[open + 1 closed + 1 semi-closed] a pocket full of posies

[revolutionfalcon]

Who: A + B: Shun and anyone! C: Shun and Ren, D: Shun and existing CR
What: Shun attempts to relocate a substantial portion of his temple garden to his Near Shore shrine. This goes about as well as you'd expect.
When: June 22nd
Where: A: Nekhbet's Temple and surrounds, B + C: A seemingly innocuous Near Shore park (a.k.a. Nekhbet's shrine), D: Network/anywhere!

A + B: Open

[A: Morning, Nekhbet's Temple]

[There are a lot of things Shun could say about having a rapidly growing garden of funerary and death-themed flowers, and most of them are some form of complaint. However, with recent events on the Near Shore and disappearances on the Far Shore, he's decided it's about time he made his shrine look a bit more lived-in, and if there's any good way to do that, it's hitting two birds with one stone and thinning out his garden to use for decorative purposes. Ignoring the fact that he has no idea how to decorate anything these days, because he'll deal with that hurdle when he reaches it.

The strange hill-shaped temple isn't difficult to spot even from a distance, and the large, tree-enclosed garden to one side even less so. The dwelling vultures are a little agitated today, rustling wings and hopping from tree to tree as they try to get a better look at Shun, who's moving along the edge of the garden with a dagger in hand. With how much the flowers have grown out, there's only an incredibly narrow strip for Shun to walk on between them and the shallow pools flanking the main path, but as always, he walks as if his every step is certain.

At certain plants, he'll stop, either taking one flower stem or a few at once and pushing neatly through them with the knife in his hand. Apparently nobody ever told him pruning shears were a thing, or he just didn't want to bother with that.

There's already a budding line of flowers down the middle of the garden path, loosely arranged by type and then colour, which Shun goes back to add to each time he cuts more. It's probably obvious to most people that he has far too many cut for any purpose other than maybe starting a florist's, but he doesn't seem to care, and the garden barely looks like it's been pruned.

He'll acknowledge anyone who comes to the mouth of the garden...just maybe try not to do it while his back is turned, since he is still holding a knife.]

--

[B: Afternoon, Park/Shrine]

[There's a lot of nice parks around on the Near Shore, and the quiet ones can be especially nice. This one in particular is off a small and relatively low-density street, the entrance flanked by currently unlit lanterns, and looks like the kind of spot someone might elect to have a picnic. There's tables, a large and venerable-looking tree over near the back...and, of course, the tiny shrine building (more the size to house vultures than any kind of human) that looks like it was made by some very dedicated follower, built and painted simply and surrounded by offerings of flowers. Today, there's also a very eye-catching one lying across the shrine "balcony"; a large arrangement of purple and orange flowers, done with not the skill of someone who actually knows what they're doing, but the care of someone determined to do it anyway and make it good.

Also in the park today is Shun, who's commandeered a picnic table with his excessive amount of flowers and is currently sorting through them with a rather critical eye. When he comes across one that looks on the dead or dying side, he runs his fingers carefully up the stem, focusing intently on the flower, and after a few moments, the petals liven up and heal, the natural decay reversing to return them to full bloom.

Unfortunately, the need for focus means Shun isn't in a particularly welcoming mood towards distractions right now, so any Far Shore residents hanging around the park may or may not feel upon them the kind of stare that could probably bore through concrete given long enough.]

If you're just going to be a distraction anyway, you might as well put it to some use over here. [Translation: he's...asking for help. Kind of. Not really, but still.]

[C: Closed to Ren, late afternoon/early evening]

[After several attempts at putting together certain flowers and getting the impression they just look wrong (and that if even someone like him who doesn't really give a damn is noticing, then others certainly will), Shun decides to cut his losses and text maybe the one person he can trust to help with this and be a tolerable presence for the amount of time it will probably take.

So sometime later in the afternoon, Ren gets a text containing a picture of the table overflowing with sorted flowers, and Shun's shrine in the background in the hopes that he'll recognise it from that evening they walked back there.]

Need someone who knows more about how flowers go together than me. I'll explain why if you help.

[D: Closed to existing CR, evening]

[So as it turns out, Shun absolutely cut way too many flowers, and though he definitely knows one person who'll want them, there's still a ton that aren't really spoken for. So anyone Shun knows the name of (or god name, in those cases) and doesn't hate stands a chance of getting a very brief text containing an image of a table still covered in flowers, but with vastly less than there were earlier. There's quite a variety - roses, lilies, crysanthemums, orchids, and so on - and it might be hard to pick up on the funerary and death associations of every single one of them unless one is very well-versed in flower language.]

Trying to get rid of these. Pick some out and you can have them.

[[Any kind of death or funeral-associated flower is fair game to request, even if it's not listed there.]]

Comments

[welcome_home]

What did you need them all for? Are you throwing a party? Do you have a crush?

[ #Nanako logic. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Both of those things are so equally unlikely that Shun can't help but give Nanako a somewhat incredulous look.]

I barely tolerate attending parties, let alone throwing them. And even if I'd recognise something like that second thing, no. I was using them at my shrine.

[Apparently he's too detached to even say the word "crush". Either that or he just thinks it's silly, it's hard to tell.]

[welcome_home]

[ Look, that's what flowers are for! Usually when someone gets a lot of flowers it's to give it to someone they like, right? ]

Ohhhh. Were they for decoration then? Was it a special occasion or did you just feel like putting flowers everywhere?

[ Which wasn't something she would have expected. He seemed more like the scary birds sort of person rather than pretty flowers everywhere. Not that she would every object to anyone having flowers. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[All of those things are in some way accurate, and Shun shrugs slightly as he goes to sit on one of the couches next to the table.]

There's been a lot going on recently, especially when it comes to my role as a funerary god here. Even if I can't answer all the prayers people have been asking, I thought it was about time I gave them a sign I'd been listening.

[And when most of his followers give offerings of flowers, it felt appropriate to offer them back, in a way. Not to mention all he'd have to do to keep them healthy was go by his shrine and use his powers on them every so often.]

[welcome_home]

Funerary? [ She echoes that title curiously, because she hadn't realized that's what he was. Not that she knows that word, but it's close enough for her to figure out. ] Were these for people's funerals?

[revolutionfalcon]

Kind of. [It's not completely accurate, but it gives Shun somewhat of a stepping-off point, and he gestures over the flowers.] Obviously I don't know all of them, but as far as I can tell, everything that grows in my garden has some kind of death or funeral association. So it's the kind of thing people offer at my shrine as well. I figured offering them something back in the same way might put some people's minds at ease.

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako leans up to reach out and brush her fingers over the soft petals of one that's a deep violet in color. ]

That's really nice of you. I'm sure it will make the people praying feel better too. Maybe it will help them be less sad.

[revolutionfalcon]

[It's probably lucky that Nanako's so young, or Shun would be inclined to dismiss that notion of him being nice more aggressively. As it is, he simply shrugs slightly like it doesn't matter that much to him - though if it really didn't, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to do it in the first place.]

It's just a message. They can take it how they like.

[welcome_home]

I think it would make me happy, to see the flowers, if I were sad about missing someone. Especially when they're such pretty colors.

[ Just take a compliment, Shun. She has discovered your nice side. It's too late to bury it now. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Even if it's too late to bury it, Shun will do his best. Which in this case, involves largely passing on answering that remark but for a slight nod as if to recognise that's how she can choose to take it if she likes.]

If you think they're "pretty", then I'm assuming you've found some you like already. [That one word is said almost clinically, like someone who hasn't used the term in a very long time.]

[welcome_home]

Well, they're flowers. [ She blinks up at him in surprise for a moment, sounding like she might be stating the obvious. ] They're all pretty!

[revolutionfalcon]

[It's pretty clearly not as obvious to Shun, because he looks back at her with an expression of mild confusion, if anything.] I thought most people saved that word for less broad things than that. Nothing stands out if you just call them all pretty.

[welcome_home]

I think flowers stand out all on their own. It doesn't matter what you call them, does it? Besides, do you see any that aren't pretty?

[ She hadn't. And as someone who had poked in his garden before, she knows that most of the blossoms she'd found there had all been unique and interesting. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[How does he answer that question in a way that doesn't show the hand of how he tends to see the world nowadays...]

I don't see things like prettiness anymore. It's the last thing I pay attention to.

[He doesn't, that's how. His tone is a little quiet, like it's an admission rather than a statement, but he doesn't actually sound like it bothers him.

Whether that's actually true or not is harder to tell.]

[welcome_home]

[ That gives her pause as she glances up to search his face with a thoughtful frown. ]

Why not?

[revolutionfalcon]

[That is definitely not a thing Shun wants to get into any great detail about, especially with someone as young as Nanako, and he grimaces slightly as he tries to find a good way to put it that might stonewall further questions.]

It's a long story. Let's just say that having to fight with lives on the line in this place isn't much of a change of pace for me.

[welcome_home]

[ She thinks that over a moment. ]

My big brother had to fight a lot back home, too. There were bad people doing scary things and he stopped them. If you fight too much, does that make things stop being pretty?

[revolutionfalcon]

[That...kind of explains a few things about Nanako, honestly, and Shun looks slightly surprised for a moment at the observation. Still, he considers those words for a moment before he replies, his expression back to serious.]

Not just if you fight too much, but if all you can really do is fighting. If almost every moment of your life is fighting for it, you lose sight of what's beyond that.

[welcome_home]

But what about what you're fighting for?

[revolutionfalcon]

Sometimes you're just fighting for it to be over. [There's only so much Shun can do to lighten the blow here, and his tone is tired enough to lend the words even more weight.] Fighting for high ideals is a nice fantasy for the ones who can afford it, but there are times when all you can hope for at the end is peace, saving who you can and settling the grudges of who you can't. And you can still lose sight of what you're fighting for while you're fighting for it as well.

[If this was a sentiment made in the heat of combat, there'd be more rage behind it. But as it is now, Shun can allow himself the space to be worn down for these few moments.]

[welcome_home]

[ She listens when he explains with a serious expression on her face and when he finishes, she only hesitates a moment before impulsively throwing her arms around his waist in a tight hug. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[The sudden movement is not the wisest thing to have done - there's a very obvious reactive flinch from Shun at the unexpected physical contact, and he digs his fingers into his palms for a moment. However, after overcoming that, he blinks at Nanako in a somewhat confused manner before leaning down a little to return the hug. It's a little ginger and unfamiliar, like he hasn't done it in a long time, but it's good enough.]

What is it? [He sounds legitimately concerned - for her, at least. This isn't the first time he's confused someone trying to comfort him for trying to comfort themselves.]

[welcome_home]

You looked like you needed a hug. [ The answer comes muffled because she's still clinging to him tightly, her face buried against his stomach. She tips her head back, just a little, her expression sad. ]

I'm sorry you had to fight so much back home. I'm sorry it made you so sad and tired.

[revolutionfalcon]

[It takes that remark for her reasoning to actually click with Shun, and he lets out a short sigh as he remembers his same confusion the last time something similar had happened.] So it's like that, then.

[There's something ponderous about that remark, like he's actively comparing the circumstances of both times, but for all his apparent confusion surrounding it, Shun keeps hold of Nanako, since she still seems upset.]

It's... [It certainly isn't okay, and even if Shun could force himself to say that, he knows it would come out nothing but the empty lie it is. So he changes tack.] I'm used to it. You don't have to worry about me.

[welcome_home]

[ She is upset, and its not something she's going to let be brushed aside that easily either as she glances up at him, looking a little teary. ]

I don't want you to be used to it. That's no good. Isn't it different here?