Nightshift 33: Greenhouse

[diamondstorm]

[from here]

The lock cracked after a few solid kicks. She moved in quickly, hoping to not draw attention to the noise. The greenhouse was much the same as she remembered, though without the sun shining in, the place made her uneasy without her understanding why. Was the air this thick before? She shook her head. Focus. She shined her flashlight around, looking for what she saw earlier in the day.

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[neutral-jing.livejournal.com]

Toph lingered at the outskirts of the greenhouse, her feet feeling out the details of the place. It was nearly like she had left it earlier in the day, except the distinct lack of people and the humidity felt a bit denser. Strange... One would normally expect a cooler, thinner air at night, wouldn't they?

She was more concerned about the poison Renamon mentioned. The woman was moving about as usual, but Toph knew bug venom sometimes delayed its effects. Keeping tabs on her might be a good idea; it would be really bad if something were to happen here.

"What kind of weapon are you searching for?" Toph asked in a whisper. "Maybe I can help you find it." Her feet were particularly talented in picking out items, especially in the dark; it would be wise to take advantage of them now.

[diamondstorm]

It felt ridiculous, almost, now. Coming out here, dealing with the scorpion, to look for a simple hand spade. She exhaled. Maybe they'd be lucky and find some other things.

"I just noticed things that might be useful when I was here earlier. A hand spade, some plant... scissors." What were those called? "It's better than nothing...." Which is what she originally thought.

Now Renamon was just getting annoyed. Being human, not having power, and now she was running from fights? This wasn't her. The new emotions she had welled up, just for a moment, and she swept her arm out, knocking a clay pot off a ledge. It broke with a sharp crack. She winced at her lack of composure. "I apologize." She breathed in and focused herself. She couldn't get used to these human emotions.

She eyed the shards on the floor before reaching down and picking up a few of the larger ones that were the size of her hand. These were sharp enough to do as a makeshift weapon if nothing else was found. She shifted the items she held so she could tie the remains of her sweatshirt around her arm so both hands would be free. Once done she held out two of the three large shards she picked up to Toph. The girl needed defensive weapons just as much as she did.

[neutral-jing.livejournal.com]

A hand spade and scissors. Those were completely traceable. "Not a problem," she replied before tapping her left foot into the surrounding dirt.

Vibrations scattered throughout the ground below with Toph keeping a close guard on each branch. Whenever one trail fell into a dead end thanks to an obstruction, the object's size and even its composition was laid out for the girl. Consequently, it was not long before she found something usable.

By that time, however, the sound of something breaking reached her ears (and her feet), and Toph threw her head up in alarm. Thankfully, Renamon's voice made it obvious they were still safely alone. "Whoa." She managed a small sigh of relief. "Be a little more careful, okay?"

"By the way," Toph continued as she suddenly jogged several feet in front of her before pausing by a row of carrots, "I think you can use this, Renamon." Bending down, she dug around the soil for a minute, scrapping the dirt with her small hands. The girl then reached in and triumphantly pulled out a trowel.

[diamondstorm]

"Of course. Sorry." When the girl moved quickly, Renamon stopped to watch what Toph was doing. When she whipped out the trowel, Renamon blinked. How did she...? "That was quick. Did you hide that earlier in the day?"

She walked over to where Toph was now standing. She examined the piece. It was dirt covered but seemed pretty solidly made. It would definitely add force to some of her attacks. "Do you want that, since you found it, or would you prefer some of these?" She said, holding up the shards. The trowel was sturdier, but the pot pieces were sharper.

[neutral-jing.livejournal.com]

Toph smiled in mock innocence, though the darkness made it difficult see her expression. "Haha, nope. I actually never touched anything the last time I was here." Earthbender or no, she wasn't much of a gardener, at least the occupation that required tools. She liked getting personal with dirt.

Not to mention the girl had been too busy learning about magical shields that morning.

When Renamon held up the pot shards, Toph reached out with a tentative finger to get a feel for the pieces. To her delight, she found they were made of clay. "I think I can make use of these," she answered, almost cheerfully. Her earthbending might be rather rusty here, but not everything about it was useless. The shards could add some power to her punch.

"Here. You requested it anyway." The girl offered the trowel to her companion.

[diamondstorm]

Hm. Well, she wouldn't question it for now. "Thank you." Noticing the reserve in which Toph reached out, Renamon slightly frowned. It wasn't that dark in here. No matter. She traded two of the large clay pieces she offered earlier for the trowel, keeping only one. Now each was armed... in a sense. "I'm glad you can use them." Though hopefully she wouldn't have to yet.

Renamon moved the flashlight around. It looked like the place had been cleaned up. Maybe that was all that was left from earlier. "Did you want to look for anything else here, or would you like to head to the file room?"

[neutral-jing.livejournal.com]

Toph did not bother to think about it; she hadn't even considered visiting the greenhouse, after all. "File room sounds good," was her answer.

Just as she made to divvy up the shards between her hands, however, the girl had a different thought. A dilemma was waiting from them back inside. It would hardly do them any good to jump back into the fray so quickly. Maybe they should consider another point of entry.

"The bug might still be hanging around, though," pointed out Toph. "It might not be smart to encounter it again."

[diamondstorm]

She nodded, relieved to get out of the humidity and back outside.

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