[video] - un: pinkmemory

[inemeraldfaith]

[This ought to come as no surprise, really. Aerith spends a decent amount of her free time in the flower shop and usually if she appears on Avalon's network, it's there. That's precisely where she is on today's little impromptu Camelot interruption.

Resting on her forearm against front desk counter, she wears a smile, though it's a bit lighter than she normally gives.]

It's been a while since I said anything on here and I realised I should probably fix that. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Aerith. I run a little flower shop here in the business district of the town. I was in the middle of putting a nice little patio setup outside for people who come by, but it's getting a bit colder, so I think that's going to have to be put on hold until it warms up again.

[Taking a pause to sip from the cup of tea at her side, she sets it down before she continues.]

I know I've said this before, but if any of you have flowers or seeds from your home, for whatever reason that you would, if you bring them to me, I'll try to grow you something. I'm also really interested in trying to crossbreed some flowers, especially from anything that might be capable of surviving the colder weather. If you've already purchased flowers from me and you're having trouble with them, you can pay me a visit any time and I'll fix them up for you.

[After a moment's consideration, she sinks down a bit, shifting to settle her chin in the palm of her hand.]

And you know, with the weather getting colder, it's easy to get sick. Make sure you're taking care of yourselves. I don't normally offer this, but I have some healing magic, so if you find yourself not feeling well, I might be able to help you out there. I'm not a doctor or anything, but I like to think I know marginally what I'm doing. At worst, I can make you a nice pot of tea.

[That seems to be all she has to say because not long after, she turns off her video and audio feed.]

[Private to Tifa - Text]
Hey, can I ask you to do a favour for me?

Comments

[doctorintern]

[ He sips his own tea as he listens, nodding a bit. ] I guess that makes sense. But who decides the meaning for each flower? And the color of the flower can change the meaning as well, right? Is that decided on as a collective?

[inemeraldfaith]

That...

[Aerith trails off when she realises that she doesn't have an answer for him. Of course she doesn't. She's definitely not the one who wrote the books. For one reason or another, this doesn't seem to be something she's asked herself before. Evidently she's just taken it all for granted.]

That's a great question, actually. I suspect at least for the books written here, it was probably coined by the author, but one has to wonder where that came from. How someone makes that decision.

[doctorintern]

Exactly! Do people come to the agreement of a flower meaning as a group, or is it just an individual saying that one color means something. Is it based on tradition for what a flower might be used for?

[ He's really just asking hypothetically, and doesn't expect Aerith to have the answers. But it's interesting to think about. ]

[inemeraldfaith]

[They're all... really good questions. So good, in fact, that this is likely not his intention, but she's going to wind up spending weeks, if not months, contemplating all of this. And when she goes back home, she's got a few questions.

...Maybe there's someone she can talk to about the books that Camelot has on their local plants.]

Wow.
I really can't believe I've never thought of that before. I'm not proud to say I've kind of just taken the meanings for granted, but I guess that's what I've been doing. On the other hand, I can't say I'd be comfortable coming up with my own meanings and telling people to follow mine.

[doctorintern]

[ He does seem to notice that he might have said a bit too much, and laughs sheepishly. ]

Oh, heh...I mean, that's understandable. It's not something that people really need to think about or anything. My brain just tends to over-analyze things sometimes, sorry.

[inemeraldfaith]

No, no. That's not something to be sorry about at all.

[Aerith leans onto her arms, still looking thoughtful. But it isn't guilt or anything like that. It's purely curiosity.]

Actually, since you asked me I feel like I'll probably be trying to track down who came up with the meanings for flowers here in Camelot. It won't answer whoever does that where you or I come from, but we can at least get one question answered.

[doctorintern]

[ He laughs a little. ] I can certainly understand the curiosity. [ Story of his life, really. ] And it at least would get one question out of the way. If you manage to track that down, though, let me know.

[inemeraldfaith]

I will definitely let you know.

[As she puts her teacup down, she motions over to his.] How is that, by the way? It's nothing very fancy, but it is something that came from flowers I grew right in here. When the plants are ready for pruning, I'm keeping the pieces I can use and I've been experimenting with making some loose-leaf tea. I thought it might be nice if I could provide that to patrons.

[That's right. Fenton has become a guinea pig.]

[doctorintern]

Oh really? This was made from flowers? [ He takes another sip of it. ] It's really good! What kind of flowers did you use?

[ In all honesty, Fenton completely encourages experimentation and will happily be a guinea pig for it. ]

[inemeraldfaith]

Well, you did ask for hibiscus, so...

[Hibiscus flowers, naturally.]

I'm glad it turned out well. I'm definitely not a tea expert or anything, but it seems like a lot of different plants can be used. Sometimes it's the fruit of the plant, or the leaves. And with roses, you can use the petals, and the hips, and it's two completely different kinds of tea.

[Someone has been reading about all of this in her free time. No one can ever say Aerith hasn't put in the right amount of research time.]

Hopefully I can make some blends and maybe include samples with plants that I sell. This way people understand that plants give back to us in more ways than one.

[doctorintern]

[ He blinks, then laughs a little. ] Aha, I see! [ No duh, Fenton. ]

That is really interesting how different parts of plants can make different teas, though. [ He actually has no idea what rosehips even are, but he has heard of them before. ] And I think including sample teas with the plants is a fantastic idea!

[inemeraldfaith]

Yeah, I actually didn't know about it until I was reading it. I had tea back home, but admittedly didn't really make my own. I think my mom used to make that kind of stuff, though.

[Leaning onto her forearms, Aerith grins.] I also just like being able to make use the plants. As much as I can, anyway. I feel like there's importance in using as much of it as possible, given that they have as many thoughts and feels as people do. As I make some kinds, I'll pass them to you and you can let me know what you think.

[doctorintern]

I'd be happy to try them out! Although I am pretty new to drinking tea, so my taste probably won't be entirely helpful.

[inemeraldfaith]

Well, I don't think I need an expert. Just someone to tell me if something tastes bad or good should be helpful enough. I think you can do that at the very least. Besides— [She motions to herself with a grin.] —I'm not an expert on tea either. I'm sure someone out there will be happy to tell me when I'm doing it wrong.

[doctorintern]

[ He laughs a little. ] I suppose I should be able to handle that.

And hey, even if you are doing something wrong, you're still producing some great results.

[inemeraldfaith]

Well, it's not doing it 'wrong' if I'm producing great results, right? I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure the goal is to try a variety of things. Tea's probably not too different from some of the experiments you might get up to.

[doctorintern]

Well, people can say it's "wrong" [ Totally said with air quotes ] if it doesn't follow a standard procedure, but really, there would be no innovation if we always did the same thing!

And you're right, part of the fun of experimenting is trying out different things and seeing what happens.

[inemeraldfaith]

I feel like it would be sort of difficult to be 'wrong' where science is concerned, unless you're actually doing something that's unethical.

[Read: Hojo.]

How does your world handle not giving science too much influence or sway in terms of advancements?

[doctorintern]

That is a good point. [ Though it can be hard to toe the line, sometimes. ]

Hmm...I suppose it really depends. Sometimes it's financial limitations, and sometimes there are boards to review how well the technology might be received or marketed.

[inemeraldfaith]

Does... that review thing actually work? You don't worry that the board could be bribed or something?

[Aerith suspects even if Shinra ahad a review process, and it likely doesn't, that they wouldn't bother to follow it. Power and influence and money speak so much more than morality.]

[doctorintern]

Ah...sometimes. There can be issues of corruption sometimes. And it can sometimes be difficult for legitimately good ideas to get off the ground if they aren't...marketable enough.

[ Because those problems have definitely come up before. ]

But not everyone is like that, and we can only really try our best.

[inemeraldfaith]

I guess nothing's perfect, is it.

[They can only try their best. It's important that she not colour every scientist or potential scientist the same way. Fenton has already shown several times that he's a different kind of person. Maybe those kinds of nerves will never go away.]

It sounds like your home world is very responsible, though, and that's better than nothing.

[doctorintern]

We try our best! And improvements are being made all the time, so hopefully things just keep getting better from there!

[ There's still always the chance of steps being taken back. But he's always an optimist. ]

[inemeraldfaith]

Just like anything else. No such thing as ever not improving.

[As she looks around her shop, she realises that applies there, too.] Not unlike the shop. Even now, I'm still changing things up and changing it. Just like wanting to have a patio outside when it warms up. Just like wanting to show people how to get the most of out of their plants.

It's always moving forward. And people are like that, too. Seems like nothing's ever static or stagnant.

[doctorintern]

[ With a small smile, Fenton nods. ] Agreed! Change is just a part of life. Sometimes you have to take things as they come, but that doesn't mean you can't participate in the changes!