01-10-2010, 09:58 PM
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@&#&$"There are some, but it's rare. I can only think of a couple other examples; two kinds of trees... willows--which I haven't really seen in Canada--and poplars," he explained. Hollies were another species that had come up in the books, but as he'd never actually seen one of these plants he felt less comfortable citing it. "More likely a plant's got both male and female parts... a lot of them have 'em on the same flower, some on the same plant," he concluded with a shrug. Had Rurik caught him later in the year when plants were actively growing, he would have taken him outside and offered a quick run down on the anatomy of a flower.
@&#&$When he'd run into Maserati on his way back into Nova Scotia, she'd left him with the very basic instructions he was scribbling down for Rurik now. It wasn't until a couple months later that he bothered to actually read up on the subject and figure out why; the concept had seemed just as bizarre to him, too. Plants had never been something he paid a whole lot of mind. They looked pretty and he knew some could be used for healing purposes, but they seemed to do their own thing without any intervention on the wolves' part, so why worry about it?
@&#&$As he delved deeper into his research, however, he'd only grown more intrigued. Any random fact or observation could serve as a seed of curiosity in his mind--if only he bothered to nurture these seeds, they would flourish. Anselm was an ambitious man and with nothing to hold him back, he'd make something great out of this business yet. He wanted to go beyond weed, beyond poppies, beyond intoxicants completely. He wanted to pin down the more useful medicinal herbs and cultivate them, too. In this way, he could serve both his country and himself.
@&#&$... of course, it would be a lie to say he wasn't more concerned with personal expansion at the moment. That Inferni would come to benefit from his studies was more a positive externality than an initial motivation. Perhaps it was just as well. If he didn't get into something for his own sake, the likelihood of him sticking with it promptly dropped off to nil. Even this samogon endeavour was only tangentially related, and it would serve as more of a chemistry experiment than a direct contribution to his botanical investigations.
@&#&$He scrawled down the ingredients in list form, frowning inwardly because some of them seemed more exotic than he would have originally guessed. How was he going to get honey without getting stung by the bees? Where would he find enough fruit? Berries grew in the wild but they were exceedingly tiny. To take out the skin and seed would leave very little behind. His best bet was probably an old apple orchard he knew of just outside the city, although he would need to get to the fruit in time--if he waited too long either the deer and rabbits would have themselves a feast, otherwise it might just rot.
@&#&$When the Russian mentioned milk he almost stopped writing entirely, as more and more it appeared to be a lost cause. Where on earth was he going to get milk? He couldn't exactly waltz up to a nursing female and go "Hey, can I get a sip of that?", much less three litres. Sometime later he'd learn of Phoenix Valley's farms of domesticated animals and seek out a trade, but at present it seemed hopeless. He listened with half-hearted interest as Rurik explained the distillation process, now only maintaining enthusiasm due to the "mechanics" of it--he'd already given up on the notion of ever doing it himself.
@&#&$He squinted at the sketch and nodded to show his comprehension, adding a quick parenthetical note of (mall-caps">Pulp Only) next to 'fruit' on his ingredient list. At last he dropped the marker and pulled back on his fingers, stretching them before reaching for the bowl and taking the final hit. He hardly felt slighted by the other man; it wasn't Rurik's fault that the ingredients were so hard to come by. "I suppose we'll both see what happens," he said with a small smile as he exhaled; he'd revealed nothing on the surface that betrayed his inner disappointment. He took the papers and tucked them carefully away; he'd still keep them on file, of course. It never hurt to plan for "just in case," right?
@&#&$He sat dumbly for a moment, mind blanking temporarily after all of the intense focus. A second later his eyes lit up. "Oh, right, so back on the plants. The boy plants have balls, oddly enough," he giggled, finding it more amusing than it really was due to the effects of the drug. "Here," he said, begrudgingly grasping at the marker again so he could draw a shitty sketch of his own on the last piece of paper. "The female plants have these instead," he said, trying to draw one of the pod-like structures with a hair-like pistol sticking out.
@&#&$"You find these at the base of the stems, mostly.. y'know, like where they branch off from the main trunk of the plant. It's good to take the males out as soon as you see 'em, but if one slips through the cracks and you go to remove it, be sure to shake it as little as possible so it doesn't get pollen on the females," he concluded. Just because he saw no chance of success with his brewing project, it did not mean he wished to sabotage Rurik's grow op. Even if the main thing he took out of this trade was the packet of poppy seeds, he'd hardly be disappointed.
@&#&$With that thought he fished up a merry smile and sank back into the couch, now that he needn't be hunched forward to write any longer. "Hey, man, why dontcha pack another?" he wondered. "My fingers 're beat," he said with a grin. They'd done enough business and talked enough science for the day--now it was time to tip the high over the edge and just space out.
mall-caps;font-weight:bold;text-align:right; border-top:1px solid #AB360D">SoSuWriMo +1035
@&#&$When he'd run into Maserati on his way back into Nova Scotia, she'd left him with the very basic instructions he was scribbling down for Rurik now. It wasn't until a couple months later that he bothered to actually read up on the subject and figure out why; the concept had seemed just as bizarre to him, too. Plants had never been something he paid a whole lot of mind. They looked pretty and he knew some could be used for healing purposes, but they seemed to do their own thing without any intervention on the wolves' part, so why worry about it?
@&#&$As he delved deeper into his research, however, he'd only grown more intrigued. Any random fact or observation could serve as a seed of curiosity in his mind--if only he bothered to nurture these seeds, they would flourish. Anselm was an ambitious man and with nothing to hold him back, he'd make something great out of this business yet. He wanted to go beyond weed, beyond poppies, beyond intoxicants completely. He wanted to pin down the more useful medicinal herbs and cultivate them, too. In this way, he could serve both his country and himself.
@&#&$... of course, it would be a lie to say he wasn't more concerned with personal expansion at the moment. That Inferni would come to benefit from his studies was more a positive externality than an initial motivation. Perhaps it was just as well. If he didn't get into something for his own sake, the likelihood of him sticking with it promptly dropped off to nil. Even this samogon endeavour was only tangentially related, and it would serve as more of a chemistry experiment than a direct contribution to his botanical investigations.
@&#&$He scrawled down the ingredients in list form, frowning inwardly because some of them seemed more exotic than he would have originally guessed. How was he going to get honey without getting stung by the bees? Where would he find enough fruit? Berries grew in the wild but they were exceedingly tiny. To take out the skin and seed would leave very little behind. His best bet was probably an old apple orchard he knew of just outside the city, although he would need to get to the fruit in time--if he waited too long either the deer and rabbits would have themselves a feast, otherwise it might just rot.
@&#&$When the Russian mentioned milk he almost stopped writing entirely, as more and more it appeared to be a lost cause. Where on earth was he going to get milk? He couldn't exactly waltz up to a nursing female and go "Hey, can I get a sip of that?", much less three litres. Sometime later he'd learn of Phoenix Valley's farms of domesticated animals and seek out a trade, but at present it seemed hopeless. He listened with half-hearted interest as Rurik explained the distillation process, now only maintaining enthusiasm due to the "mechanics" of it--he'd already given up on the notion of ever doing it himself.
@&#&$He squinted at the sketch and nodded to show his comprehension, adding a quick parenthetical note of (mall-caps">Pulp Only) next to 'fruit' on his ingredient list. At last he dropped the marker and pulled back on his fingers, stretching them before reaching for the bowl and taking the final hit. He hardly felt slighted by the other man; it wasn't Rurik's fault that the ingredients were so hard to come by. "I suppose we'll both see what happens," he said with a small smile as he exhaled; he'd revealed nothing on the surface that betrayed his inner disappointment. He took the papers and tucked them carefully away; he'd still keep them on file, of course. It never hurt to plan for "just in case," right?
@&#&$He sat dumbly for a moment, mind blanking temporarily after all of the intense focus. A second later his eyes lit up. "Oh, right, so back on the plants. The boy plants have balls, oddly enough," he giggled, finding it more amusing than it really was due to the effects of the drug. "Here," he said, begrudgingly grasping at the marker again so he could draw a shitty sketch of his own on the last piece of paper. "The female plants have these instead," he said, trying to draw one of the pod-like structures with a hair-like pistol sticking out.
@&#&$"You find these at the base of the stems, mostly.. y'know, like where they branch off from the main trunk of the plant. It's good to take the males out as soon as you see 'em, but if one slips through the cracks and you go to remove it, be sure to shake it as little as possible so it doesn't get pollen on the females," he concluded. Just because he saw no chance of success with his brewing project, it did not mean he wished to sabotage Rurik's grow op. Even if the main thing he took out of this trade was the packet of poppy seeds, he'd hardly be disappointed.
@&#&$With that thought he fished up a merry smile and sank back into the couch, now that he needn't be hunched forward to write any longer. "Hey, man, why dontcha pack another?" he wondered. "My fingers 're beat," he said with a grin. They'd done enough business and talked enough science for the day--now it was time to tip the high over the edge and just space out.
mall-caps;font-weight:bold;text-align:right; border-top:1px solid #AB360D">SoSuWriMo +1035