(no subject)

[emmyclaire]

Not overly fond of ranch-style homes, the house on Hobson street had still offered enough promise that Emmeline had purchased it after only two viewings. It was new enough that there was very little trouble to modify it for her needs - a central sanctum to house her more rare and somewhat eyebrow-raising artifacts and books, only accessible by a hidden panel in her bedroom closet - and the land that came with it, an extra lot behind the house itself, was the real draw. While her brother had come for a visit and helped to modify her home, the two greenhouses she had erected behind the house had required a professional touch, and had taken more than two months before they were ready for use, longer still before they were producing anything of note. But with time, top notch irrigation, and a touch of elemental magick, Emmy was growing her own plants for use in the store and in her own work.

There was a chill in the morning air but it was still balmy inside the greenhouses, and Emmy hummed softly to herself as she inspected the jasmine and honeysuckle she had recently re-potted. She had decided upon waking that she would not open the shop today and instead spend the time with her plants, and had left a handpainted sign on her front door reading "In the Greenhouse" for anyone that might come calling.

She smiled. The honeysuckle was doing well enough that she would need to add a trellis soon to allow it to expand; she wondered if it would play nice enough with the moonflower that they could share.

"You are such a lovely little thing," she said fondly, and leaned forward to take a deep breath of the sweet fragrance it produced.

[Thread open to Echo]

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[wolfs_daughter]

Her stomach was one solid knot. The only thing that kept her feet moving was the knowledge that if she didn't speak up now, she'd probably never say anything. It was New Year's Eve. The next day would be a time for resolutions and trying to make changes. She wished she at least knew how to start.

Echo rounded the corner, saw the doors to the greenhouse standing ajar. Emmeline wasn't in sight. Her palms were sweaty, despite the chill in the air. The plain white box held under her left arm was unwrapped. She'd run out of wrapping paper after finishing up with Cian's present and the ones she'd sent to her parents. When she'd gone back to the little store in Searchlight, they'd been out.

She was probably making too much out of it. She knew she had a habit of doing that. Everything didn't have to be such a big deal. The hybrid paused just shy of the entrance to the greenhouse, took a deep breath. She wiped her right hand off on her jeans.

Christ, she was pathetic.

Echo cleared into the stillness, then forced herself to say something. "Uh...hello? Emmeline?"

[emmyclaire]

Emmeline had moved towards the moonflower trellis, glancing at the vines winding over the wooden trellis she'd bought at a hardware store the month prior. It had taken some time for her to stabilize it in the center of the lushly growing main greenhouse and she had been concerned it might draw too much shade over the other plants, but it seemed to be doing well enough.

Little yellow buds of the blazing star moonflower twined alongside vines of the softly pink and white blooms of jalap, producing a beautiful blaze of color as well as a lovely combined scent. It wasn't just the aesthetic appeal Emmeline grew them for; the blazing star was perfect for dressing candles and the jalap was a good component for purity spells.

The honeysuckle would make a nice addition to the trellis, it seemed.

Hearing her name, Emmeling glanced up. "Yes, hello?" she called back. Those who frequented the shop often enough knew where to find her on the days she didn't open; she'd even noted as much on a few of the fliers she had distributed to regular clients. "Please come in, and close the door behind you! The air is a bit too cool today for the tropicals.

[wolfs_daughter]

"Sorry, sorry."

Echo stepped into the enclosed space quickly, made sure the door was securely shut. Her sensitive nose instantly picked up the aroma of the flowers, and she breathed it in as a way to calm herself. Maybe she should have come by the shop instead, when it was actually open. That would have been less weird.

She probably doesn't even remember you. You've only met a couple of times.

"Um..."

'Um'. Yeah, that was brilliant. The hybrid gave herself a mental slap and stepped further into the greenhouse. "I hope I'm not bothering you. You probably don't even remember me."

[emmyclaire]

Emmeline paused, frowning a moment to herself as she tried to place the voice she heard calling through the greenery. It took a moment, but soon she recalled a conversation about dreamcatchers and Leaf of God.

"Oh! Echo, dear, do come in! I'm back by the moonflower trellis!" she called cheerfully. She turned away from the moonflowers to survey the calea ternifolia plants potted on a rack across from the trellis, gently lifting the little white buds to survey their progress, wondering if Echo might need more.

"How have you been dreaming?" she called.

[wolfs_daughter]

"The dreams have gotten easier to handle. I think it was just being in a new place, that and my sleep schedule got kind of thrown off. Thanks for asking, but things are better."

Echo checked her clothes self-consciously as she moved towards Emmeline's voice. At least the shopkeeper had remembered her name. She wished she knew how to do this. Did she look okay?

"I'm not gonna bother you for very long," she said once the other brunette was in sight. "I figure, it's your day off, you probably want to have some time to yourself. Hope you're enjoying the holiday season."

The box in her hands seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. She knew how she felt, that she was crushing, but conveying that had never been easy for her. She usually talked herself out of it before she could act on anything. The hybrid took a nervous breath.

Give her the box, idiot. She isn't going to bite you.

"Um. I kinda...made this for you."

When Emmeline opened the box, she would find a drawing done in colored pencils of herself sitting on the counter at Peddler's Rest. It was unframed. Echo's name was on the back. The younger brunette was so nervous she didn't know what to do with herself.

"It's probably not the best thing I ever did, but I drew it from memory."