entrancelogs | In your garden, planting his SEEDS.

Entry tags:

In your garden, planting his SEEDS.

Who: Other Father [

other_father ] & Jack Ryan [

kindly_done ]
Where: The Gardens
When: Tomorrow afternoon
Rating: E for Everyone?
Summary: Jack and the Other Father have FATHERSONBONDINGTIME... At least, sorta?
the Story:

That day was sunny, just like the day before and the day before that- but Other Father didn't care, he preferred it to the snow; it wasn't that he didn't like the snow (he loved it in fact,) it was just that flowers didn't like the snow and they wouldn't grow! And all winter he had wanted to test out his new (and treasured) gardening set that his dear daughter, Coraline had brought him.

Yes, the day was sunny and the Other Father was brightly kneeling in a patch of mud in the gardens, dressed in a white shirt, a small tie-cravat under the collar, his black trousers and- gasp! regular shoes (albeit in orange) on his feet (he had figured that it was a lot easier to get dirtier here, see, the reason he lacked his usual dressing gown aswell.) He had planted many seeds so far, daffodils and poppies and some seeds that apparently planted flowers in all colours of the rainbow- at the same time in some cases- that he had acquired in the market. However, even through the hard work and concentration he was putting into his gardening, he'd easily be able to sense a 'kidlet' around.

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Jack had to get out of the Mansion. The last couple of days had been incredibly weird and stressful, and though he'd tried to sleep it off, he'd found himself tossing and turning, plagued by nightmares of splicers, monsters, and Sinclair in his massive diving suit.

He drifted out the door, avoiding the ocean side for all he was worth, and headed for the gardens. He'd seen them from his window, noticed that the soil looked fresh and new, and discovered that his false memories didn't tell him how it would smell. He wanted to know, now, and...well, anything to get rid of this claustrophobic feeling.

He looked a bit of a mess after yesterday's pitched battles, with his face all bruised and scratched, and one arm held just a little too carefully. He limps a bit too, though he tried not to.

He didn't look like a kidlet, and he didn't usually think like one, but he did feel like one--and a tired, upset one, at that.

He carefully planted in a new seed- the rainbow flowers would surely bloom into such pretty things- before getting a little realization, a small realization dawned over him that a loved one- a child- was near. He finished the small mound before turning around, taking his marigold gloves off and looking at his surroundings for the child.

Jack stood nearby, surveying the landscape--a bit paranoid that something else large and toothy was going to jump out at him. He kept a hand close to his wrench, and had decided to carry a hypo clipped to his belt in case of emergencies.

He'd given up on his new fancy clothes for the day, and was back in a pale blue work shirt, the edge of a bandage just peeking out below one sleeve.

The Other Father gave a wave to grab Jack's attention before pushing himself off of the ground- he was a lot taller in real life than on the communicator video. He adjusted his glasses before walking towards the boy with a smile, his buttons glimmering in the sunlight.

"Hey there, Jack!~" He spoke loudly, his distance a tad away from the 'boy'. As he got closer however, he frowned- only so much so that he knew he was frowning, or those who were so close up would know- but he was most certainly frowning at the bruises and cuts and bandages; the Other Father didn't like it when the kids got hurt.

He took a step back, hand closing loosely over the wrench. The buttons were...a little creepier up close, and Jack did wonder for a fleeting moment if the Other Father was perhaps a Splicer of some kind.

"Hi," he said cautiously, and slowly let go of the wrench. Other Father didn't seem like a threat, and if he should do something unexpected...well, Jack had his Plasmids.

"...Other Father, right?"

He nodded and looked down at the boy, his smile back in place now. "That would be me!" Suddenly a small crunch and he pulled his leg up a little, a surprised expression as he looked down to see what he had stood on- seeds. "Whoops! I should watch where I'm treading." He knelt down to pick them, juggling them from hand to hand, once behind his back and then in front again- something he had learned to be a 'groovy father'.

"How has your stay here been so far, kiddo? Other than the health bars and monsters that is."

His eyes followed the bag of seeds. "Stop it," he muttered. You're making me nervous.

"...I guess it's not too bad. The rooms are okay, and--no, that's a lie." He shook his head. "I hate it here."

He was a little confused at why he wanted him to stop, but it was his in last interest to ever go against a kindly child- he could only ever do that if they were misbehaving.

A pout at the fact that he was having a bad time... "I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo- you should take your mind off of it by joining in an activity! I could teach you how to garden if you like?"

He lifted an eyebrow, smiling wryly.

"To garden...? I don't have to wear special clothes for that, do I?"

Stupid lavender jackets.

He gets a lifted brow in return at that. "Special clothes?" He looks down at himself, inspecting what he's wearing with a little effortless fidget here and there. "Well I'm not so sure about that..." it was obvious he was joking. "Not even the Marigold gloves are needed in gardening, they're just there for keepin' the dirt off your hands.~"

Jack looked at his own bare hands, examining the cracked nails, and the skin scabbed from biting. He flexed his fingers a little.

"A little dirt wouldn't be so bad," he decided, quietly.

And then, after a pause, "What are marigolds?"

"A type of flower- actually, I think I have some seeds right here!" So charismatic, Other Father. He bends down to pick up another bag of seeds, unopened. "You could plant some and see for yourself if you like? I'm sure I can give up a little space for another budding gardener?"

"So they look like the ones on your gloves?"

Jack smiles a little, intrigued in spite of himself.

"Sure, I'll try it."

"Hm? Nope- you know, I don't even know why they're called marigold gloves, sorry kiddo." He's intrigued himself now on why they did- "It's probably because they're used to plant flowers, just like Marigolds." He gave a big smile and handed him a trowel and the seeds. "I'll plant one first and you can follow, does that sound groovy?"

He took the items, holding the trowel awkwardly, rather as if he was preparing to stab someone with it.

"That sounds fine, yeah," he said quietly, watching Other Father with fascination.

He raised a brow at the way he was holding the trowel, but figured that he might realize it when he was to copy him. So instead of correcting him he

He made a tiny hole with his finger- something the trowel wasn't needed for, but the Other Father had given him one just in case (and if they went to planting any pre-grown flowers-) and dropped a seed in it, making a small dirt mound on top and watering it a small amount.

"Now you try." He turned to Jack.

Well, that didn't look difficult. He knelt, knees just touching the soft earth, and pressed his finger into the soil. He glanced from the hole he'd made to Other Father, then copied the older man, dropping a seed into the hole and mounding the dirt up around it.

"There. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect, kiddo! Now you just need to water it." He passed him the watering can, a praising smile on his face.

Jack's returning smile was shy, but pleased. A little clumsily, he tipped the watering can over the spot, soaking it perhaps a too much.

"Is that all there is to it?"

Gardening is easy.

Ohhh he hoped that wouldn't kill it.

"Yup, and now we wait." He just stared at the flower with a slightly blank expression... See, Other Father's new to this whole 'Plants don't grow in a second' business, because they did back in the Other World- that and the books didn't say how long he needed to wait.

Jack sat for a long moment, watching the Other Father watch the ground. Finally he realizes that Other Father is actually looking for flowers.

"Don't they...take a while to grow?"

His head turned to Jack, the blankish- and slightly weird- expression still there, albeit a little more confused this time around.

"They do?" He didn't like having to ask the children questions, because they should be asking him... but he knew that there were many things he had yet to learn about the 'outside world'.

"I think so." Not that he's ever really watched flowers grow before, but there's nothing in his false memories about plants springing up out of nowhere. "There might be sprouts we can see in a couple of days, I think."

Which leaves him at loose ends again, his thoughts creeping back in. He rocks back on his heels with a sigh.

"Hm, that might be how it works then! The book didn't say how long." He smiles again and stands up, noticing the sigh. "Are you alright, Jack?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm...my knee just hurts, that's all."

That is far from all. He stands carefully with a little groan.

"I didn't...that last event was really terrible."

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In your garden, planting his SEEDS.

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