Let it grow, let it grow

[heal_theworld]

Who: Martel and you!
What: Planting flowers in the garden.
When: Today!
Where: Outside in the garden
Rating: ...T, just to be safe?


Martel was out in the garden on her down time, and for once she wasn't playing her panpipes. No, she had decided the garden needed some more flowers. And not just any flowers. The fandalia flowers she had gotten from home for Christmas had flourished in her room, and were growing out of their large pot. So Martel had taken it upon her to take a good portion of them out to the courtyard and into the garden. She intended to plant them by the truffula tree, and hopefully they would grow around it into a field of white fandalia flowers. She had also brought her Oddish out, who was currently pretending to be a plant in the corner. Every so often it moved and made a noise, but otherwise it stood silent, soaking up the rays of the sun.

She had just dug a small hole, and was placing a few of the flowers into the hole, covering it up with dirt. Then she stood up, looking around and spoke mostly to herself:

"I suppose I can spread them out a bit, to make sure they do grow."

[ooc: Open to prose or actionspam!]

Comments

[heal_theworld]

He said it so casually, it took a moment for her to register exactly what he said. That the Vindice are former Arcobalenos who survived being replaced. If Reborn survived, then he could become a Vindice.

And he called them monsters.

"And what makes them monsters?" Her staff is pointed down at him, and she's deadly serious now.

[hometutor]

Everything is casual to Reborn, it's just as natural as breathing to him really. Don't be bothered, stay calm, don't show you care, things he's had drilled into him for years. And dropping that bombshell on her is normal to him.

Having a weapon pointed at him is too.

"They survive off of a different type of flame that I only recently learned of, one that needs hatred and comes only from their leader." They survive off of hatred and a desire to kill Checkerface, but he's not spilling that last tidbit, not yet.

[heal_theworld]

That answers her question and yet not. There's more he's not telling her. That staff doesn't move an inch.

"And they survive off that hatred, and the flames from their boss, to guard the Mafia world." Something seems off about that. Where did the hatred come from? Their predicament as Arcobaleno?

[hometutor]

Just staring at her staff still, he pulls his hat down over his eyes even as he takes a step back so he can stand upright, but doesn't move away from the staff.

"From any who would break it's laws." He takes a moment to straighten his tie and then look up at her. "Either live off of hatred in scarred bodies with power to take down the strongest, or die."

[heal_theworld]

She's quiet, almost too quiet. Because there are parallels that she is making that should not be made.

"And which would you choose? Death, or a horrible half life?"

[hometutor]

And yet they are there, and Reborn is taking this entire thing calmly.

"I would choose the path that would keep Tsuna away from being an Arcobaleno and alive." Fighting the Vindice? Yeah, not conducive to keeping his student alive.

[heal_theworld]

"That's not an answer, Reborn." It's not a direct answer, at least. It left her to figure out which would give him the advantage to help Tsuna.

[hometutor]

"The Vindice don't interfere in Mafia affairs." Does that make his answer more clear?

[heal_theworld]

That did make things more clear. He would rather die, as then he couldn't help Tsuna. If she read him right. And she didn't want him to die, but if that was the other option...

Nobody wanted to be a monster. She knew, since her blood made her one in the eyes of humans, of the elves. Her crystal made her an angel, and Zack's words of angels being monsters echoed in her ears. She could still feel her skin as it crystallized, turning her into one giant, ugly crystal.

But she was staring into the distance and keeping him waiting while she thought about this. She hoped he hadn't noticed. "...Good."

She wasn't a monster. No matter what. Even if she was in some people's eyes.

[hometutor]

If they were to go into the argument about angels and similar, Reborn could go all day about a certain person as well. But it's never really been an issue to him what a person is so long as well, they're decent at the end. Or he can talk them into what he needs them to do. He doesn't use the word monster lightly however.

Though at this point he's waiting on her to talk and yes, he had noticed but again he's too polite to say anything about it. Instead he just takes his fedora off and casually hangs it on the end of her staff, letting his hair just be crazy as he looks up at her. "You owe me a new hat."

Because that is a better conversation then the one they had just been on.

[heal_theworld]

It was a better conversation, and she's mildly surprised when he hangs his hat on her staff. He didn't usually give up easily, but then again, he had probably noticed her distance. He knew her too well now to realize it as what it was. And giving her his hat was Reborn distracting her and trying to cheer her up.

She smiled down at him. "I'll make sure to get you a good one this time. Not...whatever this thing is." With a swing of her staff she flips it hard into the air, and she's already casting. "Photon!"

And then it was only ash in the air.

[hometutor]

Yes, that's it exactly. Letting her be something other then at least somewhat cheery, even on the outside, rankles his gentlemanly sensibilities or something like that. Yup.

"It was a good hat." He just watches her fry it however, hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion as if in mourning over it. Because it's perfectly natural to do that.

[heal_theworld]

Of course it does. Reborn can't have her being sad. And he denies he was a gentleman.

"It was an ugly hat. May it rest in pieces." And with that she moves back to what she was doing, picking a spot for more the flowers. "Whatever did happen to your hat and Leon?"

Martel doubted Leon (or his hat) was in any real danger, as Reborn didn't seem too concerned about them. But he was missing them, and it made her curious.

[hometutor]

Of course he does, can't be letting his secret get out now can he?

He just brushes his suit off for a moment before reaching up to tug on his sideburn again, following her over to watch her as they talk.

"Leon's visiting someone, and my hat is his favorite perch." So it seemed natural to pass both hat and Leon along to whoever they were visiting. Yup.

[heal_theworld]

She's carefully digging out a hole to place the flowers in when he says that, and she looks up at him.

"...You gave your hat to someone?" Sorry, he may try to hide it but she knows what Reborn giving his hat to someone means. Especially with Leon. He's done it to her enough times. "Who?"

[hometutor]

Yes she does, and it's why he's not looking at her and instead wanders over to look at her Oddish, curious about the Pokemon.

"Someone who needed it." He's not saying who though, not yet because that would mean admitting he cares about Tsuna like that, yeah.

[heal_theworld]

Well, that wasn't wonderfully vague. It must be someone he trusts, or else he would have them back by now. If she had been thinking, she would have remembered that he had named Tsuna earlier, but she wasn't, and didn't.

"I'm sure, since you don't give your hat to just anyone." She watches him inspect her Oddish, amused while it pretends to be part of the scenery. "It's an Oddish. Its name is Leafy."

[hometutor]

Yes well, you know, thoughts and things. She's been busy hearing about his possible alternate future after all, she has every right to not remember him mentioning Tsuna.

Instead he reaches out to try and touch one of it's leaves, tilting his head towards her as he does. "It's good at blending into it's surroundings."

[heal_theworld]

It moves away from him, giving a little nervous 'Oddish!' at him. Martel just laughs a bit.

"It's a thing called a Pokemon. Last year we went to a world that was populated with them, and everybody in the castle got one. There they fight them for prizes and to make them stronger. It seemed all rather inhuman to me."

[hometutor]

It's not like he's much taller then the Oddish after all, so he follows but only after thinking for a moment and then moving down into a handstand to be at Oddish eye level.

"That would be to us looking in on it. Did Tsuna get one?" Now he's curious.

[heal_theworld]

The Oddish stares at him, but doesn't try to move away. Because small human, what are you doing?

"No, he wasn't here yet. He arrived sometime after."

[hometutor]

Going to enter into a staring contest with you, Leafy, of course! Which is precisely what he does after a small wave, quickly putting his hand back down on the ground so he doesn't fall over.

"He must be disappointed missing that then." Is he being sarcastic or not? Who knows. "How long after that did he get shot?"

[heal_theworld]

Leafy will just stare back, wondering about this human and how his owner even knows this tiny human.

"A few months. We went there in April, and the expedition was in August. He must have arrived in-between then. We met on the expedition, on the way to Lastlook. He got shot a few days later." Martel is carefully planting the flowers now, covering their roots over with soil.