Nathan Algren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shiroi_tiger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtownies2017-10-24 07:53 am
shiroi_tiger) wrote in fandomtownies2017-10-24 07:53 am
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Covent Garden Flowers, Tuesday
Today, the flower shop got in another shipment of tiny gourds. Tiny gourds and dried, decorative corn.
Which meant that today, Nathan was going to sit down and write a letter to Peter, explaining that they were generally used as is in decorating the home for autumn holidays, and while carving the more robust gourds into flower pots of all things was a cute idea, maybe leave the miniature squash and pumpkins as-is, because people were usually quite happy to buy them that way.
God only knew they didn't have any practical function at that size, and they'd just rot if steps weren't taken to preserve them properly when cut.
Then he spent the rest of his shift making more autumn arrangements. If a few of the little pumpkins and squashes found their way into those, well, it was the season, after all.
[OOC: Open!]
Which meant that today, Nathan was going to sit down and write a letter to Peter, explaining that they were generally used as is in decorating the home for autumn holidays, and while carving the more robust gourds into flower pots of all things was a cute idea, maybe leave the miniature squash and pumpkins as-is, because people were usually quite happy to buy them that way.
God only knew they didn't have any practical function at that size, and they'd just rot if steps weren't taken to preserve them properly when cut.
Then he spent the rest of his shift making more autumn arrangements. If a few of the little pumpkins and squashes found their way into those, well, it was the season, after all.
[OOC: Open!]
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She didn't even know if she'd be here come springtime, but even if she wasn't, flowers could be.
"You guys got bulbs here? Seeds? I reckon there's not much autumn left for planting, but there's probably enough."
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Hey, a new face. Not that Nathan knew many of the faces around the island, these days, but... even so. This one struck him as new enough, anyway. He gave her a smile and a little nod in greeting before setting his current flower arrangement to the side and stepping out from behind the counter.
"That depends on what you've got in mind," he replied. "I'm pretty sure we've got tulip and gladiolus bulbs in stock at the moment. And if we don't have something, we could probably order it in for you."
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And as she spoke, she'd started to look around the shop a little.
"Gourd heavy region, is it?"
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As Amaya listed off flowers, Nathan made a reach for a pen and the pad of paper he'd left his note for Peter on and started writing them down. Along with 'no pansies' underlined a few times, just to be sure.
"We can have vegetable seeds brought in too," he confirmed. "We don't keep many in stock mostly because there aren't many people around here with yards."
He was one of those fortunate few. Maybe in the spring, he'd do some planting of his own.
"And it's less a gourd heavy area than it is a gourd heavy season," he added. "There are a few holidays coming up that mostly settle in around the harvest, and pumpkins are somewhat traditional in some manner for both of them."
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"Huh." She'd have to remember that about the gourds come next year; one could use pumpkins for a lot of things. "And that's great. When can you have them by? I can put together a list. What's the climate around here like? It seems pretty temperate, a lot like what I'm used to, except, you know, the whole island thing. How about the soil quality? What kind of pests you got around here? I scoped out that forest a bit ago, pretty healthy wildlife, lots of squirrels, interesting deer, no signs of wetzel wolves, that can be good. Or bad. Overall, doesn't seem like a bad hunk of land."
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"If I put out the order today, we should be able to get them in before the week is through. Faster, if I get on somebody's case about it," Nathan replied. He didn't seem overwhelmed by the wealth of questions, no. He'd grown up on a farm, after all, and they were all sensible ones. "It is fairly temperate here, yes, though there are a few months of winter coming up that could be rough on more fragile shrubs, and you might want to get some of your seeds started inside come the spring to get a head start on the growing season. The soil depends on where on the island you are, it's good for growing closer to the preserve, but if you're near the beach you might have to contend with stones and sand, but we can bring in a good topsoil for gardens and we carry fertilizers as well."
He grinned a little. This was the kind of talk he'd missed, oddly enough.
"As for pests, there are a few beetles you might have to contend with in the summer, and the deer and squirrels might get into the garden; deer will eat the blooms right off your tulips if you let them, but the flowers will still come back the year after if that happens. And there's no accounting for what the gremlins might get up to."
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When he got to the last bit, though, her eyes went wide and bright with excitement. "Gremlins! I haven't dealt with those much before! That should be...exciting!"
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There was a slight pause.
"There aren't any goblins here, are there?"
She hadn't seen any. Or any signs of them. But they did like to stick underground until it was most inconvenient.
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That was a genuine question, yes. Nathan had seen gremlins aplenty in his time here, but he wasn't certain he'd know a goblin to see one.
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"I'd certainly hope so," she said. "You from around here?"
On the one hand, if he was, then he'd probably know. On the other hand, if he was, that sounded like just the sort of thing a person working with goblins would say!
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And fewer people who couldn't use magic, but knew all about it, and fewer people who were genetically half spider, and...
"I would say that home is practically boring by comparison, but we still find plenty of ways to keep things interesting, whether we like it or not."
There was a slight hitch in his step these days from being on the recieving end of some field artillery that could attest to that.
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"Outer space?" she asked. "Like from the stars?" That was a new one.
"But interesting is good. Boring's bad for business." Even if it wasn't exactly her preferred business at the moment. "If I wanted boring, I'd have stuck in Daventry."
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"Like from the stars," Nathan confirmed, nodding. "And you probably won't have to worry too much about boring here. The island can be quiet a lot of the time, but eventually it makes up for that quiet in spades. Do you mind if I ask, what sort of business do you do?"
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At least, she thought he was a gnome. No one really knew for sure what the Merchant of Miracles really was...
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"An inventor?" Nathan gave a little grin at that. He found that sort of thing to be interesting. Not quite as interesting as coming to understand other cultures, perhaps, but there was an art to it that he didn't have a knack for, and so he often appreciated those who did. "That does sound interesting, and your story isn't uncommon around here, even if not everybody can blame their being here on gnomes. I'm Nathan Algren," he gave a little bow; he tended to leave his rank out of his introductions these days, unless he felt as though it might be necessary to make a point. Today, apparently, it was not. "Over the years I've moved from the farm to the cavalry, and then fell into a quieter lifestyle a few years back. Apparently that wasn't good enough for Fandom. I've been stuck here for very nearly a year now. I can get mail back home, but not myself, it would seem."
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"Either way," she continued, after a small pause where she seemed to grow a little more serious, a little more sincere, "I hope whatever it is gets resolved. It can't be a good feeling to be stuck somewhere or not being able to go home, if that's something that's important to you. In the meantime, if you want to check the Crumbler out, you're more than welcome. I keep her at my new place, 63 Serendipity." Said with a slight curl of her lip; what an awful name for a street, but she'd politely keep that one to her self. "Plus, if you need anything crush, pushed, smashed or crumbled, I'm your gal. Don't want the old girl too get too rusty or anything."
She finished with a small snort. "Wonder if anyone's tried to Crumble their way through a portal before."
Because, yeah, that didn't sound dangerous at all!
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He grinned faintly.
"I don't imagine the gnomes would be too happy if somebody tried to get creative with their portals, but I don't doubt for an instant that it would be quite the show."
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"Maybe if I'm ever feeling particular bored," she said with a lopsided smirk. "But thanks. You've been very helpful, Nathan. I think I will take some of those tulips and gladiolus to get things started, and come back a little later with a list of what I might need ordered. That sound good to you?"
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