Extra—Fleur de Naissance
(noun)
French for "birth flower"
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Celestine had no idea how or why the Kalosian Route One was called a Trainer Route, because it was nothing more than a glorified garden. It consisted of a cobblestone path lined with topiary trees and vast flowerbeds, all bright and blooming like fireworks bursting out of the dark, fertile earth, colored rockets trailing green stems and tender leaves as they burst into bloom. Above, the sky was clear, candy floss blue, a few clouds in the distance like a frame around a picture, but otherwise unobstructed. The sun was glaring, gold, loosing a white corona, and it was overall beautiful.
But that didn't make up for the fact that it was completely functionless as a Trainer Route.
"Why is it called a Route if there aren't Pokemon on it?" Celestine muttered. "It should be a civilian's route, that's what it should be. Not wild at all."
"It used to be," Serena said. She was walking alongside Celestine while Shauna and Calem chatted idly up ahead. "The towns, Aquacorde and Vaniville, were only a few yards away, but the wilderness between was hella rough. During the Crimson War, there was a training camp for soldiers. A training camp—right in the middle of two towns. Actually, Aquacorde got its start as a weapon manufacturing site and it grew from there, but that's not the point. But, after the war, the Champion had the Routes cleaned up, paved the wilderness out of Route One, set up rest stops for Trainers and healing centers in smaller towns without Pokemon Centers—just... made the region safer.
"And Kalos flourished," she finished, a little wistful, a little abrupt. It was so jarring that it took Celestine a minute to realize it.
"So what happened?" Delphi asked. He was padding alongside Celestine, mostly quiet, eyes constantly wandering around to take in the picturesque surroundings. But his ears were perked and twitching, always listening.
Serena smiled sadly and sent a wistful look over to Calem and Shauna's backs. From this angle, their height difference was even more pronounced. "What always happens to a good king. He lost his crown."
Ominous and foreboding. Celestine decided not to get into it. "But you can't just get rid of wilderness like that. What about the Pokemon?"
Serena stopped and pointed. "See those walls over there?"
Celestine followed Serena's finger to a tall grey wall, brick and stone, that rose some two maybe three meters high beyond the vast fields of flowers. She blinked, not having noticed it before, but now that she was looking at them, she wondered how she'd ever missed it. Beyond, she could make out a canopy of greens—darks and lights, shadows and shades, an entire stretch of wilderness painted against the candyfloss sky. As she watched, an avian shape took off in the distance, climbing into the blue expanse, like hope abandoning a lost soul.
"Just beyond that—that's where all the wilderness went, Mlle. Or where we pushed them too, anyway. And for good reason. The Pokemon there are vicious, highly territorial, and they dont like people, which means they stay away from us, but if you wander into le Bois Sombre—that's 'the Dark Wood' for you, I suppose—well, you get the idea. You need League clearance to go in there, and even then..."
Celestine had heard enough tragedies in her life to know where this was going. "That bad?"
"The term 'Route One' usually given to starter Routes," Serena said solemnly, "But that's not how it works in the New Continent. In Unova, there's a bunch of stronger Pokemon that live off the coast of their Route One, which is luxury we don't have. They have the sea—we have walls."
"That's all it takes?"
"Most of the time." Serena blinked at her. "Never wondered why there were so many walls in Vaniville?"
Honestly? Celestine hadn't.
"Shauna," came Calem's exasperated voice up ahead. "For the love of the Alchemists."
The girls and Delphi turned to see Shauna kneeling devoutly in front of a cluster of lovely chrysanthemums, Mint at her side, hands folded as if in prayer. Calem was standing over her, radiating impatience.
"Uh, Shauna?" Celestine wandered over to the brunette. Shauna was just sitting there and it was... kind of unnerving. "What are you doing?"
"I'm praying to my birth flower to give me luck."
Celestine blinked. "One more time now?"
Shauna sighed, arms falling, and looked up. "It's this thing in Kalos when you're starting a Journey. You take your birth flower—it can be dried or a charm, or even a picture—but anyway, you make a wish on it. It's good luck."
"That sounds stupid," Celestine deadpanned. "You're not even Kalosian. Why aren't you doing some Hoennian ritual or something?"
"I did. It's a ritual in Hoenn to sleep with the blinds open—so you can see the sky—and a glass of salt water on your bedside the night before, and then wake up to watch the sun rise. To honor all three gods."
"That sounds even stupider than the flower thing."
"Well, we're in Kalos, ain't we?" Mint said, cracking one eye open. "So it's a good idea to follow the customs of the place. Doesn't hurt any."
"They do have a point," Serena said with a shrug. "It can't hurt."
Calem gawked. "Hello! We've been procrastinating long enough!"
Serena rolled her eyes. "It'll take five minutes, tops."
"Then you can explain that to Trevor."
"We will," Shauna said jauntily as she jumped to her feet. She turned to Celestine, eyes gleaming. "So, Celie, what month were you born in?"
"Eh?"
"Your birth flower is determined by the month you were born in," Shauna explained, even though Celestine already knew that. She'd had a Kalosian mother to tell her these things, after all. "Like your birthstone or your zodiac sign. Well, zodiac is more date-based, but you get the idea. Mine's chrysanthemums 'cause I was born in November, and Cal's is larkspur 'cause he was born in July. And... I can't remember what Serie's is, but you get the idea! So, your month?"
"Ah, er, October...?"
"That means your birthflower is marigold," Serena said. She pointed to a patch of gloriously bright orange-yellow flowers growing along the other side of the path. "There's some over there."
"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Celestine asked. She still couldn't believe this was an actual thing.
"Just, think of what it is you want to accomplish on your Journey or whatever," the blonde said, pushing her in the direction of the sunny blooms.
"Well I'm going on ahead," Calem announced. "Have fun with your flowers."
And with that, he charged down the Route, not taking a second to look over his shoulder or anything.
Celestine glanced over her shoulder. Shauna had gone back to worshiping the Chrysanthemum Gods or whatever, and Serena was alternating between observing calmly and gazing wistfully in the direction Calem had left.
Okay, so. This was a thing.
"You gotta kneel down."
Celestine blinked down at Delphi. He was sitting down, eyeing the flowers serenely, and for a moment he almost looked wise. Or maybe just subdued.
She opened her mouth to ask, but, y'know what? The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could leave. She knelt down, crossed her arms on her knees, and stared. What exactly was she supposed to do here, anyway? Make a wish, plan out her Journey? She already knew what her goals were, how this was going to play out, where this was going to end. What did flowers have to do with that?
Well, her mother had told her about flowers, about their symbolism in Kalos, how they represented growth and prosperity and the ephemerality of life. Kalos became famous for their flowers, specially breeding and growing the plants with the brightest colors and the largest blooms, bred for beauty and notoriety. There was not a flower shop in the world that didn't see Kalosian flowers as a threat to their businesses, which was probably how the region had managed to almost monopolize the industry. But flowers held a special reverence in Kalos, an entire language and symbolism built around different species and varieties and colors, and Celestine had no idea how anyone could keep track of it, but it must mean something to someone because, well, it existed.
She eyed the marigold plant warily. Its blossoms were brilliant shades yellow and orange and gold, the colors that gave it its name. They were gorgeous in their hue and their myriad, rounded petals, some deeply hued but fringed with yellow, while others were monotonous in their regal shades. But only half were in bloom, while the rest had withered away, black and brown and brittle, shriveling up in a way that was not flattering in the least, the heads dying to give way to stickpin seeds, a duality of black and white. She had a sudden urge to pick off the decaying heads—dead-heading it was called—so that new flowers might bloom in their place and the plant might regain its true regality and bold beauty.
She had no idea where the desire came from, but she tamped it down. She shouldn't be wasting her time here.
"Are you gonna say something?" Delphi asked. The calm air had gone, now, leaving him looking young and fragile, wide-eyed with delicate curiosity.
"Not really."
Celestine's mother had tried to explain the language of flowers to her once—it was a failed attempt, of course, being an inattentive, rash ten-year-old at the time with no appreciation for a culture outside Kanto's cradle, but she remembered her mother telling her about the symbolism of marigolds vividly, for some reason—when they had been at a flower shop buying a gift for one of her mother's co-worker's birthdays. Her mother had explained how, as a birth flower, they represented warmth and ferocity, the devotion of one to their loved ones, and to win the affections of someone through hard work. That last one was probably a sign. She really did need to work things out with Calem, for Shauna's sake if not for her own.
"But they also have a darker meaning," her mother had told her, idly running her fingers over the golden petals. It had looked like she was petting a lion's mane.
"Whaddya mean, Maman?"
Her mother had straightened, brushing Celestine's bangs out of her face. "They can also represent jealousy, cruelty and... well, despair. Especially after losing a loved one. They are a griever's flowers, colibri. Keep that in mind. There is no strength without weakness."
If these flowers were supposed to be the couriers of her hopes and dreams, the indications of her Journey, then what did that say about her fate?
Celestine stood. "We should get going."
"Okay." Delphi got up and stretched. "So what did you wish for? Oh, wait, you're not supposed to tell me. Never mind."
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't wish for anything."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't see the point."
"...can I make a wish, then?"
She blinked, taking a better look at him. He really did look vulnerable, now, and disheartened, peering up at her meekly. She could understand, a little—their introduction had gone poorly. Her callousness, borne from frustration, had probably painted a poor image in his mind, and even though she had apologized, it would take time before he felt more comfortable around her.
On the other hand, they really did need to get moving.
"Another time, maybe. We're kinda behind schedule now."
Delphi's ears drooped. "Oh."
Great. Now she felt like a bitch. She sighed and knelt down. "C'mere."
He padded closer.
"Climb on up, kid."
His ears perked. "Huh?"
"My shoulder," Celestine said. "All that walking—you're probably tired, right? Climb on up. I'll walk for both of us."
"You're okay with that?"
"Do you think I would have offered if I wasn't?"
Delphi blinked, eyed her warily, like she might unveil a set of razor-sharp claws and shred him into a tattered carcass of blood and fur if he gave her the chance.
She rolled her eyes and picked him up. He yelped in surprise and placed him on her shoulder. His weight was warm, the fluff of his ear hot as it poked her in the cheek, and she had to mind her balance as she stood, but otherwise, it wasn't bad.
"There," she said. She noticed Shauna starting to rise and Serena stirring. "Comfy?"
"...yeah."
"Then let's go."
Current Team:
Delphi, Male Fennekin (Lv 6)
Docile, Takes plenty of siestas
Ability: Blaze
Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember
Met: Vaniville (Aquacorde) Town
Author's Note:
And here is the end of the double update! Sorry this week's stuff wasn't as concrete. Next week will be an actual chapter.
My writing style fluctuates a lot. Goes from zany to poetic based on my mood. If I like a scene, it'll tend to come out more poetic. If I'm unmotivated, it'll be more comedic. I'm still trying to work it out.
Flowers will be a theme in C'est La Vie. Just telling you.
Colibri means "hummingbird". It's Celestine's mom's pet name for her. Oh, and "Maman" is basically French for "mama" or "mom", as opposed to the more formal "mere" meaning "mother" or "parent". Maman is just more affectionate and a characteristic of younger children.
Over and out,
Luna