NOVEL WEB 27) Lawn care.
27) Lawn care.
The mower still had some gas in, so I figured I should at least get the front done for the look of it.
Who knows, some idiots hearing that this part of town had become even more abandoned might head this way to try looting, but then making the place look occupied by mowing the lawn could encourage them.
...nope. Don’t care. I want the grass cut anyways.
Then I was going to get something to eat.
Popping the cap on the mower got Blue sniffing at it, only to make her recoil with her snout all crinkled up in disgust. After topping the small tank off with the last few drops from the gas can, I primed it up with a few pumps of the soft flexible button before pushing it around the side of the house.
Up front, I called the coyotes over as I tilted the thing over on its side and pushed on the edge of the blade. “This thing is going to spin, and make a lot of noise. If you bite it, it will tear the lower half of your face off.” Blue and her mother stared at it, then looked at me before they both took a few steps back.
Meanwhile, Acey skipped forward to try to turn the blade with both hands.
...This girl really is dumber than a stump.
Wylina tugged the green girl back by biting the back of her shirt and pulling her away as I dropped the mower flat. Blue was over next to her brother as the now smaller pup sniffed at some weeds on the side of the driveway.
After priming the mower again, I pulled the handle close to me and set my feet as I grabbed the handle of the starting cord. I had found that I had to shove the mower forward while pulling the cord to get the beat up old machine to start.
Chubby jumped and cowered, and his mom flinched with her ears lowered but stayed close to Acey to keep the girl from getting herself hurt. The green girl just covered her ears with a freaked out look on her face before running over to hide behind her tree.
From where she peaked around at me while I mowed down the grass.
While Wylina did keep checking on the girl, all three coyotes took the opportunity to get in some snacks as mice, toads, and various bugs which had been hiding in the fairly tall grass fled before the mower.
I had no idea preying mantises were so common around here, or that they flew.
Dodging one as it flew sort of at me with its upper body poised in front of it flapping wings meant I had to restart the mower.
I managed to get the front done, including the narrow strip on the other side of the driveway that was my land, while the other two feet between me and the abandoned house next to me was someone else’s problem.
Not my job to do, and I only care about how my home looks, not the neighbors.
Then the molter chuffed and died. "Guess that's it."
I could get out the extension cord and cut back the weeds along the fence line or the house, but I was hungry.
And with what I had planned for the afternoon I wanted a full belly.
Heading inside with the girl dancing along beside me, I decided that I was going to need protein, so three eggs mixed in with some low fat milk got dumped into a frying pan on top of some fake cooking oil, with pepper and dried parsley sprinkled on top.
I liked pepper, while that now expired parsley was more for color than anything else.
Of course, the eggs broke up while I tried to flip them. I don't know if I had somehow lost the ability to make omelets over the years, or if the watery milk mixed into it just didn’t cut it.
As the other side of the broken up bits of eggs fried I diced up a slice of garlic flavored baloney and tossed it in, which by itself was most of my limit of salt for the day.
I still grated some extra sharp cheese on top and poked at the mess with the spatula as I half flipped over the larger pieces until the cheese melted enough to dump in on the plate I had so thoughtfully left on the counter from my last meal. All ready to use.
A few squirts of ketchup went on top before I stuck a fork on it, turned around, and made my way to the table while nudging a few coyotes out of the way with my one knee and foot. Then I was able to eat breakfast out of the reach of the line of sight of all the moochers
Other than the deep green solid eyes peeping at me over the edge of the table as the green girl stood on her tiptoes with her fingers wrapped around the edge of the table.
I sighed and kicked out the opposite chair before offering her a half fork full of eggs, cheese, and gritty bits of cheap lunch meat
To my surprise, she opened her mouth and let me dump the greasy mess in, before closing her mouth and seeming to take great pleasure in slowly chewing it up. Savoring each bite.
Her taking her time meant I only had to give her two more bites before I finished off my plate, and sharing my food justified throwing a few slices of nearly tasteless low card bread in the toaster, and after they popped up, topping them off fake butter and a thin smear of strawberry preserves.
Even with a higher Health score, and a magical way of getting rid of blood sugar, I needed to watch my sugar intake.
Plus preserves were expensive.
I let each of the coyotes take a few licks of the plate, Chubby going to town on it last after I set it down and his mother and sister looked at him tolerantly.
They knew the score.
So did I. Don’t reuse the plates I find on the floor.
“Well, Let’s get this done.”
With a good set of boots on my feet. The Slingshot on my arm, and the putter in my hand. I led the troupe out into the backyard to where I figured the middle of my property was.
Tucking the putter under my arm, I pulled the old dinner table chair turned work ladder with its plywood seat out of the storage space and used it to lower myself down enough to set my right hand down on the overgrown grass in the backyard.
Feeling the cold wet dirt underneath the overgrowth, I hoped I would have the energy to make it back inside the house.
I had the feeling what I was about to do was going to be a lot more draining than awakening an animal or a tree.
The square had said I couldn't awaken nonliving things just by channeling life Essence into it. Which meant that I was going to somehow wake up every living thing on and in my land as a group, or the Genius Loci class power broke the normal rules.
[ Do you wish to channel Life into your land?]
“Yeah, but take it slow. It’s my first time.”
Channeling life into the coyotes, and even the tree, had felt the same as doing it to my aches and pains, it was like letting a handful of sand slide down from between my fingers.
Feeding the land… was like falling down a hole.
Even while I was only feeding it a trickle, instead of the warmth flowing down my arm and out of my hand, it was like it was pulling on my whole body at once.
I couldn’t even tell how long it went on, but when I noticed that I was gasping for breath, I felt Acey’s hands pulling at my arms and heard both Blue and Wylina barking and howling at me.
Lifting my hand free, I slowly tumbled over backwards to lie flat on my driveway.
[ Awakening of the land at 16 percent ]
I laughed, once. Then sighed.
“Watch over me girls, I’m going to take a nap.”