Flower Starter || Sky

tag; sky

It was nearing the end of winter and Valentina had decided to take a walk outside for a change. The air was crisp, but not completely unbearable as the Headmistress made her way to the rose garden. Upon entering the rose garden, it didn't take long for the older woman to realize that the garden itself was very much different compared to the greenery outside. In fact, it was actually green and the flowers were blooming as if it were already spring.

Surprised at the plethora flora in the area, Valentina's passive power detection couldn't detect the culprit anywhere nearby. At least, the Headmistress thought this was harmless enough for the time being. Hopefully it didn't have a negative effect on the plant life as the actual seasons they were meant to bloom in were coming soon.

Walking over to one of the roses that were sticking out near the hedge maze, Valentina leaned forward to sniff the flower. Feeling as though she were in her own private oasis, the Headmistress allowed herself to enjoy the moment - no matter how brief it might be.

It had been a hectic day for Mavek, filled with teaching emergencies and a mild amount of physical pain. First, two students had gotten in a minor altercation in his class - some argument over a significant other, he supposed - which resulted in a few bruises across his covered arms and a small cut on his left ring finger. Once he was free from teaching duties, another science class down the hall had a small fire, which he and the other teacher managed to put out quickly enough to prevent an evacuation. Then Ida had left him alone, claiming some sort of illness he knew she did not have, just in time for a parent to contact him angrily, demanding something he no longer recalled, unwilling to open their mind to speak to him. As the day broke from morn to noon to the cusp of eve, Mavek had finally made his decision to cast the day aside in search of fresh air and peace.

It was with this in mind that he decided to take a brisk walk through the rose garden, desiring the outdoors but uncertain of his destination. He knew it was too early in the year for things to bloom, but he fondly recalled spring and summer nights spent alone in the dewy grass, lightning bugs flitting between petals amongst his own softly glowing orbs of psionic light, and decided that the garden was the most comforting place to seek, even in the cold dead of winter.

It only makes sense, then, that Mavek was pleasantly surprised to find a glimmer of deep reds and soft greens on the horizon as he approached the garden, and he sped up his pace, nearly running as he absorbed the sight. Once upon the edge of the maze of roses, he breathed in deeply, soaking up the sweet aura, before scanning the area for the culprit of such a delightful awakening.

It was then that he spotted a figure a number of rows away approach a bush, then duck and dissappear. With energy and suspicion Mavek approached silently, his light footsteps tapping indistinctly on the paving stones, arriving in time to watch none other than the Headmistress Valentina enjoying a long whiff of a bright rose, her nose nearly as pink as the petals before her. Mavek was surprised by her presence, watching her almost voyeuristically for a moment before straightening himself off, adjusting his scarf and tapping the toe of his shoe on the ground as a slight notice of his presence.

"Fancy meeting you here, Madame Arias," he breached, his voice echoing from his mind to hers. He took another step toward her, his face flat and emotionless as always, but a hint of curiosity in his mind-voice.

Valentina had been in her own world when Mavek had approached, the sudden voice in her mind shocking her out of her almost trance-like mood. "Mister Ivors," Valentina responded - her tone coming out more breathy than anything else. As a few seconds passed though, it didn't take too long for Valentina to recover from being surprised by another person near her. Turning toward her co-worker, she decided it appropriate to comment on the change to the rose garden. "In normal circumstances, I would try and locate the student that did this," Valentina explained to Mavek then - looking all around. "I think I can make an acception this time though," she finally said after another few seconds of silence.

Internally, Valentina still found herself trying to slow her heart at the sudden appearance of Mavek. Somehow, even though the shock finally left her system - her heart still insisted on keeping up a faster than normal beat. "What brings you to the rose garden, Mister Ivors?" Valentina finally asked for the sake of polite conversation. Normally a calm and cool sort of person, Valentina found herself out of sorts today.

Mavek looked around them as Valentina spoke, soaking up the soft tones in her voice. He nodded as she spoke, approaching a rose and feeling its soft, almost warm petals. "Agreed," he said simply, running a thumb over a thorn. With barely any pressure it peirced his thin, pale skin, and Mavek observed dark blue blood pooling at the surface of the wound before he covered it with a handkerchief from his jacket pocket.

He turned to face Valentina again as she posed her question, watching a speck of blue stain his kerchief before searching her face. She seemed more anxious than usual, her stance tense. Mavek took a few steps toward her, shifting his bleeding hand into a pocket and adjusting his tentacles with another, pulling a larger one in front of his chest. It writhed for a moment, cold and dry, then settled, burying into his scarf. "Some days are better than others," he informed matter-of-factly, "and today was a long walk kind of day." He gazed almost knowingly at her, his eyes a smile. "And yourself, Madame Arias? You were so unfamiliar at first, so far away from your office."

With Mavek turned slightly away from her, Valentina did not get to watch the moment of her co-worker pricking himself with a rose. Instead, she was only privy to the handkerchief that was covering his finger. Her eyes quickly moved up to his as he moved his hand away and Valentina took a deep breath of he cold air all around them.

"Ah," The Headmistress replied at first - absorbing his words in order to come up with her own response. "Is that so?" It didn't occur to the woman that she in truth really did need to go out of the school more, a majority of her time was spent inside - near a decent amount of the student body.

"Today was a long walk day for me too," Valentina replied then - looking at Mavek with the corners of her lips slightly turned upward, sharing the knowing look he had given her. "Although I'm sure any moment now my assistant will appear to beckon me back inside the castle."

The corners of Mavek's mouth lifted in a rare outward expression of entertainment, his eyes softening, and he let out a low, hollow laugh, more like a staccato, airy hum than one's normal expression of humour. It was something he rarely did, but working so closely with Valentina he had grown comfortable enough to emit his strange laugh.  

"I say we take advantage of the time we have then, wouldn't you say so, Madame Arias?" Mavek felt himself relax from his chaotic day, craving release from this stress. He hadn't felt so deeply manic in a long time. Pulling his bleeding hand out of his pocket, handkerchief still in hand, Mavek checked his watch. He had no more classes, and no pressing duties in his office- he could likely get away with not returning for the day, if he so desired. 

He stared at his watch for a long moment in consideration before stuffing his hand back in his pocket. He then made a long gesture towards Valentina, as if asking her to grab his hand, and then a swoop away, in a direction deeper into the garden, away from the Academy that would surely survive out of their watchful gaze for a few moments. He stared out at the flowers and the inevitable forest in the distance, then looked back again at Valentina. "We could always give Madame Cassidy a good chase, couldn't we?" He breathed in deeply through his nose, then exhaled a torrent through a small opening in his mouth. "And perhaps, even, we could enjoy tea after. That would be a thrill, would it not?"

Valentina felt herself take a strange sort of pleasure when it came to Mavek's amusement, almost as if it were natural for her to enjoy seeing him happy. Why wouldn't it be enjoyable though? Nevertheless though, Valentina's enjoyment was still contained - and the older woman let a coy smile spread across her face. "I'll have to agree wholeheartedly, Señor Ivors." Valentina replied, her native tongue and accent slipping into her speech.

As Mavek offered his hand out toward her, Valentina started to feel breathless once more - for many reasons unknown to her. Nodding, with a brief moment of hesitation Valentina laid her hand in Mavek's - ready to be taken to where ever he lead her too. "I'm thinking chamomile will be the perfect choice for today," Valentina pondered out loud to her companion.

Valentina silently hoped that they wouldn't be quite literally running, since her choice of shoes today didn't necessarily support that idea. With three inch heels, Valentina was little bit closer at matching Mavek in height - although not by much. In addition to the heels, Valentina was clad in a black pants suit with a light purple undershirt. The woman didn't have too much protection from the cold today since she hadn't been planning on being out for too long, a dark blue pea coat being her only cover from any chilly wind that might blow.

Mavek watched her with a soft gaze as she grabbed his hand, his long, rounded fingernails hovering slightly over her wrist. "I believe I know a fantastic place for chamomile and company." He took a few steps forward, then paused, turning gracefully to face her. Wordlessly, he unraveled his scarf from around his neck, revealing three soft, rounded slits in his neck concealing a deep red underneath, and expertly wrapping it around her head, ears, and neck. "Much better," he said with a pause before pulling his coat collar closer to his neck. He vary rarely exposed his gills outside of his home. He twirled back around, gently placing his hand on hers once again before leading them further into the tangle of rose bushes.

Although he did not run, Mavek led himself and Valentina through the deep reds and soft pinks with a brisk pace, keeping his eyes forward, aimed at the task of finding his way through the maze. He'd been here countless times before, having memorized the correct path his second time coming through, but whatever magic had caused the roses to spring back to life seemed to have made the ones in the center grow taller and more gangling, and he found himself moving in zigzags to avoid sharp vines protruding out into the usually well-trimmed path. "Quite unusual, isn't it? Some interesting magic must have done this," he inquired, slowing his pace as he searched his memory for the path, the bushes now nearly a foot over his height.

As Mavek wrapped his scarf around her, Valentina lowered her eyes carefully - in an almost shy manner as she felt the warmth of the cloth. The lack of the scarf on him though, meant only to reveal to Valentina once more what he was - although what did it really matter. The world was constantly changing, shifting - it was meant to be enjoyed in the here and now. His hand wrapped around hers and every move felt careful as they started to make their way through the rose garden.

Although Valentina was the Headmistress here, the older woman hadn't quite taken the time to remember this maze like Mavek had - so she let herself be lead by her co-worker and companion. "Ah, I really do enjoy nature magic. I know I'm not allowed to play favorites, but some users make it seem so peaceful." Valentina explained, slightly embarrassed that she mentioned such a thing out-loud.

"I quite agree, honestly. I believe we're at a particular point in history where nature needs an extra hand in getting back to its origins," Mavek responded, taking a sharp turn, getting closer to the center, watching closely for any split in the bushes. He took a deep breath and slowed down, searching carefully- the entrance to the center of the garden didn't seem to be quite where he remembered it. Inhaling the flowery aroma, he closed his eyes to picture the place they should enter in his mind. A memory came into view.

"If I recall, about 1908 I visited my first rose garden- the Europa-Rosarium in Germany," he was now stopped completely, pulling sensory memories from his mind and weaving them into an image. "The land was king back then, but Europa-Rosarium was one of the first places I saw humanity shape and manipulate our natural world into something strange and beautiful. I looked like a child then - they only let me in because my companions were very wealthy, because they feared I would rip the petals off of every flower I passed." He took a few steps forward and passed his hand through a few leaves, then continued forward as he found no passage. "I got separated from them at one point- I don't recall how - and got lost in a span of bushes much like this one. It was quite silly, honestly- it wasn't even a maze- but when they found me, I was pricked all over and sobbing. In those days I wore head coverings everywhere, and they were stuck in a pink bush above me. They had to rush to get me covered." He paused again, then decided to turn them both around, pushing branches aside in a different place. "I came back many years later, perhaps about fifty years ago? And I swear to this day, wherever I lost myself in that garden doesn't even exist. Perhaps it did a hundred years ago, and perhaps the roses created a place for me back then. It's as though the bushes are magic themselves." He stopped again, then turned to gaze at Valentina, his sharp, pointed eyes gleaming with curiosity and excitement. "What if the bushes did this themselves? A bit of magic just for us, wouldn't that be lovely?"

Valentina took a deep breath as she absorbed the story that Mavek was telling. She already knew that her co-worker was a much older being than her and as such his recollections of his past always took her a moment to fully grasp. What sort of people did he keep in company with him when he was younger? How did he deal when these people (if they were human) passed away?

Despite being of the nature to not delve into other people's business, Valentina could not help the curiosity that came with human nature in this particular moment as Mavek turned back toward her. "I would gladly welcome the idea," Valentina responded at first. "There is so much magic that goes around this island I would only guess that the earth itself has absorbed some of it."

Within a moment, Valentina had her eyes steady on Mavek's own. "Mister Ivors, what is your opinion on the human life span?"