Be-leaf It or Not (Tag)

[Calahan Witt]

You would not expect to see a young man running down the street carrying a large potted plant on an average day, but if you were out and about in downtown Astaria, that is exactly what you would see as Callahan rushed to Homegrown, clutching his Swiss Cheese Plant.

Cal would be the first to tell you that he was great with plants of all kinds, it was something of a hobby to nurture things to grow and thrive, however, no matter how good at something someone is, sometimes they need help. Help is exactly what Cal was seeking for his precious plant- a Monstera deliciosa that his moms had given him as a housewarming present when he got his first apartment (He secretly wondered if his moms knew that he would forget to drink water unless he had a plant to water, but he was grateful nonetheless). The problem arose when he woke up two months ago to the edges of his plant turning brown. At first we wasn't overly concerned, he was sure he knew how to fix the problem. He tried watering less, watering more, moving his plant out of the sun, moving it into the sun, and even repotting, but nothing seemed to work and the leaves were getting more and more brown as the days progressed.

Which led Cal here, frantically entering Homegrown and calling out, probably louder than he needed to- “Oh no!! My plant!! She’s dying!!”

Orion Black

[Orion Black]

Orion was covering the lunch of his boss, Ardeshir Aria, someone that he hoped he could be friends with when a young man burst into HomeGrown like the hellhounds are on his heels. Did it make him jump? Definitely. Did he squeak? No. Did he look at the young man with the large potted plant in his arms in confusion? Of course. Although he believed half his face was hidden by a plant that he was tending to.

"Bring the sweetheart to the counter!" Orion called, moving the plant off to the side so that he'd have room for the dying plant. "Now. let's see what we're working with here today. Oh! I'm Orion and I'll be your plant doctor for the day. It's usually Ardeshir but I made sure that he's eating lunch. I see that we have a Monstera deliciosa, also known as a swiss cheese plant normally found in tropical areas. Originally it's from southern Mexico, south of Panama. In Western culture, it signifies suffocation because of how fast the roots and vines grow. Since it also likes to attach its leaves to whatever it's being supported by, it'll grow and cover that object in its beloved greenery. Now. In Chinese culture, it has a lot nicer meaning. They suggest that these plants symbolize longevity, along with honor for elders and respected people." Orion babbled, looking at the plant closely and sensing what it needs. He frowned and tilted his head.

"Son, you need to take a shower with her. She needs the humidity that hot showers emit. Or just get a humidifier and a humidity monitor for her. Those two you can get at a pet store, for the monitor, and at any store for the humidifier. If you can't find one, then a mister works too. Keep the humidity at about 50% if you can and I'm sure you know not to pop her in direct sunlight or black spots would appear. And not to overwater her unless you want yellow leaves instead of lush greens. Honestly, if your bathroom has a window and it's more than 40 degrees F in there, you're golden." He shrugged, looking at the leaves. "Outside of that, she's a very happy princess. Maybe ease up a bit on the water for a bit but yeah!" He grins

[Calahan Witt]

Cal wasted no time bringing his plant to the counter and gently setting her down on the counter, making sure that no leaves were crushed under the large pot. With a soft pat to the closest leaf, he stepped back to let the older man examine the plant.

He watched the man that he now knew was named Orion carefully assess his baby on the counter and he immediately felt comfortable as Orion began listing facts about the plant in front of him. Cal couldn’t help but smile at both the care that was being given to his plant and Orion’s label as the plant doctor. He rarely found people that were as passionate about plants as he was and when he found someone he felt an immediate appreciation for them. He let himself be absorbed in Orion’s words, nodding along and making mental notes of all the cool new things he was learning about his baby (Who knew that she had such different meanings in the west versus Asia!). After a moment, Cal saw a frown cross Orion’s face and his worry spiked, did he mess up so bad that his plant was going to die? But his fears were eased quickly with Orion’s words, full of suggestions. As he listened, he quickly pulled out his phone and began taking notes on how to better care for his baby.

“Bathroom!” He mumbled as he typed on his phone, trying to not miss anything. “My bathroom does have a window and it has pretty indirect sun for most of the day so i’ll make her a little space in there!”

Looking up from his phone, confident that he had all the information that he needed, he smiled brightly at Orion, bouncing slightly on the tips of his toes. “You are the best! I didn’t even think about humidity! I’ll make sure to take really good care of her!”

“How much do I-” He froze as he felt for his wallet in his pocket, coming up empty. He was in such a hurry to get his girl to someone that could help her he completely forgot his wallet. With a slight flush of embarrassment on his face he continued, “Uhhh I forgot my wallet… Do you want to just keep her while I run back to my apartment? It’ll be about… 15 minutes. I live kinda far…”

[Orion Black]

Orion smiled and relaxed against the counter, watching the young man type his response. He nodded his head and stood up, going to the register. "You're welcome, kid. Consultation's $15 and actually treating the plant myself will cost extra. But you seem to know what you need to do"

Orion glanced at the red face man and shrugged. "Leave her here and go get it. She'll be fine with me." He smiled. "But don't hurt yourself, you hear? If I find out that you ran and hurt yourself in your rush to get your wallet, I will be severely upset with you, young man." He warned. "I'll add a $5 donation as a punishment." He tried to keep the stern look, but broke and gave him a smile. "Nah, I won't actually do that. Take your time, hun. She won't go anywhere."

Orion gently set her behind the counter and pulled a little pot of rosemary towards him. "I'll be here working in 20 minutes. Or I'll let boss know if I go back."

He paused, having just processed the time and that Cal lived far before he patted his butt, feeling his wallet. "Or I can just pay for you instead?" He offered. "Do you really live 15 minutes away?"

[Calahan Witt]

Cal brought a finger to his mouth to bite at the nail, he couldn’t believe that his wallet had slipped his mind, even though it wasn’t something rare. He often forgot things in his apartment when he was in a hurry, plus never leaving anything in a consistent spot didn’t help. He nodded when he heard the price, uselessly checking his pockets again. “Okay 15… That’s cheaper than I thought it would be!” He commented under his breath

When Orion expressed a fear of Cal hurting himself, he replied with “I won’t hurt myself! I am very good at not getting hit by cars, don’t worry!” Cal smiled at Orion brightly, hoping that his half-truth came across confidently, because while he had never been hit by a car, he was very prone to hurting himself. For some reason the thought of Orion being upset with him made his chest tighten and he immediately decided that he could not let him down. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Orion’s comment, imagining Orion running after an ambulance yelling that he owed him 20 dollars.

He shook his head slightly to refocus his attention. He deflated when he heard that Orion would only be in the shop for another 20 minutes. That wasn’t enough time to get to his apartment and back, and while he was sure that the boss of the place would be fine to look after his plant, he had mentally deemed Orion as his favorite and trusted him to take care of his baby.

He watched the realization he had just made occur to Orion and he confusedly watched Orion reach to his pockets. The thought of Orion pulling out a gun to shoot him briefly appeared in his head, but he quickly pushed it to the side, especially when Orion offered to pay for him. “No I couldn’t let you do that! I have money, I promise!” He considered the travel route to his apartment and sighed. “I do live 15 minutes away if I run really fast, but I can try to run faster and get there in 10?” Cal’s face scrunched up at the thought of trying to run that fast and momentarily realized how impossible that sounded, but he could sure try.

[Orion Black]

Orion stared at the young man before him and just charged himself for the payment. "You will make yourself sick if you do that, young man. No, you're not sprinting across town to grab your wallet when I can pay for it right now."

Orion grabbed the receipt and slid it to Cal. "You shouldn't push yourself or hurt yourself to please another person. That leads to burnouts, depression, heightened anxiety, and a whole host of other issues. Take a seat, mijo. You look like you haven't had a good warm meal in a long while, which is illegal. I'll go whip you up something, okay? Any allergies I should know about?" He asked, going to the nearby sink to wash his hands.

[Calahan Witt]

Cal was at a loss for words, something that didn’t happen very often. Orion had just paid for his plant care without a second thought. He was secretly thankful that Orion didn’t want him to run across town for his wallet, because while he could he didn’t really want to. The receipt was passed across the counter to him and all he could do was offer a weak “Thank you.” to Orion.

He nodded as he listened to a list of reasons why he should take care of himself, resisting the urge to laugh when heightened anxiety was mentioned- how could his anxiety get much worse than it already was? He shook his head in an attempt to clear the thought from his mind before he jinxed himself.

Cal froze momentarily as he was ordered to sit, how had things moved so fast that he was now being offered food, and not just any food, something hot and fresh. As a college student who lived off TV dinners and sandwiches, a meal that wasn’t that sounded like heaven. “I… uh… Okay?” He cautiously sat down, ready to jump up if Orion changed his mind. He wasn’t sure how he went from carrying a plant to being fed by a stranger, but Cal supposed that was just how life was sometimes. He allowed himself to relax and gave Orion a large smile, replying “Oh allergies! I’m allergic to sesame seeds! And avocados! And latex, but you don’t eat that usually!”