#Juniper Valley

[hyperrealcartography]

Why Doesn't The M Loop in Queens?

In my efforts to build community support for the QueensLink, I find myself talking to people about extending the M train. Since the M loops back into Queens, some folks thought that we were planning on extending it from its Middle Village end, not from Queens Blvd. Once people realize this, the inevitable next question I get is, “Why doesn’t the M train loop up to Roosevelt Ave to make a…

[supreme-cheesecake]

Probably will do more Fields of Mistria fanart cuz holy shit am I in love with this game

[theartsyhognose]

New Stardew farmer for the 1.6 update!

Her name is Juniper, she’s winter themed to celebrate the new winter clothes and the winter squid festival

Also idk who to marry help

[shiny-kaibernyte]

I have wanted to write for Fields of Mistria since i first spoke to this colourful characters. It honestly has become my comfort game and i have fallen for this blue haired Merchant. March is my number one, but Balor deserves love to people! Also i refer to Juniper as Plum and Eiland as Peach once in this story as irl i kept forgetting they're names so i just called them that because of their hair colour.

No warnings unless you think cheesy flirting is one

An Apple Heart | Balor x Reader

“My my, this is a surprise, Good morning!” Balor’s calm voice called out from the town stairs, making you practically jump out of his skin as you back away from the merchant's cart. His eager smile and soft wave met your startled gaze from atop the stairs. After waking up earlier than normal this morning, you decided to go walk around the town before everyone else awoke for the day. Although you never actually made it to those stone steps, something on Balor’s cart had caught your eye. 

“Balor! Good morning! I wasn't going to steal anything! I was only looking, I swear!” Your mild panic and hands waving in front of you only caused the merchant to chuckle, walking to your side.

“Well that's such a shame… And here I thought you came to steal my heart.” Balor’s voice flirted, taking your hand into his as he gently kissed it. “Although… you already have my dear.” “KYAAHHHH” A loud scream erupted from your chest as you pulled your hand away like a kid touching something gross. Balor’s chuckle turned into an eruption of laughter at how surprised you were. 

“That was not the reaction I was going for but I will take it. That was so cute!” Laughter only continues to increase through his quick paced words. Your own face only grew redder and redder the more he laughed, to be honest it was hard to tell if he was laughing at what just happened or the fact he started tripping on his feet that was making him laugh. 

“Balor! What was that for? Since when did you openly flirt with people?” A questioning suspicion laced your voice as you managed to gain your composure.

“Oh I'm sorry, that is unlike me.” He is still lightly laughing as he’s coming down from whatever laughing fit just erupted from him. Taking a deep breath to relax, the merchant straightened up and dusted off the side of his poncho before usual smile returned. “I apologise for startling you, Juniper and Eiland decided to give flirting tips at the Inn last night. I was unfortunate enough to get caught in the middle, they uh… this is embarrassing… They won’t let me back into the Inn until I give them a report on which of they’re flirting styles works better.”

“Wait wait wait… So they are actually keeping you out of the Inn just because of this flirt battle they’re having?” The curious cat in you is only poking him for more details.

“They actually got Reina and her whole family to stop me from entering the Inn until I give them my ‘findings’. Which is both a blessing and a curse it would seem.” A finger pressed against his chin as he leans against his cart, pondering his next few words.

You only raised an eyebrow to him, tilting your head like a puppy. “Blessing and a curse?”

“As much as i really don’t want to get back to those Dragons and Drama’s. My late night drink is something I would prefer to keep on a Friday.” A mild scoff escapes his lips as he thinks about the D&D game Eiland dragged him into. In Fact that same game is how this whole flirting debacle happened. Juniper may not be in the game but she can hear everything that goes on from her seat at the bar. And it was during their last game that Eiland decided to have the group roll for a persuasion check on a group of women to ‘flirt’ they’re way through a city’s borders. Or something to that effect Balor wasn’t exactly paying attention. Wasn't until Juniper was suddenly pulling him into her side with her arm on his shoulder whilst Eiland tried to move her away that he was suddenly aware of what was happening.

Now it’s your turn to laugh and Balor’s face to turn a perfect ruby red. “So! You mean to tell me, "You… got caught in a flirting battle between Peach and Plum Because of Dragon’s and Drama!?”

“Yes…” Balor only looked away rubbing the back of his neck before chuckling himself. “Eiland thinks the more honest approach works… That was my attempt at Juniper’s style. And from your reaction I'm going to agree with Eiland.”

“Well I'm not a very good observer, Balor. You would need to use almost everyone in town to get a valid result.” Pondering for a moment you began thinking how everyone else would react to what he did. Sure it was sweet and forward, but it’s also very unlike him, hence why you were startled.

“What if I don't want to do that with others?” Your thinking stopped like a deer in headlights, blinking confused at him, an almost comedic heh escaping your lips as you stared at him. “I was on my way to my cart to retrieve something… for you actually and well here you are.”

“For me…? Balor, what are you getting at?” Question after question ran through your head as he continued on

“When this whole situation happened I honestly dreaded it. I’m not one to openly flirt with someone unless I have genuine appreciation and trust for them. Then I realised… this dumb pickle I've gotten myself in gave me the perfect excuse to give you this…” He moved around his cart and reached inside, shuffling through his wares for a moment before pulling something out. It was shiny from what you could tell. “I had Hayden grow this for me… Celine and I worked together to preserve this so it would rot away before I had a chance to give it to you. Here.”

Turning around in one swift motion, he showed you what he had hidden to his chest, An Apple? In the shape of a heart, it was shiny from being encased in a crystal resin-like substance, making it almost look like a crystal apple. That was what you spotted earlier that lured you here. Was Mistria pulling her thread to lead the both of you here? 

Reaching out for your hand, he gently pulled you towards him, the back of your hand laying in the palm of his as he placed the gift gently in your hand. Never once letting go of your hand as he made eye-contact with you. All you saw was love. “I may not be able to grow flowers, crops or anything really… but I can sell them in a heartbeat. Sometimes I wish for something I can allow my heart to keep… What I'm asking is. Will you accept this gift as a sign of my love and admiration for you?”

“Balor…” The warmest smile painted your face as you gratefully accepted this gift, holding it tightly to his chest with one hand as you moved your free hand to his shoulder. Placing a soft kiss to his cheek before smiling again, “Maybe use this as your report to Juniper.”

Not far away from you watching from the stone steps was none other than Eiland and Juniper, standing side by side with smug grins. Juniper’s hand on her hip, a victorious smile on her face, Eiland leaning on the wall to watch the new couple. High-fiving quietly as they walked away from the scene, going unseen the entire time. Mission successful.

[hyacinthleaves]

Hyacinthleaves is a little fanfiction blog that I'm creating because I honestly want to give back to the fanfiction community. I've been reading them since I was pretty young and I think that non-canon creations take so much skill and patience. Since I've been reading them for so long, I think that its time to give back (even in a very small and simple way) and consistently try to spend time writing some myself. Obviously I've been writing them on and off but I just wanted them to have a space of their own again as well. We start again!

»»———-　　———-««

Rules:

-Headcanons and imagines only for now. Maybe I'll write a fanfic or two or a matchup event every once in a while but not normally -Only Character x Reader or Character x Reader x Character. -No NSFW currently. And I just mean nothing too inappropriate. If you're not sure, just ask anyway. I'll let you know -Don't request more than three characters unless its like a harem situation. -Try to check the masterlist and see if I've done certain asks before, just to save me time. It's not that big of a deal though -Don't be rude because sometimes I do have the time to respond to it. It won't be pretty. -Don't ask for race specific stuff unless you're black. Why? Because I'm black. And I also don't have the most time in the world to research every culture that yall show up with, even though I'd love to. -I have the right to straight up refuse whatever ask I don't want to do. Usually it'll just happen if I can't think of anything for it or I'm too uncomfortable with it. Typically not that big of a deal. »»———-　　———-««

Notes:

-Platonic asks are not my forte. Don't ask me why. I don't know. -I'm so busy so I might not get to every ask in a timely manner. But I also get kinda lazy so feel free to just be like "Did my ask get lost? it was about _" to get me moving because I do have the habit of avoiding things. -I'm silly guys, feel free to talk to me. I don't typically bite. -If you have any ideas of fandoms I should get into, shows I should watch, games I should get into etc. Let me know! »»———-　　———-««

Fandoms:

Fields of Mistria

Hayden Caldarus March Olric Ryis Adeline Celine Juniper

-Dungeon Meshi (I've only watched the anime)

Laios Falin Chilchuck Marcille Senshi

-Stardew Valley

Shane Elliot Sam Harvey

-Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Lann Daeran Arushalae Nenio Seelah Regill Greybor Woljif

-Monster x Mediator

Sir Knight NauseAxe_404

[panicsimss]

The weird new girl in Pelican town

[lovesoflauryn]

Which bachelorette is best dressed ?

[sucuretcannelle]

New writing post (I'll make it aesthetic at some point idk I'm lazy)

Fandoms I currently write for:

—Dungeon Meshi (Note: I've only gotten through the anime)

Laios

Falin

Chilchuck

Marcille

Senshi

—Stardew Valley

Shane

Elliot

Sam

Harvey

Alex

—Fields of Mistria (more characters to be added)

Hayden

Caldarus

March

Olric

Ryis

Adeline

Celine

Juniper

Balor

—Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Lann

Daeran

Sosiel

Arushalae

Nenio

Seelah

Regill

Greybor

Woljif

General Rules:

—Headcanons only...for now

—Must be x reader. not oc x canon or canon x canon

—I'll outright reject a request if I'm not comfortable with it/I can't come up with anything for it

—Smut is allowed idc ain't nobody here to tell me to stop...but also the reader has to be female IM SORRY idk what it's like to have masculine anatomy

[leifandthorn]

Made a bunch of Leif & Thorn characters with the Stardew Valley Portrait Maker!

[mothmiso]

Kyrgyzstan 2018 (2) (3) (4) by Renaud Forest

Via Flickr:

(1) Ala Archa (2) (3) (4) Song Kol Trek     

[5qui99l3draws]

I got back into stardew valley this year and have been having a lot of fun on my new farm, so meet my new(ish) farmer Juniper (she/they)! she's here to ride horses, slay monsters, make some damn good wine, and kiss every woman in pelican town

[glazedsnail]

I would like to apologise to the small craft store clerk who asked me what I was going to draw and I panicked and said "birds".

I knowingly lied. I do know how to draw an alright pigeon though.

This and more happen in part 13.

It's a multi-media fanfiction now. You can't stop me.

Snail says NO PEEKING.

[wanderingnewyork]

Looking down Dry Harbor Road from Juniper Boulevard North in #Middle_Village, #Queens.

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

It's always a little fascinating to me how many people are into the "Woman being kinda mean to me" thing. Because personally, if you degrade me even jokingly/while flirting, I will immediately be turned off. Fuck that, honestly.

[cottagecorelesbianbattle]

My crappy shitty mock-up for the competition! Remember, all of these have been randomized so don’t get mad at me if you think a matchup is unfair! I’m open to suggestions for how to make it more fair if anyone has ideas however.

Matchups (I will link these as the polls go up)

JO MARCH from LITTLE WOMEN versus TINKERBELL from TINKERBELL

DIANA BARRY from ANNE OF GREEN GABLES versus PRINCESS ALEXA from BARBIE AND THE DIAMOND CASTLE

WILLOW PARK from THE OWL HOUSE versus LEAH from STARDEW VALLEY

MARIA VON TRAPP from THE SOUND OF MUSIC versus JUNIPER WOODS from ACE ATTORNEY

MS. HONEY from MATILDA versus ANNE SHIRLEY from ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

FELICITY MERRIMAN from AMERICAN GIRL versus PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM from ADVENTURE TIME

DOROTHY GALE from THE WIZARD OF OZ versus FLORA from WINX CLUB

PERFUMA from SHE-RA versus ISABELLE from ANIMAL CROSSING

—

that’s it! This is a pretty small poll and I’m still really disappointed about some characters not getting in (ex: Laura ingalls wilder) but I think the end result is pretty ok! I found it interesting that most submissions were from childhood media, which I suppose has something to do with people writing about country style lives in older things? Anyways, the polls for the left side will be up as of tomorrow (I will get them queued up after writing this) and they will last 1 week! The next week the right side polls will be up! Happy voting!

[bumblebeescribbles]

Juniper Wall Day 2 Part 1 ☀️🌸 Spring 4 🌸☀️ Word count: 3.032

Previous part ❀ Next part

The next day, Elari awoke, bleary and sore. Their mouth felt full of cotton, and their eyes were crusted in the corner. It hurt to focus.

When a door slammed shut, they startled, clambering to their feet. The old house creaked as she walked about, a little nervous at the sudden realization of not having a host nearby. 

On the table sat a letter. Anise's handwriting was scratchy, and some letters were not fully closed.  

I'll be asleep until the evening, but I'd love to hang out with you when I get up! (:

A small plate of muffins made Elari's stomach growl, and she all but swallowed a couple before wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. There was only so much she could stare at before she felt that awkward gnawing after standing in a house she didn't know with a person she just met yesterday asleep.

She supposed Botan had already headed out. Which made the biting feeling worse as they winced. With both siblings out, there wasn't really anyone she knew. With a huff, she forced down that thought.

Outside, she was met with a better viewpoint of the town. Mostly log houses, they all circled the center of town, where a large fountain sat. A bronze statue depicting a tall elven woman stood as its figurehead, hand on the scabbard of her sword, staring off into the wilderness that surrounded Juniper Wall. A couple of villagers were milling about outside, chatting with each other and laughing.  

Elari peered closer to the fountain, spotting an old plaque. Before she could pick out what it read, something landed on her head. Something heavy.

"Pixie, get down, don't bother this poor person!" With a coo, the weight disappeared, and Elari turned around to see a green-scaled naga slithering closer. The edges of her scales were tinged gray, and there were heavy lines around her mouth and eyes. Bright orange eyes fell on Elari, the smile lines appearing.  

"My apologies, dear. Pixie loves meeting new folks, don't you, my sweet girl?" She scratched the chin of one of the fluffiest brown and white spotted pigeons Elari had ever seen.

Elari rubbed the back of her neck. "It's alright, she didn't hurt me. I've uh...never seen a pigeon that looked like her before."

The naga laughed, tipping her head back and almost sending Pixie tumbling to the ground. "She's a different kind of gal, aren'tcha? A beauty, huh?"  

Elari kept their mouth closed; they wouldn't call that fluffy thing beautiful, but that definitely seemed like one of those things you just didn't say. "I got her when I was traveling around. Hasn't left my side since then." A wistful look softened her face before she snapped back to Elari. "But I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me rambling away; I don't think I've seen you around here." A casual interest crossed her expression, as she leaned in closer, and the light purple cloak she wore rustled. "Ashni.”

"Elari. I'm Elari."

Elari caught the spark of interest that lit up her eyes. "Is that so... You wouldn't happen to be Dura's child, would you?" Ashni asked.

"I got a letter from her,” she said, “asking if I could come down to visit her.” The words died on their tongue.

Ashni sighed, placing a hand on her cheek. "My apologies that your reason to visit Juniper Wall wasn't a more positive one. Dura was a good soul." Again, that wistful look.

Hope made Elari glance up. "Did you know her that well?"

Ashni seemed to wrestle with something, her eyebrows contorting. "In a way, yes," she replied. "Dura and I were close, although the time we spent together wasn't long."

"Then, do you know why she—what I mean is, why was Juniper Wall her choice?" It came out of their mouth in a rush, desperate to finally get some answers. "She just left without saying anything. I didn't really hear from her a lot." With a sudden flush of embarrassment, they bit down the rest of their words. Were they really just unloading everything on this random stranger? A couple villagers had stopped to listen to the conversation that grew louder and louder. Elari ducked her head, wishing she had her cloak to pull the hood up.

But Ashni just smiled at them, with gentle and soft eyes that made Elari's throat tighten. "How about this. I don't want to make this a public thing,” the naga said slowly, “but I also don't want to avoid your questions. I have to go do some chores around my coffee shop, why don't you come with me, and I'll answer some of your questions?”

At Elari’s pinched expression, she added, “It's closed right now, so you won't need to worry about everyone gossiping." They're good folk, but you know how the rumor mill can start. Seem fair?" Pixie cooed, copying Ashni’s head tilt.

Elari hesitated. It was one thing to agree to meet up with a random stranger and potentially room with them (they had this whole process in mind right before the storm happened, steps they could take in case Anise turned out to be someone they couldn't trust), it was another to go into a shop with a stranger and help them with a store closed. But they still had their dagger in their pocket, and worst came to worst, they felt the warmth of their magic curling at their fingertips.

Ashni tried to continue the conversation as they traipsed back to her shop, but Elari struggled to pay attention and give more than one-word answers. Her head was on a constant swivel, as she soaked in Juniper Wall.  

What she first thought of the place turned out to be incorrect. Creeping vines sun themselves as they cling to the houses, and with old and creaking porches with all shades of the rainbow, Elari felt a little pang in the back of her throat; they all looked well-worn. She assumed that neighbors would come by with trays of food when you were sick, saying that they accidentally made extra food, but everyone would know that it hadn't been an accident.  

In the city, there wasn't really a chance to meet your neighbors; especially being so close to the Adventurers' Guild, there was such a constant stream of people coming and going, you learned to not get too close to folks, since they'd probably be gone the next day. Folks were awfully bad at keeping in touch.

"Here we are," Ashni said, opening the door. A sign proclaimed See is for Coffee, with the name forming from the steam of a purple coffee cup below it. A singular and bright orange eye embossed on the purple cup seemed to follow them as they entered.  Something about the name sparked a thought in Elari’s mind, but it disappeared before she could grab ahold of it.

It was a small place. Wooden circular tables and chairs with mismatched pillows dominated most of the space. A small counter sat next to an even smaller display case. The handwritten signs of what pastries they had toppled over and the trays were still crumb-flecked.  

As soon as Ashni followed Elari's eyes to the trays, the grin disappeared. "I told him to-" She messaged her forehead, squeezing her eyes, before the glower vanished as she clapped her hands. "Alright, so after I clean the trays, we can chat."

"I can help," Elari offered, tying her hair up, "I work at the tavern; I'm used to this kind of stuff."

Even though she got the feeling that the folks here just did stuff for each other for the sake of it, Ashni lit up, beaming down at her. "I won't say no to that. Pixie, go relax." She pointed to a rather beaten wooden box in the corner with a small hole in it.

"An utter nuisance," Ashni commented with affection once the pigeon had settled, before leading Elari into the kitchen with the trays. The kitchen had low-hanging cupboards, easy for Ashni to reach, with a potted ivy curling happily around the top of the cupboards.

As Elari helped her wash the trays, she hesitated. All that excitement from learning someone who knew her mother now lay curdled in her mouth.

Thankfully, Ashni seemed to pick up on her tumultuous thoughts and began, "So. Your mother." It felt like she was back in school, watching an old professor start a lecture they were particularly excited about.

They turned to look at her expectantly, nodding. "How did you know her?"

"How much do you know about your mother's adventures?"

Elari shrugged. "Not much," she said, staring off into space, "My dad always stopped her before she could finish any of her stories." Ashni snorted but merely gestured for her to continue. It felt like Elari was missing out on a joke. "Mom didn't want to give out too much information about her other companions." They paused. "Something about pissing off a lich and wanting to protect their identities when the party disbanded."

A thought occurred to her, and she glanced at Ashni, her eyes narrowing. "I do remember her mentioning a seer they needed to rescue-"

"To find Azdok, yes." Ashni stared at the tray she was drying, her mouth pinching. "I didn't know that I was sending them there—" She shook her head, hissing. "That's beside the point." 

Turning to Elari, she forced a chuckle. "But yes, I am that seer that helped them find the same lich."

For a couple moments, Elari stared at her. This was the all-powerful seer her mother gushed about? There was a mythological being in her head that she had conjured from listening to all the stories; how this seer could wield magic that sang in the air as she snipped and resewed time and reality back together, how everyone from across the entire land came to see her with problems that seemingly no one could decipher.

"How'd you get to Juniper Wall?"

Ashni's eyes widened, but before Elari could take her words back, the naga let out a howl of a laugh, her tail curling. "Out of all the questions, that's the one you're curious about?" Her tongue flicked out, eyes squinting.

Flushing, Elari handed the tray to her roughly. "My mom couldn't stop talking about you. Why're you here?" They gestured at the shop, eyebrows furrowing. "You can reshape time and space, and you're at a coffee shop?"

"Is that so bad?" Her pitying look hurt more than if she had yelled. “I’m happy here.” She stared out through the serving hatch, her eyes unfocused. “I think it was the same for Dura.”

Ashni rubbed the back of her neck, hissing again and snapping her eyes at Elari. "Your mother, after she came back from the mission, disappeared. I hadn’t heard anything from her for a long time. And then, out of the blue, I get a letter from her.” Her smile was so soft that it made Elari glance down, embarrassed to have even had the audacity to look.  

“She said that she needed to talk to someone who was with everyone.” Her expression soured, and she gripped the tray. “I don’t think she ever got over losing Duster, let alone when—” She froze. Face contorting, she grabbed her neck. Gurgling noises escaped her mouth.

As Elari dropped the tray, shattering it, wings beat through the air, and Pixie shoved her way through the door. The pigeon grunted low in her throat, settling near Ashni while she gasped. Elari lunged at the naga, her eyes burning sun-hot as she called upon her magic. A wisp of invisible to the normal eye, black smoke curled from Ashni's mouth to her lungs, where it squeezed. "Ashni?"

The naga waved her away, bending over to cough, as she heaved for air. "It's fine, I'm fine," she wheezed, her expression still pinched. Elari hovered around her, the magic disappearing.

When she recovered, Ashni stood straighter, eyes narrowed, hissing with every deep breath. She let Pixie settle on her shoulder, the pigeon nibbling at her neck, still grunting. She took the cup of water Elari offered her with a quiet 'thank-you'.  

"I'm alright," she began, voice scratchy, "just a side effect; your mother was serious about keeping her party members' names a secret."

Elari sat on a stool, gripping the edges with her fingers. "The fight against Azdok was that serious, huh?" Names were important to anyone, but to a lich who had lost theirs in their rebirth, it was disgusting to let someone who still clung to their name let live after they had the audacity to invade a lich’s lair.

Ashni stared at the cup, tracing the rim with her finger. In the afternoon sun, she looked much older, the rays tracing every ridge and valley on her lined face. Finally, she met Elari's eyes. "Yes." After a beat, she added, "I think that's why she decided to stay here. She wasn't able to"—she paused, choosing her words carefully—"keep in touch with any of the others. The other two vanished. But she found me."

With a shake of their head, Elari hugged themself. "Look, I don't want to diminish your relationship—" She ground her teeth, squeezing herself harder. Why was it hard to say anything? "My mom loved the adventure, before she headed off to go take down Azdok, she would always have this starry look in her eyes when she told me all her adventures. She wouldn't just settle down here." Elari gestured nebulously outside the window.

"What's so bad about here?"

"Well, it's y'know..." Trying to avoid looking at Ashni's cocked eyebrow, Elari finished, "Quiet."

A simple "hm" came from the naga. After what felt like a century, she set the cup down and went about cleaning up the broken tray from the ground. It was like Elari had failed a test. She stayed silent while she helped Ashni clean.

“I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to,” Ashni began after they cleaned up the shattered pieces.

“I’m sensing a but.”

“But, I want you to give this place a chance.” She turned to face Elari, gesturing around out the window as she said, “There was something about Juniper Wall your mother enjoyed. In part, because she may well have been lonely and wanted someone who knew what she went through.”  

She slithered closer and placed a hand on Elari’s shoulder. Standing at her full height, they had to raise their head to look Ashni in the eyes. “I’m tasked with beautifying the town’s community garden. I’d be more than happy to show you around, point out your mother’s favorite spots. If you help me.”

Elari kept quiet, tipping her head to the side. The idea of sitting around until Anise woke up just twiddling their thumbs sounded exhausting. At least she’d be able to do something.  Hells to it. There wasn’t anything they could do about it, might as well accept.

Ashni’s face lit up, her crow’s feet crinkling. “Wonderful,” she cried, startling Pixie when she clapped her hands, “I think we can start right now.”

“Wait, like, right now, right now?”

Shaking a finger at Elari, Ashni said, “Well, we haven’t got all day. Besides, you’re here. Might as well get it started. Why don’t you follow me; I won’t be opening up the shop today, it’s Laundry Day.”

Without wanting to open a potential can of worms as to why it sounded like it was capitalized (do all small villages have these weird holidays?), Elari trailed after the naga. The weird invisible smoke didn’t seem to have left any physical marks, but Ashni winced every now and then as she called out greeting after greeting when they stepped outside. Other than curious looks, none of the townsfolk stopped to chat with Elari.

Ashni stretched her arms out, once she came to a stop. “Here we are. This is where everyone grows everything and anything; we all have our plots of land.” She fondly patted the worn and warm russet brown fence surrounding the garden. “I’m in charge of making sure the spots outside of the garden look good too.”

After a beat: “Do you know anything about gardening?”

Elari waggled her hand up and down with a bit of a grimace. “Honestly, my dad’s more of the green thumb in our family. I get by fine.”

Out of seemingly nowhere, Ashni pulled out and handed them a couple seed packets. “It took me a while, but I was able to find these. What a coincidence that you decided to show up the day after I got them.”

Almost numbly, Elari glanced up at the older woman. “These are my mom’s.” Written in a familiar cursive scrawl that was so used to cramming a paragraph of information in a postscript were simple labels of “hyacinths” and "peonies.”.

“She was fond of the community garden,” Ashni replied, her tone sad. “This month was hers to be the caretaker.”

Her throat thick with sudden emotion, Elari rubbed the back of her hand against her mouth. To just do something. “I’m not good with these kinds of plants.” They quickly continued after seeing the naga’s face fall, “But I’ll try my best.”

And although Ashni swore up and down that there was no pressure to make the best garden anyone had seen, a tautness grew in Elari’s chest. It was one thing to listen to stories of her mother living in Juniper Wall, another to hold onto something her mother looked forward to using in the future, something she never got to see.

Elari rubbed the edges of the seed packages between her fingers, before turning to Ashni. “Do you have a shovel?”

The sun scorched Elari’s bare arms as they dug, their sweat slicking their grasp. Confusion and sadness clawed at her throat, unaware as she was of whether her eyes stung from sweat or tears. But it was good to move, it felt right to dig, to work.

Even if Ashni had to stop them from digging too much.

Notes:

Weather: Sunny

Do your Best!! (asking about why her mom decided to stay in the village) - Strong hit

Make a promise (Grow the flowers around the community garden) - 4 boxes

Do your Best!! (tending to the flowers) - Weak hit