"you're taking all of this so lightly." elijah frowns. he straightens his slouch, the scarred trunk of his body unfurling to full height. "we are meant to die."

he crosses his arms as if to defend himself against the unnatural.

"are you not horrified by the prospect? of outliving everyone else? of being alone when all you've loved is gone?"

bryan delarosa

if elijah's eyes could grow as wide as a deerling's they would- but their alarmed colour is restricted by his stern brow. he's immortal? he stares at bryan as if witnessing him for the first time.

despite bryan's proclamations of miracles, there is little awe in elijah's face. he's surprisingly wooden. petrified, even. and yet, a fire begins to burn, threatening to break through the bark from the inside out.

"i'll pass." elijah says of testing. he flattens his lips and allows silence to settle in spite of their playful pokemon nearby. "how do you feel being a bastardization of nature? of natural law?"

bryan delarosa

"no waste lifestyle? i can fuck with that." he says.

every part used. no limb or leaf discarded. throughout his childhood, elijah begrudgingly ate his veggies. chewed through all points of produce at the behest of his mother- and at which point it became apathy or stubbornness or moral philosophy, he did not know. but now he chews through shrimp shells.

"guess i am. since i'm still here."

the photo is received. in the quiet of the wood, they find secret communion with crystablooms.

wolfgang volkov

"dunno if pokemon give themselves names."

elijah mumbles, but he's already chewing on another stem of thought. the cud settles against his molars and palate in unnerving textures.

"what do you mean by saying 'that makes the two of us'?" he stares at bryan- much like the victreebel staring back at the other pokemon.

bryan delarosa

"business has been just okay." elijah straightens his lips flat. closes the door after the lilligant rushes in.

he raises a brow at its form, wondering where its leaves have gone.

"yeap. think about it." elijah rolls his arm in its joint, stretching like an old man at early morning tai chi. "say this flower's immortal or some shit like that. it's gonna outlive us all. might as well have it get used to changing names with every new owner."

his victreebel brushes its vines and leaves at the hisuian lilligant's legs, finding no dress. just lithe lines.

bryan delarosa

"you a material person then?" elijah says.

although his face betrays very little, his gaze is a little less sharp than before. calm. like a softened shore wetted by low tide.

he is content with wolfgang's burgeoning green thumb. the planting of the gracidea seed.

"or is money so hard to come by that some plant seed is too expensive for you?" the apothecary questions, perhaps, a bit too pointedly.

wolfgang volkov

"visitors don't excite me."

a victreebel vine snatches the bag from bryan's wiggling hand. the lithe limb disappears out of frame. the whhhhhooosh of a wooden drawer opening and closing can be heard, crowned with a clunk.

"gifts do.

like a troll receding into the shadows after receiving his toll, elijah opens the door from behind its frame. vines recede as the victreebel waits.

"thanks." elijah says. "i'll bring delina out. i call him cressly now, by the way."

the apothecary says lazily, searching for his pokeballs.

"he's by the window."

bryan delarosa

lucky that elijah was home. groggy and drunk with interrupted sleep, sounds of his stumbling can be heard. the clamor of a rolling empty pot. a tossed cuss word. and finally, the lock.

several locks click as he opens the door, his victreebel's vines sprawling around his body as if to wrestle him back in.

"oh. it's you." he snorts, eyes heavy with their circles. "what is it this time, deer boy?"

bryan delarosa

elijah shrugs. he too, is a part of the flower shop fuckery. the flower shop fuckers. although he genuinely believes in the beauty of his craft, others may deem it as ridiculous embellishment. ribbon and bow for marketing.

sure, elijah supposes. sure, some people can think of it as scam and connivery in a pokemon world. however, the miracle lies in the appreciation of nature's bounty. the surprise of a sudden bloom. the sweet sensibilities of a surviving flower in the sidewalk crack.

"yeah. they're beautiful. don't ask questions. are good listeners." elijah says. "like em better than people."

he opens his own packet and leans down with wolfgang. his hands help him collect soil too.

"give the gracidea a chance."

wolfgang volkov

the outburst of energy punches elijah in the face and leaves him with a black eye. he's too tired for this.

but the procured "premium" goods piques his interest. peels away the fatigue one cell.

elijah scrutinizes the packet with dull eyes, fingers careful not to crush the seeds as he holds it still. a musing grumble trickles out between closed lips.

"they make pretty flowers." elijah says. "that's really it. usually give bouquets of them as thank you gifts."

he folds his arms.

"if i'm helping you plant these, then you can give me the blooms as thanks."

wolfgang volkov

elijah chickened out. frankly speaking, the speed dating event was altogether too much. an ordeal that tested him— tests him every year like a seasonal heatwave.

but this matter is easier to weather. a stroll in the wood, an opportunity to boast expertise... all this and more allows elijah the platform to feel more confident and secure than when he is at neutral.

"wolfgang, was it? aight. we're planting a flower seed, yeah? you actually need my help for this or did you just want some company?" elijah says upon arrival, chewing words as his gogoat chews nearby grasses.

wolfgang volkov

SWEET HEART SHOP

PROOF OF CURRENCY

PURCHASES

bryan delarosa

Elijah sends Palentine's cards to others too, but I'm too lazy to make. Hehe.