[action] We don't need greenhouses where we're going...

[made_of_science]

[So there's all this snow. Snow is a novel thing for Vitalia, and a troublesome one, because 1: it's uncomfortably cold and 2: it kills plants. But Srta. Ruiz is not one to take this affront lying down! No, she has been cultivating things! Things which are now thriving happily near the treehouse! Things like pretty roses, and lilies, and several fruits! And a plant with fanged, snapping jaws! And a plant that grows eyeballs instead of berries! And a horrible, shriveled black thing that occasionally spits a fireball out in a random direction. (Thankfully that one's range is only about a yard, so there's no damage beyond a blackened circle around it.)

[And in the midst of this is a cheerful and heavily-bundled young lady, inspecting each plant and noting its progress down on a pad of paper, humming as she goes.]

Comments

[histrionic]

Too modest--I believe you're the only one here who would be capable of such a thing. Most others here have no ambition and fewer ideas. At least there are some benefits to this place.

[Being impervious to cold is helpful, where underwear-eschewing is concerned.]

I believe there's enough for the fauna to eat without risking consumption of these hardier plants.

[Kuja nods, walking over to the plant with jaws, allowing it to nibble on her fingers fondly.] Fortunately, structures are so easy to create here.

[made_of_science]

Ah, I suppose that is true. Though I must admit, it is not so much modesty as it is that this is a mere trifle for my abilities. There are much greater challenges of horticulture for me to overcome!

Even in places of plenty, creatures oftentimes will take their meals as they will, with little distinction between one food source and another. I suppose the natives here are intelligent enough to know that their depredations are unwelcome here!

[Or maybe they don't want to get fireball'd or eaten. Or stared at.]

Yes, though I believe I shall delay any plans until the weather is more agreeable. I shall require several infusions of tea before I feel at all like a living thing again!

[histrionic]

My dear, most people here couldn't create a single thing of interest, were they given a thousand years to do so. They lack imagination. [As far as Kuja is concerned, this is a damning indictment.] No curiosity, and no desire to understand even the simplest things, even those that concern them.

[Kuja doesn't blame the animals of the Gardens for wanting to stay far away.] Yes, the creatures here are more intelligent than the average animal. It's something to do with the nature of this place.

[She isn't going to offer to help build anything; that's not her style.] A sensible delay. It's good to know one's limitations, and it's not as if you don't have enough to occupy you in the meantime.

[made_of_science]

It is unfortunate that so many are limited by their natural potential... it confounds me that natural selection has yet to cull the small-minded, but I suppose humanity, at the least, has a troubling tendency to feel attraction toward the dull and conventional.

Quite so! I must say, other than the dreadful weather recently, this prison is an agreeable one, not the least for the company one can keep. I've not had the opportunity to speak with so many people before: it's terribly exciting!

[histrionic]

You're quite right, my dear. I could have said it better, but the dull and conventional seem to flourish, everywhere. While those of creativity and vision are few and far between. It defies both reason and logic.

These limitations... I wonder how they might be put aside.

Oh, I've spoken with many people in my time. I find they're often not so interesting as all that... The novelty does fade.