Depression Zoomies

[poaceae]

Who: Fern and YOU
What: Trying to make himself useful
When: February
Where: The New Greenhouse, other?
Warnings: will add as needed
PV told him not to waste the new body he got in exchange for his heart, and Fern is determined to make the most of it. At the same time, though, he doesn't have any real skills outside of adventuring, and since becoming Fern he doesn't seem to be very good at that, either. The only place in the Grove he's really familiar with is the greenhouse, but PV is there. He still feels like he's not really allowed in places where PV is.

But he heard there was a new greenhouse, and surely that's the perfect solution! He only ever sat and looked around in the first greenhouse, and despite being one himself he never really learned anything about plants or plant care, but it's the closest thing he has to an actual idea.

He doesn't really know what to do when he gets there. He waters the plants? He waters the plants.

Naturally, he can be found anywhere between there and the Inn.

Comments

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer frequents both greenhouses, though moreso the clinic one since it has the important herbs in it. Today he's checking on the school one, and who does he see but Fern...

...]

Hey, careful. You don't want to over-water those.

[Local man could not give less of a fuck about the situations leading up to this, clearly.]

[poaceae]

[ He jumps a little, surprised to be both noticed and addressed. Then he turns and stares, because this, this is the guy who blew himself up. That was awesome.

Wait what did he say again? ]

...You can do that?

[thebladebringstheflame]

Yeah, you sure can. Just like you and me, they can drown.

[Fun plant facts!

Overwatering is just as bad as underwatering, and how much water they should get depends on the species.

[poaceae]

Oh...

[ Could he have drowned when he was grass? He didn't think he could. Weird. ]

Sorry. I was just looking for something I could do to help.

[thebladebringstheflame]

Nah, you didn't do anything wrong. C'mere.

[He'll motion Fern over to the nearby wall, then point to a chart with a watering and fertilizing schedule on it, per species of plant.]

I wrote the names here. [Taps the page.] The pots are also labelled so you know what you're looking at. The X markers here mean they get watered on these days, and underneath, we sign off when they're watered so no one else overwaters them. They'll be fine, though, we just won't water that species tomorrow.

[poaceae]

Oooooohhh...

[ He stares up at the chart, then squints at the nearest pot, then back at the chart, and back and forth several times until actually finds that plant on the list. It takes longer than it should, really. ]

Okay, cool! Wait, how do I know what day today is? I thought it was Tuesday.

[ It's Saturday. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

Yeah, it's hard to keep track. Today's Saturday. [Tapping the "Sat" on the chart's top row.] Since time is messed up, I rely on Timekeeper's clocktower to at least attempt to tell it. That, and I've started counting the days in my head as I see the sun rise and fall. Either what I'm doing is working, or the plants here couldn't give a damn, but I'd prefer to think the former rather than the latter.

[Flamebringer is patient while Fern assesses which pots are which. He does not mind. Look, he barely knows how to read, he's only made it this far via hyperfocus.]

[poaceae]

[ Fern frowns. So he has to remember, basically... helping out is hard. ]

Okay, I'll do my best.

[ He accepts this important mission. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Helping out is hard. He gets a headpat for his efforts, though.]

You'll be fine. Come this way, I'll show you where we keep the plant food.

[Off to the back of the greenhouse he goes, where there's a small storage closet and shelves upon shelves of supplies. He props the door open with a wooden block on the floor, then flicks on a dim light.]

[poaceae]

Plants eat food?

[ He follows, but are you sure you want this child tending your plants FB? ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

Yeah, not like you and I though. Well — carnivorous plants kind of do. We'll worry about those later. [He's about to go to Ydalir like can I get pitcher plants] Your regular run-of-the-mill plants soak up plant food through the soil.

[He holds up a liquid bottle and shakes it around.]

It's got a bunch of natural ingredients in it that help plants grow better, essentially. You'd follow the serving size recommended on the label here, and let it soak into the soil. It's usually not much, just a teaspoon or two depending on the size of the plant.

[poaceae]

[ Well, of course carnivorous plants eat food. Those are the kind that end up as monsters sometimes, and then they'll eat people and animals and anything else that gets too close. ]

Man, I wish I knew about that when my arm was growing back...

[thebladebringstheflame]

I don't know how it interacts with... [trying to remember what Fern called himself,] plant-humans.

[Fern is not that now, but the point still stands. He's trying to not get this wrong.]

Anyway, we'll take this plant food over to the flowers. [Straying over there now.] Take the lid off, then pour a bit into the cap at the "fill" line that's embossed in there, then pour it into the soil. Make sense?

[outofsynth]

[Min-Gi knows a little about plant care, but nothing much beyond the basics. He's here mostly as part of his efforts to try and find his way around the Grove better rather than an interest in the greenhouse itself. Even as a first time visitor it's not exactly surprising to find he's not alone. It's nice in here.

Though since he's watering the plants maybe he works in here...]

You need a hand?

[poaceae]

[ Fern jumps, startled. He's not used to people actually choosing to talk to him. ]

Oh, what? I'm just watering.

[outofsynth]

[Min puts the jump down to him maybe entering too quietly. It doesn't even enter his mind that it has anything to do with talking to him at all.]

That's okay. It's quicker with two, right?

[poaceae]

Oh, yeah, that's true! Okay!

[ Well if Min-Gi wants to help, who is Fern to turn him away? Not anyone officially associated with the greenhouse, that's for sure. ]

I started over...

[ He looks to one corner of the greenhouse. Then he turns around to look at the opposite corner. Then another, until he's looked at all four. ]

Uh. I don't remember where I started.

[outofsynth]

[Look, his assumption is still that this guy is involved with its upkeep in some way. Why else would he be in here watering? That said, it is a little odd that he didn't keep track of where he started. Min-Gi blinks, looking puzzled. But it's okay. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

He picks the corner he came in at, turning so he can tentatively poke the soil around one of the plants.]

Well, that's dry...

[But that doesn't necessarily make it the best corner to start in. Really they need to find the wet corner first so they don't accidentally miss out a whole section.]

[poaceae]

[ He has a lot on his mind, okay? And the plants all look the same. He was going in a direction, but now he's not moving, so he's not sure what direction he was going a second ago. ]

That's probably right, then!

[ He's about to water the next plant in that direction, but stops. Wait. Didn't Flamebringer say you could water plants too much? If he does the wrong one, will it die?

He frowns, trying harder to remember, but the harder he tries the less sure he is. Stupid. How do you mess up watering plants? Why can't he ever do anything right?

He sighs and sets the watering can down. ]

I guess we should ask Flamebringer what to do.

[outofsynth]

[Min's distracted from working out just where Fern had started by the mention of one specific name. He hasn't technically met him, but he has been mentioned. And Min's been warned that he might not have liked some of the things he'd said in the notebooks.]

I don't think we need to ask Flamebringer.

[Although. Wait. There's something else that's weird about that.]

Don't you know?

[poaceae]

[ Fern blinks at him, confused. ]

How would I know? I don't know stuff about plants.

[outofsynth]

Oh. So this isn't, like, your job?

[poaceae]

No? I'm... just trying to be useful.

[ He tells himself that the plants need him, so he has to get out of bed. Otherwise, he just... wouldn't. ]

When your cat decides you're done with that tag now.....

[outofsynth]

[Should he be doing this then...? Min isn't sure. He hasn't been here long enough to know whether this is open for everybody to use as they want or more carefully managed by someone.

He's tempted to try and deter him from carrying on, but he sounds like he really needs this. And it's just watering them. How much harm can that do?]

Okay. Well, wetting the soil should do for now. It's just like if there's been light rain.

[He assumes anyway.]

clearly it was Cat Time

[poaceae]

Just like, a little bit of water? [ He looks hopefully at Min. ] Yeah... yeah, that should work! That won't hurt anything, right?