hh_mirror | ::Closed RP for A and Kurama::

A relieved sigh. Kurama had a genetic imperative to like dogs, but he especially liked Wishbone. "That's very good, for you , Wishbone, and Shrodinger." He moved aside one of the more stubborn plants, setting it in a pot he'd prepared earlier. "Now, tell me about your altercation with the applicant."

"He's, oh, he's awful, he, he..." The application still made him blanch. "He's invisible, and he didn't even remember hurting Wishbone and he teased me and said awful things and I, I used a blackberry to make vines... I aimed at where I heard him and tangled him up with vines."

"An invisible man?" He could only imagine the type of person with that particular power that would make A so agitated. "Very intelligent, to use the vines," he mused, not bothering to hide the proud tone in his voice. "I suspect he wasn't too thrilled by that."

"He said he would kill me," he said softly. "I, I used a hex on him. I used Obscuro. And," he grinned, "I threw a durian at him."

Kurama laughed and held up a hand. "W-wait, you threw a durian at him? Oh, god, A, he must have pissed you right off." He allowed another laugh before calming himself again. "Obscuro, on an invisible man. Very clever. If he's so eager to bloody his hands, perhaps I should pay a visit as well. It doesn't do for a teacher not to greet new students." He smiled slyly. "What do you think?"

A giggled at that, putting a hand over his mouth. "I made his hands bleed. I made him bleed in a lot of places. Thorns scratched him everywhere." Thankfully, A hadn't really processed that the Invisible Man had been naked.

"Good show," he grinned widely. "He'll surely think twice before going after you again."

A's smile became wider and somewhat calmer.

"I, I told him, if he tried to hurt my friends, we would hurt him."

Kurama held up his hand, pinky finger extended. "I'll bring the bad fox smackdown if he tries anything. Promise."

A looked at Kurama's finger quizzically; pinky swears were not part of his education.

"A, a smackdown is what he deserves," A said with satisfaction. "I don't like that he threatened my friends."

"Here, hold on a second," This was essential education, here. He took A's hand and curled the first few fingers into a fist, extending the pinky finger. "This, is called a pinky swear," he hooked their fingers together. "It means I'll keep my promise to smack down the invisible man if I hear him causing trouble, and you promise the same, or something similar."

"I promise," A said solemnly. "If I hear him making trouble, I will smack him down. I have more durian seeds," he added.

And if he'd promised Kurama, surely Kusuriyuri and L wouldn't be mad at him.

"Don't go looking for him, but if you come across trouble. I don't want you looking for bad and then getting hurt. Okay?"

A nodded. "I will promise that, too."

Kurama smiled. "Good. Come on, Help me with the rest of these and I'll show you what I've got planned for greenhouse six." They both deserved a little fun, anyway.

Now that he had unburdened himself, A worked at a faster, more confident pace.

"Will it be more tea, or something else?"

"Something else, actually. For the next class set." They worked side by side as he explained. "I've been giving a lot of thought to what I've been teaching you, and how some of the lessons could benefit other students. You and I know that we don't have to fear plants like devil's snare... ones that will actually attack someone without provocation. There are more than you'd think, you know? So Greenhouse Six is where I'm going to put all the magical plants that are volatile so that people can practice defending themselves."

"Ohhh." A nodded in understanding. "It will be good to learn about magical plants. I have mostly been studying non-magical plants, and I know most of the others do not even study those. It will be a good opportunity for people to be able to study." He grinned a little cynically. "Even if most people won't."

"We'll get you started on magical and..." Should they start on demonic plants? Probably not quite yet. "And their properties around the time that class starts up. The more you know about the subject matter, the better you can help in class, yeah?"

"I like being able to help in class," A told him. "You've helped me so much, it is nice too be able to do things for you. And it, it..." He tried to find the right words. "It makes me feel more confident."

"It's nice to have people look up to you, especially when you're imparting knowledge." He found a few extra bits of rag, handing one to A and using one for himself, scrubbing the dirt of his arms and face.

"Now that these are seen to, would you like to take a look at the setup I'm preparing in six?"

"Oh, yes," A said cheerfully, a little muffled by the brisk rubbing of the cleaning rag. "I am curious to see the plants you have set up. I am sure some of them will be new to me and it will be good to learn."

"Some are a bit dangerous, so keep your wits about you." He grinned and led A through the greenhouses. He had to shove the door open to six (a clutch of pixie belladonna, which happened to be quite a mischievous plant, had grown across the door and blocked it) but when he managed he spread his arms to present the greenhouse as a whole, filled with plants of all kinds, some with eyes, some with teeth, and all of them turning to 'look' expectantly at them.

A looked around with avid curiosity. He only recognized a few of the plants, and mainly just from pictures in books. This was a sadly neglected field for him!

"Which is going to be the next lesson?"

"Identifying the mimic plants from real threats. That one," he pointed to a plant that looked like lilies of the valley, until you saw there were tiny white teeth along the inside of the flower's bell, "bites and then buries its bits in you. It'll dig right under your skin until it gets to your marrow, and then pollinates." He shuddered, though grinning. "It's an awful sight, but the flowers are lovely. It's used as a torture device in some places."

A looked at the toothed blossoms with wary respect.

"And it mimics lily of valley, so people or animals will think it is safe, and approach it?"

Dangerous, indeed.

"Aye. That one is especially sneaky. And there," He pointed to a clump of moss that had trailed down the side of one of the worktables. It looked harmless enough, but when he took a step towards it, a multitude of tiny eyes popped open all along it. "That one is especially dangerous. Keep in its sights too long and it'll curse you with madness and following, death."

He stepped back and held up his hand, closing the eyes when they didn't close fast enough on their own for his liking. "Thankfully, they only grow in certain places and specific conditions. It's rare for them to grow anywhere near inhabited places, but good to know about regardless."

"Why does it do that?" A asked, wrinkling his brow. "Do the people die near it, to provide it with nutrients? Or is it to get them to wander off and not hurt the plant?"

"I'm not quite sure. Some say it eats the bodies, but I haven't studied enough on those to entirely know." He glared at the moss. "I know enough to put it to sleep if I have to. Oh!" He crossed the greenhouse and went to a tiny clear area containing a single flower. It was a tiny white forget-me-not, glowing with its own light.

"This one isn't a dangerous one, but I put it in here on purpose. This is Snowdrop, a very rare flower that only blooms once a decade under natural conditions. It provides protection to one who wears or carries it from little dangers, like poison or attack spells and predators." He smiled, cupping his hand around it lovingly.

"It is a gentle flower, and one I don't like to force. But even so, it is one of my favorites."

"It's beautiful," A said, admiring the small flower. "Do they all bloom at once?" The idea of a patch of them, all lit with the same soft light, in a night-darkened meadow was, well, enchanting.

"I know a place where an entire field of them blooms at once, though it is a long way from here. I could take you there in the summer."

A's gaze grew distant as he imagined it, all those gentle lights, glowing like fireflies. He was sure the actual sight would be far lovelier than what his imagination conjured up.

"I would, I'd love to see that," he said earnestly. "It would be something I would remember."

Kurama smiled softly a moment. "You could take River there, as well."

"We could remember it together," he murmured. "And I, I could take her without saying first, without telling her what it would be, and let her see..."

He liked the idea of giving River such a wonderful surprise.

Kurama's smile widened. I'll sholw you where the field is, and you can take her there when they bloom. It shouldn't be too long from now, as long as you ask them nicely." Which he was sure A would. And snowdrops, being flowers that thrived off of feelings of love and affection, would assuredly bloom beautifully.

"Oh, oh, thank you." A's words were deeply heartfelt, and it showed. "Is, is it very far?"

Kurama waved off the thanks, though A's gratitude made him smile wider. "You would have to floo there, but it isn't too far. It's outside the village where we got Boukensha and River's kittens."

A disliked flooing, but this was certainly a good cause, and it would be well worth it to see River's reaction.

"I would, yes, I would like that very much. It is a wonderful feeling, to show River something beautiful that she would not have seen otherwise."

::Closed RP for A and Kurama::

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