It was one of those rare, delightful spring days that are just a little too warm in the sun but end up the perfect temperature in the shade, with a steady breeze that's not blowing too hard and a sparse flock of clouds skidding along overhead. Sitting within a clearing in the forest behind his home, the writer was fully engrossed in his work while the forest spirit happily cavorted nearby, completely forgotten as words flew across the paper. That is, until Fakir felt a tugging at his hair. It was a slow realization, by the time he noticed something was tugging at his hair he realized something had been tugging for quite a while. He turned to find Ahiru behind him, several of her yellow flowers in one hand, her other hand was attempting to hide her giggles.
"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously.
"I thought they'd look good on you," Ahiru replied coyly. Fakir frowned, Ahiru wasn't normally coy. He felt the back of his head.
"You braided my hair?" Ahiru nodded happily in answer to his question. She hadn't just braided his hair, Fakir realized, she had undone his loose ponytail so she could start the braid tight to the back of his head and had added flowers to it. Fakir paused to consider this, Ahiru seemed very pleased with herself and she hadn't done any harm. He shrugged, "Next time you should ask before messing with someone's hair."
"Ah, of course!" Ahiru agreed happily before going back to sticking more flowers in his hair. Fakir chose to go back to writing, actually this would make an interesting detail for another part of the story... he flipped to the last page and jotted some quick notes down, then flipped back to the page he had been working on and went back to writing.
That night, as he was getting ready for bed, Fakir took the braid out of his hair and pulled out all of the flowers. He gathered up the blossoms once he was sure he had untangled them all, unsure what to do with them now. He had three small vases full of identical flowers sitting in various spots about his sitting room, Ahiru had been gifting him flowers as boutonnieres and the like all spring. Fakir decided it was time to find a new container, a quick hunt through his pantry revealed a rather ornate vase, a house warming gift from an aunt he believed, that really didn't have room for the armload of flowers he was carrying but he managed to get them all and some water into it anyway. He left the vase at his kitchen table and went to bed.
Ahiru grinned when she saw the vase the next day, "You saved them, I thought you would just throw them away like weeds."
"I would never," Fakir replied. "Besides, your flowers are not weeds," he added as he finished his breakfast.
"Are you coming out to the forest again today?"
"I'm afraid I have some chores to do today, but if I get them all done I'll be free again tomorrow."
"Oh, can I help?" Fakir smiled at Ahiru's eagerness, not many people would get this excited over chores.
"Well, if you tend to the garden while I run into town for some errands we'll have half the list done by lunch."
"Okay!" Ahiru was always happy to help Fakir tend to his garden, and Fakir was happy with how well the garden was growing under her tender care. Fakir grabbed one of Ahiru's flowers from the vase and made a boutonniere of it before heading into Kinkan, the dazzling smile Ahiru gave him when she noticed the little decoration had absolutely nothing to do with why he did such a thing.
Fakir's trip into town was uneventful, he bought some groceries, ordered some gardening supplies, and the book he had previously ordered had come in. He arrived home, arms full of paper packages, to a flower garland being thrown over his head, then Ahiru grabbing the top package and running inside with it. The garland was quite long, draping over his burdens as well as falling down his head and settling around his neck, more of Ahiru's yellow flowers. Fakir smiled as he followed the energetic forest spirit into his home. Ahiru's tail was waggling happily as he came in, he averted his eyes and for the millionth time wished she would at least wear a diaphanous drapery like all the paintings of nymphs he'd ever seen did. Instead he looked at the groceries Ahiru had pulled out of the package and laid neatly on the table. "These all go in the pantry."
"Right-o," Ahiru replied as she happily scooped the items up and headed for the pantry. Fakir laid down a few packages, then followed her into the pantry with the rest to make sure everything went to the right place. The rest of the day Ahiru followed Fakir around his home and helped him with his chores, or tried to anyway. Even if she was a hindrance some times Fakir never seemed to mind. He completely forgot about the flower necklace until after Ahiru's two annoying friends had come to drag her back into the forest, giggling the entire time they were there, and he was getting ready for bed himself. Fakir placed the garland gently on his dresser before bed.
The next day he had put the garland back around his neck, the same flower for a boutonniere as yesterday sitting snugly in his shirt pocket. He had finished his breakfast, packed a lunch, organized his writing supplies, and was ready to be on his way before Ahiru showed up.
"I thought you were up with the sun, why so late this morning?"
Ahiru looked down in embarrassment, "I was taking care of the forest, you're not the only one with chores you know."
"I'm sure the forest needs you more than I do, is there any way I can help?" Ahiru looked up and grinned at his response.
"No, it's People stuff, thank you for offering though." Fakir nodded, there wasn't much a human could do when it came to fae matters. Ahiru happily grabbed Fakir and started dragging him into the forest. "C'mon, half the day's gone already and we're still just standing around inside."
"Where are we going today," Fakir asked as he let himself be dragged.
Ahiru paused, "I hadn't thought that far ahead... same place as last time?" She leaned her head to the side as she asked, an ear twitching as it touched her shoulder.
"That sounds like a good plan," Fakir agreed, walking side by side with her as they headed through his garden and out into the forest. The day was spent much like his previous afternoon in the forest, with the exception that instead of braiding flowers into his hair Ahiru had decided to make a flower crown for him. Fakir obligingly admired the crown he couldn't see, because it was on his head, then continued writing. It wasn't until the pair was heading back to his home that Fakir even considered something might be going on.
"Oh, here you are! We've been wondering where you wander off to every day, we should have known you were visiting your human." Fakir politely looked up, Ahiru's forest spirit friend Rue had crossed their path and he was trying very hard not to look at her. He was sure he'd never get used to their habit of not wearing clothes. Rue giggled as she looked Fakir over, even going so far as to lift up his garland and inspect it. "I see Ahiru made you a gift."
"Yes, it's very lovely," Fakir agreed. Ahiru was beaming happily from the arm she was clinging to, but something about the way Rue looked at him with lifted brow made Fakir wonder if the flowers meant something more.
"Well, it's gotten quite late Ahiru, I was hoping I would find you before it got dark to make sure you got back on time for a change."
"Ah, right. I should go with Rue, g'night Fakir." Ahiru let go of Fakir's arm and happily took Rue's hand.
"Good night, ladies, rest well." Fakir bid with a wave, Rue looked back and gave him the same odd, raised eyebrow look as she had earlier before turning forward again and vanishing into the woods. Fakir picked up the garland in one hand and pondered it the whole way home.
It was obvious the flowers meant something to these fae folk, but Fakir wasn't sure what. He was careful to gently place the crown and garland on his dresser every night and put them on again when he knew he'd see Ahiru, though she often gave him more anyway, over the next few weeks. Fakir suspected it had something to do with how clingy Ahiru had become, she didn't usually spend every waking moment with the writer, sometimes disappearing for days at a time to take care of the forest, but Fakir couldn't remember a day recently that she hadn't shown up at some point in the morning and hung around until she tiredly zigzagged her way back into the forest. He offered to let her spend the night but she insisted she had to go back to the forest because of the season. Not to mention any time they crossed paths with any of the other forest spirits they all gave Fakir odd, knowing looks or broke down into giggle fits.
Then, on a walk to one of the farther points in the forest, Ahiru and Fakir crossed paths with another friend of Ahiru's. "Well hello there, I didn't expect to see either of you out here!"
"Hi Mytho!" Ahiru replied happily, "Fakir and I are taking a 'stroll' through the woods, isn't that neat?" Fakir nodded his greetings to the pale forest spirit, completely entranced by his antlers.
Mytho smiled widely as he looked Fakir up and down, "I see Rue wasn't exaggerating when she said you were wearing Ahiru's flowers." Fakir nodded, then flushed. It had hit him, Mytho's antlers were positively covered in wreaths of red wild roses, the same flowers that grew from Rue's brow. He also remembered when Ahiru had introduced him to her friends that Ahiru told him Mytho and Rue were a couple "and so perfect together."
"Do..." Fakir licked his lips as he felt his face heat up even more, "Do the flowers mean anything?"
Mytho snickered, and out of the corner of his eye Fakir saw Ahiru begin to fidget. "I'll let her tell you that, I have People matters to attend to. See you later!" Mytho shifted into a pale deer, antlers still covered in red roses, and bounded away into the woods.
Fakir turned expectantly to Ahiru and waited for her to explain. "Well," she started reluctantly, "ah... it's spring so the forest needs a lot of attention so we're really busy with a lot of People stuff right now. You know, making everything sprout and grow and bloom..." Fakir crossed his arms and frowned at Ahiru, she was avoiding the issue and they both knew it. "And oh my look how late it's gotten I better get going myself see you tomorrow!" Ahiru spat out in one rushed breathe before giving Fakir a quick kiss on the cheek and disappearing into the woods. The writer wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring off into the trees and sure his face was redder than Rue's roses, but it was dark before he turned and tried to find his way home again.
This is one of the earliest scenes that came to mind when I started this, it was actually the first illustration I did and how I introduced the AU. It's grown a bit since then, and it was really fun to get the scene out of my head and onto... well... not paper. Meh, whatever, it feels good to be writing again.