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Prompt 3: The most severe rainy days are now behind us, YAY! However, the weeds in the garden/yard have become overgrown, seems like it's time to roll up those sleeves, grab some gardening gloves and add some color to liven things up. What new plants do you add to the flower bed or do you have anything but a green thumb where plants just won't thrive?
Lysanna's fingers felt strange. Having them covered up with fabric that was meant to offer protection from the earth felt foreign. And yet after the expedition to pick up supplies from a gardening store she found herself carting home more unnecessary items than she thought that had been needed in order to put some semblance of order to the messiness that one encountered when staring out into the empty spaces that seemed to reside just on the other side of the fence to the property that most of the Vanguard seemed to call their home away from home. There was nothing really special about what it was that Lysanna wanted to do and yet there was a hesitance on her part to actually get started on attempting to tame the wildness of nature that encroached on the other side of the fence. It wasn't exactly their parcel of land so there probably was no need to tend to the tangle of greenery that had sprouted up so magnificently after a few days of steady rainfall. Even with knowing that it was not in any way her responsibility to look after spaces beyond their fenced yard Lysanna had felt that perhaps someone needed to do something in order to give an appearance of order and not one of neglect. First impressions were everything and if whatever neighbors on either side of their property started to complain well, was there not the chance that the Vanguard could be evicted. In the back of her mind Lysanna could not fully comprehend the laws that were in place for governance of the human population that resided in Destiny City. If one fully bought a house - were they safe from ever being booted from said place. Appearances were one aspect that could cause others to look down on them.
Making sure that her human glamour was activated before she even stepped out of the house Lysanna glanced to and fro before nervously chuckling to herself. This chore needed to be done and it would help burn off some of the restless energy that she had felt building up inside but she also had to be careful not to destroy any current projects that her comrades might be conducting. It was one reason that she thought to tend to the places that weren't expected to be looked after. Slipping through the gate that allowed one access to the land beyond did Lysanna turn around in a complete circle to get a general idea on what it was that she would be contending with. Mostly it seemed like an overgrown jungle with the weeds that had taken root in the open ground beyond the fenced yard. There was a marked pause as she cautiously poked at one of the towering plants before wrapping her gloved hand around the stem and giving an experimental yank to test just how deep the roots seemed to penetrate. A frown appeared when the experiment yielded no discernible change among how securely rooted to the ground the plant seemed to be.
"Of course it couldn't have been that easy. Those on earth wouldn't see weeding as the worst chore around if it had been. Guess I will need more things in order to make this work."
Wiping her gloved hands together Lysanna travelled through the open gate once more to gather up what supplies she thought that she would need. Obviously she was going to need something that she could sit on so that there would be less strain on her body but, and she acknowledged this almost too late, that she would need more than just supplies meant for gardening. The sun was providing ample heat and light and that meant that she would need to give herself plenty of hydration and shade, lest she overexert herself while doing this chore.
Grabbing a few bottles of water did Lysanna search inside for an umbrella of some sort or some other contraption that would provide shade before stumbling across a wide-brimmed straw hat. While not the most ideal solution it would keep the warmth of the sun off the top of her head. Perhaps her glamour hadn't been created with common sense in mind about how darker colors seemed to heat up much faster. Applying the hat to the top of her head did the cadet peer around the seemingly empty house before going back outside. In the bags that she had brought home did the cadet grab more a second pair of gloves before grabbing the smallest of hand shovels. The salesperson had assured her that some weeds would need to be excavated around before being successfully pulled out of the ground.
Grabbing a small plastic step that she could sit on in order to work did Lysanna finally feel like she was ready to tackle the weeds that were out there waiting for a pitched battle. There was a marked hesitance in her positioning of the plastic object before the tallest of the weeds and she lowered herself carefully onto the step before observing everything in a moment of silence. Reaching forward did Lysanna grasp a larger stalk of a weed before pulling with extreme effort. The force in which the ground released the plant had the cadet falling off her perch over backwards with a pained grunt. Even as she lay on her back, stunned at the turn of events, did she attempt to push herself back up into at least a sitting position before staring at the uprooted weed. Okay, so exactly how much force was needed to evict each individual plant was going to be a learning curve and it wasn't going to end well if she kept misjudging everything. Dusting off her gloves and the jeans that were a part of her human guise did Lysanna forgo the stool as a thing to sit upon before kneeling down in front of a smaller target and gently grasp at the base with one hand. Gently she exerted a small tug and was relieved when the dirt released the thing with next to little effort.
'So thicker base could mean more resistance while smaller plants means less force is needed. Now if I stick to that reasoning there should be no more incidents of me landing on my backside. Would hate to explain how we're supposed to not know anything about weeding when we're posing as humans.'
Lysanna's fingers cramped briefly and she flexed the digits before staring down the length of fence that she still had to work on before sighing. Maybe this was why no one appreciated this chore. If just tackling a few nuisance plants was already this "painful" then how was one going to feel after clearing an entire patch out? Would she even survive being able to clear out all the nuisance plants before attempting to grow some of her own? Perhaps that was why she really wanted to reclaim this little patch of land beyond the yard. Even if the Commodore saw her as someone whom was sorely needed, Lysanna felt as if her arrival had disrupted something that was already set in stone. It was one reason that even though there seemed to be ground inside the yard that wasn't "claimed" as of yet that she wanted to grow something on the outside. Maybe if what she attempted to coax forth actually took root and blossomed then she would feel more assured of her place amongst her comrades who came before her.
It was perhaps a silly fear, one that needed to be extricated as soon as possible, just like the weeds that she began to work diligently on, in order for her to gain more confidence in her role after being sent down to assist. This would be her go-to activity around the house perhaps.
Even as she struggled with the removal of the weeds did Lysanna begin to take pride in the work that she was putting forward in order to clear the mess of greenery that did not belong. By the time that one side of the gate had been cleared out did the cadet long for some other task that she could have been doing. But if she were to quit now, when the job was only half done, it wouldn't sit well with her. Even as the muscles in her fingers screamed at her to stop did she put on the most resolute expression she could muster before determinedly crossing to the other side of the gate in order to start the battle anew. It wasn't going to easy. Heck it wasn't even going to be pretty. But deep down in her heart did she know that the weeds had to go. There was no other option open if she actually wanted to try and grow something in the cleared areas. If left alone the weeds would choke the life out of whatever she attempted to plant into the ground and that just would not suffice. Humans oft said that those who could coax life from the ground had been gifted with a green thumb, and Lysanna longed to be able to say with pride that she had one too. For that to happen, the weeds had to go, all of them.
For the better part of two hours did Lysanna struggle with the more stubborn weeds on the far side of the gate, often taking small breaks in order to either massage the various muscle aches that she was experiencing or to allow herself the chance to re-hydrate. The sun's energy beating down on her wasn't making this task any easier but she would persevere. The pile of pulled weeds steadily grew larger until, in a moment of complete surprise, when she went to go grab at her next target, her hands met with open air instead. Looking down the complete length of the fence did the cadet stare before glancing down to her own two hands.
Step one seemed to have been completed. All the weeds were now gone. Step two and three would just be as labour intensive though. First it seemed as if the ground would need perhaps just a bit more work before she would attempt to plant anything. Grabbing the garden implement that humans called a hoe did Lysanna do her best to even out the dirt that had been displaced by her yanking of the weeds. If she were to add more soil to the area would it better the chances that what she put into the earth would eventually take root? For now even as she worked steadily to make the ground more receptive to accepting new plants did Lysanna glance to and fro. Her gaze could see the successfully growing plants in the yards around her and hoped that she would have a small garden of successfully growing things fairly soon. Even as she had been warned that the planting season had already passed did she feel as if perhaps there was still time that she could be able to get something to take root. Even if they were perhaps just flowers right now. If the patch of land that she worked with so diligently now could grow weeds, then surely other flora could flourish with just the right amount of dedication. Early spring had been described as the best time to plant new things and now the season was turning to early summer so had she missed the optimum window of time? What harm could there be in planting now?
Going back for a bag of nutrient-enriched soil did Lysanna mix the new with the old before preparing places that she would place the expertly cared for and crafted starting stages of various flowers. The names had sounded exotic to her even as she admired the pictures of what the plant should look like but Lysanna hadn't put much thought into the needs for each plant that she had bought. Now even as she glanced at how to settle the plants into the earth did she realize her mistake. Proper care and attention were sorely needed if one even wanted to attempt to begin experimenting with gardening. Her thoughts whirled around in a maelstrom before she simply grabbed each individual species of flower that she had bought and began to gently pry each out of the little plastic carrier it was in, dirt and all, in order to transfer it into the places she had marked out. Daily watering would be needed and she was certain that she could at least keep some of these flowers alive if she worked hard at it. For now though, as the dirt was gently moved into place around each new addition did Lysanna reflect on this experience. Mistakes were made and lessons would need to be learned ... but just perhaps ... she could reap some rewards from trying to beautify the area around their home here on Earth.
Even as she cleaned up the mess that she had created did Lysanna come across the information tags for each of the plants that now sat in the ground: hyacinth, peony, larkspur ... and many more. If this experiment failed she wasn't sure what she could do next. But just maybe with the best of care that she could now give these plants would she find something that she could be good at. Something that she could do to benefit Velencya and maybe even Velenia in the future. There would be a need for those that knew how to work the ground if they ever made it back to their home world. Those that knew the ways of terraforming started out somehow, didn't they? Biologists ... agriculturists ... how many specialists would be needed to make sure that the land thrived under caring hands? Could she, Lysanna, learn enough with experiments here on Earth in order to take up the scientific knowledge in order to make something like that a reality? Would there be a niche for her to step into if she could learn more than just the basic ins and outs of gardening?
There was a brief moment in which Lysanna imagined such a life before sighing and shaking her head. In order for that sort of life to be lead then it would mean that remaining in the Vanguard would probably not be an option anymore. However the knowledge that one could share with others in order to advance research would be something that she could do. Even if this one experiment failed there could be more down the road in order to figure out what possible plants could be considered hardy enough to be transplanted from other worlds, including Earth, to a newly restored Velenia if that moment in the future came. That sort of research would be invaluable. Peeling off the gloves that were now thoroughly covered in dirt did Lysanna wipe down her forehead before sighing. Time was now the one constant out of her control in this experiment. She could water the flowers, make sure that the soil remained optimal and ensure that enough sunlight hit the plants, but it would be time that determined whether or not this was a success or not.
