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 Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:22 pm
Yahya sat on the front steps to the school, his chin tilted upwards so that he could watch the clouds roll on by. He had to say that he needed the little bit of fresh air, considering all that had been happening around the school. Two students had wound up dead from... meningitis? I think that's what they were saying. The memorial service had been depressing, and being a naturally caring person, it had definitely upset him. That was why he thought he could do with some fresh air, something to clear his head, rid him of bad memories for a little while. It wasn't exactly working as much as he desired it to, but what it was doing was good enough.
There were odd things going around in this school, so he was going to cling to whatever normality he had. In his arms he carefully cradled a bundled up baby squirrel. The rest of the family were all curled up and comfortable in his dorm room. There really was nothing like a baby animal to help cure someone of the blues. The squirrels he had sneaked into his care used to have parents, but one of the school's cats had taken care of them. So, of course it was Yahya's duty to start where the squirrel's natural parents had left off!
He smiled, and tilted a small bottle of a vitamin-rich mixture to the baby squirrel's mouth, letting it suckle. It was times like these that his knowledge of wildlife really helped him out. Yahya would have been saddened that he couldn't help an animal in need.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:54 pm
Unsurprisingly, the news of death hadn't really affected Piper all that much. She had accepted the tragic meningitis story as the truth and had made a note to wash her hands more - only she would never remember, because if something didn't directly affect her it simply went in one ear and out the other.
Besides that, she had woken up to a beautiful surprise awaiting her! Well, maybe it wasn't beautiful now, but she was determined that it would be when she was done with it! Sitting in her room was the most precious, lonely little plant she had ever seen. Never having been allowed to have pets, or even her own plant to take care of (her mother had always swatted her hands away from the ferns) she had decided that she was going to be the best owner to this plant ever!
Thus, she was out taking her darling plant for a walk, her arms encircling the terra cotta pot as she sauntered down the path. She'd been in a little ring in the school yard and was about to head back inside when she saw the boy sitting on the steps. Terribly pleased with herself, she held out her plant in both hands, shoving it awfully close to his face, and chirped out, "see my plant?" Everything else about the situation, baby squirrel included, seemed to have gone unnoticed.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:10 pm
The little squirrel had her fill, and tenderly Yahya wiped her face clean of the supplement that hadn't quite made it into her mouth. The gesture was... motherly, and certainly not all that manly. But, this was Yahya, the animal lover, activist, and crusader. That alone allowed some leeway when it came to gender roles. Either way, he was so engrossed in his squirrel that he wasn't paying attention to the students that passed by him, let alone one that had spotted him and was heading right for him.
He released a startled yelp as a very, well, as a PLANT with a FACE was pushed up under his nose. Yahya quickly leaned back, blinked, and stared at the plant for a few seconds. "...Y-yes?" His gaze lifted to the blue-haired girl (blue hair was such a fine color, in his opinion) who seemed to be the owner of this poor plant. On closer inspection, the poor thing looked like it was dying! While it may not be an animal, it resembled one enough that Yahya just had to take some concern over its well being.
"It looks kind of... sick. Did you water it lately?" Worry was expressed upon his face, on the tender downward curve of his lips, the small scrunching of his brows. This poor plant!
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:22 pm
After she was assured that he had gotten a good look at this amazing specimen, she plopped down happily next to him on the steps. Closer than he probably would have liked, in fact, and without an invite - but that was just the way of Piper.
"I watered it as soon as I found it," she said with a nod, her head tilting from side to side as she rocked a bit to whatever song was currently lilting through her head. Then, she paused, and shook her head instead. "No, wait, wait, I didn't water it as soon as I got up," she picked up the pot and shoved it back towards his face - but this time centering it on the pot itself. "See? I wrote its name first, with a sharpie I found! Wouldn't it be sad if it didn't have a name?"
She ran a finger along the brim of the pot as she withdrew it and placed it back in her lap, a pleased smile on her face. "Princess Sir Cuddlesworth Regulus Archibald Nancy the VI!" She beamed as she turned to look up at the boy, as if she were a child that had just learned to spell her name for the first time. "Then I drew little hearts and music notes and swirlies aaaaaall over the pot, to make it feel at home. Then, I watered it." She gave a final nod as she admitted to when she finally remembered to water it, but it had all only been over the span of an hour, tops.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:30 pm
Yahya was not in the least bit sure of what to think of this girl. She seemed nice enough, but she did talk a lot and about things he really didn't need to hear. Yet, he was gifted with an extreme amount of patience, and so listened to her dutifully explain just what had happened after she had found the plant. "I think it's very good that you gave it a name. I'd be sad if I didn't have a name, and I'm sure you would too." It was almost like he was talking to a child in an adult's body, but he didn't mind. He was happy to agree with anything she said so long as he got to take a good look at the plant and make sure that it was going to be all right.
He sat next to her, braving how uncomfortable it was to have a girl sit so close to him when he hardly knew her. It would be rude to scoot away, though, so for that very reason he remained seated. "That is a... nice name," he replied slowly. A name was better than no name. A name meant that the creature was your's, and that you were going to take care of it. There was a bond created when a name was given to a pet, no matter how unusual the pet was. "What do you call him... her? It? ...Uh, for short. A nickname." He'd wait for Piper to announce the plant's gender before he labeled it.
"Those are very cute!" he nodded towards the designs. "Maybe what your plant needs is some new fertilizer to help it grow big and strong?" He would do what was necessary to assure the plant's survival!
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:18 am
"I don't," she seemed confused at the suggestion of a nickname for her darling plant, her brows knitting into a 'V' as she turned her face up towards him. She also didn't comment on the unspoken question of its gender, because she just simply wasn't that grand at picking up little details like that.
"I think they are cute too," she brushed away her confusion and let her smile return as they turned back to a happier subject, tilting her head down to look at her wilted plant. She brushed a finger along one leaf thoughtfully, staring down at it blankly for quite sometime. Outwardly, she appeared completely lost, but inwardly one had to hope she was at least thinking about something.
"Hmm?" she asked finally, turning back to look up at him. "Fertilizer?" her brows rose a little with the question, as if that had never occurred to her and she was well and truly surprised. "I thought fertilizer was only use by people like farmers?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:51 pm
"It is... a very long name," he explained with tender patience. "Sometimes it's best to give pet nicknames, so they don't get confused by you calling them a bunch of things. Plus, it's easier to remember for everyone!" All he could really remember was Princess and Cuddlesworth, and he didn't want to say the plant's name incorrectly. It would make him no friends with Piper, and however strange this girl may be, he did enjoy making friends. "Maybe just Princess?" suggestions may very well be the key to helping this girl.
Yahya could not scorn the girl's affection for her plant. It was clear that she cared about it deeply, and while sometimes too much love was bad... Yahya didn't like to think so. Piper was no danger to the plant... so long as she was taught how to properly care for it. He just had to be careful not to insult her, and everything would be a-okay!
"Fertilizer can be used by anyone. It helps plants grow big and strong, and I think your little buddy needs that dearly." Of course, he didn't have any fertilizer on him at the moment, but he was sure the botanist club did! Or even the groundskeeper... There were plenty of ways for Piper to get what she needed to insure her plant would grow big and strong.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:31 pm
"Princess Sir Cuddlesworth Regulus Archibald Nancy the VI is very smart," she retorted, holding her head up proudly as she turned to look at him, "it wouldn't get confused over something as silly as a name." The way she had begun to speak was like she was speaking to someone that just didn't comprehend what she was trying to get across. She was not giving it a nickname, that was that. "Besides, I can't just pick one name, because it hasn't told me if it's a boy or a girl yet." And then all the seriousness in her face washed away and was replaced with that almost vacant-eyed happy expression she usually wore.
"Really? You think so? I thought it just needed more sing-a-longs," she sighed as she said this, putting her hands behind her on the steps and leaning back, the pot balanced precariously in her lap. "Maybe you're right though, the chicken I've been feeding it hasn't been digesting very well, I think it may be too much for its baby belly." Did plants have bellies? She wrinkled up her nose in thought, staring up at the clouds in silence for a few moments. As she thought about it, she realized she couldn't remember much about plant anatomy. So yes, they had to have bellies.
"Well, let's go then," she said as she snapped out of her little trance all of a sudden, reaching over to grab his hand and drag him to his feet so they could be on their way. Sadly, being so small, it probably didn't accomplish much more than jerking him forward a bit. "I should get it some of this stuff ASAP!"
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:44 pm
Had he upset her somehow? That was what he was beginning to think, and with an apologetic smile he backed down from this whole nickname business. He would have to try and avoid saying the plant's name at all costs, because he didn't want to offend Piper further by only getting so far as 'Princess Sir Cuddlesworth... Petrie?' Oh no, he'd already forgotten the last bit! This made it all the more important that he didn't say the plant's name. "I'm sure it'll let you know its gender as soon as it's ready to..." he reassured, trying his best to get on her good side again. If he could befriend the world, he would do it. But since he can't, he'd try to befriend as much of it as he could. He had the animal population under control, now it was just for the human part.
"Well, I'm sure the sing-a-longs help it feel better, but I'm sure that what it really needs is some good fertilizer to help it grow." Yahya was becoming increasingly alarmed by Piper's general lack of knowledge about plants. Of course, he couldn't be sure how large the piece of chicken she fed it was. If it was a tiny chunk then the plant could probably break it down and ingest it somehow. The plant seemed to be the kind that trapped and ate flies, so chicken couldn't be so bad... could it? "It might be. I think all your plant needs is lots of sunlight, fertilizer, and maybe a fly to snack on?"
He looked absolutely startled as Piper snatched his hand, and dragged him to his feet (Yahya was considerably weak sometimes). "Ummm, okay!" Just agree and everything will go swimmingly.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:04 pm
"I hope it does, I feel like I may be offending it if I keeping calling it.. it." She frowned worriedly down at her leafy companion, then shook her head as if it didn't matter. There was nothing to be done until it piped up! She couldn't really be blamed for a lack of communication, could she?
Instead of lingering on the subject, she wrapped her hand tightly around Yahya's and began to drag him across the grounds without any sense of direction. Her other arm was tightly wrapped around the terracotta plant housing Princess Sir Cuddlesworth Regulus Archibald Nancy VI. "Well, what should we do first then? Should we go hunting for flies, or try and find some of this fertilizer stuff?" She was still dragging him along as she spoke, completely unaware that he was capable of walking and following on his own.
Then she stopped abruptly, dropped his hand, and turned up to look at him. "Actually, I have no idea where to find either of those." She shrugged a bit and wrapped her newly freed arm around the pot as well, rocking back and forth on her heels for a minute. "Do you?" she asked absently, as if she only remembered that he might actually know.
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