Monday: Covent Garden Flowers

[mylandmyrules]

Nell was a little sad to see that her favorite bonsai tree was gone. She'd loved that little one with the strong twisty branches. Hopefully it had gone to a good home.

She took a few extra moments to give the remaining bonsais a pep talk, then set about doing a little rearranging. She made a nice little alcove with the small trees around some of the more colorful plants so that it looked a bit like what she thought a fairy circle might look like. Being Fandom, she wouldn't even be surprised if some tiny fairy-like creatures showed up to inhabit it at some point.

Later when she had a little extra time she'd pull out some of the fairy lights stored in the back and string them around the trees.


[Open!]

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[designateddadfriend]

Travis had Probie out for a walk and when he noticed her through the window, decided to stop in and say hi.

"Hey, Nell. This is a cute little shop."

Probie, the little pitbull puppy, waggled her whole butt and peered up at him, wondering if it'd be cool for her to go sniff everything.

[mylandmyrules]

"Government Man!" Nell said teasingly.

She beamed at the little dog. "Oh my heavens, isn't that the cutest little thing! Come in, come in!"

[designateddadfriend]

"'Montgomery' also works," Travis said, smiling to show he didn't really mean it. "Or, you know, 'Travis'."

Probie, of course, stole the show. She danced around at their feet, looking between them, until Travis gave her a nod, releasing her from her "work duties". Then she barrelled forwards to say "hi" properly.

"Nell, meet Probie. My new recruit. Probie, this is Nell."

[mylandmyrules]

"I s'pose I can call you Travis," Nell said with a smile as she dropped to the ground to properly welcome Probie.

She giggled as she got her face thoroughly licked by a very excited puppy. "Oh Travis. she's adorable. I'm so happy you got her. And she seems pretty well trained already."

[designateddadfriend]

"She's pretty clever," Travis agreed. "Hopefully Fandom's reputation will hold and she won't need to put it to the test for a bit, though. We're still working on climbing the ladder."

[mylandmyrules]

"Climbing a ladder? Why would your dog need to climb a ladder?" Nell asked, looking up at him from where she still sat on the floor with Probie lying on her skirts.

[designateddadfriend]

"To help lead people stuck in fires to safety," Travis said. "She's my fire dog."

[mylandmyrules]

Nell had to think about that for a moment. "Huh."

'Okay, I can just about imagine her climbin' up, but don't - doesn't - seem like they could get back down easily." She rubbed Probie's stomach. "You must be one awful smart dog."

[designateddadfriend]

Probie panted with glee.

". . . I might need to reconsider some of the finer details," Travis admitted. "I've never actually trained a fire dog before."

[mylandmyrules]

"Never trained a fire dog myself," Nell admitted. "But I helped my brother and John train dogs. Mostly for hunting and guarding, though."

[designateddadfriend]

“There might be some crossover there,” Travis said. “Hopefully she’ll be able to help track down victims and get help if I get injured on the job.”

[mylandmyrules]

Nell really hoped Tavis wouldn't be disappointed if he never had to have Probie track down victims, but she really hoped he wouldn't ever have to do that. "Good for her to have the training, then," she said.

She stood up, brushing her skirts off, and offering Probie another head scrub before making her way toward the back room. "Come on," she said. "I've got some plants for you."

[designateddadfriend]

“Oh yeah, I forgot we’d talked about that.” Travis signaled for Probie to heel and she hopped up, trailing after them. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

[mylandmyrules]

"So, first I have an African violet for you," Nell said, showing him a box with several plants. "Just 'cause I like it. It's got nice deep purple flowers. This one over here is some mint, 'cause it smells nice and if you'un is having some sweet tea or something you can put a leaf in. This one with the kinda spiky purple flowers is an ice plant - figured that would be suitable for a fire station. It's purty fire resitant too, as it turns out."

She smiled at him. "And this one is called Plumed Celosia. It looks kinda like fire, see?"

[designateddadfriend]

“It does,” Travis agreed. “Fandom’s going to have the best dressed fire station around.”

[mylandmyrules]

"And don't worry, I got 'em all set really well to grow for you'un, but if there's ever a problem, you just let me know and I can come over and take care of 'em."

[designateddadfriend]

“Have you got some care instructions or anything? How often to water them or what kind of light they like?”

Those seemed to be the things you need to know to be good at plants.

[mylandmyrules]

She gave him a look that just said, 'Oh please' and pointed to the envelope taped to the box. "Everything you need to know is right in there."

[designateddadfriend]

Travis chuckled. “I should never have doubted.”

[mylandmyrules]

"So what do you do to keep yourself busy?" Nell asked. "I know there ain't - aren't - many fires around here."

[designateddadfriend]

"Training Probie's given me something to do," Travis said. "And there's my usual workouts. And, uh. . . . I have caught up on a lot of TV. Can you believe Dr. Sexy MD has been on for fifteen seasons?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell looked mildly horrified. "Dr. what?"

[designateddadfriend]

Travis looked at her. “Ah. Guess it’s not a big thing with the kids. Is this soapy hospital show.”

[mylandmyrules]

This was not making any sense. A soapy show?

"I... guess I ain't - haven't - watched much tv," Nell said. "Coupla movies here and there, but that's about it."

[designateddadfriend]

“More of a book person?”