A Rose by Any Other Name

[Guest]

Eri skipped along the garden paths looking for some flowers, but not just any flowers. She wanted roses. She had always loved roses, their look, their smell, the soft silkiness of their petals, and even their strong stems and thorns. She liked that a flower with such a beautiful and frail-looking bloom had such a sturdy strong base and some "fight" to it, so to speak.

She had been bouncing along for a while now, but had failed to find any roses yet. She sighed impatiently. "Where could they have stashed them away?" she said looking around once more for any sign of her beloved roses. Roses had always been special to her. They reminded her of- she shook her head distractedly. No need to remember that.... She would settle for loving roses for their qualities, scent, and variety of colors.

"I wonder what colors they have!" she said excitedly pushing away her nagging thoughts. "I'll bet they must have all kinds of them here!" she said as she bounded along, once again with renewed vigor.

[Guest]

Andrasteia was in her favorite spot in the entire Athenaeum; the garden.

She was sitting along the side of the path, running her fingers through the rich soil and occasionally stroking the leaves of the nearby plants while she read her book, leaving dirty fingerprints smudged on the page whenever she turned it.

She thought that she heard someone coming along the path, but didn't look up. She could let them pass by, she wasn't in the way here...

[ sorry for replying after so long, but I needed to join more topics with Andras xD ]

[Guest]

Eri was just about to give up her search when she saw a young woman sitting farther down the path. A young woman she recognized. "Heya Andi!" she called waving to her as she skipped along the path towards her. "How are you?"

[Oh no problem at all! I just get bored and come up with random topics for my characters sometimes XD Jut in case someone wants to RP with me X3]

[Guest]

She looked up, smiling at her friend. "Oh hello. I was just enjoying the air out here, I love reading with all the flowers, all the fantastic smells..." Andras sighed happily, absentmindedly reaching out to stroke the petals of one of the flowers. "How are you? Any particular reason for coming out here, or are you just enjoying the air like me?"

[ I do that as well, sometimes nobody replies but oh well xD ]

[Guest]

"Well it certainly is a wondrously lovely day for it" Eri giggled twirling on the spot happily. "Though I don't like reading anything but fairy tales!" he said fidgeting with her skirts. "Actually, I was looking for some roses..." do you know where I might find some?" she asked looking around distractedly.

[Same here, but oh well XD It still gets you points right? XDDDD Plus its fun to write little things for your character]

[Guest]

She nodded, folding the corner of the page over and standing up, brushing the back of her dress off and dislodging the bits of dirt that clung loosely to it. "There's a whole section for roses, right around the corner here. Come on, follow me, it takes a while to get used to all the twisting paths."

Andrasteia turned and started making her way through the sweetly scented gardens towards where the roses grew.

[Guest]

"Really?" Eri squeaked, bouncing along after the older girl excitedly. "That's excellent! Do you think it would be all right for me pick a couple?" she asked, as she wondered what kind of colors they might have.

[Guest]

"Probably, if you made sure you didn't leave a big hole in a patch of flowers or something," she said, rounding the corner and pointing. "See? Right there."

[ Lame post is lame >< ]

[Guest]

Ero squealed with delight, running forward so get a better look. There before her was a large section of the garden devoted entirely to her favorite flower.

They had roses of every shade and hue imaginable, many of which did not exist back home. She ran about, smelling a bloom here, admiring the shiny leaves on this one, running a finger happily over the soft, colorful petals of another.

"This is amazing!" she cried happily, pausing over a patch of particularly lovely half-bloom red roses. "How do they make so many colors of them?" she asked peering at a patch of pitch black roses nearby. They had a strange, otherworldly look to them, but the effect was still pleasant.

"Do you think I could make my own if I practiced my earth magic?" she asked reaching out to touch one of the dark flowers curiously.

[Guest]

She smiled at the other girl's amusement, watching her scamper about excitedly. "Rose colors are bred just like any other flower, and there are 18 different classifications of colors, though it's hard to place some of them. Some people dye roses to get colors, whether by magic or natural means, though it's more fun to coax them into different colors over generations..."

Before going off on a real rant about flowers, Andrasteia stopped herself and answered the other question. "I bet you could. You just have to focus, and get to know the plants. I like growing them from scratch, though a touch of magic can ensure lovely results."

[Guest]

Eri smiled sheepishly. "Its too bad I'm a bit hopeless with my earth magic" she said wrinkling her nose. "I've always been good with fire... but though I have Earth magic, I've never been very good at it... but if I could learn to grow roses that would be wonderful!" she said looking at the buds with interest, touching them gently with her gloved hand.

[Guest]

"You don't need magic though," she said with a small smile. "That's the great thing about them. You just need patience, the willingness to plant a seed and take care of it until it gives you flowers, or if you don't want to start from a seed take a cutting. Though having earth magic certainly would help..."

At this Andrasteia couldn't hold back a slightly frustrated sigh. She should have taken Earth Magic when she had the chance to...but it was too late now. She could pay attention to flowers on her own time.

[Guest]

Eri peered at the blooms before kneeling down, removing her gloves, and beginning to try growing a rose next to large blooms already populating the garden. As always, her plant stopped right after becoming a small green bud.

She sighed. "I still can't do it" she said with a half-smile. "Oh well.... i should bean interesting color when it finishes growing though."

[Guest]

She nodded, going to kneel down by the small bud as well and stroking its leaves thoughtfully. "At least you can get that far. Now if you were to do something like that in a pot in your room, you'd only have to wait a short while before it bloomed. Then you would have your own rose."

[Guest]

Eri's eyes lit up and she hugged the other girl happily. "You're right!! Oh my word that's perfect! I'll have to try that as soon as possible!" she squealed, already thinking of what kind of rose she would like to grow.

[Guest]

A little surprised, Andras smiled, a little bemused. "Of course. Have fun growing your own flower then, dear."

[ Fail post, I'm sorry. :< ]

[Guest]

"I do believe I shall" she said standing up. "Any idea where I might be able to find something to grow one in?" she asked, looking around as if hoping a supply shop would pop into existence right there.

[Guest]

She thought for a second. "I brought my pots from home, though I'm sure if you asked Lady Mnemosyne she'd tell you where you can find one. But I don't know." Andras shrugged, grinning apologetically.

[Guest]

Eri thought about it for a moment. "I've got it!" she said rather suddenly. "I've got some lovely ornamental jars and vases.. perhaps I could use one of them!" she said excitedly, already cycling through the list of assorted "crockery" in her possession.

[Guest]

"I bet you could," she said. "Though I'm not sure how the roots would spread out in a container like that...but with your earth magic I bet it could do fine. Just get some soil from out here..." Andras lost herself in thought for a second about how she could use some other types of containers to put even more plants in her room.

[Guest]

Eri thought that over. "I could definitely help it along.... but I would definitely have to come up with a creative solution to keep it contained.... Or perhaps I will just grow it long enough to get it going and then bring it out here." she smiled. "Wouldn't want to keep it cooped up in my room..."

[Guest]

"Oh, they do fine in a nice window," she said conversationally. "As long as they get plenty of sun, air, and water. But there is something about a flower growing in the ground that's somehow...complete."

[Guest]

Eri considered her words for a moment. "I see what you mean" she said cocking her head looking at the blooms again. "They do seem.... happier out here don't they?" she said grinning lopsidedly.

[Guest]

"There's more room for them to extend," she said. "And I guess...I guess they enjoy the friends out here, too. More variety in pollenation and such..."

[Guest]

Eri stroked one of the roses' silky petals between her fingers for a moment. "They don't want to be caged" she said with a sad smile.

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