lets go in the garden, you'll find something waiting (semi-closed to the gardening club!)

[mermaidcursed]

WHO: Nene Yashiro, Natsume Sakasaki, Hajime Hinata, Yuzu Hiiragi, Stephanie Meanswell, Crona Gorgon, Lucifer, Turing, Add, Shinobu Kocho... and anyone who might be interested! 
WHAT: Time for the Gardening Club's first meeting!
WHEN: Early June, just after school
WHERE: Room 3-E
WARNINGS: ... None. Yet. It's Yogen, we'll see.

i. INTEREST CHECK! 

( at some point during the first week of june, you might find nene at the bulletin board, putting up a new flyer: an advertisement for a potential gardening club! the flyer itself has a series of lines so that people can note down their names to show their own interest, but since you seem to have caught nene- or perhaps another person also interested- there, you can ask her anything right there! despite the circles under her eyes, she smiles brightly when approached. )

Are you interested in gardening? 

ii. a: the first meeting! 

( a few days later- wow, that sheet filled up fast!- and nene has happily let everyone who signed up- or perhaps were signed up against their will- to meet after school in room 3-E. at some point you'll see her trying to lug around a bunch of equipment to set up... or maybe you'll get there by the time everything's been set up. 3-E has a new shelf installed, and on series of desks pushed together is a few stacks of clay pots, planters, tools, and a bunch of seed packets. left on the ground is sacks of soil and meal. to the side, however, is a little egg carton planter that nene is tending to herself, given that the flowers have began sprouting over the course of may. )

Hi! Welcome to the first meeting of the gardening club! Not everyone has experience, so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! If I can't help, I'm sure someone with more experience can!

So, we've got a lot to work with... which I think is really fun, because it gives everyone an opportunity to do something different! 

( she's so excited, guys. as she starts setting things out for everyone, it should be clear to see the inventory: 

10 Standard Clay Pots - 1 for each Club Member
5 small multi-plot planters
12 packs of seeds ( American Coneflower, Chamomile, Mint, Daffodil, Lavender, Sage, Strawberries, Cosmos, Basil, Rosemary, Anemones, Jade Plant )
3 Hand Tool sets ( trowel, transplanter, cultivator and weeder )

and she's also made a set of labels for everything with toothpicks, paper and a bunch of markers for everyone to make their own. all in all, a varied and... oddly useful haul? )

ii. b: getting to work

( after helping people get started, nene has turned most of her attention to the egg carton planter. if you pay attention, you can see her carefully cutting the cardboard and transferring different sprouts into a planter. though she seems to be leaving the little labels she's made blank. huh! what's up with that? )

iii. the mingle

( not an actual prompt, just have fun and get to know your new fellow clubmates! some folks might need help getting started, or maybe you recognize some of the seeds! the bloodmeal doesn't activate the void school, thankfully. have fun, don't be a dick, love you all. )

Comments

[ a! ]

[mermaidcursed]

( don't mind nene just peaking over your shoulder, natsume! because we need the mental image of her dangling off him or just casually inserting herself under his arm to look, you're welcome. but she takes this seriously too- if they had a plot for vegetables, she'd be even more invested in that than even natsume. )

I have some mystery seeds that were given to me a month ago- ( YOU. YOU GONNA EXPLAIN, NENE? ) -so I'm not sure how big they're going to get... so it might be better to allow them room to grow.

[crystallomancy]

( he makes room for her regardless, whether it's lifting his arm or leaning down more so she can see better over his shoulder, he can work with her.

at mystery seeds, though, he cocks his head quizzically and looks at her... returns to his notes to erase something and draw a few circles with lamb faces in them. nene's corner. )

Who did you get them FROM? And do they have any noteable characterisTICS, or do they appear to be ordinary SEEDS?

[mermaidcursed]

( she loves and appreciates you so much natsume. at his question, however, she speaks softly... ghost stuff. surely he understands. )

I got them from the gardener- he arrives at night, but not everyone can see him. He told me to call him Kazuki... and to make the temporary planter I started with, but when I was doing that, he left the seeds and vanished.

( she gestures to a little box- it's a cute little egg carton planter, with four spots for each variety of seed. but it won't last forever. while she's not aware of what they are, maybe natsume will recognize them as pacific bleeding hearts, foxgloves, and pheasant's eyes... or maybe not. it's only been a month, after all. ... however, she's right about them needing space- hopefully once they unlock outside, they can have more room for these big boys! )

I don't think they're... abnormal, but I don't recognize them.

[crystallomancy]

One of those is foxGLOVE, and the other is pheasant's EYE.

( but the third is a mystery, and he looks closely at it before shaking his head. )

I'd be careful handling any of them THOUGH. Foxglove is toxic to humans -- skin irriTANT, though I can't imagine anything good comes out of ingesting it eiTHER... Pheasant's eye is used in herbal mediCINE, but in high enough doSAGES, even the best medicine turns into a poiSON.

( and the third..... well, it could go either way, so. )

I've heard of Kazuki-san recentLY, though I haven't seen him mySELF... The little viper - Kawai-chan - told me a little about HIM. ( hmm. nene could see him because she has spirit sight, and both of them could hear him... ) I wonder why he gave you SEEDS. An interest in gardening aSIDE, it's a rather odd gift, wouldn't you SAY?

[mermaidcursed]

( nene nods carefully, though... ... with the wisteria, and now this... she had to be careful with who she gave access to the plants she was growing. she wants to trust others, but...

but...

... )

I'll see if I can get gloves to handle it with, once it's growing more. But those are kind of tall, right? ... Man, I hope these planters can handle it!

( ah... were seeds an unusual gift from a gardener? or was it that they were potentially dangerous plants? she hadn't even thought of it. ... she might have been too excited, actually. )

I didn't really think about it. We were talking about the wisteria tree, and things to plant in the future...

[crystallomancy]

Interesting that he'd give you THOSE...

( he tilts his head thoughtfully, then leans back on his hands. )

But perhaps he's arming you with the ability to protect yourself in some small WAY. The best defense is to strike preemptively after all - or maybe he just thinks they look loveLY. Foxglove flowers have a very cute SHAPE. ( if they weren't so irritating, they would be perfect bouquet blossoms. ) At least he didn't give you any wolf's BANE, though... if he gives you any more SEEDS, let me KNOW.

[mermaidcursed]

( nene would love to assume the best of kazuki-san, she would. but she knows better- even if her better interest was taken into account, he didn't even tell her what she was working with could be toxic, even unprompted. )

I will. ... I don't think I've seen anything other than foxglove, so I hope they look nice. But... I don't know if I trust everyone with them.

( which is a horrible, sickening, unfamiliar feeling. )

... The nice thing about them all being pots and planters is that we can move things as necessary. And since Hajime-nii found his in his locker, it's... almost completely possible we'll find more while we're here. Kinda weird, but I can honestly say I've experienced stranger.

[crystallomancy]

( seeds in the lockers... )

Not everyone has a green thumb eiTHER, so even if someone dangerous got a particularly bad PLANT, they might just kill it without meaning TO... ( variables. it's still a lot of risk, but.

but...

he pats her head, there there. ) There's no use worrying over things that haven't happened YET. Let's focus on growing what we have and keeping an eye on your little buds, shall WE?

[mermaidcursed]

I would legitimately cry if something happened to the plants.

( it doesn't sound like a big deal, but someone would certainly incur hanako-kun's wrath, and considering he just openly walks around with a knife...

oh yes, hello, headpats? headpats for nene? as always, she leans into the touch, and is a little sad when it ends. )

You're right. So, what are you thinking...? We've got a surprising amount of space, which is really nice, but some of these feel like they're gonna grow taller than the rest... and we've got strawberries!! I didn't even know we could grow those in pots!!

[crystallomancy]

They're a little triCKY, but doaBLE... ( as for his plans... hmm. ) I think it'd be best to keep them somewhat categorized — like with like, essentialLY.

( herbs with herbs, flowers with flowers, etc. )

VisualLY, placing the things that are bound to grow taller at the back would be betTER... We don't have to worry about pests while we're inSIDE, or I'd suggest putting some of our herbs closer to the other plants — we have a few of them that are quite effective at driving off BUGS. Finally, it might be worth marking whose is WHOSE, and trying to place people who are new to gardening with people who have more experiENCE, both so they have someone to ask questions in case they start worrying over their PLANTS, and so they have an example to folLOW.

[mermaidcursed]

Back home, we mostly grew vegetables. I found those easier to plan out, I think- but we also had a plot of land on the school grounds, so it was different.

( still, she sees no reason to reject any of his ideas, so she nods along happily. )

It's important that we make sure that everyone is comfortable with asking for help if they need! What seeds are you interested in planting?

[crystallomancy]

Everything save the strawberries, jade plants, and conefloWERS. The herbs are useful in medicine and cooKING, and the flowers are good for perfumes and SUCH... I've been missing mine from HOME.

( can you imagine... he used to smell different Every Day and now he has to smell the same every day, it's actually been very awful for him. he's excited to not smell like everyone else always. )

I suppose that's a little greedy of ME, so I'm willing to let anyone new to the field to have first PICK... I'll just advise them and take a few as payment for my advice when they're GROWN.

[mermaidcursed]

( it's hard not to giggle- in fact, nene kind of fails! she really wasn't the only one excited to garden again. but she can't blame him- the herbs and flowers were all exciting- and... given her latest interest, medicinal plants were... a curious choice. )

I can't blame you- and the planters provide enough room for multiple things! I'm definitely taking some of those strawberry seeds. But... I think that, since I have the seeds Kazuki-san gave me, maybe it's better that I save things for everyone else.

[crystallomancy]

I think that's FAIR. There's more than enough people here that things should be grown more or less equalLY...

( ...there's a lot more people than he thought there'd be; this far surpasses any gardening club or circle he's been party to. )

Speaking OF, were you surprised by the turn-OUT?

[mermaidcursed]

( eventually she'll take a special interest in the coneflower, but her pot will be strawberries. it'll be wonderful. )

I was!! I didn't think so many people would be interested, but it's really nice to be wrong! I... I almost feel a little bad for not doing this sooner. I had this idea since the beginning. I was just... nervous, I guess?

[crystallomancy]

Because we should be focusing on returning to where we're meant to BE, not living out an idyllic high school LIFE?

( ...he sort of thinks that too, but there's still too much they don't know - that they haven't uncovered yet - and he shakes his head. )

There's nothing else we can do for now though, isn't THERE? We can keep it in MIND, but it feels more like we're playing a waiting GAME. Not that our attempts to learn more have been fruitless - far from IT, I'd say - but overall this isn't something that can be RUSHED... ( a beat. ) Just like school itself, I supPOSE. As much as I'd like to skip to the end of this YEAR.

[mermaidcursed]

... Yes, and... it felt indulgent. Like we needed to focus on other things.

( but now her knight is also trapped here, just as powerless as everyone else. so. uh. )

But I think it's important to try and make what joy we can here, too. If... if we just work ourselves to exhaustion trying to find answers, or let the fear and sadness eat us alive, we won't make it. We won't.

[crystallomancy]

...No, we WON'T. You're very right about THAT, Little Lamb. ( he's a magician of happiness, so as focused as he wants to be on leaving - if there is nothing he can immediately do for that, he's going to have to concentrate on doing what he can

or he'll lose his mind ngl nothing sucks more for him than feeling helpless. ) It would be nice to be a little more on-top-of-THINGS, but unless one of us has some breakTHROUGH, I can't see us having more answers than questions at the present moMENT.

guess who got a notif for every other post in this log except this

[mermaidcursed]

Mhm. ( and they can stress about where to look and how to look another time- this was gardening time, above all else. so, with a renewed cheerfulness, nene picks up one of the pots. ) But until then... we have strawberries!

Or, we will. ... A-and there is some in the home ec room's fridge, but after last meeting I feel weird taking anything out of there now...

... Anyways. Strawberries. I'm hoping I can get us a dwarf fruit tree though- wouldn't that be fun?

wheezing

[crystallomancy]

That would be — though they still get rather tall, don't THEY?

( Not as tall as non-dwarf trees but like..... )

[mermaidcursed]

( somehow equal parts sagely and joking- )

We can put on the roof. ... Oh, or the clock tower. It's huge in there.

[crystallomancy]

The clock tower isn't a bad idea — we'd have to check how much sunlight it actually GETS, but it's not like anyone really uses IT...

( turning the clocktower into a greenhouse brb- )

We can check it out more thoroughly once the construction is DONE. ( the elevator...... )

[mermaidcursed]

( it'd been kind of a joke suggestion- but now that she thinks about it... )

With how many wide windows there are, it could be really useful... but it's a lot of glass, too, so I worry about how winter would effect everything. The elevator is also gonna change things too... but...

( THINKING........... )

[crystallomancy]

( THINKING.... )

For winTER, we could always create a heat sink to keep the area WARM... Assuming the elevator doesn't ruin the space too MUCH, and we place our plants strategicalLY... It'd almost be like a greenHOUSE. Not as good as a real ONE, but with some WORK...

[mermaidcursed]

I think it's worth keeping in mind! Especially since some of these may get even bigger...

( and wouldn't that be nice? a beautiful sky, the forest in the distance, and fresh, growing flowers in a glass room... the real problem would be keeping them safe. even before everything goes to shit nene's starting to realize not everyone here is good, after all... )

I really want to get us a plot outside, though... if we ever can, I mean. I normally work with vegetables- but they always turn out on the bigger side!