Jennifer
```Day 68 at Newton's Cradle...```
*Where am I going again?*

It was just after nightfall, and Gabe was doing... Something? He couldn't remember. Without his powers, the ADHD hit him in full force, and just when he decided on a course of action, something else would catch his eye and he'd quickly pivot. Not that there was much catching his eye— there was nothing to *Do* In the facility, really. He'd been (dramatically) secluding himself after a couple of choice Intranet reactions, and the days spent dutifully studying in his dusty, lonesome double were beginning to blend together. 

Not that he'd tell anyone that. He was *Famous*, after all. 

For some reason— instinct, perhaps? Gabe had found himself at the entrance to the gardens, eyes wide and searching for a familiar face (Maybe Audrey was here...? God, he'd kill to see her smile— she sure was lovely to look at.) Fortunately, it seemed as if Gabe was in luck. A figure, hunched down, obscured by shadow. Who else could it have been?

"Yo, Audrey!" Gabe beamed, quickly remembering to maintain a slow, casual gait, instead of the excited golden retriever run he was barely restraining. He clapped a (forceful) hand on the figure's shoulder, intending the scare the girl *Just a bit*. She did say she was easily startled, and it was always amusing.
Rex
Audrey isn't the only person that's easily startled. As it turns out, this figure hunched in the dirt is too.

Joshua had been so engrossed in caring for the taters that he had no clue of someone approaching. Suddenly there's a hand on his shoulder and a loud voice right behind him.

Startled, the large boy jumps up, ripping his hands out of the soil and throwing half dead potatoes and dirt everywhere, making a very un-manly screech as he does.
"Huh? Wh-" He exclaims, before catching himself some and continuing in a voice far deeper than the noise he just made. "Jesus! Don't sneak up on a guy like that."
Jennifer
The unmanly screech forces a small laugh out of Gabe, a noise quickly stifled as the very *Male* Figure stands up and turns around to look at him. He eyes the figure up and down in the dim light, sizing up the unfamiliar person. 

The first thought: 
*Ok, this ain't Audrey.*

The second: 
*Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, this guy is fucking tall.*

He *Was* Tall. A good two inches over Gabe, a fact that made him internally turn green with envy. 

*It's fine, it's fine, I'm buff!* Another eyeful trails the length of the stranger's body. *Well, so is the mysterious gardener, but...* His inner monologue trails off. This time, instead of a laugh, Gabe stifles a disgruntled huff.

"Who are you? You're not Audrey." A slightly-Southern tinted voice blurts out, before he clears his throat and tries again, this time with a less... Off-guard tone. More composed. Friendly, even.

"But, what in the *Sam hill* Are you doing gardening this late? Shouldn't you... Be sleeping? Or showering? Or... You know, meeting a girl?" *Uh, Gabe— you're at the Cradle.* "Or a guy?" He adds on, a bit ungracefully.
Rex
"I spend a lot of time down here, so I don't really have many people to meet. For instance I've been working on these potatoes since about noon." He motions towards the plants by his feet. As he speaks, he notices a plant that landed on his shoulder during his outburst. He gently pulls it off his shoulder and cradles it like someone would a small animal. "Someone came in and stomped them, probably without even realising it. They might have survived, being as hardy as they are. But I couldn't leave them to go through that without help."
Jennifer
"That long?" Gabe sighs, sitting down on a bench near the plant-crime scene. He picks a couple of stray leaves out of his brown curly top, and dusts off the dirt from his preppy sweater vest. Looking immaculate was one thing Gabe prided himself on— from the perfectly rolled up sleeves to highlight his strong dark arms, to the color coordination and subtle props of green all meticulously planned out. 

Sure, he might not tend to a garden, but he did tend to himself. He could admire both of their efforts, no?

"Hey, do you... Like, need any help? Feel kind of bad for, you know, making you squeal like a girl and all." He crouches down next to Joshua, meeting his gaze with dark brown eyes. 

"I haven't even introduced myself— Gabe, Gabe Trahan." He digs around in his pocket for a bit, letting a slew of Southern curses fall from under his breath. *Shit, I forgot my business card.* 

"How about you? Don't recognize your face, and I'd like to think I'm *Pretty* Well versed in what goes on around here." He asks, clearing his throat and talking with a loud, commanding yet charming voice. Its pitch and cadence was perfectly practiced, in a Trans-Atlantic accent that sounded almost authentic.
Rex
"Oh yeah. If you can help me get the roots back in the ground I should be able to handle the rest easily enough." He answers, beginning to dig a hole with a gloved hand to put his plant back in the ground, being careful not to damage anything that isn't already. He gently plants the spud, then covers the roots, frowning at the sorry state of the stalk and leaves.

After a moment he registers the rest of the question "Oh,uh, sorry. My name is Joshua Hawthorne. I'm pretty much always here or in my room it seems like." His rumbling voice, quiet as it is, still seems to fill the small space, the cadences striking like beats on a drum. "Its a wonder I haven't met more people in here, if nothing else."
Jennifer
"Well, I mean, if you're always in your room it's prawlly why I haven't heard your name before." A small remark, but one with no bite, as Gabe gets on his hands and knees and begins to plant alongside the other man. 

It was... A bit odd, meeting someone new. He thought he'd already grown accustomed to this place, and all the strange (and sometimes dangerous) characters who populated the Cradle. However, there he was— a flaw in Gabe's understanding, a missed variable unaccounted for. Someone who's flown under the radar. A John Doe, if you will.

"Well, Joshua," Gabe turns to look at the other man, smiling amicably. "So, why are you here? Surely, someone who tends to plants as sweetly as *You* Do wouldn't be the type to be in a juvie."

Information was key, especially when dealing with a *???*. He didn't know why Joshua had enacted a self-imposed solitude, and Gabe was eager to find out.
Rex
"Well... There was a lot that led to me being here." Joshua answers slowly. It's not that he doesn't want to get into it. It's just a *Lot* To get into. "I was homeless for a long time, just me and a lemon tree."

He frowns again at the plants he uprooted as they replant. *Those ones probably won't make it on their own. Should I try to help more? Can I while this guy is here?*

"What about you?" He asks, trying to redirect while he debates, "You don't really strike me as the juvie type either. So what brings you?"
Jennifer
"Naw, no juvie for me." Gabe waves his hand, almost as if to dismiss the asinine thought. Really, someone like *Him*? In juvie? No, no, bless your heart for thinking such a thing. 

"More that my powers were a bit... Noticeable. It's kind of my whole deal, if you can believe it." He pauses, dusting off his dirt-covered hand in the air before stroking his chin. "Not that I need any help in that department. I did manage to accidentally scare ya, right?" 

A loud, boisterous laugh.

"Nice to hear you're not one of those people. You know how many people here are utterly terrifying? Man, and not in the me kinda way, where I startle you since you're busy working." An overexaggerated, slightly showy shiver, just to emphasize his point. 

"Although.. You and a lemon tree? What, is there something special about it?" Gabe's curiosity shines through his voice, and he can't help but look around for any tree-shaped objects.
Rex
*'My powers?' So this guy has powers too. Does that mean it's safe? Honestly I don't want to let the potatoes take their chances.*

This internal debate is taking so much of his focus that Joshua doesn't even take a second to be cautious about his past.

"Jeffery came out of the same lab I did. I took it with me when I escaped."
Jennifer
"Lab?" 
Gabe tilts his head, turning ever so slightly. 

"Let me guess— moment of panic because you found out the 23 and Me lab you were interning at didn't give dental?" He jokes. "...Kidding. I'm assuming it's dark and tragic like everything else that goes on around here, so don't bother explaining if you don't want to."

Joshua... Didn't seem like a *Bad* Person. Maybe a little shy, but not someone to be wary of, despite his physicality. Still, Gabe thought to himself, he'd rather not piss the other off. 

And, perhaps, the inking of a story about a man caring for a lemon tree... Was a bit endearing. Straight out of a play, he could imagine. Or maybe an Oscar-bait film.
Rex
As soon as Gabe said, 'lab,' Joshua realised what can of worms he had just opened. His focus on the plants had completely blinded him to personal caution not once but twice tonight alone. He needed to get a handle on that quick.

"I don't mind explaining," He lies, "Pretty much the short version is that they did something to me that gave me the ability to... Communicate with plants. There were some unintended side effects, and that's how I escaped." 

While he speaks, he takes off his left glove and rolls up his shirt sleeve revealing his hand and arm. Instead of skin, and muscle, his arm had become wood and bark. Small patches of green break up the slightly rough brown exterior along the arm and back of his hand, with a smooth wood being visible on the palm. 

"More side effects developed and living on the streets became too dangerous. So I ended up here."
Jennifer
Gabe lets out a low whistle at the sight, shoving his face into the man's arm to take a better look. 

"Wow, you really *Are* Like Audrey— she's kinda similar to you, actually, with pretty vines growing under her skin. She needs sun to eat, so she doesn't come out during the night all too often, but she kind of serves the whole... You know, hippie, talking to plants aesthetic you have." 

Was that an insult? Naw, Gabe mused, not if he could *Literally talk to plants*.

"Although..." Gabe plops down on the ground, taking a step back from helping the garden (now that he knew the other's power, it didn't seem like he'd be too useful) to eye the other's handiwork with keen eyes. 

"Do plants even have anything to *Say*? They're, you know, plants." The actor looks back and forth between Joshua and the potato plants. "Not to offend them, or anything— you think they're shit-talking me right now?" He grins, the question punctuated by a small laugh.
Rex
"Describing how a plant thinks to someone who's never experienced it is hard." Joshua answers with a sigh. "They don't have the same concerns as you and I. They don't have the hormones that make emotions. But they do pay as much attention to what goes on around them as anyone." Joshua steps back a bit to examine their handiwork. The plants still look terrible, but they're rooted at least.

"There was an oak tree in the park I was sleeping in before coming here. This tree was almost 300 years old. Conversation was slow, to say the least. But over the course of months it told me all kinds of things about the development of the city around it."
Jennifer
Gabe sighs as well, idly playing with a stray curl in his hair. He's talked remarkably little about himself— a feat, truly. Not that it was *Bad*, but it certainly was an interesting turn of events to listen to this stranger's experiences. 

"Oooh, so you can gossip with trees?" He raises a perfectly-manicured eyebrow, a sly, devilish grin on his face. "Bet ya use it a lot to snoop. Give someone a nice flower on move in day, and know all their secrets, right?" 

"Obviously, I'm joking." Another laugh, just to cement how Gabe would absolutely *Never* Do anything of the sort. "You'd probably just hear a fern's opinion on the latest season of *Keeping up with the Kardashians*, as riveting as that would be."

"Hm. Although..." His face turns upward towards the sky, admiring the starry view for only a brief moment. "What's the craziest thing you've heard a tree say? Color me curious."
Rex
"That's a tough one. But honestly the tree that claimed it could remember when humans arrived probably takes that prize." Joshua answers with a laugh, "I couldn't get it to elaborate, and honestly I don't think I would be able to handle it anyway."

He gives the spuds yet another concerned look. "I think they're going to need more help than that. I did some damage throwing them around."

He kneels in the dirt again, gently resting his wooden palm against the broken stalk of one of the potstoes. A faint green glow emanates from his palm.

G1 tryna save the taters
Jennifer
Describe what happens to the potatos
Rex
The change isn't immediate, but the broken stalks straighten themselves slowly, mending the tears as they do. Damaged leaves wither and fall to the ground as new buds develop and open right before their eyes. Even though Joshua is only touching the one stalk, the healing light is shared between the plants through their roots, so all the damaged plants slowly repair themselves. After a few minutes, the patch looks as if it hadn't been damaged at all.
Jennifer
Gabe lets out a low whistle that slowly turns into a yawn. 

It must have been twelve o'clock by now, and the fatigue from the day began setting in. His stamina (or rather, lack of) was one of his few character flaws, and he could feel the tiredness from the day's events weigh heavy on his bones, droop his eyelids ever so slightly. 

"Dude, respectfully, it's... Late. Very late. The plants'll be here in the morning, you know?" Another yawn. "Please tell me you're not going to sleep in the garden." Gabe groans, expecting the worst from this more-plant-than-human man.
Rex
"How's that any different from sleeping in a park?" Joshua asks with a bit of a smile.

"I do really like my bed though, so I doubt I'll sleep down here again soon." He only fell asleep talking to spuds a dozen or so times before his aching back made him break that habit.

"They should be able to handle themselves pretty well now." He says as he stands up. Then he drops back down, nearly blacking out from the strain. "Oh yeah. I put more into that than I meant to." He gasps, before standing back up. He stays up this time, but sways dangerously. "I definitely need to sleep that off."
Jennifer
"Sleeping in a park would be *Worse*. You'd wake up with a stab wound in the leg and all of your valuables stolen from you, ya hooligan." An affectionate insult, one delivered with a fond tone that surprised Gabe himself. "Either way, I'd hate to see your back give out. I don't think your lemon tree would make the most riveting company while in the hospital, yunno?" 

He brushes dirt off of his dark brown pant legs, about to turn away when—

"Woah, alright, easy there." A quick pivot on the ball of his foot, the reflexes honed after years of dance and acting practice. Gabe rests a steady hand on Joshua's shoulder and momentarily stabilizes the other. 

"Want me to walk to you your place? I'm not looking as..." He eyes the other's sudden pale complexion. *Sickly.* "...Tired as you are." Gabe finishes, eyebrow raised in concern.
Rex
When Gabe puts his hand on Joshua's shoulder, instead of finding it to be soft like flesh and muscle should be, he finds that it is hard and rough beneath the shirt. Normally Joshua would've immediately brushed the hand away from his lignification, but he was in no state for that.

"I wouldn't say no to a shoulder to lean on." Joshua answers, "Plants... They use a lot of energy to grow, just spread out over a long time... Sometimes I forget... I forget how much that can cost me." He explains, walking out of the garden with the other boy.
Jennifer
A small hum under Gabe's breath under the cool Swedish air, and the two were off.