video; un: toxicodendron

[greenpower]

[The woman who appears on the video feed is new, and notable for a couple of reasons. First and most obvious, she is fairly notably green. Not just a little green, either. Her skin, eyes, even her lips are clearly and distinctly chlorophyll green. The second, and somewhat less remarkable, is her expression which falls somewhere between irked and uneasy.

If you guessed she's not much of a public speaker, you'd be right. A fact which becomes abundantly clear when she addresses her audience.

Don't you feel smart.]

Hello. Hi. I know there's a bunch of us who just showed up and started filling up your network with, I don't know, I'd call them introductions but I'm not really sure what some of these assholes are doing. Anyway, I'll try to keep this short and no more awkward than necessary.

[Her tone is dry, and the words clearly enunciated and a little louder than natural. As though she's worried the people watching will have a hard time following and she doesn't want to repeat herself.]

I am Dr. Pamela Isley, a.k.a Poison Ivy. You can call me Ivy. I'm not here to stand on formality or wave around my degrees.

[Time to find out if anyone has heard of her. There's no way they'll be lucky enough that no one has heard of her, right?

Deep breath, and:]

I bring it up because I'm a botanist and a biochemist. Trying not to step on any toes here, but I'd like to find out a few things.

One—who can I talk to about using the lab? Are we like assigned space, or is it a free-for-all in there? I don't want to touch anyone's ongoing projects, because I know how I'd feel if someone started poking through mine without checking with me first.

Two—similar question, this time substitute "hydroponic garden" for "lab." You might have noticed... plant theme. Botanist. Like, my thumbs are literally green. It's sort of my brand. If I could get in on that, it would be aces.

[She is trying very, very hard to play nice where the garden is concerned. Ivy is smart enough to know she's not going to get very far making enemies on her first day. So sort of the opposite of prison. Or boarding school.]

And speaking of plants, three—if anyone has any seeds or any cuttings or starts I could persuade them to part with, then I would owe you a favor.

[Each of those last words is drawn out deliberately, her voice growing quieter as she hesitates between words. When she follows up, it's light in contrast:]

I would kill for a spider fern for my room.

[She's joking, but like, is she joking?]

And that about covers it. Just, reach out to me here with any answers. Thaaaanks.

Comments

[greenpower]

You'd be in the minority.

[Spoken like someone who survived being green in high school. She has more than just one reason to dislike people.

The silence is easier, though. Ivy doesn't have such a hard time enjoying her tea. Holding the cup in her hands is grounding and the warmth soothes her. As much as she hates the fakeness in here, the sunlight does her good too.

When he experiments with a new topic, she takes to it with some curiosity.]

Lavender? [Lavender has a long history in folk medicine, much of it based on real chemical properties. She's not sure why any of that would bother ghosts, but she's never had much interest in the magical applications of herbs.] Is it the smell that keeps them away, or just the presence of the plant?

[recklessenough]

Thank you. [ Was Lockwood's response to the claim that he was in the minority, but there was the barest edge to his tone. Because he does understand her feeling of having to survive the judgements and expectations of people. He likes to claim that he just doesn't give a shit, but the truth is it still hurts, and it will still make him angry. He's just learned to harness that hurt and that anger into a stubborn desire to prove all the naysayers wrong.

He does appreciate that the quiet between them felt easier this time, part of why he'd offered up the subject of lavender. ]

The smell.

My friend George would be able to give you an more detailed answer about the history and the science, my experience is more for the practical use. [ Lockwood glances down at the sword belt strapped around his waist, looking for something but exhales a little sound of defeat. ] I usually keep a vial of lavender water on my kit, but I must have used it in the fight before I got here.

People also hang dried sprigs in their homes, burn it at night, some have plants around their homes. It's really only effective against weaker ghosts, but every little bit counts.

[greenpower]

At least it should be easy to restock, if we need to. Lavender is highly accessible.

[At least, it ought to be. Maybe not so much in space. On the other hand, she doesn't imaging there will be many ghosts wandering the halls of Ximilia either.]

Or maybe you're in luck. You can have a break from all that lavender while you're on this little collection mission.