jigokulogs | (open.) goldenseal

Entry tags:

(open.) goldenseal

Who ⬤ Emily and open!
What ⬤ Monthly catchall - substories, life, etc.
When ⬤ Over March
Where ⬤ Across the city.
Content Warnings ⬤ TBA if needed

sprout. - post mingle

[it's not her scene at all. already on edge, Emily had kept it together long enough to get her pay advance, thanked people kindly, and then bolted. overwhelming, bad for her senses, and so she had gone to the roof, stretched her wings, and flown away. immediately, she had started feeling better, the relief that comes from exercise and movement and being out of an environment that puts her ill at ease.

where she lands, it's away from the nightclub, but she carefully wanders, trying to get her bearings. it's much harder than it appears, in the dimmer light, even with things illuminated by electricity and the life that still thrums through the place. and unfortunately for a person that looks lost, it's all too easy to get spotted by those who might be drunk, might not be, but see virtue in calling out on the street to try to get one more person to join them for fun.]

No thank you, I'm not-

[they don't seem to be willing to accept the first no for an answer. alternatively, you've arrived later, and someone has Emily slung over their shoulder. despite the awkward state of affairs, she is very clearly trying to squirm out of their grasp, more annoyed than anything else about being swept away, and the youkai holding her seems ignorant to how she's trying to get out. or maybe just used to it. ugh. she's not giving up yet though.]

growth. - night parade

[decorating is an important part of being ready for the parade, Emily knows, and for this, she can put her full energy behind it. after failing so miserably at socializing earlier, she's doing her best to remain dutiful here. that means fetching what she's been told to, assisting those who might have shakier footing, or giving gentle but honest advice about what looks best. and of course, for those harder to reach spots, it does help when you can fly up and hover some to affix it in the best spot. this might be why she keeps getting assigned to the trickier bits.

of course, no one can keep being full of steam all the time, and so it is that on break, she's found a good spot to sit down - right on a wooden box, slumped over and clutching onto a water bottle as if it will save her. but hearing any footsteps, she sits up, the flush of exertion in her face still evident.]

Has it been twenty minutes already? Goodness.

[self defense training or not, it's like running a marathon...]

bloom. - work

[she bows her head and accepts the sneers thrown her ways from the other girls - they don't understand why an uptight member of the Sutoku would seek a steadier job with the club that falls under more of the Tamamo purview, but the manager accepts it with a grunt and lets Emily have her work. employment is employment, and she needs funds if she's going to get anywhere, so she'll sell what's most useful right now - her voice. Hotaru is the stage name she chooses for herself, and she does her best to ingratiate herself with the others, learning what the band would prefer to play and what songs they can collaborate on. really, she closes her ears to anything else, keeps to herself - even the most sharp eyed can't find fault with her attitude off stage, and so she'll gain her money carefully.

so, perhaps you've come in to enjoy a leisurely night at a slower pace, and she's in the midst of her set, singing and making the right kind of eye contact with customers. maybe it's earlier, and you work there, early enough to hear the sounds of a minor scuffle in the back that ends with a door slammed and Emily stumbling out of that direction, a bundle in her arms. or maybe it's later, and you're at the bar, and a soft voice comes from your side.]

I wouldn't, if I were you.

[it's the careful grind, after all. there's the idea of quitting and finding a different place, and she has the number of a different club in another district, but...she wants her first paycheck at least.]

wildcard.

[for custom prompts and new ideas and the like. ooc intro if you'd like to plot something specific, or hit me up via PM!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[somehow, nehan manages to enter the library with a plant. he thinks he got a couple of looks from the front desk, but... no one has tried to stop him so far. besides, the aloe vera is in a pot, and the pot is in a "plastic bag" hanging from his elbow, so the erune is just not tracking dirt and pebbles everywhere as he stalks through the bookshelves looking for very specific titles.

rather, books with titles that would point towards topics he's very interested in.

plants.

hell plants.

so far he has found a general book on botany and has tucked it under his arm, but is scouring the shelves for more when he spots someone nearby-- with a book with an interesting title. so nehan finds himself in need of the ability to pretend to be a normal person just to socialize. he inhales deeply, rearranges his expression to be more neutral and less of a scowl, and approaches.]

Excuse me. Are you done with that book?

[the library is a sanctuary, and a place to do more research. she has her own notebooks, her own formulas, but more information is always better. if there are substitutes for certain ingredients, if there are more potent applications, she has to know before she invests enough time in looking for things. it was all so much simpler when she could just walk into the forest, but she can't be mired in the past.

someone's voice comes to her, after she hears them walk up, and she pauses from where she was getting another book from the shelf.]

This one?

[she shifts the one in her arm, bound in a deep red, marked as The Pharmacist's Home Garden, and looks to him. it's the plastic bag that strikes her as odd to have in a library, and as for the ears...well, she won't speculate, it's more remarkable to see someone look more human than not at this rate.]

I'm sorry, but I just picked it up. I can show you where I got it from, though, I think there's another copy.

[nehan has to shake his head. he did consider it... but he knows he didn't just miss the title. the book is a very eye-catching color after all, and some of the other books have dull covers.]

Unfortunately, no. If there were more copies, I wouldn't need to disturb you. [then he sighs, chagrined. he could just come here another day, he's in no danger of forgetting, but what if he doesn't get another chance? what if he gets so busy with clan work that he just has no time?

unless...]

I'm on a tight schedule, and I don't know when I will be able to come back. Do you think we could share?

As long as you don't mind me taking notes, I don't see why not.

[she smiles at him, collecting the other book she was after, and turning in the direction of the tables for studying.]

After you, sir - unless you don't already have a space set up.

No, I just arrived.

[nehan looks around to check where he can place the plastic bag... before deciding fuck it, and hangs it from the ear of the chair he's chosen as his for the time being. then he pulls out the chair right beside it, for her. old, ingrained habits, for the female captains, or wives or mistresses.

though he's only half a gentleman, sitting down without waiting for her.]

[there's a murmured thanks even though he sits first, an acknowledgement of the little gesture as she sets the book in front of them both, turning to retrieve her notebook and pens from her bag. though she does glance at the plastic bag he has, and can't resist asking -]

Which plant have you got there?

[the bit of green poking out of the top was a giveaway.]

Aloe vera. [as he speaks, he pulls out a pen and notebook as well, even if he doesn't actually need it. but it's better to have something easy to reference, rather than just rely on his memory.]

Though they tried to sell me varieties of haworthia at first, when I asked for aloe vera.

[nehan's tone says all-- he's annoyed and offended that someone would try to pull a fast one on him, especially one that he figured out so quickly.]

Are they quite sure they should be selling plants in that case? It's hard to mix the two up, even for amateurs. For those styling themselves as experts, an even worse mistake.

[she's offended on his behalf, frankly. how could someone make such an obvious mixup? a child could do better than that.]

No, I'm sure the only mistake they made was attempting to scam me. [for emphasis, the erune rolls his eyes, before turning to look at the page she's opened to and starting to jot down notes in a shorthand that no one knows but himself. his writing doesn't look legible to anyone else but himself, a classic medic's stereotype that he doesn't do anything to refute.

then he looks back up at her.]

It was indeed a scam. I don't think they'll try it on me again.

[her own writing is a neat cursive, organized lists and details made a touch smaller so she can fit more on each page. the one she starts on is half full already, the collection of her trying to sort out what she'll need in the immediate future both supply and equipment-wise.

discovering what local flora there is at least starts the process, and her hand does jot down aloe - confirmed before anything else.]

Did you give them something of a reckoning to contend with?

[despite herself, she can't keep all of the amusement away, imagining the scammers flinching away over an aloe plant, and her lips tugging into a smile.]

I did, yes. [because of course he would-- why not? of course, he wont say what he did to scare the daylights out of him... he'll just roll with what assumptions may be made.]

In exchange for the trouble, they greatly discounted this plant for me. Whether or not they'll do the same if I return, I don't know yet. I haven't decided if I will buy from them again.

Give them a week or so to repent, and then return to see if they've mended their ways. That should be enough time to turn around if sincere, and enough time to leave if they haven't.

[everyone deserves a second chance. a third? only if you're a friend.]

That entirely depends on the status of this little one in the future. [and by "that", he means his continued patronage of the store.]

I need to make sure it doesn't have parasites, or if it suffered from poor conditions while growing.

[because naturally, disreputable vendors don't like to announce that, for fear of losing out on a sale.]

Forgive me for my forwardness, but if you do find that it is suffering, then I might know someone who could assist in bringing it back to health. My own skills are more bent towards the recovery of fauna, but she might have a trick or two to set it back to rights.

[she doesn't think she'll mind, if it brings her business. it's the least she can do to repay such a kind woman.]

No, it's fine. [even as he speaks to reassure her that he actually knows what he's doing... he's already wondering who that would be. his clues are that this person is a woman, and that she knows how to care for plants-- there's only one person nehan knows, so far, who fits the bill.

and honestly? absolutely not. he refuses to deal with her.]

I know how to care for plants, myself. Botany is my one specialty in life.

[is it? well, she already asked for his forgiveness, so there's no need to apologize. an offer is an offer, and she won't think less of the stranger for saying no.]

Then you have my admiration for it. It's not easy work at all, caring for living things.

[that's spoken honestly, without a hint of sarcasm or trying to placate him - just a genuine comment as she takes more notes on the pages before them.]

[nehan gives a gracious nod, before he returns to note-taking, flipping to another page once his cramped writing has filled up the first.]

I've been doing it since I was a child. It runs in the family, for instance.

[then, as an aside, and to show that yes he is indeed just a plant freak and not something else,]

If I could have a greenhouse, I would.

Though this is an unflinchingly urban environment, I hope that you might yet get that wish.

[there surely could be some space carved out, some roof left unused where he might be able to tend to plants in peace. one always improvised, given the right circumstances.

though she's distracted by one of the sidenotes on the new page of the book, causing her eyebrows to lift and to speedily write a few more lines, drawing a line upwards to a previous written section. oh, that would be perfect to work on refining the tonic for peaceful sleep she had been drafting...the question is, if it would have any strange reactions.]

[nehan hums, as he jots down the entirety of the page in his shorthand to fit his notebook.]

If there are some rooftops that can be taken, then I may just. [but finding the right location would be difficult, he thinks. he doesn't want people trying to escape the authorities to be thundering past his plants.]

Otherwise, I just need a bigger apartment.

A rooftop would be good for more room, but you'd potentially need a fence in that case.

[the idea of people running around isn't out of her head either - but then again, even a fence couldn't keep her out if she tried hard enough. the wings carry her where she wishes.]

All things you've considered, I'm sure.

More than a fence-- if someone wants in, they would be able to get in easily.

And that's not mentioned yet how people would be able to gain access to the roof in the first place. [he pauses in his writing, twirling his pen between his fingers.] The answer to that is "painfully easy".

Someone, or some group of people, leave planks everywhere to cross from one building to another. The poor greenhouse would just have people thundering past it all day.

A barrier, then. It'd need a bit of finetuning, but if you had a skilled enough magician, they ought to be able to do it. With the benefit of not needing the same noisy construction.

[the words come on reflex, only half aware - theorizing, from an instinctual place.]

Of course, that requires the magician in the first place.

[one ear twitches. that's an idea he hasn't thought of before, and he pauses in his study of the book to mull it over.

light magic is known for many things, such as renewable barriers and healing... perhaps nehan can do it himself. of course, he needs access to his magic again, when he cant even feel it when he reaches for it.]

We shall see. I'll make more concrete plans later down the line, when I have more savings.

[don't we all need such, she thinks. he'll need his greenhouse, she'll need a few rooms somewhere. they'll manage, but the waiting is the worst part.]

...Forgive me, I've been impossibly rude, sir. I haven't even asked your name.

Right. [greetings. of course.

he's not used to them at all, and honestly, he would prefer not to at all. but still... it's required of him. so he holds out his hand for a shake.]

Nehan.

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