roses are red, violets are blue | open

[sammyrae]

Samantha Rae had always loved flowers.

Roses, tulips, forget-me-nots, sunflowers, gardenias, daisies, lilacs, zinnias, orchids; Samantha Rae loved them all. She enjoyed making bouquets and gardening; she absolutely loved the Central Park Conservatory Garden. Samantha Rae thought that, without this garden, she’d rarely see all the flowers she loved so much. Samantha Rae spent quite a lot of free time at this garden, admiring each and every petal – even if she had done so just the other day.

Samantha Rae had in fact been here the other day. She came at least three times a week though it wasn’t rare for her to end up visiting the garden once a day. Yes, it took time out of her usual activities like cleaning and studying. Yes, she could be working at the Animal Shelter during these times. Yes, there were better things to do than admire flowers. No, she wouldn’t stop coming to the Central Park Conservatory Garden. Samantha Rae was perfectly happy wandering this garden, admiring her favorite flowers, unwinding after a long day.

Today had been like any other. She’d attended her classes, taken what felt like the same notes, had what tasted like the same lunch, and spoken to her father for fifteen minutes. A lot of her days felt very repetitive. It was one of the reasons she liked visiting Central Park Conservatory Garden so much; it was something new. Admittedly, she’d been going so often lately, it was starting to feel like just another part of her schedule.

Samantha Rae sighed and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. She was by the violets now, one of her top five when it came to flowers. They smelled lovely and looked just as beautiful. Samantha Rae had a vase in her dorm room at Baum Academy and it held a different kind of flower every few weeks. She was very careful about taking care of them, always making sure they had sun and fresh water. It was a bit pricy, buying flowers every few weeks, especially when that money could have been going to important things like school or charities.

Samantha Rae leaned close to the violets and inhaled, her eyes fluttering closed and the corners of her lips turning upwards. They just were so pretty. She could only hope there were others who enjoyed flora as much as she did; that she didn’t look entirely strange for smelling the flowers. Samantha Rae straightened and clasped her hands behind her back. She looked around, wondering why the Central Park Conservatory Garden wasn’t more popular. She thought it to be a hidden gem of New York City; it was a shame she didn’t see more people.

She shrugged, mostly to herself, and continued down the path a bit. She hadn’t seen the dandelions in quite awhile.

[ROY THEOREN]

Being unemployed in the Big Apple was not without its share of perks. For one thing, Roy had plenty of time to enjoy the many wonderful things the city had to offer. Like Central Park. It was free, it was huge, and it was full of fascinating people to watch. A bizarre juxtaposition of nature and urbanity, the park held many things that set Roy's spirit (including the Other One, deep inside) at ease.

Today, he decided to detour through the conservatory and enjoy a bit of colorful plant life. It wasn't as though he had much better to do with his time. He had cash in his pockets from fixing up a window garden for an elderly couple. It would last him a week, if he were careful. Lucky for him, stopping to smell the roses was still a free activity.

As he rounded a bend in the winding path through the dense, jungle-like environment of the conservatory, he nearly walked right into a young girl who was admiring a patch of yellow flowers.

"Ah, beg pardon," he said, jigging out of the way just in time to avoid a collision. He took a moment to get a better look at her, realized she was entirely his type (read: breathing and human), and flashed her a smile that managed to be charming despite the slightly crooked teeth.

He nodded to the dandelions, which seemed a bit out of place. "Aren't those a weed, anyway?"

[sammyrae]

Dandelions were really quite pretty. Yellow was always a nice color, though: bright and friendly. If she could, she would wear yellow at all times. As it were, she wasn’t very good at matching and so she’d always played it safe with her clothes. However, she could always try accessories and jewelry. Those didn’t really have to match with the outfit. Maybe she’d go shopping later today… Until then, she was perfectly happy to stay here for a while longer.

Samantha Rae had hardly noticed the man coming around the corner until he said something. She looked up, startled, and took a step back. Once she realized there was nothing to worry about, Samantha Rae smiled and returned to where she’d been standing. “I’m sorry,” she said, having a tendency to apologize for things that weren’t even her fault. “I should have been paying more attention.” It was lucky he moved quickly enough; she wouldn’t have reacted in time.

Her eyes widened a bit and she looked to the dandelions with a confused pout. No… no, they certainly weren’t weeds. Were they? They couldn’t have been. It wouldn’t have made any sense to have weeds here. Samantha Rae tried to remember what she’d read on dandelions – anything, really. If they were in fact weeds, a sign of some sort would have been nice to explain. “Are they?” She asked, tilting her head and leaning close to the plants, as if there were a sign and she just couldn’t find it.

“Perhaps they are good weeds…” She suggested, looking back at him with a hopeful smile. “Maybe they help other plants as opposed to hurting them.” It wasn’t much longer after this that she realized she had yet to introduce herself. “I’m Samantha Rae. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand. He had a nice smile and she wasn’t worried about him being dangerous. Why would anybody dangerous spend time at a garden?

[ROY THEOREN]

"S'all right," Roy said, waving off her apology. "I probably shouldn't be cruising through the garden like a man possessed, anyway. Need to stop and take time to smell the flowers and all that."

The girl seemed distressed at the idea that dandelions were weeds, and for some reason, Roy found that completely endearing. "Well, lots of wild flowers are called weeds these days," he reasoned. "People don't like them in their gardens because they're invasive, steal sunlight and nutrients from other plants and so on, but I figure they have just as much right to be there as any pampered posy. Cheery-looking, anyway, aren't they?"

He reached down and stroked his fingertips across their fluffy yellow heads, enjoying the soft, delicate texture of the clusters of tiny petals. His fingers came away smeared with buttery pollen. With a chuckle, he wiped the dust off on his jeans and took her offered hand. He gave it one firm shake, then bowed briefly over it, miming a kiss into the air just above her knuckles. It was a slightly archaic, yet completely natural-seeming greeting from a man like him. "Roy Theoren, at your service, m'lady."

He beamed at her, then glanced around the conservatory. It wasn't busy this time of day, which seemed a shame and a blessing all at once. The light was perfect just now. On the other hand, it was nice not to deal with crowds. "You come here often? Flowers suit you."

Cheesy pickup line? Probably.

[sammyrae]

Samantha Rae laughed and shook her head, “yes, you might frighten them if you move that quickly.” It wasn’t terribly often that she treated things like real people, as if they had feelings and thoughts. She’d done so with inanimate objects, particularly furniture, but never flora. Need to stop and take time to smell the flowers. It was a saying she knew well enough and one she agreed with wholeheartedly. “It certainly is nice to take a break like this after a long day.” She commented, smiling at the flowers all around them, wishing now more than ever that she could just work here.

What he’d said was immensely reassuring and she grinned at him to show her gratitude. For some reason, she just couldn’t bear the thought of any flowers being weeds. Samantha Rae nodded and watched as he reached over to touch the dandelions. “All flowers have as much right to be there as a pampered posy.” She tilted her head and thought for a second. “An equality sort of deal, I suppose.” Just like all people were equal, all flowers were too. At least, that’s how she was seeing it. Expecting a simple handshake led her to be all the more surprised when he shook her hand and then nearly kissed the top. A light blush spread across her cheeks and she laughed softly, trying to hide her shy smile.

Samantha Rae clasped her hands together and followed Roy’s gaze around the conservatory. One of her favorite things was the way the light filtered in sometimes. It usually wasn’t a big deal but there could be such lovely rays if she was there at just the perfect moment. She looked back to him and almost nodded – the compliment caught her off guard. It was a compliment, right? “I do. At least a couple times a week.” Samantha Rae looked down, like her painted toenails would distract her enough long enough for the color in her cheeks to fade. “Thank you,” she murmured, finally looking back up and smiling at him.

---

OOC: Sorry for the wait! School has been crazy.

[ROY THEOREN]

Roy couldn't help but laugh at the idea that he might scare the plant life. This girl, Samantha, was entirely too adorable. Did she really believe that his mad crashing about would frighten the flowers, or was she joking? It was hard to tell. Either way, it was cute.

"I agree. Though, to be fair, my day hasn't been especially long." He grimaced slightly. Ah, the lament of the unemployed and bored. Roy would happily be working right now, if he could find something that suited him. He wasn't really good at keeping himself sane without something useful to do. However, he wasn't quite at the point where he was willing to work in food service, yet.

When she agreed with his assertion that all flowers had equal rights to be in one place or another, he nodded along. "I do like that philosophy," he told her. "After all, who gets to decide what's a weed and what's a flower, anyway?"

Her blushing and awkward manner were even more adorable. What the heck? She was cute, she was there, and she hadn't run screaming from him. "Would you like to go get a coffee or lunch or something?" he asked, still offering that charmingly crooked grin. "No ulterior motives, just sort of an apology for nearly running you over."

[sammyrae]

He was probably laughing at her silly notion of flowers being frightened. Samantha Rae was sure it was ridiculous of her to have said something like that, but if he was laughing, perhaps it hadn’t been all that stupid. Laughter was the best form of medicine, she thought, and if she could make somebody laugh, then she was happy with whatever it was she’d done (even if it was something embarrassing or over the top).

“Oh?” She said, somehow entirely too curious as to what he’d been doing all day. For some reason, Samantha Rae thought adults would always be busy with something. They seemed to be bustling around all the time; they were always carrying briefcases or shouting into phones. Though, she may have just had too many run-ins with the business sort of adults. Samantha Rae was sure there were grown-ups out there who lived calm simple lives. “I suppose mine hasn’t either. School just feels like it goes on forever.”

Samantha Rae smiled brightly, glad he understood where she was coming from. Even though he had been the one to mention it in the first place… she was happy that he hadn’t grown tired of the conversation yet. Most people would be bored of talking about flowers by now. They only worried about the latest gossip or reality shows. In her opinion, those were the boring subjects. The longer she talked with him, the more he seemed perfectly alright.

Because of this, she wasn’t as surprised when he suggested coffee or lunch. Normally, Samantha Rae would turn down the offer because she had other things that needed to be done (most of the time, those things could certainly wait). He was also probably quite older than her and, though she knew his name and had been having a lovely conversation so far, he could still very well be a stranger. Her father had always warned her about strangers. Though… how was one to make friends if they didn’t give strangers a chance?

Samantha Rae nodded and smiled, “I think that would be nice.” Besides, her lunch at school had hardly been filling and she would need some coffee if she were to get anything done tonight. So, really, either would have been fine with her. Yes, she may have had a curfew but she wasn’t so worried about Baum Academy’s security and 10 o’clock wasn’t for quite awhile, anyway.