I need a shamisen Rhiannon arrangement stat

[therewerefifty]

Who: Makie and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit, Twin Roses
When: Now-ish

[She'd been, uh... somewhat distracted about thinking on this from a bunch of ships colliding with each other and upsetting her carefully maintained equilibrium (guys I'm just a samurai chick who wants to sit peacefully and drink tea enough of these space shenanigans) and avoiding looking outside entirely, because being under the ocean is extremely unsettling.

Today is the first time she's been to the Iskaulit gardens since they arrived in this odd place.  It reminds her of something she'd like to do.]

...in Adstringendum, people arrived and left all the time, much like this place.  You grow used to a person's presence, establish... ties.  [What a formal way of putting it.  She's thinking of the bizarre jar collection in her room.]  And then suddenly, they're gone.  The same holds true here, doesn't it...?  It can be hard for a great many people, even if you know you'll see them again.

In Adstringendum, we kept what we called a memory tree.  People would attach the names of those who'd left... paper monuments, so they'd never be forgotten.  And new arrivals would always know who had been and gone.

I wondered if we might do the same here.

---------

[She'll be in the garden for most of the day.  Either playing her shamisen or actually, you know, gardening.  It's a thing.  And if she concentrates on the dirt under her knees, maybe she can forget they're submerged in the ocean.]

Comments

[therewerefifty]

Creeping ivy... [It might cover those names after a while, but careful clipping could keep it back. That's not a bad idea.]

Yes. For a proper memory tree, we'd need quite a large one with many branches. You could hang the names from it, then. But that might take some time to grow.

[willynilly]

Yeah... but wouldn't anything?

[Hmm... tricky.]

...Oh! But there's one of those augment-upgrade things- for making plants grow faster! Maybe that would work?

[therewerefifty]

Augment upgrades?

[What is this technological thing you speak of.]

[willynilly]

Uh-huh! You know the upgrades you can request each month for the ships? It works on people, too. A friend of mine tried it, and he can help plants grow now.

[therewerefifty]

Oh, like Mr Castle had. [Though that's fire; kind of the opposite of helping plants grow. Nevertheless she gets the idea.] It's a gift from the Atroma, though, isn't it? Is that wise?

[She doesn't mean to dis your friend, but--]

[willynilly]

Um... well, who really knows... but if it comes in handy and helps someone, then I'm sure he doesn't regret it! He's that kind of guy.

[therewerefifty]

I see.

[She really does, though; she's met 'that kind of guy' a few times.] Would your friend be interested in helping, do you think?

[willynilly]

I bet he would! He likes helping people.

[How very heroic!]

I can ask him for you, if you want.

[therewerefifty]

All right. I'd appreciate that.

Do you mind if I ask his name?

[willynilly]

Oh, sure! His name is Sorey. He's the engineer on the Huntress!

[therewerefifty]

[Oh hey, she knows that name. Her smile becomes a little wider.]

We've met, actually. Both of us arrived on the Fleet at the same time.

[willynilly]

That's great! That makes it even easier, then. We just need to find a vine somewhere.

[therewerefifty]

I wonder if we could borrow one from the existing gardens somewhere... [She hasn't seen any, though. But she also hasn't been into some of the more privately owned gardening areas. Perhaps it's politer to find it somewhere else.] Though I'm sure we'll arrive in a world with plenty of suitable options soon enough.

[willynilly]

Yeah, we've been going to some really nice planets lately, haven't we? I like it, it's such a nice change from all that big empty space.

[therewerefifty]

Usually I prefer the worlds we visit to the... space part. [She smiles ruefully.] Not so much this world, though.

[willynilly]

You don't like this world?

[therewerefifty]

It's not to my taste. So much water is--

[It's intimidating.]

I'm not very good with such... drastic changes.

[willynilly]

Oh... that's why you're staying on the ships?

[She's guessing, anyway.]

[therewerefifty]

Yes. I'm afraid I haven't been brave enough to visit this place.

[willynilly]

Is it because you don't want to go alone? If you need company, I can travel with you!

[therewerefifty]

[oh no don't make her feel bad]

...ah. No, I just-- I prefer being able to breathe actual air. Water in my lungs feels too much like I'm... still ill. [That and it's just plain unnerving.]

But thank you for the offer. In another place, I'd happily accept.

[willynilly]

[for what it's worth, Ochako looks a little disappointed, but not crushingly so.]

I didn't know you were sick, I'm sorry. If you don't want to visit the planet, is there anything you'd like? I can look around for you!

[therewerefifty]

It's all right. I'm certainly not sick any more. [For which she is extremely grateful.]

I appreciate the offer, Ochako-chan. I don't think what I will need is going to be available in a world under water, but if you find anything along the lines of seeds, I'd be grateful.

[willynilly]

Seeds, huh... most of the plants are probably for underwater stuff, but I'll look around for you, anyway!

[therewerefifty]

Mmm. [She figured as much, but there might be off world traders around the place. It's a just-in-case.] Thank you.