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0306 — Scholarly Seclusion
Two transcendentalists live together in a rustic cabin. The structure is
sturdy, but its exterior is already being taken over by the brambles
that were once cleared to make room for it. Inside, books and paper are
strewn across most surfaces in a fashion familiar to anyone who has
undertaken a long and research-heavy writing project, with space
deliberately cleared around a fireplace so as not to set the papers
alight. The furnishings are eclectic. The walls are inscribed with notes
and symbols of affection — the inhabitants of the cabin are lovers and
make a game of leaving new secret messages to be discovered by the
other.
Clarent (any pronouns) is a dedicated scholar, given to bouts of
weakness and sickness, and is intensely agoraphobic. Despite sharing
spiritual and political convictions with many from both the Thicket
collaboration (0208) and the Northmost collaboration (0305), she
could not bear to live at either, and so set out to complete her chosen
work in relative privacy. Their work centers on the passage of
information between animals, trying to disprove the claim that the
recording of culture into new mediums is uniquely human. Much of this
research hinges on the idea that spiders can record spells into their
webs (see &&&&&&&&&
Treasure by Luke Gearing, page 147). They have, for reasons personal
and political, embraced an absolute and radical gender fluidity and
delight in seeing how occasional visitors from the Northmost
Collaboration interpret their performance of such.
Bain (any pronouns) dedicates her time to caring for her partner. A
reasonably skilled herbalist, she cooks, prepares medicines for
Clarent’s illnesses, and spends her leisure time making small carvings
to place in the woods and thickets outside as a show of respect to the
forest. He must make monthly trips back to the Northmost Collaboration
to acquire certain supplies, and fears for Clarent in his absence. He
has adopted his partner’s project of gender fluidity. It is something
they doubt they would have come to otherwise, but it warms their heart
to share in the experience of their lover.
Clarent and Bain will eagerly trade their respective expertise for
supplies they need, particularly more paper and ink. They would also
respond positively to offers to make supply runs to the Northmost
Collaboration for them. Clarent will write a signed note saying what
they need. The couple are well liked and if anyone were to be discovered
cheating them out of supplies it would be grounds for ostracism and
enmity.
