007 - [Week III, HEC 101, T1600]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[After the instructor explains the project, she lets the class use the remainder of the class time to look through all the seeds and bulbs to choose which plant to focus on. Katara sits at one of the long tables shared amongst several cadets, brows furrowed as she looks from one picture to the other, each representing the plants in their full bloomed state.]

I can't decide which one to choose... they all look so pretty! [She's mostly musing to herself as she stares at the assortment of seed packets she's spread out on the table before her.]


[ooc: Tina and Toph are free to jump in whenever they want!]

Comments

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

This is a stupid idea. [And there's Zuko muttering and glaring down at the images on the packets with tawny-gold eyes.]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[Don't think she didn't hear that, Zuko. Katara doesn't bother to look up at him, though her words are obviously addressed to the surly firebender.]

It's not stupid-- it's educational!

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

When am I ever going to need to grow plants? That's a woman's job.

[Doesn't look up from glaring at the packets; he's actually looking from one to the next and trying to figure out what is even remotely interesting about this.]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[At that remark, Katara snaps her head up to glare at Zuko.]

Could you be any more sexist?

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

Who said anything about being sexist! I'll just pick something out and you can grow it for me.

[Zuko shrugs a shoulder, not looking up still.]

You sound like you'd enjoy it more than me anyways. Here-- [Picks up a packet of seeds for Calla lilies and tosses it over to land in front of her.] Those are nice. I guess. [Another shrug.]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

You can grow your own--

[Her words are cut off when the thrown package lands on the pile in front of her. Katara blinks, slightly surprised. And as much as she doesn't want to agree, they are pretty.]

Oh. Uhm... yeah, they are nice.

[She picks up the packet and stares at it for a moment before taking her terracotta pot and filling it up with dirt.]

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

[And he sits there and looks smug, as she begins to put the dirt in her pot. He watches her work for a few moments and then returns his attention to the packets, poking around at what else he can find. That's when he comes across a packet of Crocosmia Red Star flower seeds.

It's too bad he's mostly right-handed for everything that he does but filling the pot with dirt with the little hand-shovel isn't too difficult for him to do left-handed.]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[She sneaks a glance over towards Zuko, but upon catching sight of his smug expression, Katara lets out a small huff of air before she finishes filling the pot with the right amount of dirt. She pokes several deep holes into the dirt before dropping the seeds in, and promptly adds another layer of dirt to secure them down.

Instinct kicks in and instead of using the water pail, Katara bends a small sphere of water to her pot.]

[pyromatics.livejournal.com]

[Zuko mimicks what she's doing, up until the whole poking holes into the dirt with a finger. He stares down at his little pot and frowns. Then he looks at his forefinger and then begins poking around holes.

It's a little hard to rip open a package with just one hand so Zuko's resorting to using his teeth and hand, which works out only so well, some seeds spilling into his pot and others scattering around, which has him scowling and sighing and muttering.

At least he got some into the holes?]

.. A little help here? [Looks across at her, brows creased deeply.]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[A genuine spark of laughter bubbles from Katara as she catches Zuko trying to rip open the packet of seeds with his teeth from the corner of her eyes. She manages to cover it with a cough, though, and regains her composure as she pretends to busy herself with cleaning up her work area.

His question breaks her out of her bustle, though, and glancing up at him a moment passes before she lets out a small sigh and makes her way beside him.]

Let me do it.

[She takes the packet of seeds (careful to avoid the parts his teeth had ripped open) and places the seeds into the pot correctly, going ahead and covering them up with a layer of dirt as well.]

There.

[lastesper.livejournal.com]

[ Tina was in the same situation, studying the seeds thoughtfully. ]

It's a shame we aren't allowed to take one of each. But I suppose there aren't enough to go around for everyone if we were to do that.

[watertides.livejournal.com]

Maybe we can ask the Instructor if we can plant the remaining seeds, as well! I'd love to be able to have more than one type of flower if we can.

[lastesper.livejournal.com]

[ A quick nod. ]

I hope so. If nothing else, I'm sure we could always ask if we can buy the seeds somewhere. Maybe in town - that's probably where the instructor got these.

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[She gives an enthusiastic nod.]

And come to think of it, wouldn't it be nice if Garden had an actual, well... garden? Maybe we can ask the Instructor if we could start one up in the courtyard of the quad!

[lastesper.livejournal.com]

[ A blink. Come to think of it she'd never thought of that. ] That would be nice... and there's plenty of room for one, I'd say. I wonder why no one has ever started a garden here before? I mean a real garden, with flowers and things.

[watertides.livejournal.com]

Good question. Maybe they've never thought of it? I guess people here are more focused on becoming mercenaries and academics-- they don't take the time to consider smaller things like planting gardens. I think it'd be really nice if we could start one up in the courtyard, don't you think?

[lastesper.livejournal.com]

I guess you're right. Maybe they think flowers and vegetable gardens aren't as important as learning to fight. [ A small frown at this, until Katara makes a lovely suggestion. ]

Yes! [ They'll probably be thought of as teachers pets or something for suggesting the idea, but Terra doesn't consider this. Then again maybe they'll be lucky and people won't think that! ]

... can other things be planted, do you think?

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[There's a thoughtful hum at Terra's question.]

I think so-- I'm not the best person to ask, though. Where I'm from, we're surrounded by ice and water and very little vegetation. [She prods her pot gently.] This is the first time I've ever tried to plant something!

[lastesper.livejournal.com]

Can you not grow things in cold weather? Surely there are some sort of plants that can survive that kind of environment...? After all, trees don't die in the winter, so maybe...

[ Maybe not. Still, being surrounded by ice and water? That sounded dreadfully cold. ]

[watertides.livejournal.com]

There are some plants that survive and grow in the tundra, but it's something that happens naturally and we don't need to personally take care of them. Trees can't grow properly because of the cold temperatures, but we do have some shrubs and moss and lichen.

[snotbending.livejournal.com]

[Pick out seeds. Right. Well then.

Toph meanders her way up to her waterbending friend, picking her in the side.]

Pick one for me?

[watertides.livejournal.com]

[She'd been concentrating so hard on which packet of seeds to pick that Toph's poke comes as a surprise. But Katara soon recovers and she smiles despite the fact that Toph can't see if.]

Of course. What kind of plant do you want to grow? They have pretty flowers, some that are small and some that are big, and also cacti.

[snotbending.livejournal.com]

Cacti? We don't need any more weird cactus juice.

[She shrugs after that.] Pick something... easy? I don't know!

[watertides.livejournal.com]

None of them are easy! It takes a lot of responsibility to keep plants alive.

[lilyofthedrills.livejournal.com]

[Yuri also let out a dreamy sigh at the sight of all the beautiful plants. In this respect she was a typical 12 year old girl. She let out a nearly identical exclamation to Katara's.]

Oh wow...I wish I could grow them all.