Closed Temporary Comfort

[Ulric Vale]

Ulric squatted by the edge of the pond and watched the fish swim in lazy circles. The weather was getting colder so he had lots to do when his mother asked for help in the garden. Of course he jumped at any chance to spend time with his parents, especially with his siblings at school. Finally he had found some peace with Astraea and Osiris both far away and unable to terrorize him for once. Not that he didn't have his hiding places that only he could fit into when they were around. But he was growing, quickly, and soon he would be defenseless against them. He carefully tracked the days until his siblings returned and the number was getting worryingly small. He had been spending a lot of time with his carnivorous plants but none of them were large enough to eat a person. At least not yet. He tossed a handful of food and watched as the fish splashed around trying to get some for themselves. "How much should I give them?" he asked as he turned around to find his mother.

 

[Carine Vale]

The beginning of Autumn made its presence known that year with a sudden bite to the air, it's impending chill causing Carine's prized flowers previously in full blossom to begin their degradation into wilting. Their dissolution into hibernation for the cold winter months would soon start to show on their leaves and petals and Carine felt she needed to do all she could to lull them into a peaceful sleep. In spring she hoped they would bloom strong and beautiful again as they had done so that year, but until that moment came she would nurture them with care and love in the same way she nurtured each of her children.

Carine's children however were far more prized to her than anything in her garden, and it was her youngest child that presently called her attention as she gazed from the rose bush she had been preening to spot Ulric at the fish pond. He had been her shadow that day in the way she loved most and to savor the time spent with her youngest baby she did not waste another moment before standing up to approach her son, her hand idly moving to ruffle the hair on the top of his head as she mused over his question. "Just enough that each of them have eaten, maybe a little more, the smaller ones haven't eaten yet my dear." Carine answered, watching the larger fish pop each of their mouths above the surface to consume their food. It was no wonder the bigger fish had become so big, she thought as she watched their greedy mouths continually search for food, leaving nothing for the smaller weaker fish to eat. It was equally as heart wrenching as it was exiting to see the small creatures compete against each other for sustenance.​

 

[Ulric Vale]

Ulric waited for his mother's answer and made a face as she ruffled his hair. Once given instructions he grabbed another handful of food and tossed it into the water. This time trying to make it go farther so more fish could eat. "Hows that?" he asked, looking for approval. That's when he noticed the work in the garden wasn't done yet. "Do you need help with that?" he asked next. Wondering if he would be trusted with his own set of sheers.

 

[Carine Vale]

Carine watched as Ulric threw another handful of fish food into the water, this time the pieces flying far enough for the small fish to attempt to eat in spite of the greed of the larger ones. It was survival of the fittest after all and while the larger fish had an ability to shelter the smaller ones from eating, they were far too sluggish and hardly agile enough to swim to the other side of the pond before the others did. Carine responded to Ulric's question of enough with a satisfied hum and a nod as she ruffled his hair once more.

Turning away from the pond, she soon smiled gently at Ulric's following question of whether she wanted help. As if she could ask for anything more than tend to the garden with her little herbologist. "Of course darling, you can get the big shears from the barn for the hedge." Carine mused, allowing her son to leave to retrieve the shears if he so wanted to. The smaller and more delicate pruning shears she had been using for her roses hardly seemed appropriate for Ulric, no, he needed tools with a little more bite if he wanted to help her. She would tend to the roses with the care and subtlety they called for but Ulric would be best if put to work on a nearby hedge of English holly. A plant Ulric could trim to pieces yet robust enough to grow back if left on the edge of its life.​

 

[Ulric Vale]

Ulric squinted as his mother ruffled his hair again. But he was glad to be done with that task. He made quick work tossing the last of the food in his hands into the water as far as he could. It wasn't much but an extra treat for the stragglers couldn't do any harm. He brightened when he was given permission to grab the big shears. He grabbed the bucket of fish food and brought it back to the barn before grabbing the shears. He had been tempted to run back to his mother but the sharp point of the blade glinted threateningly in the afternoon sun. So he settled for a few skip steps as the slope of the bath declined. Ulric was slightly out of breath when he returned. "What do you need these for?" he asked raising them up for his mother to see he had grabbed the right thing.

 

[Carine Vale]

Carine busied herself by pruning the roses in front of her as Ulric ventured to the barn, humming a tune to herself as she cut each browning leaf or rosebud with browning petals she could find, allowing them to fall to the ground for her to pick up afterwards. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of her son's returning footsteps and she paused her pruning, turning slightly to face him with a warm smile. "Darling, it's so you can cut the hedge." She explained, waving her free hand to the hedge of holly that was only a few meters away. "See how it looks very rounded and overgrown, kind of fluffy like a spider? We need to give it a hair cut." Carine did her best to explain the task to her youngest child. "Mind your fingers of course, keep them away from the blades. The shears won't close around your fingers as they are charmed to only cut the garden, but you still need to be safe." She warned him, of course not mentioning the holly's thorns as a prick from a lowly thorn would be far easier to mend. "You can use these gloves. They're charmed too, to protect you." Carine added as she reached to move her gardening gloves closer to Ulric, fully trusting that Ulric would keep up his safety as he kept her company.​