A Different Encounter|| Celes and young Aleethia
Celes was sticking out like a sore thumb. And she hated it.
Regardless, she continued to mind her own business as she perused the bustling flower market in Rozarria. The stand was colorful, displaying both flowers she remembered and ones she had never seen before. Hoping to bring some back home, she pursed her lips as she stared at a bouquet of lilies.
What would actually last when it reached home?
It was a fantastic question, and one she didn't know the answer to. Celes didn't trust many flowers to last more than a week or two. Perhaps more, now that she could stick some in a vase, fill it with water, and put it on a windowsill that would catch the summer sun. And given they'd likely land on the windowsill of her guest room in the castle, well, she'd have to choose carefully.
It was when she had been examining the instructions on the back of a seed packet that she felt a weight run into her at full speed. Startled, she looked down to find a small figure looking up at her.
It was a girl. A very young girl. And because she was in the middle of a small flower market in Rozzaria, Celes could not simply re-direct the child to Terra.
She swallowed hard, ignoring the sudden rolling in her stomach at seeing a child so small. She looked to be not much younger than Luca. And upon glancing up and looking around at the others in the market, Celes noticed none of them appeared to pay the child any mind. Great. Just fantastic. Relm was one thing - she was precocious and already financially independent (as well as fairly independent in general). But children this young brought another reaction out of her entirely.
Exhaling, she looked back down at the young child carefully, putting the seed packet on the shelf and slowly crouching down to the girl's level.
"....Hello."