Quote:
Prompt 10: Poinsettias are common during the winter seasons, so it isn't unusual to see them decorating windowsills and local establishments. What is unusual are the unique Winter Star Poinsettias that seem to have accidentally mixed into the bunch. They look like ordinary Poinsettias reflecting a bit of glow from nearby lights--only, the leaves themselves are emitting a soft, silvery glow. They look like they are covered with a fine morning dew, only with fine silver glitter peppered in to give it a unique sparkle. They seem to have gone unnoticed by most of Destiny City and the landscapers, and it's not clear how these plants were selected, but anyone with a keen eye might recognize them as the catastrophe of Destiny City Botanical Garden's 2016 Winter Extravaganza. Thankfully, these variants are far less dangerous than their counterparts, however, these plants have a strange pollen that acts like an allergen and can cause agitation, oversensitivity, and sneezing to anything with much of a strong smell. Anyone who comes into contact with these plants may also find themselves suffering from flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing, fatigue, and nausea and no medicine will relieve it, but the symptoms gradually fade. The leaves of the poinsettia are sharp and can sting like a papercut, so be careful! ...If you're worried about an all-out attack again, it might be a good idea to destroy these poinsettias--if you can manage to do so without getting caught.
Today in the adventures of Orias Tags Along with Reggie for Holiday Fun, the Mauvian found himself in a gardening center. Normally the various flowers and other plants were interesting to look at, but this time of year the bright colors and smells were nearly overwhelming to someone with a cat's senses. That wasn't even considering the pollen everywhere. True to form, poinsettias dominated nearly every shelf, storefront, and everything in between.
They didn't look bad to be fair, Orias supposed, but they drove his nose nuts. For this reason he kept to the edges of the outdoor area of the shop, watching his human from afar. What was strange was that the longer he lingered, the more fatigued he felt. It was almost like he had a headache coming on, and he starting to feel congested as well.
Perfect, getting sick right at the holidays. Right when he needed to be at his best to hunt down Santa and finally make the fat man pay. Strange that the symptoms were coming on so quickly though. A sharp p***k finally made its way through Orias's protective fluffy coat as he shifted on his haunches, causing the Maine Coon to yelp and jump from the assault.
Turning accusingly, the feline was surprised to find that his chosen waiting spot had been nearly on top of a poinsettia hidden amongst some innocuous ferns. Wait a minute, those bright red petals sparked a fragment of memory. Hadn't Reggie mentioned something about an outbreak of mutated poinsettias during an earlier Christmas? From what he recalled, the plants made the environment around them a veritable hell on earth.
"I name thee devil plant, harbinger of the fat saint of disappointment and coal!" Orias accused, pointing a claw at the crimson leaves.
The Mauvian spent the rest of the visit to the store decidedly far out into the parking lot, away from any of the sneaking poinsettias and their cohorts. When they arrived home, he could only pace back and forth as he pondered these new circumstances. First heat vampire snow bunnies, then Chonker the deer, now evil plants? Jolly old Saint Nickle a** was really outdoing himself this year.
At least his moniker for Santa this year always brought a chuckle when he needed it. Thus revitalized, Orias happened to notice Namielle wandering past in the hallway. She seemed practically bouncing to speak to someone and gleefully trotted over when she spotted Orias. How strange.
Turned out the subject was gossip. Reggie had actually set fire to the very plants that plagued Orias's plotting not a short while earlier. Well well, that was indeed interesting. The Mauvian always knew he'd be a good influence on the goodie goodie cop. In fact, why hadn't he just thought of it before? The simplest solutions were sometimes the most elegant.
A short while later, the Maine Coon stood outside the now closed gardening center. Getting inside had been a breeze, the outdoor area housing most of the plants was open to the air and basically just a tall fence. A quick helipack boost had sent the Mauvian soaring right in.
He still had the device deployed, actually, as he wanted a bird's eye view of the artistry that was about to take place, Engaging the rotor of his helipack once more, Orias rose into the air to easily see all of the plants below.
"Showtime!" he announced to no one, pressing down on the detonator he held within his paw.
Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" began blasting happily from the small portable speaker Orias had placed below, and in time with the beat the several firebombs that had been planted (ha!) in the invasive poinsettias below began setting off. He had decided that blowing up the entire store at Christmas was pretty harsh even for him, so he'd used very precise explosives just for the occasion. The result was beautiful, and thankfully he was above and away from any burning pollen scattering into the air.
"Now THAT'S a Merry Christmas," the cat sniffed, wiping a tear from his eye at the beautiful destruction.
The soaring orchestral music fizzled as the speaker deconstructed itself, leaving no evidence of the high-tech arson that had just occurred. Crisis averted. Now to go share war stories with Reggie! Orias turned his humming helipack back in the direction of the suburbs, drifting away on the breeze like a wandering soul come home.
