FW - Plant Shopping

[Kelyias]

Diana wasn't fond of combees. They made too much noise and gave her an uncanny valley feeling whenever they stared at her. Still, a task was given to her and a task she'll have to do.

They needed to make new articifial hives so the combee could survive and adapt better with the increase of temperature- and there weren't many places- or people- she knew for assistance.

What she did know was that a woman in Grovehart had a shop with many exotic and special flower arrangements. If you have a boyfriend that loves plants, you learn to look out for them during your own trips and adventurrs. But, flowers. One of the things Combee would need were, well, flowers after all. She hadn't exactly thought about inviting the woman out to make the hives with her after she had gathered all the materials, placing them in the trunk of her car and letting her assistant off for the day, but she wouldn't be opposed to it. She knew, after all, nothing about Combee.

[Livard]

"You'll want to plant these in the shade-" Atreus spoke with an authoritative tone, but a kind one, as she instructed the pretty woman who'd walked into her shop this morning and was leaving with quite a few plants. Not that Atreus minded, she just wanted to be sure that the plants weren't going to die within the next week after they got to their new home, was all.

"These are full sun plants, and bloom all season long. Combee are especially attracted to them since they are not hybridized and will have plenty of pollen," A brief rundown of the need for the plants had been given, and that was all the ammunition Atreus had needed to make her selection of native plants that would be good for the little pollinators.

She didn't expect a woman like Diana to really care about the bees, at least that wasn't the vibes she gave off, but Atreus didn't judge people solely on that. If she said she wanted to help them, and clearly went to the right place to do so, then she was alright in Atreus' book. Not to mention Pickles seemed enraptured with her, sitting next to the car as Atreus checked over the plants as they were loaded with his dead stare.

[Kelyias]

"Right. And the distance?"

While the planting part wouldn't be hard, Diana didn't exactly have a green thumb when it came to that.

"They need to be stimulated to leave the hive, right? Quite frankly, the only thing I understood from this assignment was to help these creatures with their hives so they best appreciate the money I'm putting into it."

Diana's motives probably became clearer at that point- airing the frustration at having to figure all of these things out for some Combee, and paying for it, too. She glanced to the side at the Oddish beside the car, grimacing a little to herself before looking back to Atreus.

"Not a fan of bugs, you see."

[Livard]

Atreus giggled a little at the woman's reaction to the bees. She knew it wasn't for everyone, and even if her reasons for doing it weren't the best she was still doing something to help, which was good in Atreus' mind.

"You can plant some relatively close, to encourage them to leave. The full sun plants I would plant about fifty meters away, to lure them out into the sun and encourage pollination and travel. Of course, it's hot so we don't want them too far away so the little combees are too afraid to leave, but you can use your best judgement."

Atreus trusted that Diana would be able to make the right call, but the look on her face...

"I can always help you, if you'd like?"

It was later in the day anyways, and so the shop could easily be managed by another of Atreus' employees if she left. Pickles looked about ready to climb in the trunk already as it were, and his ability to water the plants would certainly help out here.

[Kelyias]

Diana was proud, so the offer for aid definitely made her scoff a little- but the more she thought about the equipment in the car, the more she felt uncertain. One thing worse than not helping at all was doing a piss poor job at it. She wasn't exactly looking forward to being the one with a shitty hive to help with.

"I suppose, if you insist."

Naturally, getting her to admit that was a whole other thing.

"I'll pay you ofcourse. But having the aid of someone far more knowledgeable of flora and fauna would only make it better."

[Livard]

"I do, I do."

Atreus made sure to make it sound like she was insisting, recognizing Diana's hesitance for what it was. It was no fuss to her, having her talents be recognized while being paid for it was certainly a bonus as well. She held up a hand, turning to look at the shop quickly.

"Give me a moment to let them know where I will be, and we can head out."

She left, disappearing back into the shop. Pickles was left behind, staring up at Diana from his position near the trunk of the car with a happy smile and a blank stare. In mere minutes Atreus had returned, an apron slung over one arm and a box filled with tools hanging from the other.

"Right, ready if you are!"

She said in a chipper tone, assuming Diana would be driving them both now that the plants were all loaded and secured in the back. Frankly Atreus was happy to be getting out into the field, it'd been awhile since she'd done more than tend to the shop and her restlessness was beginning to annoy her employees.

[Kelyias]

"Ofcourse."

Diana had moved to lean against the side of the car, taking out an electronic cigarette and desperately avoiding eye contact with the creature. It helped that it was short, so she just looked straight ahead. When Atreus returned she took a final drag before returning the cigarette back to her purse, swiping her TD to the side of the car to open the door in the back.

"You can put your stuff there."

She gestured to the smooth, tauros leather seat. Since the discovery of the black variant, she'd made sure to get custom upholstery rather than have any dyed or livestock varianted. It cost her a pretty penny, but nothing she couldn't get back. Walking over to the front, she also tapped the door for the passenger seat- making her way to the driver's side after.

"You might want to make sure your Pokemon doesn't get hit on the way out."

The woman spoke loudly, entering the car and awaiting for Atreus to step in.

[Livard]

Atreus smiled gratefully as she put her tools into the back of the car, careful not to put anything that might puncture the nice upholstery directly onto it. Her apron served as a bit of a barrier, which made her feel better about it. Atreus laughed at the mention of Pickles, who was already trying to clamber up into the backseat.

"Sorry to say I think he's coming with."

She scoops the pokemon up and placed him next to her tools on the seat, pulling a seatbelt around his tiny little body. It wouldn't really do much in the case of an accident, but he liked to mimic the people, she found.

"This is a very nice car."

Atreus spoke as she slide into the front seat, looking around at all the holo's and details of the obviously expensive car. No stranger to wealth - a lot of the more exotic or specialized plant-hyrids Atreus made sold for a pretty penny, but not one to flaunt or spend it so luxuriously. Most of Atreus' money went back into plants, honestly.

[Kelyias]

Diana looked in the rear view mirror at the pokemon in the backseat, taking care not to make eye contact before she pulled the steering wheel towards her, pressing some of the buttons on the dashboard and setting the location on the holographic satnav. She was rich, yes, and she had many a luxurious cars. She didn't actually drive herself that often, though.

"It better. It cost me quite a bit."

She spoke absentmindly to the compliment, and without further delay they were off. It was on the outskirts of Grovehart where she'd be assigned to place her little Combee hive. Nowhere near her actual house, bless Arceus. The drive there was quiet save for the soft radio that played and when they did arrive she parked the car gently, turning it off when she was pleased with it. They were at a little off road area, next to small forest and a grassy, open field. The plants would definitely need to start populating the place with more of its kind in this scenario, so it was good that Diana had brought the plants and someone knowledgable enough that could plant them... well, properly.

"Well, this is the spot."

The woman started, pushing the wheel back up and pressing a button to open all the doors, and the trunk.

"I figure we can walk about half a mile into the field, keep it away from the roads."

[Livard]

"That sounds like the best course of action," Atreus agreed easily, nodding as she got out of the car. She collected Pickles first, setting him on the ground so he could wander around while they got to work to his heart's content.

Sliding from the seat of the car, Atreus stretched once she was out in the sunlight. She loved being out in nature like this, slightly away from the city but still in safety from the fog. With the trunk open Atreus took that as free reign for helping, so she walked around to the back to start pulling some plants out.

"Did they give you any indication of where the combee hives were to be placed? The new ones?"

She looked around as if she'd be able to see them, but saw nothing. Probably for the best - being able to see them from the road would mean they could also see the road and would likely be disruptive as well.

[Kelyias]

"Just from the roads, really. I'm supposed to send the co-ordinates of this location further up the line once we've planted them and I've placed the initial foundation- and then they'll come with the Combees to finish setting things up from what I understood."

Diana responded, getting out as well and moving around to the trunk. She slid a hand across her TD to access her pokemon cloud system and out came a green Charizard, looking more tired than anything else.

"Let's do this quick so that Fern here can go back to his owner and I can go back to doing more important things."

She sighed, grabbing the tools and materials and piling them up in Fern's arms. The Charizard looked a little surprised at the task, but it was used to carrying plants, pottery, canvases, paints, etcetera. She gave him most of the materials while maneuvering to carry the last, lighter bits herself.

[Livard]

Atreus nodded at Diana's instructions, helping to grab some of the plants the woman had purchased to carry under her arms. Her tools were strapped around her waits securely, so between the two of them they could carry quite a lot.

When the Charizard came out Atreus audibly gasped, bright eyes looking up at the pokemon with a smile.

"Oh look at them! How adorable!"

It was impossible for Atreus not to fawn over plant-based pokemon, so Fern got the full treatment as the woman circled around him while Diana piled some plants in his arms for carrying. She'd never seen a Charizard like this before, and she appreciatied his aesthetics and biology immensely.

"Does he belong to a friend?"

She asked once she completed her circle, looking back at Diana with a bright smile from behind the tall plants in her arms. Pickles was similarly interested in the pokemon, trying to use his little stubby legs to climb up onto the beasts tail for a free ride.

[Kelyias]

"You could say that."

Ofcourse, the whole situationship between her and Fern's owner was still up in the air, but she could say they were friends- at the very least. Fern watched as Atreus circled him, huffing quietly. He was far from an intimidating Charizard anymore. He had seen his days of battle and glory, and now just preferred to sunbathe. Naturally, when Pickles attempted to hitch a ride, he actually lowered his tail so the Oddish fusion could get up. He wasn't one to reject any fellow pokemon after all.

Diana waded through the taller grass to go ahead of the group, and Fern followed shortly.

"You'd like him, I think. He tries to get a variety of different plant species and Fern helps him out by making sure he's got good seeds and starters. Lives in Wintervale now, though. I'm sure if he comes around you'll see us- if only so I can get him a gift he'll actually like and use."

[Livard]

Atreus giggled as Pickles climbed aboard, settling on the tail and securing himself with some vines. She followed after Diana, walking next to Fern and enjoying the warm breeze and sunlight. Despite the circumstances of their presence here Atreus was pleased to be out.

"He sounds lovely. Always happy to talk shop with a like-minded plant buff. Keeping them in Wintervale must be so difficult for him, I hope he has a nice space."

Atreus couldn't imagine living in the snow covered city, though she'd been to visit on many occassions before the fog. The people there did still like to see greenery, what little they could get of it at least.

"This should be good for most of what we have, looks like there's no runoff from the road so they should grow nicely here."

Atreus signaled for them all to stop, plopping the plants she'd been carrying down onto the ground with a huff. Her trusty spade found it's way into her hand, and she smiled over at Diana.

"A hole just slightly bigger than the pot base will do. Just make sure to break up the roots before you put them in, and Pickles can top them off with some water."

The pokemon slid from Fern's tail to waddle over to Diana at the mention, looking up at her with a smile and slightly sway where he stood.

[Kelyias]

"Something about a little greenhouse and a Caratoise. We don't meet often, there."

Diana mumbled in response to the reference to Micah's space. Sure, sometimes, when his what she only considered his roommate wasn't around, she'd come by every now and then- but aside from that? She could hardly drink a tea in peace without being glared at.

Once Atreus signaled for them to stop she knelt down to place down the materials, being only slightly startled when the other woman handed her the spade. She looked from the item, to Atreus, back to the item before she sighed and took hold of it. She hardly had a green thumb, so all she could hope for was not to embarrass herself. The mention of Pickles made her look towards the creature again as it had jumped off of Fern, and grimace quietly to herself.

"Alright. Well. Let's get to it I guess."

Fern did help a little with the digging of the holes, having placed the objects down and leaning down to dig with his claws- and once the plants were in the appropriate holes and watered, they could rest.