Just in Thyme Youth & Beauty Brigade
#1
The other night: bad. Felt bad. Maybe not actually bad because he started it and really she'd just tried to finish it, but he didn't wanna.

Regardless, she spent a day inside, being good and quiet and studious, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble. But 24 hours was about all she could handle and she slinked out. The volume on her phone was cranked all the way up, just in case her parents called or mamani called to yell at her and send her back on the first flight. Or maybe the police would haul her away.

Or maybe no one would say anything. He took her pants, afterall. They'd understand. The plants would understand, at least. And she needed them now. A few dollars in her pocket meant a few plants in her arms. And Nousha wasn't picky.

When she walked in, the smell of spices and earth encapsulated her. It was safe here. No one could touch her here. She made a beeline for the register because it would be best to just ask exactly what they had. But there was no one there at the moment. She waited for a second, before she started tapping an invisible bell with a grin. "Ding, ding, ding." She giggled.
#2

fit



You know what the perfect fix to feeling awkward and alone in your own apartment was? Plants that you will eventually end up killing. It actually probably should have been illegal for her to buy any of these. Was there such a thing as plant protective services? PPS.

Vegans.

For now, it seemed there weren't any in sight. Actually, no one in sight. Which was fine, she guessed. She wasn't in a hurry to get out of here, and she didn't want someone creepily watching her as she shopped. So Mikey was fine with the idea of eventually being tended to when she approached the register, figuring they had a camera or something for someone to see. Whatever, she was just glad she wasn't the girl who was busting in right now to be low-key obnoxious.

Like, okay, she wasn't here to ruin anyone's vibes, but it was kind of cringy. Like, obviously the employee was doing something important if they weren't up here. Why not just... browse until you saw someone? Yikes. Mikey, don't be such a dick.

Glancing away from a rack of climbing plants, she waited for a few beats to see if anyone immediately arrived. "Uh. Think they're busy." She supplied helpfully.
#3
Nousha hadn't even noticed the other woman roll up behind her, so she started and spun around, her eyes going green. Her hand dinging the fake bell pulled away, crossing away behind her back. Embarassing. She hadn't realized someone was right behind her! Even more reason for someone to man the register, but oh well. She could browse.

"Right! I just thought maybe someone would." Nousha gave a little shrug and scooted to the side, twidding her fingers behind her back for a moment. "Are you here for plants, too?" Maybe she could help! And find something for herself at the same time.
#4
Abraham was washing his hands of a messy timeline, scrubbing inconsistencies from beneath his nails and in the cracks of his knuckles at the sink upstairs.

Hearing... voices? Was that a bell? He briefly turned off the faucet, then called down with a forced smile so that it would carry in his voice:

"Be right down!"


skippable for a bit, I'll hop in :3

#5
Yeah. She just thought if she was annoying enough then someone would come. Which, she guessed had worked in the end, since she heard the sound of a voice not-so-unclearly. Were hearing. She dropped her focus back on the girl. Was she here for plants? In a plant shop?

Meike smirked wryly. "Nope, I was looking for pool floats, actually." She informed.
#6
Pool floats? Did they sell those here? Nousha sort of looked around, as if she'd see any signs of pool floats.

"I bet they have plant-themed ones," Nousha reassured her with a grin. "I'm really trying to find like...A cactus or maybe some mint! for my cousin." And anything that caught her eye. Something with big verigated leaves, maybe.
#7
Meike huffed through her nose, not realizing the chick didn't know it was a joke. It wasn't a very funny comeback, but she was trying to be nice, okay? Plus, she was distracted by the kind of... fuzzy feeling around the girl. It was hard to put into words, but Mike knew what it meant. Were. A sniff check brought her the smell of... what was it? Through the perfume of a hundred and one plants, it was hard to place.

Just Were, then.

Cactus or mint, for a cousin. Neat. "I think, uhhh," Meike stepped back from the plants before her, glancing around, wondering why she was doing someone else's job for them. "I saw some cactuses up this way."
#8
"Ooo!" Nousha followed the stranger. Every plant they passed, she would lean over a give a sniff. It was quite overwhelming in here, and she did open her mouth a bit, as if it would help her human brain process it all a bit better. Mingled with the smell of herbs and soil and green was the smell of something...scaly?

"Do you like cacti?" She leaned in close to the woman, nostrils flaring.
#9
Mikey smirked at the question, head bobbling noncommittally between and a shake and a nod. "They're the only thing I don't end up killing." Except the succulents she'd forgotten for four months on her dresser. Whoops. Those didn't count!

"They're like... baby's first houseplant."
#10
Her face crinkled a little, a little dusting of amusement. "That's very impressive. Some succulents are so finicky."

Her nose (and face) lifted from their proximity to the woman and turned to appraise a little cactus that peeked around the corner of an end cap. It was darkish green and had three tendrils leaning over the sides of its pot. "This is a Christmas cactus!" Nousha would point to it, not wanting to pick it up without intent to purchase.
#11
Abraham wasn't especially keen to break up the conversation downstairs. It meant he took his time washing up, drying, and now making his way down the steps. Hardly sneaking, but no boisterous "HOW MAY I HELP YOU?!" accompanying it, either.

But it did feel rude not to say anything, so he-

Oh, phew. Weres. Definitely weres. The jaguar clocked in on one in particular, but Abraham didn't push on it. Instead he headed toward the register, but also spoke out a polite "Let me know if I can help you with anything."
#12
Impressive wasn't the word she'd use, but she took the compliment anyway. The chick was immediately interested in one, giving Mike a window to remove herself from the situation, if she really wanted to. But, it was hard when they were literally the only two people in here. Except, they weren't! Because here came noises. The lizard in her head rumbled her brain meat, and she stretched up on her toes to peer over at the guy arriving at the counter.

Ehhhhhhhh. Whaaaat?

Squinting, she glanced back down at the girl, then up at the dude. Both had vibes. Were vibes. Same vibes. Except the dude had... a lot about him, actually. It was all weird and impossible to really put a finger on. Made her kind of just want to leave. She looked expectantly to Bell Girl. She was the one with the questions right.
#13
Wait wait wait. Nousha peeped over the aisle as well towards the man at the counter. Excitement rattled up from her toes to the top of her head. She did definitely need help now! Bright green eyes looked at the Christmas cactus again before she decided to abandon it for now. She'd definitely be coming back for it, but her mind was on a set of traintracks that did not include the pokey green gangle.

"Oh, yes!" She smiled at the scaly stranger, assuming now that they were shop friends and she would follow, and wound back through the aisles towards the register. "Do you guys have any mint?"
#14
Customer service mode: activated. He smiled, if kind of vacantly, to the question. The jaguar continued to make noise. Honk honk, lizards were food, honk honk, jaguars were "friends."

He should have recognized one of these women from a memory that once had scarred him, but now had maybe just burned itself straight out of his memory. Instead, he glanced dumbly from her to the fellow jaguar.

"Yeah, sure," he said, steadily rounding out from behind the counter. "You looking for dry or fresh or a live plant?"
#15
She... did follow. Not entirely of her own volition. There was a giant lizard in her brain that wanted to glide and sink and listen. But there wasn't any water here, dumbass. So she just sort of ghosted behind the loud girl and listened instead. Watched, more like it. Felt, maybe? The conversation was boring. But the vague shapes bobbling in the Lizardverse was something she felt like she needed to pay attention to.

Scratching at her arm idly, she frowned as she looked the guy over. His face was. A face. There was a memory with it. What was it?

The crocodile's low grumble was unsettling. Did it remember something she didn't? How did that work?
#16
She was very excited now. Plants. Weres. Another jaguar, which was exciting less in a prey sort of way and more in a friend, tense, bouncy, loud way. But she would keep it together by intentionally bumming herself out with the bar incident. "A live one. As a gift! And," Nousha looked over at the scaly woman. "I think she was looking for something, too?" Nousha still hadn't really gotten a straight answer about that. Other than pool floats. Maybe cacti?
#17
Honk honk. Pls let touch. The jaguar reached a fat-beaned paw out, and Abraham's hand moved of its own accord for a few inches before he snapped his brain back together. He was not going to just slap a hand on this woman to play jaguar meet and greet. She could have been one of Frank's. Or Asha's. Or. He wasn't sure. Abraham was deficient in the radar that determined rogue from group were.

"Good gift," he said, then looked to the other woman, who was... frowning. Frowning.

Why did she seem familiar? It made his face droop some, too. Jaguar howled in suffering.
#18
The other girl babbled. But she stared at the guy. And he looked back. And...

She remembered.

Remembered a jammed door knob that she broke. A dark room with TV's and... "Porn guy!" She said in accusation, a hand lifting to point at him, realizing a second too late how out of pocket that sounded without context.

Fuck it, this dude threw her in a fucking dumpster!
#19
This took a turn. It became exciting in a completely different way.

"Porn...guy?" Her eyes went wide, her smile excited as she looked between the two of them.
#20
Porn guy.

Porn guy. Porn guy. Abraham's confusion was genuine at first, mouth agape, head tilting.

But then questions began to answer themselves. And his face felt hot. Because he wasn't porn guy. It had been an accident. What the fuck could Abraham do but-

"We don't... have that here," he said, going all in on confusion.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK.
#21
HEH.

It came out so wrong without context. Which was equal parts hilarious as it was humiliating. Immediately, the poor chick was confused, and the dude looked like he wanted to die and also kill her. Die and kill. Could both be done?

He tried to treat it as a request, but like hell was she letting herself be embarrassed here. "I saved you, 'member?" She clarified with a jump of her eyebrows and a reptilian smile. "You got locked in a porn room. Then you dumped in a dumpster when I shifted." She remembered. The lizard remembered. Hiss, hiss, cat man.
#22
Nousha was an innocent and yet incredibly interested bystander now.

Porn guy. Dumpsters. What was this crisp drama? Her life had never been this interesting back at home.

To be honest, she probably looked a little too excited about what was happening, eyes wide and a huge grin spread across her face.
#23
His face was hot. Time to leave this conversation as quickly as possible. You know. Immediately.

"I'd thought it was a bathroom," he said, which sounded weak coming out of his mouth even though he absolutely knew it was the truth. "I can, uh. There's basil..."

Abraham stared around the shop, blind despite working five days a week here. Where was basil? What was basil? Who was basil?

"That way. I'll, uh. Be at the counter. When you're ready to ring up."
#24
He thought the dumpster was a bathroom?

Or, oh. Yeah.

Look at him backpedal. She kind of felt bad for him, if she was being completely honest. But then again, the dumpster. His wife or whatever the fuck that had helped her in the morning was fine, but this was a perfectly clandestine moment to truly exact her revenge.

Grinning, she glanced to the other girl. "Just don't knock him over, and he'll be fine." She lent her a word of advice, before turning on her heel to call after the cat dude. "We're even now! Have a good one!"

Pocketing her hands, Mike abandoned her perusal for the day, letting the dude off the hook as she glided away with a crocodile grin.
#25
And as quickly as it had started, it was over. He aimed her towards the basil. She made her way to leave. Nousha would be left in silence again.

"...bye!" She called out with the most pregnant of delays. And then Nousha simply went back to collect the cactus and the basil, trying not to engross herself too deeply in anything else because of money and things.

When she returned to the counter, she could only smile as she set her items down.
#26
Even now. Abraham wanted to crawl out of his skin but leave the skin behind as a decoy. And he was probably supposed to send this jaguar to Asha or something. Ugggh. UGGGHH. His brows tried to cross for the sheer intensity of his Don't Want, but ultimately as one were left and the other approached him, he mashed them separate for customer service reasons.

"It's a long story," he grunted in acknowledgment anyway. "Do you know Asha?"

This as he grabbed a scanner gun to blip against one of the product labels.
#27
She really really really really really wanted to tell him that she would actually clear her entire schedule to hear this story, but he offered her a question instead, which was fine. Because!

"I do!" Wow it felt good to actually know something. "She's so wonderful. Do you know her? You really should if you don't." Nousha felt like puffing out her chest a little, striding around except she didn't have anywhere to walk. So she just stood there grinning like she had found the best rock in the world and everyone needed to know about it or they were a fool.
#28
If nothing else, that lifted his spirits. Abraham huffed a laugh.

"Yeah. I know her," he said. Beep, beep, ringing up plants. Inevitably Asha would hear about this, but she knew the story? Or- shit. No. She did not know the story. Abraham considered flashing his ring, but found that gesture definitely embarrassing. Leave that one for the ladies.

"We're, uh. Engaged, actually. But mostly I wanted to make sure you knew about her prowl and stuff."
#29
Nousha's eyes went absolutely wide and bright green and excited. They. Were. Engaged? And she didn't know. But that was OK. Cause she didn't know Asha that well yet, even though that didn't even really matter that much.

"That's so amazing! Congratulations!" She went loud. The plants were forgotten. "I mean, I've heard about it, but I haven't asked. Even though I definitely should. She gave me a job! As a lifeguard." So much information. But they were best friends by association now. There was a lot of catching up to do.
#30
Big happy jaguar energy. If he was going to send anyone to Asha, it would definitely be this chick. He nodded slow to the congratulations. Abraham's friends had... not been exactly ecstatic about the arrangement. He could take happiness from relative strangers.

"Cove seems like the perfect place to be a lifeguard," he said. No shitty weather. No shitty kids. "If you're into the prowl kind of thing, you should ask her. I bet she'd love to have you."

He finished by rattling off a total for the plants at a price point that wordlessly expressed "We're not Lowes, but doesn't it feel nice to support a local business?"
#31
Nousha blushed a little. She was very into the prowl thing and was very interested. It was definitely a subject worth broaching. She missed her family and all the feelings that came with them. "Yeah, I definitely will!"

The blush turned to flush at the total. She hadn't really looked at the price tags. She had to dig through her wallet and pick out change, handing it over cupped in the bills. "Thank you," She smiled at him, always fast to recover. "You have really pretty plants, so I'll definitely be back."
#32
Paid in cash, down to the change. He didn't get that a lot from customers her age. He dropped it into the tray, lining the bills appropriately, coins clacking.

"Thanks," he said. "Should be little care cards in each plant."

A nod, the remembered they were gifts. Still useful.

"Tell Asha I said hi, if you see her."
#33
"I will." Nousha giggled because he would almost 100 percent see her first so it would be like a fun little surprise.

And then she gave a little wave, scooped up her plants, and left.
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