[RQ] wild, magical things

Noe, intrigued by the idea of Attuned and their shifts, watched with interest as Lena transformed into a beautifully-colored bird. She practically floated over to the rocky outcropping, carrying a flower with her to plant there. Satisfied, Noe turned back to her own work, taking a plant out of her basket as she found the next hole to fill.

"Do you think they'll survive Deepfrost?" she asked Mateo, concern suddenly coloring her voice. She wasn't much of a planter, but the winter was quickly approaching, and she knew that most plants did not thrive in the cold. Were they doing all of this only for their efforts to be in vain? She wanted to see their beautiful plants and flowers covering the minefield come Flowerbirth, and she was sure that the others did, too.

Noe

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

It didn’t take her long – shifting back to her human form momentarily to ensure the flowers were put in place, soil moving under her fingertips – before inevitably rejoining her brethren. “Thank you,” she noted to Mateo with a broad grin, snagging at another bundle of peppermint bark and hyacinths from her basket, following over the paths and trails made by the botanist, tucking them gently into the void as best she could.

Noe’s inquiry was best for Mateo, certainly, but Lena thought of the gardens amidst in the Celestine, and how everything inevitably returned. “They find a way,” she murmured in simplicity, roaming towards the next vacant spot.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

Mateo

Busy on his knees to plant the last of his peppermint bark and snow moss, Mateo smiles warmly between Noe and Lena. "A lot of these species are very hardy," he assures the former. "Even if they die back during Deepfrost, they should return in Flowerbirth. But I will visit often to check on them. Sometimes a little protection from the frost is all they need." Especially for the more delicate flowers.

"Lena is right, though. They find a way. After this Deepfrost, we will likely not need to interfere again." Straightening up and brushing the dirt from his knees, he checks his bag one last time before flashing a dimpled grin to them. "I am officially out of plants," he trills; a rarity, to be sure.

i've told you time and time again
i'm not as think as you drunk i am

With Noe's concern soothed for now, her brow smoothed and a smile returned to her face. It was good to know that plants were hardier than she'd imagined, and that their efforts were not in vain. Perhaps she would study more about plants and herbs - but perhaps not. She did, after all, have enough going on as it was without adding more to investigate.

She made her way to one last hole, tucking the last flowers in her basket into the earth and pressing them into the soil as Mateo had instructed. When she'd finished, she stood, dusting off her hands before scooping her basket from the ground. "Me, too," she said, returning Mateo's smile and sharing it with Lena. "Shall we go get something to eat? I think we've earned it."

Noe

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

At Mateo’s announcement, Lena looked down to find her basket too, was empty. But as she gazed out over all the work they’d done, it had become clear that their efforts had bloomed and blossomed as it were. Much more beauty, much more bounty, than the age-old threats of primordial stone and earth – a freer existence for those in the present and future. “We did wonderfully,” she added, finding nothing wrong with the notions at all. Brushing soil and soot from her hands, she gleaned back to the others. “Absolutely. My treat.”

And from there, they could leave a multitude of flowers behind, in place of destruction.

{FIN}

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm