Welcome to Gaia! ::

Krishna was in his office completing paperwork. It was a necessary evil. After his father's death, his subsequent disinheritance and now his brother's willingness to give him what was rightfully his... it was an emotional strain on him. Grief, anger, and relief all mingled together beneath his passive face. He needed time to process those emotions, but tiime was a precious commodity. He spent it at the store, he spent it on Richard, he spent it on his Negaverse duties... and between all of that, sorting out his personal issues was not a high priority.

At the call of someone entering the store, the florist immediately rose and exited the office. The sight of the customer in question lightened his mood, at least a little. She had been suitably impressed by his floral skills and products at DestinyCon and now seemed willing to become a repeat customer. Or, at the very least, wanted the plant she had paid for but never picked up. Perhaps he could convince her to become a long time customer through his service today on top of what she had already seen. If he had a few more of those, perhaps he would not need to rely on his father's death to move him back into an apartment and outside of the store. "Greetings. You have come for your plant?"

The florist merely gave a ghost of a smile at her confusion. He shook his head, his fluffy rainbow hair shimmering in the afternoon sunlight as he explained, "Those plants were lost--but I have others of the same variety. You paid for one; you shall have it. Unless you prefer something else." Krishna Dhawan may have been many things, but he was neither a cheat nor a swindler. It would not only harm his carefully maintained reputation but also was simply bad form in general. He had been raised to give people what they had earned or paid for in full. He would not break that tendancy now.

"I was in no danger." It was a simple statement, perhaps an enigmatic one as he said with his usual amount of flippancy. She did not know that he had been on the same side as the youma or that he could call on the power of Chaos to protect him. "Unlike my plants."

She was a most respectful girl, and the florist could not help but admire her professionalism. Too many, in his experience, would have come in demanding the plant given as a replacement at no extra cost - and perhaps even more, for the inconvenience of having to come out and retrieve said replacement. Some would have reacted favorably to his decison to already give them a replacement plant at no extra cost, but few, if any, would have offered to buy a replacement.

It only made him firmer in his decision, and he nodded. "I insist. In Destiny City, such risks are inherent to business." Then, with a smile, he added, "If there are other plants you wish, or supplies you need, those I will sell to you."

The florist pursed his lips in consideration, his golden eyes falling around the shop. Beginning gardeners were a dime a dozen - and many so called "gardeners" were in fact nothing but flower killers who came time and time again to buy a mass of plants only to take them home and see them wither from neglect. He should probably like those customers, since they came often and bought much, but he could not help but feel angry at them. Nothing but butchers. Given the girl's interest, he did not fear that she would be one of them. All the same... something fool proof would likely be best. "Cacti or aloe vera are hardy and ingrain good habits - patience, a careful eye for watering, pulling from the cold. Aloe vera also has practical uses."

Krishna walked her over to the desert location of the shop, filled with tiny cacti in various shapes and aloe vera with its thick, green leaves. In answer to her next question, he replied, "Fertilizer, a spare, slightly larger pot for when the plant grows, a place that is light during the day and dark at night. They need the night hours to grow, even without artificial light."

The florist nodded, moving away from the girl long enough to pluck a leaf from one of the plants that needed trimming anyway. He squeezed the clear gel out of the center of the leaf onto his finger and held it up for inspection. "This gel soothes burns and skin irritations. It is easy to grow, easy to maintain, and quick to create new seedlings."

When it came to fertilizer, Krishna was equally quick to offer a suggestion. He wiped the gel from his fingers onto his apron. "I would use a 20-10-20 or equivalent solution when watering. You'll water at the base of the plant... probably about every third day. You want the soil to be moist, but not over wet."

"Yes, you will need additional soil too. I will bring the proper kind to the counter for you. A 20 pound bag should do for now."

Krishna nodded at her decision, half-hiding his triumphant smile. He had every confidence that she would find the aloe vera healthy and hardy, but too often customers wanted nothing but flowers and overlooked the more practical plants. With each moment, and each thoughtful, pertinent question,she rose in his estimation. “Very good. Pick whichever you like to bring to the counter.” While all the aloe vera plants were basically the same, there were pots of yellow, red, and blue, all with Southwestern designs painted upon them. He did not know, yet, her color preferences. Her choice would help him suggest flowers to her in the future, should she keep the aloe vera and kiku alive.

When Qiuyue asked for further elucidation, he was more than happy to provide. “It means that the fertilizer has all nutrients the plant needs. Others can be incomplete to support specific kinds of growth. A 20-10-20 has 20 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus, and 20 percent potassium.” Concerned that the information would be too much for the girl, he approached a stack of green, rectangular packages on a nearby shelf. He plucked one up and flipped it over, pointing to the directions on the back so that she could examine it. “This brand is the one I prefer. Water soluble, good results, affordable. One package lasts about three months.”

Her appreciation was acknowledged with a slight bowing of his head. Naturally he was helpful and knowledgable, but it was always nice to see someone else acknowledge it.