Spices -- Kellyn

## Transcript

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PANDOR.

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Exploration commenced.

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Sougo

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While there are not many things to complain about since he arrived, there is one Sougo cannot put aside from his thoughts. After all, it is something he used almost everyday in his life before this. "Thank you for accompanying me today on this selfish request." While he did not originally plan to bother anyone else on it, Kellyn had, surprisingly, offered to join him when he had brought it up in passing. "I did a bit of research ahead of time and the Infinity Gardens seemed like the best place to find them." Them being something equivalent to capsaicin or better. If there's a possibility of something better than it. "I have only been here a few times for a stroll. It's a very beautiful places." Sougo glances around the garden entrance, a familiar sight for being a local resident of the area. "I suppose we should dive right into and ask them, though I wouldn't oppose to looking around first."

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Kellyn

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"It's fine!" He doesn't mind in the slightest -- after all, it's nice to get him outside a little bit, and Misdreavus has been... awfully rambunctious lately. "I hope you don't mind her company too much." A gesture to the cat-like ghost-type pokemon, who struggles a tiny bit against the pull of his handmade leash. She's a prankster, that one-- he just hopes they don't cause too much trouble. This place was after all, indeed, nice. "Let's ask them! We might as well, right? We can take a look around after." Kellyn, at the very least, is really please. Sougo is pleasant company, after all.

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PANDOR.

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Tending to the gardens is a younger looking man, with tanned skin and dark brown curly hair, humming lightly to himself as he prunes back some wayward branches on a bush. He notices when you approach, but takes a little more notice of Misdreavus.

"O-Oh! Hello there... Is... Is that a... what is that? I don't think I've seen one of those around..."

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Sougo

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"Not at all. It's nice to meet you again." He directs toward the creature. Sougo smiles in his usual kind and friendly way when they approach a young man, but his question remains in his mouth as the other's bewilderment at Kellyn's creature took over. To be honest, he doesn't know what it is either. He just accepted the fact that it is one of the strange and wondrous accommodations they were given. "I never saw one either until I met him." Sougo agrees, casting a glance at the floating creature. It is a ghastly and mischievous looking being with red beads across its neck-- at least what Sougo presume is a neck. It looked like everything Tamaki would dislike. "I don't believe I ever asked you what it is…"

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Kellyn

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"It's-- she's --" A heave in, Kellyn lets out a long sigh. "She's a Pokemon, called Misdreavus. She comes from my home world, and she's my partner. I apologize if her presence is disliked." She's -- "Um, she's ghost type, but the leash on her keeps her in check. I hope it's not too inconvenient." Naturally, she'd stand out. Kellyn nervously rubs the back of his neck. Why is it not surprising, she's the noticeable one... Ah! "In-- in any case," To change the topic, "Do you happen to know of any spices around here?"

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PANDOR.

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"No, no, not at all! You newcomers sure bring some fascinating things with you... I just... can I...?" The gardener reaches out a questioning hand, casting Kellyn a glance that seemed to ask permission to pet Misdreavus.

While he waits for a response, his brow furrows in thought. "Spices...? You mean here, in the garden? Like... Nutmeg or cinnamon? Something like that?"

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Sougo

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“A Misdreavus…” It is certainly a mystic-looking creature. “Not at all, I find her presence quite calming in a way?” Though, that is to say that Sougo is not perturb by ghostly creatures and is rather curious about them instead. It reminded him of the time when they ran into that female ghost during their 24-hour bit back at home. “Yes!” Sougo immediately answered, eager to hear familiar names. He remembers his place quickly enough and reels in his excitement. “P-Pardon for my outburst, but yes. What we’re looking for specifically are chili peppers or ones that have capsaicin components in them. Does the garden have such plants…?”

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Kellyn

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"It's fine. Go ahead and pet her if you'd like. She won't bite." Genuinely, in that case. She might cause trouble, but she wasn't... violent, at least. A smile in response to that crept onto his face. She was definitely in good company, despite her usual chaos. "Right -- the names of plants here are a little different from the ones where I come from, but the hot-spicy kinds of spices such as... 'chili peppers'... I guess." He stifles a bit of a laugh. It's an unfamiliar term.

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PANDOR.

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The gardener's face lights up as he tentatively reaches out a hand and just ever-so-gently ruffles the top of Misdreavus's head. He retracts his hand quickly, not wanting to push his luck, but looking utterly thrilled about this new creature he just got to pet.

"...Huh? Oh, right, right. Um... I think we might have something like that around here? Maybe near the back? If not, you'd have an almost sure bet looking in the markets in the Walk, or Infinity Gardens in the Precinct, but... I'm not sure they'd let you take any of their specimens with you without a really good reason."

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Sougo

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"Really?! Ah, of course. I wouldn't take them if they're being used for certain purposes. May you show us where they are still?" Because, as excited as he is, he also need to make sure how they look here. For when he goes buying out the entire stock later, which though impossible to actually do, Sougo felt he would definitely drop all that he could for it.

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Kellyn

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"It would be really helpful if you could show us where they are." Kellyn nods in agreement, and Misdreavus is happy as can be, chittering away with a pleased smile. She looks content. Successfully ruffled, she hurries on around, floating about. Kellyn, meanwhile, couldn't help but chuckle.

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PANDOR.

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The gardener hesitates for a moment, looking between the plant he was tending prior to your approach and the gleefully floating Misdreavus, seemingly torn between what he knows he really should be doing and his fascination with the creature.

"...Ah, what the tick. Fine, I can step away for a few minutes." His face lights up as he tucks his pruning shears into a sheath on his belt and eagerly steps into place near Misdreavus. "Right this way, stay close, it's easy to get lost."

And with that, he heads off away from the entrance, whistling a tune and watching the Pokemon eagerly. "...You're both newcomers, right?"

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Kellyn

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The ranger smiles politely, nodding as he follows the gardener. "Right, we're newcomers -- It's.. it's been a little while, I guess, since I got here -- hard to tell what with... y'know." Kellyn's relieved that the gardener likes Misdreavus. And regardless, this should be fantastic for his cooking. He stays close by, Misdreavus purring as she floats aside. "... But... since we're not from here, newcomers. I like it here, though -- Epoche is very peaceful."

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PANDOR.

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The gardener laughs softly, hands brushing over leaves as they pass, turning some over to inspect them, but never lingering for long by any one plant. "You can say that again. Still, losing Time just sorta makes you realize that in the end, tracking it isn't as important as everyone makes it out to be. We carry on, we live our lives on our own Time, and... well, I like to think of it as less of losing Time and more of always having Time with me, you know?"

He pauses for a second, then shakes his head and chuckles again. "...But I'm rambling on now, huh? Sorry about that, didn't mean to go all... introspective on you. Where were we...?" His eyes scan the gardens, and then seem to land on something that makes him perk up. "Ah-- right over here." He points to a plant with some muted yellow peppers hanging from the stems.

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Kellyn

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It hits him, a bit -- the idea that time isn't really lost. That 'time' stands still and what it really means is that nobody knows he's gone -- that if he's ever able to return home, he'll have changed -- and nobody will understand why it happened, in no time. But that's the thing, isn't it. It's less 'no time' and more 'infinite time'. Or maybe it's not -- Epoche... is confusing. "It's alright, it was interesting to think about." It's the less negative of his conversations on this end, regardless -- Kellyn smiles as he watches the gardener pick these peppers -- "Oohh... How's that one? Is it particularly spicy?"

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PANDOR.

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The gardener grins, plucking a single pepper from the vine and wiping it on a brown, tattered cloth sticking out of his waistband.

"It's nothing that will burn your eyebrows off, no, but it's enough to add a pleasant sort of sweet spice to any dish. It's good in soups, particularly."

He holds it out to you with an inviting grin. "You're more than welcome to take a bite of it, if you want."

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Kellyn

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Kellyn eagerly takes the pepper, taking a small bite out of the fruit. Closing his eyes -- it's quite lovely, but still with a nice spice to it. It would be fantastic, he can envision the dish he could make with it -- he nods. "This is delicious." But... "But it's not exactly what I'm looking for. What else do you have here?"

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PANDOR.

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The gardener raises an eyebrow at you. "Don't tell me you're looking for something spicier? People around here don't go too spicy in their food usually."

Still, he scratches the back of his neck, eyes shifting a bit as though he's afraid whatever thoughts are crossing through his mind might just be enough to get him fired. "I mean... There's another one around here, yeah, but I can't be held accountable if it ends painfully for you."

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Kellyn

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"Ah, I wouldn't worry too bad about it. I'm pretty durable, you know." He lets out a laugh. "There's just a specific dish I'd like to make, and it does require something spicier. I take it the one you're talking about is your spiciest pepper, then?" He pauses. That'd probably be best. "Lead the way!"

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PANDOR.

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He sighs, looking around again to make sure no boss or supervisor is watching him. "Look, just... Don't say I didn't warn you," he mutters under his breath, seeming a little less than pleased to be doing this. "It's not something we usually use in food, our cuisine isn't that spicy, it's meant to be crushed into a poultice for relieving sore muscles."

And so the gardener steps off -- quietly, you note, he really does not want to get in trouble for potentially hospitalizing a patron of the gardens -- and brings you to another area of the garden. It isn't fenced off or restricted or anything... perhaps most people in Epoche just know that this particular plant is meant for medicinal purposes rather than culinary. But on the vine is a thin, pitch black pepper whose tail curls into a menacing sort of spiral. The gardener yanks a glove on, perhaps in an overabundance of caution, and yanks one of the peppers off the vine.

"...Your funeral. But here."

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Kellyn

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Being an outsider has its perks, at least. After all, Kellyn's tasted harsh 'peppers' (see: berries) before. Back home, his berry of choice for this dish would've been the tomato berry, well known for its dangerous properties, which cause swelling among other conditions when consumed. That's why you only use a small amount. "Thank you." Rather than give it a taste -- something Kellyn's not so sure won't kill him -- he takes the pepper gently from the gardener's hand, and sniffs it. "... Perfect." He says, nonchalantly. "I can finally make them again! Thanks so much."

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PANDOR.

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The gardener's shoulders slump in what you can assume is relief that he didn't have to watch you bite into something that would have likely ended in a trip to the hospital.

"...Right, yeah. Just... Please be careful? And maybe don't tell anyone I was the one who gave you that, yeah?"

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Kellyn

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"Of course! It'll be a secret between you and me -- and I'll use it minimally. I've worked with -- peppers like this in the past." Again, not peppers: berries. Though with the caution around this one, it's safe to say that he should use far less of this than with tomato berries. "Again, thank you so much. If you're alright with it, I'll be going now."

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PANDOR.

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EXPLORATION ENDED.