myownface | Baltimore, Rawlings Conservatory, Saturday Afternoon

Entry tags:

Baltimore, Rawlings Conservatory, Saturday Afternoon

Oh, Sparkle was in a good mood. He'd had a place in mind in case of one of Leto's surprise visits for a while now, and it just so happened that said visit was going to coincide with his return from the ski trip (and surprise Christmas, damn him!) that he'd gone on with Atton. So Sparkle had called ahead to make certain they were even open to the public, and then had specifically asked about which areas of the conservatory had the most moisture in them, "because we've got someone here with respiratory issues."

Hey, a little white lie for the sake of Leto's comfort never hurt anyone, did it?

"Okay, so," he said, grinning as he practically skipped through the portal, "we want to avoid the Mediterranean house this time of year. They keep it wet and foggy for the benefit of the plants inside. And the tropical house is humid to the point of being misty in there. But there's a desert house which might have some plants you haven't seen, if you like, or an orchid room, which is, like, super colourful, and they make sure that everything that's on display is in bloom, or else they'll swap it out for another one. The palm house should be pretty okay, too, with big tall trees and flowers and things, but if you're not sure about it, we can skip that one."

And the outdoor public gardens, eh. They had trees in 'em, but they probably weren't quite the sight to behold in late December as they were in, like, mid-July.

[OOC: For that guy! NFB for off-islandness!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, Sparkle didn't trust himself not to get his ass handed to him by a flamingo. Even one of the smallish ones. He probably wouldn't be in line to sign up for a flamingo croquet competition or anything, no.

"And did that attempt go any more smoothly?"

That made Leto laugh. "I think I've failed to give a proper description of the game if you think it would ever go smoothy. And if it had, Hania wouldn't have enjoyed it very much. But I hope the birds won't torment your plant."

"I'll just have to be extra careful where I take her when I go on walks," Sparkle laughed. "I don't think it'll be much of a problem."

He was still smirking as he looked around.

"So, what do you think?"

About the desert plants. Not necessarily about flamingos.

"These plants might be able to withstand a flamingo attack," Leto replied. "Being able to defend yourself is required both of desert creatures and desert plants." He gave Sparkle a teasing look and nudged him.

You know, unlike the weak, fragile house-plants.

Okay, so Sparkle was a bit of a houseplant! He couldn't help it! He did laugh a bit when Leto nudged him, though.

"So really, what Pauline really needs is for us to stop watering her, and to make sure she gets more harsh life lessons? Maybe I'll introduce her to a nice cactus or something..."

Actually, Leto guessed Sparkle was a little sturdier than a houseplant - unless possibly when it came to flamingo croquet - which was why he got teased about it.

"It might take a few generations," Leto admitted. "The cactus could be intimidating."

He reached out and pressed a fingertip against the spines of the nearest cactus.

"It could be," Sparkle agreed, leaning in to watch. "But then again, the spines are for protection, right? It isn't like they're bloodthirsty or anything. They just wear their thorns out there like a shield, so everything knows not to push their luck."

Sparkle had never been chased around by a cactus, was what he was saying. And if there was, like, some kind of metaphor in there or something, he wasn't going to start digging too deeply just yet.

"Roses have thorns too. Most people aren't intimidated by them."

"The spines are for protection, yes. But to those who don't know better armor can be mistaken for weapons."

Leto pulled away his finger, where the spine had hardly left a red mark. He glanced at Sparkle, smiling. "Roses hide their thorns behind pretty flowers. A bit deceptive, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but everyone knows that they're there anyway," Sparkle pointed out, shrugging. "You only have to get hurt once to learn your lesson about being careful with roses. But I guess that makes a cactus even safer than a rose, doesn't it?"

Only really, really stupid people manhanled a cactus on purpose, even just once.

Leto laughed a little and reached out to brush his fingers through Sparkle's hair. "Yes, I suppose. If safetly is your goal."

Sparkle's smile went a little bit lopsided, and he laughed a bit when Leto ran his fingers through his hair.

"Nah, there's more to living than staying safe," he decided. "Just plain safe isn't any fun, anyway. Better to be smart about things, and not afraid to just go for it because of that."

"Perhaps I was wrong about Pauline. She might need a cactus friend and be brave and adventurous." He laughed as he said that.

"Most of the desert on Arrakis is too dry even for plants like these, but we are terraforming and that is slowly changing."

"Oh, yeah?" Sparkle gave another thoughtful look around the room as he started to stroll along the pathway. "So this is more a sort of... something to aim for, than it is a something you've gotten so far, huh?"

"Yes," Leto said, following beside him. "But there is always a cost. Change an ecosystem to accommodate one thing and something else must go."

He ran the palm of his hand against a thick succulent leaf as they passed it.

"I guess so, huh?" Sparkle chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking back to the house and how the locals in the neighbourhood had rallied against them. They hadn't taken so kindly to change. And now the house was in ashes, and the rich folks down Mapleview had gotten their way.

Not a pleasant train of thought, really, so he shook it off and leaned forward to get a better look at another cactus.

"So... what's the cost, on Arrakis?"

"The sandworms," Leto said. "And with it the Spice. Already they are moving deeper into the desert and are rarely seen close to Arrakeen."

He glanced at Sparkle. "It will take time, of course. Centuries, at least. But they will die, and it will change the universe forever. No Spice, no space travel, unless another way is found."

"There are plenty of realities where people have pretty reliable space travel," Sparkle noted. "I mean, mine's not one of them, but my roommate, Atton, has his own ship. There might be some, like, element that his reality and yours have in common, maybe? I don't completely know how it works."

But at least he was trying to be helpful? He really couldn't say much about the worms themselves, unfortunately. A whole terraformed planet wouldn't be terribly kind to the creatures who preferred it the way it was before. But space travel? Maybe, sure.

Leto knew Sparkle's comments were kindly meant, and perhaps he should have stayed away from the subject.

"There might," he said, finally. "Until then, whoever controls the Spice, controls the universe." He reached out to lock his fingers with Sparkle's, just to feel the touch. "I'm sorry, I told myself to leave matters like that behind today."

Sparkle gave Leto's hand a little squeeze.

"Hey, I asked," he pointed out, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "But if you'd rather change the subject, I'm sure we can come up with something else to talk about. I'm fine with, like, pretty much whatever."

After hesitating, Leto decided to be quite honest. "I'd rather talk about something else, not because I distrust you." He stopped, looking at Sparkle. "There is a freedom to leave things behind for a day, and I'm happy to share such a day with you."

Sparkle smiled a little at that, and gave an understanding nod.

"Yeah, I know how that goes. There are like a dozen things I'd rather not talk about, too. So... fun things? Like, do you want to do dinner somewhere after we're done here? If we're spending the night together, we might as well, right?"

It really was just as simple as that with Sparkle, sometimes.

It was very simple with Sparkle a lot of the time, Leto had noticed, and in a very good way. Smiling back, he replied: "Yes, dinner. Is there something you would suggest? I have tried what's on offer on the island, and Ghani and I usually get pizza, but I would be happy to try something new."

This was a day of new experiences, after all.

Sparkle pursed his lips for a moment and considered that.

"I guess we have, like, every restaurant in Baltimore to pick from, don't we? The island's got an okay variety, but, like, it's not great if you want a burger that wasn't scraped off the bottom of somebody's shoe first, or Greek or Korean or something."

Earth came with a lot of variety.

"Is there anything you'd rather not eat, before I start raking my brains for restaurant options?"

"Nothing that would be served in this time and place," Leto replied. There would be things from certain planets or certain points in history he would prefer to stay away from, but nothing of that was an option here. But for the sake of amusement, he added: "No live reptiles, though."

Yes, somewhere, in some time. Don't ask.

That one took Sparkle a blink and a few seconds to process, there.

"I... I think we can probably avoid live reptiles," he decided. "I think I'd have a hard time finding a place here that serves live reptiles, actually. Pretty sure the local humane society would pitch a fit about that. But I could probably handle something like Indian food. A bit spicy, a bit savory. It's not easy to find a good curry on the island, you know? I mean, Thai curries are good too, but totally different."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject