Lily slowly made her way to the shop. Her rest wasn’t perfect, but at least there were no nightmares tonight. Sporting another dress, this time a more woolen and heavy fabric. The dark green of the skirt helped highlight the pastel blue of her top, the collar sliding down her collarbones as she greeted other sophonts and a few affini. She was early in fact, her body craving the taste of coffee and pastries. She already ordered some to go from a nearby bakery, so she simply let the day pass her by as she went to pick up the brunch.

Finally arriving at the shop, drink and pastry in hand. She opened the door and slowly entered the floral scented room. Her eyes closed as she let the calm of the room wrap around her. Placing the bakeries and coffee on the desk, she went around to ensure all of her plants were in good shape. Assessing damages and triaging… no, she wasn’t a medic. Quickly moving around she only found a few plants that seemed to be in discomfort. She’d have to look after those afterwards, perhaps bring them to her hab so she’d have time to meet Tara.

A knot tied in her stomach as she thought of the events of the previous morning, even how she interacted with Candy. She should have called it off, she wasn’t feeling right and it was clear Merana was displeased with her. “Yet another mark on my review I guess.” She still had a few more months before another assessment would be held. Her mind, thinking over how Echona was possibly finding possible affini right now. Even her time seemed to be running dry, maybe it was time to look for someone. She didn’t want to think about it, she was doing fine on her own.

Moving to the operating room, she went through the same steps as before, making sure salves and gels were up to date and counting her utensils. She moved to the sink, turning the water and wetting her hands as she started to clean them. Scrub scrub scrub There was no point in really looking anyway. Scrub scrub scrub She’d simply end up as someone’s lap doll, or worse Scrub scrub scrub She could help herself, she was supposed to help others to heal, no, not anymore. Turning off the tap, she moved to the front room once more, sitting down and drinking her coffee as she set up the required paperwork. While the lack of wealth was an enjoyable change, the extra paperwork was not.

The day went by as Lily expected, affini came, ordered flowers or booked appointments for grafting. Some with their florets, others without. The barrage of compliments soon weighed down on Lily’s mind as the next customer arrived. The affini from before, she was even prettier up close. Her grafts flowed up her formed body and vines, many she didn’t know, however up close she noticed some of the xeno species she was shown how to care for. Her eyes a deep amber, cracks filling an almost infinite space with the unmistakable allure of- no. Don’t look, she’d only get trapped and get distracted. A warm blush filled her cheeks as the affini arrived at the counter. “Hello, I am here for a grafting appointment.”

Lily stood for a moment, her eyes gliding over the many flowers and vines that flowed with a natural looseness to them. “A-ah yes! One moment, what is your name?” The affini looked intrigued at the human. She knew a sophont was working here, however an independent? Quite intriguing, and those eyes. They looked like flowers, her hair radiating the soft pastels, a strangely natural color in the flower shop. “Elowin Renne, fourth bloom. She/Her. Might I say, you look elegant today.”

Lily paused, her mind stopping for a moment as the words processed through her mind. It wasn’t that she was given a compliment, many affini did that. However, the word, the implication. She felt her face grow red with embarrassment as she stammered out a thank you. Quickly returning to the data pad to find the appointment. “A-ah yes! You were requesting a graft of forget me nots! A wonderful choice, they are one of Terra's prettiest flowers in my opinion.”

“Really? I was told that the rose or perhaps the tulip was the prettiest. Apparently forget me nots are a small and meager flower, not the attributes some assign the prettiest flower.” Lily blushed as she looked through her datapad to find the right plant. Forget Me Nots are a delicate flower, so she decided on one that was created with the help of planttech to be more resistant. “Roses and tulips are pretty, yes. However forget me nots are pretty in a different way. They’re subtle, their colors stick out, but do not flash. They are small, yet carry a meaning within its name that is nothing short of melancholic.” Lily stated as she moved to the shelf where the pot sat, noticing that Elowin’s lower half looked almost like a skirt, no legs to be found as even that was strewn with flowers of all kinds.

“I see, well I was already sold before talking to you, however your insight into it is quite refreshing. Though I believe the prettiest flower in this room is you.” Lily froze again, Elowin’s leaves rustled, enjoying the light teasing of the sophont, finding her reactions to be all too pleasing. “You… speak too highly of me Miss Elowin, but thank you regardless. Now shall we begin your grafting?”

Elowin nodded, entering the backroom expecting to find an affini waiting. Instead she’s greeted with an empty operating room, the chair in the middle accommodated for an affini with a ladder on the side. “I apologize deeply about my clothing option, my mind has escaped me for some time and I forgot that I had an appointment today.” Lily stated as she washes her hands once more, drying them off before putting on a double layer of gloves. Setting the pot of forget me nots to the side as she hurries to find the salves and gels necessary for the procedure. “You wanted the flowers on one of the vines correct? A newly added one if I’m not mistaken. May I see it?”

Somewhat flustered herself, Elowin reveals the vine, hidden away behind the others. The vine was bare and fitted just a few weeks ago. “Ah! I see, good good.” Inspecting the vine, placing the pot next to the two as she whispers something to herself. “Do you have a specific pattern in mind? Or would you like me to create one for you?” Elowing nodded, as if that would answer the question before realizing what she was doing. “I h- I don’t, no. How about you surprise me.” Elowin smiled a genuine smile as she looked at the human mutter under her breath. Pulling out a marker and marking different spots. The marks seem to spiral down the vine from three sides. “How is this?” Lily asked her client, letting go of the vine as to give Elowin a better view. “I like it! It’s quite unique to what I usually ask for, I’m excited to see how it turns out.”

Nodding Lily got to work, gently removing and replacing pieces of the vine where the marks were, adding a bunch of the flowers before applying the binding salve and gel. “So, are you new to The Athelum?” Lily asked, attempting to make small talk as the slow procedure began. Usually the affini were faster due to the access to multiple vines, however she enjoyed the methodic and slow process. “Ah! Yes, I arrived from another ship to start living with my partner.” Elowin relaxed as the sophont continued the procedure, enjoying getting to talk to someone. “That’s exciting! So I am guessing you two are transferring to a new hab unit.” The first row was done, pleased with how it looked Lily continued to the second row as she let her hands cut, prune and apply salve. “Yes, she’s absolutely wonderful, and her floret is just a treat! I got to see some of the pictures of her being fed and bathed, and I can’t wait to dote on her!” Lily smiled and added more flowers to one mark before continuing, she loved the strange excitement of affini when discussing their florets. “I’m sure she looks absolutely adorable, but what about you? Did you bring a floret with you?”

Elowin grew silent, her vines tightening a little as Lily realized she hit a sore spot. “No, not yet. I’ve been having issues bonding with the ones I meet. While I love how adorable they can be, many of them just… don’t match with me.” Lily nodded silently, affini could be picky with who they had as their Floret, it was important to find someone who fit each other. “I can understand how you feel, honestly my friends have been begging me for months now about finding an affini who I could bond with, I never really found many of their approaches satisfying.”

The room grew silent again as Lily slowly returned to her anxiety about her meeting with Tara. Again, she’d have to deal with another talk about how she should “find the best person for her”. She sighed as she slowly started to get towards the end as Elowin piped up. “How so? If anything you already seem like the perfect floret with how you dress, it’s quite a beautiful style.” Again, that compliment. It was different, she couldn’t place why. It just felt different. “Thank you Miss Elowin, I do appreciate your kind words. I always loved flowers and plants, in the navy you couldn’t really keep much vegetation, and with the surrender our ship removed all plants that weren’t deemed necessary.”

“My! You’re an ex-rebel, and an independent at that. How did you manage that feat? Also, why would they ever throw away plants?” Lily blushed as she realized she just shared information that she enjoyed best hidden. “The… latter has a somewhat funny reason. The commander believed that spies could communicate with affini through the plants. So they outlawed any vegetation that wasn’t uprooted. As for the former… I was more like a spy. I never really enjoyed that war and I was a medic, not a combatant. I was given leeway along with my ex to become independent.” Elowin nodded, finding it strange that such a calm and gentle woman used to be on a rebel ship.

Soon Lily finished the grafting, looking back at her handiwork as she motioned for Elowin to examine the end product. “Now since I’m guessing you’ve gone through grafting before I’m sure you know how to upkeep and ensure the best possible connection with your new friends. If anything starts to wilt or any other effects occur, don’t hesitate to message me.” With that they returned to the front room to finish up the paperwork. “Thank you for coming, and I wish you luck on your move. Having someone close is always a nice thing.” A small part of her stung as she said that, realizing how little she followed her own words. Waving a goodbye to Elowin, Lily slowly closed the shop, it was earlier than normal but she was already starting to run late for meeting Tara.

Sighing and wishing she had some excuse as to not come. She put the pot of forget me nots into a small greenhouse compartment to help regrow before returning to the shelves. Grabbing the two plants that showed signs of being sick and left the shop. Taking in the hum of the crowd, it was quieter than normal. Slowly gaining the strength to move back to her hab unit, Lily moved to meet Tara again.