fandomhighdorms | The Garden, Thursday Morning

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The Garden, Thursday Morning

Ino stretched cheerfully, rolling her shoulders back and casting an appraising eye over her garden. The plants that Dor had planted still got a bit of a dubious look, but they’d been around for a good six months now and hadn’t killed any of hers or anything so she was going to go with, well, now they were all hers.

The few moose that went anywhere near her gardens got the evil eye and firmly rerouted. No moose in her garden, thanks.

She knelt down to expertly tug a weed out of the nearest bed, and settled back on her ankles, twirling the offending bit of greenery around in one hand as she waited. Hmm. Weeding. It was almost summer and summer was always weeding, weeding, weeding.

[Ino is expecting Penelope, but the garden is totally open for any garden~y or Ino~y needs!]

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Penelope waved cheerfully at Ino as she practically skipped forward, a small pail dangling in one hand that carried a pair of garden gloves.

"Good morning, Ino!"

"Morning!" she called, grinning over at her and then laughing. "You look so happy!"

"I'm in a wonderful mood," she confessed. "Yesterday was a good day. A busy day, but good. And I slept soundly all night without waking once!" Which was something, indeed. "How are you this morning?" she asked as she kneeled upon the ground near her.

Edited 2009-05-21 13:58 (UTC)

"I'm pretty good so far," Ino said, tilting her head up to the sky. "It's looking like it'll be a good day." But--

"You have trouble sleeping?"

"It will be," she replied, looking over the lovely garden.

"Hm? Oh... sometimes. It's nothing. How may I help you? I've never worked in a garden before."

"This time of the year," Ino said, giving her a look over that 'nothing', "it's mostly weeding. I've got some seedlings to be put in, I got them from my room, they're 'round past that row."

She stood. "Did you bring any water? You'll need it, working out here. If you didn't, I brought some."

Penelope simply blinked, choosing to ignore that look. It was difficult, since she could be rather intimidating, but she managed.

"I didn't think about bringing water. I can always run get some, if you don't have enough."

Reaching for her gloves, she tucked her hands into them. "I can begin to weed, as I see quite a few. But what type of flower are you planting?"

And Ino was being nice today, how about that. "We'll be fine for now," Ino said, shaking her head.

"Two types, actually, they're both native to Maryland, but I thought they'd be pretty to have here: Mistflowers and Shooting Star flowers."

Edited 2009-05-21 14:33 (UTC)

"Ooh, I'm not familiar with either one so I should very much like to help you plant!"

She plucked a weed up, grinning. "Would you ever allow me to contribute to your garden, Ino? Say a single seedling?"

Ino settled herself a few feet down, not bothering with gloves, and began her own weeding.

"What kind of flower?" she asked interestedly. "I have no problems with people contributing."

Ino leveled a Look over at the far end of the garden. "No problems 'long as they tell me beforehand," she amended, shaking her head and tugging out another weed.

"Well, I was considering the Tudor Rose which is the traditional emblem of England, or perhaps violets." She loved violets. So dainty and the color an amazing shade of purple.

She looked over, noticing Ino's rather pointed gaze across the length of the garden. "Ah, someone planted in your garden without asking your permission?"

"I don't see any problems with either of those," Ino said, before making a face at the second question.

"Dor did. He said it was an accident, and he was so pathetic enough about it that I believe him, but it means I've got pillow-bushes, and clothes trees and a shoe tree." Her lips twitched, amused. "And then there's the pie tree, the chocolate cherry tree, the milkweed, the cocoa-nut tree and the mys-tree."

So, yeah.

Penelope blinked. "Wait a minute. Did you say pillow and shoe and... pie?"

"It's a tree that you can pluck off pies," Ino said, getting to her feet. "You can come see if you want. They're not bad, they taste a bit green if they're not ripe, but that's about it. And if you need a new pair of shoes you can just grab a pair off the shoe tree. It's got everything from sneakers to high heels."

"Oh, yes," she said, getting up from her knees to follow her. "That's incredibly... odd in an entirely fascinating way. Where did these trees come from? Who is Dor?"

"They're from his world? It's called Xanth or something. Apparently everything is insane." Even by Fandom standards. "Dor's a student, I think he works at the comic shop these days?"

"My goodness. Is he insane as well?" She had to ask and now thought to visit the comic shop, not just because Claire worked there, but to meet this strange sounding Dor herself.

"He seems okay?" Ino said, reaching the end of the row and pointing. "See, look, you can see the pillows." Soft fluffy pillows growing on a bush!

[Dear LJ plz give me my notifs omg.]

"I should like to meet him," she said, but oooh! her attention was seized by pillows growing on the shrubbery. She inhaled and stepped closer. "Absolutely amazing," she whispered. Then she giggled and reached to poke one.

Ino laughed. "You can pluck one and take it back to the cabins if you want. It doesn't hurt the tree."

She spared a look at Ino, her eyes bright, then she did indeed do just that. It was soft! And she rubbed her nose into it before laughing and ducking her head somewhat shyly. "Ah, I've had my fun now. I should be helping you. But the pie tree, next time I would like to try it."

"We can have pies later," she teased, "for a break. Find a spot for your pillow and then it's back to weeding for us."

Grinning, she skipped around the garden, found the perfect little spot for her pillow, and then settled back into work. Which she didn't see it as work, exactly. It was a pleasure to work her hands through the soil and get rid of the weeds that would fight to destroy it.

"Do you have a garden at home, Ino?" she asked.

She glanced up from her own section, weeding as she considered that question.

"Not outside," she said, "we've got greenhouses at home, and I've got little mini-gardens for the windows, but we're right in the middle of Konoha--there's no room for a real garden."

"Konoha? It is a big city?" she asked, curious as she continued weeding, scooting a bit over to another section.

"Konohagakure no Sato--my home. It's a... really big village," Ino said, working. "I don't think it's large enough to be called a city? But it's pretty big. We're out in the middle of a forest, backed by mountains, so it's not like there's a shortage of plants around either."

"Oh, I see," she replied with a small nod of her head. "Is it beautiful there? I'd love to see mountains in person instead of looking at a picture book."

"I don't have many pictures," Ino said, "because that's frowned on, really," Hidden Ninja Village and all, "but yeah, it's nice. There's a lot of rivers and bridges and stuff."

Penelope wondered at that, but didn't ask. If pictures were frowned upon then there was a good reason for it.

"It sounds lovely; I bet you miss it, don't you?"

"I do," she said, with a bit of a shrug as she moved on to the next bit of ground. "Not because it's beautiful, but 'cause it's home."

And people at home didn't think there was anything wrong with her morals or ethics or way of dealing with things.

"I think about mine often but it's hard to miss when I've never been allowed to see anything other that the walls inside," she said, filling her small pail with plucked up weeds. "I do miss my bedroom, however."

Ino would go bat-crazy withing a week of being trapped in the same little house, no lie.

"What was your bedroom like?" she asked instead.

"Large," she replied, sparing her a glance and a smile. "Darker shades of green and red. There are terrariums throughout and I have this marvelous swing made just for me. I think I miss it the most. Then of course there is the two-way mirror where I can look out, but no one can see in," she commented rather easily.

Ino finished weeding her section, settling back and studying it with a sigh.

"A swing indoors?" It was easier than commenting about the mirror and Ino wasn't sure what to say about that.

Penelope sat back too and reached up to swipe hair back from her face, leaving a small dirt smudge on her cheek.

"Yes, it hung down from the ceiling by thick ropes. Oh, my home is a mansion, so my ceiling was very high. I liked to swing, especially when I wanted to ignore my mother. It was soothing and calming."

She moved towards another section and began to work there.

Babies found swings soothing too, and Ino was just going to shut up about that line of thought.

Because, ow.

"That's one giant room," she said dryly. "But, I guess, if that was your main space it'd have to be."

Penelope looked over at her, at her tone, and sat back.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything," Ino said, looking at her plants.

"No, but your tone did," she said. "And you're not looking at me. You have something to say, least your thinking it -- so tell me."

Ino made a face at the plants, then looked up.

"I don't think I'd care for your room, that's all." Blandly.

That was surprising, only because Penelope didn't understand. "Why do you say that?"

"It doesn't sound much like a room."

She got up, moving to a different area, and knelt before her plants before continuing with, "It's a cage."

Oh.

She looked down, plucked at another lonely weed.

"Yes, I can see how it seems as such."

"Not seem," she said almost gently. "Is."

She shrugged a small, single shoulder. "It's my home," she nearly whispered.

"I know." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Homes can be cages though, whether you like yours or not."

"It's hard to see my room as a cage," she said. "My home as a whole, yes, but my room is my room. All my own. I can't explain it."

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The Garden, Thursday Morning

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