forum want a good ol’ romance // oxo // closed

Started June 18, 2020 by @PaperHats business

tune

Scipio shrugged. "I dunno. Things can change. According to my research, anyway." He turned his gaze back over to Xellis. "I feel kinda different since your friend gave me the weird healing energy thing."

Xellis gave a diminutive smile. “Oh really? Didn’t know. You don’t necessarily let on a whole lot. But of course you feel different. Audomar broke the tether to your state of death. You should be feeling more… alive soon. Which just means you’ll actually start adjusting to our time. It’s like a jet-lag thing.”

"Ah… I remember jet lag. Even though it was from when I was little, I remember it clearly." Scipio closed his eyes, humming thoughtfully. "Stowing away on a plane would make that feeling worse than normal, I imagine. I was ill for days. Which was unfortunate, since I didn't have much access to food anyway…"

“I have no clue what it’s like, unless it’s like going to earth. In which case, Zayanzar has told me all about it,” he said. “Although I wish I could experience it myself.”
He took the roses from the pot, cradling the roots with a hand before setting them gently in the hole he had dug, pushing the soil around it and watering them. It was a motion he was very used too— he’d been doing it since he could remember. Since he was the one often at the manor, he was the one stuck with the upkeep.

Scipio watched quietly for a few minutes. "We used to have a flower garden at my childhood home." He said quietly. "I didn't see it much, since it wasn't my job to take care of it, but I remember passing it every morning on my way to school."

“They’re nice, aren’t they?” he asked, smiling at the flowers. “It’s better than just having a bleak courtyard. Plus, it’s just nice to watch them grow. And… well, they’re just pretty.”
Xellis looked back at the row he had finished, sitting back on his knees and taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I guess so. Flowers aren't really my area of expertise, so…" Scipio sat cross legged and glanced around at all the flowers. "Are you the only one who deals with these things here?" He asked.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “No one else it around much, so I’m left with mainly the upkeep. I don’t mind it though, it keeps me relatively busy.”
He looked over his work with a timid smile, noting the multicolored flowers across the bed.

"Mm. Makes sense." Scipio reached out to gently touch one of the roses, examining it curiously. "They're lovely. Good flowers. Where do you get flowers down here?" He asked, turning his gaze up to Xellis.

“Goddess of nature and nurture,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I asked her for seeds and have raised them ever since. After that they just kept growing. I asked her for some others but I haven’t gotten a reply yet. I’m looking to plant some snap dragons. I’ve always loved those.”

Scipio nodded a bit. "I'm not sure I've ever seen a snap dragon before. I'm not very familiar with flowers." He pulled his hand away and hummed thoughtfully. "Are flowers difficult to take care of?" He asked.

“Some are,” he said thoughtfully. “Others are less so. I’d say roses and snap dragons aren’t all that difficult, but maybe it’s because I’ve been doing it for so long. I guess it varies. It’s easy for me.”
He paused for a moment, looking to Scipio, then to an empty flower bed a couple paces away.
“I can show you how to plant them, if you’d like.”

"Hmm… alright. It's not like I've got anything else to do." Scipio moved closer to Xellis and knelt beside him, not caring that his clothes were getting dirty. He planned on showering and changing after this anyways, so it didn't really matter that much.

Xellis moved less than gracefully over to the empty bed, picking up a pot of reddish-orange roses and holding it up, along with a pair of gloves.
“These ones have thorns, so better watch out,” he said. “Although the gloves help tons. Here— just take them out gently. I’ve already pried them from the sides. It should just pop right out.”

"Alright." Scipio pulled on the gloves and took the flowers, carefully prying the thorns off of the stems. "How's that?" He asked after a few minutes, holding the blooms up to Xellis's face for examination. "I don't see any thorns left on them."

“Good,” he said with a smile. “It’s not a necessary step, and surely not one that helps the plant any, but with a touch of celestial power they don’t die often. I like them without thorns better.”
He held the pot up to Scipio.
“Now take the whole thing from the pot— soil, roots, and all— and just plop it right in the hole I made. Got it?”

Scipio nodded and did as he was instructed, placing the plant in the aforementioned hole and gently patting down the soil around it to keep it secure. He smoothed out the ground and examined his handiwork, trying to make sure that it was perfect.

Xellis watched over Scipio with a smile that grew with each moment. However, when the man leaned back, he stopped, making sure he hadn’t seen his pride.
“Nice work,” he said stiffly. He picked up the watering can, which should have been empty, and poured it over the soil. Much to logic’s dismay, water poured from its spout, raining small droplets on the dirt.

Scipio eyed the watering can curiously, but didn't pay it much mind. He was surrounded by gods, after all. Water coming out of thin air was hardly the strangest thing he'd seen. "Alright. Now that we've got that… uh… are there any more?" He asked.

“Having fun, are we?” Xellis asked sarcastically. He gestured behind the two, showing off the rest of the flowers.
“Yeah, there’s more,” he said, slipping back on one of his own gloves. “You can work with me if you’d like.”
With another smile he held a shovel up to Scipio.

Scipio rolled his eyes, huffing as he took the shovel from Xellis. "Yeah, yeah… don't push your luck." He pushed his shovel into the ground to make another hole for the flowers. Once it was dug, he carefully picked up another pot and set the plant into the hole he'd dug.

Xellis watched him for a moment with a minuscule smile, noting the remark. He got to work himself, staying alongside Scipio and trimming flowers on the far row. He began to whistle a tune he had heard mortals sing before. He believed it was something called “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” but he wasn’t too sure. He doubted Scipio would know it, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

Scipio glanced over at Xellis with a confused expression when he started whistling, but kept quiet in favor of focusing on the flowers. He dug a couple more holes in quick succession so he could plant the flowers more quickly.

It had been a good couple weeks before Elandorr showed up, and since, he had left. He disappeared to the mortal realm, perhaps fulfilling another prayer he had gotten. Although Xellis wasn’t jealous— he was just happy to have the house back to just his and Scipio’s disposal.
With a stretch and an unbuttoned shirt, he walked out of his room, hair a shaggy mess and eyes tired. Although that didn’t seem to dim his spirits, as he yelled, “SCIPIO! GET YO LAZY ASS OUTTA BED. I HAVE NOTHING IMPORTANT PLANNED, BUT I DO WANNA MAKE PANCAKES.”
After his boisterous waking call, he rubbed his eyes, looking to the stairs.