Going Green [Log]

[vernal_miss]

Date: January 15th
Characters: Nel and Mary Ann
Notes: More characters and prompts may be added; especially so other family can see or she can talk about it with friends


Sometimes, having cats about makes for an interesting, if unnecessarily early, start to the day. This is especially true for anyone in the household that had become associated with providing the felines with anything more than passing attention. As such, one of the younger cats wakes Nel rather rudely by walking on her head after repeated meowing failed to get the child up. Immediately greeted with purring and head butting, Nel groans as she begrudingly pets the pest until the cat turns and walks to the end of the bed to start meowing again. Rather than let the cat wake her younger sibling sharing the room, she rouses and putters her way downstairs.

Spotting the lights on, she knows her Mum is already up to get ready for work and greets her sleepily, “Mornin’, Mum.” Nel obligingly follows the cat to the shallow planter sporting mere stubs of fresh catnip sitting in the kitchen. She shoots the cat a look, “...this couldn’t have waited an hour?” The cat unabashedly purrs and rubs at her leg, and Nel huffs as she kneels down in front of the pot. With her Mum already present and permission to return to the use of her magic recently granted, Nel proceeds to begin the process of regrowing the stalks of catnip, pinching them one at a time to raise to a tender yet potent height.

Previously, when Nel has used her magic indoors, the scent of wildflowers and woods wafting from her hair has been readily apparent. That much came standard with the gift. Only, as she calls on that warmth in her chest now, the roots of her hair shift in color from red to vibrant green. The new color spreads a few centimeters out from her scalp and remains with the child unaware.

Comments

[vernal_miss]

This particular pearl of wisdom is like many of her others in that it formed from the experiences she has living in her large and close family. Talking through a problem often leads to a solution, or at bare minimum a release and better understanding of the issue. Such support for her Mum would be a welcome brace against the challenges to come.

Hand passed over to have her hair ruffled instead, Nel giggles as she makes a paltry effort to duck, “I will! It’d be too hard to imagine not having magic anymore.” No doubt she will, especially should she ever have cause to worry about her Mum.

Taking her mother’s hand after, she glances to the abandoned cup on the table, “We can tell her about my hair tonight. Don’t worry about it when you go to work, okay?”

[catted]

She has to laugh. "...I'll try." It's not that easy to not worry, but it makes it a bit easier to remember that Nel has her head screwed on right and will be able to look after herself, as much as she never hopes that she will have to.

And her daughter is right. There are safe ways to involve Janice.

[vernal_miss]

“I can always wear a hat today,” she points out.

Nel urges her mother towards her feet with a little tug at her hand, and once her mother is up off the floor, the girl takes the opportunity for one more hug. Beginning to relax in that hug, a small yawn sneaks free. Maybe she can make it back to bed and sleep a little longer before her alarm for school.

[catted]

"That's one way of dealing with it," she agrees, a bit mollified by her daughter's words and the hug.

A look at the clock makes her nudge at Nel gently, though. "If you want to sleep a bit more, you can. You just need to go back to bed now."

[vernal_miss]

Heeding the nudge, Nel drifts a step away from her Mum before she pauses to smile to her and speak, “’kay, Mum. Have a good day at work.” Not lingering any longer, Nel trudges her way back up the staircase to return to her room so she can burrow back into her bedding and stuffed animals for a little more sleep.

Her attire for school that day does include a hat as a precaution.