CC | Flower Crowns (Jubilee 1/5)

It was odd, how almost, normal it seemed. How peaceful the land was, the scent of sweet flowers mixing into the air. Carried by a distant wind as Fidelia let Akeem lead them to the meadow. How he found it she would not ask, through their linked bond she could already tell it was something he dared not say. They all had their own secrets to hide and that was one Akeem obviously had. Vita was curled around her shoulders, a guardian of all things almost. A lazy one at that, her eyes closed and dozing through the walk while Aila eagerly trotted next to Akeem. She was so small in comparison to Akeem, who was careful on not accidentally stepping on her.

"Here."

His soft voice stopped them, the soft, swirls of wind bringing the scent of soft flowers. It brought them closer, weaving them in at the first sight of colors outside of bright green under their feet. Whites and blues and yellows and pinks. All blooming together in harmony, mixing in together as if they were meant to be. Akeem nodded approvingly, looking at her with his soft eyes, dark, feather tails easily mixing in with the pinker shades of the blooms.

"Is it alright?" He asked, uncertain as Aila pranced around them, her pale pink fur becoming a blend for the other flowers.

"It's perfect, mi hijo," She answered, watching as he proudly shook his head, tentacles flaring up. Vita snorted against her and she lightly shushed her.

The sigh, the expression of stress that had built up in her chest, finally came out in a sigh. She watched Akeem settle down in the flowers, them stroking his scales. His wings fluttered a bit, before they shielded themselves against his body, eyes sliding to a close. She could feel the gentle breathing he gave off as she entered the meadow, her feet bare against the cool grass. Flowers brushed against her exposed legs, fur prickling as she found a spot to settle down. Vita curled, loosing up her form as Fidelia pushed back the flowers a bit as she settled down, crossing her legs. Her bag was slung over a shoulder, Vita's tail locking it into place.

"Vee, dear, can you loosen up?" She asked, voice soft and tender as Vita's scales slid harmlessly against her neck.

Her fur pricked against the smooth, dark oceanic blue scales. Vita's tongue snaked out, lightly flicking in annoyance, narrowed, amber eyes squeezed shut. Her form went lax around her, Fidelia giving out a pleased purr at the loss of restriction around her. Pulling her arm up with the slung over bag, she carefully slipped her fingers underneath Vita's cool scales, pads scraping harmlessly against the bag's strap. Carefully curling fingers around it, with a gentle yank, Fidelia had pulled the strap off her shoulder, feeling Vita's scales stiffen against her at the now lack of leather. The bag slid off onto her lap, threatening to dip off and land into the blooms. They whispered against the leather, soft, petals brushing against the bottom, nipping ever so softly.

Pulling it to settle nicely in her lap, she felt Vita slither off, claws giving a soft dig into her wrist. They curved around it, as her tail flicked under her chin before she jumped off. She was a stark contrast against the light blossoms, even as she sunk into the blooms. Her dark patches being a clear giveaway to where she was.

"Where are you going?" Fidelia asked as she opened up the bag and reached in. Her fingers grazed the cover of the leather-held book, pulling it out and opening it up.

Vita snorted at it, reading the cover. Her tongue slithered out, daring to try to lick it, before being waved away by her rider. She wrinkled her snout at it, turning her amber gaze to her.

"'Language of Flowers'? Whoever wrote that is delusional. Flowers don't have a language," She cackled to herself, finned crest eagerly splaying itself out. Fidelia simply snorted, lightly tapping the pages.

"Meaning, Vee. What they represent. Like love," Fidelia explained, her ears lightly tilting back as heat explored her face. "Where are you going?"

"Yuck," Vita simply said, sticking out her forked tongue and scrunching her face up. "You're more in love than I thought. I hate feeling it."

"Don't ignore the question, Vi."

"Fine, Mom," She grumbled, rolling her eyes and snout turning into a pout. "I was gonna go find something."

Fidelia snorted as the tingle of embarrassment from her little, ocean dragon wriggled to her. The light flushness that Fi had felt over the book was now turned over to her Vita, stubbornly looking away.

"Take Aila," She finally said, flipping the book to the page she wanted.

"What! Why?" Vita cried out, fins flaring up as she angrily rubbed her face in exasperation.

"To watch over her. Just keep an eye on her, alright?" Fidelia restated, raising a brow to look at her pouting dragon.

"Fine!" Vita snapped, her tail smacking the flowers that were around her, before flying off.

Fidelia watched as she put the bag on the other side of her, her knees brushing against the leather strap. Vita fluttered over where Aila seemed to be rolling around, her scythe wings likely scraping against the dirt and making gouges. The squeaks coming from Aila proved such happiness and eagerness that Vita had offered her the chance to go explore. She let out a soft laugh to herself as she watched Aila hop up, eagerly trotting after Vita.

She turned her head to watch her smallest dragons, Vita leading eager Aila. Vita paused at a rock, jolted out from the flower blooms. She lightly landed down while Aila tried to scramble up. The slight scratches of her claws being heard against the rock, as Vita stuck her snout up. Them saying something in their language, Vita directing with the tip of her tail. Aila excitedly nodded and she watched as Aila hopped around and started digging. Clumps of dirt was thrown into the air, Vita squawking and hurling herself off her rock perch. Flowers moved with the dark mass that separated them, seeming to find her own place to try digging, though stopping to sniff out other jewels. Fidelia simply snorted, pleased to see that Vita wasn't being a total brat to Aila.

Happy, and feeling comfortable enough to turn her gaze away from the two, scavenging dragons, she turned her gaze towards Akeem. His eyes were open, head up as he watched Aila find something, with Vita seeming to hurry off to look. Seeming to have felt her gaze, he turned his head to look at her and chirped at her. He rested his head back down, eyes sliding closed as she turned her own focus onto the book before her. A page on flower crowns, little sticky notes added onto the page with what she wanted on them.

Quietly followed, she plucked some flowers, twirling them about. She wanted to compare it to stitching, how one does so, going in and out of the fabric. It moved with you, your hand always following, eyes tracking as patterns formed. Entwining the wire together was not like that, careful on wrapping it in greens. To press and twine the flowers into the wire, it was like breathing almost. The scent sweet and soft, trying to lull you into sleep. Blooms with their tender petals lightly pressing against each other, dipping and diving. It was enchanting, simple and relaxing. Her fingers caught the tint of green on them as she moved them along. She was simply breathing, enjoying the life around her.

"OW!"

Fidelia was ripped out of the calmness she had settled into, pupils wide as she bolted up, fur fluffed up. Putting the flower crown to the side, she pushed herself up and ran over to where the noise had been. The whining and yelps, her feeling pain against her side like a spike. It throbbed as she found herself kneeling down next to a hole. A tunnel, it scraped at the top, before becoming neat deeper under. Her heart tightened as she felt her bond with her two little dragons, beaming to show where they were.

"Vita, Aila!" She yelled, hearing the frantic rustling underneath the forest.

She carefully pushed back, eyes wide and fingers ready to start trying to dig to get them. Tumbling out was Aila and her heart squeezed at seeing her side was darker, red tinkling from her pink fur. Tears shone through as Aila sobbed, tumbling towards her. She grabbed her, wrapping her up safely in her arms, hand pressing against the bleeding side.

"Vita!" She yelled as she shielded the shivering dragon, who cringed and was covering her shirt with their tears. Vita never answered and she could feel her sulkiness, her slowly crawling out and poking her head out sheepishly. "¿Qué pasó? ¡Pensé que la estabas vigilando!"

Vita simply shrunk back, eyes wide as Fidelia got up, signaling with her tail for Vita to follow. She could hear the scraping of Vita's claws against the dirt as she followed, trailing behind as Fidelia carried Aila over to where the bag was abandoned. Akeem's eyes were wide and he shuffled himself up, carefully walking over to see what was happening.

"What happened?"

"Ask Vita," Fidelia scoffed, lightly placing Aila down onto the flowers, trying to move everything into the bag quickly.

Her fingers shook as she did so, idly listening to what Vita was saying to Akeem. Tone mournful as Aila whimpered and the pain kept shimmering under her own skin. Her head ripped around when she felt the soft feeling of cold against where the wound would be at. Her teeth were soon bared, before relaxing as she saw Akeem closing his eyes. A form of light, blue with the softest tints of purple on the edge was formed around Aila's side, eyes closed desperately. The pain slowly faded as the puddle of light stayed, growing brighter, seeming to soak itself into the wound. Coolness swarmed and Fidelia felt the tightness relax. Akeem's eyes opened awkwardly and he lightly nosed Aila, asking something.

"I didn't mean to get Aila hurt," Vita whispered, and Fidelia shot a look at her. "I was grabbing a mineral I liked and I wasn't looking and she must've caught herself against one of the minerals. I'm sorry, Fi. I didn't mean for it to happen."

Breath escaped Fi as she kneeled, scooping Vita up so she could twine around her shoulders. Vita's scales rubbed against her fur, head propped against her shoulder as Aila was also scooped up in her arms. Akeem lightly nosed his way into the cuddle, pressing his snout against Fi's face, his coolness against her fur.

"I think it worked," He whispered softly as Aila nestled herself deep into the embrace. The bloody red was gone from Aila's pink fur, the scar neatly patched and barely seen.

"It's fine. Just a scare," She whispered back, closing her eyes to calm her breathing. She redirected her next words to Vita, who was shivering against her like a wounded animal. "And I know you didn't mean to, Vee. You just scared me."

"I know," Vita whispered as she pressed her crest against Akeem's chin. "You're not mad?"

"No," Fidelia admitted, relaxing as Akeem wrapped his wings around them, locking them in their own place. The flowers still blooming around them, a secret guard.