tushanshu | video

[Zatanna almost didn't go through with the announcement. She was tired of them. Of having to go on the public network and tell everyone about the disappearance of yet one more person close to her. After three years...and more discussion on the subject than she ever wanted to have again...]

[But then she found his scrapbook. The one he had started all those years ago, trying to record as many memories and notes of people that had come and gone. A way to honor their memory. After a time, it had become a shared project of theirs. He'd shown her the entries for Dick and Kyle and Pepper and Finnick and so many others. Now she had another name to add to it. As it was, the book could just barely be visible behind her, sitting on a chair with the beginnings of a new entry already jotted down at the top of what she knew would wind up being several pages long:]

Jack Frost is gone.

[To her credit, her voice was steady. Her face was freshly washed, hair combed. There were no signs of the tears that had fallen upon realization earlier. No evidence of her heartache. Only the slightest hint of reddened eyes from when she'd had to speak to some of the local children earlier.]

[Jack's children. The ones he used to play with in the park.]

[Her eyes lowered to a twin set of figurines sitting on the edge of her table. Two little turtles. Hand carved. After a long, contemplative pause, she turned the two of them so that their noses touched. In between the empty space formed a small heart. A Secret that had taken her far too long to figure out.]

The Welcome Center will continue on as normal. In case anyone was wondering.

And before anyone asks--[because she knows they will]--I'm fine. I'm...almost used to it by now.

[One of the biggest lies she'd ever told. She could deal. She could carry on. But she would never get used to it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You want to try and grow coffee?

...wait, don't you need a tropical environment for that? As in, year-round?

[She didn't know much about growing coffee, but she did distinctly remember it coming from places like Columbia, which was much further south and warmer in climate than Keelai.]

Ah- but that's where the fun comes in. Artificial environments aren't my forte, but I'm sure I could come up with something to mimic the climate. Enough to make the plant happy, anyway.

[his grin now is honest. science.]

And how would you plan to do that, exactly?

[She had a couple ideas of her own, of course. Not science.]

[magic science?]

Well, first would be finding someone who knows a little more about them than I do- I'm no expert- and then rigging something up depending on how many plants we could supply. Heat, humidity, light...about the only thing I might have difficulty with would be the soil content.

[Let's not go too far there.]

And what are the odds you've find a coffee expert anywhere in the city?

I mean, being an expert on the taste is one thing, but I haven't known too many Foreigners to have a green thumb around here. [Pause, then:] ...except for that one girl who is green. But I think that's only literally.

[at that? he shrugs.] Only so high. But that doesn't mean I couldn't try, or find someone who knows something about growing plants, period. But it could be a fun little side-project. [he doesn't seem bothered by the idea of failure. not like this is a matter of life and death, after all.]

[She grinned in return.]

Hey, I'm all for fun experiments. Especially ones that don't accidentally blow up the whole turtle for a week or so. [Long story.]

[he gives her a long look, as if he's considering asking- and then decides differently.] I think the worse that'd happen here is some dead plants. [beat] Maybe an electrical fire, but those are easily handled with the proper precautions.

[Hey, just be grateful you weren't there at the time. Things happened. Things your precious science would never have been able to explain.]

Yeah, try not to set too much of the city on fire, either.

I suggest an extinguisher on hand. And maybe the Fire Department on speed dial.

Trust me, I take every precaution when it comes to lab work. I've seen what happens when it goes wrong one too many times for my liking.

[was there something there in his face and/or tone, briefly? whatever it is, it's gone now.]

Edited 2015-12-03 02:07 (UTC)

[Quite possibly.]

[Although...given the subject, she was inclined not to ask.]

Glad to hear it.

Where do you work? Out of sheer curiosity. You know...in case your experiment ever succeeds and I start shopping around for a new coffee source.

At the university, primarily, but I have a hand in one of the shops in Sky. [after its best workers left, though...well, there's still Kedan who help out.] Though I'll let you know if I have any success.

I appreciate that. Thanks.

And thanks for the coffee, too. It really is good.

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