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   Of Neonik's favorite pastimes, her favorite was gardening. Every month, High Entian traders would arrive with new varieties of crops and flowers for her to plant, and every month she was first in line to poke and prod at them. It was a hard choice, trying to pick only one, and every single time she would promise her girlfriend, Themyx, she would only bring home three or four little containers of seeds to plant.

   And every time, Themyx would roll her eyes as she met Neonik at home with a bag of dozens of varieties. Each time, she got more ambitious, more confident. Within a few centuries, Neonik considered herself a master gardener. Her plants brought many visitors, from stray creatures to fellow Machina. Her favorite little visitors, though, were Miqol's kids and their odd little friend.

   Young Machina, with bright eyes and a darling passion for all things weird. She and Themyx were not interested in children of their own, but Neonik had to admit, she quite enjoyed the adopted aunt role. Vanea adored her Foxgloves, and Egil always had a twinkle in his eyes when he walked over to the Hollyhocks. Lewisia Silvers were plentiful around Mechonis, but Bionis plants were far rarer, and that was part of the allure. Such a vibrant green was rare on Mechonis, and it had grown to be Neonik's favorite color.

   Over the years, the children (now young adults) would visit less and less, absorbed in their studies. It made their visits all the sweeter, however, and on more than one occasion, Egil would ask Neonik if he might take one of her Hollyhocks with him.

   She declined every time, in a gentle voice remind him such flowers did not last once plucked from their owner. He would always look a little crestfallen, but would nod in understanding.

   Neonik was saving such a precious moment as plucking flowers for a truly special moment, however. From the first time Egil and Vanea had asked about taking flowers home with them, Neonik had begun research on bouquets. She had dismissed it as a silly little thing High Entia do, not understanding why they would kill such beautiful things rather than spend as much time as possible with them, but, well. The kids had warmed her up to the idea with their enthusiasm.

   For months, she researched the best flowers to put together in the bouquets in her free time, only to settle for a few of their favorites instead of something too complicated. She bought paper to wrap them in, ribbons to add some color, vases to keep them in as long as possible. 

   Prepared for their graduation, all Neonik could do was wait. She would trim them the day of the celebration, prepare them as lovingly as possible. She poured her heart out in letters for the kids, of how proud she was of their growth from little troublemakers to fully fledged Machina, ready to take on the world.

   Just a week before graduation, Neonik had finished her preparations.

   Just a week before graduation, the world around them would shatter completely.

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To my dearest Vanea,

   You would come to my garden every day when you were little. You had a fascination for everything green, just like me, and you and your brother were always eager to listen to me ramble on about my flowers. 

   I never told you, but I remember the day after I told you how talking to them helped them grow, I would hear you chatting to them yourself. I remember when you and your father had an argument and you hid among the Foxgloves, crying your little heart out and asking them for help. You hugged me hard that night and let it all out, until you were ready to go home. The next day, I heard you thank the Foxgloves for their help.

   In this letter, there are the seeds for you to grow some Foxgloves of your own, and should you need help planting them, you're always welcome in my home. I'm proud of you, love, and I'm sure I'll only get prouder, seeing you at the Cloister with your teachers and the council. As I'm writing this, I'm crying with joy just imagining it.

With love and well wishes, 
Neonik

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To my dearest Egil,

   I remember very well the day you snuck into my garden, just to get a peek at the Hollyhocks. You were too shy to just ask me, so you snuck under my fence! You and your sister, she always had your back, and I'm sure she always will.

   Just like her, you would also come to the garden to talk to my plants. Little secrets, and sometimes just your notes as you studied. The two of you have always been so diligent, but I recall how many times I would wake up only to find you asleep among the Hollyhocks. 

   I've grown to miss you, dear, and I've left you a few Hollyhock seeds within this letter so you'll finally have an excuse to come talk to me properly! I'm so proud of you, Egil, and I think I'll just burst if I'm forced to wait just one more day until your graduation. Our dearest Themyx may or may not have pulled a few strings so I would be at the front of the crowd.

With love and well wishes,
Neonik

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   There was scarcely a trace of green left in Neonik's garden when the Machina returned to Agniratha. Shaken and distraught, they returned to their homes, or what remained of them. Themyx grasped her hand tightly as they walked up to their little house. Sheets of metal jutted out around piles of ash. 

   Nothing but ash.

   Centuries of cultivation, of adoration, gone in a mere few days. As far as Neonik was concerned, those plants had been her life's work, her children. But, right now, it was hard to truly care. 

   Many of their friends, their bretheren, were gone. All they had once been, gone. Homes destroyed, families slaughtered, people left with nothing but memories. Vanea had been devastated by it all, but Egil? She could see it in his eyes. Egil was broken. 

   Within their home, Neonik found few things intact. A few precious keepsakes, a feather that once belonged to the friend who had sparked her love for flowers, and the letters. Singed, tattered, but intact. The seeds within still intact. She tucks them away for later, her heart ached far too much to think of it more. These letters would bring nothing but pain anymore.

   Slowly, so slowly, the weight of it all creeps up on her. She hears Egil and Miqol fighting outside, and she can't hold back the tears any longer. Themyx holds her in her arms, and Neonik cries. Neonik cries, cries her heart out like Vanea had in her own arms once long ago. Cries as she remembers every memory of her garden that she held so dearly. The bonds it had brought her, the love it had cemented, the troubles it had brought on occasion. 

   What she wouldn't give to see it all again. What she wouldn't give to have her garden, her refuge, to comfort her loved ones in. What she wouldn't give to hold Vanea and Egil once more like they were children, and tell them it would all be alright.

   But right now, as much as she wanted to find refuge in her garden, she couldn't. 

   Green was no longer her favorite color.