Day 47: Greenhouse (2nd Shift)

[himetsuru]

Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was a stupid white dress. So what if it was visual evidence that she was a princess? It should not be bothering her this much. It was a just a dress

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[36_24_35]

Tifa was thankful for any chance to leave her breakfast table. Hell, she'd have gladly taken a punch in the face if that was the cost of her salvation. This "reunion" with Loz had been disturbing to say the least and the brunette hadn't learned as much as she'd have liked. All she could do was hope it wasn't only the two of them stuck here. Then she had worry about finding away to contact Marlene and Denzel, especially if Cloud had gotten mixed up in this mess as well. Shiva there was so many loose ends, too many questions and no answers

[thatmaskedchick]

Ruby was sure that there was something vaguely offensive in the hospital segregating the genders like this, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. She couldn't care less about the other "patients," of course, but her time in the greenhouse could be useful. While it was seriously doubtful that she'd be lucky enough to encounter any of the more exotic plants needed for spellwork, there was plenty of 'lesser' magic that involved more common herbs that could still pack quite a punch if used correctly.

Oh, if only she could be so lucky.

Before Ruby had time to poke around in the herb garden like she wanted to, the obnoxious woman from before made her way over and started smiling like she wanted something. Which, obviously, she did.

"Rebecca, dear..." she started.

I can snap your neck with a thought and start feasting on your eyeballs before you hit the ground, Ruby wanted to say, but somehow that probably wouldn't go over to well with the whole 'trying not to blow cover' thing. Instead, she replied with a noncommittal

[36_24_35]

Tifa heard more than saw the woman walking up beside her while she was still face first in the flowers. When the footsteps stopped with a very enthusiastic greeting of "... Hi," Tifa leaned back, brushing off her hands, and smiled. Her first thoughts were how striking she appeared, and with her little spade in hand, how ready she looked to use that thing on her nurse rather than the plants.

Apparently the nurses were avid matchmakers.

Great, she thought, but, truthfully, she never minded shooting the shit with strangers. It took more than an aloof personality to turn her off; it seemed white hair and green eyes was a common denominator when it came to her hit list though

[thatmaskedchick]

"Sarah," she replied shortly, giving the same alias that she'd given Ronixis her first night. "They keep calling me Rebecca, though. Not really sure why."

Whoever 'Rachel' was, she was obviously a civilian. One that Dean would have fallen over himself to interview, probably, given her almost Playboy-perfect proportions, but definitely a civilian. Maybe being forced to talk to her for the entire shift would have a tiny silver lining and she'd be able to get some more information about this place.

"I got here night before last, so...no, not really." She poked at the flowers with her trowel so that she looked like she was working. Sort of. "What about you? The nurse said you're new."

[thecamellia]

[free, no limit]

Tsubaki had spent more time in the greenhouse yard than in the actual greenhouse; it was bright and warm inside, smelling of earth instead of the faint antiseptic smell of the hospital. Going in, she relaxed a little, calmed by the pleasant surroundings.

Having nothing better to do--and considering it was a greenhouse--Tsubaki busied her hands with the first set of flowers she saw, peonies. As she smoothed her fingertips over a petal, she thought about Honey and if he would have a good time until she saw him next. For all his optimism, not all of his stay was fun and games, and a part of her worry regarded whether he would be all right. For that matter, Takashi, too, who protected Honey. And then there was everyone else… Her thoughts went in the same circles, based on hoping rather than actually being able to plan. Just keeping up with the day in, day out of Landel’s was like trying to hold back an avalanche with her bare hands

[dahliahasthorns]

Dahlia just loved flowers. They were wonderful! Beautiful! Tiny stalks of visual bliss, spread as far as the eye could see! Blinding the weakhearted and giving sinus infections to the less fortunate. Destined to die in the winter, to wither or go into her garbage bin when given to her by yappy, puppy dog men. Laying about in disgustingly humid greenhouses when it was supposed to be fall.

Ugh. She hated flowers.

But she did love today. You know why? Because today she had a fun little toy to give "Saint Feenie"'s little rival/buddy/boyfriend/whatever-he-was (yeah, she knew their connection by now. Gossip spreads fast in prison, especially when you were found guilty or with reason to be convicted by either one of two men, sometimes both, in this day and age. She was just so gosh darn luck to get Mia Fey instead of them, wasn't she?)! And wouldn't he just adore it? It was to die for

[thecamellia]

Tsubaki blinked at the sound of someone‘s voice, the fingers of her raised hand curling in reflexively. She looked down for the source. The speaker was a young woman with hair a deep red color.

“Oh no, of course not. Please go ahead,” she said, a smile at the ready.

That was enough of those thoughts, anyway, wasn’t it? For now, Tsubaki had other things to occupy her; she let her hand drop back down to her side.

[dahliahasthorns]

"Thank you..." She gave the girl a nervous little smile before stepping up to the tools the staff had so lovingly laid out for her to use. What to do, what to do...? Hm. Trowel, check. Her delicate white fingers curled around its handle and she watched how much it looked like she could hardly lift the thing.

Tch. It wasn't sharp enough to use if she wanted one later. Probably couldn't even do anything useful, unless she decided to shovel dirt into a certain prosecutor's mouth until he choked to death. Actually, that didn't sound so bad.

But oh, what was she doing?! She had company, didn't she?

"Where are my manners!" Her fingers let loose the trowel as she brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm Dahlia. Dahlia Hawthorne." She inclined her head to the side and showed off a winning smile. Somewhere, a group of butterflies were attempting to make their way through the greenhouse doors and to the influx of sweetness. "Are... Are you alright, miss? I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

[she_is_ruin]

[free, no limits]

It wasn’t even noon yet. Hours to go until sunset.

There was no purpose in mothering flowers with the other women, but the greenhouse was another area she had yet to see, and so she went. The prospect of being in close quarters with Kagura didn’t deter her.

Her nurse was trying to encourage Yomi’s interest in something--as though throwing herself in the idle things the hospital offered would solve all her problems. Different flowers and vegetables were presented to her one by one to Yomi’s deaf ears. Truthfully, she knew how to garden, from pieces of a past life. Her past life. If there was something similar in Yoshiko’s, Yomi didn’t dig for it. Instead, she pulled a little potted plant towards her and plucked a dead leaf from it with an air of simple content

[finalwitch]

The trowel quivered beneath her finger tips. She could break skin with this pressure; tear ribbons of muscle and splinter bone until her hand became no more than a lump of meat. The wait was torture, knowing the supposed mastermind of her family's deaths (fiction or not, masquerade or not) lurked in the confines of the institute. Clutching a stupid gardening tool proved to be the one element holding her focus in place.

Beatrice. This self-proclaimed Endless Witch was a favorite of Maria. One ill-aimed comment would have infuriated her cousin, who protected the witch with an enviable fierceness. Ange had remained silent for fear of loss, but now? Fear was obsolete; her precious cousin would prove to be no obstacle.

As for what she would do, who could say? Anything was likely at this point. She had options, at least: could call a spade a spade without rejection. Or throw one in good conscience.

Then she would see who this Beatrice truly was.

[Not like it wasn't said already, but come to me to be kicked in the face, Beato.]

[goldenroulette]

Well, now. Wasn't this interesting...it wasn't every day one caught a glimpse of the dead walking. She had suspected the girl's identity from the start, particularly once she had learned that this was a place where different fragments of time melded easily, but the confirmation caught her just a little off-guard. It took Beatrice a moment to compose her features into a slight smile, a hint of something else under the surface, before she walked over to the girl.

"Ushiromiya Ange. Or are you still going by a false name? No matter; a lump of meat is still a lump of meat, no matter what name it was called. Tell me, did you remember what form you took, or is this the work of that deceptive witch?"

She laughed, though kept the volume a bit lower than she might have normally.

[finalwitch]

If one took a substantially sized portrait, whittled its subject down to the proportions of a human, removed some of her most prominent features, and finally, gave her three dimensions, they would have this woman. Ange paused in her inner hostility to throw the individual a surprised glance. The reasons behind the look were many.

In truth, Ushiromiya Ange expected her dead aunt to have taken the guise of the witch Beatrice. She had motive and means, after all; Ange would not put it passed Eva to rise from her grave simply to torment her niece. So this mysterious, yet familiar woman was somewhat unexpected. The name that slipped from her lips even more so.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded, obviously taken aback. "How do you know who I am?"

[goldenroulette]

"The question should really be why you don't already know the answer to that question." Beatrice quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully. So, then, was she from a different kakera? A different gameboard? Or...no. It was simpler than that, far simpler.

"You are Ushiromiya Ange. The daughter of Rudolf and Kyrie, and Battler's younger sister. I believe Ushiromiya Eva was the last survivor of that incident. What do the humans call it? The Witch's Serial Murder Incident?" Her lips turned up in a faint smirk as she looked at the girl. Endless Nine and endless potential, or so there would be if she was in any other place but this. Kinzo's blood passed to two of his grandchildren, then.

"My name is Beatrice."

[forcalmeternal]

Hey, this was nice. Yuna looked around at the assorted plants in fascination. ...Apparently a 'greenhouse' referred to the plants in it and not the color of the house itself! Although she supposed it had looked kind of green from the outside, with all these plants.

The humidity in the air reminded her a little of home, and to prevent the feeling from souring, she paid attention while the (unsmiling! Was Yuna doing something wrong? Yuna asked, but the lady didn't answer) lady taught her to plant a...er, plant and gave her a little box of bulbs and a...the lady had called it a trowel?

Yuna tried it, and didn't think she'd done too badly! She looked up for confirmation, but the lady had disappeared again. It was such typical behavior for the lady that Yuna just shrugged and turned back to her little box. Next!

[cursed_exorcist]

Waking up late was nothing new to Kagura, but to miss breakfast was just sacrilegous. When it came to food, Kagura had animal instincts and an appetite to match. As the nurse guided her past the cafeteria, Kagura's mouth watered at the smell of leftovers. Unfortunately, it wasn't time for lunch, so that meant Kagura was going to be stuck in what felt like limbo for an hour. She had nothing against gardening, but she had needs, and they weren't being met. However, as soon as she entered the greenhouse, a shudder ran through her body. She's here... Kagura's sixth sense could not be ignored, not that the Kyuubi would ever allow it, especially when its splinter fragment from another dimension was so close by. The creature's gluttony and greed were unparalleled, and Kagura had to stay on her guard, lest she involuntarily carry out Yomi's prediction

[forcalmeternal]

Hmm, that seemed to be a nice little row...although she really had no idea where the bulbs actually were. Yuna was looking around to see if she could memorize the spot her little row was, so she could (hopefully!) check back sometime, when someone caught her eye.

"Kagura!" Yuna grinned. Working with the plants had been nice, but she was glad for the company. However, her expression turned quickly to concern. "...Are you okay?" Was she better from whatever had upset her yesterday? Was she okay from whatever she might have met at night?

...Night. Yuna had been trying to put that off, especially since people seemed to have developed some sort of way of dealing with it. But fiends-er, monsters?-always took their toll. "Nothing bad happened?"

[cursed_exorcist]

Was she really that transparent? If so, then Kagura wasn't doing a good enough job hiding her pain. She tried to distract herself by shoveling some dirt into the pot followed by some seeds. "Yeah, I'm fine."

When Yuna asked if anything bad happened, Kagura tried wracking her brain for why she would ask such a thing. "Oh, do you mean last night?" Her blue eyes made sure the nurses were gone before she continued. "No, nothing bad happened; in fact, last night was pretty good. I got together with some people I know, and we got our hands on some weapons. Well, stuff we can use as weapons."

Kagura was somewhat proud of this accomplishment. So far, she had felt naked without a weapon at hand, and while she still didn't have a proper blade, the makeshift weaponry she had gathered last night satisfied her. Or perhaps, it was working together with a group again that made Kagura happy? Hime and Sokka's presences were certainly welcome. "And the best part was that we didn't run into any trouble either." Not unless you count Sokka's bloody nose