CHARACTERS IN QUARANTINE TAG!

 Happy Saturday, everyone! 

Well, let's be honest: it's been a while since anybody's really talked about quarantine. At least to the extent we were a few months back. (Remember my post "The Quarantine To-Do List You've Been Waiting For"? That seems like a looong time ago, doesn't it?? O_O)

BUUUT today we're hopping back on the quarantine train! Because I'm behind on tags and need to do this one before it's irrelevant. xD (hopefully it'll be irrelevant soon enough!)

A couple months ago Catherine tagged me for the Characters in Quarantine tag (thanks, Catherine!), and I LOVE the idea of this one! It's exactly how it sounds: you share what your characters would be doing if they were quarantined. Easy enough. xD

So, I'll be doing this one with the characters from Roots to Claim. Buut I'm also putting a little twist on it, because as of right now there are really only three characters that matter a lot in this story (hehe yeah I have problems), so this would be a REALLY short post if I just left it as is. So, in addition to sharing what my characters would be doing if COVID existed in their world... I also decided to write each of them into a scene set in our world! You'll see them dealing with a few of the typical problems brought on by corona. This was a ton of fun and I hope you get a giggle out of it. xD

That being said, on with the tag!

ARCHLAN

Sits around depressed because he can't see his girlfriend. Goes on long rides on his horse daily to keep from losing his mind. Climbs trees and does everything he can to stay in shape so he can get right back in the swing of things when the Jays (the band of thieves he's a part of) are able to go back out. After a while, he embraces the solitude and spends much of his time bonding with the trees.

"Yes, Rian, I sanitized every surface." Archlan leaned his forehead on the wall in front of him, suddenly realizing that he had not sanitized that surface. Oh, well. 

"Archlan, this is serious!" Rian scolded him over the phone. "It's bad enough I can't see you right now. I at least want to know that you're safe."

"Don't worry, the evil germs are being kept at bay," Archlan said wryly, wondering if COVID-19 could be caught through your forehead from germs on a wall. 

"Archlan." Rian's warning tone made him stand up straight and sigh. 

"Okay, okay. I promise I'll be careful. Stop worrying, okay? I'll be fine."

"What a rotten turn of events, huh?" Rian's tone shifted a bit. "I need all these people to go back to work so we can get back to work."

Archlan gripped the phone a little tighter. A dangerous virus was going around and all Rian could think about was the fact that they were not able to break into people's homes and rob them? "We'll be fine. Remember, we had that great run just before everything shut down."

"I know. That's why I'm not having a panic attack yet." She gave a hollow laugh. "Well, anyway. I'll let you get back to your cleaning." 

I already told you I cleaned everything. 

"I'll see you..." She hesitated. "Hopefully soon. I love you."

"I love you, too." He hung up and turned around, surveying his house. Was there anything he had not sanitized?

A rustling sound came from behind him, and he turned to look. A tree limb was twining in through the open window, reaching for the doorknob. It brushed the knob with the tips of its branches. 

"Oh, yeah. The doorknobs." Archlan grabbed his bottle of Lysol and glanced at the tree hesitantly. "Uh... thanks." Still took some getting used to.

The branch slowly retreated back outside as Archlan approached with the disinfectant and a paper towel. "You didn't have COVID, did you?" Archlan muttered to the tree as he wiped the doorknob clean. 

KENNETT

Stays secluded in his castle, rarely leaving his room. Stays deep in magic meditation all day. Probably wouldn't even know that COVID was a thing if not for his psychic-esque abilities, because his life literally has not changed at all since quarantine. #introvertlife

Kennett opened the pantry door and pulled the string to turn the light on. He had been shut up in his room for two days without eating, hoping to latch onto a glimpse of the future. He wanted answers. How long would this virus last? How many people would get sick? 

When would the stores restock vienna sausage?

He groaned when he saw that his supply of go-to quarantine food- or everyday food, if he was being honest- had not magically replenished itself overnight. Was that too much to ask? He could receive prophecies and see the future, yet not conjure up processed sausage in a can for lunch? 

"Guess I'll check again," he muttered, reaching for his phone on the counter. He hated using this thing- especially when unwanted friend requests popped up. How had he created a Facebook account, anyway? And who wanted to be his friend when he only knew two people? 

But it was the only way to get his food delivery, so he kept it. Except sometimes it disappointed him. Like right now when what he wanted was still out of stock. 

Would it be irresponsible to use his abilities to look into the future and find out when it would be available again?

Oh, well. He had some Ramen noodles on the way already- a product of yesterday's unfruitful search for his preferred sustenance. And this was far from the longest he had gone without food- though usually it was because he was deep in magic, and not because his pantries were empty. 

Maybe he should go for a walk for a change to distract himself. One glance out the window immediately changed his mind. He always got strange looks from the neighbors when he went out- everyone thought he was just the weird hermit guy. Which, well, he was. But they didn't have to make it obvious.

His stomach growled. Suppose it's time to do something. He sighed and picked up the phone he so hated, wondering for a moment if he had even added any contacts. He certainly didn't know anyone's number by heart. 

But the person he needed popped up immediately, the first name on the list- well, there were only two names, but still. 

"Archlan, hello. Ah..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm afraid I... didn't prepare ovely well and ran out of food. I hate to ask, but would you, ah, happen to have anything extra to get me by until another delivery comes in? Yeah. Yeah, that's perfect!"

It was not perfect. He had tasted Rian's cooking once, and the frozen dinners she had apparently stocked Archlan's kitchen up with did not appeal to him. But he hid his disdain.

Rubbing a hand over his forehead, he shook his head. Had it really come to this?

"Thanks a lot, Archlan. I appreciate it. I'll return the favor someday... what? Yes, I think I have some disinfectant you can use. Why?"

QUINARD

Has no house and the inns are closed, so he sleeps outside every night. (Doesn't mind, though, because he enjoys being in nature.) Writes depressing songs about pandemics and practices them for when he can start traveling again. They probably go like this:

Shut the door on the world

Light a candle in the dark

The monster crawls in unwanted

Just a touch can light a spark

Distance brings us tears

When can we come close?

How did this get here?

On and on the darkness goes...

Misses people, but it's not primarily the interaction he longs for: it's being the cause of smiles. 

"Hello, everyone. How are you doing today?"

"Fine, thanks." Quinard gave his boss a wide smile through the computer screen. The other members of the Zoom meeting offered similar sentiments. 

"All right, well." Amos straightened a stack of papers in front of him. "Let's get started, shall we?" 

And then the conversation descended into the terribly boring black hole that Quinard had come to despise. Why did they need to talk business over a computer screen? Why not just work individually for a while? Maybe it would strength their work ethics. 

"Quinard? Any thoughts on this?" 

Quinard cleared his throat and realized he had been staring off into the corner of his kitchen. "I'm sorry, sir, what?"

Amos glared at him. "Pay attention, everyone. This is important."

He continued speaking, but Quinard only saw his lips moving with no sound coming out. Quinard frowned and leaned forward. "Uh..." He looked at the other people on the screen. "Can anybody else hear him?"

Amos stopped talking, appearing miffed that Quinard had interrupted him. Quinard pointed at his ears and shook his head. 

Realization dawned on Amos's face, and he squinted at the screen in front of him. Quinard grinned. This could take a while. 

"Well, then." He shrugged, observing the rest of the people in the meeting. Nobody was attempting to carry on the meeting. So Quinard reached around the arm of the couch and picked his lute up off the floor. "How about some entertainment while we wait?" He struck a chord on the instrument and hummed to pick up the key.

Rhett, the office grouch, looked at the ceiling and groaned. Lissy, the office flirt, giggled and leaned forward on her hand to watch. Amos looked infuriated that Quinard had so casually brushed off the interruptment. 

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Quinard said, pointing to his ears and shaking his head again. "Maybe try again in a minute." He began strumming out a slow, haunting melody. "Wrote this one a couple days ago." And then he sang about viruses and isolation and empty store shelves. 

Amos's face grew redder with every note. 

Oh, dear. My guys are having a bit of trouble this quarantine, it seems. (Although Quinard seems happy enough...) Hopefully Quinard's boss can get his volume back soon, and Archlan can clean his house to his girlfriend's standards, and Kennett can find some vienna sausage. xD

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed that tag and the spin I put on it! Listen, I think it's awesome and hilarious how this whole virus/quarantine thing hit and what do we writers do? We make a writing exercise out of it. xD (I bet Tolkien didn't know what his characters would do in quarantine.)  

I'm not tagging anybody, but if you want to steal this, feel free. xD

Before I go, just a reminder! My blogiversary's coming up, and I'm doing a Q&A. If you haven't yet, you can drop your questions HERE for me to answer in an upcoming vlog. Can't wait to see them! :D

And that's it! Everyone have a lovely weekend, and don't forget to sanitize your doorknobs! ;)

So, those of us still in quarantine, how are you doing? Who do you relate the most to in quarantine, Quinard, Archlan, or Kennett??