Tracy
The light summer wind blows through the serene garden situated in the grounds of Newton's cradle. The area was almost completely unoccupied as there were no botany classes being held at the moment. It was almost completely empty if it were not for the tall boy with odd hair, crouching down in front of a bed of lilies, gardening equipment in hand. 

Craig sat in front of the flower bed, shovel in hand and dirt all over his face and clothes. Someone had trampled over some of the flowers earlier that day and Craig offered to help fix it on his own. Taking up his time to fix it wasn't a big deal to him, he would tend to the garden by himself whenever he could anyway, it was just another task he decided to take up on his own. 

This is what Craig would do almost every single day in Newton's Cradle. If he wasn't in class, cooking or doing house chores, he'd almost definitely be at the garden watering the plants or generally just sitting around. He's been at Newton's Cradle for a couple months now and he still hasn't met many people. It was probably because he never went out of his way to introduce himself to anyone but he never thought about it. He was occupied with his routine schedule and the maybe 2 friends he had going on. 

After uprooting all the dead flowers that were squished to the ground, he placed them onto the side of the pavement and took out some seedlings to replace them with. "What a shame," He said to himself, "Those flowers were really pretty." 

By this point he'd been uprooting the dead flowers from the flowerbed for a little under an hour now. He took great care not to accidentally uproot the flowers that weren't affected and it took a great deal of concentration he did not have. 

 *Creak*

Craig looked up from the flowerbed he was working on to see a man with long, waist length green hair enter the garden. He hadn't seen him around before- perhaps he was new?

They locked eyes for just a second and almost instinctively, Craig's expressions turned to that of a dog who just met someone new. 

"Hey," He said, straightening his posture to look up at the green haired guy, face still smeared with dirt and mud. "I'm Craig."
Mamie
Hello! This server's prefix is `tul!`. Try `tul!Help` for help.
Sid
He doesn't want to be here. It's better than the alternatives ||epic will wood reference|| but... He feels out of place. Everyone knows each other. He knows he needs to find his place but... He doesn't want a larger group. He just- he's intruding here and he knows it. He's not welcome. 

At least, that's how he feels anyway. Even if it's not true.

It's nice here, in the garden. The light breeze... The lack of people- 

Oh.
Wait.
Not entirely.
There's a guy here.

But... Maybe that's a good thing? It's only *One* Guy, how scary can a singular guy be?

He's clearly been working in the garden. Murderers don't do that. At least, Mamoru doesn't *Think* Murderers do that. Wait- are there even any murderers *Here*? Who knows. 

He doesn't have much time to take everything in before said tall nonmurderer guy looks at him. He freezes a bit, almost feeling like he walked in on something.

*At least he's not upset to see me-*

"Er- I'm... Mamoru." He almost doesn't sound used to introducing himself. 

But this guy doesn't seem so bad????
Tracy
Hearing Mamoru's greeting, Craig shifted from his squatting position to sit on the ground, his outrageous head of hair bouncing on impact. "I haven't seen you round here, are you new, perhaps?" He said looking up at the green haired boy from his seat on the muddy pavement. 

"D'you come here for fresh air perhaps?" He asked, stretching his arms and legs in his seat. His joints popped with a concerning crack- he had been in the same position for almost an hour now, its only natural. "Man, I haven't moved from my spot for a while now." He mumbled to himself, shifting his focus back to the seedlings in front of him. 

"The place is pretty isn't it?" He said, looking back up at Mamoru, a wide grin on his face. It was truly a peaceful sight to behold- plants, flowers and a whole array of veggies dot the large area with nice little benches situated underneath the cool shade of a tree around every corner. "I tend to hang around here often, its my favourite facility here in NC. I'm surprised less people hang around here." 

*"Of course the kid with plants for hair hangs out at the garden; what a shocker."* A stray piece of hair from Craig's scalp says sarcastically. Without skipping a beat, Craig grabs the strand with one hand and a pair of Gardening scissors with his other. With the same smiley expression on his face, he opens and closes the scissors in front of the strand as the blue and pink tube retreats back into his scalp.

"Sorry about them," Craig chuckles, looking a bit bashful, "They start to get talkative when meeting new people, I'm still working on it." 

He looks back down at the dirt patch in front of him and starts plotting out where each seedling would go. "My back is killing me." He mumbled, stretching every once in a while. "Gardening is back breaking work I tell ya," He huffed, not looking up from his work. "But it's very rewarding." 

Gardening and cooking were the two things he was most proud of doing. It was what kept him occupied once he moved in with his previous caretaker and he brought that hobby along to Newton's Cradle as well. He was very excited when he heard there was a community garden for the students when he first entered NC. He even asked the staff if he could store some of his own plants in the garden. It's come to the point where a good portion of the potted plants in the garden belongs to Craig himself.
Sid
He seems nice. Both of them had odd hair, which is a good sign. He thinks. Except Mamoru's hair is a choice-

"Uh- yeah. I'm new." He's visibly a little tense, and you have Ares and Val to blame for that.

"It's my first time out here, yeah... Figured it'd be better than the inside." *And I think I was right? I have no idea just yet.*

***Jesus is he okay that pop oh my g o d-*** Moving on from the cracking scare you just gave moru-

This guy is a nice change of pace from having to somehow stay alive in the intranet chat. And then getting belittled for it. Though the bar *Is* Pretty low.

*Oh his hair is plants.* That explains quite a bit, actually.

"Well-" He starts, when *He just chops off the piece of hair?* That gives Moru pause, and he stands there for a second, staring just a bit, before moving on.

"Talkative..? But it's-? Nevermind- just. Nevermind." He doesn't really need to know. And he doesn't know if he wants that explanation either.

"Did you uhm... Did you do most of this?" He gestures around the garden.
Tracy
Craig notices the anxious undertones of Mamoru's voice but decides to not make any comment on it. 

"Uh- yeah. I'm new."

"Welcome to NC, man," Craig said, looking back up at him with a smile before continuing on with his work, "I hope you've been adjusting well. If you need any help with anything, you can contact me on the intranet- though I don't talk there all too often." He chuckles, not looking up from the flowerbed. 

"Talkative..? But it's-? Nevermind- just. Nevermind."

"Hm? Oh, my hair? They have a mind of their own, it gets kind of annoying." He hummed a smile plastered onto his face, still looking down at his work. He leaves it at that comment; explaining his condition to every person he meets is a bit of a weight on his head so he figured it would be better just to describe it vaguely. 

"Did you uhm... Did you do most of this?"

Craig looks up to see where Mamoru was gesturing at and his face beams. "Yeah!" He says, smiling ear to ear, placing his gardening tools on the ground and getting up properly. He stretches again, his shoulders popping with a loud crack. He did not pay any mind to the concerningly loud sound as his expression stays the same. 

"I need to get up off my butt anyway so, do you want me to show you around the garden? I know this place like the back of my hand at this point." He beams. Just before Mamoru is even able to say a word in response, Craig gently grabs him by the wrist and pulls him to another section of the garden, not too far away from the flowerbed by the entrance. 

"Most of the potted plants in this garden are mine that I decided to arrange around here so they could get better sun." He said, gesturing round the area. A large row of prettily arranged plants line the corners of the garden, all varying in type, size and colour. 

"All of those there by the wall are mine and I even have a propagation station right by that shed." He says, pointing at a small glass table with tubes of small sprouts arranged on top. 

He goes over to a daisy bush just a few steps away and squats down. The daisy bush was an array of green leaves with pretty, white daisies dotting the foliage. Some areas are wilted, but most of the flowers seem to be flourishing. "These daisies were wilting when I got here so I decided to fix 'em up a bit and now they're doing much better."

Looking back, most of the plants in the garden has been tended to by Craig. "They really ought to pay me for my work." He joked. 

He gently plucks a pretty looking daisy from the bush and extends it to Mamoru from his crouching position on the floor. "Here, take this as a little gift from me." He says with a grin, face still covered in dirt from all his work earlier. "You can press it and dry it out to preserve it or you could place it in a vase of water." 

"But I think," He says, getting up from the ground, still holding the flower. He tucks the flower behind Mamoru's ear, "The white pairs well with your green hair." He smiles, without thinking much about what he's doing. 

There was no intent to his actions, he just felt like doing it and so he did before he could have a second thought. He was excited to have someone he was able to show his hobbies to, even if it was only a one way street.
Sid
He is not adjusting well but doesn't comment on that. Craig is trying to be *Nice.* He's not going to bog down the mood with his pessimism. 

The hair has a mind of its- it must be a power thing. It is simply the only explanation. Everyone here is a little weird. Very weird. *Extremely-* You get the point. 

He is snapped out of his thoughts with that smile. He grimaces a little at the pop but it's *Fine.* Maybe that's part of his ability too, who knows. 

"Alr-" He's cut off by his wrist being grabbed and he goes along with it. Why not? This is the most pleasant interaction he's had since he got here. 

He tries his best to listen to what Craig says but it's a lot so he just nods and goes along with it. And then... The Daisy. 

Oh *Boy.*
His face goes a bit red as Craig tucks it into his hair. Oh no. Oh dear-

He clears his throat. "Thanks- uhm- I appreciate it-" *I guess this means I have a friend...? Aaaaaaaaa-* 

This isn't good! This is the first ~~fellow captive~~ person he's physically met and he is getting all flustered. When, in reality, *That didn't even mean anything* And he *Knows* It so he needs to *Forget it* But-

"Do a lot of people visit the garden?" Expert subject change-
Tracy
Craig's excitement fueled fugue state is washed away for a moment as he notices Mamoru's face blush red. The tips of his ears turn a light shade of pink as he scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. 

"Ahh, sorry, I got too excited when you asked me about the garden, let me know if I'm making you uncomfortable in any way." He says, an apologetic smile on his face. 

"Do a lot of people visit the garden?"

He moved his hand from the back of his neck down at the subject change. "No, it's quite empty here when there aren't any classes present." He says, dropping the flustered expression. "It's a bit unfortunate considering how pretty this place is, but the lack of people makes this place very peaceful." 

Visitors of the garden are usually only there for a quick breath of fresh air, so the place is quiet most of the time. The lack of people is calming, though Craig thrives off human interaction to keep him from going insane. The garden is always able to clear his mind. 

"I'm probably the only recurring visitor of this garden," He says, "Which means I know this place inside out and I know all the best spots to get away from things." He announces, a conceited smile on his face. "Here, I'll show you my favourite spot in the garden."

He walks towards the direction of the greenhouse, signaling for Mamoru to follow along with him. 

He walks over to the opposite corner of the garden to a small secluded white bench underneath a large tree. Craig sits on the bench and pats the seat next to him, urging Mamoru to sit. The area was slightly away from the tiles and deeper in the grass. It was off the main path of the garden where people wouldn't normally decide to cross. 

"The bench is a bit oddly placed, right?" Craig says, looking at Mamoru with a soft smile on his face. "But look," He points towards the garden. You could see the entirety of the garden from the bench, greenhouse and all. "Pretty, isn't it?" He says, beaming at Mamoru. 

"I always go here when I need to clear my head." He hummed, just enjoying the view, "My quirk makes it so that my head is ringing 24/7 with no breaks but whenever I sit here my mind clears just like that."
Sid
*He wasn't supposed to see my face but he did d[]it-* He clears his throat.

"No- no. You're not making me uncomfortable I... Just don't know how to react to some things. That's all. It's- that's it." *Aaaaaaa-*

Right. Subject change. Moving on. No more talk of that. Moving on. Ignoring the flower in Moru's hair which he does not plan on taking out at the moment. 

"Yeah... I'm assuming not a lot of places are like this. Peaceful, I mean. The intranet sure isn't.." He mutters that last bit. If he gets called a taunting stupid fake nice name by Ares *One more time-*

He just assumes Craig is right about knowing this place best. *And he's showing me around..*

He follows after Craig quickly with a nod.

"..Whoa.." He doesn't know how to react at first. It's pretty. It's off to the side, where not a lot of people will go. Maybe he could even use it to clear his head. 

He sits next to Craig slowly, a bit nervous the bench will break under both their weights, but it holds sturdy. He assumed because of the grass maybe it was a bit old. 

"..Wow. Yeah, you're entirely right." You really can see everything.

And *He* Goes here when he clears his head. *I could too, then? I could give it a try.*

"Oh. That uh- sounds... Awful." He grimaces, trying to imagine his head ringing all the time. Not good. He hates it very much. "I would be here all the time if I.." His voice trails off. *Was he asking for my input? God, I really don't want to offput him now.. We're* This *Close to being friends.*
Tracy
"Yeah... I'm assuming not a lot of places are like this. Peaceful, I mean. The intranet sure isn't.."

"Tell me about it," He chuckles, rolling his eyes playfully, "I only open the intranet when I'm expecting a message from someone." Despite having been in NC for a couple of months already, Craig hasn't had a full grasp on technology yet, let alone social media. Everything is still roughly new to him and he feels ancient whenever he opens his phone, even though he's not even that old. 

Watching Mamoru enjoy the view from the bench, a proud smile grows on his face. Mamoru was the first student he's shared this spot with. He would show the place to his roommate but he doubts the guy would be into this type of thing anyway. He was glad to be able to finally share it with someone though. 

He wont be advertising the spot to everyone in NC anytime soon though; it's a nice secluded area from everyone, that was the point of the odd placement after all. It was a nice semi secluded spot Craig had to himself for the most part, but it was nice getting to share it with another person. 

"Oh. That uh- sounds... Awful."

"Well, it's not particularly fun going around with 20 other people in your head but you make do." He hummed looking out into the scenery in front of him, "I just gotta use what I got and work around this inconvenient bug, y'know."

"But I do wonder," He said, turning his head to Mamoru, "What about you, Mamoru? D'you have any gripes with your powers?"
Sid
He does the not-quite-laugh nose exhale at the eye roll. "Yeah... I don't even know why I *Tried* Talking through there. I don't know what I expected." He just never had an opportunity like that before. That's why. 

He looks over again, catching sight of the smile and quickly looking away again. The smile is infectious, Mamoru can't look at jt long or he'll make an utter fool of himself. But... He enjoys being around this guy. Very much. *Oh no.* No. *No* We are *Not* Thinking about the implications right now. 

"Twenty other..?" His voice trails off. He'll ask about it later. It's fine. 

"Gripes? Pff.." He looks back at Craig, his expression tired. "Plenty. But not because it *Does* Anything to me but because it's... Very easy to misunderstand. And misuse. You'd think that taking an injury off of someone is *Inherently* Helpful but then comes the issue- *Where does it go?* I don't *Heal* People, it doesn't go away. I just... Move it. And I don't have a full grasp on it either I..." He shakes his head. 

Yeah he had quite a few gripes. 

"It's not as helpful as you'd think it'd be, unless I happen to be near someone who has the regenerative abilities of f[]king Wolverine."
Tracy
Craig nods his head at Mamoru's statement. "Ah so you have healing- well, some semblance of a healing power too, is it?" He sat up slightly, looking over at Mamoru. "I get it man, my healing abilities are misunderstood too." He huffed. 

"My hair is made up of plant like tubes and they produce this sort of mucus in the inner walls of the stem." He says, grabbing a strand of his hair and reaching inside, scooping out a little bit of yellowish green, translucent goop. "This thing here is acid and creates a small rash when in direct contact with skin, but its able to treat a lot of remedies when you dilute it in water." 

"Um, I'm not sure how I can show you since I'm immune to this but um-" He says, before gently grabbing one of Mamoru's hands and smearing the tiniest amount of goop onto his palm. Not long after the small area turns light shade of red as an uncomfortable itch much like a mosquito bite begins to appear around the red bump. 

Craig quickly reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small tube of cream and rubs it on the red area. "Sorry, it's a bit unpleasant, it'll go away in a few seconds." He says, looking up at Mamoru, still holding Mamoru's hands down as the red bump quickly disappears back to normal and the itching sensation ceases. 

Craig has learned to carry around a tube of bug bite relief cream everywhere he goes after his hair accidentally bit his roommate's shoulders in the first 5 minutes of meeting. His hair outwardly lashing out or grabbing onto people is an increasingly rare occurrence now, but it doesn't hurt being prepared. 

Releasing Mamoru's hand after the red spot ceases completely, Craig looks back out into the field. "It has some medicinal properties when diluted with water but I cant produce a lot of it unless i cut it- and that hurts like hell." 

"Yknow before I was enrolled in NC, there was this one group of people who-"

He stopped talking.

Chatter. Loud, unending chatter swarms his mind as an ear shattering ring combined with frantic voices, none of which his, fill his head. 

He says nothing for a prolonged period of time, staring out into the garden, his face morphing from frustration to emptiness. It was as if he wasn't there anymore; like he left his body for a moment as the chatter grows more and more frantic as he tries to stop himself from dissociating. 

Only his eyeballs move as he scans the area, trying to ground himself again. His eyes land on Mamoru's distinctive green hair, a flower tucked behind his left ear. 

'What a pretty guy.'

A thought- his own thought- finally managed to get past his ringing head. His mind slowly calms and quiets down as he stares into the white daisy tucked behind his ear. 

 *Blink*
 *Blink*

He turns his head to Mamoru after a bit and his blank expression slowly breaks into a warm smile. "Hey," He says, a smile on his face as if he hadn't gone through another mental break just a few seconds ago. "Sorry, I forgot what I was talking about again- um,"

"Right your wound moving power sounds interesting at the very least," He says, his confused expression wiped off his face, "It's more interesting than my weird acid medicine anyway."
Sid
"Yeah.." He nods. Craig *Gets* It. Not everyone gets it. 

"Oh- that's... Neat." He doesn't really get it but wants to be supportive. Friends are supportive, right? And they seem like they're becoming friends? "...Okay, yeah, it's a little gross. But it's neat." Honesty is better. 

He lets Craig grab his hand without any resistance, watching... Waiting- *There it is.* "Oh-" 

It's itchy. He grimaces. But before he can do much of anything, Craig fixes it. Just like that. *Wow.* 

He's looking down at his hand in minor amazement. He's never really seen anyones abilities in action like that before. He would be itching at it if Craig weren't holding his hands. 



He discretely itches at it as soon as his hands are released, even if it's not really that itchy anymore. 

Great. Now he doesn't know what to do with his hands. 

He waits a moment for Craig to continue, but he doesn't. He also doesn't really know what to say. 

"I guess the... Best way to combat that is to gather a lot over time, assuming you don't do that already. That way you have it on hand without getting hurt."

He's half certain Craig didn't hear him. He doesn't quite recognize that expression, but... He feels like he has an idea as to what's going on. Craig's mind is elsewhere. 

*Is he back?* 
*Hes staring at me.* 
Moru's face flushes a tiny bit after looking back at Craig, so he quickly looks away.

"It's alright. Don't uh- don't worry about it. And.. I'm not so sure about that. I mean... Mine does sound less inconvenient- no offense- but it's... I don't know. I mean, I like your hair." *Did that sound dumb??*
Tracy
Craig chuckles endearingly at Mamoru's stammering. He feels comfortable around the green haired boy for some reason. He couldn't quite figure out why. 

"Yeah well, my powers are very inconvenient, you're right about that," He hummed, seeming as though he had not just had his brain overheat like a computer just a minute ago. "It makes it difficult for me to go out to town which is kind of annoying. Someone usually supervises be whenever I go outside so no accidents happen because of it." He sighed.

"As much as I appreciate the company I cant help but feel a little pathetic, y'know," He chuckled, as if his problems were that of laughing matter. "Well, I need to practice controlling my powers before I inevitably will need to get a job." 

Honestly, Craig has no future planned for himself after NC. One could imagine how hard it would be getting a job with no other prior academic experience and that added with the fact that Craig is very much so visibly parahuman and you have a recipe for unemployment. 

But he could probably think of that another time. 

"Maybe I can work here as a gardener of sorts- I mean I already tend to the garden mostly unpaid, I should talk to Ms Pernilla about getting an actual job as a gardener sometime." He said, looking up at the tree above him. 

A few small leaves gently cascade down the branches from time to time. Craig looks back at Mamoru and notices a small, green leaf, almost camouflaged onto the side of his hair. He chuckles endearingly at the sight before reaching out his hand to pick it out of his hair. "And I like your hair too." He smiles, flicking the leaf on to the ground, "Its very pretty." 

Perhaps the reason Craig was so comfortable around Mamoru was because he resembled the garden in a way. He just looks so natural sitting on the pretty white rickety bench underneath the shade of a large green and yellow tree in the garden. 

Perhaps Craig is just too easily trusting. 

But he enjoys the pretty green haired boy's company nonetheless.
Sid
"Right.. Yeah, that would be an issue. I mean- I guess staying hidden would be really hard. How did you-" *Stay hidden before?*

No, he won't ask that. Er- won't *Finish* Asking. Maybe Craig wouldn't like talking about his past. Mamoru's isn't that much to take in, but... You never know.

"Right... Jobs.." He groans, and a gentle breeze starts up. "At least we won't be here forever." 

He never had a future that he thought about. He was privileged enough to not have to worry about that sort of thing.

His parents were quite well off. Not rich enough that he'd never have to work, but enough so that he wouldn

't have to *Worry.*

"You should be a gardener. Maybe not *Here* Unless you want to stay, but... I think you'd be good at it. You know a lot about plants." 

In the breeze, a leaf lands into his hair. He doesn't even notice. But... Craig does.

He holds his breath as Craig reaches- *What is he doing what is he doing-* And pulls out the leaf- *Oh that's what he's doing.*

The final nail in the panic coffin is the hair comment. His face goes red with flustered blush. "I- er- thanks-" He looks pointedly at the ground. Wow. Look at that grass. What nice grass.

"S-so do you study uh... Botany? I think that's what it's called?" Wonderful subject change brought to you by grass!
Tracy
"Right.. Yeah, that would be an issue. I mean- I guess staying hidden would be really hard. How did you-"

"Stay hidden?" He says, finishing his question for him. "I lived in the woods up until I got admitted to NC. No internet, no advanced technology, just chores and my little garden to keep me from going insane." He chuckled. 

"I kind of missed that little shed of a home that I shared with my caretaker." He hummed, looking out into the garden, "I write home sometimes but she's only able to write back every few weeks because of the lack of internet there." 

He opted to omit the fact that he was the property of a druidic cult that would harvest his hair for medicine for the first 15 years of his life. He didn't want to go through another shutdown trying to recall information from the time. 

"At least we won't be here forever." 

His smile drops slightly at that mention. He liked Newton's Cradle; he has learned so many new things about himself and the world around him and had met some really interesting people during his stay. He's a bit sad thinking about having to leave someday, but he knows its inevitable. 

"Yeah," He says, tone slightly off from his usual cheery tone, "But where do I leave to?" 

He leans back on the bench and continues to look into the distance, "I can't just go back into hiding now can I? I'll need to figure out how to make a living and how to function with this ridiculous head of hair out in public." 

He sits and stares into the garden in silence for a while before propping himself up.

"I do enjoy botany." He says, facing Mamoru, a smile on his face, "Maybe I'll set up a flower shop someday, but I'll need to tame this hair of mine before then." 

"What about you?" Craig asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. "We've been talking about me this entire time so I'm curious as to what you like."
Sid
He's a little embarrassed that he asked that question in the first place, but nods. Craig got it right. 

He... Can't say that that sounds like the *Best* Situation but... It seems nice. Very nice. He nods again. 

"Yeah.. That makes sense." 

He has no idea about the Druidic cult! Mamoru just assumes that he'd always been in the woods with his caretaker. 

*Oh no his smile dropped agh-* "...Well, I mean, it's not *Ridiculous.* But other people... Yeah, I see the issue. I mean, you could just wear a large hat and... Yeah. I see the issue." He is trying to brainstorm and coming up dry. 

He can't help but smile a bit in return to the smile he's presented with. It's infectious. "Yeah... Yeah, that's a good idea." 

And then the question that Mamoru didn't expect comes up! *What about you?*

Oh dear. 

"Oh- well I-" He stammers a bit, trying to think of something to make him sound the slightest bit interesting. He can't think of anything. "I... There's not really- I'm not a very interesting person." *Wait-* "But it's not like I'm *Boring* Either I just- you know, there's a lot of things I haven't tried." 

Uh oh he's rambling. Panicking just a little. 

"I mean I... I spent most of my time reading or playing violin-" *Which I hate.* "-so I don't have a lot of cool hobbies yet." 

*Please don't think I'm boring..*
Tracy
"I don't think you're boring," He said, a genuine smile on his face, "I want to know more about you if that's alright." Craig doubts Mamoru is as uninteresting as he claimed to be. After all- no one in NC is truly uninteresting. They're here for a reason after all. 

"I think being uninteresting in NC is more of an achievement than anything, really." He chuckles at his own joke, "I mean, we're all parahumans after all." 

"I mean I... I spent most of my time reading or playing violin-"

"That sounds cool," He says, facing Mamoru, a wide grin on his face. "Are you any good at it? Do you like playing the violin?" He tilts his head to the side a bit, an interested look on his face. "I'm not musically talented by all means, but I like singing and have a janky acoustic guitar that I rarely play." 

Craig never plays music, be it singing or playing the guitar in front of people unless they ask him to, most people don't even know he has a guitar, considering it's just rotting away under his bed. "I should pick up my guitar again," He mumbled. 

"You said you haven't tried a lot of things," Craig says, "I'm the same. I didn't have access to a lot of things when I was in the woods so the only things I ever did was tend to a garden and cook. I really cant do anything else, it's a problem." He half sighed, half laughed. 

"But um, if you've never tried gardening, do you wanna help me fix up that flowerbed I was working on earlier?" Craig asks, tilting hiss head to the side, "It's really up to you, but I would appreciate an extra set of hands."
Sid
Is he any good at violin? The question almost makes him laugh. He doesn't. He doesn't laugh. 

"Well- that's... Quite the question. I don't want to sound conceited but uh... Yeah, I am good at it. Liking it is an entirely different beast, though." If Craig asks why he plays if he doesn't like it it's over. 

Well. Not really. Moru is just being dramatic. 

"And you should. Pick up the guitar, I mean. If you enjoy it." *Very smooth,* He sarcastically berates himself. 

And then he's asked to help. He can do that. He wants to do that. He nods. 

"Yeah, sure. I- can't promise I'll be any good at it, but I can try." Who knows? Maybe he'll like it.
Tracy
"Well- that's... Quite the question. I don't want to sound conceited but uh... Yeah, I am good at it. Liking it is an entirely different beast, though."

Craig tilts his head in confusion, but chose not to say anything. It was likely a sore topic for the boy so he might as well drop it. 

"Well, I'm sure you have your reasons for playing," He commented, opting not to pry for more information.

"Yeah, sure. I- can't promise I'll be any good at it, but I can try."

Craig's face lights back up again. "Great!" He exclaims, standing up and pulling Mamoru back to the entrance where the half finished flowerbed is located. The unfinished work lay there, begging to be completed. 

To be honest, Craig had gotten too caught up with talking to Mamoru that he'd almost forgotten why he was in the garden in the first place. It was a good thing he remembered, lest the plants would just dry back up again. 

He kneels in front of the flowerbed and signals for Mamoru to follow. "These were the lilies that were trampled, I've put them in a bucket for now," He said, pointing at the mud covered bucket to his left, "And these are the replacement lilies," He picks up a few small lilies and hands it to Mamoru. 

"Just make a little divot in the dirt and tuck the roots in like this," He says, placing the lily in the hole he dug out before covering the hole with more dirt. "Cover it up and that's it. Just make sure you're not spacing them too far apart or too close." He says, giving Mamoru an encouraging smile.
Sid
He's glad it was dropped, to be honest. 

He can't help but laugh a little as Craig pulls him. Craig's excitement is... Cute. It's really cute. Obviously he'll help. 

He kneels down next to Craig. 

"Alright.. Uhm... Okay. This can't be too hard." 

He concentrates, though, not entirely sure he's capable of this. It's a simple task but, what if he fails? What if he can't do it? What if he ruins the flower bed?

He was trusted to help, but... If he accidentally makes it worse...

No. No, there's no way to make it worse unless he sets it on fire. So, it's fine. 

Carefully, he pushes his sleeves up past his elbows and makes his first divot. Easy enough. Then... Just... Put the lily in... And...

Bam!

He smiles. 

"I- I think I did it right? It looks right to me." This small victory made him happy because he's not used to doing things like this. He happily goes to replant a second one, not even caring about dirt getting under his nails.
Tracy
Craig watches Mamoru figure out how to plant the flower like a dog. He looms over the green haired boy, a wide smile on his face as he goes to plant the flower. This was the first time Craig got to do gardening with anyone other than Evelyn and he was happy he finally got to do so with a friend. 

His grin grew wider when he saw Mamoru smile, the fact that Mamoru was enjoying something he liked made his stomach flip with joy. "Yeah! You're doing it," He beamed, facing Mamoru, "It's not that hard, right?" Craig reaches for the pile of lilies and continues planting alongside Mamoru, beaming all the while. 

Mamoru's small smile was enough to make Craig's entire week- maybe month even. He never had anyone he could share his hobbies with, Evelyn would teach him how to take care of crops and plants but gardening to her was merely a necessity. She did not mind the activity, but it was a way to not starve rather than a hobby to her. Having a friend do a little activity like planting a flowerbed with him means the world to Craig. 

"This is the first time I've ever had a friend help me out with gardening, now thinking," He hummed, still smiling, "I used to only garden with My caretaker before NC but even then, she only helped me out of necessity. We had to self sustain to get by while isolated in the woods- else we'd starve to death." Craig said, eyes glued onto the flowerbed as he continued working on the lily. 

"I started gardening mainly out of necessity but it grew on me- no pun intended." He chuckled at his own bad joke. "I mean, when you're doing something every single day, you'd have to find at least one thing you like about it right? Else you'd go insane, I would assume." 

Craig thought back at Mamoru's violin abilities. He says he's good at it so he must imagine he'd have played for a while, but he doesn't enjoy playing. But how could one keep doing something when they find absolutely no enjoyment out of it? Perhaps there was some little thing that Mamoru enjoys about the violin to keep him playing-

He leaves the thought at that and opts to not mention it. 

He grabs another lily and plants it onto the flowerbed.
Sid
Moru doesn't feel suffocated or uncomfortable with Craig watching. He's genuinely enjoying himself. Who would've thought he'd like *Gardening.* Or trying new things in general. Maybe he should do that more often. It's nice. 

The encouragement makes him smile more. He likes it. He likes it a lot. He likes being good at something and liking doing it. This is becoming a game of the other smiling as the other does. They'll both have pained cheeks before they know it. 

"It's fun, actually."
And it is. 

*Friend.* The word feels warm in his stomach. He has a *Friend.* He likes that too. 

"Right... That makes sense. I understand how something can become a chore if you need to do it, even if you enjoy it. Im glad you're showing me, though. And... You're right. Things are better when you find something positive about them. Newton's Cradle included, I hope." Teehee because he made a friend already.
Tracy
"Yeah," Craig chimes, looking back up at Mamoru with a warm smile, "I hope you find something you could enjoy during your stay in NC." He looks back down and continues to place the flowers in the flower bed. 

With two pairs of hands working on the same flowerbed, the work is getting done much faster than had he done so himself. 

"I don't know how your experience in Newton's Cradle has been all that much, but I hope you'll find something worthwhile to make these years go by a bit easier." He hummed, not looking away from the flower bed. "I didn't adjust all too well for the first few days either- I mean going from a little cottage in the middle of the woods to the concrete walls of my shared dorm; you could probably imagine how weird I felt."

"It's like-" He stopped and thought for a bit. "Its like repotting a plant. I didn't adjust well at first but after a while, I figured being here is what's best for me and I got situated after a bit, you know? I don't know if I'm making sense to you." He chuckled at his own analogy. 

"But uh," He said, looking over at Mamoru, "Just try to think of your stay here as something positive. We're here to learn about our powers- where else would we have this opportunity y'know?" 

He looked back down at the flowerbed and planted the last flower. 

"It's only worthwhile when you want it to be."
Sid
He's proud of himself! He did something! With his hands! And enjoyed it!

"Yeah... Yeah. I just- it's been okay? Except for the people mocking me and such... I think I'll find something. I mean- if nothing else I can help you here."

"You're making sense, don't worry." He's smiling as well, looking at Craig.

Yeah. No. He has a crush. It's been one interaction and he's already crushing. He'll mentally berate himself for being pathetic later.

"Yeah I think I'll... Try to make it worthwhile."
Tracy
"Yeah... Yeah. I just- it's been okay? Except for the people mocking me and such... I think I'll find something. I mean- if nothing else I can help you here."

"Yeah!" He beamed, "An extra pair of hands would be very useful, but I'm just glad you're enjoying gardening." 

He takes off the yellow gloves- now caked in dirt and places them in the bucket along with the dead flowers. He gets up, extending a hand out to Mamoru to help him up as well. "Pretty isn't it?" He says, looking down at the newly arranged and fixed flowerbed. 

The familiar rewarding feeling washed over him as he looked at the lilies. It was like any other flowerbed in the garden- but it was special because *He* Worked on it- and with a new friend to boot! 

"It's rewarding work, yeah," He says, stretching a bit, "It's little moments like these that keep me going."

Craig looks up at Mamoru and notices the flower that was tucked into his ear slip a bit. Without a second of hesitation, he tucked it back into it's place and moved Mamoru's green hair away from his face. 

"All fixed." He smiled. 

He looked up at the sky- it was starting to get dark. 

"Ah I lost track of time, I need to go make dinner." He huffed, "Well, it was really nice talking to you and I hope we can keep in touch- feel free to contact me on the intranet but if you need me, I'm always either in my dorm, the kitchen or the garden," 

He speed walked kind of backwards, waving at Mamoru not paying attention to his surrounding. He hit the wall slightly before quickly recovering his balance. "Bye Mamoru!" He exclaimed before disappearing into the building.
Sid
He takes Craig's hand, standing. "Yeah.. It is. It really is." He also gets a rewarding feeling. But a new one. He hasn't felt this in a while. It's.. Nice.

Craig fixes the flower, and Moru is left speechless for a second, mouth opening before closing again. He clears his throat, looking away. His face is reddening slightly. "Thanks-"

"Alright. Yeah- I'll come find you sometime." *Too desperate? Or was that friendly? I'm not used to this.*

He laughs behind his hand as Craig bumps into the wall.

Yeah, no, he likes him.
Craig's a dork- a really cute dork who Mamoru would really like to know better.

[[end?]]