Temba's Where The Heart Is

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, OTA (Some closed or limited starters)
WHERE: Temba: Greenhouse, Diner, The Twin Roses
WHAT: Tommy got hurt in Not Temba so now he's staying home for traditional work
WHEN: Early August
WARNINGS: Tommy's attitude is going to be testy due to leg soreness/pain

1. New Plants Need Time | Greenhouse | OTA

Green. Tommy had never thought he'd feel so attached to the color. Yes, it was part of his uniform but this green space, this peace... It was magical in its own way. Somehow he hadn't noticed it in himself back home, the way that when he was stressed he ran to not only natural wonders, but ones that were in some way green. But here, on Agra 10, he had found some measure of peace in the greenhouse right at the start, and in a strange way, the place felt like home.

"I'm back babes," he called out to the plants, dragging along the bubble-olive tree that Obi-Wan had helped him dig up back in the other city. He needed to get it to the place where it would have its final resting and a chance to adjust. "I've brought new friends. Once I've got them in, we're going to do a prone. And it's almost harvest time, so everyone do your best."

There was peace, calmness, happiness to be had in finding the greenhouse still standing after all the stress in life.

"Now if only I had more hands," he mused as he kept going, limping along slowly. Stupid hurt leg. But he'd power through it. He always had.


2. Food Makes Family | The Diner | OTA

Okay, so maybe he hasn't done this in a while, but that doesn't mean Tommy doesn't know what he's doing. Okay, maybe he doesn't know what he's doing very WELL but dammit he's trying. And, with people everywhere and some of the diner help staff working their asses off exploring and Tommy no longer easily able to do that, he had come to do it instead. This afternoon he was falling back on a classic. Anyone who had an issue with soup as a side today was going to get serious glares from him. For now Tommy was working on making fresh noodles from one of the Coruscant grains he had just ground into flour for the purpose.

With the back door to the kitchen open he could hear someone enter the building and he called out from the back as loud as he could to let them know he was working.

"Hold on and there will be a fresh salad or fruit if you want. I'm working on a noodle-soup. Come on back!"


3. Welcome to the Roses | Twin Roses | Closed to Twin Roses Crew

Home. Tommy was one of the lucky ones and he didn't even know it. He had brought some new plant samples to try in the Twin Roses hydroponics system and had no clue that the ships had been juggled. Then again, save for the first assignments, this had really been his ship. It was, in a weird way (especially when considering his claustrophobia) home. He moved easily and confidently through the ship, not expecting that the people on it could be so different. And once in the hold he moved right to his hydroponics unites.

"Hey kiddos," he greated them. he'd heard once that talking to plants helped, and given they had to live in the more artificial environment of the ship, he didn't intend to not do it. "Got you some new friends seeing as the sorta pea-pod vine things weren't working out. Say hi."

And now it was time to get them started.

Later on, after he was done with that task, Tommy busied himself in the laundry area, sitting on top of the washer with a bowl of chocolate protein paste with slices of fruit cut up into it, eating as the machine worked on cleaning his clothes. His injured leg hung to the side, keeping all weight off of it.

We anyone to enter he would look them dead in the eye.

"What, never seen a dude washing laundry before?"

Well, they might have, but given Tommy was literally wearing only a pair of what looked like booty shorts, there might be another reason to be staring. Be glad he wasn't standing, because that shining silver script 'juicy' on the ass might just make some people react less happily. But hey, free shirtless dude. Comment on the faint scars on his skin and there might be trouble though.


4. A Mind Is A Beautiful Thing To Use | Young Avengers home | Closed to Quentin Beck

Learning for himself had never been something Tommy was good at. It was just something that was universally true. He'd been bad at school because even before his powers had come in he'd had some attention issues. After school had been brutal. And then, well, there hadn't been school at all. The Kaplans had stressed the importance of him getting his GED and it had been pure stubborn desire to get a job and his own place that had Tommy getting his degree.

But complex issues? Tommy had always thought himself too stupid to learn really useful and valuable things. He hadn't thought about how one putting together thousands upon thousands of electronics, even according to instructions, was teaching him things. Between that and watching Tony, helping Tony, having Tony put up with him, Tommy had started to think he could learn it. Except he'd run into a road block. How was he supposed to learn the basics?

Less mobile as he was after getting hurt in Not-Temba, his mind turned back to the thing he wanted to learn. So he did the only thing he could do. He borrowed some supplies from Tony's forge he would apologize when Tony got back and sat down in his home, trying to puzzle out different resistors Tony had put together into the systems.

"This is so fucking stupidly complicated," he hissed in anger. How could he have been so fucking smart in that damn fake-city!?

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Okay he was also actually strong. Wow. Okay he knew stronger men, and women, but nice.

He was okay with staying quiet with Terra for the walk to the spot he had chosen for the tree. At least he had already cleared the space.

"Uh, under the fabric there is a pot too. You can haul that out?"

[orangewayfinder]

Blue eyes turned to look back at Tommy when he mentioned the fabric and pot. "You want me to take the tree out and put it in the ground and cover it?" Here he just wanted to make sure he had everything right before putting things where he thought they should go.

[doubled_speed]

“Yep, that’s the order of things,” Tommy agreed. “Without that, the pot would limit the roots growing outward. We want to get this little guy settled in as quickly as we can.

Little, fun word to use for a fully mature tree that was easily seven feet tall at the top of its canopy.

[orangewayfinder]

"Alright." Terra agreed, careful to go easy on getting the plant out. He'd never planted anything before and he knew to keep his strength in check because he'd inadvertently broken things in the past by putting too much of his strength into something.

But finally he dug around enough and got the plant out. Setting the pot down, he took a look at it, much like he had the ice cream bar that had been made for him in Disney Town so long ago.

And after admiring it a bit, he nodded to Tommy. "After I cover it, do I need to water it or anything?"

[doubled_speed]

Well that was definitely progress. Tommy couldn't help the soft smile he had for this place. For the things he had done here, that he'd helped cause.

"You'll want to pack the soil around it, but in a loose manner. I can add more later. Oh, I've got some dead fish in a bucket nearby. Put one in the bottom of the hole. It's good fertilizer. And some of the leaf and other detritus from the other bucket. And there is a third with the compost I make. Sorry, it's a lot. After that we'll let it settle for a little bit and then water it."

[orangewayfinder]

Blue eyes looked at Tommy questioningly about the dead fish, but set the plant down carefully as best he could back into the pot. And he went to look for the fish but his nose caught the smell way before that. But he grabbed one by the tail and put it in the hole, along with the contents of the two other things.

"So I put these in first and then the plant?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, all that. It makes the soil really rich and fertile and it makes the plant more likely to adapt to the soil here," Tommy answered, looking pleased with the work so far. Terra was doing great.

"The Bubble-olive tree is going to take so well."

[orangewayfinder]

"That makes sense." Terra replied. It wasn't something he would've thought of on his own and it was nice to be able to have experience doing something he'd never done before. He could imagine Aqua and Ven just laughing at him, but this was actually kind of fun. And he was learning something new too.

So once he was done he turned back to Tommy. "How long will it take for the tree to grow?"

[doubled_speed]

WHy would they laugh? This? The living and growing and creating, it was what life was about, right?

"I mena, it's already mature. Those little fruits on it are ripe. But it's gonna take a week or so to acclimatize if what my head is telling me is correct."

And he thinks it is.

[orangewayfinder]

"So it's not going to get any bigger.." It was a question but a lopsided one. And you'd have to forgive him here, the trees he knows grow star shaped fruit among other things. But that was the one he'd really been keen to see..all of those years ago when Aqua had forged their wayfinders.

And Terra didn't even want to think of how he'd somehow lost his.

[doubled_speed]

"No," Tommy answered. "The tree is what it is. The fruit on it, you can chew them like gum. They make you giddy. I like them. Wanted some where I could get to it."

[orangewayfinder]

Terra considered the tiny tree as Tommy spoke about it. "Giddy..gum." he said to it as if it would understand him.

It was weird to think that someone wanted to chew on something and feel a certain way. But Terra wasn't going to judge. "Well if that's what you wanted, you got it."

[doubled_speed]

"Giddy gum," Tommy agreed with a smile and a nod. Was that really so bad a thing to have? It made people smile.

"I did. Thanks, man. You're a serious help. Really strong too."

[orangewayfinder]

"I didn't really do anything." Terra protested. Really, anything he did Tommy could've done himself. "But I'm happy to help."

That was what he'd talked to Lauri-Ell about doing and what he did back home.

[doubled_speed]

Sure, he hadn't done anything. Just moved a tree. Depotted it. Planted it. Cared for it. NOTHING at all.

"Maybe I can talk you in to helping out around here even more?"

He doesn't mind more help.

[orangewayfinder]

The conversation he had with Lauri-Ell ran through his head, how they'd talked about helping out around here where they could, so Terra nodded once.

"Is there something else you need help with right now?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah. I've got some berry bushes I need to harvest from, and I can't do it as fast as normal. Gotta get them drying."

Because they still don't have the tools for large scale freezing or canning.]

[orangewayfinder]

Terra nodded. "Do you want to get something like that started today?" Because if Tommy wanted to get moving on it right away, he was all for getting it done. Besides, there really wasn't much else for him to do right now anyhow.

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah," Tommy said with relief. "We were supposed to start about now so that we don't lose a lot to spoilage. But I can't do it all."

He was a bit tired and he was going to get this done now with help.

[orangewayfinder]

"So.." Terra started looking around. "I guess we'll start where you tell me." He could take orders, he'd been doing it practically his entire life.

[doubled_speed]

Awesome. Tommy grins and stands a bit straighter before gesturing for the man to join him.

"The bushes are over this way. Come on. I've got baskets there."

[orangewayfinder]

Terra couldn't help but smile a little when Tommy did, but he just quietly followed along, trying to make sure he was being helpful.

[doubled_speed]

Tommy moved carefully, sort of limping, and he moves through the area, guiding Terra around. Finally he comes to a fragrant area with a number of baskets stacked up.

"Here," he said, gesturing to the baskets and he lifts one up.

[orangewayfinder]

Blue eyes had noticed the limping and thought about offering to help. But he didn't want to look like he was trying to take over this man's project so he didn't say anything.

Instead he followed behind and looked at the basket that was being held up. "So we're planting all of these?"

[doubled_speed]

Dude, take what you need here, he needs the work done anyway.

"The berries? Nah. We're harvesting and taking to dry and preserve for future use," Tommy answered.