2024-11-15 - Trees and Melons

It is the usual hustle and bustle of the day at the theme park and everyone is working hard to make sure the guests are having the best experience possible. From the rides to the food to...the rescuing a lost balloon from a tree.

Not quite the typical cat situation, it is no less of a serious mission. With a tear filled young girl clinging to her mother's hand as she watches the rescue efforts unfold. The rescuer? Hawthorne!

He had been working on some of the plants nearby when he heard the cry of the young girl. The balloon had become stuck in the branches of a tree, but thankfully that helped it to not escape further. So carefully, Hawthorne brought his ladder over and began to climb. He was used to climbing the ladder. So that wasn't difficult. What WAS difficut was making sure to free the balloon without popping it against the branches.

After a little concentration the branches finally release the balloon and Hawthorn keeps a firm hold of the string as he climbs down. A grateful girl quickly lets go of her mother's hand and an even more grateful mother follows her forward. Meltdown averted!

After thank yous and insisting it was no trouble, the pair make their way off to enjoy the rest of their day at the park. Hawthorne looks back up to the tree, giving an amused smile and shake of his head as he starts to move the ladder.

"Aren't you the hero of the hour," a familiar, bright voice says with delighted amusement. When Hawthorne turns, he'll find Artemisia in a pink confection of a dress with an apron partially covering it and her blonde hair in curls. There's a smudge of paint on her cheek, indicating what she's been working on today. It matches the palette of colors on the apron which is not too many, she's a tidy painter in the same way she's a tidy pianist with little wasted motion. A contrast to how she is the rest of the time.

"You want a soda? They had melon," Artemisia says with genuine pleasure, offering Hawthorne a bottle or a can.

The familiar voice has Hawthorne setting the ladder back in place under a different tree and chuckling to Artemisia. "Hardly. The ladder did all the work." However, with the offer made next he lofts a brow.

"Though if it gets me melon soda I could accept the title." Stepping forward he takes the bottle and offers his own in a cheers before drinking. It was obviously refreshing by how he gives a small sigh after. "Thanks. That hit the spot." Smiling to her now he nods, "How have you been?"

"You probably could climb the tree barehanded, but you'd be worried about hurting the bark. Tree skin? Is that really what it's called?" Artemisia checks with a tip of her head, curls brushing her ear. "Melon is the soda of champions," she agrees, offering it over.

"Busy. Doing official portraits for the palace," Artemisia says with a curtsey of her pink gown-fetti. It fluffs outward like a flower or a Selkie dress. "It seems like things are picking up despite the season."

There's a grin at her comment about the bark. "Well it's the same concept. The bark is like our skin and when it gets ripped away it can hurt the layer under called the cambium layer. That can affect how water and nutrients are distributed through the tree and if the wound is big enough and untreated it can cause an infection or even kill the tree. The wounds from climbing it would be like a scratch or small cut to our arm and...sorry."

Hawthorne blinks and distracts himself by looking to his soda now. "Bramble Ramble. That's what my Grandma used to call it when my Grandpa and I would go on tangents about plants. Melon though. The superior soda." Looking to her he smiles again before taking a drink from the soda.

He lofts a brow then with her answer, "Official portraits? That sounds official." Duh. "That's cool though I'm sure they'll all turn out great."

"I'm going to start calling you Bramble, Riv," Artemisia informs Hawthorne with a teasing smile, rocking back and forth on her feet. She brushes a hand along her apron. "So it seems. At this point I think they've just got me doing some props around the park when tourists aren't milling. Not that I mind. It's fun and I still get to play the piano."

"There are definitely worse names," Hawthorne says with a small smile and he definitely doesn't seem to mind the nickname at all.

With her comment his gaze then goes around the park, "Yeah. I somehow still get surprised by just how much goes into keeping a place like this running."

His attention turning to her again now, "Piano huh? We should have a jam session sometime...a kalimba and piano are similar concepts after all."

"It does make you sound like some kinda a fairytale creature though," Aretmisia points out, sipping at her soda. As for the park well, "There are a lotta plants."

"Can't say I've ever jammed with a kalimba," she says wryly.

"I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing," Hawthorne says with a laugh. He nods then, "Definitely a lot of plants." It's said fondly though.

The comment about the kalimba earns a small grin, "We should fix that sometime. If you want. I think it'd be fun."

"Well, we'll just have to get you a plant crown and pointed ears," Artemisia decides, glancing around for some branches on the ground. Alas, most of the fall foliage has been cleaned up. "I'll figure something out." She has a crafting stash.

"Love to!" She says brightly. "I'm always down to play."

At the mention of the attire he grins, "Don't test me. I'll wear it around the park. Learn a regal handwave and everything."

Hawthorne relaxes more with the conversation. "Awesome. Let me know when you're available. We'll throw the best concert this park has seen."

"I think-" There's a flash of brightness in Artemisia's dark eyes. "That would be delightful. The regal gardener. What a cool thing." Like an elf prince.

"The Regal Gardener. At your service," Hawthorne offers with a mock bow. Standing upright again he grins and takes a drink of soda. Then he's looking back to her again, "How about after my shift? I don't have much longer and just need to wash up after so I don't smell like dirt and grass. I don't mind the fragrance, but it's not for everyone," he says before chuckling.

"Very elegant," Artemisia says with a curtsy that she almost manages to fall out of. The blonde laughs. "Sure thing. Just text me? I have a shift for a bit so maybe we do an evening thing."

Hawthorne nods and offers a smile, "Sure thing. I hope you have a good rest of your shift."