I'M IN LOVE WITH A FAIRY TALE | p, delphinium

[delphinium]

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☼ - Even without Iota explaining it, Delphinium could see the love that had been poured into her surroundings. The love that the flowers were returning. The Garden in the Sanctuary had been so manufactured, manicured. Trimmed grass and vibrant flowerbeds, blatantly fake but still pleasing to the eye. This was nature in its raw form, not a plot of soil for humans to meddle with, and it far outshined whatever could have been produced falsely. Maybe once, long ago, the greenhouse had simply been a tool for humans. But it had since returned to nature. Fallen into the paws of Iota. Delphinium's chest tightened as Iota referred to the greenhouse as her livelihood, turning her gaze toward the cherry blossom feline with a closed eyes smile. "Don't apologize," the ashen kitsune affirmed, rolling her head to the side. It wasn't the first time Delphi had said those two words to Iota, and they likely wouldn't be the last. "It's..." There was hesitation as Delphinium considered whether or not she wanted to share the whole truth. After a brief pause, the kitsune continued. "It feels... so good to know you still care enough about me to cry," she confessed, the back of her eyes stinging as she fought her own swell of tears. The kitsune stepped forward and moved to press her nose gently against the smaller feline's own, a chaste but comforting touch. Iota's reaction caused her own feathers to ruffle out, instinctually reacting to being flustered in return. "It'll be the slumber party we never got to have."

As Delphi pulled away from Iota, she had tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, but she had successfully managed to keep them from falling. Instead the mythic flashed another warm smile, deep navy ears flicking back as a gentle breeze blew through the openings in the greenhouse, shifting the numerous plants. The sound of organic matter sliding against eac other was not one Delphinium was accustomed to. Delphi matched Iota's grin with one of her own, not noticing the additional length to her canines - not that she would care to begin with. Delphinium had enough odd aspects about her to not bother with the small differences in others compared to what was "natural". Humming pleasantly as her tails coiled and wound around themselves, olive eyes followed the motion Iota made gesturing through her greenhouse. "I can do that," she confirmed, paws moving listlessly forward. The flowers she passed on her path to the watering can were familiar, ones she had intimate knowledge of. Before reaching the watering cans' perch Delphi stopped in her tracks, slowly turning to face a healthy cockscomb reaching toward the sunlight. Argentea. Her gaze grazed sluggishly down the line of flora, identifying each of them as her gaze crossed them. Genista. Strelitzia. Delphinium. The tears she had been holding back flowed freely down her cheeks as she silently grabbed the watering can at the end of the row between her teeth, carefully tracing the outline of each plant in her mind as she re-approached Iota. The bird of paradise lacked it's signature vibrant flowers. It wasn't quite unhealthy, but it wasn't flourishing like the others. Placing the can at her paws once she had returned to Iota, Delphi lifted her teary gaze up toward Iota.

"... Do you have a - a spider plant, as well? Chlorophytum?"