking his entire head in a still-full bucket of water. He splutters enthusiastically when he comes up for air and shakes vigorously, splattering everyone and everything nearby.

Rex takes being splattered as well as any cat might: with great dignity, he removes himself from the splash zone and deliberately wipes each drop off his flawless skin.

"Hey!" protests Miki, as Bryce splatters him. He dips a hand into a half-empty bucket of water nearby and throws a glittering arc of water back at Bryce. "Quit it!"

Justin doesn't even flinch when he's splattered. He stands there as if being the universe's punching bag is the best he can possibly hope for out of life. Then he sighs heavily, shaking his head over the folly of youth, specifically that Onza youth over there, and goes to get the jar he'd put down on the porch earlier. Somehow during this process he neatly avoids the water Miki splashes in return. He unscrews the lid of the jar and pours the oily green liquid within upon the wet concrete in a steady stream. The concrete begins to visibly dry, tiny wisps of mist rising from it, and it groans to itself as it contracts. The substance, whatever it is, smells absolutely horrific, like a wet dog who had a misadventure with a skunk. Several skunks. "Oh, sorry," Justin says as if reminded, "this smells bad, so keep your distance."

Serendipity studies Danny again while the Perunka is lying in the grass, but gets distracted by the water fight -- and then the smell. "Gah!" he exclaims as it hits his nose, and follows Bryce's example with another unused bucket. The smell can't reach him there... unfortunately, he does have to breathe, and comes up after several seconds, clapping a hand over his nose. "Can't you magic that t' smell like roses or somethin'?"

Danny grunts and makes a face, and quickly covers his nose and mouth from the smell with his arm. "Guh, Gaia's Tits, if it wasn't hardening the foundation..." he mumbles, blinking furiously and scrambling to his feet in an attempt to keep upwind. He coughs once or twice, and has to take a few deep breaths. "Time...to set up the frame," he says presently.

Bryce, at the splash from Miki, had gotten up, with the bucket, and approached Miki with a look of pure mischief on his face. Whatever evil thoughts were going through his mind were derailed by the stench of Justin's alchemy, though. "AUGH," he says and just dumps the bucket over himself.

Rex recoils from the smell, staggering back several steps while covering his nose. "Justin," he says through his hands, "I'd kill you if you weren't so cute."

Miki claps his hands over his face and gives Justin a look of unmitigated horror. "Justin, why does your magic have to smell so bad?" he asks, unfairly. He spares a glance at Bryce. "Although it is useful," he adds, ambiguously.

Justin has the good grace to look abashed. "Sorry, guys," he repeats lamely. "I didn't think... After all these years I don't really smell these things anymore." Thank the gods that the breeze chooses this moment to pick up and dissipate the worst of the smell. The concrete is now set, dry as a bone.

Serendipity keeps his hand to his nose, warily, watching the dissipation, and eventually takes a couple tentative breaths. "...A'ight. Framing, then. Where d'you wanna start?"

Danny gestures at the largest stack of lumber, a combination of salvaged pieces from the shed and local buildings, and newly cut sections from local homesteads, the Farm, and further south along the river. "Base, walls, and then we work our way up. I hope we can get the roof frame and the place-holder for the kiln done. Then we can just add on the roof and walls over the next few weeks, while I build the kiln." He sets his hands on his hips and stands there, staring at the beams intently, and his purpose becomes apparent once he finally shifts, again into the crinos form, and starts hefting bundles over to the foundation and stacking them based on size.

Bryce shakes himself off one more time, then sets the bucket down and shifts to his own crinos form and starts helping Danny move things around and set them up under the Perunka's direction.

Rex pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket, blows his nose, and then moves to help lift, haul, and otherwise make himself useful.

Miki goes and picks up an armful of boards-which-once-had-nails-in-them and carries them over to one of Danny's piles. After that, he finds other ways to make himself useful.

Serendipity comes up with a hammer and helps with the bits his lack of crinos strength don't make less efficient for him to do -- mainly the fastening of one part to another. Eventually, the frame has come together, and a good day's work is complete.

[Everyone else leaves.]

The frame of the workshop sits over the place where the shed once did, a skeleton of promise in the early Budding evening light. Danny is laying out on the grass nearby, staring up at the sky again, and to judge by his expression, thinking on something. He's pulled his shirt on but only buttoned it up part-way, and his hair is wet from a recent dunking in one of the buckets of water. His coin necklace is currently being subjected to some fierce worrying as well, as he runs his fingers over it constantly.

Serendipity kills time tidying things up, then wanders toward Danny, after the others have headed off their various ways. He hasn't bothered changing yet, for whatever reason, and stops perhaps a foot from the Perunka in the grass, standing over him with his arms crossed loosely across his chest. "Nice ribbon," he comments evenly. "You got a minute?"

Danny shifts his gaze to Ren and sits up. "Yeah," he replies companionably. "What about? Thanks for the help, by the way, it's great to finally get that thing underway." There's nothing dissembling about him or his tone, and he quickly checks to make sure the ribbon is, in fact, still in his hair.

This, apparently, is a good response as far as Ren's concerned; the Coyote-kin half-smiles, and nods. "No problem. Goes a lot faster with alla us, yeah? Be a nice workshop when it's done." He looks over at it for a moment, then sits down crosslegged beside Danny, standing to sitting in one smooth movement. "So," he says, firmly redirecting the subject. "What're your intentions with regard t' Aurelia?" If there's any irony in the question, he doesn't seem to be aware of it.

Danny sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "My intentions aren't really the ones in question," he says lowly. "She's the one who's got to make the decisions, not me. She's the only person I have who can really see the things I see, so I'm inclined to be close to her just from that."

Serendipity arches a brow slightly. "Nnnnno," he replies wryly, "I'm pretty sure it =was= your intentions I was questionin'. Not in the sensea thinkin' they're bad, but in the one where I wanna know what they are. Only thing that's got t' do with =her= intentions's how 'n' where they overlap. I know you got that dream thing goin' on, an' you can maybe help each other with that stuff, and that's cool, I'm not askin' 'bout that. But you wanted her t' come brush you, yesterday, an' I =remember= the look y'gave Justin when he was gonna brush Ruth. So I'm askin' you: what're your intentions?" For all that he's usually not very good at being serious, he doesn't seem to be having trouble just now.

Danny frowns faintly at Ren. "I *intend* to let her decide how she does or doesn't feel about people, because she's got some things to figure out about her emotions and everyone she's met here." He looks away, out into the forest. "She's been through a lot, so she has a lot to talk about when she feels like it. Only a crazy man turns down a good brushing by someone who knows how to do it, especially someone who's a friend, and it's a chance to get that talking done."

Serendipity nods once, looking reasonably satisfied with that reply. "A'ight. I s'pose that'll do, then," he replies, looking off into the forest as well, then turns his gaze to Danny. "...'s good. I didn't really wanna go through the whole thing 'bout how if you break her heart I'll do whatever I hafta t' make sure y'spend mosta the resta your life wishin' you were dead an' all that," he remarks conversationally, and after a second adds almost apologetically, "Though, y'know. I will. But I didn't figure you were that kinda guy, so. That's all good." His focus drifts off toward the trees again, a little distant.

Danny grunts and toys with the ribbon in his hair. "Whatever's between me and her is between me and her, Ren," he says. "If you think I'd ever hurt her, you don't know a thing about me, or what someone like her means to me. I'd say the same warning goes for you, but I don't think I need to." With a slight smile, he adds, "I don't think you're that stupid, and she'd kill you herself, anyways."

Hrm. Ren and Danny, staying after to talk. The nosy raven thus far has kept a distance, but with a flutter of wings, the dark shape separates from a tree branch and circles lazily, making a few passes before coming to rest on the roof of the house. Though her landing spot isn't immediately within the line of sight of the pair, it isn't difficult to pick up on the fact that the bird landed somewhere on the roof.

Serendipity watches the toying for a moment or three. "I gave her that, y'know," he mentions quietly, and stretches. "I'm not sayin' I think you'd hurt her. I'm just sayin' if you =did= -- and she didn't kill ya -- I'd make you really wish she had. We're kumi, I'm th' closest thing t' family she's got 'round here, an' vice versa. I'm pretty sure that makes it my job t' check up on these kinda things. But we don't gotta worry 'bout it 'cause it's not gonna come up, right?" he adds, fairly cheerfully.

"I don't know for sure how she feels, Ren, so the reason it won't come up may not be the one you think it is," Danny says absently. "She's with you, in one way or another--I won't pretend to know how--and if you're thinking of making a commitment to her, I can't imagine that's going to include me in the equation."

There are no ravens here. That scrambling on the roof, and a muffled croak, could be anything. The bare glimpse of a black head peering around one of the eaves? Coincidence.

Serendipity flops back in the grass, arms splayed above his head, stretching out his legs and looking up at the evening sky. He sighs, and actually doesn't speak for quite a little while, watching the clouds pass, with a distant gaze. Eventually, he says, "...I dunno for sure either."

"She's accepting tokens of courtship, living with you, and letting you kiss her," Danny points out dryly. "I don't think there's too much room for interpretation there."

There is more fluttering, and then the black bird sweeps over the rooftop to land on its eave in plain sight. There, she smoothes her feathers, settles in, and watches the pair.

"Well, she started livin' with me 'cause it was a place t' stay," Ren clarifies, but that itself seems a lightly grudging acceptance of the rest of the point, as much as anything. He pauses, catching sight of a movement out of the corner of his eye, and tilts his head a bit to get a better view of the roof.

Danny snorts at Ren. "There's plenty of places to stay around here with a bit more room, including the Farm. Granted, she knew you already, and it's not surprising she'd rather stay with someone she knew, to stay safe. But she's *still* with you, all this time later."

The bird ruffles her feathers, then croaks in a sound reminiscent of the clearing of a throat.

Serendipity laughs, low in his throat, and drops his head back down on the grass, grinning at the sky. "Hi, Rae," he calls to the bird, closing his eyes, and possibly blushing slightly, though it's hard to be sure with the light and his complexion. "You gonna put somethin' on and come join us?"

Danny turns and eyes the raven on his roof critically. "I have some shirts, and there's Bryce's pants, those would be floppy but might fit," he suggests.

The bird sweeps down daintily and lands on the ground. Whatever majesty she might have intended to display is sidetracked momentarily as she spies a beetle crawling amidst some grass and pauses to peck at it. Then she bobs her head in what might be an affirmative toward the offer of clothing.

"'f you wanna just borrow my stuff," Ren offers, "it's sittin' on the porch waitin' for me t' change back inta it." He props himself up on an elbow, in preparation for getting up if that turns out to be part of what's required.

Danny hops to his feet and goes back inside the house. After a few minutes, he returns with one of his own linen shirts, long-sleeved in ivory white, and a black pair of Bryce's pants, with the legs pre-emptively rolled a few times. "These or his, and d'ya want me to put these in the backyard, or maybe go inside and change in the bathroom?"

The bird eyes Ren's clothing, then the stuff Danny has brought out. She hops a few paces toward Danny, spreading her wings for leverage. Apparently, she's okay with changing here -- one might note she has her eye on that linen shirt in particular.

Serendipity sits up when Danny trots off, and watches the proceedings, absently plucking and braiding a few blades of grass while things are sorted out.

"Okay, into the backyard." Danny leads the way around the edge of the hedge-beast, setting the clothes down on top of his make-shift wooden box table in a neat pile. "All yours," he says indulgently, and goes back out to the workshop frame where changing people are politely obscured from view by the hedge-beast.

It doesn't take long, and progress is marked by swearing. Eventually, Aurelia makes her way out from behind the hedge-beast, once more wearing clothes intended for a man bigger than her. Her hair is loose, catching in a stray breeze and rippling. She looks much more like an adult and a lot less like a kid with it unbraided. "Whatcha doin'?" she asks, all innocence.

Serendipity rests an elbow on his knee, chin on his hand, and grins at Aurelia, watching her approach. "How long were you sittin' there?" he counters, arching a brow.

Danny points at the workshop's frame and foundation proudly, unconcerned about eavesdropping ravens. "With plenty of help, the workshop is underway," he announces.

Aurelia grins warmly as she glances over at the workshop. "Looks like you boys are doing a good job," she says approvingly. Smoothing the linen shirt, she makes her way over to sit by Ren, occupying the space that had previously separated him and Danny. "If you're insinuatin' something'" she says primly. Pauses, then admits, "A little bit. Didn't hear nearly enough good stuff though."

"I'm not insinuatin' anything, eavesdropper," Ren retorts, grinning, and slides an arm around the girl's waist, giving her a squeeze and stealing a quick peck on her cheek. "...warn me next time you're gonna do that, so I remember t' put more in about, y'know, how smart 'n' beautiful 'n' creative and stuff y'are, so y'won't be disappointed," he suggests, playfully.

Danny smiles his thanks at Aurelia's approval, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. To cover this up, he gestures back at the house, and turns to go. "I'm gonna go in and see about dinner. If you two want anything, feel free to come inside, there should be some left. Thanks for the help, Ren."

Aurelia eyes Danny dourly as he makes motions to depart. "I get a chance to get the two of you in one place," she complains, "and there you go runnin' off. Now, dinner can wait and we can figure this out now, or you can go rescue it, and I'll have allllll the time in the world to think. Do you really want a woman to have all the time in the world to think?"

Serendipity starts to reply to Danny's thanks, but gets stopped before he really starts by Aurelia's complaint. He ends up giving the Perunka an open-handed shrug instead, with a 'she has a point' kind of look.

Danny's retreat comes to an abrupt halt, and he looks at Aurelia uncertainly. He glances between her and Ren, then slowly returns to his spot on the grass, and sits down. "Okay," he agrees, his voice quiet.

Aurelia nods slowly, giving Danny a grave look that seems to say 'wise choice' without saying a word. She glances between them both for a moment, then takes time to jab Ren in the ribs with a fingertip as she says, "Flattery gets ya nowhere." There's a quirk of humor in her tone though, masked conveniently in annoyance. Then she sighs and glances between both men again. "So. Is there anything y'all wanna tell me, or should I pretend I didn't hear y'all a minute before?"

Serendipity glances at Danny, then back to Aurelia, and looks... wide-eyed and innocent. Almost convincingly so. "You have anything in particular in mind?" he inquires, pulling his ponytail around to finger-comb the bits of grass out.

"I'm not sure what you want to figure out." Danny gives Aurelia a sideways glance, then starts picking at the new grass in front of him. "I did want to ask you, about yesterday, but--I'm sorry if I said anything, or did anything, that made you uncomfortable, or...anything."

Aurelia sighs, shaking her head. "Men," she mutters. Then she sits up a bit, squaring her shoulders as she says, "Here's the deal. I'm stayin' with Ren because when I came here, I didn't know anyone but him, and we'd been together on the road before. I knew what he was about, and I knew he wouldn't do anything because while he does live with his head in his shorts, he ain't one to force nothin'. Now, we're a kumi of two, and that kind of means we gotta look out for each other. On the other hand, I don't plan on livin' in a treehouse all my life. It's where I'm stayin' because it's where I'm stayin'. That's all it means. I'm lettin' Ren court me because I like him. He's a good lookin' fellah, and while he ain't always the sharpest tool in the shed, his heart is in the right place. As for yesterday... I kissed you because I like you. Because you said a man likes to know when a woman's got intentions, so. I guess I got intentions."

Serendipity continues degrassing his hair, with intense focus. "...see," he eventually remarks quietly to Danny, without looking away from it, "told you th' living arrangements didn't mean anything."

"Oh," is Danny's initial reaction. He scratches his head and thinks about that. "Okay," he continues, and since that's an entire extra syllable, tries to work up to a full sentence. "What, did you want to, what did you...sorry, I'm not really good at this, that's why I usually let the women handle things," he admits, blushing and looking away.

Aurelia says mildly, "Letting me handle things is a good start." Turning to look at Ren, she takes his hand in hers and says, "It don't mean nothin', but it don't mean all the stuff the two of you are tryin' to make it mean. Ren... I know you was out last night, and I know what you was doin'. And you know what? That's okay. I thought it would tear me up and make me all kinds of mad, but it didn't. I was just glad you got home alright, and I just lay there thinkin' well, that's my Ren. Can't change him. So I guess I don't care if you carry on. That don't mean nothin's ever gonna happen between us." Her attention strays toward Danny once more. "Someday I wanna settle down and raise up a mess of kids somewhere with a nice picket fence and a garden. But not today. Today, I want to get to know you. Both of you. I just want... I wanna see what these feelings mean. Especially before I go deciding the next however-many years of my life because of them."

Serendipity rather looks like a chastened child getting a scolding, for all that he's not being scolded. He squeezes Aurelia's hand, but doesn't actually say anything. Plus, he appears to find the weave of the blue jeans fascinating.

Danny nods minutely at Aurelia, and fidgets with the coin necklace. "Okay. I don't really know--understand, I guess--how I'm feeling right now either. I didn't really think you'd ever actually be interested in me, I mean, since..." He looks at Ren, and then away, continuing. "Anyways. So I didn't think that, I mean I thought that it didn't really matter, what I did or didn't think, or feel, so I didn't really examine it."

Aurelia nods again. thoughtfully. She gives Ren a briefly worried look, then pats his knee and releases his hand, holding the other one out this time to Danny. "Well, you don't gotta examine it, but you can if you want. I ain't made outta glass. I ain't gonna break if you decide you're not interested. I don't even know what-all it is I want. I know I don't want you to gettin' into it over yours truly. If you two got things to work out, then you do that, but I don't want it to be because of me. You're both decent fellas. You're both good-hearted, and you both got things about you that I fancy. That make me laugh, or think, or just wanna curl up close on a cold night and... well. The point is I ain't lookin' to tie down either of you. But I ain't just lookin' for a good time. I'm just lookin' to see what might be. But if it's gonna cause trouble between you two, then I'm gonna choose neither."

"We weren't fightin' or anything," Serendipity assures her quite softly, and stands up suddenly. The thong holding his ponytail seems to have come undone at some point in the grass-removal, and his hair swings forward with the movement, mostly veiling his face. "...I gotta change. Gonna borrow your bathroom," he says a touch tersely. Not that he changed in it the first time. "Back in a couple," he adds, and turns to head for the porch, quickly.

Danny takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going to fight over you, Aurelia, that's not, well it's something I try to never do. It's how everyone *expects* a stallion to act, and I'd like to think I'm a little further along." He watches Ren go with concern, and sighs. "I don't want to be the cause of any trouble with you two either. If you're in a kumi, that's important," he says in a low voice. "There's no point in...anything with you and me if it hurts what's with him. I don't want that, I don't want to hurt you at all, because you've done nothing but help me with," he taps his temple soundly, "this. That's important to me, and I don't want to jeopardize that."

Aurelia watches Ren, frowning faintly. For once, it isn't with irritation but rather concern. "Don't take too long," she tells him. Using Danny's hand for leverage, she rises and eases closer to him, sneaking an arm around his shoulders. "The way I feel for Ren," she says quietly, "isn't somethin' that's going to go away just because someone's turned my head. He's been a friend to me before I ever even considered him anything else, and he'll be a friend to me long after this pans how, whatever happens. I can't say how he's gonna act, because that ain't for me to determine, but I know he'll be drivin' me nuts the rest of my life whatever else happens. Folks get hurt, sugar plum. That's life. When you're family, when you care about someone, then you work it out. You help them through it. But you don't stop livin'. As for us... well, that's what I'm tryin' to figure out. I mean, usually I'm the one makin' someone crazy, not makin' them better." She offers Danny a little dimpled smile.

"I don't think I'm going to get much crazier than this," Danny says with a relieved laugh. "I mean I hope not. I can't imagine what would come next, though." He slips his arm around Aurelia's waist, and kisses her head, pausing a moment to smell her hair and give her a hug. "Okay. I can handle all of that, I think. It's not like I have any idea where my life's heading either. This is the longest the dream's ever let me stay anywhere."

Aurelia leans into the hug and returns it in kind, resting her head against Danny's chest and letting her eyes drift closed, sneaking a moment's relaxation that seems to define the tension she's been withholding by releasing it. "I'm tired of running," she says quietly. "I already decided that this is where I make my stand, whatever that means. The idea of alienating everyone the moment I decide that this is where I want to be... I care about you. Both of you. And I care about this place. I ain't felt like that for a long time."

"Neither have I," Danny agrees quietly. He rests his chin on Aurelia's head. "I'm tired of being pushed around like I was someone's gamepiece. I never even wanted to leave home, I didn't intend to do anything but just live there and have a family there and die there, on the farm, in the crafthall..." He sighs and hugs her again. "Goddess willing, I'm going back there some day," he adds with conviction. "Even if I have to drag all of Haven with me to go."

Aurelia nods a little, a smile playing upon her lips as she admits, "I dreamt of going back to the mountains all my life. Everything I've done, all the reasons I ain't ever settled down, had to do with that. Thinkin' what would my family think? What'll they say when I come back and tell them what I've done? I don't know if anyone's even there anymore. But I think about it, goin' back. Lately, I've been thinkin' of the mountains, only the people here are there with me."

Serendipity emerges from the house, clad in his usual clothes again, with no sign of the jeans. He comes around the hedge-monster, and just stops, looking at the couple on the grass. "I don't. If. I can go if you want," he offers, with an incredibly weak smile. He might be trying for teasing, but it isn't working just now. He runs a hand though his hair and glances upward at the sky, taking a slow breath. "Tch, I go inside for two minutes, next thing ya know..." he complains, then, managing to sound considerably more like himself.

"If we have to go with you to kill all those things and get that place back, we will," Danny says flatly. "That's what friends are for." At Ren's approach he straightens up a little, but because he's unable to think of anything useful to say, he says nothing.

Aurelia lifts her head and opens her eyes to look at Ren. "Don't be stupid," she suggests with her usual tact and grace. "The way you two are, this may be the only time I get my two favorite people in the same place again. Why would I want you to go? Except that it's gettin' on in the evening and I still ain't even though about what I'm fixin' for dinner?" She rises, giving Danny a kiss on the cheek as she does. "I reckon it'll be fair to talk to you both when it ain't so awkward. I just... can I just go fix dinner, and we can just take this one day at a time? Is that okay?"

Serendipity seems to think that was directed at Danny, but after a moment replies, just in case, "...'s the way they usually come. 'least in my experience." He pushes his hands into his coat pockets, probably glad to have them back for the purpose.

Danny slowly gets to his feet, planting another kiss on the top of Aurelia's head as he does so. "One day at a time. Sounds good to me." He gives the workshop a satisfied look, and nods at it. "I'll have plenty to work on, too. If you feel like stopping by and swinging a hammer at some nails and a board, feel free," he tells both Ren and Aurelia.

Aurelia grins at Danny, then gives Ren a fond jab in the ribs. "Y'all did good work today," she says. Not that she was off in the trees watching or anything. "I like to see the menfolk get together. Too a good day's work. Take off their shirts. Why, I might come check up on you boys and bring lemonade." She gives Ren another jab -- it seems to communicate so much with so little -- and says, "I'm gonna go make dinner. It'll be done in about an hour. Bring your appetite, and some bread if yer goin' out first."

Serendipity oofs at the poking, and looks down briefly, a breath escaping that sounds very much like the ghost of a laugh. He wraps his arms around her from behind, trapping hers by her sides, and hugs her for a few seconds, hard enough that it probably kind of hurts, resting his closed eyes against the join of her neck and shoulder, just within the collar of the shirt. Sighing, he lets her go, and scoops his hair-tie from the grass, finally spotting where it had fallen. "I'll get some bread 'n' stuff," he assures her, tying it back again, and gives Danny a somewhat embarrassed half-smile. "Night, Danny. Nice buildin' with ya 'n' all."

"And *I* am going to *eat* dinner," Danny says firmly. "Thanks, Ren, for all the help. Thanks for...everything, Aurelia." He ducks his head a little, looking embarrased, and heads back to the house. When he's part-way there, he turns and calls to her, "Bryce'll want his pants back, I think, but you can keep the shirt," and then he disappears inside to face the ridicule that is sure to be had from wearing a blue ribbon in your hair.

Aurelia tries to look irritated at the hugging, but she sneaks an arm around Ren despite herself once her range of motion and breath is back. "Okay!" she calls toward Danny as he heads in. She grins then, unable to keep from looking pleased. Apparently, she's taken a shining to the shirt. To Ren, she says quietly, "And if you can find some wine like ya did last time, maybe... I dunno. Just show up hungry." She then steals a kiss and makes to head out before the coming evening gets any darker.