Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

[crimson_sister]

The moths were gone. That was a relief, and Lucille opened the shop as usual, watered the plants and noticed there were quite a few orders for flower arrangements. Wasting no time, she got to work and by lunchtime she was halfway through them.

She had tea and sandwiches, out of habit wearing gloves while eating them, despite her Radchaai roommate not being around. It was a pleasant day. In the afternoon two crows settled on the windowsill, staring through the glass with black, beady eyes, making it more comforting..

[Open!]

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[flourish_or_perish]

It was mid-afternoon when Faye headed in, an idea having planted itself in her head.

"Hey Lucille," she greeted her, already reaching into a satchel she'd brought but stopping short once she spotted the crows. "What's with the birds?"

[crimson_sister]

"Faye, come in," Lucille said. "The crows? I am not sure, but they are pleasant, aren't they?"

One of the crows cawed.

[flourish_or_perish]

"They're something," Faye semi-agreed, eyeing the crows curiously as she wandered in. "Though I guess, like, it's Halloween season now. Maybe they know."

Maybe this was just the start of some sort of crow takeover, and the whole town would have dozens by Monday.

(Maybe Faye had lived in Fandom too long.)

[crimson_sister]

"Last week my shop was full of moths," Lucille said. "At least the crows are not invading. Now, are you looking for something other than birds?"

[flourish_or_perish]

"Some help, maybe," Faye said casually. She'd be okay if you couldn't help, Lucille. It'd be fine. Totally casual. "Someone brought me this thing a couple weeks ago, and all I know about it is that it's old."

She pulled the betamax tape that Jet had given her out of her satchel, holding it out towards Lucille. "Do you know what it is?"

Lucille was from the past, so....

[crimson_sister]

Looking at the object, Lucille said: "The person didn't tell you what it is? It looks modern."

[flourish_or_perish]

"He didn't know, either," Faye admitted, sighing. "I got it from someone back home, but I'm from, like, fifty years into this planet's future."

So 'the past' was a lot more expansive than she was really giving it credit for.

"It does look kind of modern?" she added skeptically. "But older than everything I'm used to? Not as old as...what you're used to, then?"

[crimson_sister]

"No," Lucille said. "I believe it is made of plastic, which was not in use in my time."

She looked at it again. "There is something inside it."

[flourish_or_perish]

"Really? When did they invent plastic?" Faye wondered, mostly rhetorically. "And yeah, the stuff inside looks almost like some kind of decoration? Or maybe it's been recorded on, like film."

The only reason she knew what a film strip looked like was because they still used them symbolically in her own time. It was a miracle Faye hadn't yanked all the tape out curiously, already.

"Damn it. I thought I was onto something." Yeah, Faye, your lead of approaching the one person you know is from the distant past didn't work, probably time to give up.

[crimson_sister]

"Perhaps you should just open it," Lucille suggested. "Something might be hidden inside."

It made sense, after all.

[flourish_or_perish]

"Yeah?" No, Faye, noooo. "Maybe. I don't even know who it's from. Jet just said it came for me."

Maybe it had money inside!

She flipped up the plastic edge, peering in. "It's just this brown filmy stuff. Boring."

[crimson_sister]

"It might hide something," Lucille said. "Or is anything written on it?"

[flourish_or_perish]

"Maybe?" Faye speculated, sticking a finger into one of the spools to unwind the tape a little. "There might be something in really small writing. What, you think it's a box or something? I figured you used the whole thing together."

Silly Faye!

[crimson_sister]

"It looks like a box," Lucille said. "Perhaps it is a modern kind of ribbon. I could see it as a hat decoration."

[flourish_or_perish]

Faye wrinkled her nose, unwinding a bit more of the ribbon. "Ugh, that would be the worst. Someone just sends me hat decorations in some dumb box?"

She didn't even wear hats! More of a goggles-shoved-up-on-her-forehead kind of girl.

"But I could see it. Maybe I could use it as a necklace if I ever get it out of there." Faye, no.

[crimson_sister]

"It would be quite long for a necklace," Lucille pointed out. "It would end up like a collar."