Of Plants and Animals (Flora and Fauna)

As tired as Flora may be, she never fails to wakeup at the crack of dawn; and no matter how badly she wants to fall back asleep, there's yet to be a day that she has. Far too many things have to get done, and her busy mind can only concentrate that. So with or without a moan she pulls herself from her warm covers to start her morning. At least she has her best friend's company and help to look forward to, probably her main reason to forcing herself up. Okay, she's also in love with the animals and farm they're learned to call their own. As difficult as life may often be, she considers herself lucky.

Bread is thrown in the oven to create toast, a cheap meal that can actually get them through a few hours, and Flora enjoys her few precious moments before all the chores begin. Any second now Fauna's going to come through the door, and right on time she does. Instantly a smile creeps to the Blonde's face. "In the kitchen." She answers without a budge from her seat as she waits.

"Making some toast, did you eat?" She questions with that grin still plastered on her lips. No matter how much they hang out, it's always an amazing feeling to see those Brunette locks. "Gonna be a long day, Mama said Betsy's close to delivering." Might as well cut to the chase, because they all know Fauna's much better with all that gross birthing stuff.

"But Mama actually made cream cheese from the goat." Flora teases and attempts to get Fauna to consume more. Their sort of work requires a lot of food, and either they'll be stopping for lunch or passing out from the heat. Of course there's no way the second option would ever occur though, no need to worry either as her fathers never let her go hungry. Guess she can have the rare delicious treat next meal.

Eyebrows spring upward on Flora's face when Fauna takes a seat before any connection between the two of them. She was already upon her feet, and a hug is always a necessity when they haven't seen each other for hours. Seconds later the Brunette's jumping back to her feet to deliver just that. "That's what I thought." Flora chuckles as well, embracing her back with just as much force.

Like every morning, Fauna cuts straight to their list of chores for today. Whenever it's not too long, they sometimes get a chance to relax or go on an adventure, an event they can usually predict early. "Well if you could get Betsy to deliver before noon, i'm sure my mom would be extremely happy." She jokes with more laughter. Can never rush the process of birth, but she can at least make humor from it. "Normal stuff. Feed everyone, clean out their pens, making sure they're all happy and healthy." She retrieves to her feet to pull the toast from the oven and cream cheese from the fridge. Faster they get to everything, sooner they'll be done.

"Work your magic then." Flora practically orders after Fauna shares that a late birth wouldn't be good for their aging cow, nor for the calf on the way. The last thing they need is more sick animals, dent in the money they're already running low on. With Fauna present though, the worry doesn't seem to be as bad. If anyone can save every single one of her animals, it would be her. Cream cheese gets spread across the toast as they discuss this and whatever else springs up.

A smile continues to grace the Blonde's face while a bite is requested from the stuffed girl. Even after a large breakfast it's impossible to resist such a delicious treat. "I don't know if you're worthy." She jokes and makes fun of the silly capitol accents, seconds later she's passing over a slice that's smothered in the yumminess. Probably won't eat the entire thing, but they're far past sharing, not even caring about what germs the other might have. "Don't take forever now, we do have to go." Another stupid joke since she'll obviously be taking longer with eating.

Not wanting to waste more precious time, she begins downing her breakfast. "As long as she's not in labor, of course." She answers in between her bites. It's as if they can never spend enough time together, and to be honest her fathers are a lot better cooks then the Blonde's mother. "Feels like I haven't seen them in ages." Sure it was only last week, but she's used to daily visits to both of their homes. The rest of her meal is stuffed in her mouth and she nudges her head towards the door.

Sure things would go a lot faster if they split up their chores, but working apart would be no fun. "I'll get the feed, make sure everyone's doing good?" Not like these words are really necessary, that's been their routine for a while now, though it's sometimes fun to mix things up.

There's hardly a time when a smile isn't glued to Flora's face if she's around Fauna. For some reason she just always knows how to evoke that smirk from the Blonde, constantly saying things that force that happiness. Such as now while she expresses that one of loving fathers misses her after only a week. Growing up with the Hayden's her entire life, she can't help but love them back just as much, especially with the lifetime friendship their parents have. And to now think that they've passed it on to their own little ones, their family couldn't get any better.

"Can't wait." Flora tells the obvious right before they dash out of the house to get their chores over with. It is always fun to be with the animals, not so much cleaning up after them though.

Of course Fauna sprints off to the barn, craving to make it an innocent race between the two of them. "Not fair!" Flora calls after her. Someone always has to get the supplies, causing their race to never be fair. With a shrug and a giggle her light eyes stay upon the flying dark locks making her way to the animals. As fun as it would be to see who's actually faster, Flora goes to the side of her home where her mother had already prepared the first meal of the day for their animals.

"How's everyone today?" The Blonde greets as she waddles her way into the barn with a large bucket of food. Not one crumb can be dropped, hence her steady footing. "Any signs of labor from Betsy?" She questions as soon as her eyes fall upon Fauna, she's much better at predicting that. How she's so talented at that sort of stuff is beyond her, but she's not complaining. It certainly helps. While she works her nurturing ways, Flora begins spreading the food among the animals.

One thing thats tight around this barn is the money. There's not a lot of it to spend period, and they're only lucky to be able to afford basic necessities and three meals a day. Somehow Flora's mom always manages to work around any major expanses that spring up, though it's always stressful times when she has to. Such as needing a vet for one of their loved and valuable animals, which is exactly why they're very grateful to have Fauna in their lives. For such a young girl she knows a tremendous amount about caring for animals, something that's constantly needed and helpful...though occasionally they reach the point where she can't always save the day, such as now with Betsy.

"You know what's best." Flora agrees with a sigh, though no frown effects her face. Perhaps they'll pull through and a miracle will occur. Doesn't seem like they've hit complete rockbottom with the case just yet, not with how Fauna sounds at least. Since Flora can remember her full trust has always been in that Brunette, never doubting anything she says. Maybe that's because everyone's health has gone up amazingly since she began working here to.

Again a smile creeps onto the Blonde's face when she's reassured by Fauna that they only have to frequently check on her for now. Wouldn't be a surprise to see her as a vet herself once she's past reaping age, always being so good with any animal that comes her way. "You got it boss." Flora complies with a nod and that smirk that's grown from ear-to-ear. With Fauna by her side, nothing could possibly happen to Betsy and the little one she's carrying.

"I'll clean up the manure today." Flora offers with an eye-roll since it's the most unpleasant of jobs. After all that Fauna's doing for them, it's the least she can do though. Scrunching up her nose as she grabs the shovel and heads to the first stall. Only another grin is all Fauna sees last from her though, before she turns the corner with just as much ease. Can't ever complain, her life's pretty good.

The voice of Fauna can easily be heard through out the entire barn. With only half walls around the stalls, it's not difficult to overhear anything. This is certainly no the place to have a secret conversations. The wood's old and thin, and all of the noisy animals reside outside when the weather's good. Luckily these two newly formed teenagers have no interest in privacy, and they practically share every detail with each other already. All of these animals belong to the both of them, as if they were young parents themselves.

"Yeah, lately." Flora answers about Midnight's strong desire to get beyond her four walls. "Mom thinks she's too tiny to go out alone yet." And the questions over their little ones begin, just as they do everyday. "A little, I think it's getting better though." She remarks about Napoleon. Again her gratitude for Fauna brings a grin to her face, she couldn't do it without her. Even if she has to pick up crap while Fauna nurtures their animals, it's all well worth it.

The beautiful brunette joins her in the odder-filled empty stall, scrunching her nose up despite being very used to it. To no surprise help is offered by her, even if it's the grossest job of them all. "We lost the other shovel." She gives the unfortunate news, any other day she's gladly take the help. "I'm almost done though. Wanna try to get Midnight out? And I'll come and join in a second, and feed everyone outside." Least their chores seem to be flying by today.

"Well if I knew that, then it probably wouldn't be missing right now." Flora mentions in a joking manner, after Fauna questions how in this Panem did she lose an actual shovel. It's quite valid given the size of the object, but still unanswerable. A chuckle comes forth from the Blonde because of this, rolling her eyes at herself as she continues with -literally- her shit work. Least now she has a reason to hurry, not having the distraction of Fauna, and wanting to join her with the roaming horses. "We shall." She agrees to finding their lost tool, as she carries on with her duties and listens to Fauna in the near distances.

All of the smelly crap gets dumped into a bucket with cautious speed. There's nothing better then getting unpleasant stuff over with first, especially when they get to care for the animals the rest of the day. Just have to get through this. She concentrates on Fauna's voice greeting the new Mama in the barn, preparing her for some free time outside as if she was a human instead of a horse. There's no doubt she has unconditional love for all these animals, always providing the respect they deserve. Would be silly to give her this kind of work.

Suddenly Flora notices her own name being called out, along with an assumption that it seems like there's something wrong with Crystal. The tone isn't fearful though, causing the Blonde to drag the bucket of droppings out of the stall, instead of rushing to Fauna's aid. She was finished anyways. Then her name comes out a lot more urgently, and her feet are scrambling to the stall. The ruckus of a disturbed horse is clear as day, which only forms heavy worry for her close friend.

"Crystal!" Flora tries to draw her attention immediately, and she at least gets her to turn her way. The opening seems to calm her as she quickly goes for the gate, where the Blonde can easily calm her in the hallway. "Easy now." The horse comes to a halt and huffs in displeasure. Not caring if she escapes further into the fenced area, Flora's focus instantly goes over to Fauna with a concerned look. "Are you okay? What happened?" She's by her side to look her up and down and make sure she's not hurt. As much as she loves her animals, her best friend will always come first.