Covent Garden Flowers, Saturday

[crimson_sister]

The butterflies were back. Just a few though, fluttering between the plants and posing elegantly on them, and when one of them landed on the tip of her fingers, Lucille took time to study it closely.

"So fragile," she said quietly, smiling.

The butterfly took off again and landed on a dark red rose, and Lucille returned to her book.

[Open.]

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[special_rabbit]

The last week or two had definitely left Amaya ready for a nice, relaxing vacation....well, almost ready, anyway, and one of the things left to take care of before she left brought her on around to the flower shop.

"Hey, there, Lucille; got a minute?"

Well, it would probably take several minutes, but, anyway....

[crimson_sister]

"Of course, Amaya," Lucille said. "Please come in."

She rose from the chair behind the desk, smiling.

"I meant to tell you at the party that your steel roses are lovely."

[special_rabbit]

So much seemed to have happened since then, and Amaya's singular mind was so completely far away from all that at the moment that she blinked a little at Lucille and tilted her head in the briefest moments of confusion.

"Oh!" Her brain did, at least, catch up without too much trouble. "Right. That..." Now her brain was catching up a little too much and there was a faint grumble to her words now. "...party. Well, thanks, they are a bit of a speciality of mine this time of year, easy enough to make if you're interested in some for yourself, though rest assured, I'm not planning on making a habit out of them, wouldn't want to steel," the grin on her face after that proved she wasn't even the least bit sorry for it, either!, "any of your business away from you any time soon!"

[crimson_sister]

"Oh, that doesn't worry me," Lucille said, ignoring the bad pun. "I wanted to suggest selling them here, but of they are just a seasonal thing..."

[special_rabbit]

Bad pun?? Madame. HDU.

But you clearly had Amaya's interest, Lucille, to the point where she may have forgotten momentarily that she'd come in here for something else entirely.

"Well, there's no off-season for a good business partnership!" she remarked, with an eager and easy grin. "Small community like this always thrives on a little mutual back-scratching, after all! I'd be happy to supply you with some, at a good discount, of course, and, heck, might even be interesting to try and match the metal ones to whatever's around the shop. Try a hand at some copper daisies or bronzed daffodils!"

[crimson_sister]

"That is a wonderful idea," Lucille said. "I am sure they would fit quite well in an arrangement of living flowers."

She added: "Although calling them dying flowers is more appropriate."

[special_rabbit]

After a moment of thinking about it, Amaya realized she really couldn't argue that fact. At least not for the bouquets and what not; clearly the potted plants were a different matter all together.

"But speaking of living plants and plants I'd rather not be dying," never let it be said Amaya didn't love a good segue when she saw one, "I actually came by today to see you about my own plants, and whether I could convince you to look after them while I'm gone on the school trip next week. Possibly the lobsters, too, if you don't mind, but no worries if you'd rather not. With that new tank set-up Sidon's got going on at the shelter now, I can't see them complaining too much if they had to crash there."

It was hard to see them complaining about much, really.

Because lobsters.

[crimson_sister]

"Of course! I am sure I ca look after the lobsters as well if you give me instructions how to look after them."

It couldn't be that hard, but perhaps Amaya had strong opinions about it.

"Where are you going to this year?"

[special_rabbit]

"Instructions?" Amaya blinked a moment, as if the whole concept of not merely letting lobster-related chaos had never even occured to her. "Erm, uh. Yeah, sure. I'll leave them with the notes on the plants."

Which were, by contrast, incredibly detailed and even included diagrams and charts.

"And it looks to be a two-fer this time around! Northern Kenya and Zanzibar." That one got an emphasis because it sounded like something out of her own world. "You ever been?"

[crimson_sister]

"No, never. I haven't travelled much apart from the school trips. Africa sounds quite exciting."

She wouldn't have turned down to join them had she had the opportunity, but found that an adventure like that would be more exciting with Tisarwat, perhaps even more exciting if there were strange planets to visit instead.