Pixane Appreciation Club!

Pixalonilis Zaneicus

{Let's start with some fluff, yeah? Oh, don't worry though, angst lovers! I've got some angst set up for after this. I'll post when this hits 50 reads or tomorrow night, whoever happens first!}

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Set after Zane was set free from being Ice Emperor

Name: Pixalonilis Zaneicus
Species: Flora
Looks: Incredibly hardy yet looks delicate, average 6.7 inches tall, has a thin green stem of average 2.1 cm diameter, thick and curled petals, white at center, fade to purple on edges.
Lifespan: Can grow in as short a time as 1 week, or 7 days. Lasts up to ??? years (yet to be tested). Can last through incredibly harsh winters, up to 43 mph winds and -87 degrees F.
Scent: Smells of ocean salt and vanilla.
Special abilities: Tapping the center twice, gently pulling the petals away, and blowing produces silver flakes that look like snow but are actually warm and turn gold in cold air. Its heat grows the longer it is blown on until it produces its own heat. Will last approx. 3 hours before returning to its natural state. Petals also turn blue instead of purple when producing heat.
Longevity: Can survive in temperatures from -87 degrees Fahrenheit to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat produces can raise temperatures around it up to 30 degrees. Stem is safe to hold, only petals and flakes are hot. Edibility: Do NOT eat while heat is being produced! Edible ONLY at its undisturbed state, and ONLY petals edible. Tastes of vanilla.
Extra notes: More tests will be run once new territory (i.e.: Never-Realm) is available.

Zane finished recording his observations in the blue notebook and pen he carried. Recently, he and Pixal had been able to remotely engineer a plant of their own. During his time as Ice Emperor, he noticed there was virtually no plant life that survived in winter; normal seasons or magically induced. So he'd taken it upon himself to bring something beautiful to the Never-Realm to make it more bearable. Pixel, of course, had insisted on helping him and he'd agreed. She seemed to recognize it was more of a gift to prove himself to the citizens of the Never-Realm more than anything but hadn't said anything.

They'd been running tests on it for months now, between their other missions, and it was finally ready! So that's why he was here now, waiting for Pixal in Cyrus Borg's second lab (Cyrus had it built just for them, for whenever they needed it). Zane was holding one of the flowers, the very first one successfully grown from seed to fully mature, and wanted to give it to her.

Finally, she appeared in the doorway and smiled at him. Her smile always made his metal heart skip a beat and time stopped for a second. "Zane? Why do you have that flower? That is specimen #3418, is it not?" He came back to reality and it took a second for him to reply.

"Oh, yes. Except I wanted to give it to you," he answered and handed her the flower. She smiled wider and took it, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes. "It's perfect!" She exclaimed and stepped closer to take his hand, which he accepted immediately with a grin. "Actually," he interrupted before she could say anything else, "I have a proposal for a different name. Pulchra Pixalonilis, or 'my beautiful flower, Pixal'."

Pixel smiled in awe. He wanted to name these after her? That was so sweet! "Zane, I... I do not know what to say." She admitted truthfully. Then an idea struck her. "Wait, yes I do! How about... Pixalonilis Zaneicus? That way, it can have both of our names and we will both be reminded of the parts we took in creating this." His eyes lit up at her suggestion and he took her other hand, making sure not to crush the flower.

"It's perfect! Pixalonilis Zaneicus it is, then." How was it that something so simple as a flower could bring so much joy to them? Without warning, he leaned down and closed the space between them for a kiss. One hand slid behind her head while the other squeezed the hand with the flower, oh so gently. She stood on her tiptoes and melted into the kiss, slipping one arm to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. Both of their eyes closed and they stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the other's presence.

There was a definite drop in the temperature around them when they pulled back. Pixal looked up and a snowflake landed on her nose. She grinned and caught one on her tongue. "You're snowing again." She chuckled and tapped his nose, where snow had gathered too.

"Did I ever tell you how much I adore you?" Zane smiled at her softly. "Yes, every day." Pixel answered and unwrapped herself from around his neck. "Now, let's go see if we can get some of these flowers to the Never-Realm."

~~~

A short while later, both nindroids tumbled out of a portal into the now snow-free Never-Realm. Right now, it was the end of fall. Soon, a drastic change in weather would occur and winter would sweep over the land like a blanket. This would be the first naturally-occuring winter in years, since before Zane's Ice Emperor stunt.

People were nice enough to the previous Ice Emperor, at least to his face. They found the leader of the town they tumbled next to and spoke with him, showing him the bulbs of flowers they'd brought. They explained what they were for and how to grow them. Soon, they were working with a group of the town's gardeners to plant them all over and beyond the town's limits.

The sun was bright enough to be warm but not quite large enough to keep everyone from shivering, so they worked as quickly as possible. Soon, though, their whole stash of bulbs was gone and the town was set up for the winter that would occur in 2 weeks. They explained that by next summer there should be enough to expand out of the town, then bid them goodbye and portal-hopped back home.

Their good deed done, they took the rest of the day to plant the flowers around the villages at home. In the next few years, as it spread over Ninjago and the 16 Realms, the name "Pixalonilis Zaneicus" would be translated into "Lover's Flower", a flower said to bring good luck and unconditional love to any relationship. Its ability to weather such harsh winters helped build legends and hope around its message.

And as the legacy of the Lover's Flower went on, some say a second variety grew, one with complimenting red and silver colors, whose red changed to green as it grew closer with the first one. They grew intertwined and changed colors to compliment each other as they spread everywhere winter could be found.

And so, it still is today. The original Lover's Flower grows where the fabled Lovers are said to be roaming even now, after their death, in the middle of the harshest winter in the 16 Realms. Their legend lives in all who see their flower and remember: all love is real, even in those who seem inhuman. Love unites all.

{Banner credit to LuckyBugBooks }