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Post by haus on Dec 13, 2015 1:10:17 GMT -5
Some days it felt like Jonah's feet could barely manage to drag themselves from his room, much less to the kitchen table and beyond. The feeling was too familiar— beginning with a week of frustration, when anything and everything he did just didn't feel right, like god or whatever sentient being up there tilted the world just so slightly so that everything seemed off-kilter— then came the rest of it. His studio, left unlit and unused since he dashed big black X's on more than half of his in-progress paintings— that was a few days ago. Broken shards on the floor from when he accidentally knocked over a wine glass in an attempt to dull his thoughts with alcohol. In retrospect, it was all silly. Some part of him stood high above this, watching his body act with mild disinterest. Trying to run again? he would quip, with some masochistic amusement breaking away from his lips. That part of him would laugh, as if it was all some pathetic, futile effort to escape. And the best part was that Jonah could never explain why it happened. Such days came and went like the weather.
When he got up this morning, it was raining. He had a terrible hangover and a migraine and even so, he badly wanted to fetch another glass of something inebriating— to pick up exactly where he left off the night before. When he went to rub his eyes, he finally noticed the cut on his left palm— from the wine glass, of course, though he couldn't quite remember how he managed to injure himself in the process. And then, when he looked in the mirror, he saw someone there— someone who merely looked like the ghost of Jonah Grey rather than the real thing.
All things considered, it could be worse. Sometimes Jonah wished it was, so he might have an actual reason to drink himself to death.
He carefully bandaged his hand, took a shower, and left his apartment to wander the streets— to get lost, and to be anywhere but where he was right now.
*
There was an abandoned school he remembered passing one night, somewhere in the lower class. It lingered in his memory because of the eroded murals decorating the playground walls— scenes of gardens, lush and thick with life these streets never knew. Jonah made his way back over to that same area, hoisting himself over the NO TRESPASSING sign rusted onto the fence, then he set himself to wandering the school's walls. The ceiling had holes. Light and rain filtered in from above. The smell of mold and damp wood made Jonah's nose wrinkle— but he could feel a draft coming from the end of the path he'd chosen. As he drew nearer and turned the corner, Jonah realized he'd found something interesting.
A gentle turn of a knob brought the sound of rain pitter-pattering on panes of glass above him. When he looked up, he realized he was inside a glass dome. Flora seemed to burst from every edge of it— scenting the air with a thick, earthy aroma that Jonah took a moment to enjoy. Breathe in, breathe out. The faintest trace of sweetness in every breath; a courtesy of the flowers.
So he stumbled on a little hidden gem in the city. Clearly this had to be someone's work, possibly private property, but... a little perusing wouldn't hurt. He'd come in, take a look, then come back out as noiseless as he came— then no harm would've been done, and he definitely would not have broken the law by ignoring that NO TRESPASSING sign earlier.
When Jonah took another step inside, he heard a sharp, cracking sound pierce the silence.
He stepped on a twig. Nice.
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Post by Nadine on Dec 13, 2015 2:16:24 GMT -5
After the seaboard, home felt suffocating. The patterns in both repeated, yes, but one she understood and the other she didn’t. Or rather, she did. She knew exactly why her household did what they did, but it was a discordant pattern. A chaotic pattern. Unpleasant.
And so she took a walk through the welcome of rain through the twisting, barren, waterlogged streets to the dead school and to her dome. Here, the beat of the rain marched as the had the thunder of the sea, and the humidity of the domed garden engulfed her as had the cold spray of breaking waves. So she curled up to work, to carve away the unnecessary weeds and seedlings struggling to match the sprawl of the larger plants.
And then someone entered.
And then someone broke the pattern of pulling weeds, pounding rain.
Nadine’s head snapped up from her consuming work as the crack of a branch interrupted the drum of rain on glass. She’d already been set on end by the unexpected presence manifesting inside the garden, and the shattering of silence broke her composure. This was the one place she didn’t have to be on guard, and yet…
Nadine rose from where she had been crouching behind squat, overgrown brambles, yanking out plants that hadn’t thrived. Although rose, honestly, is too kind a word. Nadine uncoiled to her full height, replacing the slackness of her open mouth with a hard line and the surprise in her eyes with a pointed stare directed toward the invader. She said nothing as she scrutinized them, and took in the kid’s brilliant hair and jewel-toned eyes. How exotic… they’re almost asking to be caught.
She waited. Either they would try to excuse what they were doing, or leave. Either was fine.
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Post by haus on Dec 13, 2015 2:44:08 GMT -5
Jonah saw a figure stand suddenly, and it was very, very tall. Jonah was pretty tall himself, but this person— presumably the keeper of the garden —was taller than him. People who were taller than him were almost unanimously labeled giants. On top of that, the garden keeper did not seem at all pleased. As far as Jonah could tell, they must've been at work, peacefully minding their own business until a certain someone had to rain on their parade (which was funny, because it was actually raining.)
To be honest, he must've jumped a little— he didn't exactly expect anyone here, so to be so suddenly confronted spooked him a little. That, and the gardener seemed to be staring him down in a way that did not feel friendly. Time to turn up the charm and weasel his way out of this one, as he usually did.
"Wow, uh, hi. Totally didn't see you there. Nice little place you got."
Although his words came out smoothly, and he smiled without missing a beat, Jonah felt something stir in the bottom of his stomach. Something about the way this stranger looked at him made him feel like he was back in his highschool hallways. Eyes burrowing into his back as he opened his locker. People whispering, thinking things about him, making judgement— even if his fears were completely unfounded, he never figured out a way to make it stop.
Nervous, he stuck his hands into his hoodie pockets and looked around, examining the closest plant in an attempt to look as casual and nonchalant as possible. "Hey, what are these?" he asked, pointing to some pink flowers. "These are pretty. I like them."
While it wasn't necessarily a lie, Jonah wasn't exactly feeling it as much as he tried to fake it. The only thing on his mind was to, uh, not piss off the lady working here. Which probably meant he should just leave, but Jonah also liked to press his luck a little— that's how he got around.
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Post by Nadine on Dec 13, 2015 3:33:21 GMT -5
Nadine noted the invader’s jump, the way they put their hands into the security of pockets to close up their vulnerability. She would know, wouldn’t she? After all, Nadine had kept her good hand balled in her pocket the entire trek from her home. More discomfort, even in retrospect. And yet, they transitioned to a state of calm so quickly and flashed a confident smile. They were quite good at hiding nerves. Their voice didn’t even falter.
And they neither left nor excused themselves.
This kid…
And even though Nadine had the nagging feeling that they had to be patronizing her, she felt the corners of her mouth turn up and her eyes soften as she turned her gaze from their face to where they were pointing. Ah, blocked by the plants crawling into the gravel pathways. Nadine dropped the uprooted seedlings and dusted her gloved hands off, then wove her way through the interlocking brambles and encroaching grasses as tall as her waist to the path. There, she had a line of sight straight to the plants in question, and her brows unfurrowed and rose. The groundcover she had found in the tundra, hanging onto rock with so thin a layer of dirt it might as well have been bare. And flowers were the same colour as their hair. Nadine felt a chuckle rising in her throat.
“ I know what they are,” she answered, “but if you want a name you’ll have to look elsewhere. They are a survivor.” Hoo damn, did she actually smile? It really couldn’t be called a proper smile, but there it was.
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Post by haus on Dec 13, 2015 4:32:14 GMT -5
Oh, good. Whatever Jonah did was apparently the right thing to do, because it didn't seem like this stranger was gonna kick him out as quick as he thought. He felt a little tension melt away from his shoulders and he relaxed, blinking as the gardener came to examine what he'd been pointing at.
"Oh, so they're... ooh." Wow. If she wasn't lying, then that meant these flowers were salvaged from before the whole big shibang with the world kinda getting fucked over and stuff. Whatever happened a hundred or thousand or million or something years ago— Jonah didn't exactly remember nor did he care particularly. The important thing was that this meant these flowers were pretty damn rare. And if they were pretty damn rare, then this little setup here had to be... somewhat illegal. Granted, it was already in a no-trespassing zone, but that aside, such rare organic life would probably be, like... kinda a big deal. Jonah couldn't imagine how much bank you'd make from selling shit like that.
"Wait, how the heck are you keeping them alive then?" Gently, he tapped a flower with his index finger, dusting it with some pollen and looking at it with some degree of inquisitiveness. "I mean, I think it's cool. That you're doing this. Uh, you did it all, right?"
Jonah motioned around the dome with a wave of the hand. "Not saying that you didn't do it, it's just... a lot of work for one person, like holy crap."
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Post by Nadine on Dec 13, 2015 5:24:09 GMT -5
Nadine smiled. Oh god, not again. One smile was too much for a week. The visitor’s surprise was too much for her, though. Their genuine awe… Well, it felt genuine, anyway. The kid had already proved themself a good actor, but the quick correction to an unintentional insult was so in the moment.
Damn, it felt like it had been too long since someone had appreciated her work. Of course, the dome was the only thing of any real worth she had made and kept up in a long time, and it wasn’t exactly a roadside attraction. Her job, her family, everything else felt like she was in the process of tearing it further apart. But this… her garden bloomed in the decay, just like the salvaged areas in their own domes. She had made it in the destruction’s image. Of course, sans some of the bits that tried to kill her, but such was life.
“The beds were here before. “ Even that line rang with smugness. God, she needed to turn it down. “And the plants do the growing themselves, so they cover much of the effort expended.” Oh god. General humor about autonomy. Nadine didn’t even know this pink kid.
She stepped closer to the garden bed, and said, “Not all of them survived here though,” then gestured with a gloved hand to the ground cover that the kid was prodding at, which was far more vertical in warmer temperatures. “Even this one is changed, and it devours rock and plant alike in its home.”
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Post by haus on Dec 13, 2015 20:05:42 GMT -5
How curious life proved to be. To think that this very morning, Jonah half seriously contemplated drinking until he passed out. Now he was glad he didn't, because it seemed like things did seem to turn around a little. A garden of flowers wasn't going to solve his problems, but it was a lovely distraction, and Jonah had almost entirely forgotten about his stupid hangover.
This was why he liked meeting people, talking to them, getting to know them. Distractions aside, weren't people interesting? Each person had their own little quirks and talents and Jonah had always found it to be magical, in a way. He was an excellent actor, sure, but his interest in others— that was completely genuine. A trait that carried over from his youth, where he'd spend his days in wondrous curiosity.
"Aw, don't sell yourself short. I can't even keep one cactus healthy."
He was, in fact, referring to the poor, neglected, slightly shriveled succulent he received as a gift, now sitting on his window sill at home.
"So go ahead and brag a little. Oh— and by the way—"
Jonah stuck out his hand for a handshake. "My name's Jonah. Nice meeting you. You know a lot about plants, huh?"
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Post by Nadine on Dec 13, 2015 21:17:53 GMT -5
“Cacti are finicky. They don’t want attention, then they get forgotten. And after all their deflection, the next time you look at them they’re dying. Funny little plants.”
Of course, Nadine would have loved to keep a bed of them- unfortunately there weren’t many in the zones. A few species grew in the savannah, but retrieving them was difficult, as they only flourished in the dry season. And Nadine hated the dry season. Then, the savannah more parched than even the city on its worst days. It was smothering.
“Try a fern. They’re fussy and never let you forget they’re there, what with the attention-seeking spores dusting everything they can reach. Or something flowering if you’re up for a guilt trip.” The kid probably wasn’t looking for plant recommendations, but meaningful conversation didn’t exist outside of plants. Obviously.
And then the kid- Jonah- procured a hand.
What was this, civility? Outside the realm of sneering professionals? What was she supposed to do with that? Follow his lead, it seemed. Alas.
Nadine’s smile turned to a kind of stretched grimace as she hesitated, then turned so she wasn’t quite facing him so much as the door a little to his left, and swung up her left hand- her fake hand. She shook, probably with an amount of force that wasn’t crushing. She could never really tell with this hand.
“Nadine.”
And then, “You could say that- both to meeting me and to the knowledge of plants.”
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Post by haus on Dec 14, 2015 8:54:35 GMT -5
Ah yes, the cacti. Truly the most tsundere of plants. Jonah had to laugh a little at the way Nadine personified them— it was, in a way, cute. And it seemed that, despite Nadine's rather intimidating exterior, she did have a soft side. For plants, that is. Which, in Jonah's book, was completely okay. Jonah kinda understood the appeal— he liked people himself, but even he wanted some alone time, and it was clear that Nadine got quite a lot of it herself in her garden. Maybe he ought to start gardening too.
But then, that meant work.
Jonah shook her hand, blinking a little at the tightness in her grip. He'd seen plenty of mechanical arms and other cyborg enhancements, and it seemed that in general, people tended to misjudge the force they applied. Then again, it was hard to do so unless you had really expensive prosthetics. Not that it mattered though. As long as Jonah's hand was intact afterwards, it was fine.
"You sound like a plant personality expert— say, what am I? I know we just met, but like— what kind of plant would I be? Based on first impressions?"
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Post by Nadine on Dec 14, 2015 17:39:50 GMT -5
Yeah, the grip was too tight. Nadine was always torn between just accepting it for what it was and trying to control the grip- after all, how hard a grip was trying too hard?
Nadine dropped his hand and shifted away, turning to face the plants rather than almost-him and almost-door. She’d just managed to stop grimace-smiling at the strangeness of the handshake- honestly, the entire encounter deserved a grimace-smile- when he asked his plant personality type.
It was an endearing question. Oh no. I should just walk away. Honestly though? I have enough weirdos on my plate with just taking care of my family. But really… Chase away this kid? He didn’t seem too bad.
Flower type, flower type… Because he was definitely something flowering. Tropical? Not at all, they were too flimsy, and Jonah didn’t seem the flimsy type. Flashy, definitely, but he had a solid base and didn’t get flustered… Something pink? Yeah, pink’s definitely the way to go. Pink and hardy and surprising that wanders where it shouldn’t.
Oh.
Of course.
Nothing out of the way, it should have occurred to you immediately. Also, strangely funny.
Naturally, the entire five minutes Nadine was thoroughly thinking this over- probably too thoroughly- she was glaring out in silence at the brambles, as if demanding they procure a name for her. It didn’t help that Nadine didn’t actually know that many names of plants, just the occasional garden staple and your general herbs and vegetables. Most of what she was used to hadn’t a name. Well, maybe a scientific one, but nothing she’d actually take the time to remember. Genus and species just didn’t have the same personality as colloquialism.
Nadine cracked a smiled. “Onion flower.”
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