#woodland ragwort

[thebotanicalarcade]

n394_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library Via Flickr: Icones florae Germanicae et Helveticae, simul Pedemontanae, Tirolensis, Istriacae, Dalmaticae, Austriacae, Hungaricae, Transylvanicae, Moravicae, Borussicae, Holsaticae, Belgicae, Hollandicae, ergo Mediae Europae. Lipsiae,F. Hofmeister [etc.]1834-1912. [v. 1, 1850] biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6035936

[dansnaturepictures]

12th August 2023: Walk from Milkham in the New Forest and home

Flora and fauna photos taken in this set: 1 and 6. A delightful Common Grayling on the heath at Milkham, lovely to see this enigmatic and thrilling butterfly with it nice to observe how it flings itself through the air, I'm having a memorable year for these. 2. Foxgloves which it was good to see a couple of times in the wooded bits of the brilliant athletic walk round to Broomy Walk and back, throwing back a bit to those early summer days I'd not seen one for a little while a key New Forest species that I've enjoyed in the forest for many years. 3. Sneezewort, one I remember seeing on a walk here in September 2021 there were great clumps of it beside the path. 4. The pretty mullein in the garden which has come on nicely since I first noticed it. 5. A ripe coloured mossy rose gall among bramble on the walk. 7. Harebell, another I recall seeing on the 2021 walk I was hoping to see some today and I found a pretty little group of them on a grass bank beside and coming onto the path. 8. Sunflower in the garden this evening, a few more have sprung up towards the back of the garden. 9. Black-eyed Susans in the garden. 10. Fuchsia looking nice in the garden now.

Also on the walk it was nice to see two delightful dragonfly species, a couple of Migrant Hawkers commanding the air above me on the path and a pretty female Common Darter. Gatekeeper and Speckled Woods including two flitting through the air, possible hoverfly, lots of bees around a hive enjoying the ripe heather and Common Red Soldier beetle were other insect highlights. Bird wise on the walk I was thrilled to see a chirpy group of young Goldfinches in the trees and Great Tits, Starling which I also liked seeing on the way here with Blackbird, Robin and Stonechat on the heath enjoyed too. Starling, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow on the roof out the front as I saw last night, Collared Dove and Woodpigeon were good to see at home today with Jackdaw heard. I also liked seeing New Forest ponies with foals on the walk. There were some other memorable flower moments on the walk with the first marsh St. John's-wort I recall seeing looking great in a wet ditch by Milkham car park an immaculate flower, tormentil, self-heal, thistle, groups of knapweed and water mint not ones I've often seen in the forest, bramble flower, honeysuckle, ragwort, yellow in flower gorse and bell and common heather I believe. In my next post are landscape photos from today showing the heather out painting the landscape purple. Hawthorn berries were also nice to see. The sedum is on its way out in the garden too.

[vandaliatraveler]

An Easter bouquet of some of Central Appalachia's finest spring wildflowers, courtesy of Core Arboretum at West Virginia University.

From top: cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata); Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica); Carolina spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana); sessile trillium (Trillium sessile); twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla); immature golden ragwort (Packera aurea); dwarf larkspur (Delphinium tricorne); Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), including a rare white-flowered variation; woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), also known as wild blue phlox; harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), also known as pepper and salt; Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria); downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens); yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum), also known as dog-tooth violet; and celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), also known as wood poppy.

[tiddygame]

Ghoap god type part 5!

Only took me over a month but we're so back! I took a break to plan the rest of this shit out, hopefully chapters will be a bit more steady after this (fingers crossed)

Ao3 /// part 1 /// part 2 /// part 3 /// part 4 /// part 5 /// part 6 /// part 7 /// part 8 /// part 9

I wasn't sure if I should tag these lovely people again, but please let me know if you don't want to tagged!

@imjustheretofightforlove / @life-as-a-gamergirl / @pieckyghost

Exhausted but too hyper to sleep was the worst feeling in existence, Ghost had officially decided.

Battles always had a special way of tiring him; They ended in him being drained but with too much adrenaline to rest. Sitting against a tree on the edge of a meadow, he knew he wasn’t going to sleep but he still wanted to try. 

His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, cold but too proud to huddle in on himself. Fall firmly declared its arrival by the temperature dropping further; What had once been a nightly respite from the oppressive summer heat was now a permanent fixture of the day. Most people would be happy with the change, enjoying the breeze and grabbing their sweaters and coats. 

Ghost was much more accustomed to the warmth, growing up near the southern coastline where winter never truly took hold. He tried not to think about the fact that the slight breeze that had him shivering was only to worsen in the following weeks as they marched further north.

The flora that populated the meadow held up to the change in temperature better than he did. Various flowering weeds dominated the grasses, reaching high and trying so hard to be mistaken for wildflowers. Ragwort, fleabane, and dandelions all littered the dull tallgrass with color.

Light yellows, muted greens, soft whites — missing just one color, the dark red blood showered across the meadow completed the color palette pleasantly. The splatters clinging to empty stalks looked like dainty little red flowers, a misnomer of the tragedy that had caused them.

His halberd was responsible for most of that bloodshed. It was innocuously leaning against the tree to his right, sitting there like it hadn’t been used to kill gods alone know how many just a few hours prior. His smallsword had been cast aside as well, scabbard un-clipped from his belt and only barely within reach. Most of his armor had been removed, laying next to him in a heap from where he’d halfheartedly thrown it off. 

The battle had ended hours ago, his fellow soldiers resting at camp, congratulating themselves for the easy victory. After the last kerfuffle over Ghost not returning when he’d been told, the general had tightened Ghost’s leash but couldn’t stand to be around them as they cheered their victory. Besides, what the general didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

(Wouldn’t hurt the general, that is. It would hurt Ghost, but that was no different than normal.)

His greatest joy in life was being a minor thorn in the general’s side any and every chance he got. If asked, Ghost would just lie and claim that he never left the battlefield and that the horse he’d taken to get there just so happened to get left behind as well. A lie that would be torn apart immediately, but it didn’t matter.

The ardennes was ornery enough to make it believable, at least. She had been tied up, but the stubborn bastard managed to pull free and was happily roaming the area without a care in the world. She thankfully didn’t seem interested in the weeds, instead content with terrorizing the woodland creatures with her presence.

Unarmed and exposed, he was more worried about falling asleep than he was about any potential attackers. Ghost trusted his instincts enough to relax, knowing he would hear if someone tried to sneak up on him.

“You look cold,” Soap noted. 

“Fuck!” Ghost shouted, his soul almost leaving his body. “Stop doing that!” He demanded as he clutched his chest like an heiress who just heard a swear for the first time. Three meetings and he was already tired of the god popping up out of nowhere.

“Sorry,” he said with a smug tone and smile that said he wasn’t very sorry. Ghost just huffed and shook his head, slowly leaning back against the tree. He closed his eyes and tried to convince his adrenaline response that he wasn’t in danger.

He could feel Soap staring at him. He tried to ignore it but neither the feeling nor the god went away. 

Ghost reluctantly opened his eyes and stared back, annoyed to find the god had no shame in being caught staring. The longer their contest continued, the bigger Soap’s smile got. 

Accepting defeat, Ghost sighed and stood, mood only slightly improving at seeing the god was still significantly shorter than him. It didn’t mean much, but it did mean that Ghost could glare down at Soap. 

Of course, Soap wasn’t bothered by this in the least and didn’t falter. Failing the second round of the staring contest, Ghost sighed pointedly again, not that Soap seemed to care. 

“Is this what you did back then?” Ghost asked, starting the annoyingly slow task of putting his armor back on as he looked around to see where the hell his horse was, “Appear in front of people and stare at them until they leave?”

“Something like that,” he responded, pretending it was an answer. 

“Taxes!” Ghost called out, whistling for her to come back. He bounced between fastening the straps of his arm guards and trying to catch a glimpse of the big bastard through the trees.

“Did you name your horse Taxes?” Soap asked bewildered, finally breaking the creepy/smug facade. 

“She’s not my horse, I didn’t name her,” Ghost answered absently, wondering if he was about to have to go stomping through the woods to find her. 

Sure, he was the only one she let brush her mane and the only rider she hadn’t bucked, but she was still just one of the horses in the stables. He doesn’t know why she was named Taxes, but it was what she answered to (when she felt like it) so Ghost had to stick with it.

“Why is she—?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t name her,” Ghost repeated himself firmly, not in the mood to play 20 questions over things he didn’t have control over. Ghost whistled again louder, stood perfectly still, and tried to listen out for any sign of her. Nothing.

“I think I heard her over that way,” Soap said after dead silence, pointing further into the woods. 

“Really?” he asked sarcastically, wondering what devious scheme the god had cooking up.

“Aye,” Soap responded without the smug inflection from earlier. Ghost took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose and mourn the loss of his sanity. He knew that if he didn’t follow Soap’s directions, the god would make him comply one way or another. He might as well go with the least painful option.

Ghost picked up his neglected helmet and handed it to Soap. He walked a few steps forward before turning around, pointing at the armor piece and clarifying, “That is not an offering.”

Soap’s face went from passive to mischievous. “Aww, Ghost you shouldn’t have!” he said in a saccharine voice, looking at the helm like it was some great gift.

“You’re not special, you’re a coat rack,” he corrected, hoping to nip whatever that was in the bud. It didn’t work.

“I’m honored,” the god replied, ignoring Ghost’s words. Now mourning the potential loss of his helmet as well as his sanity, Ghost headed in the direction Soap had pointed, dreading whatever trap he was strolling into.

It wasn’t much walking, but with every step Ghost felt like he was dooming himself by blindly following Soap’s directions. Not once did he hear the hoofbeats or whinnying that Soap claimed to. 

He justified the stupid decision by reminding himself of all the horrendous torture the god could inflict if he defied instruction. Like being forced to talk to him. Ghost shuddered at the thought.

Surprisingly, he soon heard Taxes snorting in frustration… As well as a whispered voice.

“Shh! No, go away! Please shoo!”

Ghost looked back to Soap but he just had that dumb, empty, passive smile. On instinct he drew his halberd and quietened his steps. There were too many dead leaves and crackling sticks on the ground to be silent, but with whoever the voice belonged to being distracted, they would likely dismiss the noise as the footsteps of some other animal.

He had no idea who this stranger was, only knowing that he didn’t recognize their voice and that his horse was interested in bothering them. Approaching with his polearm drawn may have been overkill, but if the person was dangerous, it would give him more distance and possibly discourage them from attacking.

The noise was coming from a small, rocky dell with a few scattered boulders. Ghost could see the tail end of his stupid horse messing with something behind one of the boulders. The voice continued shushing the animal, trying in vain to get her to go away.

Taxes was stomping around in annoyed frustration when she noticed her rider slowly approaching. She shook her head in a way that seemed to say, “Oh, good, you take it from here,” before casually walking towards them.

The voice sighed in relief at the horse leaving, not noticing the extra pair of footsteps. Soap took her reins, unnaturally silent as he walked her to the side. Ghost inched closer and rounded the boulder, coming face to face with the stranger.

A kid. The stranger was a kid. 

They were covered in blood, they were scared, and they wore the enemy’s insignia on their tunic.

The kid was frozen like a deer staring down its hunter. Their eyes widened seeing the weapon pointed at them, somehow getting wider when they saw who was wielding it. They scrambled up, having to leverage themselves by pushing with their leg and pulling themselves up the rock with their hands. 

It was only when they were “standing” that Ghost found the source of the blood. They had a few small cuts and a gash on their arm that looked like it hurt, but the blood covering them was mostly from the poorly wrapped wound on their leg. They held the leg up and off the ground, barely keeping themselves balanced.

The startled deer was gone and replaced by a feral animal, one ready to claw and maim its way to safety if it had to. They were still scared, but they didn’t care to hide it, brandishing the small dagger they had with shaky, bloodsoaked hands and a readiness to kill. Glancing between him and Soap, it was like they didn’t know who to focus their threat on, eyes lingering on Soap despite Ghost being the one armed.

“I’m not being taken prisoner.”

He was surprised by the conviction in the kid's voice, especially given the way they were wheezing. Ghost glanced over to Soap but he still had that look on his face, like he was trying to be an impartial third party but was too invested to pull it off.

Ghost was too much of a bloodthirsty monster to have any level of mercy left. At least, that’s what the rumors claimed. That he’d have no problem striking the kid down where they stood or tying their hands and presenting them to the general as a prisoner of war, a potential source of information. 

To have someone in his grasp who could spill any and every secret would make the general very happy. So happy in fact, that Ghost might receive praise for the first time in years, might get a better cot, might get a warmer blanket, might get his first taste of freedom that he didn’t have to fight tooth and nail for.

Ghost lowered his polearm.

The kid didn’t waiver, or they didn’t drop their guard at least. They were still shaking so much, likely from an awful combination of fear, adrenaline, and blood loss. He looked back to Soap again, who now had a small smile. Bastard.

Ghost clenched his teeth and turned to the kid. “Alright, sit down.” 

It wasn’t a request, but the kid still didn’t listen.

“Fuck no!” they shouted with enough vitriol and venom to put a snake to shame, “You stay the hell away from me!”

Ghost stepped to the side to set down his weapon out of reach from the other but they thought it was an attack and tried to respond in kind. They made a wide, defensive slash but Ghost wasn’t close enough for their limited range of motion and they stumbled, falling forward. 

He dropped his weapon, grabbing their arms and almost pushing them to one side to keep their injured leg from bearing any weight. They didn’t take kindly to that and fought hard, trying their damndest to give him a new hole in his chest but the exhaustion was catching up to them.

It was child’s play to disarm them and throw the knife to the ground. They fell and Ghost tried to slow their descent as much as he could, but it didn’t change much. Wheezing heavier, they wore an expression Ghost knew very well.

Resignation.

He knew there was nothing he could say to calm them even if his social skills weren’t mediocre at best. They looked up through the trees like this would be their last chance to see the sky and refused to look at Ghost.

“Soap, can you get my canteen and br—” Ghost turned and cut himself off, Soap standing right next to him holding the canteen. He didn’t know what godly fuckery that was and he didn’t care to ask.

“Do you have any clean bandages?” he asked the kid. He was not expecting an answer, but to his surprise, the kid pointed over to his right to something Ghost couldn’t see. Soap took the initiative and grabbed what turned out to be a bag, sorting through it and pulling out the medical supplies. 

Ghost went through the motions, setting up bandages and rope, preparing to stop the bleeding if need be. He glanced up and saw Death holding their hand, soothing them, and he once more thought back to the mural. 

Gods, please don’t let this kid die.

For all the rumors, Ghost wasn’t completely heartless. He had seen hundreds of kids exactly like this one, had slain a lot of them himself. He wasn’t proud of it, it was horrid, but sometimes the only nicety he could offer was to make sure they didn’t suffer. In the world he lived in, a quick death was the closest thing to mercy a person could get.

The kid could very well be in their twenties, what most would consider a young adult, but they were still too young for this, for warfare, for the resignation of knowing that Death was kind. Soap sent him a jagged look that cut through his spiraling thoughts. 

Then do something.

He carefully pulled the dirty bandage away but as he expected, there was too much blood to see anything. With his thumb over the opening to control the flow, Ghost poured some of the water onto the site, just enough to get a visual.

A deep gash lay under all of the dirt and debris, resting at a diagonal across the shin, being deepest towards the knee. He could see where the bone fractured, the white sat starkly prominent amongst the blood.

Ghost was very well acquainted with emergency medicine, but this was the first time in a while that he wasn’t performing it on himself. The kid was staring at the wound, shaking and looking like they were on the verge of tears. Whether it was from fear, pain, or both, Ghost didn’t know.

“What’s your name, kid?” Ghost asked, attempting to be nice and help them calm down. 

“Not a fucking kid, asshole,” the kid huffed out. Ghost took a second to grieve that this was how the interaction was going to go. 

“Well ‘Not-A-Fucking-Kid-Asshole,’ what’s your position?” Keep them distracted and don’t let them panic. That was all he really remembered about performing first aid on someone else. 

He didn’t have anything that would be needed to fix an open fracture out in the woods and even if he did, Ghost wouldn’t trust himself with a more advanced procedure. He needed to get them moved, to find a town that had someone capable of helping them. 

“Laying on the ground,” they answered. He couldn’t tell if they were doing it intentionally or not.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, he prompted, “Archer, foot soldier, cavalry…?” The bleeding seemed to have slowed a good bit and he began carefully wrapping their leg. It wasn’t sterile, neither the wound nor the bandages, but he didn’t have any other choice. He’d just have to hope that the town had a reliable source of clean water.

“Medic.”

That would explain the bag and the lack of armor. And made everything worse. If it were someone without medical knowledge, he could feed them whatever lies they needed to hear and be done with it. Instead, they both knew that an open fracture in the middle of nowhere could easily prove fatal.

“What happened?” Mechanism of injury wouldn’t help much here, but it might give him another topic to springboard off of.

They took a moment to parse through everything that happened, eventually landing on a simple explanation. “Someone swung at me. Didn’t crawl away fast enough.”

Hoping to keep the string of questions, Ghost asked, “Why were you on the field?” 

“I was trying to save people!” they shouted with vigor, the venom that had poisoned their tone earlier coming back in droves. 

Ghost internally winced; In hindsight, that definitely was not the innocent, distracting question he was going for. He tied off the bandage and waited until after he was sure it wasn’t too tight to speak again.

“What’s your name?” Ghost asked again, this time with a softer tone. 

All of that energy left them with a quickness and they slumped like their fight was gone. No no no, keep them up, keep them talking.

The resigned look was back as they answered, “My friends call me Badger.”

“Why?” He splinted their leg, keeping the supports away from the wound.

The kid sighed like it was a story they were tired of repeating, “I got bit by a badger.” They held up their left arm where there was indeed a bite scar just above their wrist.

“That’ll do it,” he responded sympathetically. Ghost knew the horror of being stuck with a stupid nickname. “Do you know if you’re hurt anywhere else?” 

Waiting on an answer, Ghost cleaned up and wrapped the smaller cut on their arm. It wasn’t as threatening as the leg wound, but he had no doubt it stung with a fury.

“I… don’t think so?”

“Good,” he still checked them over himself, making sure nothing major had been missed. “Come on. You still need a proper medic.”

He whistled for Taxes to come closer and helped the kid stand, going to their uninjured side and supporting them. He put their arm around his shoulder and held onto their wrist, hoping to keep them up and steady. 

The absurdity of the situation got too much and the kid asked, baffled, “Who the hell are either of you?” 

It was a fair question, but one that still made Ghost chuckle as he answered, copying their earlier reply, “My… ‘fellow soldiers’ call me Ghost,” He turned slightly, freeing a hand to point to the god of death, “And that thing there is Soap.” 

Soap gave him a look. He wasn’t sure if it was over getting called a thing or giving them his name, but Ghost sure as hell wasn’t introducing him as Death itself. He tried walking forward but the kid had stopped in their tracks and he turned to check on them.

The look of fear was back. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have told them Soap’s name.

They hesitantly asked, “Ghost?” 

“Yes?”

“Like, THE Ghost?”

He just looked at them, confused. He glanced at Soap but, with the god being a bastard, he didn’t offer any help. Ghost prompted them to walk forward and they thankfully did, as distracted as they were.

“Big, scary, murderer-y motherfucker? Shit, you are, aren’t you!” 

“…I suppose?” Ghost wasn’t aware that his name lived in infamy amongst the opposing army. 

He practically carried them for the few steps it took to get from where they had been sitting to his horse. He made sure Taxes was still calm and began thinking about what would be the least painful way to get them up.

Gods, how the hell did he get here?

“Ah shiiit.”

That was all they had to add. He heard Soap snort behind him. Ghost wasn’t sure if it was a reaction to their savior being identified or them realizing that they’d have to mount a horse with a busted leg.

Deliberating for only a moment more, and seeing the remnants of fear in their eyes, Ghost asked Soap, “Can you ride a horse?”

“Yeah,” Soap replied with too much confidence and bravado to take his word for it. 

Instead of outwardly calling his bluff, Ghost just gestured to the horse. Soap walked up and stared for a moment, wearing the face of someone who just realized they would have to face the consequences of their lie but was still unwilling to admit defeat.

To his credit, he mounted with only minor issues and only looked a little awkward. Ghost was ready to chalk it up to not being used to being human or Taxes just being too damn tall, but Soap accidentally called himself on the lie.

“Oh I actually do,” Soap muttered to himself in surprise. 

Ghost wanted to put his head through a wall, be it his own or Soap’s, he didn’t care.

Instead of thinking about that, he turned the kid so their back was to the horse. Ghost didn’t sugarcoat his words, keeping it straightforward, “I’m going to pick you up and put you on the horse. It’s going to hurt. A lot. When you’re up, I need you to grab Soap so you don’t fall.”

They nodded. They still looked scared, but at least they seemed to trust him enough to follow his directions.

“Deep breath,” he told them, waiting for the order to be followed. When they did, Ghost hoisted them up on the horse. Their eyes scrunched closed and they only just remembered to grab on, clinging to Soap’s tunic with both hands in a white knuckled grip.

With both of their legs on one side, they were barely able to stay up, somewhat leaning back to counterbalance themselves. Their head was down like they wanted to curl in on themselves but were in too much pain to even do that.

Intentionally choosing not to think about how much pain the kid must have been in, he grabbed the kid’s discarded knife, holstered his halberd and made his way out of the forest. He wasn’t familiar with the area, but he wanted to avoid walking the kid back through the meadow-turned-battleground if he could. 

He glanced back occasionally, making sure both riders were still there and that the kid wasn’t getting worse. Soap, thankfully, wasn’t in a vanishing mood and even made sure to hold off obtrusive branches so they wouldn’t hit the kid. 

It didn’t take long before the two riders got bored of the silence and began idly chatting. Ghost just carried on, trudging through the bush and making an active effort to appreciate the background noise instead of getting annoyed. After several minutes of walking in one direction, a clearing gave way and an unpaved road appeared before them.

Ghost looked back and forth, hesitant on which direction to take. Unsure of what else to do, Ghost walked them to the road and did a little soul searching before deciding to lead them west. Three steps in, Soap wordlessly reached forward and tugged the reins to the side, silently telling him to go east. Once again, he didn’t bother asking.

Maybe the closest town was east. Maybe he didn’t want the sun in his eyes. Either direction had to lead somewhere eventually, he just hoped Soap wasn’t leading them astray.

When the chattering began to peter off, Ghost checked on the others once more, a bolt of fear going through him when he saw the kid had their eyes closed and was wobbling in place. 

“Kid,” he called, stopping the horse. He got no response. He called louder, “Badger!”

His panic fizzled out quickly when they yawned and rubbed one of their eyes, slowly looking at Ghost with a confused expression. He sighed.

Ghost’s guard shot back up with a fury when he heard two horses approaching from behind. Hand drifting to his sword, he knew there was no way they hadn’t been spotted and even if they hadn’t, there was nothing around to use for cover. 

He stood casually and waited. Two men on horseback slowed as they approached. They made no move for weapons and preemptively gave the trio a wide berth. When they were close enough for a proper visual, Ghost saw they were simple couriers and nothing more.

The one on the left called out, “Are you alright?”

It seemed more curious than concerned. Ghost didn’t answer the question, instead asking his own when they got closer, “Are you headed into town?”

Lefty looked between Ghost and his partner, eventually answering with a slight scoff, “I don’t know if I’d call it a town, but yeah, we are. ‘You need something?”

Ghost bristled at the way he asked the second part, like he was excited, like he was hoping they could fleece some money out of three weary travelers. They stopped next to them; Their horses looked haggard and antsy, shifting in place and unable to stand still.

Soap didn’t share Ghost’s sudden disdain, or at least chose to converse in spite of it. “Yes, we do. Could ye’ tell whatever medic is in town to expect a patient with a broken leg soon?” 

Ghost’s mistrust was justified as the one on the right chose to speak up. Righty looked between the two soldiers, likely noting that they were from warring factions and chuckled, “Sure, but it’ll cost ya.”

Ghost reflected on Soap’s words from what felt like ages ago, about being kind, but not pacifistic. Ghost didn’t want to resort to violence, he wanted to willingly choose it. The obvious neglect of their horses and the way they were excited about possibly getting to scam money out of people who needed help was justification enough to have his sword hand twitching.

There was a sniffle behind him as the kid spoke, “I think I need help.” 

Ghost and the two couriers were surprised to see them crying with their bottom lip wobbling and everything. The two looked very uncomfortable, but not quite convinced. 

The kid choked out while shaking their head, “Please, I jus’ wanna go home— I want to see my mom.” They looked ashamed of the way their voice broke, ducking to hide behind Soap’s back.

That did it. 

Lefty grumbled, “Fine.” And that was that. 

They first picked up a trot, but then a canter, wanting to get away from the scared, crying child as fast as they could. He watched the dirt they kicked up in their wake, confused, before he turned back to check on the kid.

The kid, who with tear tracks smearing the dirt on their face, quietly smirked, “Ha, fucking suckers!”

Ghost had to take a moment to process what just happened. Soap processed it faster than he did, covering his mouth to quiet his surprised snickers. 

The kid, scared and bleeding with an open fracture — and half-asleep — heard two scammers trying to weasel money out of the trio and decided to scam them back harder.

Once he got over his own shock, Ghost was genuinely impressed, telling the kid as much. He’d never seen a guilt trip be so successful before.

With none of the prior sadness, the kid enthused with only slight traces of sleepiness in their voice, “Thanks, I don’t even have a mom!”

Ghost was disappointed in himself for almost laughing at the grim joke and shook his head. He stared off into space, the kid making him take yet another moment to process the new bit of information. 

His processing of the last few minutes complete, he tugged the reins, urging Taxes further down the dirt road. Hopefully the guilt trip was not just a success at scaring the two con-artists away but also procuring them an appointment.

…

It was only an hour and a half of walking before they arrived.

As much of an asshole as he may have been, Lefty was right about it not being a town; It was more a village that took a few too many years to remember that it needed proper buildings.

It wasn’t long before they found the “medical center.” It looked like it had once been a home, but repurposed as the area and demand for treatment grew. There were a few people standing outside, apparently awaiting their arrival with a cot at the ready. 

Ghost hitched Taxes and walked to her side. The kid had been in and out of sleep the entire journey and Ghost told himself they were just tired from everything that had happened and nothing more, to just not think about it.

“Kid, Badger, wake up,” he said, patting their uninjured leg. They didn’t, still wobbling in place, their forehead resting on Soap’s shoulder. Soap said nothing when Ghost looked to him for an answer, like the god would have told him if the kid was going to make it. 

Ghost was thinking about it.

He shook his head like he could shake off the cynical thoughts and carefully grabbed the kid. He made sure to move them as gently as possible, not wanting to wake them up with a spike of pain.

They did not wake.

Ghost set them on the cot and the people nodded.

He watched as they moved the kid inside, not turning away until the door closed. Soap had dismounted at some point and was feeding Taxes an apple he likely took from Ghost’s bag, his helmet still under Soap’s arm.

Wordlessly, Ghost grabbed her reins and got on, holding out his hand for Soap to pass over his helm. Soap did not move, staring at him.

“I think you did the right thing.” Soap said it like it was a statement of fact, not trying to reassure either of them, but just pointing out the obvious.

Ghost stayed silent, still holding out his hand and waiting for the last piece of his armor to be handed over. After far too long (less than 15 seconds), Soap relented, having to reach up to give it back. Ghost did not leave.

“You knew the kid was there,” Ghost stated, not asking, because he already knew the answer.

“Aye,” Soap confirmed, for once being completely candid.

“And you wanted me to save him.” 

Soap gave a non-committal hum, “Something like that.” 

“Why?” Ghost asked, knowing he wouldn’t get a satisfactory answer.

“You tell me,” the god replied, like he was a teacher asking if he learned his lesson in morality for the day.

“No,” Ghost responded, refusing to join the verbal dance the other tried to initiate, “I’m done, you got your entertainment. Good day, Soap.” 

Before he could direct Taxes out of town, he saw Soap smile, some aggravating mix between victorious, smug, and genuine. He ignored the rude and abrupt exit, answering to Ghost’s back, “Yes, good day, Ghost.” 

Ghost rode out of town, only barely resisting the urge to curse out the god for having the audacity to be better at being a thorn in someone’s side than he was. 

Fuck, he needed a nap.

[dino-boyo-agere]

Bug facts cuz I'm on a roll lately!!

.･｡ﾟ×ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.✧.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ☆ﾟ×ﾟ｡･.

The White-lipped Snail. They come in various colors, but the most common is yellow. The white band around the opening of its shell is its distinctive feature and gives them their name! These snails live in various damp areas, including gardens, woodlands, grasslands, sand dunes, or clifftops. They feed on ragwort, nettles, and hogweed, meaning they're little helpers.

The white-lipped snail's shell is smooth and shiny, with several spirals of varying sizes. It ranges in colour from yellow to pink, brown or red, and has a white band around the opening. Its body is dull grey, usually becoming yellow towards the rear.

This species of snail creates and uses love darts during mating.

A love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These darts are only made in animals that are mature enough to breed, and are used as part of the ritual performed during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot.

[Drawing showing a side view of the love dart of the edible snail Helix pomatia.]

1 = flared base of the dart

2 = position of the inner cavity

3 = longitudinal flanges or vanes

4 = sharp tip or blade of the dart

.･｡ﾟ×ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.✧.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ☆ﾟ×ﾟ｡･.

The "Epigeic earthworm" ‘Epigeic’ meaning ‘on the earth’ in Greek. These worms don't build burrows, instead they live on the surface of the soil amongst piles of leaves or compost heaps. They feed on decaying plant matter, leaf litter, and dung. That's because they are weak burrowers, and therefore it's easier for them to live amongst loose organic materials and topsoil. Some also call them compost earthworms, or surface-dwelling earthworms.

These worms are important in composting and are known to rapidly consume and excrete composting material to help it break down more quickly. They are also able to reproduce very quickly, increasing the population of worms within the compost. They are small in size, usually ranging from between less than an inch up to seven inches in length.

They have a dark coloring that enables them to live above ground more safely, camouflaging themselves in piles of leaves or topsoil. Their dark pigmentation also helps to protect them from UV rays. They have strong muscles for their size, which enables them to move faster than other types of worms, which is important as living above ground they are most at risk from predators.

.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･».ﾟ°･⁠✧ ↓ DNI ↓ ✧･° ﾟ.«･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.

.･｡»･⁠°✧❗I don't consent to NSFW interaction❗✧°･«｡･.

[thegrandimago]

Taken the same day as the previous post, this was a white-lipped snail (Cepaea hortensis), or trädgårdssnäcka, found during during a survey for my class project, but was more inclined to show itself. In Sweden, they occur throughout central and southern Sweden wherever grasslands, woodland, dunes, and gardens with enough moisture are present. It's diet consists of, nettles, ragwort, and hogweed. To mate, they make use of a gypsobelum #animal #animals #djur #wildlife #naturliv #invertebrate #invertebrates #snail #snails #landsnails #landsnail #blötdjur #storsnäckor #mollusks #mollusk #snäckor #snäcka #animalia #mollusca #gastropoda #gastropod #gastropods #stylommatophora #helicidae #cepaea #cepaeahortensis #whitelippedsnail #gardenbandedsnail #trädgårdssnäcka (at Erkenlaboratoriet) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnriTGMIDzM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[aisphotostuff]

Goldfinch Scientific name: Carduelis carduelis.. by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds.The goldfinch is a striking, small finch of gardens, parks, woodland, heathland and farmland. It eats small seeds, especially from ragwort, dandelions and teasels

[drhoz]

#2174 - Senecio garlandii - Woolly Ragwort

Not the best common name incidentally - there's another Senecio in the Falklands with the same name, and Packera dubia (AKA Packera tomentosa) in the SE US. It IS a fairly hairy plant though.

These daisies grow up to 1.2m in height, in open woodland and dry schlerophyll forest on the sheltered souternn and eastern side of rocky hills and upcrops. The original range was quite small - an inland area straddling the New South Wales and Victoria - but thanks to land clearing it's now Vulnerable in NSW and critically endangered further south.

Like many Australian species, bushfire enhances the germination of seed, and it can resprout after fire.

The Rock, NSW

[harrywarneroutdoors]

Cinnabar moth caterpillar. #caterpillar #insect #moth #nature #wildlife #outdoors #outside #walking #hiking #countryside #natural #organic #free #leaves #woodland #forest #plant #ragwort (at Gloucestershire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMTSwxhpoB/?igshid=7ur2zmr1dimv

[cunabula27]

I think this is a male white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum). Feeling a bit between things at the minute, I think I need a change of route, well, a change of lots of directions really. And I have a few bits and pieces to really knuckle down on. ______ #today #todayis #diary #calendar #photooftheday #lockdownproject #nature #naturephotography #woodland #woodlandphotography #flower #ragwort #bee #white #tailed #bumblebee #Bombuslucorum #surrey #uk #rspb_love_nature #UKWildlife #panasonic #lumixg9 #lumixuk https://www.instagram.com/p/CSBfT_8oIhA/?utm_medium=tumblr

[scrumpygoat]

>:) more redwall OCs......

This is Ragwort, gf to Thistle, who loves to convince her it’s actually totally fine and morally acceptable to rob and murder woodlanders if you want their property more than them actually

[fmwwi-blog]

The more you learn about nature the more you enjoy the world. @f.m.photovideo_designs . #ragwort #ragwortflowers #bloomingflowers #blooming #flowers #flo #floraldesign #florist #art #florals #floraltattoo #yelloweverywhere💛 #woodland #woodlovers #woodlands #plantation #landscapephotography #naturelovers #yellowflowers🌼 #yellow #durdledoor #coastalliving #coastalpath #coastalwalk #dailywalk #healthylifestyle #healthyliving #bright #sunshine #sunrise (at Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove, Jurassic Coast) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDWM2ifAq_C/?igshid=kujs14j3qj46

[dansnaturepictures]

Ten of my favourite photos I took in October 2024 and month summary

The photos are of; fly agaric at Matley Wood in the New Forest, shaggy scalycaps at Lakeside Country Park, Kingfisher at Blashford Lakes, Speckled Wood, Migrant Hawker, Mottled shieldbugs and view at Lakeside, autumn leaves in Winchester and Michaelmas daisies and New Forest Pony at Lymington.

October was a fantastic month of fungi for me. In the peak season I treasured seeing many spectacular, gorgeous and fascinating species including fly agaric, devil's fingers, amethyst deceiver, yellow stagshorn, shaggy scalycap, candlesnuff fungi, bleeding fairy helmet, eyelash fungi, parasol, turkey tail, earthballs, panthercap, false death cap, sulphur tuft and waxcaps. It has also been nice to see slime mould including red raspberry slime mould at a few places and lichen and moss.

I had a brilliant birdwatching month too with some special species seen heading well into autumn. Key species seen were a fair few Kingfishers, Water Rail, Great White Egret, Greenshank, Avocet, Lapwing, Jack Snipe, Sanderling, Common Gull, Pochard, Gadwall, Pintail, Wigeon, Shoveler, Teal, Goosander, Brent Geese, Egyptian Geese, Little Grebe, Marsh Harriers, Siskin, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, lots of Jays seen in their active time of year, notable Ravens at Lakeside and home, Dunnock, Blackcap at Lakeside, Cetti's Warbler, Wren and Long-tailed Tit. Turnstones and Ringed Plover seen well, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coots and Greylag Geese at Lakeside, Jackdaw and Magpie seen a lot, Red Kite in Winchester, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Chaffinch, Grey Wagtail seen well and Pied Wagtail were also great to see. Glorious scenes came this month with the return of the Redwings a key bird of the autumn and winter, I was elated to see a Hen Harrier and I was thrilled to see the Winchester Peregrines and Lakeside Great Crested Grebes including their chicks a lot.

There were some nice butterflies to see still with lots of Speckled Woods especially at Lakeside, Red Admiral and Peacock and I was amazed to see a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in Winchester as well as other moths. Dragonflies and damselflies continued to shine this month with so many splendid views of Migrant Hawkers and Southern Hawker and Common Darters too. My first Willow Emerald Damselfly of the year was special to see at Fishlake Meadows. Other insects I enjoyed seeing this month were Mottled shieldbugs and other shieldbugs, wasps and hornets. It was good to see lots of spiders this month too including Long-bodied Cellar spider at home and snails and slugs. In terms of mammals I enjoyed seeing the also active Grey Squirrels a few times, Roe and Fallow Deers and New Forest Ponies.

Key flowers seen this month included Michaelmas daisies, forget-me-not, comfrey, lots of oxtongue, dandelion, tormentil, bell heather, common mallow, white deadnettle, stinging nettle, daisy, water mint, vervain, viper's-bugloss, horseweed, common and ivy-leaved toadflax, hogweed, yarrow, hedge woundwort, ragwort, gorse, dock, herb-Robert and wood avens which brought some wonderful colour as it quietened down for flowers. Wild carrot, teasel, hemp agrimony and spear thistle were among pretty seed heads enjoyed this month with cleavers enjoyed too. There was also a great display of berries this month again with rose hips, hawthorn berries, guelder rose berries, dogwood berries, nightshade berries and snowberries creating vibrant scenes.

And of course this month the splendour of autumn's colour was captivating and wholesome to observe. I also enjoyed taking in many great other vistas this month including coast, reedbed and general wetland, rivers and New Forest heaths and woodland. There were some special sky scenes observed this month too. Have a great November all.

[outofangband]

Flora, Fauna, and Environment of Neldoreth (Updated and Added To)

,Flora, fauna, environment/geography of Arda

I did Region here!

Originally requested by @actuallyfingolfin

I did try to organize these more into sections of the forest (openings and glades, margins and edges, moist or shaded soil, etc) and I don’t know if it will be of interest to anyone else but if anyone is interested in sending me a section of a habitat or location for me to elaborate on I will. Or a season!​

I put a lot of work into this!

Neldoreth is a forest of beech trees, part of Northern Doriath and contained within Melian’s Girdle. It was here that Lúthien was born and later imprisoned to prevent her from rescuing Beren. It was bordered by the River Esgalduin on the South towards the Northeast and and River Mindeb on the West, both tributaries to Sirion. The tallest beech tree in the forest was Hírilorn and it was here that Lúthien was imprisoned.

Doriath has three forests making up its kingdom; Neldoreth, Nivrim, a small forest of mostly oak trees West of Sirion and Region, in Southern Doriath, a forest of mostly holly where Menengroth was located.

I’ve been thinking a lot about potential biomes ecoregions for Beleriand and the other realms. Ecoregions are patterns of ecologically and geographically defined regions. A comparable biome are temperate broadleaf and mixed forests with English lowlands beech forests being a potential ecoregion.

I also have specific headcanons mentioned here about far Eastern Doriath closer to the river Celon which I will talk about when I do far Eastern Doriath and the lands North of Iant Iaur. These are closer to North Atlantic moist forests and even humid mixed forests. 

Neldoreth is a lush, deciduous forest with moderate to heavy rainfall depending on the season. Snowfall is rare.

There are a number of genuses directly referenced in canon in relation to Neldoreth; beech, chestnuts, oak, elm, hemlock, species of fern, grasses, the flower Niphredel which was a creation of Tolkien himself but inspired by snowdrops (though having more petals creating a star like flower) and the white field rose.

The beech trees were likely a combination of European, Chinese and Japanese blue beech and dwarf beech with other trees dotting the boundaries and occasionally mixing with the beeches in groves throughout Neldoreth. These include common ash, common hornbeam, sycamore, sessile oak, common oak, fluttering elm and horse chestnuts.

The forest floor is covered in ferns such as alpine lady fern, bracken, hay scented fern, hard fern, hart tongue fern and mountain wood fern as well as common aloe moss, bog groove moss, red bog moss and more  . There are also grassy groves and openings such as those mentioned in the Lay of Leithian. It is possible these were created through the magic of Melian. Woodland opening and transitional habitats are particularly interesting to me.  Woodreeds are one possible example. Spindle, nettle leaved bellflower, bitter vetch, grow on the Western edges of the forest South of Mindeb 

Bluebells,, wood anemone, primrose, dog’s mercury, yellow archangle, snow drops, yellow wood violet, wood sorrel, greater starwort, and enchanter’s nightshade are a small selection of flowering plants. 

As I said, send a section of the forest or a season and I can go into more detail! 

Large bitter cress, water aven,  flag lilies, purple marshlocks, common stinging nettles wild parsnip, wild thyme, marsh ragwort and brooklime (among many others, see below) grow in abundance by the banks of Esgalduin and smaller tributary streams. 

Barnacle and beard lichens, script lichen, beechwood sickener, earthstar, common bird’s nest fungus, inkcap, fly agaric, yellow brain and velvet shank are a selection of the fungi and lichens that can be found in Neldoreth. 

As a number of butterflies feed upon beeches and the other trees common to Neldoreth, Neldoreth is home to a variety of butterflies and moths. Large and light emeralds, winter moths, purple shot copper, cherry bark moth, mourning cloak, wood white, large tortoiseshell, wall brown  olive skipper, common blue as well as gothic, ghost, silver ground carpet, dot and poison hemlock moths

There are also a variety of beetles, bees, and praying mantis like insects. (Insect species are so numerous it’s hard to given even a small sample but I’m always happy to make specific posts about insects or any other category of a place)

Bumblebees including tree bumblebees, pollen beetles such as in the genus Meligethes, violet click beetles, oak and speckled bush crickets, rose chafer, hawthorn shieldbug, and  biolumenescent fungus gnats (I talked in my post about Western Beleriand about this but while biolumenescnese is more common elsewhere in Beleriand, there are a few biolumenescent species in Menengroth and the woods of Doriath. 

Lemon slugs and white lipped snail can also be found and I was talking with @tol-himling about the possibility of stranger species of gastropod being possibly brought over or arriving with Melian. 

Birds live by the banks of Esgalduin and throughout the woods itself. White throated dipper, garden and willow warblers, song thrush,  common nightingale, nuthatch, gray headed woodpecker, white backed woodpecker, black woodpecker, little bunting, indigo bunting, song sparrow, wood duck and shovelers being some examples.

I also headcanon that there are prehistoric (from today’s perspective) species of birds including small, brightly colored flightless birds that nest in the ferns and glades of the forest.

Palmate newts, great crested newts, agile frogs, moor frogs and small tree frogs are found in vernal streams branching from Esgalduin and Mindeb with agile frogs and dark gray and green toads living away from the water in undergrowth for much of the year. 

Neldoreth doesn’t have many larger mammals but there are Chital, water deer and barking deer  like species, stoats and lesser weasels, reed vole, water shrews, bush dogs, hedgehogs (mostly European but others too), and flying squirrels (among others)

Dormice especially hazel dormice and grass snake (obviously these are different kinds of animals but I grouped them together because of their habitat) on the margins and towards the river. 

I do think in other places of Doriath there are giant elk that do occasionally travel through Neldoreth. There are other species that do not exist today, I mentioned tapir like creatures as well as saber toothed cats (though these are found mostly to the wild and dangerous North of Neldoreth, North of Iant Iaur) and other stranger creatures (I’d be happy to share some headcanons on non existent species or more speculative ecology if anyone wants!)

Esgalduin, the river that runs through Doriath dividing Neldoreth from Region, North to South,  is an ecosystem and habitat in itself. If there’s interest I’d love to do a post specifically about it so I don’t over condense here? But there are a variety of aquatic plants, fish and other creatures there. 

As always, requests and asks are open and welcome!

[vandaliatraveler]

Although located adjacent to Ohiopyle State Park, Bear Run Nature Reserve gets significantly less tourist foot traffic than its noisy, crowded neighbor, probably due to a lack of beer and funnel cakes within walking distance.  It’s a gorgeous place for a hike at any time of the year, but especially in the spring and fall. The reserve is owned and operated by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and includes Frank Lloyd Wright’s triumph of form over function, Fallingwater.  Someday, when I can better organize and address the many priorities of my life, I’ll schedule a tour of the revolutionary edifice that chased away Edward Kaufman and his family. Today, however, I settled for a lovely spring hike.

From top: golden ragwort (Packera aurea), perhaps the spring wildflower I miss most when its radiant yellow flowers die back; a pair of wood anemones (Anemone quinquefolia), which often mass impressively at woodland margins; Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), a master colonizer that overtakes fallen stumps and rocks as easily as it does rich, moist soil; Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), a whorled perennial with an edible root that tastes like . . . you guessed it; and a delicate painted trillium (Trillium undulatum) rising from the moss at the edge of a stream.

[akkivee]

found a post on twitter with everyone’s flowers listed!!!!:

BB:

ichiro: king protea and poppies

jiro: lillies and poppies

saburo: camellias and poppies

MTC

samatoki: delphiniums

juto: delphiniums and cornflowers

rio: delphiniums and op thinks the other flower is either an alaska harebell or glory of the snow

FP

ramuda: tulips and freesias

gentaro: tulips and jonquils

dice: tulips and goldenrods

MTR

jakurai: silver ragwort and op thinks the other flower is either the crown imperial lily or a false hellebore

hifumi: silver ragwort

doppo: christmas rose and silver ragwort

DH

sasara: dahlias and coppertips

rosho: dahlias and japanese woodland catchflies

rei: dahlias and wheel or tiger lilies

BAT

kuukou: wisteria and water lilies

jyushi: wisteria and grape hyacinths

hitoya: wisteria