fandomtownies | Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

Current Location: Flower shop

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Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

Peter had gone out onto the technicolor world yesterday, taken one look, and shapeshifted his eyes to see about half the color that was there. After that, it wasn't so bad. He kept his guard up, but the inhabitants were friendly and nothing seemed terribly dangerous.

So, he'd bought some flowers. Since he seemed to somehow own a flower shop now.

The plant he put in the window, and the cut flowers he set in a bucket between perfectly normal greenery, which toned them down enough they didn't actually look too bad. If someone wanted to mix them in a bouquet or something, they might actually look cheerful instead of overwhelming.

He probably should figure out flower arranging or something, shouldn't he? He imagined there was more to it than just sticking things in a vase and hoping they'd fit. And it would give him something to do when he couldn't cope with the memories anymore.

He took all the books and papers and magazines he'd scrounged up from this place, and started paging through them.

Somebody should probably tell him about the internet.

[Open!]

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If you just want to goggle at the flowers. Or Peter.

He's here, trying to figure out this whole "flowers" thing.

Somewhere around mid-afternoon, a green face peered through the window, looking at the plants through the glass.

A few minutes later, she was actually making her way inside, through the door.

"A forest, indoors?"

Peridot was once again not understanding what in the world was up with humans.

"For... air filtration purposes?"

Look, she lived in eternal hope that someday she'd run into a human who did things for practical reasons instead of frivolous ones.

Peter looked up from his books and blinked. But whatever this green person was, she didn't seem overly hostile.

He looked around at the plants and flowers. "I guess the plants would help with that, if you got enough. Mostly they're just pretty, though. Hi." He waved at her. "I'm Peter. Peter Octavian. And you are...?"

"Peridot, Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG."

Just because she wasn't using her full designation in class anymore didn't mean she wasn't going to use it when talking to the humans (and otherwise) who lived in town. She gave the person a speculative glance, and then looked around at the flowers again.

"Pretty? So they're like... appearance modifiers. For your rooms?"

It was probably worth noting that plenty of Gems understood the concept of interior decorating. Peridot mostly didn't see the point.

"Right," Peter said, nodding. Some folks just like having flowers around."

And then, because it had to be asked, "You're a gemstone?"

"Actually, I'm a--" Peridot paused and blinked, looking genuinely stunned for a moment. "Yes. Yes, I am a Gem. Are you familiar with us?"

Most humans around here seemed to just assume that she was a weird green organic thing that wore a Gem stone around for decoration.

Peter wasn't assuming anything, and when you started talking about cuts and facets...

"Um." Peter was a bit taken aback by her being taken aback. "I know a peridot's a gem, and gems have cuts and facets," he said, "but I've never met one that could talk before. I guess you're not from Earth?"

"Not even from Earth's galaxy," Peridot replied, looking pleased, now. "I'm from the Gem Homeworld. I'm only on Earth for educational purposes."

Yes. That answer was adequate and not entirely untrue.

"To learn about Earth?" Peter asked. "Or just about other things in general?"

"Earth," Peridot replied, succinctly. Because technically, it was true. "From a geological standpoint, of course."

Also true.

"Which they don't teach much of in the school, and I was expecting to be doing more 'on Earth' things, but apparently this island had other ideas."

She wasn't actually complaining about not being in the line of fire from the Cluster, mind.

It made sense a gem would be interested in geology, Peter guessed. Mindful of his talk with Kanan about cats and dogs, he asked, "Are you trying to see if you're the same as our gemstones on Earth?"

"While we share a fundamental molecular composition, I think it's fairly safe to say that Gems and Earth gems have a few basic differences." She gestured down at her body, and then gave Peter a wry smile. "They would take a bit of additional processing in order to become anything like us. That said, Earth has been useful in the creation of new Gems before."

A beat, and then she added, "We don't really use Earth for that purpose anymore, though."

Because they'd been driven away. Details.

"You used to make Earth gems into your sort of gem?" Peter asked, frowning a little. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Sort of," Peridot replied, shrugging. "We'd used some of Earth's raw materials in the Gem creation process. This was thousands of years ago, of course. Earth isn't used in the operation of Kindergartens these days."

Which was a shame, really. It could have been great.

"Kindergartens," Peter said. "Like schools?" But she'd mentioned using raw materials. "Or like...mines?"

"Earth Kindergartens are like schools?" Peridot blinked, and then shook her head a little. "You'd be closer with the second. What it takes to make a Gem is inserted into the ground at a Kindergarten site, and then, when the Gem is ready, it emerges, fully formed. Ready to go to work."

No A-B-C lessons or recess for Gems.

Peter laughed. "More literal, then. Kindergarten's an early school grade, but in some languages it literally means a garden of children."

"Then it's like that," Peridot said, pointing at Peter. "The garden one. We grow new Gems there, we don't need to educate them."

"Why not?" Peter asked. "How do they...how do you learn things?"

"We burst out of the ground knowing everything we need to know," Peridot explained. "Anything else, we pick up as we go. It seems way less complicated than this 'growing up' thing that humans apparently do."

"But who decides what you need to know? How do you get that knowledge before you're born?" Peter asked.

"The Gems who made us, of course," Peridot replied. "Kindergarteners program the information that the next batch of Gems will need right into them before putting them into the ground. The process is complicated, but that's why they use Peridots to do it."

She was bragging, now. Just try to stop her.

"We're problem solvers."

Peter smiled faintly at her pride. "What sorts of things do you program in?"

"It depends what sort of Gem we're making," Peridot explained. "Other Peridots would get the same basic knowledge as I have, for example. Quartz and Ruby would know how to fight. Sapphires might know some measure of diplomacy, Bismuth are blacksmiths... Whatever there's a need for, that's what we give them."

"How do you decide which gem gets what?" Peter asked. "I mean, wouldn't it make more sense for...diamonds, or something...to fight, since they're a lot harder than others?"

Peridot's eyes went wide. Very wide.

"Diamonds don't fight unless they absolutely need to," she said, quickly. "Diamonds are our rulers, we answer to the Great Diamond Authority. We certainly wouldn't expect them to fight."

That would be absurd!

... Also, they were big enough to basically just step on a Gem like a Peridot.

But that would make them even better fighters!

"Oh." Peter shrugged. "I don't know too much about Earth gems, and nothing about your people. It isn't like rocks on Earth fight or do technical things."

"That's fine," Peridot replied, and she shrugged right back. "Gems don't expect much of organic life, either."

They still didn't, even after meeting it. Even after being beaten away in the name of it. But honestly, Peter. 'It isn't like rocks...'

Well, Peridot wasn't just a rock, but Earth gems were!

"Do you have some sort of...I don't know, some equivalent of humans on your world that doesn't move or talk or anything, like gems on Earth?" Peter asked.

"... Not on Homeworld, no," Peridot replied, and then raised a pointed eyebrow. "I believe on Earth the equivalent is called 'plants,' though."

There you go, Peter. In her estimation, comparing Peridot to an actual rock was a bit like comparing you to moss.

"Plants aren't called the same things as humans, though," Peter said, "and they don't look anything alike."

He held up his hands. "Sorry, though. I didn't mean to offend you. Just pointing out how little I know."

"The plant doesn't understand homonyms," Peridot muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning toward a nearby petunia. "And thinks I look like a rock."

She needed to just have her sulk for a moment, Peter. Because honestly.

Peter hid his grin. "Actually, I meant to point out that rocks don't do the things you gems do. I wasn't calling you a rock. But you are the same color and name as one."

He laughed. "Actually, can I tell you a secret? My name means 'rock', too."

Peridot hesitated, looking speculatively at Peter while she battled between giving him an inch or giving him a diatribe featuring many fun and exciting variations on the word 'clod.'

In the end, she settled on a curious if sullen tilt of her head.

"It does?"

Peter nodded. "It comes from an older language, petros. So I guess I'm the rock here, really."

Peridot considered that, too. And then, finally, she nodded.

"I'll allow it."

She was so very magnanimous, that Peridot.

Peter grinned and then gave her a stately bow. "Thank you very much."

Eventually, he's got to get a haircut.

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Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

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OOC!