Day 126 - Action || Juicy!

[freedom_engineer]

Who: Colin and anyone who likes fruit
Open: Open
When: Day 126
Where: The Distillery
What: Colin's got fruit, who wants some?
Format Action
Warnings: Well, it's this guy, so a warning for social-shenanigans seems prudent.

[It's been a long, but very productive day for Mr. Starfury. He's spent all morning out at the farm, tending to his new plants. The vines had a good deal of fruit when they arrived, and he busily started harvesting the ripe stuff. Next came the cleaning, and the peeling.

The result? There's a table set up in the distillery with several platters of fruit. Some of it's whole fruit, some of it's sliced, some of it's peeled. Whatever the case, it's there for the taking.

Colin's sitting nearby, with a cup of juice, which he appears to be savoring while he's off in his own little world. If you wanna talk to him, he's there. If you don't, he's not going to be put out. This fruit's here for everyone, all he wants are the seeds. He's not going to make anyone do anything for it, just enjoy it.

And Paarthurnax, he isn't overlooking you, but the fruit's a little small for you. Part of what he's doing is working out the scale to make something you can enjoy.]

Comments

[unwrittenformula]

[Well, Colin is about to be visited by a random creature. Not the tall bi-pedal fox that had been with Hilda and N the day of their arrival, but the "hat" that wasn't actually a hat but a Swablu.

Said bird flutters down near the fruit, curiously looking at it with a tilt this way and that way of it's round little head before it decides that this should obviously be his. He promptly snatched an entire fruit and began devouring it.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin peers curiously at Swablu, and he grins.]

I really hope I don't get you addicted to the good stuff. Where's your papa, little one?

[unwrittenformula]

[Beak a mess of fruit remnants, Swablu let out a chirrup at Colin.

As if to answer his question in another manner, a slightly frantic green haired non-trainer came running by the Distillery]

Swablu!

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin holds out his hand, palm up, to Swablu even as N comes running by. Colin gives the distressed man a look, and he sighs in tired amusement and just keeps grinning at Swablu.]

You really are a kid, aren't you?

[He whistles to get N's attention.]

[unwrittenformula]

[Another chirp from Swablu. It almost sounds like he's agreeing with Colin!

N skidded to a halt, doubling back to the Distillery.]

Swablu... he's not bothering you, is he?

[That last part was to Colin, of course.]

[freedom_engineer]

Not in the slightest. He just helped himself to a Navit. He seemed to enjoy it, so I'm glad to let him have it.

[Colin reaches out to pat Swablu on the head gently]

How is Hilda doing?

[unwrittenformula]

Oh...

[Its quite a bit bigger than any berry, but if it's not going to make him sick.]

Better. She should be out of the hospital soon.

[freedom_engineer]

I can only imagine how stir-crazy she must be going. We have GOT to get some sort of entertainment options up and running here.

[He won't express his opinions on the Bastion's collective morale problem on poor N.]

Rin's been keeping her fed, at least?

[unwrittenformula]

[He wouldn't understand anyway. Entertainment? What's that? Does it involve Ferris Wheels? Because if it doesn't involve Ferris Wheels he's not interested.]

Yes, of course.

[earthandpine]

[Rosethorn loves all plants, but she takes particular delight in ones she's never encountered before. There's a reason she's the only gardener who ever managed to get tomatoes growing on her side of the ocean. The instant she sees a fruit that's completely new to her, she readjusts her plans for the day and heads toward Colin.]

I've never seen this fruit before. What is it called, and are you sharing with anyone who passes by?

[He might notice that her speech is a little slower than most people's; Rosethorn suffered mild brain damage several years ago.

Her hand hovers above one of the whole fruits. She won't take it without permission, even if she's already itching to sink her magic into it and see how it grows.]

[freedom_engineer]

Oh, hello there. By all means, take as much as you like. I've picked enough for everyone, and then some! I... got a little enthusiastic, you see. They're called Navit, and I'm not surprised you haven't seen them. They're from another planet. And they're a GREAT source of energy.

[Colin's quite happy to share this with everyone. The more people who like it, the more likely it is that more will get picked, which means more SEEDS!

He also isn't the least bit concerned with how quickly she speaks. When one works with Alien species, they get used to communication taking a while.]

I'd just like the seeds when you're done. Unless you're with Briar, he and I were talking about how to cultivate these better. I don't mind letting people have some seeds to grow more.

I am apparently incapable of conciseness today, sorry.

[earthandpine]

[Energy? Idly, she wonders if she could find a way to use them in keep-awake tea. Crane's was always just a hair stronger than hers, though she'd deny it in any circumstances but the most dire. The thought of her rival stings, since he isn't here to keep the competition going.

She takes a slice of the already prepared fruit and tries a bite, considering whether it has any similarities to fruits she does know. The whole fruit has already been tucked into her elbow for later experiments.

And then she laughs at the clarification about Briar. It's good to see evidence of her boy making a life for himself here, even if Rosethorn is more homesick by the second. She'd been away from her temple and the woman she loves for years before coming here, and now she can't get back at all.]

You're in good hands then. He's my foster son and former student.

Why do you want the seeds in particular? Surely you can't mean to plant them all, not with the population so low here. I won't have fruit rotting and going to waste. There's also the potential effect on local vegetation to consider. [She still sounds primarily curious rather than accusatory, assuming the seeds have other desirable properties. There is a slight edge to her tone on the follow-up statements, though, making it clear she takes the welfare of all the plants here very seriously.

The Navit vines must be thriving now to produce this much fruit, and overplanting or unchecked natural spread would very likely end with the Navit as an invasive species choking out other necessary vegetation. Their current success also begs the question of what exactly Briar's still helping with.]

No worries there. My tags are rarely short either. Case in point...

[freedom_engineer]

[The fruit itself is rather close to an apple. A little sweeter, slightly more tart as well. It's nice and crisp, too.]

Is that right? Remind me to sit down and pick both of your brains, then. I know far less than I need to in order to look after these vines.

Anyway, the seeds! These plants are primarily grown for their seeds, because the seeds contain a high concentration of caffeine. Briar didn't know what that is, so I'm assuming you don't either. Caffeine is a natural stimulant, it staves off the need for sleep, and it increases focus and improves reaction time.

In my case, however, I've been consuming it for decades, so I've formed a chemical dependence on it. I've estimated that I need about eight seeds a day to match my normal caffeine intake back home.

I wouldn't worry about the fruit going to waste, though... It's quite tasty, and the Psilons have called the Navit vine a miracle plant. You can make tea from the leaves. The plant has other uses too, but... Well. I'm not a botanist. My knowledge of it applies solely to the seeds and the tea.

[He frowns slightly and nods]

The fruit was on the vines when I had the monument bring them in. I am actually a little concerned about the possibility of it being an invasive species, though. It grows quickly. I've never heard of it being an encroaching plant, but the Psilons who farm it are practically religious in their care of it. From what I understand, the farm should keep it regulated there. Beyond that, though...

And then life kicked my butt all week.

[earthandpine]

[She smiles appreciatively at the flavor, nodding.

Colin has offered the perfect distraction from disorientation and a repressed sense of loss. Rosethorn is always willing to discuss and analyze plants. His eagerness to learn whatever might be necessary to care for them properly is noted and appreciated. Her grin sharpens.]

As soon as you said energy, I was already wondering whether it could be combined with our own formulas for keep-awake tea. I'd like some of the seeds to experiment with the stimulant. If that causes a problem in terms of your own needs, I can quick-grow and harvest some spares easily enough. It's just that doing things that way weakens the plants, so I only do so when absolutely necessary for seed harvest and replanting, not as a general practice.

Briar and I might be able to increase the potency of the seeds or tea as well, but I can't guarantee that.

[Plenty of perfectly nice plants are invasive species. It doesn't make them parasitic or inherently bad. It just means they need a little more discipline and guarding from their gardeners.]

The seeds feel like they want to grow. They're livelier than a lot of seeds are. I don't think you'll have much trouble coaxing plants out of these. [Rosethorn is holding the whole fruit in her hands now, and she glances down at it for a moment as she speaks.] I can keep my eyes out on the farm, of course; I know Briar's been doing a lot of weeding there too. If you transplant anywhere else, make sure you either let us know where or keep an eye out yourself. Set boundaries for the plants. Uproot any that grow outside them so they don't take over, and don't plant too close to existing trees. Briar or I can help with any issues that come up.

Life has a nasty tendency to do that.

[freedom_engineer]

I think you'll probably love to have a look at those plants. They're pretty big, LOTS of fruit still on the vines.

[Colin grins at her mentioning the possibility of making the seeds more potent. He won't turn it down, but he imagines it might be quite a surprise for anyone who isn't expecting it.]

You'll probably want to try some of the tea first, before you experiment with that. Navit seeds contain three times the amount of caffeine as coffee beans do. ... Of course, if you don't know what coffee is, that'll probably mean nothing. Still, it's potent. You'll definitely want to gauge if it needs more potency.

I'm not too worried about running out of seeds, personally. Each fruit has three.. or four? I actually wasn't paying attention to that while I was preparing all of this.

[He boggles at that, it's another one of those things he just didn't think about.]

Anyway, I might cultivate one for personal use, just as a backup in case anything goes wrong, but I don't plan on fiddling around too much with nature. I... Well, I'm definitely interested in learning more, but if you and Briar want to take it over? That would actually suit me fine.

I'm much more at home in a workshop than I am in a field, I'm afraid. I don't mean to foist it off on you, just... You and Briar sound like you'd handle the job far better than I EVER could.

[He actually feels a little guilty about that. On the Nova, he'd have no problem with it. Here, everyone's trying to find their footing and survive. These plants are here because he needed the caffeine, not for any other reason. Oh, there are lots of benefits to the plant, he knows that. But he wasn't considering those when he had them introduced.]

[earthandpine]

I'm like that about most plants. [It isn't as if she makes any secret of it. Rosethorn's happiest in a garden. She wilts a little if she doesn't get enough time spent around plants.]

Higher potency means lower quantities needed, but I don't suppose that's much of an issue when you already have this much fruit available. [Rosethorn double checks his seed estimate in her current fruit with an instinctive tendril of power.] Your memory isn't faulty. This one has four.

Neither Briar nor I would let a plant want for anything. I'll check on them and answer any questions if you want to tend the plants yourself, but I don't mind looking after them either. [Rosethorn thinks that people ought to know how to tend their own plants. It's a matter of common sense. On the other hand, she's casting about for something to do with herself. Unfamiliar plants are her favorite sort of project, so she'll hardly object to taking them on.

She does crack a smile at the mention of more comfort in workshops. She is the opposite, despite her time at Lightsbridge University and a monumental years-long research project behind her.] I'm a simple green mage, and I always liked my garden better than classrooms or research. What type of workshop is your experience in?

[freedom_engineer]

Glad to see that my memory isn't faulty. You're welcome to grab as many as you like to tinker with them. And... I think, if you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer it if you would take care of the plants.

[He smiles gratefully]

I don't think I'd wind up killing 'em, but I'd rather they thrive than just... you know... exist.

And my work's rather advanced. I primarily work on hyperdrives and fuel cells, but I'm also a computer geek. .... And if you don't know what those are, you're more than welcome to smile, nod, and change the subject.

[That smile turns into a grin.]

[blackblooded]

[Crona is just sort of poking around curiously, seeing if anything's going on. Into the distillery, and.... oh. Colin. Crona's about to turn and leave but then...]

What kinda fruit is that?

[... out comes Ragnarok. So Crona stops, and waits for an answer from Colin. Eventually, the weapon will get bored and drop the conversation, but do now they're both stuck here. It's rude to drag someone away from a conversation, after all.]

[freedom_engineer]

Crona, Ragnarok.

[Colin gives both of them a nod.]

It's called Navit. A little sweeter than an apple.

If you'd like to try it, help yourself.

[He beckons to the platters]

[blackblooded]

Hell yes I want to try it! Get over there, loser! [Crona inches over toward the table, feeling rather awkward about interacting with Colin. But the meister takes a slice of the fruit.

Ragnarok takes a handful of sliced fruit, and shoves the entire thing in his mouth. Then he grabs Crona's piece out of his meister's hand and eats that too.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin chuckles quietly at that.]

New food's always exciting, huh? There's several plants out at the farm, so we should have plenty of this for a while.

And maybe we'll be able to grow a few more if conditions are right.

[He gives Crona a glance and another nod of acknowledgement, but doesn't push it any further yet. If she wants to deal with him, she will. Their last meeting could have gone better, after all.]

[blackblooded]

[Ragnarok considers this for a few moments, then comes to a conclusion about the fruit.]

It tastes like shit! I can't believe you eat this!

[Crona is making a valiant effort to ignore Ragnarok, but it's hard when he's spitting out partially-chewed fruit all over his meister's head.]

What the hell, Ragnarok? That's disgusting! You're so gross!

[There's lots of flailing.]

[freedom_engineer]

And nobody's forcing you to eat it.

[Colin gives Ragnarok a particularly shit-eating grin.]

Unfortunately, there's a decided lack of variety in the fruit here. My next shards are going to go towards a workshop and a gym, so this is it, other than the stuff that's already been here...

Have you got enough Shards to bring in fruit you like? That would solve the problem.

[blackblooded]

Crona just wasted shards on some useless shit, so we've got like, nothing.

... Ragnarok, new powers aren't useless shit.

Like hell they aren't! They're not even cool, and you didn't need them!

[A sigh, then Crona addresses Colin.]

H-how much is the workshop going to cost? Ragnarok and I actually have a lot, so if you need help we can help.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin just lets the two of them talk before Crona addresses him. He noticeably perks when she offers to help, though he quickly settles as he starts calculating.]

For the building itself, I'm going to need another four hundred shards, give or take a dozen. Best case scenario, that's all I need, but I doubt that's the case.

After I get the workshop, I suspect I'll need to make some of the equipment I need... That's gonna be more.

[Best case scenario there? Another thousand shards. He's not going to speak that number, though. There's allowing oneself to be helped, and then there's taking advantage of someone's generosity.]