[open] wide open spaces

[greenmateria]

Hydroponics was simply amazing.

It was relaxing. That was the best way Aerith could describe it. She was sure there had been plenty before her to make this observation, though. Still, it was comforted her in a way she'd needed. Even if it wasn't the planet, her planet, it still gave her a sense of peace. Despite it being an artificial environment

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[stormfall_aqua]

Aqua had bought a couple of seeds and plants during the shore leave to XaXing, giving her a chance to try to grow new fruits and vegetables on the ship.

One was doing pretty well in the garden at the Masaki house, and she decided to try planting it in Hydroponics. As she began digging, she glanced up and saw Aerith.

"Hello," she said. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

[greenmateria]

Aerith had been watching her, and she shook her head when Aqua spoke to her. "Not at all actually."

She walked closer, studying the ground Aqua was digging up and she smiled wistfully. "This just reminds me of home. A little bit." With that,she knelt down, smiling at Aqua. "I'm Aerith, by the way."

[rainfell_aqua]

"I'm Aqua," she replied, smiling back.

She'd made a deep enough hole to put the plant in, and she started covering up the roots with soil. "My home world had some trees and grass around, but because it was in the mountains, the soil was too rocky for much else to grow. I loved seeing all the different trees and flowers when we had the chance to travel."

[greenmateria]

Aerith could certainly relate to that feeling. "My home wasn't the best place for anything to grow. I did manage to get a patch of flowers healthy enough to survive, though."

She smiled, thinking back to the church she spent so much of her time in. "Not many had the chance to see flowers there, so I ended up selling them to people. It was nice to get away from there and see what grew out in the world itself, rather than the cramped space I lived in."

[stormfall_aqua]

"It's a good thing you were able to," Aqua said. "Our master was very strict about making sure we didn't upset the balance of things, including making sure that we didn't bring home anything that wouldn't thrive or would over-thrive and upset the environment."

[greenmateria]

"At the time, I didn't think much of it. I was young and lonely, so I used the flowers to occupy myself." Aerith watched Aqua plant, sighing a bit at her memories.

"I don't think there was any danger of life over-thriving there. There was barely life enough as it was, Midgar wasn't the best of towns to live in if you lived under the plates."

[rainfell_aqua]

"Then it's the exact opposite problem," Aqua pointed out. "At that point, I think it would be good to try to get whatever can survive, if there's nothing left to grow in that environment."

[greenmateria]

"I agree. If my flowers could have grown better, expanded a little more, it wouldn't have hurt anything. But most of the life from our Planet was being sucked dry," Aerith said this a bit sadly. Years of the planet whispering in her head meant she was party to the pain it felt, and it still sat heavy inside her.

[rainfell_aqua]

"I'm sorry," Aqua apologized, remembering the pain and shock of seeing her homeworld fallen into darkness, barely holding itself together. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was just as painful all the same.

[greenmateria]

With a sigh, Aerith shook her head a bit. "There isn't much use dwelling on it now, since it seems my planet is gone." She doesn't notice how she says it's her planet, but that was a sense she always had. That connection that ran so deep.

Looking back down at the hole Aqua was planting the seeds in, she leaned forward a bit. "Do you know what you're planting?"

[stormfall_aqua]

"We just have to hope that we'll be able to restore our worlds," Aqua insisted.

As she packed dirt around the plant, she said, "I don't know exactly what it's called, but it's kind of like a vegetable called eggplant. A little sweeter, though. It's really good grilled." It was one of the few things she'd been able to cook well.

[greenmateria]

"I know you're right. Hopefully we can have our homes restored, it's just...discouraging, I guess," Aerith mused while she watched Aqua patting down the dirt.

She didn't think she'd eaten anything like eggplant back home - then again, she'd been traveling extensively and they ran short on gil sometimes so most of the food could be bland. Rations and such - it wasn't exactly the most appetizing.

"Grilled eggplant? You'll have to let me try that sometime." She gave Aqua a smile. "Have you planted anything else here?"

[rainfell_aqua]

"I picked up a few plants and seeds one of the last times we had a chance to visit a market," she said. "I've also been saving them from any fresh food we have. My sister has a carrot garden, though her pet tends to get into it."

[greenmateria]

"That's a good idea." An excellent one actually, since Aerith had sampled some of the food served on the ship, and it wasn't exactly the most appetizing. "Do we not get the chance to visit markets much?"

[rainfell_aqua]

"It depends on where we end up," Aqua pointed out. "Sometimes, if we're on a mission, we can pick up some supplies from what's around us. That's how I got some of these seeds and plants. Other times, we wait for a shore leave--and that's how most of us got our supplies. With any luck, we'll have another big one like that soon."

[greenmateria]

"That would be nice. I've stuck around on ship when there's been missions. Still getting my bearings and all." It was taking her a lot longer than she'd expected, but there had been so much on her mind that wandering around the ship kept her thoughts from circling around on themselves.