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 Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 7:36 pm
 Finally, some sunshine!
Ikebana was ready for spring. He was tired of cleaning his white hooves of mud every time he stepped into his house, of the wind beating against his flank, and of having to bundle up each time he set foot outside. He was not the gloomy sort, either, and so composing haikus about the bleakness of winter or barren landscapes was not in his interests, either. And lastly, while he enjoyed composing winter arrangements, springtime meant the coming of gorgeous new blossoms, a mountain of inspiration.
So, while it was not springtime yet, Ikebana was overjoyed at the first little peek of sunshine Phonyland had gotten in weeks, the cloudless skies raising the cool temperature to just-bearable levels. He wrapped himself in a scarf, packed up a low black vase, and decided to go to the park, to make an arrangement there with whatever he could find.
He settled in a nice dry spot, set his vase in front of him, and contemplated the few small wildflowers, reeds, and thin, winding branches he had collected on the way. He breathed the fresh cold air in deep, allowed his mind to clear, and tried to find inspiration.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:47 am
The park in the Phonyland grasslands was a refreshing reprieve from the bustling amusement park and the place called Phony City. It was also a good spot to go just to get away from it all, when "all" entailed a singing brother, a loud pirate sister, and various family members being asleep all the time. To say that Mandrake Blossom's motivations for coming to the park were a little confused was an understatement but the filly was determined to both relax and have some excitement in this place. Maybe gallop around, make some mud pies if there were any left, or find some interesting plants. That especially would be cool and something that drew Mandrake's interest even more ever since that lesson in alchemy with Obi and End of an Era. She was pretty good at it, if she said so herself! Which she did. Frequently. Suffice to say, when she arrived and spotted a honey colored colt roaming about, plucking flowers and gathering herbs, she stopped in her tracks. For a few minutes she watched his progression, just a few attractive blooms gathered. When he settled on the ground with his gatherings and placed a vase in front of himself, curiosity finally got the better of Mandrake. She approached, small scarf and pompom hat keeping her warm. The filly stopped just a foot or so in front of him, tilting her head as she watched him calmly breathe. "What're you doing?" she blurted, interrupting the thought flow without realizing it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:59 am
Calm, deep breaths. Ikebana looked at the small blossoms before him, and at the vase. He could see something taking shape... something asymmetrical, leaning, something that would accentuate the feeling of waiting for spring, of the barrenness of winter giving way...
See the pregnant grounds
Awaiting the first blossom
What are you doing?
...wait, that wasn't right.
Ikebana opened his eyes with some confusion, looking up to see the navy filly standing not so far away. He knew he was supposed to smile a welcoming smile, but he was thrown off by her sudden appearance (he didn't know her, did he?) and so he simply blinked and cleared his throat.
"I am sorry. Were you sitting here before?" Ikebana said courteously. "I was about to make an arrangement, but I could gather my things if you had previously secured the spot, of course."
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:06 am
"No," she responded flatly, "I just got here." Mandrake nodded at the empty vase and the collection of plant material resting untouched and unarranged beside it. "I was wondering what you're doing with those." A slight buzz of excitement took hold of her for a moment, but she reeled it back. Those were definitely not all of the flower types in this park. Was he just trying to get some variety? Was he doing alchemy like Obi? He was an earth phony too, though, so that was a little hard to swallow but, if he was, maybe he could help her get better at it. If he wasn't, then maybe she could help him find better flowers. Sticks didn't really count. "Do you need more flowers? There's some blue ones. They're kinda hard to find but I know where they are." He should have felt pretty special about that offer, secret flowers were nothing to sneeze at!
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:20 am
Ikebana's confusion soared. Was she wanting a lesson? Did she want to take part? She certainly seemed excited -- or at least, she did for a brief moment -- but then the expression passed from her face. Perhaps she simply wanted to lend a hand? His assortment of reeds and flowers was ... sparing, after all. He looked at her with his head inclined for a moment before he spoke, his voice still steady and calm.
"Thank you for your very kind offer. I was going to make a classical minimalist arrangement, as it were, so I cannot use an overabundance of flowers." Ikebana paused. "But the flowers sound very beautiful. Perhaps you could use them in an arrangement of your own? I think I may have another vessel in my saddlebag, if you like."
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:29 am
Now they were both confused. Mandrake tilted her head, grimacing a bit as she looked between the vase, the flowers, and the colt's face. "Arrange?" The hamster wheel in her head kicked into overdrive. "You mean you're just plucking pretty things to make 'em prettier?" She understood the basic principle but not they why. Flowers were pretty on their own already and they were prettiest when they were growing in the ground. Once they were plucked out they stopped being pretty and had a whole plethora of other uses, but here this boy was using flowers for their already natural purpose. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. "It's okay. You just, uh, keep doin' what you're doin'." Mandrake rolled her eyes a little when she looked away. This colt was sounding awfully pretentious with how he was talking.
She wasn't the smartest phony but it was pretty unusual for someone her age to use a whole slew of big words like that in rapid succession, at least when they weren't trying to look smart. That told her two possible things; this colt was either a know it all and was trying to be impressive or he was one of those artsy fartsy types that found something enamoring about spilled milk. At the same time, there was something about him that told her he didn't really get it; he didn't understand how what he was doing or how he was acting could be seen negatively. Chewing her lip for a second, Mandrake turned back. "Can I watch?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:40 am
Ikebana considered her words, trying to formulate a proper response. Was that all he was doing? True, flowers were prettiest when they were growing in the ground, but everyone couldn't just live outdoors to see them there. Taking them indoors meant putting them in some arrangement that reflected the asymmetry and spaciousness of nature, didn't it? Arranging them was meant to inspire one to contemplate, the same way that nature does. Therein the whole problem lay -- how to make an arrangement both attractive and natural and inspirational.
Or... so he thought. Was that right? He couldn't be sure it was; it was just his own philosophy. Maybe it was picking pretty things to make them pretty. He opened his mouth to say something, any of these things, but the filly seemed to have lost her interest in him.
He watched her go with a strange, faint, helpless smile on his face, and turned back to his flowers.
There was nothing for it. He'd already gathered them.
And then she returned.
Ikebana lifted his head again, still smiling that same smile.
"Of course, absolutely," he heard himself say, more impulse than anything else. "It might be boring, but I'm happy to have some company. I'm Ikebana. We haven't met before, have we? I would have remembered."
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:01 pm
That smile told her enough; he definitely didn't get it. Gracelessly plopping herself on the ground across from him, she got comfortable and locked her eyes with the vase. Just as he said "it might be boring" her attention to the object ceased and she looked back up at him. Eekay-bana? Ick-ay-bana? She tried to mimic the pronunciation he had given but found it difficult.
"Nuh uh," she shook her head, adding absolutely no eloquence to the conversation. No, they definitely hadn't met before. She would have remembered someone like him, though she had to wonder precisely the sentiments on his end. Would he have remembered her because of something about her or did he just not know many others? "I'm Mandrake Blossom but just Mandrake's fine." Crossing her front hooves, she rested her chin atop them and resumed scrutinizing the still empty vase. She'd see just how boring this would be, but she had to wonder; if he knew it was boring, why was he even doing it?
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:11 pm
"Mandrake, a beautiful name," said Ikebana, nodding a few times. She had sat down across from him, directly in his line of vision, making him feel ever so slightly unsettled. He had never arranged anything with an audience. Especially not a vocal audience. Especially not a vocal audience already somewhat disinterested with the craft. "And a fascinating plant with a long history."
Here, Ikebana's voice trailed off, and he went about staring at his vase again, taking another few deep breaths. The faint smile vanished. He looked at the vase with an expression of deep focus and concentration.
The vase was wide and low. It needed height to compliment it. It was smooth and polished, and needed texture. Ikebana picked up one of the knotted branches he had collected and put it just off-center of the vase's mouth. He inclined his head, looking at it. Was it the right compliment? Did it seem at ease in its position? Natural?
His eyes unfocused slightly to see Mandrake's large, vibrant eyes just on the other side of the vase, and then snapped back to the branch. He took another long breath, refocusing.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:26 pm
She shrugged in response, a natural reaction when she was tuning people out. That was why it took a second for what he said to actually register. Mandrake's orange eyes got big, avoiding direct contact with Ikebana's calm blues. If her fur weren't in the way there would be a distinct color change in her face but instead her cheeks puffed out slightly and her brows twisted into something between confusion and concern. Beautiful? Well that was definitely the first time that word had been used about her in any degree, much less her name. Not only that, but fascinating?! She found the mythology behind mandrakes to be pretty interesting, especially the screaming part -- her parents were pretty on point with that name -- but truth be told her attention span for that sort of thing was limited.
In the time it took Ikebana to test a single stick, Mandrake had withdrawn herself and become a flustered mess. He, too, was having some difficulty concentrating but for a completely different reason. One hoof reached up and smooshed her cheek, then the other until she scrunched her eyes shut and calmed herself down. That was probably just how he talked! For all she knew he would have something equally complimentary to say about Knots' name as he did hers, or even Moth-Drops. Ah, yes, moths were fascinating creatures and knot work was most definitely a thing of beauty. It wasn't that hard! Nothing worth paying any mind to, no sir.
When Ikebana's focus weakened and he glanced at her, it was at that inconvenient split second where she had just righted herself. Her hoofs were still squishing her cheeks but her eyes were open and attentive once more, leading to a rather goofy face she didn't think anything of.
"So whaddaya do when you're done? Just put it somewhere pretty?" More interruptions.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:35 pm
Ikebana decided he liked the stick's placement. It seemed like it was sprouting from the vase, like some kind of brittle sapling. He looked back down at his remaining twigs, selecting one that was low-slung and reaching, with great length and little prickly burrs still attached at one end. He affixed it such that it touched the bottom of the other twig and then spread far out to the right.
How did that look? Unbalanced, heavy on one side. It would need something living to anchor it, give it beauty. His eyes dropped back down, but then snapped up again as Mandrake spoke.
"Oh, ah, no..." Ikebana said, fiddling with his flowers, trying to select one while speaking. He found it difficult, especially as he was used to making eye-contact as he spoke, and not looking away. It was uncomfortable to him, so he looked back up at the filly. "Or, you know, maybe. I was hoping to put it in a part of the house that looked empty. Somewhere were it could give people coming in something interesting to look at, maybe contemplate upon."
He looked back down at his flowers. The faint purple was too solemn. The white was too austere. He had a few dusty yellow blooms... those might add the life the arrangement was missing.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:45 pm
As the arrangement leaned to one side, Mandrake found herself doing the same to try and understand. She listened to Ikebana's voice but it didn't show as she kept her attentions on the twigs which now sat evenly at two. He was right, this was boring. An agonizing crawl. Eventually she was tilted so far in attempting to contemplate the arrangement that she fell on her side with a quiet 'oof'. She stayed for a moment, then slowly rolled and balanced on her back, looking at the arrangement upside down while Ikebana was busy deciding what to do next.
"What if bugs were on your things when you got 'em and we can't hear it but they're all confused but then it turns out pretty and they decide they like it. You'd bring it into your house and there'd be bugs everywhere 'cause they'd probably like that too."
Absolutely... no train... of coherent thought...
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 5:48 pm
Ikebana did his best to allow Mandrake to ... contemplate... the arrangement in whatever way she saw fit. He made no acknowledgement of her falling, or rolling onto her back, but looked back down at his blooms in thought. Quiet thought. Allowing the blooms to speak louder than she might.
And speak she did.
He selected the largest of his blossoms, turning the flower slightly and then settling it very close to the vase's mouth, turning it the opposite direction of the twigs. No -- too at odds. Pugnacious. He twisted it back to face him. Too lonely. It would need more flowers in support.
Ikebana could hear a soft drone of words coming from Mandrake, and he lifted his eyes momentarily to see if she was speaking directly to him or not. It seemed, if he had any grasp on what she said, that she was not. Or maybe she was. It was incomprehensible gibberish. He made a soft noise of assent, in case something was needed from him, and refocused on his work.
Another yellow flower, yes, but of smaller size...
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 5:57 pm
She mused but it was undoubtedly nonsensical. That didn't mean she wasn't expecting some sort of acknowledgement or comment in regards to it. All she got was a quiet sound and when she looked to Ikebana, expecting more, she saw him completely ignoring her and continuing with his flowers. Mandrake narrowed her eyes, still on her back and viewing him upside down. If he were her brother then he would have most definitely added something, even if it was about as unintelligent.
Instead, he was tuning her out! Rude! Mandrake had no idea what was going through his head, how much concentration and creativity flower arranging actually required, and she didn't much care to know.
Letting herself flop roughly to the other side before standing, her gaze was locked onto him with deadly accuracy. She kept her eyes firmly on the colt as she stepped calmly to the side, as if observing the arrangement from another angle. Mandrake circled behind him, then to the other side, where she leaned in very close, pursed her lips together, and made a loud popping sound.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:04 pm
Yes... yes, another flower was perfect, huddled next to the first. But there needed to be more. Ikebana could see the arrangement beginning to take shape. He selected another flower, similar in size and hue to the first, and put it with the others, putting them together such that they made a new sort of blossom on their own, with no space between their tightly-packed petals. It was shifting the balance of the arrangement, certainly, but it was still not perfect. He looked down at his resources, knowing he had something green... where was it?
Mandrake lifted herself from her upside-down posture and made her way around him, still looking at the flowers. Ikebana was very conscious of her, of her movement and her approaching closeness, but he forced himself to stay focused on the flowers. Perhaps she was finding her own way of looking at them? Or finding her own dialogue with nature?
He lowered himself, taking a large, flat leaf and setting it beneath his flowers, like a rug, or a pillow. The green made their dusty yellow more vibrant.
In response -- was it a response? -- Mandrake leaned forward and made a loud -- POP!, just beside his ear.
Ikebana blinked rapidly, looking over at her with some confusion, and then back at the arrangement. Yes, it ... did make the color pop. He smiled a tight-lipped smile at her and nodded in acquiescence. She certainly had a different perspective.
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