Clover lore 03.25.25

I bring a basket of questions I've collected to dump on you, enjoy 🍀

How does Clover tell time?

Clover sections his existence by time of day, but he's most aware of the changing of the seasons and the cycles of the moon. It was always exciting when he was young to point out if the moon was new or full, and when he was alone, surviving the passing of winter was excruciating. Winter was long and he would learn to count the full moons before life began to creep back into the forest. Knowing he only had a few left before the frosts arrived again carried a heavy dread. Although he's tried, he isn't completely consistent; sometimes other things take priority. He'd only started marking moon cycles as he got a little older, so there were some dark periods. You might be able to guess his age by looking through the journal he keeps with him.

He doesn't talk much, correct? Does he like his voice? Can Halsin understand him without Clover talking much?

Clover doesn't talk much. In a way he does dislike his voice-- making noise has always been risk for him. He's really only spoken with intent when he's spellcasting, which was usually in a kill-or-be-killed or other stressful situation, so he long associated speaking with those feelings. He feels safest when he's quiet.

How well Halsin can read him depends on where they are in their relationship. Halsin's had to learn Clover's behavior and I think he's an emotionally-sensitive person. In the beginning it could be quite hard! Clover's cerebral and often unknown even to himself since it's second-nature for him to immediately push away his own needs and vulnerability. It's disorienting when his brain is still reading those situations as danger and the expected danger just doesn't come. It gets easier as they spend more time together and Halsin becomes more in tune to Clover's wants and quirks, body language, even little signs he teaches Clover. He's still someone who always needs a careful ear and eye, and Halsin is always there with both.

What does Clover's home look like? Is it a small cabin in the forest or does he live a tent?

Clover is completely nomadic, the only shelter he uses is one he can find in nature like hollow trees, caves, empty dens. It's dangerous to stay in one place and equally dangerous to leave a trail.

Does Clover shift into fox form? Or does Halsin just call him Fox?

Clover reminded him of a fox, red of hair, quick and shy-- with a cleverness that Clover never gave himself credit for.

But he also does shift into a foxlike form! It's not really wildshaping and it's not exactly polymorphing either. It's a part of him. He's spent so long away and he's so entangled with a wilder facet of himself that it's not entirely clear. The forest has twined itself within him in a way that's inseparable from him now. Perhaps it's Fey magic. Sometimes it's a refuge from his human body. It can be many things, but it's Clover.

Was Clover a feral who didn't trust Gale's food and ate bugs he found under rocks until convinced otherwise or is he a feral that wolfed it down because free warm food?

For a long time he was pretty untrusting, food was a fraught thing-- some of which deals with Fey. Food is binding. Eventually he started to help cook because he figured it gave him control... until he began to really notice the joy and warmth that spread across Halsin's face when he'd take a bite. Clover became a good cook because he was nervous about a guy liking it and he didn't understand why him liking it became so important but there he was, picking rosemary before anyone else was up.

I've talked about the human and nonhuman-creature rift he feels between himself and the others, and this carried into food too. Cook potatoes for the camp, eat raw whatever he found on the way back.

What animal form does halsin turn into to braid this hair the best?

Halsin's an incurable romantic and would like his big old hands best, even if it means taking longer-- especially if it means taking longer. Halsin's gentle fingers were the first to teach him.