"Sei-chan, are you listening to me?"

Seijuurou's ruby eyes were locked onto the purple wings of a butterfly that had chosen to rest on the back of his hand. It was not unusual to have all manner of insects and other creatures approach him without fear; he was after all, the prince of the forest, but Seijuurou loved and cherished each and every one of them, like his late mother had taught him to.

"Yes, Reo, I am listening." He replied as the butterfly flew away, its vibrant colors quickly getting lost in between the lush flowers that surrounded them. "The meeting of the Five Elven Clans will begin next week and I am expected to welcome our guests when they arrive." He repeated.

"Lord Harasawa from the Blue Forest is arriving tomorrow. His daughter is renowned for her beauty and intelligence. You know your Lord Father wants this meeting to be an opportunity to find a suitable partner for you."

Seijuurou would have rolled his eyes, but such a thing was beneath him. "My Lord Father knows exactly what I think about that particular plan of his. I am acquainted with Lord Harasawa's daughter, and it is not to be. And neither is his son, before you even ask." He replied, extending his arm so a pair of beautiful birds with blue and black feathers could land on his fingers. When they took off, he conjured a gentle breeze to help them in their flight.

Reo sighed. "I would never even think of setting you up with that brute, have some faith in me, will you?"

Seijuurou quickened his pace. Walking around the forest was one of his favorite activities. As he walked further and further away from the palace, his feet felt lighter, the colors of the flowers, the birds and the insects were brighter, the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees felt more and more like a melody. His mother had taught him that elves had been born from the sunlight that sneaked into the forest from between the leaves of the thick treetops, from the morning dew in the petals of the flowers, from the first blooms of spring, from the reflection of the fireflies at night on the river water. Mother had taught him that elves were the trees, the flowers, the birds' feathers, the raindrops, the songs of the cicadas in summer, the wind that carried pollen from flower to flower, the fertile earth that allowed everything to grow in it. Elves were part of the forest, as much as the forest was part of elves. He never understood why the noble clans had decided to lock themselves inside palaces, prisons made of moonrock and stardust; beautiful, yes, but never meant to be the home for their people that were made of wood and honey and sunlight and riverwater and the music of the wind.

"I am not to be wed. That is all." He said simply, pushing a strand of long crimson hair behind his ear. Today was very windy, maybe he should ask Reo to braid it. A doe walked into their path from behind a large oak tree. She looked up at him and blinked slowly three times, acknowledging him before walking away in the opposite direction.

"Sei-chan, the sun is almost halfway across the sky, your father is expecting you for the meeting with the guards about the planning for the meeting."

Normally, Seijuurou would have followed Reo without protesting. Much as he disliked taking part in meetings or speaking with his Lord Father in any capacity, he knew what his duties were and he also knew he had to follow them thoroughly if he ever hopes to be a worthy ruler of his people. But before he could turn back towards his moonrock prison, a sweet, gentle melody interrupted his thoughts. It was unlike any other he had heard before and he knew, without a semblance of a doubt, that it was not any kind of natural music produced by the forest. Not the breeze traveling through the leaves, or the symphony of a thousand birds' voices, nor the soothing buzz of any insect's wings or the pitter patter of the rain against the dry leaves on the ground. Entranced he followed the melody to its origin, ignoring Reo's voice calling for him. He found himself in a large clearing bathed in sunlight, the ground covered in a sea of flowers, as many different kinds as he had seen in his life. Some were as small as a ladybug, growing in thick bushes, while others were as big as Seijuurou's head, and they towered over him. White butterflies fluttered all over the place. A shallow, crystalline stream traveled right at the middle of the colorful carpet of flowers.

He listened closely, trying to find the point of origin of the melody that had caught his attention, and his eyes met an elvish figure standing beneath one of the largest flowers, its vermillion petals shading the stranger from the sun. He took a few light steps, careful not to step on any flowers, the earth felt soft under his feet. The stranger's back was turned towards him, his long chocolate hair tied in a loose ribbon. He was wearing working clothes, simple and made of cotton, with no elaborate ornaments or details. The top was loose and white, long enough to cover up to the stranger's upper thighs, but the sleeves were short so as to not get in the way. A brown cord was tied around his waist. Underneath the top cloth he wore dark green shorts and tall brown boots that went as high as their knees.

Seijuurou was about to take another step towards the stranger when he turned around and walked out into the sunlight. Seijuurou's eyes widened. The stranger was now glowing under the clear sky, their large, hazel eyes sparkling with delight. His skin was kissed by the sun, and he had specks of dirt on his cheeks. His lips were shut in a thin line, but noticeably smiling. With a flick of his wrist, a dozen white butterflies came flying to him and Seijuurou watched in awe as one by one, the butterflies landed on a crystal vial the stranger was holding, and they deposited little drops of nectar into the container. The melody that had brought him here stopped the moment the stranger laughed. Seijuurou felt warmth growing inside him at the sound of that laughter.

"Aahh, I think this will be enough morning star for today. We're going to need a little bit more alfirin to make medicine, but once we're done with that we can go back home." The beautiful stranger said merrily, and the butterflies dispersed again.

A sound escaped Seijuurou's lips, and the stranger finally noticed his presence, and yelped in surprise.

"Oh! Hi! Didn't see you there! Did you get lost?" he asked, his voice clear like the splash of the river when a pebble fell on it.

"Uhm… no." Seijuurou replied, any other word escaping him.

The stranger looked him over and realization seemed to strike his hazel eyes. "O-oh! Seijuurou-sama! My sincerest apologies, I did not expect you here today!" he fretted, waving his hands in frenzy.

"Ah… yes… I… I am here, yes." What he truly wanted to ask was how this beautiful butterfly whisperer knew his name. Could they have met before? Impossible. Seijuurou could not have ever missed such fairness if it had ever crossed his path.

"Was there anything you needed?" he asked, approaching Seijuurou. He looked young, maybe six-hundred years or less, so around Seijuurou's age, perhaps a couple decades older, he wasn't sure. And the closer he got, the more Seijuurou fell enraptured in his beauty.

"I…" articulating words had never been so challenging. "A name-your name… I… Would you tell me your name?"

The stranger looked puzzled -understandably so- by Seijuurou's lack of eloquence, but he made a bow and replied. "Kouki. My name is Kouki. I will be honored to be of assistance."

"Kouki." Seijuurou repeated. The name tasted like the sunlight that caressed its owner's skin. "You… you know my… my name."

Kouki nodded. "My family has served His Majesty for many generations, Seijuurou-sama. We protect this flower garden and the Faeries help us obtain their nectar to prepare potions and remedies for those living in the palace." As he explained that, the white butterflies fluttered around him, their wings reflecting the light of the sun and casting an ethereal light on Kouki's face.

"Beautiful…"

"Eh?"

Seijuurou's eyes widened. "No, I… you're very beautiful. No, uhm… yo-your work! It is… very important. I am… grateful for your services."

Kouki chuckled, the sound like that of a glass wind chime tingling in the summer. His cheeks glowed a light rosey color. Seijuurou couldn't muster any more words. A butterfly landed on Kouki's hair, flapping its wings softly, the white standing out against the earthy tones of Kouki's face. Seijuurou reached out, his fingers almost grazing Kouki's skin, unsure of whether he wanted to touch the butterfly or the beautiful creature it was standing on.

"For crying out loud, Sei-chan, don't just run off like that!"

Seijuurou realized what he was doing and pulled his hand back immediately. He turned around for just an instant to find Reo glaring at him. "I'm so sorry for this one, he may be a prince but he needs someone to babysit him all the time. I apologize if he interrupted your work."

"I… I apologize." Seijuurou repeated, bowing his head slightly. His fingers were trembling.

Kouki smiled again, his cheeks still dusted that lovely pink color. "Not to worry. I'm happy that Seijuurou-sama appreciates the work we do."

Reo nodded and sighed with exhasperation. "Keep up the good work, it's extremely valuable for all of us. Now let's go, Sei-chan, your Lord Father will be furious."

Seijuurou turned his back on Kouki, but before he could take one step away, he tilted his head backwards one more time, wanting to imprint that picture of unraveled beauty into his mind.

"Kouki." He found himself calling, the name warm on his tongue. "Could… I, uhm… I would like to… come here again… t-to learn more about th-the things for… for the palace, yes, I…"

"I would really enjoy having Seijuurou-sama's company again." Kouki replied with a radiant smile, one that the sun itself could never hope to rival, and it made Seijuurou's heart come to a halt.

"Yes I… I will do that."

"SEI-CHAN!"

He turned away once again, resisting with all his might the desire to stay there and contemplate on that scene of absolute resplendency for the following millennia or more.

Suddenly, he felt a light presence in front of him, and saw a white butterfly flutter really close to his eyes. It circled over his line of vision three times before flying away, and Seijuurou finally caved in and looked around to fin Kouki's hazel eyes staring directly at him, mirth shining in his pupils.

"I also…" Kouki began, his smile growing sheepish, maybe a little ashamed. "I also think Seijuurou-sama is very beautiful."

"Move it, Sei-chan, His Majesty's definitely going to kill us now, we're super late!"

"Reo, I think I may be coming down with some disease."

"Oh come on, faking illness isn't like you and it's not going to work with His Majesty."

"No, this is serious. My chest hurts quite a bit, this can not possibly be normal. Perhaps I should go back to Kouki to get some med—"

"Look, Sei-chan, if you want to make eyes at the butterfly whisperer, wait until your father is done killing us first."

"But—"

"No."

"It hurts a lot."

Reo sighed. He deserved a raise. Or five.

"I'll help you make eyes at that boy if you come with me now."

"Thank you."

Sei-chan's eyes sparkled. Reo definitely deserved five raises and a year-long vacation

"The things I do for you, I swear."

The end

Is this weird? I think it's weird. Loosely inspired in that Elven Kingdom Akafuri three-sentence fic Sheen wrote for me some time ago. I wasn't gonna write anything for Furi's birthday because I'm busy as fuck, but I wasn't gonna let Sheen's birthday pass by just like that. Sorry if it's weird. But there's some seriously lame loser ineloquent Akashi, hopefully that compensates the weirdness. And Kouki's a flirty little shit. And Reo is so done with everything, poor thing. The more Akafuri I write, the more I like making Reo suffer from Akashi's loserness.

I'm sleepy as fuck, so I hope this is at least half as decent as my drowsy brain thinks it is. I'm gonna be out all day, so I really wanted to get it out while Furi's/Sheen's birthday was still happening. Maybe one day I'll write more. Maybe I went overboard with Nature descriptions.

Happy birthday Sheen! Hope you like this weird piece of weirdness. And I hope everyone else enjoys it too, please let me know what you think of it.