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Falcon's getting some of the gardening equipment ready when he hears the knock, and he turns. That must be Rose- and indeed, when he slides open the door, there she is.

"Hey," he greets, stepping aside to make room. "Come in. I was just about ready to get started. Just gotta move some of the pots outside still."

"Understood. Where do you want them?"

Even if they're larger pots, she's not worried about their weight being a factor. Bulkiness, maybe, but weight? Nothing she can't manage.

He leads her to the pots. They're sitting on his balcony, in view of his charging unit. Saplings of a variety of trees and shrubs stand cheerily inside of them, waiting to be planted.

"I was thinking," he says, stepping out into the garden proper. There's plants and flowers everywhere, though one part has been reserved for a greenhouse filled with vegetables usuable in cognitive spaces. There is a small path that runs through the garden, but otherwise most of it could be considered too wild and untamed for most people's tastes, grasses reaching high. He's been carefully helping the garden rewild itself, and it shows; there's plenty insects buzzing around, as well as the sounds of native frogs and other animals.

"The konara oak would do well at the edge of the property, and provide some extra shade for animals passing by once it grows, while I'd like the cherry tree to be a little closer to the house- perhaps next to the the path. The callicarpas seem like they would do well near the pond, while the confederate roses would probably enjoy being more out in the open. Finally, the pink siris would be good over there, near the shack, I believe."

He points at all the potential spots for his trees and shrubs. Then, he turns to Rose fully.

"The tomatoes also need to have their suckers pruned, and overall, the vegetables need watering and feeding," he hums. "If you have any suggestions, though, I'm willing to hear them."

"You've put quite a bit of thought into this." And she's quite pleased by that. Too many people assume they can just do whatever to plants and it'll be fine (it will not, in fact, be fine).

As for the overall state of the yard, it's a tad untamed for Haru's personal taste, but she says nothing. It's Falcon's space, not hers, and if he wants it wild, wild she shall leave it.

"It sounds like a solid plan to me. Was there anywhere in particular you wanted to start?"

He doesn't really care what anyone thinks of his garden, honestly. If they think it's too untamed- well, it's not their garden, indeed.

"Hm, yes," he says, overlooking his garden. "Let's move the pots to the right places. I'll start digging holes, and in the meantime, I'll entrust you with watering and pruning the vegetable plants where needed, or harvesting, if something is ripe for it. Afterwards, we can work together on properly planting the saplings."

He turns back to Rose, head slightly tilted. "Does that work for you?"

"That sounds like an excellent plan. I'm surprised you're bothering with edible plants at all, but I suppose their utility in the Metaverse is worth it?"

As long as he knows better than to try using rotten vegetables as a restorative, but he's probably figured that one out by now.

Oh, he has, alright. It wasn't so much the taste that put him off (considering he doesn't, frankly), but taking damage instead of healing...

It's probably a good thing he can't get poisoned.

"They do well in a pinch," he sighs, "I prefer simply using other restoratives and utility items where possible, but it never hurts to be prepared."

Especially not now that he can actually choose to get prepared, instead of being kicked into the Metaverse and being expected to complete a mission, regardless of his current state.

"Well then, let's get these pots moving. I'll show you where to find what you need afterwards." Considering he needs to get a shovel too, anyway. He picks up the pot with the konara oak- the biggest one. It costs him no effort to carry it, after all.

Probably.

"No. No, it doesn't." Haru was unprepared the first time, and has never allowed herself to be unprepared again. She's probably bullied her poor bag into carrying far more than it ought to, but that's a bonus in her eyes.

She picks up the cherry tree without further ado, or any real signs of strain.

Falcon's slightly impressed by her sheer strength, but then, he already knew she was strong. She certainly showed it while helping him move. Not to mention, her weapon of choice is a greataxe, isn't it?

They work together in getting the pots to the proper places, occasionally adjusting as needed. Some of the grasses and flowers get trampled in their efforst, but luckily, nothing that won't grow back on its own. When all that is done, he shows her where to find the appropriate tools, and grabs a shovel himself.

"... And you can find water at the pumping system over here," he finishes, pointing out the tap installed next to the shack. It's an antique, traditional pumping system, but it works well enough for his purposes. He assumes the people who own the property in the real world make no use of it themselves, but have a gardener do it for them.

Not that that matters to him. As long as it works. He supposes Haru could also get water from inside the house, if she prefers, but this is closer by, in the end.

"That'll be all."

That's the thing about letting an area grow wild - when it needs a little maintenance, it's going to get a bit trampled. Nothing it can't bounce back from, though.

"Huh. I don't know that I've ever seen one of these pumps in action." But it can't be that hard to get water out of (and if all else fails, Haru will double back to the house).

"It might take a few pumps before water starts flowing, but otherwise it's perfectly useable."

He slings his shovel over his shoulder, loosely holding it. He regards Rose for another moment.

"Well then, I'll be around if you need me." Though he's sure Rose can take care of this herself. Having said that, he moves over towards the nearest pot- the one with the pink siris, briefly takes a moment to calculate the best place to start, before he pushes the shovel down, and starts digging.

It doesn't take Haru terribly long to get the vegetable sorted out. Some of them are ready for harvesting, but most of the work to be done with them is simple maintenance, nothing she hasn't done hundreds of times for the same end goal.

(Well, and the end goal of eating them, but she figured out quickly that plants have some Metaverse utility.)

Once she's done and the usable vegetables are delivered inside, she checks to see what Falcon's up to. If there are still holes that need digging, she can do that; if not, then she's ready to help plant things.

By the time Rose is done, Falcon is just about, too. He's finishing up the final hole rapidly- the perks of being a machine, or something. He looks up when she approaches, and puts the shovel down.

"Hey. Anything useable in there?" he asks. He saw her bring something inside, but he didn't see what vegetables they were. After Drake's Palace, he could certainly use some new Scapegoat Eggplants, Star Onions, and Earth beans, though he'll be happy to have some more items to prep with in the future regardless. Especially after...

... Well, nevermind.

"I'm done here, so we can get started on replanting." He pauses for a moment, before he realizes- "Or did you want to take a break first? I can offer you soda or tap water, but that's about it, though." And the soda he only has because Futaba likes to visit, considering he doesn't really drink anything himself.

"Onions and tomatoes, mostly, but I'd guess you'll have some fresh eggplants within the week." Those are especially useful, and Haru's still annoyed she'd never heard of them before arriving here. (So is Noir, for that matter.)

"I'm fine to carry on with the planting first, though I'll probably need some water after that."

He nods in approval, a small smile on his face. Good to know his vegetable garden is producing well.

"Very well then," he says, turning to the pot holding the cherry tree next to him. There is also a bag of special soil. "I suggest one of us keeps the plant straight in the hole while the other packs soil around the roots. Did you have any preference?"

He doesn't mind either way- holding the trees and shrubs in place costs no effort, nor does lifting the sack of soil. He suspects Rose won't have much trouble either, though, if any.

Haru shakes her head. "No preference. I'm happy to do either part."

"Very well then. I'll leave burying the roots to you, in that case."

With gentleness one wouldn't expect from a robot, he removes the cherry tree from the pot, working together with Rose to clean the roots, before he lefts it up, and lowers it into the hole. He adjusts his stance a few times, calculating look on his face.

"Tell me if it's standing straight from all angles?" It should be from his calculations, but it's better to get a second opinion. "Otherwise, go ahead with the soil."

It's gentleness she would expect from any person who cares for what they're planting. Perfectly normal.

"It appears to be." And with that, she makes quick work of covering the roots.

Falcon lets go of the tree once it's stable. He takes a step back, and nods in satisfaction; it may still only be rather small, but the placement is perfect. he looks forward to it growing taller and larger. He makes quick work of watering it, hoping to help it take proper root faster.

"I wonder how quickly it'll grow," he hums, "what with the weird way of time passing in this place, and all."

The grasses and flowers grew in rather quickly, as did his vegetables, but then, those are either wild or carefully cultivated in his greenhouse.

Either way, he's quick to move on to the next plants. He and Rose work mostly in silence, with only the occasional idle chatter to break it. They both understand the process, so it all goes rather well and rather quickly.

"I don't know that I'd expect accelerated growth from trees, but one never knows."

Working mostly in silence isn't a problem, especially when they both know what they're doing. Haru doesn't particularly need chatter to make the work go faster, and efficiency gets the trees where they need to be that much sooner.

And soon, all the new trees and shrubs have been planted and watered. Falcon looks out over his garden with satisfaction, a small smile on his face. Some grasses and weeds got trampled, sure, but they'll grow back soon enough, and overall, he's happy with the work they got done.

All that's left is to put away the gardening tools, which doesn't take very long either.

"So," he turns to Rose, small smile on his face, "you said you wanted some water?"

"I'd certainly appreciate it, yes."

So, Falcon leads Rose back inside (though not before wiping down his 'feet' to get rid of most of the dirt on them. He'd rather not track that through his entire house), pulling out a chair for her at the coffee table. Not that he uses it for coffee, though. Then, he briefly disappears into the kitchen, filling a glass for her, before returning, and setting it down in front of her.

"Thanks for helping out," he says, as he sits down himself, turning his head to look out of the nearby window at his backyard. "While I don't mind taking my time with the garden, it's nice to get things done in a timely manner... not that I have anything better to do, mind you, but still."

She downs a good half of the glass in one go - but that's to be expected, after this much exertion.

"You're welcome. Any time you'd like some help with things, just let me know - as you said, there's not much to do around here."

And today, at least, she figured they could both stand to do something that's not as... fraught.

He glances back at Rose, nodding.

"I appreciate the offer," he hums, looking away again, "and likewise. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing your garden, or helping out with it."

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