& Kea's FWC: 1,175
Drani's FWC: 1,405
Knack hummed lazily as he made his way past the herb patches deeper into Rosalva's domain. True, he was her assistant, but there were some parts of the gardens that she jealously guarded for the Arch Druidess, Draoidh, and Lighiche's uses alone (which honestly he understood. Some of these were rare and very finicky to try and grow here in the swamps.) However, he had gotten her permission for access in order to make his courting gift for Aisling. Sure, technically, she had already accepted his suit, but the one useful thing he had ever learned from watching his parents was in order to keep love alive, you never stop courting your beloved. All this was to say, it was time to assemble his gift!
Knick watched Aoibhinn with some of her niblings- No, their niblings. He had to remind himself, this beautiful flower had chosen him. She could also tell him apart from Knack, which was deeply appreciated on its own level. She was like... The light of his life, the blooms he looked forward to. He let out a deeply affectionate sigh, and felt his stomach do fun things when she noticed him and smiled before going back to her conversation.
A realization came to him and he looked around for his brother. Oh, he had to do something for her! He had to show how much he loved her! Springing up from where he'd been sitting, he went bounding through the swamps, looking for Knack. It didn't take long to find his brother, his heavy paws thumping on the ground. "Knack, Knack, Knaaaack! I need your help!"
One long ear flicked backwards as Knack heard the yells from his excitable twin. An amused look crossed his face as he turned to wait for Knick to catch up to him. "Breath Trouble, if you pass out on me, I won't be able to help with whatever it is you need." Soft brown eyes regarded Knick patiently as the other stallion caught his breath. Once he was settled, Knack nodded, "Now then, ain't sure what it is you need help with, but you know I will do whatever it is you need. Just gotta tell me, and maybe since you are here, you can help me with my own project!"
Nodding towards the gardens, Knack turned to head past the herbs and food patches, calling back over his shoulder, "Make sure to keep your paws between the white pebbles on the path! Ros will have both our hides if anything is messed up!"
His own ears flicked, before Knick started following Knack. He was mindful of the white stones, glancing at them to make sure he didn't go outside their path, but also watching the plants as he went by them. His breathing slowly evened out as he walked and made it easier to talk, while also giving him time to formulate his words. "I... I want to make Aoibhinn a bouquet. I want to show her how much I love and appreciate her." Knick's ears shifted left and right, listening to the birds in the gardens. "What's your project, Knack? And what kind of help do you need with it?" He wasn't saying no - Quite the contrary, it sounded like a great opportunity to scratch each others' backs.
Laughing, Knack glanced back at Knick, "Why, I was coming to make Aisling a bouquet to show her how much I love her as well as to be a mating gift. Freddie said she would be happy to enchant it once I was done so that it would never fade. I am sure she'd be willing to do the same for you!" He twisted one ear back to listen better to his twin's words as they traveled deeper into the gardens than most of the herd was allowed to go. "Now I am going to assume you don't know the language of the flowers, which no need to feel bad about. I didn't either until I apprenticed to Rosa! She asked me about our daisies, and when I couldn't tell her, she got rather cross with me. Made me start learning right then and there! Which, by the way, daisies mean innocence and new beginnings, while their being purple also means elegance and spiritual growth. Neat, huh?"
That made Knick stop and blink, surprised, before he hurried along to catch up to Knack. "ELEGANCE? I don't think there's anything elegant about me..." He tilted his head, thinking on it. "But I guess the daisies' meaning is fitting for us... And we are finding spiritual growth here." His ears went back for a moment, then flopped down. "I don't know much about the meanings, though, no... About any of them." He shrugged slightly, then said, "I just know which ones are really bad to eat, and which ones can be used for things despite being bad to eat, but only if you know what you're doing. Like foxglove!" Ah, foxglove, the flower his blossom of a mate reminded him of... He sighed, smiling to himself at the thought.
"I know, right?" He snickered, amused, then gently nudged Knick, "Don't worry, I'll help ya, bro! There are so many things you can say, so you have to think about what you want." Knack used his head to brush aside a thick swarth of hanging vines to display the secret flower garden of the Arch Druidess and the Lighiche's.
"Now remember, I've got special permission to gather from here, so we can't take too many and never all of one flower."
Moving further in so that Knick could have a good look around, Knack spoke up again as he headed first to a bush that held large clusters of flowers in many different colors, "Take these, for example. They are Hydrangeas. They stand for sincere emotions, gratitude, and deep understanding, but the different colors change the meanings. Say, for example, these dark blue ones, well, that would mean sincere remorse or apology, while the light blue instead means deep understanding of who a person is. The purple ones mean you are proud of them. Pink or red are for heartfelt emotions and romance." While explaining all this, he carefully selected a lovely pinkish-purple-lightblue cluster to be the start of his bouquet.
Knick nodded, ears flopping just a bit as he did so, then ducked in after Knack. The flowers here were beautiful, blooming in so many colors. "Oh, I don't think I need that many for a nice little bouquet... Plus there's plenty of flowers in the rest of the swamp for general bouquets. But I want this one to feel special..." Like yes, he did love to bring Aoibhinn bouquets he'd made from flowers around the swamp, and they did show how much he cared because he loved to shower her with gifts like that, but this? This had deeper meaning.
He watched his brother, fascinated, then looked at the flowers around them. He soon found some carnations, sniffing at them. "What do these ones mean?" And what would go well with them? But he wasn't going to ask that question out loud yet.
"Hmmm? Oh, those are carnations. The flower itself means fascination and affection. Red ones are for deep love and passion, pink is for maternal love and gratitude, and white is purity, innocence, and unconditional love. Orange is for enthusiasm and fascination, yet yellow is for regret, disappointment, or rejection. Purple is for heartfelt apologies." He grinned as he selected a sunflower for the second of his own piece, humming absently. Oh, that would look so lovely against his beloved's fiery orange fur.
A new level of fascination filled Knick. He looked at the different colors of the carnations before picking a couple of red, white, and orange ones. It wasn't many, just two or three of each. The orange even matched his beloved's coat!
Moving on with his first bit of flowers, Knick took in everything else before he got to the lilacs. Oh, they were beautiful, in their distinct shades of purple, but he also spied some that were white, some pink, pale yellow, and- Oh, that one was a deep burgundy! He looked at them all, then gently called, "Knack, what do these ones mean?"
Someone else might be annoyed at having their concentration broken again, but not Knack. Instead, he was eager to see what his beloved brother was building for his own lady love. He came over to join him, "Let's see. Ah! Lilacs! Well, purple lilacs themselves stand for first love and youthful dreams. White is against purity and new beginnings. Pink is for gentleness, femininity, and admiration. The blue is very rare and symbolizes tranquility, calm, and connection to the mystic. Dark purple is for reflection and wisdom."
He considered for a moment before choosing some of the blue and purple for his own gathering. "There we go! While Aisling isn't tranquil or calm in personality, she is my calm, if that makes sense. I can go to her, and her love brings me peace."
Knick looked at the flowers with a new level of appreciation. There was so much meaning packed into what species they were, and even MORE meaning to the colors. Carefully, ever so carefully, he leaned in and picked a couple pink bunches and a couple purple. Did they clash a little with the orange? Yes, but that was alright. It was a nice contrast between the purple and orange. The red, pink, and white helped bring it together.
The next flowers he came across were poppies, bright red and many in a patch. These ones... Oh, these ones he wouldn't take many of. He'd been warned since a foal that these were ones that weren't to be lightly messed with, lest he get the wrong ones and become ill. "What of poppies, Knack? What meaning do they have?"
"Not trying to tell you what to choose, brother, but maybe no on a poppy? They stand for remembrance, peace, and consolation. They are a flower for Samhain when we speak to those we have lost. Not to mention they are dangerous in the wrong paws. I wouldn't want us to get in trouble for messing with them." He cocked his head, considering before offering, "If you are wanting something vibrant red like that, what about a red lily? A lily alone means purity and devotion, but a red lily is passionate love as well as courage and unconditional love." He grinned as he chose a striking-looking pink speckled one, "This one is called a stargazer, and it means passionate love, but also ambition."
"Perhaps..." Peace... Being around Aoibhinn certainly brought him peace. But he supposed Knack was right, that wasn't a good flower to pick. He gathered his prior-chosen flowers back up and moved on a touch, pausing at the patch of lilies. Indeed, there were vibrant red lilies in the bunch, their petals spread out and filled with a joy. He nodded, adding a few to his bouquet. Not many, just four or five, but they filled in the space nicely.
A few feet away, among the smells of the garden, a scent caught Knick's attention. He looked around, searching for the source, and started following it. Soon he reached a trellis that had been made of woven thin trees, carefully grown so they'd form the perfect wall. Here grew soft white and yellow flowers, their scent just as gentle and sweet. Knick sat down, admiring them, then carefully set his bouquet down and looked at Knack. "What do the jasmines mean?"
"Grace, charm, and sensuality," Knack grinned, wiggling his brows even as he chose two different colors of roses to tuck into his own arrangement. "There we go! I'm done!" He couldn't stop the happy wiggle as he imagined presenting the gift to his beloved. "What do you think?"
If Knack were closer, Knick would have pushed him over, bemused at his brother's antics. Then he turned back to the jasmine, contemplating some of the flowers. They did match the bouquet he'd already made so far... Well, besides the fact the orange stood out. Okay, the yellow went well with the orange, at least. And the pink went well with the purple and red, the red went well with the orange and yellow... The white tied it all together... Yeah, this looked better than he imagined. Being careful and selective, Knick picked out a couple clusters of yellow and white jasmine to add to what he had.
Then he sat back, admiring it all. The flowers he had spoke of his deep and passionate love, how he enjoyed being with Aoibhinn, while speaking of her beauty, her grace, how she'd charmed him... It was almost as beautiful as she was. But something was missing, it needed just a little something to add to it. The rabbit-eared Soq looked around, scanning everything, before his eyes landed on a couple small rows of lavender.
Perfect.
"Knack, what do lavenders mean?" He picked up the bouquet, heading over to the bushes. Thin stalks rose from the various bushes, topped with clusters of flowers almost forming a brush. They were all a beautiful shade of purple, much like the flowers that he and Knack wore. Which... Actually, that was a perfect analogy. The reds, yellows and oranges represented Aoibhinn, the purples himself, and the white flowers tied it all together.
"Ah, lavender is peace and serenity. Also, the smell of them is suppose to be relaxing. Personally, it tickles my nose and makes me sneeze but a lot of folks find it soothing."
"Peace and serenity..." Knick smiled, carefully plucking some of the sweet-smelling flowers to add to the bouquet. When he was done, he preened at them, before carefully removing a bit of vine from himself to tie them together. "This is perfect... Thank you, Knack, for helping me." He smiled at his brother, then looked upon what he'd made for his love. Here were flowers that sent a message of love, of beauty, grace, charm, peace, and serenity. They showed a deep passion for something new, something that was running deep, and the calm it brought. He let out a pleased sigh, looking again to his brother. "We should go find our ladies and give them their flowers."
"No, Freddie first! She said she'd be happy to enchant them so they wouldn't fade away. I think she's having a mid-meal with Lady Peach." Knack grinned as he carefully gathered up his own flowers. Loyalty and love, happiness and new beginnings, all things she had given him when she said yes to his courting and then yes again when he asked her to be his forever. Yes, these would look splendid in his lady love's mane. "C'mon, let's catch her before she wanders off with Uriel. He scares me." He shivered thinking of that steely-eyed stare the angeni cross got when anyone interrupted his time with Fred.
Around the flowers he'd put together for Aoibhinn, Knick said, "Oh! Okay!" He started following his brother, then stopped, ears flopping back and eyes widening at the thought of Uriel. Oh that was... Yeah, he didn't... That stallion scared him, too. They'd have to be careful to avoid him. Maybe he was off training his and Fred's sons in combat..? Hopefully.
