xp_logs | GBOS: Klara Appleseed (Reply)

Klara and Laura take a trip to the fallow fields near the camp for a little support to the camp food supply.

"It's not much." The Red Cross volunteer said with an apologetic shrug. The scrubby few plowed acres held some sickly stands of grain stocks, but not a lot else. "When we set up here, it was a recently abandoned farm, and we hoped that maybe some of the residuels might help. But nothing's come up. I don't really know why you want to see it." She ducked back into the trail back to the camp, leaving both girls looking at the empty field.

Laura shrugged at the man leaving. "What a quitter", she mused as her attention went back to the fields, and then to her partner. "You kind of make things grow right? Tell ya what, you can start working with the seeds that must be sleeping down here while I get rid of all this dead vegetation that might cause trouble for the rest to grow; then we can expand this terrain." It sounded easy, but there was a lot of hard work for them.

Fortunately, Klara was very familiar with hard work. Although she disagreed now with some of her old lifestyle (how anyone could think ill of a wonderful invention like electric stoves was beyond her), she had missed the farming aspect of it. Unlike at home, she didn't have to hide that she was using her abilities to make things grow here.

"I can make things grow quite quickly," explained Klara. "Although if they are going to continue to grow after we leave, you are right - getting rid of the dead vegetation is a good idea."

"Yeah, we should get to work then." Laura unsheathed her hand claws on the right hand as she made her way to the closest patch of vegetation. "We should check was has been left on the ground, and if we need more, there should be someone we could ask for seeds?" A swift, fast movement cut the plants quickly, and she used her left hand to remove the roots, throwing all to a bag on her back. "Or...do you have seeds?"

"I brought seeds," said Klara, pulling out several small packets of them from the small over the shoulder bag that rested at her hip. She had also collected apple seeds from apples she had eaten in a small ziploc sandwich bag, and brought seeds for roses as well. "I have gotten myself into the habit of carrying some around with me, and I thought it would be helpful to bring them here."

There was also the fact that she was able to work more easily with plants she was familiar with. She could affect other kinds of plants when needed, but her control was far better with plants she had grown up around.

Laura took a moment from the task of removing a deceivingly thick bush from the ground to give Klara a thumbs up. "Nice, let's see if we can make those seeds grow in here then." She wasn't sure if apples and roses would survive those conditions, but if someone was capable of doing that it was Klara. "Do you need anything else? I guess we could plow the terrain first? I'm not really sure how to prepare the ground, so you just boss me around~"

"We would need either work animals or friends with superhuman strength to plow effectively," mused Klara. "But my powers should be able to grow food that can be used right now and then once things are calmer and safer, others may be able to help with more lasting crops."

She handed Laura a few apple seeds. "If you can plant these each at least six inches deep into the ground and space them about fifteen feet apart, I should be able to get something growing...and then the trees can provide us with some shade while we're resting for a bit."

There were remnants of plants she could work with below the surface, but it was best to start with those she was familiar with. Apples were refreshing.

Laura shrugged as she grabbed the seeds. "Yeah, even when I think I can do some plowing, it would take me a lot of time to get it done, I guess. We can start small anyway, and once the others have less things to do, ask them to lend us a hand. " Placing the seeds was a lot easier anyway; she only needed to make a hole with her claws and deposit the seed there, taking care of leaving the proper space between them.

"Hey, I know this is kind of obvious, but I can't really internalize this whole 'saving the war torn zone from the evil soldiers' thing we are getting ourselves into." Pausing for a moment, Laura gave another shrug at Klara. "It's even a little scary when you think about it."

"It is scary," admitted Klara. "But I believe that God gave us our abilities so that we could help where others cannot."

A great deal of Klara's beliefs had been shaken up, and she had rejected much of her old lifestyle. What hadn't changed was her desire to work hard, and her faith in God. After seeing the miraculous things mutants at the school were capable of, the way she viewed God was very different than before. The core of her faith remained the same. The way she practiced her faith and the way she viewed the world had undergone a personal paradigm shift.

Once Laura had planted several of the seeds, Klara got to work.

"Grow, please," she said, letting her pull over the plants take over. The ground near the two girls rumbled very slightly as sprouts erupted out of them, growing into fully grown trees filled with apples within a minute. She took a few moments to catch her breath.

"I think we are off to a good start," she said with a small smile. "Care for an apple before we continue?"