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 Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 11:50 pm
A roleplay between Roots of the Cosmos [Elst and Aoi], XxLoveLikeWinter13xX [Verdant Lindtstrom], and The Detective Prince [Emilia]
Location: Elysian Gardens [A Nursery run by Elst]
Time: Early afternoon.
Weather: Bright sunlight, a storm having cleared the clouds from the sky the previous day.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 12:10 am
The sun glared brightly down upon the twin green half-domes of the Elysian Gardens, a usually busy Nursery, yet today was…different. Not a customer in sight, and this was usually when they were most busy. Elst, in the back room of the main Lobby, was working in the store room, while his newly-hired assistant, Verdant, stood guard at the front desk. He sighed rather heavily, from a mixture of frustration and boredom. He sat at one of the large counters he used to do specialty work on specific plants, and before him sat a potted orchid, deep violet in color, with a single, large bloom. A lone bud branched off from its side.
“Come on… Why won’t it cooperate… Talking mainly to himself, he was referring to the orchid, and it’s rather slow growth rate. There were only two of its kind from what Elst could figure, and they reproduced at an excruciatingly slow rate. If he could just get the damn thing to grow another bloom, he could potentially individualize the new bloom, causing it to grow into its own plant. But it wasn’t happening. He had tried everything, feeding it a specialized growth mulch he’d developed, keeping it in conditions ideal for flowering plants, even fusing with it using his plant nature to try and coerce it into blooming, but…it just wouldn’t work. He’d been working on it for hours, and he was so enveloped in his work mentality, he had forgotten his Essentic, Aoi, who was sitting right on his shoulder.
May… May I try? Aoi’s deep, melodic voice seemed to carry a somewhat more confident tone in it today, and Elst nearly jumped when broken out of his concentration. “Oh, uh, sure, I guess, but don’t feel bad if it doesn’t do much for you, I’ve been working with it ever since I got it, and it’s done next to nothing.” Aoi nodded, and a thick, ethereal mist began to pour from his hands, a deep jade in color. It billowed down to the counter, climbing up onto the orchid, and soaked into the soil. Within seconds, the orchid’s second sprout bloomed intensely, displaying a grand set of petals. All Elst could do was stare blankly. Is that what you wanted?
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 12:41 am
"Choking back emotion, I try to keep on hoping for a way, a reason for us all to come in close. I long for you to hold me like your boyfriend does and though my dream is slowly fading, I wanna be the object, object, object, object of your passion, but it's hopeless," sang Verdant merrily as he swayed his hips to an unheard beat behind the counter of Elysian Gardens' main lobby. Elst, his boss and (though the words were yet to be spoken) best friend, was in the back trying to get a ridiculously rare orchid to bloom so he could propogate more of them, but the last time he checked up on his employer he was still struggling with it. Aoi, his Proto-stage Essentic, was seated next to the plant man and watching very patiently as Elst got nowhere.
Verdant, on the other hand, was keeping watch on the nursery in case a customer came by. Unfortunately, not one person had walked through that door all day. So, all three guys were bored out of their wits. Verdant finished singing enough songs to put on three performances, for God's sake! Since he had nothing better to do, he started singing and dancing again. "It's not enough! I need more! Nothing seems to satisfy! I don't want it, I just need it to breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive. Knuckle deep inside the borderline. This may hurt a little but it's something you'll get used to. Relax, slip away!"
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 12:55 am
Elst held the orchid high in one hand, scooping Aoi gently up with the other, and ran out into the lobby, laughing victoriously. He could clearly hear Verdant singing, the first bit sounding like, who was it Verdant had mentioned, t.a.t.u.? “Verdant! Aoi… He got the orchid to bloom! Just like that, the wonderful Floramancer he is! He did it!”
He sat the potted flower down on the counter in front of Verdant, a jovial grin upon his face. He still hugged Aoi with his other arm, and the little Essentic himself seemed to be overjoyed that he’d managed to make Elst so happy.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 1:00 am
"Improve the ambiance", they'd said - as if Emilia had even known what that meant! For any young adult, having your parents visit was hell, even more so for the particularly eccentric sort, such as Emilia. Over the weekend, they'd come to raise Hell; scolding her as they had in her younger days over arguably trivial things. Clothes everywhere, the fact that she was in nothing but a tank top and underwear, "working", and, it seemed, most importantly, the fact that her Apartment was rather.. bland. She'd lived in the two-roomed apartment for nearly four years, although the furniture was left at minimal amounts. As it were, even her computer lacked a proper desk. She had an old computer from the 80s, as well as a thin laptop. Both were settled atop a pile of cords and wires, where she sat, work.. and gorged herself on potato chips and cheap soda.
But, besides that, well, her house was plain! Seeming to have just identified the reason for her "mysterious" arrival at a Nursery, Emilia paused. When she did go out, it wasn't entirely unheard of for her to wander off to rudimentary, odd places.. however, this time, it was merely that the young female'd briefly forgotten her purpose. The melded sweet smells of flourishing plant life had brought Emilia back to her senses; although she remained doing nothing but standing just outside the nursery's doors for some time.
Why here, and not one of the typical, small "flower shops" nearer to home? There were two reasons for that. Many of the flowers were ugly, and dead. She'd never been one to appreciate beauty much, but a dying flower wasn't worth her funds. Most importantly, however, was that those.. prissy plants were high maintenance! Here, there had to exist a plant that required no work, no effort on her part! Naive to the fact that no such plant could exist, the closest thing to it was the Nursery's caretaker, Elst.
But he was too large to carry home.
She shuffled, clutching onto a plastic bag of assorted goodies. Nothing pertaining to plants at all, really. The majority of her shopping was high-calorie, high-fat, high.. well, everything but nutrients food! It was a surprise she wasn't drastically overweight.. maybe her long treks to places such as nurseries were the reason for that. Emilia, with a small huff of annoyance, practically tip-toed her way into the Nursery, unaware of the peculiar little Essentic, or, the peculiar owner, for that matter. She wanted a plant! She wanted to, well.. impress her parents, and adorn her empty walls with lush greenery! Of course, Emilia was obviously neglecting that with her grasp currently full, carrying any sort of pot home would be a fairly futile effort.
The blond, true to a "blond's nature", briefly expected to see babies as she entered the main lobby. Well, that was what the conventional nursery was for, right? Instead, she was met with the near ring of a voice. It seemed Emilia wouldn't be much of a customer, in regards to fulfilling their needs for entertainment. She was an oddball, spacey - and, well.. knew nothing about sustaining a plant.
"Hello~?"
((Sorry, this sucks. It's late - that is my defense!))
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 2:51 pm
Verdant stopped halfway through Blaqk Audio's "Semiotic Love" when Elst bounded into the lobby with a triumphant laugh. He had the silliest grin on his face and was cradling both an incredibly pleased Aoi and the orchid in his arms. Verdant took a cautionary step back and aimed a water gun at him. He'd been messing around with the plants in the lobby, squirting them with the cold water while pretending he was Ulala shooting down some Morolians. "Who are you and what have you done with Elst?" he joked before giggling like a schoolgirl.
"So, Aoi got it to bloom, huh? Aren't you just the smartest little Essentic ever?" Verdant playfully tousled Aoi's petals and smiled at Elst. "So, now that you've gotten the orchid to bloom again, what do you wanna do? Business seems to be a little on the slow side today and looks like I spoke too soon!" A blonde girl with a quizzical expression had quietly walked into the lobby and addressed them. Verdant brushed some water droplets off his bolero and beamed at the girl, his "professional smile". "Hello, miss, and welcome to Elysian Gardens! How can we be of service to you?"
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 3:09 pm
If ever there was an odder impression... As she'd entered, Emilia was greeted with quite a few quizzical sights and sounds. Two men, looking happy as could be over.. a plant? And then, there was some strange little creature, too! Was it some new sort of pet she'd not yet heard of? While pets had never much interested her, the fact that the thing was apparently moving, "living" as a human would while looking completely plant-like, intrigued her. Nobody else was around.. in fact, the two.. three(?) seemed to be workers. She was the only customer? Having briefly spaced out, Emilia's response to Verdant's inquiry was rather lagged. Turning to them slowly, after having her gaze fall squarely on the plant-like Essentic's root-like feet, Emilia quirked a brow.
"Service? Hmm.. Yes, yes, that's why I'm here, aren't I? I must've forgotten.."
For a brief while, Emilia allowed her gaze to wander again. The breeze, the sweet smell of flower petals and life, and the bright sun peaking in through windows left her feeling confused; it was so different from her stuffy little apartment! With the blond finally paying attention to Elst, rather than taking notice of the fact he was probably the owner, or, that he was pleased over something foreign, Emilia instead noted the faint green pigmentation to his skin.
"Do you have.. Hepatitis?"
It was a blunt, and rather rude question. Of course, given that the illness she spoke of turned people more to the shade of yellow, not green, her statement only came off as even more ludicrous. Yet her expression remained neutral, even a bit bored. She was only a few feet from the Nursery workers now, and eventually, looked back towards the most "normal" thing in the Nursery.. Verdant.
"I want.. a flower. One that I.. don't need to do a lot with. "
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 4:04 pm
Elst laughed slightly at Verdant's threat. "No, not the water!" He sat the orchid gently down in its usual place on the windowsill behind the counter, still grinning wildly. The abrupt success on Aoi's part had put him in a brilliant mood, and the fact that he'd finally found someone charismatic to act as an assistant only made it better. Aoi was simply beaming from the knowledge he'd served his Purpose so well. The little Proto shrugged his head slightly at Verdant's compliments.
Elst froze however, as he saw the girl walked in, a crop of blonde hair on her head, and a dazed look upon her face. She didn't even make any sort of comment on Aoi, who immediately ran off into the store room. There was a few moments worth of tension, before the girl spoke, of... Hepatitis? His face regained its former grin. "Hepatitis? Oh, no, nothing like that. I'm just a plant, is all, plants tend to be a bit green. That, uh, thing that I was holding a moment ago is the same as me." He hoped the girl would believe him in that Aoi was a plant, he was, really, Elst just didn't mention the 'Essentic' part. Aoi, hearing Elst talk about him, poked his head from out of the store room door.
As Elst heard the girl's request, he thought for a moment, on what the girl would find easiest to take care of. "Oh, something that flowers yet is hardy... Well, I'd say something of the succulent variety; they're hardy beyond belief, and are acclimated to desert terrain, so they require less watering. Will this be for indoors, or outside?"
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 4:39 pm
Luckily for the lot of them, Elst was lacking in the Hepatitis illness. Really, he was as healthy as a giant plant man could be. As it were, Emilia found herself being dwarfed, much as she had before - but the case this time around was much worse.. this man was more like a tree than some "house plant" - not like his little green friend, at all! She decided to focus on something other than Elst, for the simple fact that she had no desire to stare into his chest, and looking to his face would simply require too much head tipping, and too much discomfort in her neck.
"A plant? Then.. where's your pot? I've never seen a plant inside of a building without a pot."
She remarked thoughtfully, as if she'd come to some never-before considered conclusion. With Elst going on in his speaking, and regarding her actual request for a plant, Emilia listened. Then again.. it was difficult to focus when one was seeking out a pot, or, the small frame of the creature that had darted off. It was one thing for a plant to be standing around, but another thing entirely for it to run off! She kept her eyes towards the store room which Aoi had hidden "himself" behind, although when the Essentic poked it's head out, Emilia quickly turned her head away.
How backwards! Wanting to see it, then looking elsewhere when it actually showed itself.
"Inside. Are there more plants like you? If I had a plant like you, it could just take care of itself, right?"
A pause, then, as if giving up on the idea, Emilia shook her head.
"But then it might run away."
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 9:05 pm
Elst grin widened, almost laughing a bit. "Oh, no, I'm not quite like that, really. I'm a different sort of plant, I'm sentient and such, and pretty much human in mindset. And I don't use a pot, see, I've taken on as much human as possible to remain without need of a pot." Upon hearing the girl's last comment, he couldn't hold back from laughing [In a 'laughing with you, not at you' sort of way]. "Oh. we don't sell like that, that'd be practically slavery, you know. We only sell regular plants here, I'm afraid, but I will say our selection is rather exotic."
He sensed the girl's mild discomfort with his height, and accordingly sat down in one of the comfortable plush chairs that lined the walls. This girl was... interesting, to put it one way.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 10:07 pm
Verdant knelt down behind the counter, crawled into the store room without being seen, bloomed as quietly as possible, and laughed his freakin' head off. That blonde chick was a panic! "Do you have... Hepatitis?" Verdant nearly screamed with laughter as he rolled on the floor. Tears were streaming down his face as he kicked the air hysterically, unable to stop himself even if he wanted to.
When he finally had composed himself (it took him a little while, but he did it), he swore to himself that he would never let Elst live that down. He then wiped the tears away on the sleeve of his bolero, dusted himself off, and went back out to assist the hilarious customer.
"I'm sorry; I thought I left my apartment on fire. Anywhoo, as Elst said, we have a wide variety of plants for you to choose from. I personally like the ice plant; it's pretty hardy and has the cutest flowers. If you're looking for something a little more tropical, you could always go with a bromeliad. My favorite is aechmea fasciata, or the urn plant. It has silver foliage and a carnation pink bloom in the middle."
He anxiously awaited her reply; he wanted to hear if she had anything funny to say again. How could someone this fun not be the life of the party, you know?
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 10:44 pm
((Poor Emilia. She's being laughed at! - err, with. xD ))
Emilia, sadly, didn't seem to talk as she did out of some desire to be funny. With little in the word of basic manners, or, well, thought before speaking, the blond woman often spoke the first thing that came to her mind. She watched quietly as Verdant hurried off, and while the vague, distant sound of his laughter reached her ears, she seemed far more interested in what Elst had to say; well, not so much say, as it was laugh. Despite the men's amusement, Emilia nodded her head thoughtfully, composed as could be.
"Slavery? Well, if I took you home, I guess you could do what you want.. you'd just have to stay still when people came over - because, well, that's what people expect plants to do."
Emilia spoke in all seriousness, before shaking her head gently as Verdant reappeared, and Elst took a seat. While it was comforting to not feel so hopelessly short once again, there was now a new problem.. here they were, speaking of all sorts of plants.. and she knew nothing about them! Elst had just sat down, and asking him to stand back up.. well, it occurred to her as a backwards sort of thing. She'd have to buy some time!
"What are your names? I'm Emilia - I want lots of plants I won't really have to care for.. yes, ones that are sentient would be wonderful; then I wouldn't have to water them. .. Sadly, you seem to be the only sentient plant here - and you don't even have flowers."
Emilia looked to Elst, as if accusing him of some unknown crime. Although soon, her gaze had shifted to the rather vocal man. Recalling what she'd heard upon entering, he must have been the one singing.
"Half of those names I can't even pronounce. What's the difference? I mean.. I know there are roses, and then, those yellow things..."
Emilia's naivety in regards to plants was becoming very obvious. Jeez, if this was how she thought of and handled simple plants, how would she handle something like an Essentic, as Elst did? Luckily for her, she didn't need to fret over that, at the current.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 5:19 pm
[[Right... with... xd ]]
Verdant stifled his laughter as Emilia spoke to Elst, who he assumed had sat down to make her less intimidated. The guy stood a few inches taller than himself; he understood how she felt completely. "Well, the difference is... well, ice plants don't need much water at all because they're like cacti. Bromeliads are tropical and pretty, but just as hardy as cacti. However, I could always check if we have some drought-resistant rose bushes."
Verdant turned to Elst and grinned. "Do we have drought-resistant rose bushes?"
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:04 pm
[[Hey, with Elst it is 'with', he doesn't actually know much about laughing at others, he's just in a really good mood right now. xD]]
Elst looked up at Verdant, before returning his eyes to Emilia. He'd expected Verdant to be good with customers; he'd expected he knew a bit about plants, but... He knew more than Elst had realized. You walk up to most people, talk about bromeliads, and you would have lost them before even finishing their name. Verdant had a decent bit of botanical knowledge locked away, it seemed. An unexpected benefit...hiring him may have been an even better idea than I thought....
“Roses, drought-resistant... Let me think, here. Our roses are fairly resilient, I raised them as such, and I guess they can do with less water, but roses aren't what you want when looking for hardy. There's what I call 'air-plants', desert dwellers that need no soil, little water, and have rather nice purple-and-pink blooms, but seeing as they have no pot they must have their water poured right on them, messy for indoors.” He paused for a split second.
"Actually, you have yet to answer my question. Will these be for use outdoors, or inside? It’s fairly important to know where you will be keeping the plant you plan to have, for the best choice can vary widely depending on climate.”
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:39 pm
((Stupid Elst. >O -Lights him on fire- ))
Verdant's laughter seemed to go largely unnoticed by the young female, he only tilted her head to the side, listening quietly as he spoke. She would continue to steer clear of saying the actual names; if it came down to it, she'd rather mimic the description she'd been given, as opposed to pronouncing such complex words. Roses were.. well, questionable. They were a common flowering plant - at least in regards to how many people knew of them. They were, in the minds of most, often red and smelled pretty. They symbolized romanticism, and all of those "love" things.
Was it a bad thing she didn't really care for that?
"Hmm? Indoor.. environment. I suppose if I had an outdoor environment, I'd be fine with just grass and weeds."
It was still colorful, right? People weren't allowed to complain if it was colorful! Her interest, of course, was piqued, and the young blond for once seemed to express some sort of emotion. Emilia straightened her posture, pushing her chest forward as she attempted to seem.. taller, "bigger", and perhaps a bit more respectable. It had only occurred to her now how heavy the plastic bag she was carrying seemed to be.. and without thinking, Emilia dropped it. It certainly wasn't an accident - Emilia had just failed to consider what was inside.
All of that changed with the splintering crack of a glass bottle, and the interior of the bag being coated in a deep, rich brown. Once more, Emilia seemed to become the "slow" girl, and lowered herself, staring at the bag as if it had done some unforgivable deed.
"Bags these days.. aren't very strong."
She commented, without mentioning just what she was comparing them to. Had bags ever been strong enough to keep glass from breaking> Reluctantly taking hold of the bag's handle once again, Emilia dare not lift the plastic container. She at least knew that the glass had certainly torn the bag somewhere.
"Waht were those ones you mentioned before? The ones that were.. well, they lasted long? I don't care what they look like, really. I'll buy them."
She still seemed oblivious to the fact that, walking as she was, with a now ruined back in tow, she'd not be able to carry one, let alone two or three potted plants home.
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