Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

[1000yearstoolate]

It was a relief that things were back to normal. Seivarden was in a reasonably good mood, even if her eye still hurt from being punched by some people in Baltimore, who for some reason had suddenly turned violent when she had asked for directions to a good teahouse.

Now she was making flower arrangements. The flowers might produce pollen, but it was definitely of the normal kind.

[Open!]

Comments

[fremen_eh]

His dad liked flowers. And, since he had once again stepped through a portal to Fandom, Elias Atreides was going to surprise him with flowers. The version of his dad who lived here, that is, the version who was younger and had green eyes.

Which was why he was now fiddling with his lock picks to get into the back door of a flower shop he had found.

He didn't have any money. That was the best way.

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden didn't expect people to break in, especially since the shop was open, so she didn't hear the slight creak of the door in the other room, and the quiet steps that followed.

She was having a nice cup of tea and arranging flowers, which had her quite absorbed.

[fremen_eh]

This was a good start. Elias sneaked into the shop and crouched beneath the counter, hopefully unseen by the shop assistant. From here he had a good view of what was on display.

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden wasn't blind though.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

She frowned, rising from the chair to see what that kid who had suddenly appeared was up to.

[fremen_eh]

Oh, no. Busted. Elias dived for the nearest flower pot, grabbed it, and aimed for the door.

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden might not have expected shoplifting kids, but she had no problem grabbing him by the waist and placing him on a chair. This was just a kid, after all, albeit a sneaky one. She had dealt with a lot worse.

"What do you think you're doing?"

[fremen_eh]

Elias hugged the flower pot.

"It's for my dad. He likes flowers."

[hello_sirs]

Angus was just gonna show up in every open post on a mission to figure out what was going on here. Mostly because he didn't realize that both Taako and Magnus were even here and was working under the assumption that he'd been kidnapped.

"Hello, sir. Would you mind answering a few questions?"

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden looked up, and after one look she decided this was unlikely to be her child. At least this one was polite and didn't try to steal flowers.

She made a gesture with her hand. "What would you like to know?"

[hello_sirs]

Angus nodded, flipping through his notebook of clues so far. "Would you happen to know why a glowing portal has kidnapped dozens of children?"

Oh, going in for the shock and awe tactics!

[1000yearstoolate]

After a pause, Seivarden said: "As far as I understand it just happens here now and then. Do you expect this place so make sense?"

She smirked a little at that last part.

[hello_sirs]

"Well, sir. I expect the truth of the matter," he replied seriously. "This happens now and then?"

Then however did Ango factor into it?

[1000yearstoolate]

The corner of Seivarden's mouth twitched. "It does. As I just told you. Any other truths you're looking for?"

[crybabydumbdumb]

Two small children entered the store a little later that day (using the front door, too). The girl, slightly older and almost buried behind a mop of wild and curly black hair, lead the younger boy, much better groomed, right down to his leather jacket. Well, both of them were wearing leather jackets, but his was just much nicer.

"This is," the girl announced with a sharp edge of irritation in her voice, "the dumbest idea I've ever heard of."

"It is not!" the boy argued petulantly, his mouth a firm pout. "She'll like it!"

"She'll hate it," the girl countered, folding her arms in front of her as if to excuse herself from anything that happened from here on in. "But whatever, it's your funeral."

The boy quibbled a little, lower lip trembling, then shook his head and set to his task, finding an adult that might be able to help. "Um...hello..."

[[ i apologize for the super sp, but I could not refuse an opportunity to lower Seivarden's opinion of Rosa even further, lol]]

[1000yearstoolate]

"Hello?"

Seivarden eyed the two children. They were definitely not hers either.

"Can I help you?"

She didn't sound that helpful.

[I love it, SP is great!]

[crybabydumbdumb]

"I was wondering if," the boy started, "uh...I wanted to, you know, buy some flowers."

"He wants to get them for his mommmy ," the girl chimed in, mockingly, clbouncing up to sling an arm arouND the boy's shoulders and give him a noogie while he squirmed in protest. "What a dumb idea! She hates flowers."

"No!" The boy shoved the girl away. "She'll think they're nice!"

"Nice and stupid," the girl said, shoving back.

[1000yearstoolate]

"If you tell me who your mother is," Seivarden could call her, "I'm sure I can suggest something she likes."

She looked at the curly haired child with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should let your sister buy flowers if she wants to."

They were kids. There was no way Seivarden was going to be able to figure out their gender unless she was told.

[likepunchingholes]

And the girl busted out laughing. "He called you my sister!" She nearly squealed with delight. "He''s not my sister, he's just a weird little baby who thinks my mom is his mom."

"She's not your mom!" he insisted.

"Yeah, she is, bro," the girl said, and then offered to the clerk, "Her name is Rosa Diaz and she'll kick your ass."

[1000yearstoolate]

"Shut up, both of you," Seivarden snapped at them, holding back a smirk. At least the curly-haired one took after her mother. The other one maybe had a nicer second parent?

"I know your mother. I have the perfect flower for her."

[what_dad_was_like]

It took Jacen a little while to realize where he was. He'd never been to the island before, after all, though he remembered his mother's tales about time spent with his father in a place where the deer were teal, portals sometimes snatched up people's children, and everything seemed to consist of stairs, and it didn't take him very long at all to piece it all together. Which still left him kind of wandering.

What else had his mother told him about this place? Right. She'd run the scrapyard. That part had to be easy, right? Once he found his way out of the woods and into town?

But being in town turned into a lot of wandering, and eventually he just kind of started stepping into random businesses, pretending he knew where he was going. This one was a flower shop, at least. Maybe he could get something pretty for his mom.

... Assuming she was here.

Running his hand through his grass-green hair, he looked thoughtfully around the shop, maybe a tiny bit lost.

[1000yearstoolate]

The green-haired kid probably wasn't hers either. Seivarden was starting to feel... well, Sparkle had said children didn't show up for everyone.

"Can I help you?" she asked, now sounding a bit tired. "Are you looking for flowers or parents? If you try and steal anything I'll throw you out."

[what_dad_was_like]

Jacen turned an apologetic look and a little smile toward the shopkeeper, shrugging his shoulders.

"Both, I guess? Well, mostly the second. Do you take payment in Alliance Credits? I think I have some wupiupi somewhere on me if you don't."

[1000yearstoolate]

"I have no idea what that is," Seivarden said with a shrug. "But if you tell me who your parents are, maybe I can sort it out."

She was fairly sure that Peter wouldn't like her to refuse kids to buy flowers if their parents were likely to pay for them later.

[what_dad_was_like]

That earned a little bit of a frown, and Jacen briefly glanced toward the door, not entirely certain what to make of that question.

"It's just my mom," he said, finally. Carefully. "I think she runs the junkyard? If I can't get flowers, I'd at least be really grateful if you could give me some directions."

[1000yearstoolate]

Junkyard. "Is your mother Hera?"

And who was or wasn't sleeping with Kanan, but Seivarden wasn't going to talk about that in front of a child.

"Wait, no, she isn't human."

The child looked mostly human, as far as she could tell.