ᴡᴇ ᴘɪʟʟᴀɢᴇ, ᴡᴇ (plunder) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-01-21 18:39:00 |
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Oh, the things you do for the ones you love. Alright, not like it was much of a hardship to pay a visit to the tiniest horticulturalist he had ever really heard of. Killian had been attempting to work on his green thumb, to cultivate a garden on what used to be his houseboat and was now the headquarters for JR Investigations. The only gardens he could recall before that were sad ones growing up - tangled thorn thickets, drooping flowers in boxes on apartment building window sills, dankly drooping branches. He’d never tried to grow anything as a personal project but there was a first time for everything. It had actually been somewhat soothing, taking care of his own herbs and vegetables. Except his carrots weren’t doing well. They grew in buckets, topside, along with the rest of his plants - sprouts and tomatoes, and also mint, rosemary, sage, cilantro. The herbs weren’t so bad, but why was it so bloody difficult to grow carrots in a bucket? Well, he took some to the wee horticulturist, a sample to see if she could suss out what was wrong. He also planned to pick up some herbs and potentially tea for Regina, since she liked the stuff. Killian was more a coffee fan, Regina fell somewhere in the middle. Still, nothing like a hot cuppa (with a splash of booze) when you had an awful day. Approaching the greenhouse, he carried the handle of the bucket over his arm - and he had a baby strapped to his chest, expertly inserted into her carrier. Killian hadn’t been able to find a sitter for Meara at such short notice, so he just took her with him. Fresh air was good for babies anyway - cleaned those lungs and helped her sleep (which was extra fantastic for her papa too). Aurora was the sort of person that put all of herself into things and people. With plants, she’d spent a ridiculous time looking after them and studying them ever since she was old enough to understand how to. Her room was filled with books on plants and proper plant care. She really would end up needing a whole room to herself one day, but when she was old enough to get her own place, she would make sure she had a room just for her books and then somewhere for her plants. She had to. Her greenhouse was a bit like a mystical garden, with fairy lights and hanging plants and a wall of trellises on the right side with growing plants of all kinds. She liked what she’d grown and, if she’d had her way, she would have a greenhouse the size of an actual commercial greenhouse, but her aunties didn’t have the room, so she was left to her cozy greenhouse. At least it had a door on the side that she could use to enter and exit when it was necessary. She was just outside of the greenhouse, checking on the plants that still grew in the winter that she could keep outside. Most of them were shrubs, but she didn’t think that they were any less interesting than the flowers. Turning slightly, Aurora’s face lit up as she saw Killian walking toward the greenhouse. “Hello!” To be honest, Aurora’s smile was almost always on and she smiled the same way at a friend as she might at a complete stranger. She was of the opinion that a smile was the best way of making someone’s day. If they needed her not to smile, she would do her best, but it was in her nature to almost always be happy. It was rare that she wasn’t smiling and that was only when something really upsetting had happened. She focused for a moment on both the bucket and the baby before turning her attention back to Killian. “What can I help you with?” High-wattage, indeed. Killian returned the smile, one of the ‘charming’ variety, while Meara suckled on her dummy (pacifier, as the Yanks said) and craned her neck to get a look at who else was in the vicinity. Since he had his good hand free, her papa gently rubbed his fingertips over the dark, downy fuzz on her head - she had a bow on, of course, since Regina seemed to like including those accessories on Meara’s outfits. A ruffly dress, patent leather shoes, a bow, usually a snazzy baby peacoat as well to accommodate for the weather. Dressed to the nines, this one. “I heard your name tossed about here and there,” Killian explained. “On Valarnet too, since you’re on the forum?” Condolences, he probably should have added - but that would just sound odd, wouldn’t it? He also didn’t mention that he knew an Aurora once upon a time. But that was a whole other story. “Anyway, I’ve got a few gardening inquiries - my carrots aren’t doing so well. Granted, a topside deck on a houseboat is a difficult place to grow things.” It also didn’t help that OC weather was so fucking bizarre (blood rain, anyone?), but moving on. Aurora moved so that she could see the baby a little easier before smiling again, hands clasped in front of her and arms squeezing in, the physical show of containing her urge to squeal excitedly like your average teenage girl. She was so cute!!! She wasn’t nearly as dressed up, but she had on a soft yellow dress with a few dirt streaks on it and a pair of tan boots. But he was talking again and she smiled again at Killian. “Oh yes! I have been. Not for very long, actually, but it’s been very nice so far!” She’d been happy to meet so many people. She didn’t know them all very well, but she was determined to get to know them in time. It would be nice to get to know the ones that had spoken to her. They, at the very least, seemed concerned about her well-being and she couldn’t complain about that. But her attention shifted to the carrots and the bucket. “Okay, well tell me a little about the bucket and the soil. They usually say the bigger the container, the better. At least one foot. Also what seeds did you use to plant them?” There were specific carrots that did better in smaller containers. They were always going to be a little stunted in containers as opposed to growing in the ground. There was also the matter of whether or not the bucket involved had a drainage hole. She leaned to the side, hair falling to one side as she looked for a drainage hole. She was still listening, of course. “These are the touchon seeds,” Killian replied - at least, he was pretty sure they were. It hadn’t even occurred to him that it’d be the wrong kind, but apparently there were certain carrots which didn’t grow well in a container like a bucket (which did have a drainage hole, at least). “I got those because they’re small, and sweet - I thought since they were small, it’d be better for a smaller garden?” Perhaps touchon just didn’t grow well in this pot, with this soil. Maybe he needed wetter soil - ye gods, who even knew. That was why he came to, admittedly, one of the few on Valarnet he had seen who knew plants. It could be that he missed others, however. He supposed that was possible. Meara gurgled to herself, so he popped the dummy from her mouth - and yet she didn’t seem to like that, so it was quickly put back. He hoped she didn’t decide to get fussy, but he had a diaper bag with him if necessary. “You’re Aurora, yes?” the Captain guessed. “I’m Killian. This is Meara,” he made sure to introduce the little one also. Aurora nodded as she spoke, standing back upright when she saw the drainage hole. That wasn’t the problem, then. “I’d ask if they were getting enough sunlight, but if they’re on your ship, they probably are. Are they getting enough shade?” She looked carefully at the soil before making a thoughtful noise. Oh. He was asking about her name. “Yes. I’m Aurora.” She gave him a quick smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Killian.” She looked at the baby. “And you as well, Meara.” She took the bucket carefully from him so that she could look at the carrots up close. “Mmmm,” she said after a moment before going back into the greenhouse. “You can come in if you want to,” she called back as she made her way to a small table inside the house. She grabbed a few things. “Have you fertilized them recently?” Because that was important. She had some though...and a few other things that might help them out. “Shade, ah - “ Killian squinted, considering it. No, the topdeck wasn’t what he considered shady. There weren’t many places to take refuge from the sun - and in Orange County, they got a lot of it, provided it wasn’t snowing or monsooning (which did absolutely nothing for his garden, and he despised having to start from scratch). “Probably not enough, then? I used to live on the houseboat, but I’ve since moved. Now I use it as an office for my PI business and tend to the garden when I can. It’s really not much, and the herbs seem to be doing well - but these carrots.” Aye, there was the rub. However, it seemed like he’d come to the right place. How intriguing that Aurora seemed to know her plants - he could recall the Aurora he knew had been from the Sands region in the Enchanted Forest, a desert kingdom with hot, bone-dry winds and the sweet, smoky smell of sandalwood always perfuming the air. Not much opportunity for anything green there. “Also it’s been awhile on fertiliser - but if you’ve got recommendations,” he added, as he stepped into the greenhouse. It was a little sweltering, as greenhouses tended to be - all that heavy, thick air that made you feel tired. Meara’s eyes would be closing quickly, that he was sure of. “They need a little shade,” she commented. Not too much, but some. She carefully poked holes into the soil to aerate it. Then she gave them a little water before adding some fertilizer. If it had been a while, she could do it now rather than have it wait for a while. She had some liquid fertilizer that she'd gotten. She’d send him home with some along with instructions. “I can send you home with some, but it's easier to use the liquid fertilizer for this. I'll write down where to get some of it, too. In case you want to get some for yourself.” She hummed to herself as she got up and started to move around and get a few other things in order. She carefully considered a few of her plants before watering them as well. Then she turned back to Killian. This should be fine for now, but the foot deep rectangular flower boxes might work better.” Liquid fertiliser. Shade. Foot deep rectangular flower boxes. Roger all that, lass. “I think I’ve memorised it,” Killian chuckled sheepishly - since was it obvious that he was a novice when it came to gardening? He did the best he could, with a measly topside deck space to work with. “We’ll stop on the way home and get better boxes. Hmm, Meara?” The baby gurgled in response, her pacifier (now sufficiently wet and drooly) falling out of her mouth. Killian caught it in time so it didn’t hit the floor, but as he suspected, Meara’s lacy curtain lashes were beginning to flag, and she was dead weight in her carrier with her cheek resting on his shoulder. More drooling afoot, no doubt. “Suppose I should also pick up some tea if you’ve got any,” he added, with a smile at Aurora. “My fiancee could use some more. The...fresh kind.” Nothing in a cheap box and called Celestial or whatever the fuck. “Okay.” She’d probably still give him a list with instructions and everything. Just in case. She’d never say that anyone couldn’t figure things out on their own, but sometimes things sounded simple until you did them. Then they were a little less simple. She’d learned that the hard way. Now she always made sure to have the correct information. Aurora smiled at that before asking, “What sort of flavors does she like? Does she prefer black teas or green? Herbal?” There were a lot of different kinds of blends you could make and certain things tasted better. She didn’t mix certain things together now because the taste was awful, but that was all the purpose of experimenting. She could go off of whatever he told her. She had everything in a little cabinet off to the side. “She’s not much of a fan of green tea unless one of us has caught a cold or something. So black tea, something like English breakfast,” Killian suggested, patting Meara’s back. Yes, just stay asleep and with a clean nappy until they got elsewhere, little one. “Or apple tea, I don’t know if that’s a thing. She likes apples, that flavour in particular.” That was an understatement, and so true. The mysterious apple tree that had sprouted in Regina’s yard and produced the most delicious, ripe, red fruits was something that blossomed continually - rain or shine, every year, no matter what shite the OC seemed to throw at everyone in terms of weather hazards. Of course, what would the Evil Queen be without her apples anyway? She just wasn’t poisoning them this go at it - in fact, Regina made delicious desserts. “I’m more a coffee fan myself. It’s life fuel. Probably not the healthiest thing.” But since he’d cut back a lot on the alcohol, he replaced it with other vices. Black tea and apples. Well, she would get to work on that. She carefully mixed tea leaves for something similar to English breakfast tea - she had tried it once so she had an understanding of it, but she'd also tried some that she'd imported from England, too. It would be something. “Apple tea does exist. Usually apple and cinnamon. I can make that, too if you think she'd like that. I don't mind.” She didn't make tea for people that often, but she enjoyed it as much as she did helping with plants. That particular flavour would no doubt be a hit, so Killian was certain getting some would be the right decision. “Aye, she’ll love that. That sounds good,” he said, and it really did. There was something soothing about cinnamon and apples together - maybe he’d even end up drinking some of it. With interest, he watched Aurora assemble tea with an expertise that seemed years above how old she really was. Good lord, she couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen. And already she was a budding horticulturist with a business of sorts. “You haven’t had any odd dreams lately, have you?” he asked, tilting his head a bit. He doubted that she would dream of the Enchanted Forest, but that bloody sleeping curse - he felt it fit to warn her if so. And warn her about him too. He’d stolen her heart, after all. And given it back. But such was the pirate way of things - an interesting code of honour this one had. “Okay!” Her face lit up as she continued to make the tea. Making a point to put it all together in small tins. Separate ones. She wasn't the type to really boast about what she could do, but she was happy to do it for others. She thought that was okay. Dreams. She laughed, the sound light and airy. “No. No dreams. I've never had them, but I've heard some about them. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, though. At least that's what I've been told.” She didn't mind, though. She'd have to go with whatever she dreamt, she guessed, but that wasn't a problem. “Do you have them?” She'd met a few people that had warned her about them and about having tea for the nightmares that she might have, but she didn't think she would have nightmares or that all bad dreams counted. “I’ve had them for awhile,” Killian admitted. He rested his hand on Meara’s head, all that baby fuzz - when was this child going to grow some real hair? It was adorable though, he wasn’t in any rush for her to grow up. They reached the teenage troubles far too quick anyway, from what he’d heard. “A little over a year? I dream, remember, however you want to put it - fairy tales, mainly. I am one, I suppose you could say.” He grinned wryly, showing off the other hand, the prosthetic one, holding it up. The mechanics of it always spurned curious stares when he was out in public - because it was different than a flesh and blood hand, and didn’t look flesh and blood. But he was well used to it by now. “Captain Hook.” It depended how much stock you put into the impossible at first - some believed more easily than others. Some refused, kicking and screaming even well into remembering who they once had been in another life. Some embraced it. Killian wouldn’t ever say he was fine with it all, but seeing his other self had become such a standard part of his world by now. She listened as he spoke, taking in the information and the sight of the hand. Captain Hook. He didn't seem very awful, the way that he was shown to be in the stories, but then she supposed it wouldn't be very nice to assume that every story was true about someone. He had a baby and a fiancé, so he couldn't be that bad. She decided he was good. Despite what the stories said. “It's nice to meet you, Captain. I'm glad that you came by. It's nice to meet people.” She looked to his hook hand again thoughtfully. “Is it very difficult to do things with a hook for a hand or do you adjust at some point? If that's not a rude question. I'm sorry if it is.” “I’ve got the actual hook, the one I saw in my dreams - but this hand suits me fine,” he shrugged. Not to mention he was more liable to be arrested with a weapon, a tool best for stabbing people, attached to his arm. “It took some getting used to, when I woke up missing a hand - “ A literal bloody mess, and the following weeks a blur of doctors, painkillers, and gauze, “...but I made it work. I survived. It’s what I do.” Meara gurgled some more and snuffed, a sleepy little sprog, and her papa thought that he ought to get her down for a nap relatively soon. Preferably with a full belly - she’d be hungry in a bit anyway. “But it was nice to meet you too, love. There’s an Aurora I remember from that world, though she’s a bit different than you. I suppose there’s no way of knowing what you will remember until you actually begin to dream. Anyway - “ He set down Meara’s diaper bag - in it, he had his wallet. “How much do I owe you for all the help and the tea, my dear?” “It does sound like a bad situation to go through. I'm glad you made it through okay.” She had no idea what it would be like to wake up suddenly missing a part of her body or how she'd handle it. She hoped she wouldn't have to find out. Aurora’s expression shifted from her normal happy to surprised at the fact that Killian knew someone with her exact name. Even if she was different from her. She wondered what she was like for him, but she decided against asking for now. “Oh, it's 20.” She didn't like to overcharge for things. She didn't think that it was too much. He would be glad to tell her all about the Princess Aurora that he knew - but some other time, perhaps. It would be helpful to have something to compare with, whatever she happened to dream of. Always so exciting when they were wide-eyed and in wonderment of the whole experience - until something happened, like they lost a hand. Or perhaps died. Pulling a twenty from his wallet, he folded it and slid it toward her. “Thanks again, love. If you need anything from me later? Any investigating to be done, or you just want to chat about things? Contact me.” Since he was on the network, he’d be pretty easy to find. But just in case, he included a business card - he’d ordered a bunch, after he obtained his PI licence and Kenzi provided the design for the card - with the payment. “Thank you!” She couldn’t fathom needing any investigating done. Her life hadn’t been too bad. Her aunties had told her that her parents had died when she was very young, but she didn’t remember them, so it was difficult to be as sad as she should be about it. “I’ll let you know about the dreams if you want to know about them.” She took the money and the business card. “I hope that the carrots do better. If you need any more help, please let me know. I hope your fiance enjoys her tea.” |