Damien shook his head in defeat.
"Maybe its just the way the world is now, i have no idea" he suggested, remembering some weird things of the sort that happened back in his time. His mom had been the one to tell him about them, and they felt just as weird as this did now. Society changes after all, who knew what other stuff appeared and disappeared that was so baffling.
A soft yet very fresh smell gently enveloped them as they entered the greenhouse, accompanied by the soft rustle of leaves, most likely caused by a gentle breeze coming through a missing glass pane. The place was relatively neatly arranged, with a path down the middle, framed by what looked like trees or tall plants with many leaves. One side contained relatively recognizeable plants that could be harvested as food - Damien's work no doubt - while the other was populated by more exotic looking plants, some with a strange vibe to them.
"Here we are." the boy announced, gesturing to the plants. "This is where i get most of my food from."
He stopped to think for a bit, considering his information about his father. How much did* he know?
"I cant say i know too much, all i know was from my mom." he replied. "Sadly i dont, she always put them away somewhere safe, i never had any of them… I do have one small letter from him though, which i'd gotten short before i parted from my mom. I never got to give it back to her, so maybe that would be helpful?"
“Yeah, I think so too.” she nodded. She may have been used to this little fact about people but she didn't fully understand why it started or became so widely accepted. “Maybe it has to do with “doing things on your own”. You know, “being able to stand on your own two feet”…” she suggested after some thought.
Mari nodded in awe at the beautiful sight. It was honestly more impressive than the library, if only because it was full of living, thriving plants… Though one could argue that books were just as alive as any plant. “You… You are a man of many talents.” she turned her impressed smile to Damien. “What kinds of plants are those?” she asked, gesturing to the more unique ones that she didn't recognize.
She listened to him, nodding a little. “That’s ok, Damien. I can understand why your mom did that. She really didn't tell you much about him?” she gently pressed again though she perked up when he mentioned that he did have one letter. “That could be very helpful.” she assured him. There could be a lot of information in even just one letter. “Have you read it?” she asked, not wanting to violate his family's privacy.
"Well, theres nothing wrong with being independent, but sometimes you should still admit you can't do it." he added. At least, that was how he thought things through, using his mother's teachings.
The boy blushed at her compliment, swaying his body left and right as he relished in the warm feeling it gave him.
"Oh, those? They're exotic plants from far away. Some of them grow some really interesting fruits, that are actually delicious. Like that one over there" he pointed at an interestingly shaped tree, with yellowish-orange pear shaped fruits. "Mother called it a Sunsettia tree. The others were here long before i came, but i know a few things about them!"
He shook his head, looking at the ground.
"Unfortunately no. Not stuff that could help track him at least…"
The boy finally lifted his gaze back at her, still gently swaying left and right.
"I did read it, since it was for me. It was the first letter he directly adressed to me. i can go look for it once we go back inside if you want to see it"
She nodded with a hum of agreement. “Seems to be hard for some people to reach that balance though.” she told him, thinking about what she's seen… and even been through a couple times.
“A sunsettia tree? I don't think I've ever heard of that before.” she said, looking at the new plant in wonder. Her interest clearly captured. “Where’s it from?” Mari asked as she gently touched one of the fruits. “So pretty… Do they taste as good as they look?”
She gave him a soft look at that. “It’s alright. Maybe your parents never thought that you would… get separated.” she offered as a possible explanation. “May I ask what it said?” she inquired gently. “I… I would like to see it. If you don't mind.”
Damien shrugged, just accepting things as they were and moving on. People had always been weird for him, there was no reason he would start now and here, with just Mari around. It'd just confuse him more.
"You never heard of it? I thought they were common outside." the boy frowned, observing her as she admired the tree. "I dont really know, it was but a small sapling when i first arrived here. Mother said she heard of it, but never really figured out where it came from. You can pick one if you want to try. The taste is pretty nice, in my opinion."
"Most likely that, i believe" he agreed, considering he'd been separated last minute from his mother, not getting to travel with her like he should have. "It was his first letter to me, with things he wanted to tell me now that i was old enough to know how to read and write by myself. It's alright, you may see it."
“If they are common, it must be in a different country. Though it looks like it grows very well here… That or you take incredible care of your plants.” she said as a possibility. “It’s a very beautiful plant.” she added, picking a ripe looking fruit and smelling it before taking a bite of it.
Mari nodded as he told her about the letter. “That sounds very sweet of him.” she smiled softly, touched by the sentiment of it. “Thank you, I'd appreciate it. Maybe there's something in it that can help us find him.”
After meaauring the tree up and down with his gaze, Damien turned back towards the girl, one hand twisting the long sleeve of his sweater.
"it could be possible, i just thought they grew out there just like any other tree. Guess i was wrong then" he laughed a bit, trying to pass his wrong assumption as a small joke. "Thanks.."
The faint pink blush returned to his visible cheek, as he started swaying his body again from side to side.
The taste of the fruit was in a way, strange but also pleasant - unusually strong taste, but pretty similar to the peach flavoured yogurt one could find at the supermarket. The pulp itself easily melted on the tongue, allowing the combination of sour sweet to spread.
"Yeah.. I think it was… I wont lie, getting a letter from him directly was very important to me, back then." he confirmed, remembering the long gone hype of the moment. Honestly he did love looking at the letter from time to time, whenever he felt too lonely, and it brought him some peace.
"I hope so too"
He could recite the whole thing with his eyes closed, but he did not know what exactly in it could help them track down the sender.
Mari’s eyes widened at the surprising but wonderful flavor. “Oh my Go… Mmmm.” she mumbled around the mouthful of fruit. “This is amazing! I never knew fruit could taste like that.” she exclaimed, bringing her hand up to her mouth as she swallowed.
“Hey, it's alright. Maybe they are local and I've just never heard of them before or they're very rare here.” she offered as assurance, not wanting him to feel bad. He hadn't left this building in years. Of course, he wouldn't be familiar with plants outside his greenhouse. Though she smiled back at his cute blush again. “You’re welcome.”
She nodded softly, listening to him and understanding how meaningful this letter was to him. At the moment, she couldn't think of anything she had gone through that would have the same impact on her but she could imagine being without a parent and getting a message from them. “There’s a lot of things we can look for that might give us a clue where to start.” she encouraged. She knew the note and the information was old but it was better than nothing.
"You like it?" the boy piped up, encouraged by her reaction. "Is it that weird for it to taste like that? What's the matter?"
He eventually shrugged, accepting her suggestion.
"Could be either one of those, or both, who knows, really? Im just surprised its not as common as i thought."
Now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen other sunsettia trees around, mostly in the surrounding forest, or in any of the herbology books he had available.
"Um, what kind of things could we look for?" he asked, curious as to what exactly in the letter could prove useful to them.
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I like it. Very much.” she smiled. “Nothing’s the matter. It’s just… unusual but it's delicious.”
“It’s definitely possible.” Mari agreed, still thinking about how this plant was so unique. Maybe it went by a different name? But if that was the case, then why was the fruit not popular? More kids would definitely eat more fruit if they had this option.
“Well… As someone who hasn't seen the letter; if he happened to sign his name, THAT would be a huge help.” she admitted, though she was a little doubtful. It was more likely that he just signed ”Dad”. “The possibility of an address would be good too. Umm, little hints could be a big help. Maybe he even put some information in a code for you.” she pointed out.
"Its unusual how? Do fruits taste differently in general or is this just something you've never tasted before?" he proded, still curious.There were more plants in the greenhouse that could be considered unusual, if she liked to proceed.
"i only have old biology books to look at, and sunsettias do not show up there. But then again, mine are off by almost two centuries, so i probably dont have enough material anyway." he said, trotting along the path, moving on next to a weird bush like plant, with several crimson bell pepper looking fruits stemming from its upwards branches.
Damien thought a little bit, reviewing the letter in his mind before answering.
"i dont think he ever used his name - i knew it back then, so no use for him to ever use it - nor was there an address. Mom and he never used addresses, because they did not need to" he replied, looking at his fingers to make sure he wasnt forgetting something. "I dont know about the code tho, you could be right about that one"
“Both, really.” she shrugged as she followed him. “I mean this almost tastes… a little peachy but it's also more than that. Definitely unique for something that you can grow and harvest.” she explained.
“Honestly, I don't think I've seen them in my books at school either. They might be a few years old but I would think they would be at least mentioned.” Mari admitted thoughtfully. “But I can always look closer next time. Maybe I just missed them.” she said looking at the new pepper plant.
She nodded, not really surprised at what he was telling her. “Ok… Though what do you mean they didn't need to use an address?” she asked as she didn't understand how mail could work without that. “Do you still remember what his name was?” She knew that his father could have changed his name by now, because of moving or to avoid detection for living so long.
"Ah, i see" he murmured, looking at the fruit in her hand as if it had suddenly become an interesting object to study. "But at least you like it right? That's good!
"Do tell me if you find any information on them! i really want to know more about them and where they come from." he encouraged, before noticing her gaze towards the new plant.
From up close, it only loosely resembled a bell pepper, being very red, with its bottom elongating outwards in the shape of a flower, standing upright as if it were an actual lilly like flower, looking for sunlight.
"This one is a chilli plant. Mom had a name for them, but i kinda forgot what it was, so i just used chilli. You might wanna avoid taking a bite out of these, they're pretty hot on their own… " he cautioned, gesturing towards it. As interesting and potentially delicious they looked, they were just as spicy. Finally, an answer as to where the boy got his spicy supply from.
"They didn't use one." he explained. "Whenever mom sent a letter or got one, there was always a bird looking mass of smoke that delivered it. I have no idea where she made it come from or how she did it, but that was how it worked."
The look on his face indicated that having stuff delivered by some really dubious, yet intriguing was the standard for normal in his eyes.
"Sadly i dont…. I think it was something starting with C? i dont know anymore…"
Damien wasnt even sure what letter his father's name started with, let alone his whole name. All that he could recall was the fague sonority of the name
“I do! It's really good.” she nodded. To her the fruit really was a mystery and she was eager to find out more… if there was more to find.
“Oh, trust me, I will.” she promised, smiling back at him before turning back to the chili plant and listening to his explanation. “I’m sure your mom had a great name for these but honestly, until you remember what it was, I’m half tempted to nickname this one a “Lilly pepper”.” she chuckled, even though she felt it was a very simple and unoriginal name. “Don’t worry. I can handle spicy to a certain extent, but I have no intention of trying that straight off the branch.”
Mari looked over at Damien, raising a brow at the description of the… creature. “So like messager pigeons. Makes sense… I forgot about those for a bit. Both of your parents could do that? I mean, it sort of sounds like an ability a vampire might have, if those myths are right. But your mom could make or summon one of those?” she asked, very intrigued. Even if it was only his father who could do that then at least it gave her an idea on where they could start when Damien was ready to practice his own powers. She nodded gently when he admitted that he was no longer sure of his father's name. “It’s ok, Damien. Maybe you'll just know it when you see or hear it again.” she offered, hoping to cheer him up a little.
Damien was honestly glad the fruit fit her taste; he was attaching himself to every little thing they had in common despite it seeming a little bit weird. But alas, he made a mental note to one day maybe cook something for her using the sunsettias.
"Lilly peppers… That is actually a pretty nice name! I like it!" he chirped, enjoying the new name suggested by his friend.
As for the pepper, it was perhaps a good choice on Mari's part to be cautious, as the spicy smell began reaching her - it was a rather pleasant kind of spicy, once again different than the one emanated by the regular ones, pleasant enough to push one to try and eat it, had it not been for the stingy spiciness causing the ones around it to sneeze.
"Ah, no, she couldn't make it herself, she had something from dad that helped her create it. Like an object, you know?" he explained, mimicking with his hands a small, perhaps lighter shaped object. His mother had once explained to him how it worked and what it did, but he'd never had the chance to use it himself.
"I think i could recognize it if i see it again, at least i hope i can"
Mari laughed a little, blushing when he complimented her name for the plant. “Really? Well then, I'm glad.” she said though she still wished she could have come up with something more creative. She did sneeze a little when the spicy scent tickled her nose. “Excuse me.” she apologized, pulling back from the pepper.
“Oh, ok.” she nodded at his explanation. “So, more like she had an amulet or talisman that let… this smoke bird know she had a letter?” she asked, hopefully understanding a little better. “That’s still cool. That your dad could make something like that.“
"Mhm! i really do!" he reassured, making space for her to move away from the spicy plant. That thing really was spicy, he hadn't joked about it.
"It's okay. The smell does make your nose hurt if you stay here for too long."
Damien kind of shrugged, as he moved his arms around in a 'yes but actually no' manner.
"I wouldn't exactly say it was an amulet, more like, just an object. Not sure what it was anymore though. All i know was that after mom wrote the letter, she'd take out the object, put it on the letter and then it would turn into a bird and fly away." he explained as best he could. There were more missing details regarding it, but that was all he could recall for now.
"I guess it was. To be able to do something like that, must be so nice…"
She chuckled and shrugged a little. "I guess it does kinda sting a little but it doesn't really hurt." she assured him. "Must be pretty spicy when it's not cooked and on its own."
"Ok." Mari nodded again, taking in the new information. "Hey, have you ever tried doing something like that? You might be able to if your dad could… Or at least something similar." she suggested a little optimistically. Though she didn't know much about magic, but she had considered the possibility that Damien had different… potential than what his father was able to do.
The boy slowly approved with a head nod as he was looking down at the spicy plant.
"It is, but its a very flavourable type of spicy. Like, it might set your mouth on fire, but it tastes good" he said, based on his experience with eating it pretty often to add a bit of strength to the taste of foods. He liked it honestly, even if it tingled his nose sometimes.
"Honestly, no. I didnt even know how to try. Mom was the one who had the thing, but i never got to use it though i wanted to." Damien admitted, looking away, to some other plants that he could show Mari.
"Im not sure how dad did it either"
Mari scrunched up her nose at the description of how hot that pepper was and shook her head. “That’s definitely too spicy for me. I think I’ll take a hard pass on trying it raw.” she said politely.
She paused thoughtfully and nodded. It made a lot of sense that Damien would want to use something like that to contact his father. “Did your mom not let you? I mean, why didn't she?” she asked. “I’m no expert on magic or special abilities but I thought that… Maybe your dad could do that without the object, and maybe you could too.”
The boy just offered an understanding smile, moving on further inside the greenhouse to some new plants which he then proceeded to show her. Most of them weren't that different from their common world counter-part, except from their interesting colors or sometimes odd shape, but generally all that was in there was edible some way or another, including the ones that just looked like normal flowers. On the opposite side of the row Damien was showcasing were the average, everyday vegetables known to man, like tomatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and several others.
"I dont know why. Maybe i wasn't old enough to use it? That's what i remember she told me, anyway." he responded, looking down at his hands. "I don't know how dad did it, i never saw him do it. Who knows, maybe he did do it without the object, anything's possible"
Marissa was absolutely fascinated by each and every one of the unique plants he showed her. She just hoped she wasn't annoying her friend with all the questions she asked about them. Until today, the most interesting foods she knew about were plantains, dragon fruit, and jack fruit. So she wanted to learn as much about these new plants as she could.
She smiled gently at him and placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok. I’m sure we can figure it out.” she said gently. “I wouldn't be surprised if your dad could but I agree that it could be possible. Either way, we'll find out.” she nodded thoughtfully. If Damien was able to do this, wonderful! If not, then nothing would change from what he already could do. But if he could call that smoke bird… would it be able to deliver the letter on its own or would Damien need to know where to send it?
Damien continued to show her around and politely answering any questions she might have. He even offerred to give her a close up look at how a wolfhook berry looked like and was eaten - it was a relatively large purple berry looking fruit, with large hooks on it, most likely used to hang on to passing by animals and transported. The boy also took the liberty of later offering her a glass of its juice once they got back inside the house.
He let out a small sigh and nodded, accepting her statements. They were going to test it out tomorrow anyway, so all he could do was just be patient about it and think of a way to do the thing.
"I'm kind of curious too actually, i do want to see if i can do it." he said, finally looking up at her. "We'll try tomorrow, right?"
Mari nodded occasionally, listening closely to every one of his answers, as she took in all this information. She smiled at both his offers and happily accepted being more than willing to try and see more of the unique foods he grew. Though, at the sight of the large hooks, she was a little hesitant to touch the purple berries.
“If you think you're up for it, then sure. We can try it tomorrow.” she smiled at him, a little excited herself to see if Damien really was able to use any powers. They would have to be careful though. With him being half-human, and having no actual knowledge on how powerful real-life vampires were… It was something of a shot in the dark to guess how strong he was.
The boy reassured her of the relative safety of the berry, opening it in front of her and offering her the soft core. Despite their size, the hooks weren't that dangerous, just a little prickly if you happened to grab them the wrong way by accident, though they were as prickly as a plant spiked ball could get - honestly they weren't that much different from the spiked seed ball of a wild plant or even the green hide of chestnuts, except they stung less.
It did taste quite refreshingly sweet though.
"I dont know if i can do it, but i do want to try!" he admitted, giving her a slightly hopeful look with his only visible eye. If she encouraged and supported him like she was doing now, it wouldn't hurt to at least give it a shot, right?
She nodded at his assurance with a soft smile and accepted the edible part of the berry, humming at the sweet flavor. In a way, she felt like such a tourist. Getting to try all these new foods and even learning about Damien, what his life was like, and honestly, she liked the feeling. At least there wasn't a language barrier though that wouldn't have bothered her either, it just would have been another part of the experience.
“Alright.” Mari smiled brightly at him. “I’m glad that you're was willing to give it a try… I do wish I knew more about this kind of stuff so I could help you more with it.” she admitted, blushing faintly as her smile dimmed a little.
Her positive receival of the berry encouraged Damien to continue showing her around, sometimes letting her taste a few fruits she found interesting, while also offering her some information on the side when the fruit in question was unknown to her. The whole experiece brought him some joy and excitement like he hadn't felt in a very long time, and he liked it.
"Thanks" he responded, looking at her, instinctively seeming to respond to her smile with one of his own. "I really do appreciate all you did for me so far, i really do. But don't worry, i know as much about myself as you do, so i guess we could learn together from this? i suppose?"
Mari was very grateful for how patient he was answering all her questions and letting her try the different types of fruits. She was really enjoying all of this; the time with her newest friend, trying new things and getting to learn so much. It was something she’d always thought about when she dreamed of traveling. Her dream career was as an archaeologist and that definitely required travel.
She chuckled a little, shaking her head. “Well, thanks but it was nothing. I don't really think I’ve done much at least.” she said, her blush growing a bit. “You’re right. We’ll definitely learn this together. And just so you know, whether or not you can do these things, we’ll still be friends.” she assured him.
"So, where to next?" he asked, once reaching the end of the greenhouse. "Back inside for the letter i suppose?"
"We're still friends, got it" he smiled, swaying his body back and forth once more. "Im really glad you're willing to do this with me. I wouldnt have had the courage to do it all by myself"
Mari was still smiling from the interactive tour they had just been on. It had been so much fun! The sunsettia fruit was definitely her new favorite, though the wolfhook berry was a close second. It really was a lot more fun to do stuff like that with a friend.
At the reminder of the letter, she nodded. “Yeah. I’m ready to see it. If you're still willing to show me.” she told him. She knew she was no Sherlock Holmes but she was still hopeful that she might be find something useful to track down his dad.
She chuckled a little at how he swayed when he was apparently nervous or complimented for something. “It’s not a problem. I'm happy to help you out.” she told him sincerely. “I just hope that I’m able to do enough… I'm sure you would have found your courage one way or another. I’m just glad I was here to help you.” she smiled at him.
