Plant Parenthood; Thursday [08/15].

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor knew enough about what usually happened when people turned into animals around here to feel like it would have been safer to leave Kamala in her room while she went to work today, although once she was there, she was a little torn about it. Yes, she was getting a lot more work and research done without the distraction, but how cute would it have been to have Kamala slowly meandering through some of the plants and shelves? She could probably get a few pictures, too, for posterity, and she would also be less worried about something happening while she was gone. She made sure the drakondia were safely tucked away, at least, but would she get bored? Lonely? She'd set her up with lots of food and water and her sloth pillow and as a sloth she probably didn't need that much stimulation, but maybe she should have picked up a few comic books or something to keep her entertained?

It lead to her not being able to do much work or research out of distraction, thus making her feel like she really should have just brought Kamala along after all.

Well, maybe at least 'my girlfriend is a sloth right now' would be considered a viable excuse for leaving early?

Plant Parenthood is open!

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[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Ellie, we've got a situation we're going to need to handle when Kams changes back," Arden said, walking into the shop, expression grave.

[what_big_teeth]

It took Eleanor a moment, to get her mind focused on Arden coming into the shop and processing what she'd said, but when she did, she straightened, shoulders going a little stiff, eyes w big wide as she blinked at Arden, color draining from her face.

Well, what little color there had been there to begin with, anyway.

"What is it?" she asked, brows drawing together with concern and a new, much more potent worry. "Is everything okay?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden reached over for Eleanor's hands. "Yesterday was Kamala's birthday," she said. "And she was a sloth."

Surely Eleanor could see the gravity of this, right?

"We have to fix this when she becomes herself again."

[what_big_teeth]

The resulting mortified stare was a pretty good indication that, yes, even though she never really existed in a world where much stock was put into birthdays, she still understood the weight of this revelation. Almost immediately, she felt a stab of guilt for not having known, despite the immediate reasoning, logical part of her brain pointing out that how could she have known, no one said anything to her, not even Kamala herself, which then lead her wondering why Kamala didn't say anything. Did she not want her to know? Did she just not want to make a big deal about it? The mortification started to make way for panic, and panic started to make way for wondering if this was the instigating factor that would already start things down the path to their inevitable ruin thanks to her messing things up spectacularly.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked, eager not only to resolve this issue, but also to ensure that it was more in the hands of someone far less likely to mess it up even further.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Oh, Eleanor.

"We make plans that we can put into effect pretty much as soon as Kams stops being furry," Arden declared. "Movie night, maybe? Squishies, somebody portals to Jersey City for Mr. Najaf's gyros, a cake, Bollywood films?" The expression she returned to Eleanor was only a little less panicked. "I've never thrown a birthday party for anyone before and now I'm throwing two in the space of a week."

Graham's birthday dinner didn't count. It was just a meal at a restaurant and also she'd been old then and had probably thrown, like, a million parties by then.

[what_big_teeth]

"And I...." Eleanor hesitated a moment, to brush past the sounds of scream sna dfre conjured in her mind, to push past the dull ache in her jaw, "don't have very good luck with parties."

Obviously, she'd like to think this was different enough that she didn't have to worry about things ending up the way they had before she came here, but...was that really a risk she wanted to take?

"But...a movie night sounds...easy enough." Hard to screw that up when they'd done something like it already before, they just maybe added a cake and a banner or something. "What's a Bollywood film? Who else has got a birthday coming up?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It's Hindi cinema," Arden explained. "A lot of bright colors and cool costumes and musical numbers and stuff. And I--you won't mention this on the air, right?" She leaned in closer to Eleanor. "BD-1 told me Cal's birthday is tomorrow and wanted to surprise him, so he asked me to help him throw a surprise party. So keep next Saturday free, okay?"

[what_big_teeth]

Bright colors, cool costumes, and musical numbers did really seem right up Kamala's alley, so Eleanor had to smile a little and feel glad that Arden was on top of this, because she'd have never thought about that herself.

And then she snorted faintly and rolled her eyes. "Now watch," she said, "this week ends up being the week they decide to stop bothering me about doing the broadcast. But don't worry, I'll beat them to the punch and make sure I'm already there, just in case. But I can definitely keep next Saturday free. Did you have any special plans for that one, too?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

It helped that they'd talked about Bollywood, or else Arden wouldn't have either.

"Oh, yeah! So you know the Holoscene in town? I guess it's like the Danger Shop but--wait, hmm. I think Midnight has one of those, too..." Arden paused to consider that, then visibly pushed the thought aside for another time. "Anyway, I'm gonna ask it to be like a cool cliff thing, because he loves to climb?"

Or maybe an awesome big tree? Focus, Finch!

"And we're gonna go climbing together except then when we get to the top? There will be the party! I'm gonna have Kams and BD-1 coordinate, but if she's still a sloth, can I lean on you a bit?"

[what_big_teeth]

"Oh, I really hope she's not a sloth still by next Saturday," said Eleanor, doubly distressed by this whole idea, because not only would she like Kamala back to being herself again, but she'd also like to not be responsible for probably managing to ruin two birthday parties. "But yeah. Sure. Of course I'll help if I can."

Here's to hoping Arden didn't end up regretting it...

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Thanks," Arden said, relieved. "It'll mostly be stuff like setting up and getting the cake or whatever...goddess, is there a way to get a Red Squishie cake?" Beat. "Back to thinking about Kamala, not Cal, sorry."

[what_big_teeth]

"I sort of figured," Eleanor assured Arden, with a faint, amused little smile. "And I'm sure there's got to be a way. And I think even if it turned out terrible, she'd at least appreciate that we tried. Maybe we can find something on the internet about it."

And, yes, she was very proud of herself for so fully embracing 'looking stuff up on her phone' these days.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Can you bake?" Arden asked. "Because I sorta can? But not well enough to feel comfortable making a brand new recipe and expecting it to go right."

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor looked a little doubtful.

"I've never really cooked much," she admitted. "We had home economics classes at my old school, though, but I don't remember much about them. It wasn't really my thing, but I think I did okay? I'd be willing to try, anyway."

Maybe if she just channeled all her screw-ups into the cake, then everything else about the party would go smoothly...

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Cool," Arden said, clearly relieved. "If you could try to find a recipe for a Squishie cake? And if you can't..." Her expression shifted to something a little more pained. "...I have no idea what other cake she'd like. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Khan would know? I could text them and ask?"

[what_big_teeth]

"I feel like they would not only know," Eleanor said, that smile going soft and wistful, with a mostly mystified shake of her head, "but they'd probably offer to send one on top of it. Which wouldn't be the worst idea. If the Squishy cake doesn't work, we have an easy back-up. And if it does? Then she gets two cakes."

And, if you asked Eleanor, Kamala deserved pretty much all the cakes.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Brilliant," Arden said, making a note in her phone. "If I'm already portaling to Jersey city for the gyros, I can stop by and grab the cake, too. And that will give me an excuse to avoid Mr. Khan's latest sweet tea attempt. Can you keep Kams busy until I'm back and have a chance to decorate and set up the movie room?"

[what_big_teeth]

Oh, look, the color Eleanor had lost at the start of this conversation had returned! And it brought quite a bit more along with it, that lovely somewhat-green blush thanks to her off-color blood.

"Yeah," she said, "I think I should be able to manage that."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden gave Eleanor a slight grin. "I'll leave it to your discretion then," she said. "Though, uh. Maybe come up with a reason to come down, too."