The flowers dotted the mountain, rising towards the sun and blooming red, purple, blue, and yellow. It was as if they were trying to alert the sky that they were happy that the winter was finally gone and the warm sun had finally returned.
Jericho returned to his rock, dressed once more in his loose spring suit. It was not as heavy as his winter clothes, and allowed air inside.
He looked across field, at the flowers proclaiming their silent joys to the sun. A breeze rustled Jericho's blond hair, and he placed his guitar down against the rock and simply watched.
Herald had said that he would be there, but never gave a time. Though Jericho had no clock, he had learned to tell time by the rise and fall of the sun, and applying numbers to what his eyes saw. The sun was not nearly as high in the sky as it could be, but it would soon. That, combined with the receding shadows he saw, meant that it was probably around eleven fifteen or so. Noon would be there sooner than one would think. Hopefully, Herald would arrive soon as well.
He walked across the field with light, careful steps. This was his home, and heavy steps would only hurt it.
The field of flowers smelled heavenly. After the long and heavy winter, the flowers were in full bloom, and even larger than last year. They swayed in the breeze, and a few bees and butterflies flew past Jericho, hopping from flower to flower.
The red, blue, and purple flowers were certainly beautiful, but the yellow ones were the ones that caught Jericho's green eyes. He leaned down a little to look at them closer.
They had large petals. Their coloring varied slightly in shades of yellow, but all seemed like little drops of the sun. For a while, he just stared down, taking in the end of winter and the return of spring.
Then, however, his hands began to move. He picked each flower carefully, making sure not to accidentally hurt another. Jericho only picked a few - there was no point in being greedy. Then, he carefully arranged them in his hands, and tied all the flowers together using one of the yellow flower's stem.
Carefully, he left the field of flowers and returned to his familiar seat on the rock. He placed the flowers behind the rock, and then picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords.
The portal opened around noon, and Herald stepped out. Jericho waved.
"Jericho!" Herald called, running out. "Are you ready to jam?"
Jericho shook his head and placed his guitar down.
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
Jericho shook his head and raised a finger. Once Herald stilled, Jericho went behind the rock and gathered up the flowers that he had picked earlier. Putting them behind his back, he left the rock and walked towards Herald. The dark skinned boy still had a confused look on his face.
That look vanished the moment that he saw the flowers; Jericho returned his bright smile. Herald's fingers brushed against his own as he accepted the small bouquet, and a wave of warmth ran through Jericho.
It was only when Herald had stopped sniffing the flowers and brought them down from his nose that Jericho leaned in for a kiss.