Tending To A Garden

    The air was cool and the sun was slowly heading for the sunset. Over in a quiet little area, an imp with hoofed feet, glowing lavender eyes, and everything in just the right place as a body goes, was tending to a garden.

Though as the woman walked with a sway to her hips, her hands where only slightly moving. It was not her that was doing all the dirty work, but rather the tools she was controlling by a way of magic.

While she focused on her task, she was humming a Lander song to herself. As the wind blew by, she turned her face into the wind. Allowing the breeze to gently play with her hair, as she gave a soft smile.

    Whatever business brings Atif walking through here -- it's the sight of the woman tending to the garden here. From afar, the Red Salamander peers to the Imp's way, just watching for a moment, curiously. Perhaps with some bemusement visible in his features, even. Was that not something he was expecting to see her working on?

    Well. Either way. He learned well enough last time what happens wehn you dont announce yourself to her.

    "Tanzer-san?" He calls out, when he directs himself to padding towards her, and the plants she's... remotely tending to.

    Katherine turns to look over as she hears someone say her last name. "Lady Tanzer if you would, my dear sir Atif." She smiles with that seductive look in her eyes, along with mischievous light. "Whatever brings you over here, hm? Care to help the landers tend to a few of the flowers or... Perhaps plant your own?"

The Imp looks away from him, as her tail flicks. "After all, all good gardens need a little tender caring with the.... Hmmmm... Right touch."

    "O-...oh, alright..." Rumbles Atif at the correction, padding his way over to just besides her, where he looks down at the plants. "I was just moving through, Ta-... er, Lady Tanzer. I didn't know you helped with the gardens here."

    His whole body freezes briefly, and with a blink of his eyes, he turns his green gaze back up and to the side from the plants below, giving an audible gulp. "U-... um... I'm not... I'm not very... experienced with... er. Garden tending."

    "Not even with hedges or bushes?" Katherine asks, giving him glance over to her side. She then goes to place a hand on her hip, before turning her head ever so slightly. Her shoulder raised up a bit. "Would you like," She leans in a little toward him. "... Me to teach you?"

She then goes to step away, her finger snaps above her heads, as the tools go floating back to their original positions. "It really isn't that hard. Just requires the right amount of watering, the right kind of weather and," She gives a little stretch, as her tail flicks once more. ".. The right kind of touch."

The imp then turns to face him, "Anyone can do it, though I do admit," She rests a claw against her lip in thought before she motions to him. "Some can handle those bushes far better than others. Trim them just right and all."

    "E-....eh?" Atif's initial reaction to her offer is, as might be expected, a furious flushing of red over his face, and a mumbled rumble of something htat... might or might not sound like actual words.

    When her magic moves the tools so purposefully again, though, he visibly calms down and lets out a breath of "...Right, yeah. ...Yes, certainly."

    But of course she has to still phrase her words in that particular way that still makes him flush and force him to look distinctly *elsewhere** even while he reaches for one of the clippers... half-blindly, at that. It's especially her final statement, once she's turned to him, that makes him cough out, and his whole face burn the color of his scales. "U-..um. Is... is that... right? Uh..." His hand swipes over his forehead. "Sheesh, is it warmer than usual today...?" No, Atif. It really isn't.

    The demonic imp laughs gently, before she walks over to him. The one hoof in front of the other. Her body moving with authority, but also with a hip sway.

She gets ever closer to him, before she glides her claws along the edge of the metal, sliding them down till she touches his hand. "Your holding it wrong." She says softly. "You need to... Lighten your touch... if you squeeze to hard," She then goes to walk around, her hand sliding off of his. "Your cut will be to," She then flicks the bangs of her hair, ".. Stiff and jagged."

Katherine then goes to lean against the wall, Her thumb claw going to rest between her teeth gently as she looks at Atif, then she motions with that same hand, "See that hedge over here, dear knight? Why not-- get a little practice in with it. Just take a bit off the top. Nice and soft."

    They're just talking about tending to the plants. That's all there is to it. So why is it all making Atif flush and shake like an elementary schooler trying to get ready for his first presentation in front of the whole class? He even stiffens up entirely when her hand finds his for that moment, to guide him. "L-... light touch, right..." He rumbles in repeat of her words, uncertain as he might soudn otherwise. It's all enough to leave him copmletely still with uncertainty for a moment even after she's stepped completely away. He does manage to get himself lowering down to one knee, eventually, and lean down to guide the clippers to the hedge. Giving just the briefest of peeks to Katherine before clipping uneven growth away. "...Careful, right...?"

    "Yes, careful." Katherine confirms. "Look at each that is just out-of-place and gently give it a little-- snip." She says this using her index and middle finger closing together. She continues to watch him. Her brows furrowing a little.

"Tell me, dear knight Atif, do you dream of the life beyond... Or are you happy that we can continue our lives with no interruption from the other side?" Her tone goes from sultry to more-- serious. It was even in her eyes that serious, gently judging look.

    Alright, things are getting calmer now at least. Enough that Atif can focus on the careful clipping of the hedgebush. There's not even any signs of red on his skin anymore, even in spite of the knowledge that he's being watched so closely by Katherine!

    He pauses visibly when she presents that question. Somehow, hearing her speak in such an unusually serious tone seems to actually affect him even more than the teasing, sultry undertones. With his hand stopped in the process of working the clipper, he peers back over his shoulder to her,

    "...I..." He breathes out, after a momemnt of contemplation, and his expression... usually either so cheerful, or akward (with Kat, anyway...), actually looks solemn, now. Sad, maybe? "...I have nothing waiting for me.... on the other side."

    Katherine Tanzer looks away, her eyes narrow slightly in thought. She closes his eyes, as her index claw moves along her lips in thought. "The dream was a lie," She says softly. "This has always been our home."

The Imp looks to him, "And you would do anything to protect your home, wouldn't you? Even with the knowledge now... That the towers are causing pain to the people of this world? Do you-- still support them, Atif?"

    The follow-up question turns out to be an even heavier one. It draws the Salamander's gaze downwards, unable to quite meet the Imp's gaze for reasons that are entirely different from the usual ones.

    "... I don't want to deny people who want to leave either..." He murmurs, quietly. Doubt and uncertainty paints his tone, just barely kept from shaking.

    "But I... I don't want all this to be gone. I... Mmmh..." With a frustrated grunt, he draws his free hand up, rubbing it over his own face. "...I don't know..."

    The imp watches him and she walks over toward him now. Her hips still move as they always do. As she moves in closer, her hands reach up to touch his face. Her glowing lavender eyes stare him dead on.

She speaks calmly, softly, "If those who dare to open a way back to the other side are successful, don't you understand the implications for those of us here? For this world?" Her hands were gently, even as she slides them down to his upper arms. "We /won't/ have a choice, Atif. They won't /give/ us that choice, nor these people. They will erase it all."

Katherine then slides her hands away and shifts her body. Her delicate knuckles coming to rest up to her lips. Her eyes close in a moment of silence. In thought. She looks to him once more, that serious, but now sad look fills her eyes. They dim in color as she stares are him. "I know... I would rather die then return to that world. I do not want to ever sleep and be back there again, so you see Atif, in the end..."

    The imp inhales deeply, her head lowers a little as her hand slides down to her chest, right there on her bosom. "We have to make choices, because one day... There will be no fence-sitting. You will need to decide, and I hope, my dear knight," She looks at him once more. "You choose honestly." Then she goes to walk away from him.

    "...Ah." His gaze is inevitably brought up to meet her when her hands find their way to his face. He might flush with red when she does, but he doesn't hesitate in meeting her gaze head on this time around. However... though she can tell that her words ring heavy in his mind, he doesn't manage to say anything in response to it all. No agreement nor disagreement.

    When she's drawn away, he winces with her expression of preference of death over leaving. But still, he remains silent while she turns away, and walk off.

    "I--" He stammers out, first, before he lifts his gaze after her, and he calls back to her, more purposefully, "I don't want you to end up like that!"

    The imp turns around and looks at the Salamander. The wind gently blows her hair and she stares at him. "Then choose Atif. Be the knight of the people... Or be the knight of the tower. I know where I stand..." She then looks away. "I hope you solve where you do as well." Then the imp continues to walk away.