Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Good morning!" Howl cheerfully chirped, or rather, Derek, as he had christened this disguise. He was fond of giving false names, but even more fond of disguising himself so cleverly no one would have known who he was. He had delighted in giving himself a pointed nose, freckles and rounding his face so he looked like a boy not long out of puberty. Maybe three years. "Oh, of course not! Go ahead. My father's not in town today, but I can help you--" he hesitated, appearing awkward for a moment. He glanced around the room. "With anything," he decided with a nod.

Oh, the joys of being a teenage boy. So awkward. And for a boy to find himself stuck in a flowershop! "Is there anything you're looking for in particular?" he asked. "We have a sale on bluebells today. They're going out of season quickly."

Howl made his way out from behind his desk. "Oh yes," he said, smiling at her. "I'm quite keen on them also," he added, with a nod. "You know they're listed as one of the top ten most beautiful flowers in the world. And they're supposed to mean 'humility' and 'graditude' when given to someone." He shrugged, rubbing awkwardly at his elbow. "I don't know much about flower language though. I think the flower should mean what the person giving it should want it to mean. You know?"

He hesitated for a long moment. "A bouquet?" he repeated, blinking. "Of course. I can make you one, if you'd like. I don't believe we have any in those specific colors. I could dye you some carnations--you'd have to come back for them tomorrow." He gestured vaguely to a group of flowers. "Violets, orchids, lavender, scilla, daylillies. We have some phlox. Maybe Lamium?"

Howl nodded in agreement, running a hand through his hair. "Right," he said. "But imagine this. Someone you care about loves bluebells. So you may be getting them to express your love for them. Are you expressing graditude? Or what you intended?" He shrugged. Flowers were a difficult language to learn, and even more difficult to make reason of.

"Oh, of course not!" Howl quickly gestured to a door leading behind the shop. "My father grows them here in our greenhouse. It allows us to grow some of these flowers all year--because they need a certain setting to grow. Others--" he grimanced. "Others we're shipped from bigger cities. One day, I hope father's able to have a greenhouse that'll stun the whole world." He beamed at her, apparently sharing his dream. "That one's not for sale," he said, gesturing to the center piece of the display. A star indigo flower. "It's for the fair this year. Perhaps we'll win?"

"Orchid seeds? I can have several bags boxed up for you, if you like. We might have some rooting in the greenhouse, if you'd like faster results." Howl gave her a bright smile, the picture of a helpful shopkeeper. Oh, so she had noticed the star indigo. He'd wondered. What was it about that flower? The wizard had had little time to study it before magically constructing the flowershop.

"I'm afraid so," he said, shaking his head. "They're difficult to find, and difficult to grow." He hesitated and then held out a small packet of seeds. "I do have this, though," he offered. "You'll have to soak them in water overnight to get them started. Just the one, then? Or do you still want the orchids?"

"I see," Howl said, flashing her another smile. What luck! She hadn't yet been able to see through his disguise. He had fancied she would have been perceptive enough to. "Safe travels," he said with a nod. "As it happens--" he paused, with genuine curiousity--"Would you know what this flower does? I'm afraid my father was in such a rush to leave town, he forgot to tell me what this flower does. Is it an herb? For teas?" he guessed. "Or maybe for wounds--I tried poking it earlier with a stick, but it didn't do anything." He was clearly disappointed in this fact. "Is it useful at all?"

He pulled out another packet of indigo star flower seeds, and then swept his way back to the desk he had previously been standing. "Let's see. Orchid seeds. Oh, looks like they're on sale today! How lucky! It seems every time you buy a packet of these," he held up the indigo star seeds, "You get three of any other flowerseed." He paused, holding up a hand to keep her from pulling out her money. "Oh no," he said with a shake of his head. "It's not every day I get to have beautiful girls come in. This' on me. Alright? And you wanted a bouquet too. I'll have that ready for you in a few days, you can pay for that then."

"At night?" Howl asked with a tilt of his head. Did it glow? Perhaps it created stars? Its name did suggest it had something to do with stars. Perhaps the flower caused stars to be born? "Thank you," he added with a smile. "I'll be sure to study it tonight!"

At her question, he hesitated. He put on his best guilty expression, looking at his feet and sticking his hands in his jean pockets. "Well, I dunno," he said. "Maybe not. But I'm paying for them, really. It'll be fine. He'll never know. I'll pay for them with my own money--" to prove this, he took out a small bag of coins. "See? He'll never know. And I want you to keep them. As a present."

He hesitated and flashed her a smile. "So maybe when you come pick up your bouquet, we can be friends."

"I said they're free," Howl insisted, pushing her coins towards her. "I'm not accepting payment today. It's free. I told you, I'm paying for them." He did pause, thinking over her offer. "You mean I could make it up to you?" he asked, beaming. "Well, if you're going to be in town a few days, I could take you to lunch, or something! I know this great diner, all sorts of neat foods!" He took the coins reluctantly, then studied Kalay.

"We'd have fun," He added as an afterthought. "I can show you the musuem here. There's art and stuff--" and maybe he was getting a little too over excited. "We could have hot chocolate at the cafe down the street," he finished, flushing. "My treat?"