trans_9 | gardens and fruits and veggies oh my! [OPEN]

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gardens and fruits and veggies oh my! [OPEN]

After leaving the medbay, he'd looked for Sam, he'd looked for Sam everywhere; but Sam is nowhere to be found. Perhaps Dean is right, and Sam has been taken by that computer. Castiel can only hope his friend is returned soon.

After Dean gets healthy again, they will begin training, but for now, Cas has something else occupying his attention. He's sat in the media library, surrounded by books on ... gardening and cooking. He's turning pages with one hand, the other arm still in the sling. The bandage has been removed from his head at least, so that the contusion where he was hit in the head is visible, purple and red and clearly still in the process of healing. He's still wearing the t-shirt and jeans Dean got for him on shore-leave, and various cuts and scrapes are visible on his arms and face. Basically, Cas looks like most of the ship, like he got beat up, and is healing.

He's ignoring all that though, in favor of concentrating intently on the books in front of him. What does an ex-angel want to know about cooking and gardening for? Bother him and find out!

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Jamie's prowling through the library too, though he's not entirely sure what he's looking for. There are too many possibilities, too many things that he feels he should be looking into, and he's a little scattered, rather unusually for him.

He finds something to focus on, though, if only momentarily, when he brushes past the area Castiel's staked out and catches the corner of a stray cookbook, nearly knocking it to the floor. Jamie catches it with a chagrined murmur of apology. " - ah. Sorry 'bout that."

There's a momentary pause before he returns the book to the pile, catching sight of its subject matter. Cooking. It's been a long time since he's had the opportunity to cook, and though he never thought he'd actually miss it, well - that had been before his entire universe had been destroyed and he no longer had little things like kitchen work to take for granted.

He sets the book neatly - almost fussily - back where it belongs, offering a polite smile. "Sorry," he says again. When in doubt, apologize for everything. Multiple times.

Cas looks up, blinking in surprise as his solitude is interrupted. "It's fine," he tells the young man in front of him. "... Don't worry about it."

Cas is getting a little tired of reading-- if such a thing is even possible. He would have never gotten tired as an angel, but now his eyes ache and his head is tired of concentrating, and he wants to take a break. Jamie therefore, has become an almost welcome distraction. Castiel pauses for a moment, searching for words to say. They still don't come to him automatically, these pleasantries and conversational openings humans wield like tools to forge their relationships and navigate the world around them. Cas has to think about it, has to try to work out what would be an appropriate way to draw this person he does not know into conversation. He settles at last, for a simple question.

".... were you looking for something?"

That...is a very good question, and one Jamie's not entirely certain how to answer. He hedges a bit, looking momentarily pensive before schooling his features back into the guarded expression that's become his default mode. "At this point I'm not really sure. Just...trying to stay busy, do something useful. Y'know?"

In fact, Castiel does know what Jamie is talking about. He's doing the exact same thing, trying to stay busy, trying to keep his mind off things, trying to feel useful. Of course, he's not going to tell Jamie that in so many words. "Ah," he says instead.

There's a pause. "This situation does make it ... difficult. To be useful."

"Mn. In some ways, yeah. I mean there's so much that needs done it's pretty easy to find something to pitch into, but the really crucial stuff..." Like figuring out how, exactly, their little band of refugees is supposed to stop a swarm of omnicidal killer space bugs. "...'s not always easy to get involved with that and actually, y'know. Make a difference."

He shrugs a little, the gesture both resigned and self-deprecating. "Guess we all do what we can, though. Maybe if I do some of the little unimportant junk that still needs done, it'll free up someone else's time to work on the big stuff."

"Yes," Castiel agrees. "Yes, it's ... challenging, to find a way to make a difference." He eyed the books laid out in front of him. "That's why I'm here, trying to learn to ... garden, of all things. Because right now I can't do something more useful."

Cas sighed. "I suppose getting food to eat that isn't slop is useful enough for now ..." He stared morosely down at the books in front of him.

Jamie blinks at this. "That's...actually pretty useful, I think," he says. "I mean, I'm sure people'd like to have actual food that doesn't...come out of Stacy's pores, or whatever. And I don't know that anyone else's actually tried to do it, so." He bobs his head in a cautious gesture of approval. "'s a good idea. I think everyone'd be happy if you did that."

"I'm a warrior," Cas tells him flatly. "I'm supposed to be able to fight. But right now ... I appear to be useless at it."

He grimaces, then shrugs. "As you said, if my doing this can free up other people who can actually fight, then ... I suppose it is worthwhile."

Regardless of what he's thrown himself into on the ship, Jamie doesn't consider himself a warrior - at least not in the conventional sense of the word - but he's familiar with the feeling of not being able to do something he thinks he should be able to accomplish.

"I think a lot of people are feeling useless after that fight," Jamie says, in something that might be a vague attempt at sympathy. "But as long as you're trying to do something helpful, wul...that says a lot, I think."

He eyes the man's injuries, then. "So what do you need to do to get this started?" he asks. "Anything I can help with?"

Useless-feeling people ought to stick together, after all.

".... Thank you," Cas says, "I expect I could use the help-" then, ".... I don't even know your name. ... I'm Castiel," he adds as almost an after-thought.

He frowns down at the books some more. "From what I have read so far, if you want to grow enough food to feed a group of people, you are going to need a large garden, and many people to work in it." A pause. "I suppose we should ask if there are ... others, who would wish to help?"

"I'm Jamie Hemeros," he says. "Nice to meet you."

He follows Castiel's gaze, his own expression turning thoughtful, and nods once. "Guess it'd have to be pretty big, yeah. Trying to round up more help would probably be a good idea."

".... Nice to meet you too, Jamie," Cas says, a touch awkwardly. He doesn't offer a hand to shake because, well, he doesn't really know about handshakes.

"Hmmmm. I believe we can make posts to these .... network things, to communicate with the others?" He pulled out his omnicom and starts laboriously typing out a message (http://community.livejournal.com/trans_channel/210754.html).

"There," Castiel says. "Maybe some people will offer to help us."

There's a voice outside in the hallway that might be able to be heard by those within, as it's somewhat louder than it probably should be. "Doctor, are ye here?"

The owner of the voice - Jamie - steps through the doors a moment later, and calls out again, "Doctor?" Mindful that he's actually in the media library now, he's much quieter this time. After a few moments without a response, though, he makes a small face and mutters, "Och, of course he's not."

He turns to leave, then shakes his head and turns back. Since he's here anyway, he might as well make the best of it and find something to do. Wandering through the room for a few moments doesn't really seem to help. There's a man, though, who is looking at the something, and Jamie goes over to see what it is - on the grounds that surely it won't hurt if he just takes a quick peek over the man's shoulder. He's not really thinking that he might be rudely interrupting by doing so.

To be honest, Castiel isn't aware enough of human social conventions to realize that Jamie is being rude. If it was Dean or Sam, Cas might have said something snippy, but as it is, he's not going to remark on Jamie's presence. Unless ...

"Did you need this book?" He indicates the one that's open in front of him, the one that Jamie's been peering at. It's a book on vegetable gardening.

After all, these are not his books, or Bobby's books, or the boy's books. These are library books, they are public books, and it is possible Castiel is the one who is being rude, by monopolizing a book someone else needed. He doesn't really know how the etiquette of libraries works.

It may have taken Jamie a minute or two, but he realizes now that it's probably not the best idea to do what he's doing. "I'm sorry," he says apologetically. "I shouldn't have been looking over your shoulder like that. I don't actually need the book, aye? I just wanted to see what ye were reading."

However, the same combination of curiosity and boredom that caused him to start wandering around in the first place isn't about to let go of him easily, and he returns the question with one of his own. "Can I ask ye why you're reading up on gardening, though?"

"I wish to garden," Castiel tells him levelly, "and I don't know how." Again, there's a pause. If Cas is going to become helpful on the ship, part of that involves meeting other people and forming relationships with them, so that they can work together. And that means he should probably say something else, shouldn't he? Really, it's an odd idea for Castiel; the only humans he's had any kind of prolonged contact with back in his universe are Sam Dean and Bobby. There was Ellen and Jo, but he only knew them for a couple days. There was Ruby and Crowley as well, but they're demons, so they don't count. The point is, all the people he's ever had any kind of lasting contact with were almost entirely introduced to him by Sam and Dean. He doesn't know how to meet people on his own, but he supposes that (some) people might not be that different from (some) angels. He pictures the angels in his garrison, Anna and Uriel and the others, pictures himself talking to them. Ahah, there we go.

"I don't like the slop. I'd find it preferable to have something else to eat."

Edited 2010-07-13 08:39 (UTC)

"Oh! Aye, I don't blame ye. The slop is..." Jamie grimaces just thinking about it, as he doesn't care for the slop either - to the point where he takes as many meals as he can in the Sensoriums so he can trick his mind into thinking it's something else. "Give me a bowl of good Scottish oats any day, with just a touch of salt, or a wee drop of cream."

He glances back down at the book on gardening. Although it might not have made as much sense to him a few years ago, now he can sort of see where using a book might come in handy. He thinks it's still not as good as having someone who can show you how things work and then let you try it out for yourself, but it'll do in a pinch.

"I used to help out with the planting when I was younger," he muses - half to himself, really. So much has changed for him since then, it seems like a lifetime ago. Turning his attention back to Castiel fully, he adds, "But that's different, aye? I've not tried my hand at gardening. Have ye thought about asking other people on the ship if they know? Maybe over the bitty computer...er, the Omnicoms, that is."

"Hm. It's a good idea-" Cas realizes he doesn't know Jamie's name. "... I'm Castiel," he offers, kind of awkwardly.

"Jamie McCrimmon," he replies, not minding overmuch about the awkwardness. Instead, he takes one of the other seats nearby, the better to look at the other books on the table. "Cooking? Hey, ye are serious about making something that tastes better than the slop."

Cas gets a distinct look of approval for that one. The more people that can cook on Stacy, the better as far as Jamie's concerned. He reaches over to grab one of the cookbooks, and idly flips through it for a moment before glancing back up. "Castiel. That's a funny sort of name, isn't it? Where does it come from, anyway?"

A normal person would have said some kind of pleasantries, acknowledging Jamie's name. Cas isn't a normal person. Instead, he sighs. "That is the plan," he agrees, staring down at all the books in front of him. Researching demons? Easy. Researching how to grow and cook things is turning out much harder than he expected.

"My Father gave it to me," Cas says, which is perhaps the most unhelpful answer ever. "It means ... I am his child." A beat. "All angels are named such."

How's your knowledge of theology, Jamie?

Edited 2010-07-15 18:19 (UTC)

It's not the most unhelpful answer ever, although it's fairly close. Jamie resists the urge to roll his eyes at what he thinks is a bad joke on Castiel's part. He figures, though, some clarification couldn't hurt.

"No, I meant..." He trails off as Cas continues. He's forgotten his mouth is still open, and simply gapes for a moment before his brain catches up and he snaps it shut.

While he may have been raised Catholic, Jamie's no theologian - and, judging from the rather skeptical look that's appeared on his face, it seems he doesn't quite believe the other man's claim.

"An angel? Ah, you'd not be leading me on now, would ye?"

"No, I am not leading you anywhere," Cas tells him with a frown. "I am- I was an angel of the lord."

A pause. "Humans seem to find that hard to believe," he concedes, looking slightly resigned.

"Aye, well, it's not something that ye run across every day," Jamie admits. Still, he has to wonder. If there's all sorts of aliens and robots and strange beasties already here on Stacy, could there be angels here as well? Or...ex-angels?

"Ye said 'was'. Why is that?"

"I rebelled," Cas says flatly. "I was cast out."

"Oh." There's a pause, while Jamie tries to find some way to reply to that. All he can really come up with is 'I'm sorry'. It somehow doesn't seem like it's enough, but he says it anyway.

"I'm sorry."

He's curious, though, as to what would cause an angel to do that - even if he doesn't completely believe that Cas is one. "Why would ye want to rebel, though?"

It's probably none of his business, but sometimes he can't help asking questions.

Edited 2010-07-18 09:09 (UTC)

Cas doesn't seem offended by the question. "My superiors were wrong," he said. "They wanted to start a fight that would end up destroying half the world. I was convinced that ... the world deserved to be saved. All those people, deserved to be saved. I disobeyed, and disobedience is not allowed, for angels."

"So they cast ye out." Jamie can understand the sentiment. He's not unfamiliar with fighting for a cause you believe in, or with trying to save people who deserve to be saved. Even more so, for him, since finding out what they're they're trying to do now. He could get to like this man, Jamie thinks.

With more than a bit of conviction to his voice, he says, "Aye, well...if it helps, I'd rather have someone like ye here to help us fight than someone who would be willing to throw lives away for their own purposes."

"..... Thank you," Cas says after a moment, as if he had to puzzle out what kind of response was required. ".... I will try my best."

That's a wee bit odd, and Jamie looks at Castiel a little strangely for a few seconds before dismissing the hesitation as some sort of fluke. Maybe he was imagining things.

He shifts in his seat, although there's no real purpose behind it other than possibly to move a little. As he does so, his attention's drawn back to the books. "Maybe it'd not be so bad to do some planting again. If ye figure out what you'd like to do with the gardening, did ye want any help?"

Cas looks at Jamie with maybe a little bit of surprise, but then nods. "Some help would be appreciated, yes," he concedes. "... I suppose there might be others who might want to participate as well?"

Normally Jamie wouldn't volunteer to do something like that, but the idea of having a steady source of something other than slop is appealing enough at the moment that he's willing to give it a shot. It helps that his memories of planting are from long enough ago that it doesn't seem so bad right now. There may be some complaining once he remembers how much work that sort of thing actually entails.

"Well, aye. I don't see why not. Especially if you're going to be growing real food. Plenty of people would probably be willing to work for that." There's a brief shrug. "If they're not, they'll not show when ye get people together for it."

Cas nods. "Work for food seems like a fair exchange. I'll make a post to the network, to see if anyone else wants to help," he says, and pulling out his omnicom, makes a post (http://community.livejournal.com/trans_channel/210754.html).

Edited 2010-08-04 05:39 (UTC)

That sounds good to him, and he makes a note to reply a little later just so he can make a separate note for himself as a bit of a reminder that he's agreed to help.

For now, however, he simply nods. "Makes sense. I'll just leave ye to that, then."

With a small wave goodbye, he wanders back out of the Media Library, letting Castiel get back to his research after the message is posted.

Laurie is as constant in the Media Library as much as she is in Goliath's library. She browses the shelves, searching out classics that she has loved since childhood, as well as some things that she has never quite seen before. She moves her flip-flop'd feet around, turning about a shelf...and bumping into someone.

"Oops! Sorry!"

Cas blinks at the girl who has just bumped in to him. He had been getting another gardening book from a shelf to take back to his table which was piled high with gardening and cooking books. "That's ... alright?" he tells Laurie.

He's still not great on human social customs, so he's just going to kind of stare awkwardly at her.

Laurie quickly looks away, a flush upon her face for that brief moment in which she thought that she was in trouble. Not to mention, she can feel the man's eyes on her, and that's one of Laurie's worst places to be.

She turns her head around and looks around the Media Library for anything to distract herself. Instead, her eyes fall on the book that the man is reading. "Are you trying to learn how to garden?"

Cas looks down at the book in his hands, oblivious to the girl's discomfort. "Ah, yes," he says.

There's a pause. "It's slow going." Somebody needs to teach Cas how to make conversation.

Laurie looks at the stack of books and bites her lower lip. "Did you get the books for beginners?"

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gardens and fruits and veggies oh my! [OPEN]

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I'm so sorry for the tag fail. D:

no worries at all, I am kind of fail myself DX

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