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No, no, no, no, no… no, maybe… actually no, erhm… no.
Adaine looked over to the Gnome Florist who was occasionally flicking her gaze over to the only customer in the shop.
Maybe she was as confused as Adaine as to why the shop was so quiet only a day before Valentines Day, although to be fair it was still early, in fact Adaine had been waiting outside the door for a good ten minutes prior to the opening.
Perhaps she just found the girl pacing the racks, and seeming completely uninterested in any of the romantic flowers which were somehow not sold out, odd. That thought made Adaine’s skin tingle unpleasantly and she turned a corner of one of the small aisles and crouched down, pretending to look at something in order to avoid the glance of the proprietor.
She had to pretend to look as she was already dissatisfied with this section of the shop.
Somehow there was still an abundance of Carnations and Roses in all colours, but instead of being overjoyed that she would be able to get the flowers most sought after for today, Adaine just brushed past them.
Even if she wasn’t trying to steer clear of the more cliched flora, Adaine’s first thought for a bouquet wouldn’t be any variation of either Roses (unless there were some wild roses, which there weren’t) or Carnations. Based purely on meaning she may have been tempted by a pink Carnation but even then, being the symbol of a woman’s love would not make up for being, in Adaine’s opinion, a thoroughly uninteresting flower.
But add on to that the fact that she was purposefully avoiding the tropes of the holiday to the best of her ability and that meant: no Roses, no Carnations, no Tulips and probably less red than customary.
The only reason that Adaine had stuck around the front so long was that she hadn’t wanted to seem too odd by immediately going to a specific section, ignoring the pretty display.
But there was nothing very original here, and Adaine would be damned if she was as basic as the suitors Fig had had on previous Valentine’s days.
She’d seen pictures on Fig’s crystal a few times and had been thoroughly unimpressed.
It hadn’t been that the arrangements were ugly or anything, just that they clearly lacked the originality and imagination which Fig deserved.
Trying not to get stared at by the Gnome woman, Adaine darted a few aisles back to the flowers she actually wanted. Her attention was briefly caught by the dark leaves of Anthurium but she quickly discarded the idea, while they were certainly pretty, the large, waxy leaves may be a bit too dominating for an arrangement. Besides, the symbol of ‘attraction’ wasn’t the most poetic.
No, the more subtle Hosta leaves a few shelves down would be a much more preferable base, the paler green wouldn’t clash as much as the reddish brown of the Anthurium leaves and would complement the more reserved colours Adaine wanted, while ‘devotion’ felt a lot more fitting than ‘attraction’.
Not that attraction was wrong necessarily, it just fell short of what Adaine felt for Fig.
Adaine was hoping this arrangement would help express some of what she felt in ways her words always failed to do.
Growing up as she had in a restrictive, inexpressive culture, Adaine had always loved flower language, being able to express the emotions and feelings you had without actually having to say anything had seemed like the most enchanting thing to Adaine after she was first exposed to it in a footnote of a large tome entitled ‘A Thorough Analysis On The History And Various Applications Of Warding, With Special Attention Devoted To The Evolution Of Alchemical Components And The Impacts Of Changing Trading Tariffs On The Viability Of The More Common Wards’ she’d been given as a gift on her sixth birthday.
A brief sentence regarding the symbolism of Monkshood had inspired Adaine to learn more about the language of flora, mostly from romantic books so old she could barely comprehend them.
And so it had personally offended her that all her girlfriend had ever received were such basic notes rather than a melodic symphony.
Despite Fig insisting that they didn’t have to do anything special for the holiday, Adaine had made it her personal mission to craft a truly perfect bouquet at the very least.
She moved past the Calla Lilies, ‘magnificent beauty’ was a nice symbol and definitely apt but the solid colouring felt too stiff.
She rejected Ranunculus for a similar reason though the choice was more difficult this time as Adaine really was ‘dazzled’ by Fig’s charms and it would be perfect on the merit of its meaning but again, it felt too… ordered.
No, Fig was wild, and mad, and brilliant, and loud, the flowers needed to represent that.
Even though they were fairly uniform, the dwarf sunflowers were pretty, but Fig had once gone on a rant about how sunflowers made her think of beholder’s eyes and so Adaine moved past them as well.
Eventually she found a beautiful Variegated Dahlia, pale blue petals were flecked with red, breaking up the colour non uniformly almost like an abstract painting, it felt natural and real as opposed to the more regularly coloured flowers surrounding it, she chose it as the main focus of her bouquet without much delay.
Its meaning was very suitable as well, for Fig was absolutely ‘always on her mind’ even when she wasn’t thinking about her, Adaine would often find her subconscious had brought up a memory of Fig doing something goofy which would make her chuckle affectionately.
Combining the Dahlia and the Hosta leaves mentally with Rose-Of-Sharon and Jimson Weed, Adaine smiled, enjoying the harmony of both the aesthetic of the flowers and their meanings: instead of just a message of ‘I love you’ it was a far more articulate ‘I am consumed by my devotion for you, you are always on my mind, even in my dreams’.
To accentuate her message needed some smaller, complementary components now.
Adaine sadly let her hands drift over a stack of Zephyr’s, as pretty as they were: the small, delicate petals would not work as well as others, while there meaning of ‘sincerity’ felt fairly redundant, who would go through the effort of flower arranging in order to not be sincere?
In the reverse, she ruled out Arum, judging it too large.
She added a collection of Winter Daphne to her mental picture, contrasting their pinkish tint with dark sprigs of Prince’s Feather: ‘I’ll love you as you are, forever’
She hovered next to some Gloxinia; while she hadn’t realised it at the time, she was fairly certain that she had fallen in love with Fig the first time they interacted and while she didn’t believe in love at first sight this felt as close as anything to it. But it seemed too stark for her intended use, however, as she was turning to move on, she caught sight of a dark, almost black, plant and it snapped into place perfectly in her mind.
Continuing with the contrasts which made the whole thing feel louder and more… Fig, Adaine added some Johnny-Jump-Ups, another ‘you occupy my thoughts’ symbol, but it was worth mentioning a few times at least.
She moved past some Jonquil, their vibrance feeling too much, and instead added some Red Daisies to her vision, enjoying their look. Even if they hadn’t fit Adaine would be using them. If she had the money she would fill Fig’s room with a sea of them, screaming at her through flowers ‘you are beautiful!’
For finishing touches Adaine decided on some Green Dragon, and Asparagus Fern: Ardor and fascination, then Heather for admiration… and the smell.
She hesitated for a bit before adding some Peach Blossom. As accurate as it may be it felt a bit too poetic for her, like the old romance films Tracker and Kristen would watch sometimes. And of course ‘watch’ meant put it on then make out for the entirety of it.
She laughed slightly as she passed the Spider Flower. They were a bit too young for a proposal.
In the end, the cost was pretty high, and assembling the bouquet took quite a while, Adaine had to do it a few times over to get it just right.
But if she had to do it every day in order to see Fig smile like that when she opened the door to Gilear’s apartment, well she’d do it gladly.
Attached to the flowers she had written a note explaining each of their meanings as well as the overarching message which they conveyed:
‘From the moment I saw you, you have occupied my thoughts, even in my dreams. I am consumed by my devotion and ardor for you as you are and I will be so forever, your beauty may be unknown to you, but it is always on my mind. I am held prisoner by my admiration and fascination with you.’
And maybe it was mushy and over the top and overly grandiose. But Adaine was willing to bet no one who gave Fig a bundle of Roses saw her blush the way she did right now.