and the stars will be their guides (hermitcraft space au)

greenhouse (three)

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~ among the wildflowers and the lilies ~

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TWs: None

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Three days later, Etho finds himself getting dragged around by Beef.

Up to this point, he's managed to avoid interacting with everyone on the Hermit-Craft except for Xisuma and Beef. He's not deliberately trying to distance himself (or at least that's what he tells himself), he's just been busy getting settled into his bunker and getting used to his new job as one of the spotters. 

Beef, when he'd learned Etho knows next to nobody on this ship, decided that he'd give Etho a ship tour the next day after they both got done with their work. Etho had tried to come up with excuses for why he couldn't tour around the ship, but Beef had none of it, and he'd had to give up and go with what the human wanted. 

So, now, here Etho was, trailing Beef as he rambled on about the little card game he'd been working on in his free time. He couldn't help but think it was cute how devoted Beef was to this project, and he already knew he'd be first in line to buy (or exchange cookies for) the final product. 

(Yes, cookies are the main form of currency on this spaceship. Etho isn't quite sure what he thinks about it.)

Beef stops in front of a dark green door marked 'Greenhouse' in some sort of fancy script. There's a vine sneaking out into the hallway from the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor that's probably a tripping hazard. 

"Ready?" Beef asks Etho, right hand already on the shiny copper doorknob. At Etho's nod, he opens the door with a small twist.

Etho swears he's never seen so many plants in his life. They're in big terracotta pots on the floor, sprouting from little planter boxes on tables and shelves scattered around the greenhouse, hanging from baskets that are hooked on the ceiling, and climbing up the walls. The majority of the plants are green (mostly native to Earth, if Etho had to guess), but there were also plants of other colors mixed in. Etho even recognizes a few plants from Aenot-, no, Aur C37. 

In one corner of the room, Etho spots two people. One is shorter and almost blends in with the plants with his green, moss-textured cloak, while the other is much taller and incredibly muscular. He realizes the latter also has a prosthetic arm when a glint of metal catches his eye. 

"Bdubs! Doc!" Beef calls the people over, since they were too consumed in their conversation to notice that others had slipped in. 

"Just a second!" the cloaked guy shouts as the taller one turns and steps towards them. "I need to finish checking these suspicious spots on Martina!" Etho, Beef, Doc, and Bdubs are the only ones in the room, so Etho assumes Bdubs is talking about the plant he's currently attending to.

Since when did humans give names to plants, or is this a quirky Bdubs-only thing?

Finally, Bdubs makes his way over to the others, his plant fully taken care of, and Beef takes the liberty to introduce them all. 

"Bdubs, Doc, this is Etho, the guy I found hiding in the storage room a few days ago. Etho, these are my friends. Bdubs is in charge of the greenhouse and oxygen production, and Doc is one of the two people who make sure the engine is always running properly." 

Before Etho or Doc get a chance to say or do anything, Bdubs says, "And both of us plus Beef are the NHO!"

"What's the NHO?" Etho finds himself asking.