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sansloii · 5 months ago

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Though not quite as packed as it would be when the festivities officially begin, the streets of Alluka were still teeming with life and lights and noise. The citizens of the capital rushing about in a force of organized chaos. Last minute preparations to welcome visitors once more to the land of fairy tales. The people, seemingly running about recklessly (blindly even), manage to weave around the Exulan king. Quite used to navigating thick crowds of people. Some even manage to give Roderick a quick bow of the head in greeting before scurrying off with crates and boxes of who knew what. Some did bump into him though. A few kids. A couple drunk but harmless older men. And an unassuming woman. The hood of her cloak pulled up, not unlike some of the other passersby, as she muttered a rushed and quiet "Sorry" before getting lost among the people once more... And there it was. Light and floral, a scent of faint nostalgia. Of days long, long ago. Then there they were. A bit of pink peeking out between some stones off the main road. Flowers. To find any flowers at all in Navka was unheard of. But these ones were even stranger, if possible. The small stems growing in his direction as if reaching for him. Bluebells. Pink bluebells...

He fully expected Alluka to be brimming with activity in the hours leading up to the hunt, and he was not disappointed. People around him rushed about — putting up decorations and signage and hauling crates of supplies into storefronts — all hurrying to prepare themselves for imminent influx of travelers from all parts of the realm. Those that recognized him gave him a brief nod ( which he returned ), but most barely acknowledged him — which he didn't mind at all. A couple children brushed by, followed by some inebriated older men, but he regarded them with the same nonchalance that they offered him.

The very last passerby… is a little different, though.

The scent that hits his nose is very brief but — and maybe it's just a trick of the mind or something akin to that — it seems to last much longer than that. It's light, floral, and carries the memories of a moment that has long passed. He turns with the smell, saying almost nothing as he watches the hooded figure retreat quickly, and he's tempted to reach forward after her. Before the thought to do so becomes an action, she's gone and it's as though she was never there in the first place…

…and in her place are small, but quickly growing flowers that have pushed their way through the cobbled street. The stems and petals are unharmed, the little clusters of pink blooms opening up all at once.

Roderick has half a mind to rub at his eyes ( thinking he must be dreaming ), when the flowers seem to lean towards him. They straighten up when he closes the gap between he and the bluebells, but they resume their tipping and tilting the instant he bends down to pick one out of the stones. The rest gravitate towards his hand as he selects one from the middle, and he brings that bloom near to eye level. Carefully, as if he fears he may crush the stem, he turns the bloom in hand...focusing intently.

For a moment… just a moment… he pictures himself at home, in the open air. He has just the one flower — just the one bluebell — but that's all he needs.

The king extends an arm to offer it… and receives a touched smile in return.

Navkan Hunt | @desiderium-eden

#desiderium eden #✖ ┊ ⧼ everything's hotter in hell ⧽ ⇹ ( r. )#⚜ ┊ ( imperial au. )#⚜ ┊ ( event; navkan hunt )#.:)#.:')#.man CANNOT catch a break anywhere he goes #.not here #.not in Elysia #.the man is constantly in emotional distress

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sersi · 23 days ago

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