Covent Garden Flowers: Monday

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was not a particular fan of spiders - not indoors anyway! However she respected the job they played in keeping bugs down, so she carefully and quietly collected as many as she could to rehome outside. Then she took a broom to the cobwebs and cleaned the place up.

After that she sat for a while with her hand in the soil of the plants, still recuperating some from the craziness of the last week.

Oh! And considering which would be the best plant to bring to Travis as a 'thank you/we survived' gift.

Comments

[special_rabbit]

It was a...slightly hesitant Amaya who found her way to the flower shop again, not so much for seed this time, but for...something else.

Something that she was hoping could remain a bit conspicious if she did it sooner rather than later and definitely more so if she stopped in on an off day when one of the students were working.

"Say, there," Amaya greeted Nell with a wave of her hand and a nod. "Don't suppose you all still have an abudnance of bonsai lying around by any chance, do you?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell smiled warmly at her. "You'un came to the right place," she said. "We don't have near as many as we did a while ago, but there are still more lyin' around than you could shake a stick at."

There weren't too many in the front part of the store, but in the back, well, there were enough to satisfy anyone's bonsai needs.

"What can I get for you?"

[special_rabbit]

"Well," Amaya ventured, trying not to look too awkward about it, because it was a simple enough thing, right? Just someone coming in for a bonsai, completely unnoteworthy and normal as could be, nothing suspicious going on here! "I need one about...yay big," she held out her hands to demonstrate a general size, "preferably with a lean toward the left a bit, a little on the wilder side, like the person who usually takes care of it actually doesn't take care of it nearly as much as they should. With hopefully sort of a twist thing near the end of the main branch of it, kind of like this." Her finger did a surely very helpful little twirl. "In a black pot."

And if you felt that was a bit, erm...specific, believe her, she wished she could have actually been a bit more detailed in the matter.

"Actually, you know what? I'm sure if you've got one like it, I'll know it when I see it."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell's eyes got wider with every additional detail. "You'un is free to wander around here and out back and see what we have. And if you find one that has... all that... but isn't in a black pot, well, it will be easy enough for me to transplant it for you."

She stepped back and gestured for her to look around.

[special_rabbit]

Look, Amaya had a very specific idea of what this bonsai needed to look like, because Amaya was hoping to replace one without someone noticing because she just may have thrown that plant out in a fit of unprecidented fear of commitment last week because, apparently, agreeing to plantsit for someone was far too much commitment for her to handle.

Last week was an odd one.

So she nodded again. "Thanks. I think I'll do just that."

When she got back there, though, she was dismayed to find that none of them really seemed to look much like the plant she was trying to replace. She even considered actually shaking a stick at them to see what that might come up with, and she reminded herself that wasn't the whole thing with bonsai that you could sort of prune 'em and shape 'em to look like what you wanted? So maybe she would just have to put a little more work into it. Most of the work, it would seem, was going into looking, and after quite a few zounds! and zards!es over a few hopefuls that just didn't seem like they'd fit the bill, Amaya eventually made her way back to the counter with what would seem like her best option and set it down on the counter with a sigh.

"I suppose this one might do the trick," she allowed, but she didn't sound very convinced, really.

[mylandmyrules]

She looked so unhappy!

Nell hesitated, then decided she'd offer. "I have kind of a way with plants. I might could convince it to grow a littl bit for you? Into the shape you want?"

She bit her lip. "I mean, I can't make a huge change, but maybe a little? If you want me to try?"

[special_rabbit]

Amaya considered this, wondering if what the girl was talking about was more of an incredibly deft green thumb sort of situation, or more along the lines of magic and the like. There was, she realized, a very good chance that she was worrying far too much about this, but it was probably better safe than sorry.

"I'm sure any little bit will help, at this point," she decided. "Think you can make it go a little bit more to the left, then? With that curly-cue bit toward the end? About right...here?"

She pointed out along the branch where the thought that little swirl in the branch had been.

"Or was it...there?"

Her finger moved down the branch a little.

"Ahhhhh, zards! I can't really remember exactly where it was!"

It wasn't like she'd spent time memorizing a plant!

[mylandmyrules]

Nell put her hands into the soil and closed her eyes, reaching for a connection with the plant. Ah, there it was...

'If you could just push out a little thataway... and maybe a little curly bit just down there a little and, mmmhmmm, that's it. Maybe a little bit more...'

She could feel the bonsai responding and fed it a little more energy before slowly pulling back and easing her hand out of the soil.

"How's that?" she asked, reaching behind her to put her fingers in another pot of soil.

[special_rabbit]

Amaya's brows lifted a little at all that and considered the plant again. It was hardly a straight-up replica or anything like that (truth be told, Amaya probably wouldn't have been able to tell you even if it was), but she did need to consider that the owner of the plant probably wouldn't have been that keen on details, either, so that was about as good as she was likely to get.

"Better," she allowed. "Maybe just the new pot's all it'll need to get her there, but that's definitely a step in the right direction, I should think."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell moved to the side and looked through the empty pots that they had. "Black, right? How's this one? I can transplant it quick as a wink if you want."

And with her gift for plants it would be just fine.

[special_rabbit]

"Quick as a wink, huh?" asked Amaya, who started to doubt if the pot was very similiar, but she shook her head, because this was going to turn into a whole thing again and it was fine, that pot was fine. "Should I time you?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell's eyes widened. "You can if you'un wants," she said finally. "But you know it's just a sayin', right? I can't really do it as fast as I can wink."

She was already getting some fresh soil into the pot and 'charging' it a little with her own energy. Her hands worked even as she talked.

[special_rabbit]

The response got a grin out of Amaya. "Just pulling your leg a little," she said. "I figured you didn't mean it exactly, though it would be impressive if you could do it that fast. Never can tell, around here, either."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell giggled. "Like super speed or something. I'd like that."

She replanted the bonsai quickly, singing to it a little as she did and giving it a bit of an energy boost. When she was done, she stood a minute smiling at it before turning back to Amaya.

"That should do it!"

[special_rabbit]

Even though Amaya wasn't really sure if it was that the plant really did look like the one she was trying to replace now or if it was just a good dose of wishful thinking and wanting it, too, but as she scoped out the final product, she had to admit, she'd probably be fooled at this point.

"Thanks, kid," she said, with an appreciative pump of her fist. "You did a real good job. This is going to save me a lot of," awkwardness? Embarrasment?, "trouble."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell blushed a little. "I'm glad I could help. Do you want a ribbon or anything for it?"

[special_rabbit]

"No," Amaya said, firmly, probably too much so and also too quickly. There was even a compulsory wave of her hand in the air, just to be clear, but when she realized that was maybe a little intense for just a simple ribbon question, she cleared her throat.

"Erm, I mean, no, thank you," much softer that time. "Ribbons won't be necessary, it doens't need to be fancy or nothing."

In fact, that would be the absolute worst and she'd rather die.

[mylandmyrules]

"All right then," Nell said, slightly taken aback by Amaya's response. "I'll just ring you'un up and you can be on your way. Unless there's anything else you need?"

She'd rung up the order as she spoke, hesitating just in case there should be another request, but would quickly finish up the exchange if nothing else was required.