Who: Edwin and Oliver, then Oliver and Scotty When: Soon after this Where: Wandering around the area near the lodge
Even before Zenith, Oliver had always appreciated the gentle white noise rain brought, and the smell of ozone and damp earth. In Zenith, the familiarity of it could be a balm, particularly with the absence of other sounds. He missed birds. He missed seeing squirrels in the yard, or stray cats slinking around. He even missed the odd occasion of evicting raccoons from the garbage bins at night. Right now he could use a little of that normalcy as he waited for Edwin to wander back downstairs, so he found himself doing what he normally did when he was restless. He put himself to work.
He didn't go far, and he didn't leave the view of the wide open barn doors as he wandered into the treeline and worked at pulling more fallen branches and logs into the yard to be broken up at some point later. It was good, exhausting work if he did it for long enough, but he assumed he wouldn't be out there alone for more than a few minutes. Still, the cool rain felt good, even as it dampened his clothes and skin, and it felt a lot better being out in the open than in the dark, cramped lodge.
Sure enough, as he was dragging his third load back into the clearing he saw Edwin approaching, and he maneuvered the pile where it would be out of the way, but within easy access if someone decided to take over at some point. More than likely he'd end up doing it himself when it was a little more dry out. He lifted an arm in invitation for Edwin to tuck himself under it, and gestured with his head to the area he'd been wandering around before. There was already a tentative path forming from earlier excursions in the past few days, and while it might be muddy, it would likely be more clear of debris.