Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 1

Chapter 10: A Garden Spat

"No," he grumbled, letting her feel his paw-pad for any remaining spines.
"But it still hurt..."

Sighing, she scooped him up, holding him in one arm like a baby as she put her other hand on her hip.
"So, what do we do now?" She asked.

Deuce hummed, crouching down and poking a clump of spiny chestnuts with the tip of his magical pen.
"I don't think we're gonna be able to do this with our bare hands," he said, standing back up. "Plus, we're gonna need something to put them in, anyway..."

Crossing his hands behind his head again, Ace looked back towards the greenhouse.
"There's probably some tools in the botanical gardens, right?" He suggested.

Deuce shrugged.
"It's worth a look," he replied, starting to walk back down the path.

************************************

When they entered the greenhouse, Kat's mouth fell open, and her eyes widened.
"Wooow..."

The greenhouse somehow seemed even bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside...
Whether that was some kind of TARDIS magic or just an optical illusion, she couldn't tell.

True to its name, there were plants everywhere...
Trees, vines, flowers, bushes, all with barely a brown leaf or wilted blossom in sight.
Wrought-iron gates and fences stood, in theory dividing the greenhouse into sections. They didn't seem to be doing their job very well, though. The plants grew through, around or on them, completely undeterred.

Wide stone paths crisscrossed the ground, and crystal-clear water flowed in shallow canals.
The canals were lined with bright blue tiles, giving it an almost artificial, brighter-than-life feeling that she'd always kind of liked at theme parks, mini golf courses or old movie sets...
But without the overpowering smell of chlorine and other such chemicals.

Indeed, as she took a deep breath, all she could smell was nature...
The scent of verdant leaves, damp earth and all kinds of flowers.
The tension she hadn't realized she was carrying drained out of her shoulders and upper back.

"It's gorgeous in here..."
Dammit, and she'd forgotten the stupid camera.
Well, when she'd left Ramshackle that morning, she hadn't even had a bag to put the stupid thing in...

"No kidding," Ace agreed, looking around in awe. "I didn't realize this place was so big..."

Deuce nodded, looking around as well.
"If it's this big, there's gotta be a groundskeeper or something somewhere in here," he said, turning.
"Let's split up and look for them, okay? They've gotta have some tools we can borrow."

"A'ight," Ace agreed cheerfully. "Then... Dibs on the right path, okay?"

Deuce looked back at her, and she shrugged.
"Okay," he agreed, looking back at Ace. "Then I guess I'll go left... Grim and Prefect-- I mean, Kat-- are you okay with going straight ahead?"

"No problem," she replied, shrugging. "I'll holler if I find anything, okay?"

"Same here," Deuce nodded.

Ace gave a two-fingered salute, turning on one foot and heading off to the right, where a small stone bridge arched across the canal.
"Aye-aye, captain," he called back lazily.

"See you later," Deuce smiled, waving as he headed to the left, with an identical bridge.

Kat smiled back, waving as she strolled up the path in the middle.
Grim hopped out of her arms, skittering along on the path next to her as she wandered aimlessly.