[OPEN] When it snows, ain't it thrilling

[distinctive_guy]

CHARACTERS: distinctive_guy and YOU
DATE: Dec 11 (Day 22 Night to Day 23 Morning)
RATING: Swearing, should be pretty tame
SUMMARY: Winter's coming. Eliot needs to close down the Greenhouse and prepare the plants for it.

Comments

[lostonlifesroad]

Kakashi had spent the majority of his time since his arrival exploring the compound that seemed to house the captives of the island. He needed to not only get an idea of the people around (including any that might be present from his home), but also of the resources available. That had been why he was happy to see a greenhouse, even one that looked fairly run down. Should a medical ninja arrive, they would hopefully have access to herbs and plants that could be vital in fighting against poison and illness alike.

Though he lacked the skill set of that particular class, Kakashi knew some of the more common flora to look for. He headed inside the structure, only to find someone hard at work. "Oh. Hey there." Kakashi lifted a hand in greeting to the man. "I didn't realize anyone was inside. Are you the caretaker here?"

[distinctive_guy]

Eliot took a second to run a critical eye over the strange gray-haired young man that walked in. One thing he noticed about the island was the strange influx of people with strange appearances, so that didn't bother him as much as the mask did.

"Hey," he answered, wiping his forehead with the back of his sleeve and therefore smudging a bit of dirt onto his face. "Guess you can kinda say that. The place ain't mine, but someone needs to take care of it." And a lot of taking care of did he do.

[lostonlifesroad]

Well, it wasn't the first time Kakashi had received a hard look in his life. He took a few steps further into the greenhouse, since the man hadn't openly turned him away. Instead he grinned, the cheery expression readable in spite of the mask.

"Sounds like you qualify then--and look the part, with that touch of make-up."

Kakashi glanced at the plants around the man; between what he saw and the chill in the air, it wasn't difficult to guess what had the guy working so hard. "Do you need a hand for a bit? I'm no expert, but I can probably do some basic things okay." Not only would it give him a chance to look around, but it never hurt to endear himself to a person who could help out in the future. If Sakura or another medic arrived, having the contact already established would save valuable time.

[distinctive_guy]

Make-up? What? Looking down at the arm he used to wipe his forehead and face with, Eliot scowled when he realized what the other man must be getting at. But the annoyance was quickly smoothed away to a curious look by the offer to help.

"No, really? You know anythin' about the different plants?" True help was hard to find, and after having been at this back breaking work for nearly a day -in 24 hour counts- he wouldn't mind having anyone who could lend a hand. It would be nice if the other knew something about gardening plants and could tell a tomato plant from a squash vine, but if needs be, he could always direct the labor.

"I'm Eliot, by the way."

[lostonlifesroad]

"Kakashi." Mild annoyance (and mild amusement on Kakashi's part) aside, Eliot seemed willing enough to go with it. "Well, it depends on whatever differences there are between the plants here and where I'm from." Kakashi still had a hard time thinking of it as two different worlds. "But in general, I know what's edible, what's medicinal, and what's poisonous. If nothing else, I'm good for physical labor, although I would like to get an idea of just what's growing in here too."

[distinctive_guy]

"Nothin' better than throwin' yourself in, man, to learn the plants," Eliot agreed, nodding to Kakashi to join him where he was. "Doubt you'd find many purely poisonous ones here. Guess you can come across some that're also doubled as herbs." He shrugged, knowing that one plant could be all of the above at once. It depended on the parts of it really.

"Just pick any ripe fruits you see and put'em in the barrels. That side's still not done. If ya got any questions, hollar. Or leave the ones ya don't know alone."

The plants for most part were the same as the ones on Earth, so Eliot was quite familiar with most of them, not to mention he pretty much familiarized himself with them for over two months in this place.

[lostonlifesroad]

"Sure. Sounds easy enough." Especially with Eliot's straight-forward manner; Kakashi appreciated it, especially since he did have a number of questions he still wanted to ask. Eliot's ease within the greenhouse hopefully implied more than just a comfort with gardening, but a longevity on the island Kakashi lacked.

He moved only as far away from the other man as necessary to start his task. Kakashi didn't relish the idea of wearing his voice out "hollaring," and summoning a clone would be wasteful with the promise of monsters around.

"Have you been on the island for long?"

[distinctive_guy]

Eliot eyed the other man out of the corner of his gaze as he cleaned up the area he was in.

"Long enough," he replied gruffly as he hacked off an annual plant and pulled its roots out with a quick pull. The dead stem and roots went to join the ever growing pile. "Too long."

It was a fair question and one that told him that the probably was a new arrival as well. "You came with the new people last night?" He noticed that there were a few new 'just arrived' messages on the network again, and by his count, it was about the right time more people were brought to the island.

[lostonlifesroad]

The paired answeres spoke as readily to Eliot's weariness of the place as scars or tears would. They hinted at a fatigue Kakashi had seen on battlefields, and felt for himself a time or two. Eliot would probably be able a fair share of Kakashi's questions, then--but whether he wanted to remained yet to be seen.

"Yeah." The question had been as much of a give away to that as a sign probably would have. He started picking fruit from a low bush, keeping his eye ahead while he worked. "At least according to my internal clock. But the sky says different."

Kakashi thumbed up toward the glass, where the dark of night still could be seen. "Is that sort of thing normal here?"

[distinctive_guy]

"That'd depend where you came from, wouldn't it?" Eliot knew by now that people came from different worlds, if such a thing could be believed, and that where Kakashi was from could very well not be the same Earth he was, if it was Earth at all.

He tossed a grin that looked more like a grimace over his shoulder at the strangely masked man. "Days function on 84 hours, puts it on three and a half day cycles if you're from Earth." The majority of the people seemed to be. "Whole sky's different. Moon, stars..." He shook his head in what might be exasperation over an old topic, "Sun runs for approximately 12 hours before leavin' the rest as night."

Turning back to his work, he added neutrally, "You'll get used to the differences." Meaning he analyzed, memorized, and readjusted himself to them until he can get off the damned island.

[lostonlifesroad]

"The breakdown of hours into Earth days sounds right, for where I'm from." Thankfully Kakashi had already been introduced to the idea of different worlds. Different languages, technologies, and abilities, yet the ones in charge saw fit to change the one thing that two people from different worlds might have in common.

"As used to it as you are, Eliot-san?" Now Kakashi looked behind him, his expression sympathetic. "I hope you understand when I say that I'd really rather not."

[distinctive_guy]

The answer drew a displeased snort from Eliot, which quickly darkened to a scowl when, only after hearing the other address him with the honorific suffix, did he realize that the other was speaking Japanese. All this time the fact he understood the youth was from the communicator translating in his ear and he hadn't realized it. Being that 'used to it' was a disconcerting thought.

"Then you better get outta here quickly, cause you won't survive otherwise." Still scowling at his own lapse, he took it out on the plant he was clearing. With a tug, he pulled the whole thing out by its roots and tossed it into the pile.

[lostonlifesroad]

That earned a quiet laugh from Kakashi's end, even as he sympathized with the other man's growing frustration. He stood up with an armful of fruit and turned toward the nearest barrel. While it would be easier to just throw them, Kakashi thought better of it. If this was to be winter rations, better not to have the fruit bruised

[distinctive_guy]

It wasn't even Kakashi that Eliot was annoyed at, but he would welcome any excuse given to him by the young man to include him in his wrath. Yet when the occasion never arisen, the hitter's frustration slowly ebbed back to the tightly controlled knot in the core of his being.

"Length's got nothin' to do with it," he huffed, allowing for the new conversation shift even though this one also carried its own hidden whirlpools. "Mission tokens... they're... it's just..." After several frustrating false starts, Eliot just made a soft growl and spat out, "There's lotsa hidden rules to'em."

He wasn't denying that he was constantly looking for other ways too because Kernos couldn't be trusted to keep their word. It was one thing he hadn't stopped doing.

[lostonlifesroad]

Kakashi had been careful not to make himself a target of Eliot's ire. Luckily his way with words held true, and he avoided including himself on the man's metaphorical firing range. Still, the man clearly had a lot of emotion that wanted to get out, and the jounin knew he still had to tred carefully.

"Rules that you found out about the hard way, I take it." Even with his anger, up to this point Eliot had been able to speak easily. The way he stuttered then indicated to Kakashi that Eliot would rather forget the experiences that led to those discoveries.

"Would you mind sharing? Even if you don't want to tell me exactly what happened, I'd appreciate being able to avoid the same pitfalls."

[distinctive_guy]

Contrary to what Kakashi thought, while Eliot's stuttering had to do with high strung emotions, he wasn't desiring to forget about it. He wouldn't be able to if he tried, and it wasn't by far the worst thing he remembered.

Still, Eliot breathed heavily through his nose twice before he opened his mouth in a wry grimace. When he spoke again, he didn't turn to face Kakashi. "Missions," the way he said it showed his contempt for the mockery of the word, "give you tokens only if ya ain't in the same role back to back."

He seemed to have calmed down a bit and returned to a methodological clearing of the garden plants. Each turn of the phrase was emphasized with a hand motion. "You're on the field the first time, alright, stay behind as support for the next. It probably ain't the only hidden rule, but it's the first one."