halo 'n horns [klance au]

8. Bouquet

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Keith

All I know is that it smelled amazing. Inside the small, beachside flower shop, the delicate scent of something I'd never recognized floated around me. The wide room, packed with shelves and tables and racks of hangers, had everything flowers. Shirts, backpacks, decorative boxes, stuffed animals.

And then, lining the shelves, plants of every type. Down in the Underworld, we had a few plants, but not many as our artificial sunlight didn't do wonders for them. I'd never seen plants like this before, though.

Purple blooms with long stems, vibrant red bouquets of delicate petals, clusters of tiny white florets nestled between boasting pink blossoms. Small pots held shooting stems that read "aloe", then spiky rounds that I could only assume were cacti. I wandered around the perimeter of the room slowly, running my fingers over leaves and examining odd plants. Lance was off in another section, so I was surprised when a figure suddenly stepped up to me.

"May I help you with something?"

I jerked back from the small succulent I had been looking at, immediately in defense mode. I unconsciously felt for my knife at my hip, then forced myself to relax, realizing that it was a mere mortal.

The first thing you noticed about her was her bright white hair, flowing in messy waves over her shoulders and back. Her skin was a bit darker than Lance's, and it contrasted well with her hair. She looked at me eagerly, and I glanced down to see that she was wearing alarmingly high platformed sandals.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm just looking," I said apologetically. She was a bit intimidating, to be honest, with her big blue eyes and strong smile.

"Is there anything I can help you find? I make bouquets at a low cost."

The woman's eyes shone happily. She must be Allura- I didn't see any other workers in the shop.

"Um... yeah, sure. That would be nice," I didn't know much about flowers, so this might be interesting.

"Oh, good! You'd be surprised how quiet it's been since tourist season ended," Allura said, leading me to the back of the store where her counter was. Behind her, there was an open doorway that exposed a small back room that looked to serve as a workshop- flower clippings everywhere, spools of twine, sheets of plastic.

"What can I make for you today?"

I was just about to explain that I didn't exactly know about flowers when a certain angel sidled up to me.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Allura, but we're actually not here to buy anything," Lance said serenely, smiling at Allura with a calm expression. I couldn't tell if he was still embarrassed by what happened on the bus, but he wasn't meeting my eyes still.

The way Allura's face fell made a harpoon of pity hit me in the chest and I immediately jabbed my tail into Lance's side, brightening my face and hurrying to amend his news, "Yes, we are. What do you have to offer? I don't know much about flowers."

Lance shot me a confused look, but I ignored him. This poor woman deserved some business- she seemed to be fairly new at this whole "running a shop" shindig, and I could tell that maybe her shop hadn't fared too well, even in the touristy season of Seattle. Who was going to buy a floral shirt in September? I certainly would, if it made her feel better about her business.

I normally wouldn't act like this- it seemed much too good then I cared to admit, but not only was Father the god of the dead, he was also the god of wealth and riches, so it was only fair that I helped out this woman as she tried her hand at making a business for herself. Besides, I wanted a bouquet.

"Oh! I have a whole binder! Let me show you!"

As Allura hurried into the back room, Lance caught my eye. "What are you doing?" he asked- or she? I guess... Yeah, that was still a bit weird.

"She's desperate," I whispered back. I smiled a little bit as the acoustic music played from a speaker in the front of the shop lifted my spirits into a carefree calm.

"You know that this isn't the place we're actually going to go, right?" Lance asked me, shifting in her velvet boots.

"I didn't know that, actually," I replied saucily, "because you never tell me where we're actually going."

Lance didn't say anything to that. Within a few minutes, Allura came back over to the counter with a giant, white binder in her arms. Her smile was in full bloom- white hair fluffy and wild. Slapping down the binder, Allura flipped open to a random page, which displayed four elaborate bouquets.

"Choose anything you'd like."

...

So, basically, the beach wasn't what I'd expected. Alki Beach was pretty, I guess, but it was still morning, so it was partly cloudy and cool outside on the beach. Lance and I made our way down the sand, passing giant pieces of driftwood and college students cluttered on plaid blankets, talking and laughing quietly in the calm air.

After I had picked a bouquet (that Lance didn't like but paid for anyway), Allura told us that it would take about half an hour to prepare it. So, naturally, she recommended that we go down to the beach to check it out while we waited. Swimsuits were surreptitiously magicked up and we changed in Allura's tiny dressing rooms before strolling down past the harbor to the beach.

As Lance and I trudged down the moist dunes to the water, my tail leaving a snake-like trail in the sand behind me, I could tell that the ocean was going to be freezing. The floral swim trunks weren't going to help one bit. Lance didn't seem the least bit concerned, all flamboyant in a bedazzled bikini. She seemed to still be embarrassed about the bus incident, but I didn't say anything. It had been just as weird for me.

The only time I ever willingly made physical contact with someone else at home, it was in training when I landed a lucky blow on one of the Blades. The elite warriors were the best of the best and my father's council, and they'd taught me to fight.

They were composed of selected boxers, wrestlers, all of that samurai karate stuff too, that Kuron and Shiro nominated for Dad's approval. They were the bravest men that I knew, and the highest ranking fighters were gained partial immortality by Dad so they wouldn't drift away like other untended spirits. They were my brothers-in-arms, and I certainly missed them.

I wasn't very keen on physical contact at all if I was being honest. But maybe because Lance had so many siblings, skinship was just a part of him. I was thankful, then, that I had been wearing my jacket- thankful that I had that extra layer between myself and the angel.

Freezing water over my toes jolted me out of my trace. I heard a splash and a scream ahead of me and my attention snapped to the ocean, instinctively defensive, before realizing that it was just Lance bounding into the water, waves splashing around her as she yelled in shock.

Maybe it was a good time to tell her that I didn't know how to swim.

...

Lmao keithhhh

Qotd: do you prefer warmth or cold? what are some of your favorite things about the one you chose?

teleport to wattcon <3

Loooooovvveeee uuu!!