February Prompts

[symbolofstrength]

Who: Samuel Oak + OPEN
What: February prompts. Science, mostly. Let me know if you want to do something else with Sam, I can start something else for you!
Where: Various
When: February -- can be before the overgrowth event, or happen during, as Sam has not been affected by it.
Content Warnings: Innocent slimeberry deaths! Will add others as needed.

Comments

[forceofnature]

((also cool!))

The expression progresses to 'more withering.'

"Their life cycle is seven days, after which they fall off the tree and die. Don't try and 'gotcha' me, you weirdo. What is this, an MTV show?"

She thrusts out a bag of dried fruit corpses that she's... carrying around in her pocket for some reason.

"I'm obnoxious, not obtuse."

[symbolofstrength]

Samuel blinks and gazes up at the sky -- the dark, starry, aurora-clad sky.

"Seven days. Right." The air quotes are heavily implied. They might be able to keep track of time now, but he still wouldn't call a 24-hour period a 'day' -- not until they get an actual dark/light cycle of some kind.

"I'm not sure they've even been around for that long."

Meanwhile, at the sight of the source of picked berries, Pidgey suddenly darts forward to try and snatch some. Samuel might have forbidden it from eating the one he picked, and won't let it pick any of its own, but these are clearly fair game!

[forceofnature]

"Excuse me."

Pidgey is intercepted by a buzzing creature that resembles a flying upside-down chestnut with a single eye that chirps and whines.

"Not for you. Fly off, child. You -- " She gestures to Professor Oak. " -- can also go, by the way, Captain Pedant, if we have nothing more to discuss. And they've been here for fifteen days."

She refuses to engage with the pedantry.

[symbolofstrength]

Well, he was going to leave, but now that she's told him to, he won't. Spite is a human emotion that even the great Professor Oak is capable of sometimes! Her ego doesn't need more stroking, anyway. If he were more spiteful he might be tempted to pick another fruit just to annoy her... but no, he respects nature too much to do that.

"You know, despite your bad attitude, I was still perfectly willing to cooperate with you when this conversation started. Maybe a little self-examination is in order, to determine what you said or did to change my mind." It didn't have to turn out like this; one personal attack too many was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back, and even a peaceful, gentle man like him has his limits.

With that final opportunity for education sorted, he takes a few steps away, just out of conversation distance... and sits down on the ground as Pidgey flies back to him for comfort. He pats it and gives it gentle scritches, making soothing sounds.

[forceofnature]

"Sure thing, murderer."

This is about all she has to say to any other comments he might have. Viridi has played this game many times in the past and has quite a lot of practice. From her perspective, the idea that he thinks that an apology makes up for his actions of what she perceives to be murder is laughable.

Though as long as he's not speaking to her, she won't bother him, either. She tends to the trees, waters them, and begins her own task of planting more along this leyline.

"May your life be renewed."

[symbolofstrength]

That gets an aggravated noise and a dirty look. She keeps using that word. How he'd love to throw her own words back at her -- she thinks her opinion matters -- but he can't bring himself to sink that low. Having their own words shoved back in their face might make a more reasonable person realize their hypocrisy, but he gets the feeling that's a lost cause here; his refusal to kowtow has soured her opinion of him too much.

So instead he continues to pet Pidgey, teeth silently grit behind his lips as he takes deep breaths through his nose. It takes the arrival of one of the Pidgey-chimeras, curious about this new creature that looks so similar yet different from itself, to begin to bring his mood up.

While the two creatures, Pidgey and the chimera, squawk a conversation and examine each other, he realizes he recognizes this one.

"Hello there, little one! I haven't seen you in a while." And for the first time since she arrived here, he sounds genuinely happy. "Is your wing feeling better? Let me take a look." He reaches over to gently stretch out the wing in question, examining it. It doesn't seem to be the first time he's manhandled this particular individual, as it seems pretty calm about him grabbing its wing.

[forceofnature]

Viridi more or less continues to ignore whatever he's doing so long as he's not talking to her and keeping away from the berry trees. It takes her about a solid hour to finish with her work, and when she's done, there is a neat row of slightly raised mounds of dirt, ready to perpetuate the cycle of growth.

She truly has nothing else to say to this human - so perhaps the scene will fade to black as our heroes passive-aggressively ignore each other.