toxicspiderman: Photo of a grassy, tree-lined riverbank.  (Specifically, The Charles River) (bucolic)
Sangamon Taylor ([personal profile] toxicspiderman) wrote in [community profile] damned_institute2009-04-09 05:01 pm

Day 40: Greenhouse [Fourth Shift]

Most days, fish and chips (and a cold beer or three) was pretty goddamned high on S.T.'s list of perfect expense-account lunches. Today, the idea of picking at greasy hunks of unidentified bottom-feeder odds-and-ends (politely known as scrod, to the delight of teenagers all across the Northeast) didn't appeal.

He begged off and collapsed into his bed, after using his damp shirt as an excuse to surreptiously check the contents of his closet. Bingo. His nurse watched his little show, unimpressed but (more importantly) unsuspicious. Not that his hairy chest was much of a catch today, pale and sweating from fever. At least she didn't tuck him in.

The intercom woke up up right on schedule, and pulling the sheets back over his head almost won. But a handful of unanswered missives and a vague sense of duty dragged him out to the bulletin, and from there it was easier to stagger over to the greenhouse.

It was warm inside -- a deep, humid warmth that actually penetrated to the aches in more joints and muscles than he could remember the names of. Like a sauna, without the hassle of finding someplace to look that wasn't a mound of pasty middle-management cellulite. Or a sweat lodge, without the opposite hassle of being conscious that he was the only white guy in the room. In fact, besides the nurses in holding patterns, he was the only person in the room.

He located a tray of tomato seedlings going rootbound in their tiny six-packs, and a potting bench whose location was a quick-and-dirty approximation of equidistantly far from anything blooming. He assured his nurse he knew what he was doing, and after a couple of successful repottings, gently sliding the little seedlings out and loosening the tangled roots, she seemed to agree and backed off. It was, by far, the most fucking theraputic thing he'd found in this hellhole so far, and he let himself sink into the rhythm of the task.

[Free!]

[identity profile] tony-castaway.livejournal.com 2009-04-12 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm repotting these little guys here." Tony pointed with his trowel. "They're all in 4 inch pots, so I found some 6 inch ones. They should like it just fine."

He rubbed his itchy nose with his dirty, gloved finger. "Do you know where they keep the water here? They'll all need a drink after repotting." It was nice to feel like you knew something.

[identity profile] dawn-rune.livejournal.com 2009-04-12 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that took care of the issue concerning what size pots to use. Frey smiled and started piling dirt into the larger pots, but he still wasn't entirely sure about a few details. "How deep should I put them? And how much soil should be in the pot? Filled right to the brim, or less than that?"

Frey looked around a little but didn't see any obvious source of water--of course, whatever device they used here might not be obvious to him even if he looked right at it. "I'm afraid not. We should probably ask."

[identity profile] tony-castaway.livejournal.com 2009-04-12 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Tony's eyes followed Frey's search around for the water. "Just fill the pots halfway, make a hollow and put the plant in, then add another inch or so of dirt." He stood up and wondered who to ask. "Umm... just cover the bottom set of leaves..."

[identity profile] dawn-rune.livejournal.com 2009-04-14 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
With those instructions in mind, Frey started to work on moving a plant to its new home. He treated the little plant gingerly, not sure how much it could withstand without taking damage. He really needed to learn more about such simple things--the hardiness of plants was of importance to the people who lived by the success of their farms, after all, and they made up a large portion of Falena's population. "Maybe one of the nurses would know about water?"

[identity profile] tony-castaway.livejournal.com 2009-04-14 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"I guess they would." Tony sighed, and spotted the closest one. "I'll be back in a minute," he said as he went over and asked her where the water was.

[identity profile] dawn-rune.livejournal.com 2009-04-17 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
Frey continued to work on potting the plant, following Tony's instructions carefully. He was just finishing up covering the bottom set of leaves and starting to look for another pot and plant to work on, but then he decided to check on Tony's progress with the staff instead.

[identity profile] tony-castaway.livejournal.com 2009-04-18 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Tony's discussion with the nurse resulted in him being pointed toward a curled up hose. He filled a small watering can and came back. "We have water!" he announced, not quite containing his excitement. "How are you doing with that?" He crowded up close by Frey to see the young man's work.

[identity profile] dawn-rune.livejournal.com 2009-04-19 02:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Frey showed Tony the pot he'd just finished with. "I think I did this right. I followed your instructions. I was about to start on another."

[identity profile] tony-castaway.livejournal.com 2009-04-19 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
With a nod of approval, Tony poured a little water over the newly potted plant. He did the same for the other one he'd finished. "Let's get the rest done. These poor little guys need it."