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Mharen, Guard at Fort Weyr - 2690.9.21 - The Meaning of Flowers
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2690.9.21 - The Meaning of Flowers
You go into the flower gardens.

Fort Weyr - Flower Gardens
This fairly small portion of garden has been dedicated to the art of flower-growing, with everything seeming to radiate outward from the small fountain that's been erected in the very center. Flowing outward, like the rays of Rukbat, are paved paths that are lined with various things -- from bulb-grown flowers to flowering shrubs. Any rhyme or reason is for the gardeners to discern; it is, to the most casual observer, a place where flowers appear to randomly erupt in vivid bursts of color through the year.
Carnation pinks, daisy whites, and rose reds typically dominate ... but, from time to time, seemingly exotic flares of daffodil yellow and iris blue and orchid purple may make a memorable appearance. Pansies and other such flowers also peek their heads out from time to time, if only to add unexpected glimpses of color where green and brown dominate. The air is thick with the perfumes of flowers as they bloom, the commingling of scents being potent but not overwhelmingly so.
Around the stone fountain in the middle are a few low benches, with everything appearing to have been made with an eye for the abstract. The fountain itself is a thing made of stone and overlaid with broken bits of tile and glass to make an eyecatching mosaic in a rainbow of hues; the benches are sturdy, made of well-treated wood that's been carved with stylized floral patterns and stained a rainbow of hues to reflect as much.


Midmorning in Fort's garden is apparently a quiet time; perhaps the majority of the gardening staff are at a late breakfast, or it's just a rather quiet day in general. Not deviating from the theme of 'quiet,' but definitely commanding a presence on one of the benches by the fountain is Hanild, wrapped in a shawl, hair pinned up to her head. She's got a sketchbook on one knee and is alternating between focusing intently on a climbing orchid and looking down to what her hand has been drawing without her eyes on it and correcting something, biting at the corner of her lip and occasionally crinkling her nose.

Certainly more quiet than less, X'dis at least isn't disrupting the peace and quiet of the gardens too badly as the brown rider makes his way into the flower garden from the herbs, pausing now and then to peer curiously at a plant, pushing the flowers out of the way to peer at the base, before straightening up and offering a little sigh and a mutter and moving on.

Miki isn't quiet at all, she's humming a children's song under her breathe, sometimes singing and sometimes whistling along as she makes her way through the gardens. There's a glance at the unfamiliar girl trying to sketch, curious as to the new face. There is once face she /does/ know however, and the green rider walk up to X'dis. "Hey you. Off-duty? And do you know her?" A thumb is jerked in the drawer's direction.

Mharen hardly seems to be the flower-loving sort; in fact, she's eyeing the perennial blossoms rather dubiously as she approaches the multicolored garden. Posture held stiffly, she cautiously roves from one row to the next, expression less than pleased. There's a quick glance spared for artsy Hanild before she abruptly heads in her direction, ignoring any others nearby. "Hate to bother you, " she begins in a brisk alto, "but I could use some assistance. I--need an opinion, " and a hand makes a sharp motion toward the flowers still in bloom, expectant.

"Hm?" Head up from her drawing almost immediately, Hanild is -- slightly wary, perhaps, but sociable enough as she is suddenly approached and spoken to. "Sure, of course. On the flowers?" Her head tilts a little bit to the side, and Hanild glances at where Mharen is gesturing thoughtfully, as if awaiting an epiphany.

A large yellow petal is idly rubbed between his fingers as X'dis ponders, and then Miki's there, asking the question, and he's lifting his chin, blinking a few times. "Sorry, was distracted..." He offers with a little clearing of his throat, before he's glancing n the direction she's indicating, shaking his head even as he offers the green rider an arm. "Ain't seen her before, sorry Mik.."

Miki looks over at the yellow flowers, tilting her head a bit and then raising a brow at X'dis. "You always seem to be distracted Xan. This time you're playing with flowers though, it certainly is a step up." A tiny grin forms on her face before she turns to glance back at the girl. Of which there are now two. "I haven't seen eitherof them before....hm, the garden's a popular spot today I guess."

"No, the air, " Mharen replies impatiently. "Of course, on the flowers. Look, there's a guy I work with who asked me to help him pick out a pretty one to give to some girl he's seeing tomorrow." Her mouth twists a little. "I really don't think I'm the best person to make that kind of selection, so--I'd like you to do it. I already told him I'd probably just as well choose a pretty weed as an actual blossom he'd want to give." Her foot taps for a minute before she remembers to add, "That is, you look like you'd be better at this sort of thing. I'd--appreciate it. The help, I mean."

"I could argue the air, if you were wondering about something like the pollen levels in the air, but then again I'd just as soon say that I had absolutely no idea," is Hanild's response, and she sets the sketchbook down, moving to stand. "Men. Always asking other people to do the work so they can take the credit -- I'm happy to." Onto the flowers: Hanild paces in front of the nearby brighter-colored ones, looking very serious on the whole manner, before remembering to ask, "Are these actually for picking? Because I've not been here long and I don't actually know. But I think this pink one here should do nicely for the task."

"You just catch me at awkward times.." X'dis tries to defend himself with a little, crooked smile, glancing at the flower petal in his hand and quickly dropping his hand away and then shoving it in his pocket. "Trying to think of what to get Blondie... And some old auntie said not flowers, cause flowers die, but a plant. But.. I don't know what." He makes a face, and then follows her gaze towards the pair of girls, tilting his head curiously. And then as Mharen gives an explanation of her problem, the brown rider's eyebrow arches, and he's giving Miki a nudge, grinning widely. "Hey, this might be what I need..." He murmurs under his breath.

Miki grins and shakes her head. "You're /always/ awkward as far as I can tell. Hmm...maybe you can get her a fruit plant? I don't know. All I know is that kids like flower jewelry." At the nudge, her attention is drawn back to the girls, listening to their conversation and soon a small giggle escapes the tiny woman. "Heh. Way to show a girl you like her, get the idea for her gift from someone else." There's a teasing tone to her voice, but the assistant seems quite keen on listening as well.

Mharen's arms cross. "I doubt they'll miss one flower, " the guard opines dismissively, peering over at the indicated pink blossom for a fraction of a second. "Let's hope she likes pink, " she decides with finality. If the mystery girl can't stand the hue, her suitor will clearly have to fix the oversight himself. "Unless you think there's something better. He said she's shy, if that makes a difference." A glance cuts back over her shoulder toward the nearby voices, but returns to Hanild and the flowers soon enough--the selection business is far more pressing.

Hanild processes this, but seems pretty solid in her decision at the end, with a firm nod. "Hence the pink, as opposed to red -- at first, I was thinking red, but red's awfully forward for a new relationship, and pink tends to be gently romantic without being pushy." Evidently, Mharen made a good choice in Hanild for her flower-picker! The two of them are standing and contemplating a pink flowering plant, and are being eavesdropped upon by a nearby Miki and X'dis. "Maybe one of the little blue ones, as well, for a miniature bouquet sort of thing. That shows effort. Unfortunately it's your effort and not his, but she won't know that, will she? I'm not sure if, in the end, that's doing her a disservice."

"Would you rather have the *right* thing picked out by someone else as a gift, or the wrong thing picked out by me?" X'dis teases Miki as she picks on him, tilting his head as he eyes the various flowers around the garden, eyes coming to rest one the various pink specimens that are currently in bloom. "The old lady said something about... bulbs or.. something." He thinks, shrugging and looking hopelessly at Miki as he continues to eavesdrop on the others discussing flowers, a smirk on his face.

"The wrong thing! Well at least in my opinon. Cause that means you put thought into it. That's how I think about the stuff the littles sometimes make for me. The work's hideous and it isn't done right, but they put in the effort for me, y'know? Hmmm, what about a pretty blue one? What's her favorite color?" Miki grins, crouching down to look at a few more flowers. "Bulbs? Those are....well I don't really know. When I think bulbs I think of onions. You should give her a bagful of onions." The suggestion seems to be a joke, especially considering the way Miki's degenerated into giggling. "Or grass. I let the littles raise grass all the time!"

One would think that Deitra would not be the sort of girl to visit flower gardens, but, here she is entering with her hands in her pocket and her bottom lip held between her teeth as she visibly chews upon that poor lip of hers. Her gaze scans the area, settles on Miki for a brief moment before the woman instantly changes her course to head over besides Mharen and Hanild by the flowers, inserting herself in there. "Colors mean different things? I thought they were just colors. I don't think some guys would like the pink flowers, just cause it seems feminine." Then, she's tilting a look over towards Miki and X'dis, to wave a quick greeting before attention shifts. "What's yellow mean? Or orange? Blue? Purple?"

"Right, " says Mharen briskly, giving the pink bloom a longer stare. "I'll tell him to collect this one for his interest." Finding the entire affair to be to her distaste, the tall woman twitches her shoulder in a careless shrug. "I suppose he'd be the one asking you all of these things if he could make the time for some effort, " she remarks dryly. The poor blue bouquet candidates aren't even spared a mention while she closes in on her objective. "Thanks for your help--?" And while an expectant brow lifts for Hanild's name, she sends Deitra a side-glance at her insertion. "Ask her, I know nothing about flower colors."

"Hanild," the flower-artist supplies her name politely and promptly, with an awkward flash of smile. "And he should have been. Tell him to stuff it next time he makes you do something, since odds are there will be someone able to help, not that *I* work here, but those who do should know -- something." Because if they don't, her expression says, they are failing at their purpose in life. To Deitra, she responds as if quoting an encyclopedia, though it's just as clearly cited straight from memory: "Friendship, happiness, good cheer. New beginnings, like a birth or a marriage. That's yellow. Blue is for peace, purple's about success and pride, and -- orange. Hm. I'm not entirely sure about orange, though I'd be willing to bet it has something to do with energy."

"Onions!?" X'dis says quite loudly, ruining the fact that he was "secretly" eavesdropping on the conversation, staring at Miki with his mouth agape, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. "Remind me of that later, when you're asking me for romantic gift ideas." He teases her, and then, there's a swear, and he shakes his head. "Shards, Mneo... Don't move..." And then he's patting Miki's shoulder. "Gotta go, Mneo's... umm, stuck." He offers, glancing at the trio of girls curiously once more as Hanild explains the flowers, and then he's off at a brisk pace.

"Course, onions." Miki grins at X'dis, the expression fades at his sudden panic, only to come back full force with a fit of giggles. "Ohhh. Go get him unstuck! Let Sohnyu and I know if you need help." There's further snickering before she's wandering over to the gaggle of girls now left. "Hey Deitra. And you two....new faces. What're your names?"

Huh. Deitra then looks to Hanild, expectant of her answer with grey eyes considering the other woman, head tilting just so. Shells. That's quite a lot of different meanings. So, red is love and pink is... New love? The young woman reconsiders the flowers with another look, at least until she's turning back to consider X'dis for his outburst. Brows lift and then she chuckles softly, sending an amused smile in his direction before redirecting her attention once more towards the flowers. "Hey Miki. How're you doin'?" She turns then to the greenrider with a smile of greeting, "yer lookin' cheerful."

"Hanild, " repeats the guard with a quick tip of her head. "Well, thanks. I'll just tell him to find you if his first date with this girl is successful." There's a bit of an eyeroll in there, no doubt; her expression briefly starts to glaze over as the other unloads her wealth of knowledge about the varied and subtle meanings behind flowers, but quickly snaps back to alertness as Miki approaches. There's no escaping without giving her name now, alas. "Mharen, " the owner of that name says at last, flatly. "Good afternoon." Three long strides later, she's off, presumably to relay the choice flower selection to her well-intentioned colleague.

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