[ AW ] vermillion fall

Sweet... woodruff. The earthen female decides finally, fairly confident about the classification of the widespread ground plant. She leans down to give a cursory sniff of the flowers, smiling slightly at the sweet odour that greets her. Oh, definitely, she thinks as she harvests a bunch. There's a large covering of the species here, stretching a fair distance across the next few maples, the scent suddenly becoming much more apparent after the initial sniff. It's left little room for other plants to grow, but she suspects that if she travels a little further out of the woodruff, there should be more to see. Finishing her catalogue of the area, she tucks her sample into her little rucksack and stands up.

Hopping delicately through the plant foliage, she takes care to not trample too many of the flowers as she traverses deeper into the maple forest. It's a peculiar wood, she realises the longer she observes her surroundings. There's a haze of perpetual red covering her vision as the sunshine casts through the branches, painting the ground a faint pink. How? It's spring, winter long past, and yet the leaves are still crimson. That shouldn't be right.

She hums contemplative to herself, frowning in thought at the strange phenomenon. No matter what, maples are deciduous, the leaves should be green now. Tilting her head up towards the sky, she stares at the canopy of red, perplexed as to how they are apparently unchanged. Maybe Professor Kylar will know... she thinks as she picks up a fallen leaf. Certainly a question worth asking when she returns to Melrose.

Tucking the leaf into her rucksack, she continues onwards, eyes darting left and right for any new, uncatalogued plants. Ooh, is that violet?

art by holly, adjusted by bean

  in life, in death

we'll be together  

Why are they so red, these trees? So bloody red, like roses in full bloom? The prince wonders as she lies upon the forest floor, sunlight cascading down past the autumnal canopy and pouring over her midnight fur, the warmth making undeniable the fact that spring is truly here. It is beautiful, the world when it teems with fresh life but her soul aches for the dead of winter, when the nights are longest. In darkness lies the world's true beauty.

She should be dozing by now but is not really; she simply relaxes in a meadow beneath a tree, surrounded by violets, the loved flowers of the poet Sappho, whose words are known to too few. Nyx was drawn to these violets, the sight and smell of them, and could not help but collapse into a bed of them.

It is so peaceful, 'til she could sense another's presence near, prompting her to roll onto her chest and spring up to her paws, instinctively getting into stance with hackles raised and eyes blazing white-hot. She holds for a moment with a growl rumbling in her throat until she registers fully the young woman before her, whose fur is of ebony and chocolate with cream highlighting her topside. She is slight, especially compared to Nyx, and those viridian eyes stand in stark contrast to the sea of red they both drown in.

A smirk plays at dark lips as Nyx relaxes and lets off a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry. I didn't scare you, did I?"

@Manon

One violet becomes two, becomes three, until an entire field comes to greet her with vibrant green and purple. Wasting no time to explore more, she jumps straight in with a delicate hop. Careful not to trample too many of the blossoms, she noses through the plants with the scrutiny of a detective, sniffing here and there to soak in the fragrances. She had read once in a book that some violets have flirtatious scents, suitable for perfumes of allure. Although not entirely sure what 'flirtation' smells like, she finds the idea of such small flowers capable of such grand schemes to be rather funny.

Thinking that it would be a good little experiment, she decides to investigate a little more. 'Charm me!' Planting her nose into a cluster, she inhales audibly once, and then she inhales again. Eyebrows furrow slowly as she blinks in contemplation at the scent. She finds herself... a little confused; wafting within the sweet tones, there's something smoky, something spicy. What is that?

She sniffs once more again before grabbing the bunch and tugging it out of the ground. She'll take it back to the College for further testing, maybe she's found a new species. As she turns to shove the flowers into her rucksack, the sound of a growl has her freezing on the spot. Ears immediately slicking back, she cowers slightly, tail tucking between her legs. Who was that?

"I'm sorry. I didn't scare you, did I?" comes an accented voice from amidst the violets. Glancing around with wide eyes, she finally sees the dark form to her side, the woman's stance relaxing by the second. How she had missed them when they stood out amidst the purple is a mystery. Slowly regaining her courage, she mumbles something through her mouthful of flora, but quickly realises that she is intelligible. Dropping the pile, she stammers, "U-um... it's fine. I'm sorry if I intruded on something."

@Nyx

art by holly, adjusted by bean