There was no reason for this to be happening, it caused the poor girl to frown. She was just meeting a friend for a nice hangout at the park….She's done this plenty of times. This shouldn't be any different. But, did she look okay? Granted she is still wearing what she had on for work but…She looked okay right? Yeah, maybe she should go change? Is a skirt appropriate? Why was she asking herself all of these questions?!
Holi groaned and rubbed her temples. Maybe she should just cancel? Go home and stream? Or just play Stardew Valley? She did have that modded playthrough she wanted to work on….Yep! She would go home and just tell Rick she had the sudden flu or something! Decision made, Holi started humming while making her way through the parking lot. As she was walking a strange light started to flutter around her head. She huffed, trying to follow it, but it seemed like it didn't want her to, disappearing before she could get a good look at it.
~*~*~
Richard had ended up at the parking lot a little earlier than the hour they were meant to meet at. Not by much, just about fifteen minutes or so. He spent the time leaning in his jeep reading the first bit of the first volume he had bought, or rather skimming it as he figured he would read it better later on. By the time Holi showed up he had put it way in his jeep and he was casually leaning against said vehicle with his head tilted up a bit as he watched a pair of birds as they flew around each other.
Since he hadn’t looked down, he didn’t notice her coming yet as he ran a hand through his hair to push his bangs back after the breeze pushed them in the way, idly thinking he should get a haircut soon.
~*~*~
If Holi was paying attention she would've seen that Richard was literally right in front of her. But since she is not the most observant [as she has proven time and again], she ended up walking smack dab into a wall of…Something. “I'm sorry! Ummn…” It took her a moment, but she did use her hands to push herself back. Wait…..Why did this person look familiar? She looked up and quickly backed away, “R-Rick! H-Haii!!! Ummmn….H-how long have YOU been here?” She laughed nervously, hand scratching the side of her head. Well…Operation saving private Holi is a bust. She can't just say she has the flu if she's right in front of him.
~*~*~
He really should have been paying more attention to his surroundings he decided when a face ended up smashing into his chest. Richard looked down to find a flustered Holi backing up and couldn’t help the amused huff he gave. “Been here a bit now.” He said as he straightened up so he wasn’t leaning against his jeep. “All done with work then?”
~*~*~
Wait, why didn't she notice him sooner then?
Was she that caught up in her thoughts?
Man she needed to talk to someone about this…..
“Y-Yep!” Although she couldn't remember if she dropped the till correctly, she was kind of excited because hanging out! And….Other things. “So, what are we doing first?” She really wanted to see the waterfall, but she also needed pictures of some flowers and trees. Maybe she could pick some while Rick wasn't looking? She did bring her bag and having the live flowers would work much better than the pictures. As long as she wasn't disturbing the wildlife, she couldn't get into much trouble.
~*~*~
“I figured we could walk a circular path, the first spot isn’t too far.” He said as he started to walk towards the park entrance, hands going into his pockets, though he kept a slow pace at first so she could catch up. “It’s a little known spot with a statue in it that is surrounded by flowers.” That was the spot that animal control had to corral a rattlesnake that had made its home too close to the path, said spot was examined much closer now for any other mishaps.
~*~*~
“Alright~”
Holi did have to walk a bit faster to catch up, soaking in all the information that she could. Considering she didn't know much about the park when it came to features, she would want to learn all that she could. Although, the moment he mentioned flowers, Holi was suddenly more interested in the information she was being told. “How far away is it? What kind of flowers are there?” If they were a pretty violet color, then she would really like to have some to take home. She could save some for a forest nymph cosplay or even an elf! She hasn't dressed like one in quite a bit!
~*~*~
He had to think on it for a moment before he could answer what kind of flowers they were. “Purple coneflowers I believe. I remember there is a small sign with information about the flowers and the statue so you can get more information from that if you want it.” He said as he slowly got them up to a more striding pace. “It’s not far, a few minutes walk to the start of the path way and then a few more down the path itself would bring us to it.”
~*~*~
Purple…..?!
PURPLE CORNFLOWERS!!!!
Holi just knew she had to have some of them, they would make the perfect addition to a flower crown, or she could even use the flowers to fuse into Yukio’s hair when he stops by! The possibilities were endless and Holi was so here for all of them. With the quickened pace, Holi could see the statue coming into view. She practically started running towards it then, wanting to get a good look at the flowers there. Wondering which one would be the best one to pick as well as the second best and so forth. If there are other colored flowers she could get some of those as well!
~*~*~
Richard didn’t mind when Holi zoomed past him to get to the statue quicker, he just kept the same even pace. Instead he took the time to admire the view. The statue was well made, the surrounding nature well kept, and it didn’t look like there was anything dangerous in the area at first glance.
~*~*~
When she finally got to the statue, Holi got down on her knees to take a gentle sniff. "Ahhhhh…." They smelled so pretty! She just wanted to take a couple, which she fished in her bag for her plant cutters. A couple missing flowers wouldn't hurt anyone. "I waaaant…" she spotted a nice healthy looking flower a bit closer to the statue, "You first." Reaching over with her plant cutters Holi gently grabbed the flower and prepared to cut.
~*~*~
Richard’s eyes narrowed when Holi pulled out some plant cutters and made to snip a flower off. His quick steps took him to her side and a hand reached down to pull her hand away. “Not these ones.” He said sternly. “There is a larger patch of these same types of flowers where you can collect a few, but not from here.” He said and pointed at the sign that clearly marked the flowers were part of a memorial.
~*~*~
Holi frowned when Richard grabbed her hand, about to protest when he pointed to the sign. Oh….She sighed and gently pulled her hand from his grip, feeling embarrassed. "S-Sorry…." She looked down and put her clippers away, rubbing the side of her arm. Once again, she had proven that she wasn't the most aware or observant person ever. "I promise I'll pay more attention." She was not a tomato but she was getting pretty close.
~*~*~
Richard eyed her a moment longer then nodded. “So long as you keep that in mind. I’ll let you know if or when there are flora you can collect, alright?” He suggested. “Parks tend to have a lot of memorials or places dedicated to certain people to them so you have to pay attention.”
~*~*~
Why did she feel like she was being scolded by a parent?
Holi frowned at him, but nodded in agreement. As much as she wanted to say she was not a child, she kept it to herself, huffing with mild annoyance. She was ready to move on thanks. "Where to now?" If Rick decided to lecture her one more time, she would show him just how much of an adult she really was. Sure she almost made an oopsie but that didn't give Rick the permission to be a jerk. If she were powered, she'd capture him in a bubble.
~*~*~
Richard made a gesture back to the pathway they had come from, keeping the rest of his thoughts to himself for now. “We have to backtrack a little bit then continue down the main path until we get to a water fountain.”
~*~*~
"A water fountain?"
Well she supposed this was just a landmark for them to get to their destination, but if Holi were being honest with herself, an area she was lacking in lately, she was starting to get a bit bored. If this is what she's supposed to be doing for fun as an adult, she'd rather be gaming. "What's after the water fountain?" Maybe something exciting was going to happen? Like what if a youma jumped out!?
Then she would transform and freeze it in a bubble!
Maaaybe take a bit of energy from Rick, not enough to make him sleep the entire day, just enough to make him woozy.
That would be fun.
~*~*~
“Well the fountain is the halfway point between us currently and the flower field I was talking about earlier, the one you can gather a few of the purple coneflowers from.” Richard said with a small shrug. The fountain itself was nice to look at and relaxing to listen to, but he knew it wasn’t for everyone so he wasn’t disappointed when Holi didn’t seem too enthused to see it.
~*~*~
Richard was right, Holi did not really care for the fountain. Bit the flower field?! Heck yeah! "I'll jusssst…." Holi took off, racing towards the flower field, spotting not only the purple coneflowers but tulips, daisies, roses….All kinds of things. "I can pick all of these?!" She was so excited, kneeling down so she could start clipping.
~*~*~
Richard sped up enough to keep her in talking distance and gave an amused hum of agreement. “Yes, these ones you can pick.” He said, not worried about the amount she might grab since it was, in fact, a good sized flower field and there were plenty. Watching her get excited as she picked the flowers he could help but tilt his head a small amount and smile as one thought crossed his mind. ‘Adorable.’
Viva Viola
