[PRP Honesty] The Garden Plot [Witch Hazel/Secret Garden]

[Ruriska]

It was late afternoon and Witch Hazel was on the prowl. Old Mr. Tumble was watching his favourite quiz show and wouldn't be keeping an eye on his prized garden. A garden which contained a host of rare plants and carefully propagated varieties that she didn't have a hope of obtaining on her own.

So she was sneaking in, down the alleyway and easing aside the plank in the fence that she'd been loosening for days. Her little bag contained a pair of shears to carefully snip away at her chosen prey. She was prepared. This was a crime she had been planning for ages.

Witch Hazel took one last look around for witnesses before she wriggled through the fence to the wonderful world beyond.

@alpha lyrae

[alpha lyrae]

Unbeknownst to Witch Hazel, Old Mr. Tumble's home was the apple of another phony's eye, as well.

Secret Garden had a pack of cultivars slung over his back, a pair of shears at the ready, as he finished his tour of the neighborhood. His garden was modest but growing, thanks to the cuttings he had obtained from the park, and he was excited to see what Mr. Tumble had hidden away in his treasure trove of plants. With a careful glance at the window, he noticed the intermittent glow of the television screen and knew the time was right. The garden was bound to have something that would make for a wonderful centerpiece in his own yard. Was there any way into the yard?

His eyes zoned in on a loose board on the fence. Bingo.

He wedged himself through with only a little trouble, fishing his shears out, and nearly collided with something in front of him.

"Ah!" Secret startled at the sight of another phony, hooves flying to hide the shears. Were they a relative? Was he in trouble? "H-hello." The low timbre of his voice hid the shakiness well; he was glad. But immediately his gaze drifted from the phony before him to the flora wonderland beyond, and his jaw went slack. "Wow..." His arms drooped and the shears came back into sight unbidden. Bursts of color were visible everywhere, and for a moment, it felt like he were in a garden much like his namesake, secreted away and full of wonders.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

It was beautiful.

Old Mr. Tumble hadn't been lying when he'd declared it was the prettiest garden in Phonyland. Even the pictures that had been in The Horticulturist hadn't done it justice. Everything was either a bloom of colour or a vibrant green. Even the lawn was finely manicured grass that seemed a sin to walk across.

Now she just had to locate the mullein and - her thoughts were instantly scattered, her heart leaping into her throat as someone entered the garden behind her.

'Ah,' he said.

"Ah!" She responded, startled into a little hop-turn, shoulders already hunched guiltily.

But the other Phony wasn't even looking at her anymore, he was clearly in slack-jawed awe of the garden behind her. It gave her a chance to study him and decide, even after a quick glance, that they were both there for the same reason.

Her shoulders relaxed.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" She said as she turned back to look at it.

@alpha lyrae

[alpha lyrae]

Secret had not seen anything like it before. The photographs in varied magazines that littered his table only offered a glimpse of the wonderland before him. Color and greenery blended together in such a magnificent array that he felt a stirring in his heart, and pressure built behind his eye. He registered Witch Hazel's words distantly and only nodded dumbly, raising one hoof to his eye to wipe the emotion from it.

"It's amazing..." he said in a thick voice, before his cheeks burned red and he cleared his throat. "Nothing like the pictures." He swallowed, and then finally turned his attention to Witch Hazel, offering a shaky smile as his garden shears came back into sight with a shrug. "Are you here for um.. this, too?" He felt a little self-conscious after his moment of vulnerability, as often was the case, and tucked the shears away. "I'm Secret Garden." He offered the hoof for a shake to the phony who was likely there for the same reason he was, and staring in wonder at the garden was only a small part of that task. Soon it would be time for the more discerning eye to come out and look for what to take home.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

His reaction made being there all the more real and she had to blink away a sudden prickling in the corner of her eyes as if she was subconsciously trying to match his level of emotion. "Yeah, the pictures really don't do it justice," she agreed softly, almost reverently.

Witch Hazel hesitated for just a moment, unsure if she wanted to give her name away when she was breaking into someone's garden but they were now partners-in-crime now and it was only fair. "Nice to meet you, Secret Garden." An appropriate name for the setting. "I'm Witch Hazel." She shook his offered hoof politely.

"I am here for," she glanced around at the beautiful garden, "this."

With a wry smile she tipped her bag and opened it slightly to show him her own shears. "There's plants in here I wouldn't be able to even get near until I'm older and well... I guess I'm not willing to wait that long."

@alpha lyrae