Enter a miffed aristocratic scientist.

[ari_v_2_0]

*she comes from up the lawn, easily, with confidence, paying sharp attention to her surroundings*

Good morning, seri. Anyone care to tell me what this is and where my staff are?

*and that tilt of the head, and those widened eyes, expect answers*

[Ari is from C.J. Cherryh's novel Cyteen.]

Comments

[fingersofleaf]

Percy beams and offers a basket of peaches. They are insane. You have two trees, you get enough for thirty-two people. "Hi! Would you like some peaches? I've got plenty. They're really nice, too. Better than my trees at home. And, well, we dunno where it is, but I could maybe tell you where your people are if you could tell me their names."

[ari_v_2_0]

Ari smiles, and lifts a peach off the top. "Hello! Thank you," and she bites into it, not entirely prepared for how good it is - fresh fruit is still rare even in Reseune, though she's had some a fair number of times in her life. "It's wonderful."

She beams openly. "And thank you for offering - they've found me, though, so you don't need to. Their names are Florian and Catlin," she tilts her head and twitches her eyebrows, "Since I think you'd like to know anyway, wouldn't you?"

[fingersofleaf]

He beams even more at her response. "Thanks. I've never grown peaches this good before, but that might be 'cause I just tended the trees this time. They were already there. Probably been around for a while. That helps."

"Oh, good! Great. Okay," with a rather engaging grin. "'Course. Then I can find 'em if you ever need them. I'm Percy."

[ari_v_2_0]

"Does it? I've never worked much with plants - I only know basic things about them. Make sure they get light, don't drown them or parch them. That sort of thing." She takes another peach, having devoured the first one perhaps too quickly. "This is just amazing. There's not as much fresh fruit where I come from. We're still working on getting the trees to take in our soil. Some things do all right, some don't."

"Great!" she grins back. "All three of us appreciate it. I'm Ari. Pleased to meet you, Percy."

[fingersofleaf]

"Well, they're all kinda different. Some of them don't really like light. --Ohh, if you don't have a lot of fresh stuff, you can come and get from me any time. I have a really big garden, so I usually get more than I need. --What kind of things take? Maybe your soil's not the right kind."

"Nice to meet you! Ari's pretty."

[ari_v_2_0]

"Thank you!" As visions of fruit dance in her head. "I'd like to see that. Maybe Florian will come down with me - he likes working AG. I bet he'd like it. - Oh, there's all kinds of factors but I haven't paid all that much attention to the work they're doing with it. I've been thinking about my own projects more. We probably don't have the right kind. It's a fertile ecosystem, but fruit trees aren't native to it."

"Thanks! My grandmother thought so."

[fingersofleaf]

"Sure! Any time. Squash'll be reading for picking next month, and you could even help if you wanted to. --That could be what's wrong. 'Cause then they'd get sick maybe with things they weren't used to, and that can do bad stuff to 'em."

He just beams.

[ari_v_2_0]

"Thank you. I think we'd like that." She smiles. "Yes, it almost certainly is. The local vegetation is pretty aggressive, too."

[fingersofleaf]

"Well, you're welcome any time you feel like coming down. --Oh, yeah, yeah, that's a problem, all right. What you might wanna do, you might wanna start them in greenhouses or indoors, to keep 'em safe until they're strong enough to take. Pot them before you plant them, and then they'll get good roots, and used to the air in small bits, and if you clear them a good big place when you plant them, and give 'em cages, too (I don't like cages, but it keeps the animals from eating 'em). That might help."