Finally, a GibariSavyna fic! 8D I like this little oneshot at the moment. I might un-oneshot it at some point, if I find any more inspiration on the motifs I used here.
I'm fairly sure someone mentioned in the forums that they thought Savyna'd be a plant killer, so that's probably where my subconscious got this idea. If you said that, please let me know so I can credit you. XD But anyway, I figured she'd be a plant killer, and that would make her sad. So that's where I started from. :D
My soundtrack for this was "Bound By Love" by Gran Bel Fisher, "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap and some smatterings of Frou Frou. Gotta love pretty music to help you write pretty things. 8D
Lady Death had a plant.
It wasn't just any plant, though, but a flower. Well, it would be a flower. The seed was still lying dormant in its soils, waiting to be nurtured into life. Savyna had watched the plant warily for a day after she'd purchased it (a purchase on a whim- she was in an odd mood at the time), not sure how to go about caring for it. She'd only taken care of plants that were already grown and hardy. Those plants required little from her other than some water now and then. But this little seed was still fragile and needed much more care that she knew how to give.
But regardless, Savyna began to tentatively care for the little seed. She placed it on a windowsill and watered it a few times a day, and would check up on it obsessively when she came home each day. A week went by and slowly but surely, a tiny green sprout could be seen poking out from the dark soil, reaching like a hand towards the open air.
When she saw the little sprout, Savyna felt a rush of cautious joy. Had she really done it? Brought life to this tiny plant, all on her own? Savyna was sure it was too good to be true, as the plant grew a little taller and sprouted a few leaves, still reaching and stretching, like a person would after a good night's sleep.
But it was too good to be true. One morning Lady Death awoke to find her little friend turned brown and shriveled, only patches of its formerly healthy green color left on its frail form. Savyna reached out and touched it with her calloused fingers and felt its dry, dead leaves. She quickly pulled her hand away, curling up on the inside like a wounded animal, shrinking from the dead plant. Savyna had thought she might be capable of bringing life, instead of death, for once in her existence. Everything she touched withered and bled till it was no more. Everything- even a stupid little plant, who needed no more than sunlight and water.
Savyna held her hand as if the dead plant had burned it, a frown falling onto her fair, cold face. She would always and forever be Lady Death.
Just when she had resolved to simply throw the little plant away and put the poor thing out of its misery, a loud knocking came from her hut door. Still frowning, Savyna strode fluidly to the door and opened it, to find a large, tan man grinning at her. Gibari would visit sometimes- he thought she must get lonely all alone in her hut. He offered a friendly hello and asked to come in, so they could catch up. She nodded and admitted him without a word, preoccupied with her anger at the dead plant. Gibari chatted idly for a while about what everyone else was up to now that the Ocean had returned, how he figured Kalas and Xelha would get hitched before the year was out, and how Lyude would probably be the next Emperor of Alfard, and how Mizuti would pop up when and where you least expected her to. She let him talk, not really responding with more than a curt nod, until he too became distracted by the plant.
"What're lookin' at over here?" He walked to the plant on the windowsill. He'd seen her glance repeatedly at it, her eyes bitter and sad. "Ah, doing some gardening!" The fisherman nodded in approval, smiling. He didn't seem to notice how brown and shriveled it was.
"It's dead." Savyna told him, her voice flat and icy. Gibari glanced up at her, finally spotting the defeated look in her eyes. He chuckled warmly, as he often did.
"Well, no, not quite." He crossed his arms over his bare chest and surveyed the little plant. "I'm no gardener, but I think it's just sick. Do you have any plant food?"
"Plant food?" Savyna echoed, frowning a little. She didn't really know plants needed food, other than water and sunlight. Gibari's lighthearted smile turned knowing as he headed towards the door.
"I'll be right back." He exited and Savyna was left alone and a bit perplexed. She lingered by her dead plant, running her fingers over the brown leaves and letting them burn her. Then a few minutes later, Gibari returned with a few mangus from the store in hand and a smile on his face. "Here ya go!" He handed the magnus to her and she looked curiously at them- little pictures of some mysterious substance with plant food written in happy letters beneath.
"Give it that once or twice a day and I bet your plant will be all better in no time." The fisherman explained. Then he chuckled at himself, because he sounded like a doctor giving a prescription. He held back a "and call me in the morning," for he had a feeling the joke would fall flat.
Savyna didn't reply at first, staring at the cards curiously. Then she nodded. "Yes, I see. Thank you, Gibari." The tan man smiled and with a hearty "you're welcome" and then decided to leave her with her little withered friend for a while. He told her he'd be back to check on both her and the plant very soon. Savyna smiled slightly as she watched him go.
For the next few days, Savyna obsessively hovered over the tiny plant, feeding it, watering it, making sure it was in a sunny spot. Some days she'd be afraid to look at it when she woke in the morning, for fear it would be shriveled once more. But as days passed, green life slowly returned to the tiny plant's body. It began again to stretch towards the sun in the window, happy and growing hearty.
But the funniest part, Savyna thought, was that the day it finally bloomed into a lovely pink flower was the day Gibari came back for a "check up." It was almost as if the moment he burst through the door unannounced, smiling broadly and clad in his usual aura that was warm and nurturing, the tiny flower plant instantly bloomed.
He seemed very excited when he saw their small green friend with a proud, pink bud on its head. "Woah! Looks like you've done it, Savyna! It looks ten times better now." He slapped her on the back and laughed. "I knew you could do it." Savyna's lips snuck into a smile without her consent.
But I didn't do it, Savyna thought, You did it. This thought came without a bit of scorn. She didn't mind that she needed Gibari's help. For too long she had brought nothing but death. For her to assume she could suddenly change, suddenly bring to the word a flourishing flower of life, was foolish. She needed a little something extra to help her, because sometimes it takes more than water and sunlight to nurture a life. Life needs tenderness, life needs love, life needs a hearty smile and boisterous laugh. Savyna was numbed from years of killing and icing over her heart, so she could not offer these things with ease. She could offer the bare necessities; she could protect and bring food. And he knew little secrets, like how to cure a sick plant with special food.
She looked at him square in the face for a second, her cold eyes with a glimmer of elation inside them. "Thank you for your help, Gibari." The directness of her thanks seemed to startle the fisherman a bit. He quickly recovered with a grin, his ears turning a little pink.
"You're very welcome, Savyna."
Maybe she was indeed Lady Death for the rest of her days. But with him, she had managed to bring at least a little bit of life to the world. And that made her heart bloom with a joy like none other.
Yay? 8D