Work Text:
Castorice had been taking a small walk in order to clear her mind from the constant river of emotion that had plagued her these last few days. It becomes quite stifling suffering alone, so she figured a walk would suffice in making her feel a little brighter.
As she steps across the pavement, her eyes suddenly catch on a flash of pink and purple. She takes a step back.
Castorice's soft gaze sweeps over the blooming flowers sprouting up from stout green bushes. She recalls a memory from long ago; the steadying, familiar feeling of want. She wants to run her fingers over the petals, watch as they bend and curl beneath her nails, feel the life budding from their seeds.
But alas, she is only meant to view from afar. For if she approaches these beautiful buds of nature, they wilt in her presence. Much like the delicate life of mortals.
The nature of this world is worth the limited appreciation Castorice can only give. So, she kneels, a few feet away from the bundle of flowers, and sets her sights upon them. A light breeze passes her by, ruffling her ribbons, and gently kissing the petals of these flowers. Castorice raises her eyebrows slightly when they start to glow in order of where the wind hits them. Maybe they're a special kind of flower.
Castorice's eyelids droop. Azaleas, she guesses. She doesn't know how correct she is, seeing as the bushes are blooming in both pink and purple instead of one set colour, and the magical property they seem to hold now reminds her of a certain petite girl she knows. It's a pretty sight to behold either way.
She gives a small sigh. Standing up, she dusts off her skirt a little. She decides it'd be worse for her to silently wallow in such deep-rooted desires than just getting up and leaving.
As she makes her decision and takes one step back, a chirpy voice beckons from behind the Azalea bush;
"Oh, Miss Castorice? Looks like you found me first! Or, wait, did I find you...?" Castorice blinks down at the short pink-haired girl greeting her now, who's eyebrows knit together as she comes to a realisation. "You didn't even know I was here, did you?"
A shy blush paints Castorice's cheeks. "I do apologise. I thought I was alone."
Hyacine smiles brightly. "Well, why are you so far away?" Her eyes drift back and forth between Castorice to the pavement she had previously knelt down on. With the same open-mouthed, endearingly silly smile, Hyacine asks, "What are you doing anyway???"
Castorice runs her teeth over her bottom lip. "I... had been appreciating these lovely creations of nature. I cannot touch many things without bringing them to an untimely demise, so I opt to show my appreciation through quality time."
A beat. "Oh, cool! Hey, you know," Hyacine takes her hand away from behind the bush to approach Castorice. The glowing effect from the flowers melts away, appearing dimmer than before. "If you wanna touch them, you can just ask me."
Hyacine leans into Castorice's personal space. Castorice suddenly feels the urge to step back, though she knows she won't be able to hurt Hyacine like this.
"...Um," Castorice mutters out. Hyacine's words perplex her. She understands the girl's connection with nature manages to bolster the life-span of plants and sorts, but is it enough to withstand the touch of Death?
She leans a little further away from Hyacine, who's smile falters slightly. Castorice doesn't want her to think she doesn't want her to be near her, but... something about Hyacine's presence always makes her a little jittery, as if she's additionally afraid of Hyacine accidentally bumping shoulders with Castorice and-
She shakes her head to rid herself of such thoughts. "Your ability to strengthen the voice of nature is amazing, to say the least... though, I fear for the consequences of your efforts. It may not be... ideal." Castorice casts her gaze to the ground.
She hears Hyacine huff. "Well, that's silly! We won't know until we try. If you think about it, combining our powers sounds kinda romantic... I mean-!" Hyacine stumbles over her words when Castorice looks to her again, eyes bright and curious. "B- Because Azaleas represent love and- Waitthat'snotright- Um, I... Hahaha~! Yeah! Yeah? Yeah."
That manages to crack a smile. Hyacine's red face somehow manages to become even redder, out-brightening even her pink hair. "I'm glad you find my flounder so amusing, Miss Castorice!"
Now it's Castorice's turn to be embarrassed. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Hyacine breaks out into giggles, quickly managing to regain her usual composure when she sees Castorice take her place instead. "Don't worry about it, I'm just kidding! Besides, your smile's cute anyway."
Castorice blinks, slowly processing Hyacine's words. Her body is unsure how to respond. "...Um, wha-"
"ANYWAY! Heheh~ ⋆｡°✩ Here, I'll pick up a little Azalea, and you'll just touch it, okay? Then we can see if you can move onto the whole bush!"
Castorice exhales a heavy breath through her nose. "Lady Hyacine... This is all very nice, but are you sure-"
"If it wilts, we'll just plant more," Hyacine says simply. She gives her a reassuring smile, something that might mean the world to Castorice.
"Okay... If it's really no hassle..."
Hyacine gently plucks a purple Azalea from the bush, placing it into the palm of her hands. Hyacine blows gently into the petals, each one turning a soft white before settling into a gentle purple glow. Hyacine smiles at her, and Castorice takes in a few heavy breaths in an attempt to steady herself. The Azalea is big in Hyacine's hands, but equally just as small.
Is this really alright? What if Hyacine is placing the right amount of trust in the wrong person...?
Before she can think to back away, Hyacine pushes the glowing flower into the tips of Castorice's fingers. They brush against the petal's at first - soft, smooth, just as Castorice has always imagined the texture to be. In that small moment, she believes there is only a delay; a moment in which she gets to truly feed into her most humane desires, before all of it is ripped away from her in an instant. Before the petals fold in on themselves and wrap each other into a final, withered embrace.
Nothing like that happens. She jolts. Then, carefully, stretches her fingers outwards. She can feel the inside of the petals like this; the buzz of life likely stemming from Hyacine's magic. She doesn't want to go too far. She doesn't want the spell to break. She only wishes to feel, and this is the longest life has allowed her to.
Hyacine's voice laced with barely suppressed excitement breaks the illusion momentarily, placing her back into reality. "Are you happy? You look really happy."
Castorice nods stiffly, earning a giggle. "That's great! I'm happy when you're happy~ Hey, nothing like this has ever happened to you, right?"
Castorice gives a small shake of her head, her fingers twitching as she attempts to explore every inch of the Azalea without accidentally touching Hyacine. The pink-haired girl chirps as Castorice brushes the flat of her palm against the pistil, "Guess we better write this down! Anaxa'll love learning about this I'm sure!"
As Hyacine prattles about her dear companion, Castorice finds her attention drifting from the softness of flower petals to the shining brightness of Hyacine's teal eyes. For Castorice, it's easy for her to compare someone like Hyacine to the sun. Something Castorice could never hope to be.
Hyacine's presence and energy is something Castorice would never wish to snuff out. She wishes Hyacine could be an eternal light brightening her life forever.
After a long while, Castorice retracts her hand. The glow strengthening the life of the Azalea dims when Hyacine returns it back to the bush. "Oh, you're done already? If you want we can do the bush, too!"
"This much is fine, thank you," Castorice says, bowing her head. Hyacine stammers before bowing herself.
"Yeah, it's no problem! You know, you can text me whenever you want something like this again..."
Castorice pauses, before giving a gentle smile. "You're a very nice person, Hyacine."
She turns on her heel, entirely missing the way Hyacine's cheeks flush, which might feel like relief to the girl. "Oh, um, thank you..."
Castorice hears a distant clear of the throat as she makes her way back down the pavement. A familiarly chirpy voice calls out from behind afterwards: "Have a safe departure, Miss Castorice!"
Castorice breaks into a grin. Death and Life. How ironic.