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.