[mtuan,]

Username: mtuan,
Buttermilk: Abby
Prompt: Staring at the little plant, Abby is unsure of what it will grow into yet- perhaps something real nice like a flower? Or something edible like a vegetable? Taking an extra glance at the pot- okay no matter how hard the girl would have looked, there was no way she would know anything off the top of her head. Instead, she couldn't help but reach for the books instead. She reaches for a particular book on the bookshelf and brings it down to her level, flipping open the pages to have a look inside. Abby would have been lying if it said it did not take her a couple hours to figure it out, but it looked like it could be of a flowery sort! A flower! A flower! By the looks of the stem and the little leaves that could be unfurling (okay- maybe she was still grasping for straws, here), Abby thinks it could be a flower? Oh- what if it was a tulip! [166 words]

[extra]
Abby does find planting to be rather stressful- more or less impatient about the process, she simply wants the plant to grow already! And it kind of brings her a sort of madness to know that it is growing so slowly. The only way she knows to console herself is to look at different ways of giving it nutrients- through supplements and water, and she simply hopes for the best from there. [72 words]

[Ravendarus]

Username: Ravendarus
Buttermilk: Koromo
Prompt: Koro beamed happily as she checked her sprout again, she was so surprised but happy to see the plant growing more every day it seemed like now. It just kept getting bigger and it was exciting. "Come to think of it." She said to her sprout softly, "I wonder what you will grow into!" She said. "I mean... Sorrel didn't exactly say what kind of seeds she gave me." She said. "I don't know what it is... I've never seen a sprout like you, then again I have never really seen sprouts really... I didn't think about it." She said. "Maybe you are a beautiful flower!" She said, "OR! You could be a herb or some kind of fruit or veggie! I don't think you could be a tree though... those take years to grow right? I'd be waiting a long time to find out... I'd need a bigger pot!" She said. "So... hopefully something smallish." She chuckled. "Just so you don't outgrow your home yet." She said gently.

(169)

Username: Ravendarus
Buttermilk: Koromo
Prompt: Extra

Koro mused gently as she looked at the plant, at first she had stressed a bit because she was worried it wasn't going to grow, she had done so many things to help the plant along that she had just bonded with it. Then once it showed she decided the best thing that she did to relax herself and bond with the sprout was to listen to music and sing to it gently. This was what she decided was the best way to enjoy time with the little sprout and ensure that it was going to grow. "Ohhh I do love to sing with you." She said, "W-Well ah... to you! Since you can't really sing back, or maybe you can and I just don't understand plant language... maybe we have been bonding through music the whole time! I like that idea... it's a nice one." She hummed gently as she softly sang to the sweet little sprout.

(158)

[DarkestWerewolf]

Username: DarkestWerewolf
Buttermilk: Aria
Prompt: 4 + extra - 235 words


Aria stepped into the greenhouse once more, doing her daily routine check on her plants. As she turned and headed toward her plants, the smile on her face grew. All her pots had sprouted and some pots even had a few more sprouts. The sprouts that had sprouted before had now grown much bigger.

Aria squealed, ecstatic about her planting progress and journey to be a green fingers. She happily went into the storage to take more egg shells and fertiliser, carefully spreading them into the pot. She had no idea what these would grow into but she’s excited. As she recalled, Sorrel just gave her a medley of seeds, all without their packaging and no mention of what kind of plant it would become. Could it be flowers? Maybe a fruit? Or what about a vegetable?

The cow drizzled some water over her plants and set it aside. She admired all the little green sprouts so much. It showed that she was making progress. Just then, an idea popped into her head. She dashed out of the greenhouse, returning with a small radio a few minutes later. She grabbed a nearby sun chair and switched on the radio. Music filled the air. Apparently she read that music is good for growing plants. Thus, she spent the entire afternoon on her sun chair, classical music in the background and with the company of her sprouts.

[yeena]

Username: ceance

Buttermilk: Hanahaki
Prompts: Hanahaki couldn't lie and try to say that he knew what the plant was going to be. He was confused by the multiple sprouts, the weird growing pattern. Alluro wasn't consistent in his growth at all, the stalks didn't match any of the pictures in his mind or journals that explained the plants. He really wasn't sure if he was just blindsided by the fact that Alluro threw him off guard with taking so long to germinate or if it was the fact that he simply wasn't able to find any good descriptions of his plant. He decided to finally shrug it off eventually, just allowing Alluro to do his own thing.
He wasn't too concerned about the plant, as long as it kept growing normally, he would appreciate the gift from Sorrel regardless. He smiled and adored his little sprout, sometimes even softly talking to him when he had the extra time between watering all the rest of his plants. Hanahaki didn't mind treating Alluro with all the adoration in the world, cooing at his pretty, lush leaves and the short stalks sprouting up right now. [187W]

Hanahaki wasn't keen on messing with his plants much, for the fear of disturbing their peace in their corners and else. He didn't have much time to talk to his plants, but he did try to focus softly speaking to Alluro. While he didn't plan on painting Alluro's pot or anything yet, he did slowly start to look for pretty pots online that would eventually become Alluro's home. In the instance that he got to keep Alluro, that was. He wasn't sure if Sorrel would want her darling back or not; if she did, he probably wouldn't complain. Alluroo was bound to be a beautiful bloomer and he could totally understand Sorrel wanting to raise the sprout up while she had to manage the rest of her greenhouse.
Regardless, the man sighed while looking over at Alluro on his nightstand, eyes sparkling at the pot. While he didn't feel stressed or anything with the small plant, he loved looking at him still. It was one of the few ways that he could show affection for the plant at the moment. [180W]

[Northstar.]

Username: Northstar.
Buttermilk: Gemma
Prompt:

Gemma's voice is all scratchy from the previous afternoons serenade into the sunset. Perhaps that wasn't her best idea, especially with no breaks in between. But it was worth it in hopes that her little plant would blossom! She creeps up to the clay pot carefully and sees that it has grown even more!

"I am so proud of you," Gemma sighs dreamily to the green sproutlings. Sorrel never told her what kind of seeds these were, she remembers suddenly. So what, exactly, would this plant blossom into?

The fine green sprouts aren't like anything she's ever seen. Maybe it would be a tomato plant, producing the perfect ripe tomatoes in a month or twos time. Or perhaps little tulips would bloom from the greenery? Gemma loves tulips and forget-me-nots and sunflowers. She would be happy for her sprout to grow into any of those - she would be happy as long as her sprout keeps growing, no matter the outcome.

(160)

Extra Prompt:

"Stressful? Oh no, this is the loveliest time I've had all week," Gemma says with a soft smile. "I've enjoyed singing to my seeds and watching them finally grow." It was a relief. A big relief, considering she thought she did something wrong. She wouldn't want Sorrel to be upset with her if the plant didn't grow! "I shouldn't sing to them today, though. My voice is still scratchy from yesterday. I'll figure out something we can do, to ensure they keep growing!" Now that she mentions it, you do notice her voice sounds a little hoarse.

Gemma manages to wrangle up some fresh fruit and veggies from the farmers market, and an old blanket. She spreads it out in a semi-shaded area to watch the festivities(that duck was still running loose somewhere), and sets her little potted plant in the sun. And there she sits and munches happily into the mid-afternoon and if you pass near enough you'd hear her humming.

(162)

[sprig]

Username: sprig
Buttermilk: Emma
Prompt:
"Emma! Welcome back!” Today Sorrel was ready and waiting for Em and all of her supplies. Emma grinned from ear to ear, stepping inside the greenhouse. “Thanks, Sorrel! I can’t wait to see how he’s looking today.” She plopped herself on the ground as per usual, and began her routine. After a few minutes of watching, Sorrel propped herself up against the wall and slid to the ground to sit next to Emma on the ground. “What do you think it’s going to grow into? Any idea?” Emma shrugged “there’s really no telling at this point. Could be a flower, could be a vegetable.” Sorrel nodded and scooted closer. “That’s new, what are you putting in there now?” Pulling a dark brown bottle with a dropper out of her satchel, Emma opened it and held it to Sorrel’s nose to smell. “Any guesses just based on smell?” Sorrel inhaled deeply and instantly regretted it. She sneezed and then coughed, and sneezed again. “What... is that?!” She exclaimed, rubbing her nose furiously trying to remove the potent smell. “Dried worm shells, mixed with skunk beetle juice to add some fibers to the soil!” Emma chuckled as she put a few drops into the pot’s dirt, all the way around her sprout. “Please don’t ask me to smell another thing event again,” sorrel mumbled, her nose still itching from the smell. (229)

- EXTRA -
After Sorrel had left for the day, Emma sat alone with her potted plant in the dimming light. She laid down on her stomach, propping her head on her hands. “I have a little surprise for you,” she whispered. “You aren’t quite big enough to be taken outside yet, so, I brought the outside to you!” Out of her second satchel Emma pulled a tiny paper moon, and a packet of glow in the dark stars. All along the glass panel above her plant she stuck the stars, and with a piece of string and some tape she hung the moon. “There, see?” Finally out of her bag she pulled a strand of fairy lights. “These are kind of like fireflies. I can’t wait for you to see real fireflies,” she wrapped the little twinkling lights around her plant and then propped her head back on her hands again. After a few moments of just watching, Emma finally pulled out a book. “This is the book I’m naming you after,” she said. “This is Stella Luna! She’s a little bat.” She cleared her throat and began... “In a warm sultry forest far far away, there once lived a mother fruit bat...” (201)

[bluex]

Username: bluex
Buttermilk: Cybele
Prompt: Cybele had spent the afternoon basking in the sunlight alongside her potted pals. The flower friend she had put into her pot quite some time ago was growing much better with all this additional care, and her sprout was thriving, showing continuous progress as the days pass by. Despite not knowing what kind of plant her little sprout would grow up to be, and loving the mystery of it all, she tried not to think about it too much. She didn't want to have any internalised expectations for her little companion. She was just excited to see it flourish, despite its bad odds in the beginning. However, to keep herself from pondering too much over the species of her sprout, Cybele decided to give them cute names to refer to them as - rather than continuing to call them 'mystery plant' and 'wildflower friend'. Since she had no idea what the plant would end up being after it had matured, she couldn't really make any reference to its appearance, deciding to go with generic names that would stick like glue.
"Minnie and Piper. That's what I'll call you two!" she beamed at her tiny friends and started talking to them again like she hadn't just happily called out their names in front of a courtyard of other gardeners.
(217 words)

Extra
Despite feeling stressed in the beginning, Cybele had found comfort in raising the little sprout rather than stress. It had taken her away from all the social interactions she's forced into on a regular basis back at home, and she felt like she could talk freely around Minnie and Piper. Since they couldn't respond in any other way than waving gently when the breeze hit them, it made Cybele feel comfortable enough to come out of her shell and talk to them about anything. Since she couldn't show her gratitude with physical affection, she showed the little plants everything that she loved. She brought albums of photos of things she's loved, from childhood stuffed animals, her bees back at home, her friends. She'd take them for a walk everyday, to old spots and to new, to show the wonderful plants the beautiful world they miss out on from the bounds of the greenhouse and its small courtyard. Cybele had no idea if she was overwhelming them or not, she was just in love with loving them.
(176 words)

[honeybunchesofoats]

Username: honeybunchesofoats
Buttermilk: Triton
Prompt: 4

Triton has always been very very good with plants. He was positive right away what the sprout was going to grow into, the only trouble was...his memory was also awful so he had entirely forgotten what seeds he had planted. When he got to the greenhouse he sat down with the sprouts and eyed them carefully, bringing them out to the light, turning the pot in various directions but, identifying a specific species of plant was very hard with the sprouts alone so he simply gave it up. He figured he'd have a very nice surprise in store when they grew up. (102)


Extra: Triton walks into the greenhouse and beelines over to his pot, smiling to see that the sprouts have been growing strongly. "Say, I think I'll give you name. It'll be easier to become friends with you that way.", he ponders, rubbing his chin with his fingers. "I'll call you...Arabella. Does that sound alright?", he pauses as if he's waiting for the plant to respond with anything but silence. "Yes? Good! Now, Arabella, I think that we should get out of here and do something fun together don't you? It must be tough stuck inside all day and there's so much of the world you haven't seen yet!"

He picks up the pot and cradles it close to his chest, but soon realizes that carrying it all day might get a bit tiresome. He scans the room for anything useful and smiles when he spots a little red wagon next to a garbage bin. He sets off to work, piling miscellaneous pieces of cloth at the bed of the wagon to secure a comfortable spot for Arabella. After he sets her down and double-checks that he has a bottle of water ready for her just in case, he sets off.

Triton drags the plant behind him the entire day he's at the market. He introduces her to all the farmers who appreciate the time and effort he's put into caring for her. To the children that would run up to see what was in the wagon, to teach them about how to properly care for plants and how to identify certain ones. Every so often, Triton would pick up the pot and carry it close to him. He talked to her, making sure she was having fun. He knew that having a bond with plants was pertinent to their growth but, he was very attached to this sprout specifically.

After a very long and tiring day, Triton wheels Arabella back to the greenhouse. He places her back on her favorite spot, with just the perfect patch of sun and gave her a bit of water to drink. "I hope you had fun today little Bella.", he brushed off some of the soil on the outside of her pot. "I'll come back to see how you're doing tomorrow alright?" Triton smiles and left the greenhouse knowing that today was the most fun he's let himself have in a very long time. (399)

[fawn-]

Username: fawn-
Buttermilk: Zaria
Prompt: day 1 supplement
Zaria was getting a little worried now, it had been a few days and her single sprout hadn’t gained an inch. She figured she should go to an expert to help rather than waiting it out and hoping the little thing would grow. She picked up the pot and headed to the greenhouse where Sorrel was most likely to be found. She gently opened the greenhouse door and glanced around for Sorrel. “Sorrel?” she called out into the warm plant paradise. She saw two ears rise above a line of plants. “If you don’t mind, I need some help with the seeds you gave me. I just filled my pot with dirt, and put all the seeds in the middle, and watered it and…” “Let me take a look,” Sorrel replied as she took the pot and walked back into the wall of green, leaving Zaria at the entrance hoping Sorrel could persuade her sprout to grow.

Prompt: 4
Zaria was excited to see what her plant would grow to be. Its leaves were tiny, but that didn’t reveal anything as any new plant would have small leaves. She didn’t see any flower buds, but maybe it was a late bloomer. She decided it was probably some kind of herb because every time she bent over the little sprouts, she thought she smelled a faint hint of basil. Zaria loved herbs, they always made gardens smell so good. Adding just a dash made food taste twice as good and they looked lovely as a garnish. The best thing about herbs was that you could snip some leaves off to use, but the plant would keep growing. Of course, she would always be sure to only take what was needed so she didn’t discourage the plant from its growth.

Prompt: Extra
Zaria didn’t want the plant to think she was hovering, she just wanted to make sure it was healthy and happy, 24/7. She thought about something the plant might enjoy, add some spice to its life. “I can paint your pot!” she said to the sprouts. “It will distract me from my worries, and you will have a new colorful home!” She grabbed some paints and a piece of cardboard and got to work.

[Venatici]

Username: Morghettio
Buttermilk: The Holy Trinity
Prompt:

Since the first day, Morgan did not realize he was taking care of a different plant.
Because after Morgan planted all the seeds in their individual terracotta pots, and placing them in nice neat areas where they got the right amount of sun or shade in the greenhouse, Sorrel had switched his specific plant, even with the little tag Morgan had made so that Morgan had assumed it was the same plant.
However, growing was very short and not as quick as one would have otherwise hoped, so because Sorrel picked a plant that had vaguely similar needs and looked somewhat similar, Morgan thought nothing of it. He knew the seeds and labels he did were correct, so Morgan walked in expecting his plant to be a type of hardy fern. He had no idea it was not a java fern, especially in the beginning stages: so truly, he had no idea what his plant actually was.


[ 157 / 150 words ]