![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_shatterstar posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsBackdated to May 13 Shatterstar goes to Rictor for help with a "plant matter".
It was the crack of dawn, but Shatterstar had a mission. He had to get Julio up now- who else knew flowers and could help him correct his mistake. He had honestly forgotten Mother's Day even existed. Shatterstar banged on Julio's door urgently, sun barely rising.
The weekend had been busier than Rictor ever expected. So many men running into Hordeculture to buy bouquets for their mothers and wives. Rictor did not have an eye yet for assembling appealing arrangements, so while the old ladies consulted the frantic customers, it was up to Rictor to obtain the flowers from the stockroom, cut the stems, hand them to the boss ladies to package, and then ring up the customers. By Sunday night, he was dead on his feet. But of course there was little opportunity to rest, and now he was tasked with restocking and getting the store back in order first thing Monday morning. Which was why he was awake and dressed when Shatterstar came knocking.
"Oh, hey. Are you okay? You look . . . concerned?"
"I need help yesterday," Shatterstar said with deadly seriousness. "With a plant matter." He was slightly flushed in embarrassment that he was so late to the uptake. He didn't mean to cause problems for Rictor, but he didn't know who else he could turn to.
Rictor didn't quite follow, but there was no mistaking Shatterstar's disposition. This was clearly a matter of deadly importance, so Rictor nodded anyway as if this were a normal request. "A 'plant matter?' Explain."
"I should have gotten Terry a plant yesterday and I didn't," Shatterstar explained, clearly ashamed of his lack of planning ahead and thoughtlessness. "I need to rectify this as soon as possible. You know plants best of anyone I know, so you can help me find something appropriate, right?"
This apocalyptic concern over forgotten Mother's Day flowers would have had Rictor in hysterics if it were anyone besides Shatterstar. This was important to him and thus of equal significance to Rictor. So he nodded and grabbed his keys and phone from the small table by the door (mostly taken up by a potted orchid) and invited Shatterstar to follow him. "I have to go to work now but I can put something together for you." Or try to. He'd watched Miss Opal and Miss Edith enough yesterday to get some idea of what would look nice. He could at least make a little thing, right? Sure.
Shatterstar visibly let out a sigh of relief, body going slack from how wound-tight he had been. He followed Rictor doggedly, and nodded. "In exchange for the help with the plant, I can help you carry things for the ladies." He hadbothered visited Rictor enough at work that he felt confident in his offering. He would of course offer to pay, but he also knew Rictor well enough to guess that he would insist that Shatterstar not pay unless his bosses made him.
They would probably try to barter the flowers in exchange for labor, and Rictor knew better than to argue with them or try to cover the costs himself (especially Miss Lily, she seemed to take sinful pride in paying for things in exchange for later favors, like the time she forced double overtime pay for just a couple hours of lugging massive packages to the ladies' private greenhouse behind the store).
"Do you know what Terry likes?" Rictor asked as he signed out one of the communal cars in the mansion garage and searched for the keys. "What kinds of flowers, or what colors?"
"Green," Shatterstar said automatically, though he was pretty sure that there weren't actually any flowers that were green. "I see roses in her suite sometimes." He took the passenger side of the car, as always, as he still couldn't drive at all. "Maybe something that would look nice dried."
There were green roses but Rictor thought they were kind of ugly. Hydrangea or zinnia would be better for green in his humble opinion, but then there were other options for that color that could use other flowers. "We can check what they have, there was not much remaining. This weekend was really crazy, I've never seen so many clueless men becoming berserk in one place. I thought there were going to be some fights."
"I am afraid I am just as clueless as those men. I require your expertise." Shatterstar said, leaning over to look at Rictor seriously. "As you are an expert on plants."
Rictor reddened a little at the compliment and tried to wave it off while still keeping both hands on the steering wheel. "The ladies have shown me that for all I do know, I might as well be a beginner. They know everything. Sometimes it's scary! How can anyone hold that much knowledge in their heads?"
Shatterstar considered the question carefully even though he knew it was probably rhetorical. "They're old. You'll get there someday."
They passed the rest of the short drive in their familiar comfortable silence. The backdoor to the store was open, and Rictor quickly but politely greeted Miss Lily, who as predicted, agreed to the pre-open sale in exchange for two hours of manual labor. At minimum wage, that came out to a more-than-decent bouquet, so Rictor directed Shatterstar into the store proper to see what was available.
"Almost out of roses," Rictor said with a sigh. Unsurprising but still disappointing. He spotted something in one of the cooler cabinets, though, and opened the door to get a closer look. A trio of small white roses. It was something, at least. "Just these. Someone must have forgotten to pick them up."
Shatterstar gave Julio a small, appreciative smile. "It looks wonderful. Something small is perfect." He didn't want to overstep after all, not with Terry. Instead he stretched his arms over his head. "Now. I believe you are my boss for the morning?"
The nosegay seemed a little bare to Rictor, though, so he scrounged up some foliage filler to accentuate the roses, and wrapped it up with a white ribbon. He gently dropped it in a vase of water to keep it fresh for the rest of the morning. "This is good. Terry will love it. Now that is done, I personally have always wanted a minion. A strong one. So you can start by taking the soil palettes in the back to those shelves while I do something of equal effort." He picked up a broom and dustpan, and stuck out his tongue at Shatterstar. "Have fun!"
It was the crack of dawn, but Shatterstar had a mission. He had to get Julio up now- who else knew flowers and could help him correct his mistake. He had honestly forgotten Mother's Day even existed. Shatterstar banged on Julio's door urgently, sun barely rising.
The weekend had been busier than Rictor ever expected. So many men running into Hordeculture to buy bouquets for their mothers and wives. Rictor did not have an eye yet for assembling appealing arrangements, so while the old ladies consulted the frantic customers, it was up to Rictor to obtain the flowers from the stockroom, cut the stems, hand them to the boss ladies to package, and then ring up the customers. By Sunday night, he was dead on his feet. But of course there was little opportunity to rest, and now he was tasked with restocking and getting the store back in order first thing Monday morning. Which was why he was awake and dressed when Shatterstar came knocking.
"Oh, hey. Are you okay? You look . . . concerned?"
"I need help yesterday," Shatterstar said with deadly seriousness. "With a plant matter." He was slightly flushed in embarrassment that he was so late to the uptake. He didn't mean to cause problems for Rictor, but he didn't know who else he could turn to.
Rictor didn't quite follow, but there was no mistaking Shatterstar's disposition. This was clearly a matter of deadly importance, so Rictor nodded anyway as if this were a normal request. "A 'plant matter?' Explain."
"I should have gotten Terry a plant yesterday and I didn't," Shatterstar explained, clearly ashamed of his lack of planning ahead and thoughtlessness. "I need to rectify this as soon as possible. You know plants best of anyone I know, so you can help me find something appropriate, right?"
This apocalyptic concern over forgotten Mother's Day flowers would have had Rictor in hysterics if it were anyone besides Shatterstar. This was important to him and thus of equal significance to Rictor. So he nodded and grabbed his keys and phone from the small table by the door (mostly taken up by a potted orchid) and invited Shatterstar to follow him. "I have to go to work now but I can put something together for you." Or try to. He'd watched Miss Opal and Miss Edith enough yesterday to get some idea of what would look nice. He could at least make a little thing, right? Sure.
Shatterstar visibly let out a sigh of relief, body going slack from how wound-tight he had been. He followed Rictor doggedly, and nodded. "In exchange for the help with the plant, I can help you carry things for the ladies." He had
They would probably try to barter the flowers in exchange for labor, and Rictor knew better than to argue with them or try to cover the costs himself (especially Miss Lily, she seemed to take sinful pride in paying for things in exchange for later favors, like the time she forced double overtime pay for just a couple hours of lugging massive packages to the ladies' private greenhouse behind the store).
"Do you know what Terry likes?" Rictor asked as he signed out one of the communal cars in the mansion garage and searched for the keys. "What kinds of flowers, or what colors?"
"Green," Shatterstar said automatically, though he was pretty sure that there weren't actually any flowers that were green. "I see roses in her suite sometimes." He took the passenger side of the car, as always, as he still couldn't drive at all. "Maybe something that would look nice dried."
There were green roses but Rictor thought they were kind of ugly. Hydrangea or zinnia would be better for green in his humble opinion, but then there were other options for that color that could use other flowers. "We can check what they have, there was not much remaining. This weekend was really crazy, I've never seen so many clueless men becoming berserk in one place. I thought there were going to be some fights."
"I am afraid I am just as clueless as those men. I require your expertise." Shatterstar said, leaning over to look at Rictor seriously. "As you are an expert on plants."
Rictor reddened a little at the compliment and tried to wave it off while still keeping both hands on the steering wheel. "The ladies have shown me that for all I do know, I might as well be a beginner. They know everything. Sometimes it's scary! How can anyone hold that much knowledge in their heads?"
Shatterstar considered the question carefully even though he knew it was probably rhetorical. "They're old. You'll get there someday."
They passed the rest of the short drive in their familiar comfortable silence. The backdoor to the store was open, and Rictor quickly but politely greeted Miss Lily, who as predicted, agreed to the pre-open sale in exchange for two hours of manual labor. At minimum wage, that came out to a more-than-decent bouquet, so Rictor directed Shatterstar into the store proper to see what was available.
"Almost out of roses," Rictor said with a sigh. Unsurprising but still disappointing. He spotted something in one of the cooler cabinets, though, and opened the door to get a closer look. A trio of small white roses. It was something, at least. "Just these. Someone must have forgotten to pick them up."
Shatterstar gave Julio a small, appreciative smile. "It looks wonderful. Something small is perfect." He didn't want to overstep after all, not with Terry. Instead he stretched his arms over his head. "Now. I believe you are my boss for the morning?"
The nosegay seemed a little bare to Rictor, though, so he scrounged up some foliage filler to accentuate the roses, and wrapped it up with a white ribbon. He gently dropped it in a vase of water to keep it fresh for the rest of the morning. "This is good. Terry will love it. Now that is done, I personally have always wanted a minion. A strong one. So you can start by taking the soil palettes in the back to those shelves while I do something of equal effort." He picked up a broom and dustpan, and stuck out his tongue at Shatterstar. "Have fun!"
no subject
Date: 2024-05-31 03:13 pm (UTC)"They're old."
Shatterstar, aka Mr. Tact. (Honestly Star firmly sticking to Terry as Surrogate Mother is my favorite.)
This log made me go on a little mind journey wherein Rictor becomes a botanist. It seems to suit his field of interest while being less on the nose than something like geology, although of course I'm sure Hordeculture would constantly "misremember" his degree and refer to him as a landscaper.