smash_logs | You can't just find cake.

[Alorah had thought Vinnie was a pretty alright guy ever since the time mistletoe had been sprouting everywhere. The discovery that he ran the greenhouse only further contributed to that opinion. In her quiet, observing way, though, she'd noticed just how much of his free time he dedicated to the greenhouse.

It was selfless of him, but working so hard on looking after the plants seemed to mean precious little time to spend looking after himself. He sounded like somebody who could use a little visit from the kindness fairy, didn't he?

Baking was still relatively new ground for her, so she'd chosen a nice and simple recipe. Half a dozen peanut butter cookies, bundled together in cellophane and tied with a bit of blue ribbon, left out in the open where it'd be impossible to miss. In her much smaller, more inobtrusive Jumpluff form, she'd ducked beneath the cover of a fern to wait for its intended recipient to take notice.]

[In the middle of making his rounds with the watering can, Vinnie was headed over to the hose for a refill when the little bundle of cookies lay right in the middle of his path. Did someone forget these here? Actually, who the hell brings cookies to a greenhouse?

He walked up to them, trying to recall the people who had passed through to care for their gardens that day. It was a pretty big greenhouse though, there were plenty of opportunities for someone to come and go when he occupied with talking to trees on the far side. The Venusaur picked them up and glanced around to see if anyone was still here.]

Hello? Someone leave their cookies here?

[Alorah ducked further under the shade of the fern, clapping both tufts over her mouth excitedly. Oh, he'd noticed them! She was a little nervous about the fact that he hadn't recognized they were a gift, but that was her fault for not labelling them, wasn't it?

Not a problem, though, not a problem. Surely he'd pick up on the fact they were for him soon enough, though, and then she'd have the payoff she was hoping to see: that sort of ear-to-ear smile that only an unexpected little bit of fairy magic could bring. She didn't dare move from her hiding place, but it was very tempting to start wiggling excitedly.]

[No one around. Huh. Vinnie stared at the cookies in his hand, all lovingly tied with a bow and everything. Didn't feel worth it to find a lost-and-found for these things - it was just food, after all. Whoever left them there would probably just get themselves a new batch. Definitely wasn't anything he would care to eat, either.

Too bad Sonny wasn't here. He was always a reliable depository of unwanted food. He was always so happy when Vinnie turned up with leftovers, too... The Venusaur sighed mournfully, feeling a sudden ache in his chest for his little brother.

Well, it'd be stupid to let this go to waste. He put down the watering can to unwrap the cellophane, trying to be careful not to get crumbs anywhere as he wandered over to the more ravenous section of the greenhouse.]

[...Oh. That was... not what she'd expected. That hadn't seemed like a particularly happy sigh.

Maybe she was misreading him, though -- it wasn't like she really knew him all that well, did she? They'd only met all of once, after all. And he had taken the cookies instead of leaving them there, so that was a good sign! It was far too early to be getting discouraged.

Alorah waited until Vinnie had a decent head start, then darted out from her hiding place, wafting up into the air as high as the greenhouse roof would allow -- it felt awfully exposed, but people rarely looked high enough to spot her before she could find another little nook to hide behind. Maybe Vinnie was just planning to munch his present as he did his greenhouse duties, after all: better to tag along until she was sure how her gift had gone over.]

[Hello, Pirahna plants. Vinnie always left feeding them to last - he wasn't fond of the smell of meat, and he hated how it felt. Something about the texture, how the juice seemed to linger, all slimy and bloody. Didn't mesh well with the vegan lifestyle, to be sure. At any rate, they were still hungry, and he was sure they weren't picky eaters by any stretch.]

Hey. Don't let this spoil your appetite, al'right? You'll get your meat in a bit.

[And so he dumped the cookies in their mouths. They were devoured eagerly and without complaint. That was that, then. Vinnie crumpled up the cellophane and ribbon in one hand and headed to the garbage bin to dispose of it. Hopefully no one was going to come in later demanding their cookies back.]

[Alorah waited until Vinnie had left to find the trash can before she touched down on the ground -- no need to keep tailing him now. He... he hadn't even given them a second glance before he got rid of them! Not even so much as a single curious little nibble!

It wouldn't have been such an awful failure, maybe, if he'd at least smiled a little before he gave them to those toothy flowers. It wasn't about showing off her baking skill, it was about bringing some sunshine into somebody's day... but it looked like she hadn't even accomplished that! The opposite, in fact: if that sigh had been anything to go off, she'd actually made his day worse.

Alorah let out a little sigh of her own and looked up at the pirahna plants.]

I hope you liked them, at least.

[When she thought about it, she'd been doing an awful lot of assuming. She knew nothing about Vinnie's tastes, after all, so maybe there had been a good reason that her first try at making him a gift had gone so poorly. He could be allergic to peanuts for all she knew -- and if that was the case, no wonder he hadn't spared them a second glance.

This time around, she tried safe, reliable chocolate chip cookies, again wrapped in cellophane with a cheery blue ribbon. She'd taken the time to look through the student directory to check how his name was spelled (it wouldn't be quite so cheering if it were a gift for Vinny, would it?) and had attached a little namecard onto the cookies this time around. That way, there'd be no more mistaking these for somebody else's snack.

Satisfied that this time, things would go a little smoother, Alorah left her present out in the same place as last time, returning to her original hiding place underneath that leafy fern.]

[This time, Vinnie was doing a bit of cleaning up - he had a heavy stack of dirt-caked flower pots in his arms that were fated to be scrubbed clean that day. But once more, there were cookies in between him and his destination. With no free hands to pick the little bundle up, he revealed a thin vine from beneath his hoodie that grabbed it instead. He gave them a quick glance and - to some surprise - noticed his name?

Well, that deserved further investigation - but not before he put down the pots. They were heavy as shit. Vinnie walked on over to the hose and put them down beside it, for later. While absently (and not-too-hygienically) wiping the soil on his hands off on his pants, he took a closer look at the cookies.

Same ribbon as before, so this had to be the same person... Who would bother, though? Bulba came to mind first, of course, being the most prolific source of baked goods he knew of.

Tch, why didn't he just come in person? Oh well... nonetheless that earned a small, but highly begrudging hint of a smile. Maybe he'd try one of them. Just one. Carefully, Vinnie pulled off the ribbon.]

[Alorah didn't want to get too ahead of herself, so she'd gone into this thinking that if nothing else, it would be a learning experience. Already, she'd done some learning: seeing that vine snake out to grab her gift was positively surprising. She had known Vinnie was a Pokemon -- he had been able to understand her even if she didn't yet have a human form when they'd met -- but she hadn't figured out exactly what he was. If that was a vine, though, then it could only mean a fellow grass-type!

That was a nice little bright side in and of itself, but more importantly, this attempt seemed to be going over better. Were her eyes playing tricks on her, or was that the tiniest little glimpse of a smile? From over in the fern's embrace, she started to bounce excitedly in the spot, just waiting for him to take a taste.]

[It was obvious the moment he took his first bite. The texture was off for vegan baking, it was... revoltingly buttery. No, it was like eating pure butter. The way it fell apart in his mouth, the milky sweetness of the chips as they melted on his tongue, everything was horribly wrong. With no one around, he didn't even bother to hide the disappointment and revolt that sunk into his expression.

All twisted up with disgust, Vinnie couldn't bring himself to swallow even that small mouthful. At this point, even a little bit of eggs and dairy would probably make his stomach churn. He quickly spat it out in his hand and proceeded to stare at the traitorous half eaten cookie.

Definitely not Bulba. So who the hell was sending him these horrible butter-drenched monsters?]

[It was the enemy.

Probably. Maybe. Bulba had no idea because he was only just now popping in to the greenhouse for the afternoon. He'd stopped in that morning, but just briefly to make sure things were in order before he had the proper time to come in later. That time was now.

Noticing that Vinnie was already in the building, Bulba took a moment to go say hello before he went off to be mostly by himself. That's just how it had been for the past little bit. He wasn't avoiding anyone really, but the amount of cheer he'd been building up wasn't quite as readily available these days as he kept to his own devices.

He'd make an exception for twisted-faced Venusaurs though.]

Hey Vi...

... Uh. You ok...?

[He could still taste it. Some kind of nasty butter residue on his tongue, like an oily film that wouldn't leave. How could anyone like this stuff? It was probably too oily to be any good for compost, either.

Bulba's entrance caught his attention, and he quickly realized how his look of sheer repulsion could've been some cause for concern. He tried to swallow his distaste, toning down his expression to something a little less alarming for the Ivysaur - it wasn't a big deal, after all. Just caught him off-guard.

First, however, he had to excuse himself.]

Yeah, just... gotta rinse my mouth out first.

[Vinnie put the cookies down on the nearest surface and quickly stalked off to the nearest garbage can, and to grab his water bottle.]

Oh. Uh, all right.

[Bulba watched him march off for a moment, totally confused. Why did he need to rinse his mouth out? Perhaps the answer had been left behind in the form of a small bundle of baked good. They caught Bulba's eye as he looked away from Vinnie, and he couldn't help drifting over to give them a curious look.

Chocolate chip, with signs of adorable packaging and a tag with Vinnie's name on it. Someone had made Vinnie cookies. Bulba stared at them very hard for a moment, trying not to acknowledge the way his heart sank. That definitely didn't just happen. No. Who made him cookies.]

[After a minute, Vinnie wandered back with a thermos in his right hand, and wiping his mouth with the back of his left. He'd left the tea for a bit too long, so the saturation had gone a bit too bitter, but it did the trick of rinsing the butter out of his taste buds.

He caught Bulba staring at the anonymously gifted cookies, but (to the Ivysaur's relief, perhaps) the younger saur's dismay was covered up too well for him to tell.]

You want'em? I can't eat the stuff.

[Any day that he didn't have to explain why a package of cookies were a downer was a good day. Bulba glanced over at Vinnie with a curious look. Couldn't eat them? So obviously whoever made them didn't realize what Vinnie would or wouldn't eat. Briefly, he felt a shallow sense of relieved satisfaction.]

I guess it'd be a shame for them to go to waste... [He peered at them again.] Who made them?

Who knows. [Spoken with a hint of disdain. Whoever it was clearly didn't know him very well... or else forgot the details. There was a slight curl of his lip, which he covered up by taking another swig from his thermos.]

No idea who'd bother.

[But actually he did. (It just happened to be the wrong idea.)]

[Bulba frowned just a little.] Hm.

[He tentatively broke off a piece of cookie to try. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they were fairly soft, and he helped himself to a bite as Vinnie sort of grumped about it. They were... pretty good, actually. If it hadn't been for unfortunate oversights over the Venusaur's preferences, they might have gone over quite well. Or maybe it was just his sweet tooth talking. At any rate, there had been an amount of care put into them, and he couldn't begrudge that.]

Someone who wants to give you a little cheer, maybe. They just... kind of missed the mark.

[Vinnie made an annoyed little hmph snort as he swallowed his tea.]

Well they can stop anytime. [Geez, what a grump.]

Just take the rest. I already fed the Pirahna plants today.

[Wow grump. Bulba actually felt a little bad for whomever made the cookies. Sympathy baker action, if you will. At least they weren't around to hear it. ~~Ha ha ha.~~]

Mm, all right. They probably shouldn't get a lot of sweets anyway.

[Bulba would take them for the sake of everyone. He would bear this burden. He went to wrap the rest of them back up, since the bit he had nibbled on was enough for right now.]

... It's still a nice gesture though.

I guess. [Begrudgingly, he admitted this. It took a lot of effort to bake anything at all.] It's just not for me.

[Considering how much griping had gone into past gestures of 'I made this please eat it I want to do something for you,' food gifts were really quite wasted on him. Doting on him, in general, actually.

Well, enough of this grumpfest. He screwed the cap back onto his thermos and turned to a different subject matter instead.]

So, how've you been.

[Bulba had at least learned that lesson fairly quickly enough... though it wasn't going to stop the occasional muffin or cookie on special occasions. Vinnie would just have to deal with those singular portions.

He probably shouldn't have been surprised when the change in subject cycled around to himself. Bulba's fingers paused over the blue ribbon, and his ears gave a brief flick backwards.]

I've... been better. [A hesitatingly honest reply.] Things have been okay, though. [Honest, but still pretty contradicting.]

[A contradiction indeed. From the telltale looks of Bulba's ears, there was definitely something weighing on him. (One of the reasons why Vinnie had always been glad of his humanoid ears.)

He thought about it for a moment, before wagering a guess.]

Was it Valentine's?

[It had just passed, after all. And if you were unlucky enough to get stung, then that could lead to a whole lot of unpleasant awkwardness that lasted long after the day itself. Considering what Bulba had ended up with last year...]

[It was a good guess. A good guess that could have led to all manners of uncomfortable questions and assurances, that while meant with the best intentions... ]

Not just that. I've just had a lot on my mind, is all.

Oh?

[There was an expectant look on Vinnie's face, ready and willing to listen to anything Bulba wanted to talk about. He'd been so wrapped up in his own head lately that it was almost refreshing to worry about someone else for a change, honestly.]

[The look he got in return was at first appreciative, and it seemed like Bulba might have been thinking about how to phrase it. Soon, though, he gave a small shake of his head.]

[There was a fleeting look of disappointment, but... Vinnie gave a mental sigh. It was up to Bulba whether or not he was comfortable with sharing, and the Venusaur wasn't really in a position to push the issue.

Still, he had to ask again, out loud this time.] You sure...?

[His ears drooped a little. He really did appreciate the offer, and a part of him didn't actually want to turn it down. But the whole of him knew it was something he couldn't talk about with anyone. Definitely not his trainer, not his team, most of his friends just wouldn't understand, and he certainly couldn't discuss it with someone he... Bulba bit the inside of his lip. Someone who was nothing more than a good friend, he reminded himself.]

Not really... But it's something I need to sort out on my own.

[Well, there was nothing Vinnie could do about that. He'd just have to trust that the Ivysaur could handle it in as healthy a way as he could...

The Venusaur tried to muster a bit of an encouraging smile, though it was only a small shadow of one. Deftly, he snuck in a quick nuzzle against Bulba's cheek.]

Al'right. I hope it works out.

[Nothing more than a good friend, he had to remind himself louder. Even so, the touch was comforting and he couldn't resist returning the gesture with an affectionate nuzzle of his own while he could. There was a fleeting smile before he quietly went on to admit:]

It's just kind of scary, I guess. Though maybe not scary, just new.

[Except definitely scary. He shrugged, trying to smile a bit more.]

But it should work out fine...? Thanks.

[Okay, attempt two hadn't gone so well. In fact, probably the only way it could have gone over worse was if somebody had actually choked on the cookies. But still, it'd given her a lot of help -- once she got over the embarrassment and shame of her cookies being spat out, she'd realized just how much she'd figured out from her only-somewhat-accidental eavesdropping:

1) Vinnie was a grass-type. Grass-type appetites were probably a factor -- her future portions would have to be smaller.

2) Vinnie had some sort of reason he couldn't eat her cookies. Appetite alone wasn't enough to warrant a rejection that firm, so maybe there was some other reason. Was he on a diet? Lactose intolerance? Gluten allergy?

3) It was probably a good idea to play it as safe as possible this time; she had the distinct impression she'd done more harm than good for all of the involved parties last time around. She couldn't help but feel like this gift-giving plan would be a lot easier if she were just a little better at knitting already.

For her third offering, she'd decided to try something with as few ingredients as possible: Rice Krispies squares. Those were just marshmallows, rice cereal, and... well, butter, but she'd substituted margarine just in case if dairy was the issue. With only three ingredients, there was much less room for something that was off-limits to get into the mix, right? ...Right...?

Once again, the ritual was repeated: a modest little bundle of treats, tied with ribbon and tagged with his name, was left in the usual spot. Its giver was once again hidden away, though admittedly she was watching with a little more trepidation than hope this time.]

[Today, Vinnie didn't actually have too much to do in the way of actual greenhouse chores, but he preferred to do his homework under the shade of palm leaves and accompanied by the scent of soil. He'd gone back to his room to get his notebook, but on the way back to his usual spot, curiosity had overtaken him.

What if... ugh, what if those mysterious cookies had appeared again?

This was stupid, humouring this secret stalker/baker who had, for some reason, decided to target him. But, despite himself, his feet took him to the same spot and...

Rice crispies.

With, of course, his name on it.

Vinnie's face fell again. (At least it wasn't cookies?) There were only two ingredients that he could recall off the top of his head: 1) puffed rice and 2) marshmallow. And the latter was already offputting enough for him.

What was he gonna do with it now? Bulba was right, it probably wasn't great to keep feeding these things to the Pirahna plants. Without much else in the way of ideas, he picked it up and ripped the name tag off, then walked it back towards the entrance. Vinnie put it back on the ground for the next visitor to the greenhouse to take - hopefully they'd find better use for it than he would.]

[Ah.

He had hardly even spared them a glance before tossing them aside. Another case where he hadn't even tried them, so obviously this was another huge backward step. No flour, no dairy, no salt... what had been the problem this time?

More importantly... was she just making things worse by making all these things, she wondered? He'd already spelled out that he didn't appreciate these litte surprises, and the look on his face when he'd spotted the treats this time had certainly spoken volumes. Alorah might have intended to make him smile, but intentions alone didn't add up to much: so far, she was really just annoying him by imposing her failed offerings onto him.

Once again, she waited until she couldn't hear the sound of his footfalls, then darted out from under the fern as quickly as her stubby legs would carry her. When she saw the treats left alone by the greenhouse door, she hastily scooped them up -- if they hadn't been up to scratch for the person they were meant for, then they wouldn't be up to scratch for some random passerby. Or maybe some too-sensitive part of her that she wasn't all that proud of just stung at seeing her rejected gift lying there for everyone to see?]

[And so it was that the trickle of baked goods continued, day after day, with much the same result. Vinnie would find them, Vinnie would give them to someone else or leave them or make the Pirahna plants extremely fat with dessert. It was a cycle of futility.

After a certain point, it was difficult to decide whether he should continue to feel annoyed at the attempts, or just pity them. The frustration of not knowing the identity of this secret baker was really what was getting to him - was it really so hard just to hand him something in person? He didn't even know what they were for - certainly he didn't feel like he'd done anything remarkable enough to warrant such a steady supply of food he could not eat.

It was all very stupid, but in a strange way it had worked into his daily routine. They were always in the same spot, after all.

And it was on this particular day, Vinnie had chosen the same spot to take a small nap and sunbathe. It just so happened to be one of the more spacious areas that a wide-bottomed Venusaur could lie down in, after all. Had nothing at all to do with these baked goods. Yeah.

So stupid.]

[Alorah had to concede that this was getting ridiculous. She knew that really, it would have been smarter to give up a long time ago. The whole idea had only been a well-meaning little whim to brighten a stranger's day, after all; there had to be a point where all the frustration it was causing wasn't worth it.

On the other hand, though, there was that stubborn desire to help. Having done wrong by her target so many times just meant that she now had to make it up to him: she simply couldn't quit until she could end things on a positive note. She'd hoped that as she kept narrowing down the list of possible things she could make, it'd get easier. If nothing else, she was getting in lots of valuable practice at this baking hobby, right?

Actually... it'd been getting harder. Alorah, frankly, was running out of ideas. Today, for the first time in a while, she hadn't done any baking. Still, she made her usual trip to the greenhouse; if nothing else, then maybe something would happen that would give her a little inspiration.

She'd been fairly surprised to find somebody else there when she arrived -- a Venusaur, no less! She hadn't known there was a Venusaur at this school! A broad, sheltering back made for the safest of perches for a Jumpluff; happily, she bounced into the air toward this surprise Pokemon.]

Um, I beg your pardon... would you mind if I sat with you?

[Oh, hey it was a Jumpluff. Actually, if he recalled right, the same Jumpluff from Christmas. Maybe she was a wild puff that floated down from somewhere and decided to stay a little longer at the school; maybe she actually belonged to one of the trainers here. Either way, he lifted his head to welcome his new, cottony company.]

Hmm? Sure, go for it.

[Just watch the leaves. You know, the two that were small and young and vulnerable-looking. Thankfully they weren't too sensitive anymore, but they still stuck out quite a bit compared to his normal ones.

Vinnie stretched out a vine for her to safely perch on for a landing.]

[The leaves hadn't escaped Alorah's notice, by any means; the maternal streak in her twanged with the instinctive urge to do something for that poor flower. Still, she dared not risk offending her host by bringing attention to it. Although small, the leaves had a healthy, green look to them. She was no herbologist, but it looked like the time for meddling had already passed and there was nothing left to do but to patiently grow.

Softly, she settled down on the offered vine. It took her a moment to find her balance, but once she did, she tucked her tufts in close, settling down comfortably on her new perch.]

I'm afraid I haven't got much news to share, unfortunately. I've been a bit too busy to go outside much.

[The news-gathering that came naturally to her kind was better suited to the warmer months, admittedly, but the chill hadn't been the only thing keeping her indoors. Learning to bake was a time-consuming endeavor: desserts, she'd learned, were just as much about exact chemistry as they were love. Pie crusts that turned out dense and chewy, caramel that ended up a nightmarishly sticky burnt mess welded to the pot, cream puffs that didn't puff... well, she'd been spending a lot of time in the kitchen.]

There are plenty of other things to talk about, though. How are you doing, Mister Venusaur? I hope you've been keeping warm.

[Carefully, he lowered the vine down so she sit a bit more comfortably on the nape of his neck. She was a little creature, sure, but it still looked precarious straddling a vine, and he probably couldn't keep it completely still for too long. Flying Types must have had good balance inherently, somehow.]

Me? I'm al'right with the cold. S'too bad you had t'arrive here in time for winter, though... you were here 'round Christmas, right?

[She was used to unstable perches, but gladly accepted the security of a broad saur body; that vine was perhaps a bit thinner than would be expected of a Venusaur in his prime, and she didn't have four perch-gripping limbs now that she was fully evolved.]

Oh, I've been here long before that, just not as a student. I'm a trainer's Pokemon, so I usually just stuck close by him.

[No offense was taken with the assumption that she'd arrived in winter; Alorah was very easy to overlook, after all, and it had really only been around the Christmas season that she'd started to actually approach a person or two. Though... she was pretty confident that she'd never been spotted by a Venusaur; they tended to be a little hard to miss, given how big they were. Tentatively, she tried to catch onto his scent (not an easy thing to do in a greenhouse full of smelly plants when you technically didn't have a nose), but she couldn't really lock onto anything that stood out from the greenhouse smells she'd grown used to.

Alorah hated to put this poor person into an uncomfortable position, but if neither scent nor memory was bailing her out... she flushed a little, but spoke up.]

I'm awfully sorry, but... I'm not sure I can remember meeting a Venusaur before today. Have we been introduced before?

[Vinnie blinked. That was pretty damn negligent of him, if he hadn't noticed that there had been a Jumpluff around the school this entire time. There were only a few trainers he could think of in attendance right now, and admittedly he wasn't familiar with most of their teams. There was a small twist in his stomach when the possibility hit - what if she was one of Lyra's? But it was far too soon for him to jump to that conclusion yet. Could've been Blue's, or Gold's, or anyone.]

Shit, I had no idea. Who're you with? I guess we never actually got introduced... [Sure they'd met, but they hadn't exchanged names or anything. So it wasn't quite a real introduction.]

I'm Vinnie.

[It was probably lucky that Vinnie'd set Alorah down, because there was a good chance she'd have tumbled right off. She already knew Vinnie's name, thanks to her looking it up on the student directory for her anonymous gift-giving. That explained why his scent had blended right into her usual image of what the greenhouse was supposed to smell like -- and, come to think of it, those vines she'd seen him using during some of her earlier gift-giving failures.

Not that she could really comment on any of that without giving away where those gifts had been coming from, mind you. She was especially glad Vinnie had put her in a spot that wasn't exactly in his direct line of sight, because she was suddenly looking a lot more fluffed up. She'd been trying for so long to bring a little cheer to Vinnie, but Alorah liked to stay an unseen influence; she'd never actually planned on being a very known person, so bringing out her name had her feeling a mite flustered.]

Oh, of course! Alorah's my name. I'm one of Gold's, actually, but I'm hardly his most important, so don't feel bad about not knowing.

I can't believe I didn't recognize you, though; a flower that sweet's so hard to miss, even in winter. I don't believe I've seen you in the hallways since the first time we met... do you spend a lot of time in here?

[She squirmed a little up on his back -- not much, because shifting feet wouldn't have been comfortable for him, even if they were light. It was technically a question she already knew the answer to, but she wasn't in the habit of letting the subject linger on her for long.]

[All this internal drama was, of course, going by completely unseen by Vinnie. It was a bit hard to tell exactly what was going on from the shifting of a Jumpluff's almost indiscernible weight on his thick-skinned hide. He raised his head slightly upon hearing Alorah describe herself, though.

It wasn't exactly that he felt the need to go out of his way to comfort her, but it was an honest opinion that he wanted to point out. There wasn't a single plant in the greenhouse, no matter how small, that he would've considered insignificant, and the same applied to Cottonweed Pokemon as well.]

Hey, just cuz you're not his starter doesn't mean you're any less important.

[Once that was said, he flicked his ears and settled back down into a more relaxed, loafish position.]

Anyway... yeah, I've been practically livin' in here.

[She had to make a conscious effort to not get even more squirmy. She hadn't been trying to beat herself up with that claim of lesser importance, but the fact he'd responded to it like he did spoke to his kindness, she thought. Even if he seemed guarded and stern by nature, he'd been gentle and considerate without consciously trying to be on both the occasions they'd spoken, as far as she could tell.

Two encounters (and an almost-daily five-minute ritual of watching her presents get thrown away) weren't really enough to get a solid opinion of someone, of course, but all the same, she found herself feeling a little bit more frustrated by her inability to find a gift that could cheer him up.]

You've been taking good care of the place; it does seem like a very relaxing place to be. Maybe not the best place for news, though... I don't suppose anything too unusual happens here, does it?

[A bit of a leading question, that. Again, she was reluctant to outright lie or do anything manipulative, but that frustration with her lack of progress was still prodding her like a thumbtack; maybe if she gave a push in the right direction, then just listened hard enough, Vinnie might offer her a hint as to what kind of gift would meet his standards.]

If there's anythin' weird happening, it's usually in the school proper.

[That was what she meant, right? There obviously wasn't any shortage of strangeness when it came to this place - proper, toe-curling strangeness that way outshadowed a mystery cookie here and there. The last thing that came to mind was the usual Valentine's mess, but he'd managed to avoid it with a full day of being a reclusive greenhouse hermit. That probably didn't fit the description for news-worthy.

In all honesty, though, it felt rather like a breach of someone's privacy to go gossiping about these baked goods. They were, for whatever reason, meant for him, and even if they were inedible and awful, that didn't mean he ought to be turning it over as news.

So instead, he made a low, thoughtful grumbling sound.]

...Nothin' worth spreading about, really. Didn't see any cupidbots in here last week at all.

Edited 2013-04-23 10:37 (UTC)

[Cupidbots...? Oh, right, Valentine's Day. Alorah frowned.]

Well, I'm glad you avoided them, at least. Valentine's Day is better spent with the people you choose to be with, not the people some other thing chooses.

[Still not quite as helpful as "oh by the way I'm allergic to basically every food under the sun" or something, but she didn't really have the luxury of being direct about a subject she wasn't supposed to know about. Whatever came her way, she'd just have to make the best of.]

...Um... was it just you and the plants, then? It doesn't seem like a lot of students come here.

[Because that was usually a pretty consistent thing in the greenhouse, as far as her frequent but short visits could tell. The only other student she'd ever seen here with him was that cat-eared boy she'd gotten stuck uncomfortably eavesdropping on during one of those many, many gift attempts. But maybe Vinnie had lots of friends and family who visited him, right? Maybe they'd be a helpful source of information themselves if Vinnie didn't happen to casually mention any dietary restrictions.]

Well, there's some that do - they just don't stay quite as long. [Vinnie made the equivalent of a shrug in his bulky, four-legged form.] Which is fine. They're just lookin' after theirs.

But... I guess I've never spent Valentine's with anyone I chose before.

[It felt a bit strange admitting that out loud, actually. To be fair, Valentine's wasn't something he celebrated while travelling with Red, and it wasn't anything he knew existed when he was wild. It was only the past three years that the day became anything of note - and even that was mostly for the sake of trying to avoid getting stung by love arrows.

Though the lack of a relationship wasn't something that Vinnie felt the sting of absence for, being aware of it was still a little jarring. Everyone else either had one or sought it. He... just had other things on his mind, he supposed.]

Never...?

[She tilted her head (so basically she tilted her entire body) a bit. She wasn't opposed to the concept -- she'd never really thought much about looking for a date or anything herself, having her tufty little hands so full with the family she loved so much that she hadn't ever really felt an empty space in need of filling.]

Well, it's not such a big deal to be single, as long as you aren't lonely. You've spent your Valentines' the way you wanted to, I hope?

[She certainly didn't want to assume too much -- she knew nothing about if Vinnie had a lot of friends and family at the school, or if spending Valentine's the way he did was by choice or not. He seemed kindhearted, as far as she knew, but also somehow... restrained; it was a little hard for her to be sure whether he spent so much time alone here because he was happier on his own or not.]

You can't just find cake.

ATTEMPT ONE

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ATTEMPT TWO

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I have such a lack of decent human icons right now

weh

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ATTEMPT THREE

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INTERLUDE

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"and they made out"

aka alorah just hopped into his mouth like one of those crocodile birds

can you clean his teeth they are probably horrible

cotton toothbrush to the rescue

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