like a weed, naturally, as a matter of course

@forgivengear

"Mm, there is one at the mall. Come with me, and we can chat on the way." They hold out their arm for her to take, figuring that the young Gear would want to walk around arm in arm.

@forgivengear

"The latter, actually." They lean forward, tilting their head from one side to the other, before deciding on something.

"Hm, well, it is a 50% chance, isn't it? But I will oblige..."

"It is personal I suppose, but I really don't mind answering. Especially since I approached you first." Perhaps once upon a time they would have felt it too sensitive a subject to answer. Perhaps once upon a time such a question would hurt them to speak on, but if they did not live with their sins, then who would?

Understanding dawns on him even as he looks mildly taken aback. They talk about bonsai like some work of art, but he'd rarely seen those principles applied to the living. Trees, flowers, fruit—in his time they served practical purposes only, to be consumed or used, not admired.

"I suppose if you have a small lizard or other frugivorous pet, that's not a bad idea." They still can't help but chuckle, almost turning into a full-on laugh, or about as close as they could get, when he continued speaking and asked his next question.

Arms crossed, Veoc watches patiently as the old man before him extolls the virtues of the world's smallest pomengranate tree. The leaves are full and the trunk intricately twisted; as the man moves on to praising the fruit, the major general's eyes wander to the figure beside him listening with equal attention.

"It's bonsai." They lean over and whisper to the embarrassed man, almost a stage whisper at this point, to make sure if the owner of the carefully cultivated bonsai overheard the dark haired man, he knew they were correcting him.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Things back home must be dire indeed for you to feel grateful to your captors,⠀❜ ⠀⠀DOROTHY ⠀says with what can only described as the opposite of reverence — although a similar level of astonishment. It stood out among everything else this stranger said; although it was all helpful (free housing already puts it several steps above the Ark, but not necessarily above Eden — a good gauge for its policies), how wonderful must a place be to evoke that level of complacency ? … Then again, humans have been complacent within the Ark for decades — aside from the lucky few who make it to a more veritable paradise in Eden. So, by that logic... Could this place be a paradise by comparison for a lot of these humans ? Or are they simply making the best out of a bad situation ? It's a start, merely a thought, but one worth taking into consideration as she gets to know this island.

"Not dire, but once you reach over 100 and have been through the Crusades, you learn to appreciate the small things, such as living in proximity to fairies and other forest folk." A chuckle, and they place a hand on some of the stray plants in the entry of the housing district.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Well, that certainly explains how you can be so cavalier about it.⠀❜ ⠀⠀TRUTHFULLY, ⠀she couldn't be any more unsettled. Had this stranger struck up conversation mere seconds earlier, it may have been the last little bit of stimulus that sent her careening towards a meltdown. Indeed, some of the potential bite still lingers in her voice. But more than anything, that mention of experience on their part is what assuaged Dorothy; she didn't trust them or this place for a second, but they could have a whole host of useful information in the interim.

"I suppose so. Truly, at this point, I can hardly afford not to be cavalier about it." The hesitation is noted, but not remarked upon. Surely had they EXE Beast, or even their scythe, it may be even more understandable.