Sowing Seeds

[buon_giorno]

"Come here...isn't your paw hurt?"

Giorno had full intentions of stealing a mid-day nap, but Croccante was high on one of the broken pillars beside the door to his room. The white cat eyed him but didn't come down. Giorno sighed and rubbed his head. Just looking up for too long was hard when he had been on his feet for longer than an hour or two.

It had been just two days since he cured Joseph. He had slept almost the rest of the day through and that was all he was allowing himself after making himself so scarce for a whole week. At some point doubt would creep into the community gossip and that was the last thing he needed to manage.

Giorno leaned against the pillar and put some of his energy into the ivy vines that crept up it. The flowers burst open, surprising the small cat, and urging her to leap down--right onto his head. He quickly pried her out of his now-mussed curls and inspected her paw. A little splinter poked out of the pink pad, and he squinted to pluck it out--and missed. And tried again--and missed. His hands were shaking. Croccante's tail was swishing in irritation. He summoned all his focus and managed to fix his fingers around it to pull it out, and the fluffy cat bolted out of his arms not a moment later.

"Yes, yes...you're welcome." Giorno watched her take off down the hall.

Comments

[takeba]

"Uh... sure."

[buon_giorno]

Choosing the two strongest looking stems and propping them up parallel to each other, Giorno balanced the delicate leaves in his fingers. Mint was a vigorous plant, so he couldn’t fill it with life energy too quickly or too carelessly. Even with those thoughts in his head, it was only seconds between Gold Experience’s arms emerging from his to infuse it before—

“Ah.”

The pineapple mint exploded from from his palms to shroud him entirely, its long arms wrapping around his body in a loving (and pungent) embrace.

[takeba]

"W-what?!" Yukari was taken aback by the hands, but then the mint took hold of him. She very nearly dropped the pot. It was only through sheer willpower that her fingers managed to keep their grip.

[buon_giorno]

“Well…I’d say this is more than enough.” Giorno’s muffled voice came. One by one, he snapped the stalks from the glass, since the roots had made it impossible for him to simply wrench them out.

“You can leave the vase there on the table. Thank you, Takeba-san. You did well.”

[takeba]

Was this some kind of test or something?? If it was, did that mean she passed?

Yukari quickly put the vase down on the table.

"T-Thanks," she said, not sure what she was thanking him for. This was just too weird to just let them stand in silence.

[buon_giorno]

“Gravitropism is an important factor in healthy plant growth. I appreciate you keeping the vase upright and steady.” Kneeling, Giorno began dividing the stems and organizing them from tall to short on the floor.

“I’m sorry for startling you. I wasn’t prepared for how quickly that grew either. Variegated plants aren’t usually so vigorous…perhaps my power regulation is a bit off from being ill. …Ah, yes. That was my power. But you saw it yourself, didn’t you?”

[takeba]

"Yeah." How could anyone miss it?!

[buon_giorno]

“Takeba-san…you’re one of just a few here who can.”

[takeba]

"Wait. No one else saw that?"

Yukari looked around to check the facts. No one was staring when they definitely should have been.

[buon_giorno]

Giorno smirked to himself—he had a feeling, but it was always nice to be proven right.

“Where I’m from, people who can see each other’s abilities are close friends or bitter enemies.” Never an in-between.

[takeba]

Yukari lifted her hands in front of her in surrender. "I-I'm not your enemy if that's what you're implying!"

[buon_giorno]

“Ah, no. I was just musing.” Giorno gathered the large stalks of mint and piled them on a windowsill for the time being. “The nice thing about being here is the chance to rewrite the book on such things. This is just my philosophy on things…life is about pursuing what you want rather than dwelling on the past or overthinking over what could be.”

[takeba]

Yukari wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she didn't, instead shifting the conversation elsewhere.

"Those arms, what were they?"

[buon_giorno]

Giorno picked the vase back up to clear the tangled roots from it carefully. “It’s called a Stand. Put simply…it’s the power of my soul. But you should have a similar power, right?”

[takeba]

So he was a persona-user too?? He didn't even have to use an evoker!

"We don't call them stands, though," she admitted, clasping her hands behind her back. "We call them personas."

[buon_giorno]

“Is that so?” That was a first. “How long have you had control of it?”

[takeba]

"Not even a year."

[buon_giorno]

“Ah.” Giorno laughed lightly again—something rare for him. “I’m a bit relieved. I haven’t had control of mine that long either. Everyone else I know has had mastery of theirs for at least two.”

[takeba]

"Really?" Yukari couldn't help but show her shock. "But your p--your stand was so strong."

[buon_giorno]

Giorno hummed as he cleared out the last of the roots from the vase. A few hung from his finger, limp and shriveled. They were truly dead.

“Well…I think of it this way. This power is something that reveals itself to me…but only if I have the courage and wits to use it.” The limp roots glowed and intertwined as they pulled themselves up in a dance. Purple flowers blossomed forth into vibrant irises. He refilled the vase with water and arranged them inside. “But it’s constant trial and error, really.”

[takeba]

"It looks like what you do is a little more complicated than healing," Yukari said, looking at the blossoming flowers. She reached out to touch the pedals with the tips of her fingers.

[buon_giorno]

“Is healing your power?”

[takeba]

"Yeah. And manipulating wind."

[buon_giorno]

Giorno’s eyebrows shot up. “Those are two quite different things…that’s impressive, Takeba-san.”

[takeba]

"Thanks." Yukari smiled. "I guess it doesn't feel so impressive when you can do it, though."