Thread: The Greenhouses
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Old 07-13-2015, 02:54 AM   #23 (permalink)
Govoni


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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Dragonstone
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Lyric Bayliss-Black
Slytherin
Fourth Year
x12 x12
Default Herbology Homework #1
Zombie Apocalypse Team Leader ★ ★ in a crown of pepperoni and artisan cheese

It had been sixty-three days since he'd initially taken over care of his very own Mandrake. That was...two months, give or take a few day...and Gabe was learning a lot from this plant. For example, harvesting them must've been gratifying...because they were rather annoying. Very, very annoying. In fact, Gabe imagined they were much like human babies. Needy and whiny.

...and this just solidified him never wanting any offspring, thank you very much. No little Banners for him. His eight siblings could take care of that well enough. Yes, they could.

...but for the sake of his grade, he'd come out to Greenhouse Three every other day for these past two months; double checking that his mandrake hadn't miraculously shriveled up and perished like the one that had been displayed in their very first Herbology lesson. His mandrake hadn't, of course. He'd painstakingly watered, fertilized, and even repotted fifty-one days in. Apparently, they were more human-like than even Gabe had realized. The more it grew, the fussier it got. He'd come in to check one day; noting that dirt and soil had been slung everywhere outside of the pot. The mandrake had had a hissy fit. Apparently.

In fact, he hadn't named his mandrake until after that incident...but it had set the precedent. Hissy fits? Attitude? The answer was obvious.

Carbunculus. The latin translation of Ruby.

Entering Greenhouse Three on the sixty-third day, Gabe was RELIEVED to see that his mandrake was still in its own pot. For the past week, it had been starting to get curious; he could tell...But also, it made him wonder...Did these plants simulate more of human life in other ways? Were there strange hormones involved? Could these types of plants....have hormones, even? Or was it some type of chemical in their genetic makeup?

Noting that the leaves were looking slightly withered, Gabe dug into his bag for his earmuffs and slipped them on. He didn't want to repot again...but he wasn't ruling it out either.

"Let's take a look." He was muttering to himself, also slipping his gloves into place. Then he reached into the pot and brushed the soil around. It didn't look dry...and the smell didn't seem off to him. Or any different to how it normally smelled, to clarify. "Surely, you don't need me to repot you? Again?" Gabe's tone was mildly questioning...even if the mandrake couldn't properly respond...but then he seen something odd. Something had gotten a hold of his mandrake...as in, there looked to be bite marks on the mandrakes epidermis. "What....."

As he'd been trying to move the soil around, Carb started grabbing and biting at his hands. Not that this made much of a difference. Gabe was wearing his gloves, but still. "Will you STOP that already?" He continued rooting around, looking for the plants assailant. He had an idea...but...Oh, well...He didn't SEE anything in its soil. Odd.

"Something's been chewing on you...So, we're going to change your soil out." He'd thought perhaps flesh-eating slugs had gotten in somehow...Eh, maybe just to be safe, he'd ask the Headmistress if she had any repellent lying around. He could bring that tomorrow...and proceed from there. Hopefully, he wasn't going to get points deducted for repotting this mandrake so many times. It was completely out of his control. He couldn't watch it every moment of the day.

Finding a new pot, he took the top layer of soil from the pre-existing one and sprinkled it down into it. Transferring the mandrake over wasn't the difficult part. Not by a long shot. It was keeping it in there, now that they were nearing adulthood. Yes, it was probably just a week or so off. Or maybe, it was already there. Gabe didn't rightfully know. He wouldn't pretend to.

"Stay still!......Please." He was moving pretty quick on this job, fumbling here and there to keep the thing contained. It wasn't interested in cooperating...but EVENTUALLY, it seen reason....and Gabe might've immobilized it. Ahem. JUST FOR A MOMENT. No one needed to know about that, though. AHEM. It would wear off, anyway. All would be well. He wasn't being cruel.

After getting it situated with new soil, fertilizer, water, etc...Gabe placed it directly in the sun's rays. In fact, he even watered it some more. There.

No, he wasn't an awesome Herbologist in the making...but...well. There.
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