[RQ] ABCDE, F your bitch and keep it G

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

Kaisel squints at a nearby rose with some level of disbelief. Flowers? Flowers will help them keep the family out? He's no botanist, and far be it for him to judge the weird shit gods like to make stew with, but flowers is probably near the bottom of the list of where he would have ranked their importance in the battle against evil purple aliens.

Plucking it as he rises, Kaisel spins the bloom in his fingers as he glances up at Koa and Zavien. "Okay, I put the shears and the baskets over there, enough for each of us. We just pluck until the wagon is full, I guess." He nods his head towards a nearby ass (no not Koa) tied to a small cart, half-asleep as it waits. "Got some gloves over there too, but I ate all the snacks on the trip over, sorry." His tone suggests he isn't remotely sorry.

He leans down to grab all the specified equipment, sliding the gardening gloves on with a frown as one finger pokes through, a hole worn there from prior use. "So, anyway, like I was saying, I told the guy, you can't just scream 'trust fall' and let go of the railing like that again."

---

Grab your shears, gloves, and basket and let's get to collecting flowers~

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

I take everything seriously,

Similar to Kai - and Lena can attest to this - Zavien is not a botanist; however, he actually happens to know the name of this flower: rose. It's hard to forget when every florist tries to shove them down his throat. 'Your lady will love this!' 'Roses are the expression of true love!' 'Don't go home empty handed!' They rarely work on him when Lena works in a literal garden, but he begins to wonder if he should bring some home tonight. She deserves them.

As if reading his thoughts, Sol dives from the sky with a 'vicious' chirp/roar before wrestling a rose from its stem. The struggle leaves the flower with more petals on the ground than its bud, but the little dragon still trots up proudly to place it in the wagon. 

Rolling his eyes, Zavien lets out a sunshine laugh, snagging a set of gardening tools for himself as he listens to Kai ramble on about some interaction he'd had.

Zavien

but I also take it lighthearted to recognize I can't control it.

You won't stay with me, I know

(it wasn't on my threadlog so it wasn't in my brain I'M SORRY)

Let's round out our Three Musketeers of anti-botany with the most plant averse of them all, shall we? "I vote next time you just let him fall," Koa snorts, shaking his head at the image of the guy falling off the railing and onto his ass. He's selected some shears and a wicker basket; now he eyes the gardening gloves, ultimately deciding that there's no way he'll need them. They're just picking flowers, after all.

Koa's already managed to prick himself on a thorn by the time he's clipped his first pale rose, a red pearl of blood quickly devoured as he pops his injured thumb into his mouth. "Fuck," he mutters, setting the flower into his basket before turning an accusatory glare back to the bush. Maybe he should have gone for gloves, but it feels too late to change course now.

Koa

But you can have your way with me Till you go

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

"I'll keep that in mind next time you're the one falling," Kaisel says with a grin as he pauses his work to look at Koa. Someone seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the garden. Oh, wait, that's every time for Koa, and it delights Kaisel to no end.

At the screaming fury of a dragon Kaisel glances up, watching all of Sol's effortless grace as the dragon sets into the work with an admirable gusto, successful outcome be damned. "That's the way Sol!" Kaisel cheers, his own buds dropping into his basket behind the teeth of his shears, some petals scattering behind him. So far his gloves have kept him safe, even with the gaping hole, and it lets him get into a complacent rhythm among the thorns and blooms.

The silence of just working is a bit too much to bear, so after a brief lull, the first thought that makes it into Kaisel's mind spills free. "So do you think I could fight 100 bears and win?"

---

Keep collecting flowers!

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

I take everything seriously,

He gets to work alongside his enthusiastic dragon, snapping the shears around stems to drop them into the basket while Sol goes about his unhelpful gardening methods with another chirping roar for the crowd. Even if Zavien doubts the singed leaves and missing petals will be appreciated, the entertainment alone is worth the price, an amused smile never parting from his lips. 

Not at all bothered by any grumpiness that may be afoot, he shoots Koa a grin that suggests he's on his cousin's side for this one. Although his next question has the Dragoon reconsidering his allegiance - and the man's logic. At least Zavien can admire Kai's confidence, a disbelieving laugh echoing between the group as he snips another few roses. "Depends, are the bears hungry?" Or alive for that matter.

Zavien

but I also take it lighthearted to recognize I can't control it.

You won't stay with me, I know

Someone has to temper the Super Sunshine Bros. over here, and Koa has more than enough reasons to feel grumpy - especially where plants are involved. And while he's more than willing to be helping his temporary hosts, he can't deny feeling some sort of way about putting his time and efforts into gathering roses for King's End - time he could be using to plan the reclamation of Stormbreak.

Ah, well.

Kai is onto some new nonsense, though this time Koa raises an amused eyebrow, something squeezing in his chest. It's the kind of question his cousin has been asking randomly for years and years, a familiarly puzzling non-sequitur that uncoils his mouth into a smile. "You could totally take 100 bears," he grins, eyebrows waggling playfully. "Assuming they were Pip-sized, that is."

Speak of the devil---

Pipsqueak pops out of a nearby bush in her deranged-jack-in-the-box way, nearly startling poor Koa right out of his skin. "Pip! Fuck!" he wheezes furiously at the dragonling, whose chortles are muffled by the stems clutched in her mouth. She launches with a flap of iridescent wings, flying up to Sol to smugly display her haul. Some of the thorned stems even have charred wilted petals still attached.

Koa

But you can have your way with me Till you go

// Ring around the rosie - Pocket full of posie //

"Aren't bears always hungry?" he shoots back with a short laugh, which abruptly draws short as a thorn perfectly angles into the hole of the glove and pricks the edge of his finger's skin. He jerks his hand back with a swear, sucking on the offended appendage for a second before shaking it out beside him. A kiss for a boo-boo, even when self administered, does wonders.

Eying the rose bush with a newfound wariness, Kaisel resumes the trimming a bit more carefully. Koa's vote of confidence for him against the bears earns Kaisel's gaze for a second, careful to curl his exposed finger as he grazes onto the next stem with his clippers and gloved grip. "I would never fight 100 pip-sized bears, they'd be way too nimble. The smaller it is, the more fucked up it is to fight." Not to mention, tiny bears would be cute as fuck, could he really hit that?

The sudden jump scare rouses a return of more hearty laughter as the dragons dance around with their flower prizes. "Nice one Pip!' Kaisel commends for her excellent use of surroundings and timing to fuck with Koa, the best pastime there is.

"Wait, does being hungry make you fight better?" He pauses for a moment to look back at both of them, like he's trying to ascertain if they'll pull his leg or not. "Do you guys always fight hungry??"

---

All the flowers

Kaisel

// I'ma fucking blow all the ashes down //

I take everything seriously,

Not to be outdone by his friend, Sol returns to his flower collecting with renewed vigor, a small roar echoing through the garden as he dives into the bushes. Zavien just rolls his eyes, chuckling as he turns his attention back to his own collection and the men's on-brand conversation. He can't argue about the size of opponents, but he doubts it would be much easier to face regular sized bears. Even if they might land fewer blows, their claws would do some major damage. 

As for the hunger aspect, Zavien laughs at Kai's expression, shrugging his shoulders. "I've only done it a few times because it makes me irritable. I don't think it helps me fight 'better,' but I don't hold back quite as much." His attacks are more hasty, striking out without much thought for the strategy or how it might affect his opponent. In other words, he's mean and he doesn't like how that makes him feel afterwards. It doesn't help that being hungry leaves him tired and easily fatigued. 

Still, he looks to Koa as he sets another bundle of roses with the others. "Would you agree?"

Zavien

but I also take it lighthearted to recognize I can't control it.

You won't stay with me, I know

Pip chortles in pleasure at the praise, which serves to earn another grumble from her startled and now slightly embarrassed companion. "Don't encourage her." Not that it will make a difference - the little dragon remains convinced of her superiority in all things, including flower collecting. So of course she responds to Sol's challenge in kind, diving after the younger (but now larger) dragon with her own squawked roar. If she focuses more on nipping Sol's tail and wrestling him into submission than actually collecting flowers, well. Given the state of her last offering, perhaps that's for the best.

Depositing two more roses in the basket (without any injuries this time, thank you very much), Koa pats the dust off his hands. "Fighting hungry is never a good plan," he agrees with Zavien. "Hunger makes you reckless and weak. That's why I always have some jerky on me." Well, that and in case Pip got cranky and desperately needed a snack.

"Speaking of snacks, who's up for lunch? I feel like we've got more than enough flowers." Actually, Koa feels like Frey could have grown the damn flowers themselves, but that's neither here nor there. He waits for his friends to deliver the last of their bounty before hiking the basket on his arm, feeling they've done more than enough gardening to deserve the reward of a nice cold beer.

[fin]

Koa

But you can have your way with me Till you go