Chapter Text
“The lavender bushes still look bright and happy!”
Antheia shrilled with excitement as she walked along the bustling pavement along the city pathways. Other passing by Amaurotines turned their head in confusion by the outlandish unsuspected squeal but continue onwards on their own path, as does she while admiring the flowers along the way and checking on them. She did create them, of course she would want to check on them everyday.
Seeing the well flourished flowers in each passing step made her Aether frill up in glee that made it noticeable to Amaurot citizens, making them contagious to the overwhelming joyful Aether from her in close proximity. But it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her Aether to be the way it is, as close friends of her and aquatints simply recognize her by it. It was a unique Aether that can be easily distinguishable from others just by how bright in color it is. And how warm it is.
What made the flowers even more special to her was how hard she had to persuade Hades to even allow them in his blueprints for his architect project on remodeling he poached to the Bureau. It was only coincidence that she over heard his project being accepted while trailing behind him to show her support as he turned his papers in, just only coincidence. Her eyes only accidentally getting a good peep into the prints made her want to offer an additional touch to the plans. Hades loafed around her offer for a week straight until her constant teleportation to his workshop and home to ask if he thought about it made it persuasive enough for him to just say yes, just to make it stop.
She even teleported right outside his window just for a cheeky scare while in his workshop that nearly made her fall from the 2,000 feet building. Maybe she had that coming but sure wasn’t going to let up.
There was only one condition she had to do for her offer to be in the plans and it was just to do it all the work by herself, he wasn’t just going to waste time on something he didn’t implement originally and that she agreed with. All the work paid off to have a lively looking street with brightly colored lavenders along the city. Hades even commended her for her hard work and how it did look nice, although she deeply knew he only did put all he work on her purely out of spite and to tease.
Finally finishing her walk to enter her own workshop that resided beside the Akadaemia Anyder, she made a beeline to the greenhouse. The thing about being a member of The Convocation is that others will flock to you for wise advice or offer to have a debate on a certain topic that was trending among social groups. Despite being her own social butterfly with others by her welcoming Aether, it gets overbearing for her by sheer amount of people that it starts to snuff out her glowing Aether.
Upon opening the glass door to the greenhouse it immediately hits her with the scent of flora of all types she created and even new ones she has yet to name. There could be no greater greeting than that for her. She took her time looking and jotting down notes in her head of the process and status of each flora she produced. Treating them with the outmost care by moistening their soil and efficiently conjuring a spray bottle in her hands to wet the flowers that bloomed on vines and to form dew drops for the butterflies to drink upon.
She stops herself in front of a new breed that has yet to bear a name from her, as it deserves so on how breathtakingly beautiful it was for her. They shined vividly with pink that ombré to a red to the tips of the petals, bunched together tightly like its own bouquet on tall grass stalks. They looked similar to the lilies in the house… and also kind of shaped like a sword on how they form a tip… a gasp let loose as a lightbulb on her went off too, “sword lilies…” She quickly recorded that into her notes.
But as alluring it is with the rest of her flowers an the bond she has with them, there was always something lacking in them. She grazes her bare finger tips along the soft plush petal of the sword lilies to only feel its beauty but not something deeper as she hoped, but what was it? As she took this second to think, another lightbulb lit up in her mind. Maybe it was because she had been using Aether just from the air but what if she used her own piece of Aether that connected her soul to make a flower? This was something she had to experiment on.
With a few deep exhales and inhales, focusing intensely on her finger tips that pinched together and spread out to form one big mass of Aether curled into a ball only held together by her hands.But it wasn’t from thin air, she could see of what appears to be tiny shards coming from her own body to feed the mass, it was working! Then poof! A small cloud puffed out of the ball and tiny sparks flying off with it to reveal her project was a success.
“HADES, ELI, LAHA!”
The trio, Hades, Lahabrea, and Elidibus had just begun to discuss recent matters with the upcoming Convocation meeting tomorrow but was stridently halted by the call of their own names, well, their familiar nicknames Antheia placed upon them for centuries, which what quickly identified who was calling them from a distance.
Elidibus turned his head to face her as she jogs towards them with her hands clasped together as she was holding something in them. “Antheia, what caused the urgency for you to appear to us?” the duo also looked to her for an answer. “Look!” Catching her breath from the lengthy jog, she opens her palms to reveal 4 glistening white flowers that bursts in shimmers to make a glow strong enough to be a lamp.
“They’re… They’re flowers.” Lahabrea tutted. Hades keeping silent as she just gazes down on them with Elidibus. “They are! But I had created them not by using the Aether we pull naturally from our tips, I used shards of my own soul to meld in to complete my vision and birthed this breed!” Antheia was just so excited about this feat because of her own found discovery she made that solved her search.
The trio took their time to think of a response on her achievement, whether it to be a worried response on what she completed and if there was any drawbacks or just to play along with her enthusiasm. Hades and Lahabrea decided to split that. “Impressive, I’d never thought of using anything else than our usual methods. Perhaps it can improve on recent constructions.” Hades praised to her with a witty smile. “Did you experience anything punishing for doing such a thing for a… flower?” Lahabrea meant good intentions on his question to just receive information but just came off as if she did something taboo.
“I didn’t feel anything that affected me physically but I doubt it definitely didn’t do anything on me. But I was thinking…” She trotted off for moment to speak on the reason why she was ecstatic to them on these flowers. “Since there’s 4 of these flower buds and on how personal they feel to me, how close and how passionately they feel…I’d thought I’d give each of you one to share with me. To bring us closer as friends!”
Elidibus took this explanation with most shock than the rest, making his lips part slightly by gesture from Antheia, who’s Aether had just flared up again, brighter and bigger, to brush against all three of their own Aether. Hades made the first step towards Antheia to pick up one of the flowers to idolize it more in its own glow, “And you don’t think the amount of oh how many centuries we’ve spent together doesn’t count enough to be close?” His smile turning into a sly smirk as his tone was obvious sarcasm.
“I didn’t say that!” Pouting at Hades even with his sarcasm caught but returned his smirk with a keen smile. Gently grasping one of the buds, she tucks one into the crook of her hood and is held up by the neck folds of her robes. She repeats this to Lahabrea who teased her at first by dodging where she was trying to plant the flower by shifting his body left and right, making her whine to him but relents by just standing still.
Elidibus just kept his place as he watched her movements she made around him and taking a glance of her of her exposed lips and tan skin when she came closely in front of him to place the bud onto his robes. He never truly looked at those features of hers closely before as it was just common traits that are visible for everyone but held a more higher appreciation to him now.
Stepping back from Elidibus, she takes a look at them with their flowers and couldn’t help another rumbustious burst of her energy and a radiant smile that was contagious. But the space she created from Elidibus was closed by him as he slowly approached her. Antheia tilted her head up to him with the same expression, she was only a few feet shorter than the rest of them but Elidibus loomed over her that made her look up to meet his eyes.
Lifting his arm towards her, he picks up the bud of the flower and moves it instead just above the right side of her red mask and brushing her short, frilly, white hair away to the back of her ear to further show more of her skin and the illuminating flower. Lowering his arm down he takes this opportunity to even gently pinch down on her braids that ran down to her shoulders, his gloved fingers running down the smooth and bumps of the pattern in her braids till he reached down on the end and let go.
Antheia didn’t understand why he did all that but thought it was kind of him to adjust it for her and to a better place! But what was this pulsing feeling that ran though her soul causing pleasant ripples?
“Thank you for this kind gift to us.” Elidibus showing gratitude while Hades and Lahabrea just stood back to watch that whole interaction. Hades not giving a care while Lahabrea was just looking back at Hades for any type of reaction to share with him. “We were just about to discuss the next topic for tomorrow’s Convocation meeting, we could use another voice on the matter if you’re available.” Elidibus added on.
“Of course I’d be happy to help!” Joining in on the group they continue forth on their day by planing and agreeing on the Zodiark project to be discussed in the next meeting to poll a vote. Unknowingly this unfolds their inescapable fate.