Jealous Rose
+ onlyoccasionallyvisible
Brainiac should have known this would degenerate into a debacle.
The experiment had begun with purely innocent intentions. Lyle had been assigned to an away mission for the entire month, and Querl had decided he would surprise him with Earth flowers in his quarters upon his return. It was his understanding that human tradition was to present one’s lover with blooming flora as a sign of affection; Lyle was Brainiac’s intended, so it was only logical to indulge in this custom. Granted, he’d been a little confused by it at first -giving dying plants as a courtship gift seemed a bit inappropriate- but he’d eventually decided that animate flowers would be infinitely superior and that Lyle would no doubt appreciate the good intentions either way.
To that end he’d quickly gone planetside and procured the finest rosebush he could find, a Louis XIV of excellent quality with glossy leaves the color of Querl’s inner thighs and red blooms so deep they were almost purple. It was flawless in every way save the exorbitant price, which he’d quickly informed them was price gouging despite laws implemented to prevent such things.
He’d paid it anyway.
Once he’d wrangled the dirty thing into a glittering hard light vessel he’d constructed specifically for that purpose, Brainiac took it straight to Lyle’s quarters and positioned it next to the long set of windows that looked outwards at the sun. Stepping back, he’d nodded his approval, visually enchanted by the velvety way the petals shone in the glow of Earth’s star. Querl was convinced Lyle would no doubt find them aesthetically pleasing as well.
And that had been perfectly acceptable…at first. But upon watering it the following day Brainiac had begun to think that perhaps it was a bit small, nowhere near big enough for someone like Lyle. Why, you could just barely see it from the entryway! Still, there was really nowhere else to put it with how cluttered the earthling’s rooms were, and that started Querl on the mental path to inventing a formula intended to make it grow at a more exponential rate. That way, by the time Lyle came home, it would be a fitting tribute to someone so sublime.
He’d never meant for this to happen. It’s the scent he notices before anything else; not unpleasant necessarily, but so strong that he can smell it from the moment he turns the corner. How could one bush produce so much fragrance? Impossible! Yet his olfactory nerves would beg to disagree, and soon he’s standing in front of Lyle’s door with no small amount of trepidation.
He realizes how wise that wariness is the moment he opens the door and dozens of vines come bursting at him from all sides, rose petals drifting down into his hair and all over the corridor. Eyes wide, Querl puts one hand over his agape mouth and peeks into Lyle’s quarters, praying to Metron that no one walks up at that precise moment to catch him in such a state.
Exponential rate, indeed.
Lyle’s living room is an absolute jungle of dark, delicate roses. Far from simply being big, the bush has grown to gigantic, enormous, and all-together mammoth proportions from one simple vial of Querl’s advanced vegetation nourishment. Its thorny vines invade and coil around every available surface, enfolding chairs, tables, couches and anything else that it comes into contact with in a mantel of blossoms. Oddly enough, it’s a rather considerate plant; it somehow managed not to break any of Lyle’s things when it engulfed the room.
Very beautiful, he thinks, stepping inward. The roses dangle and sway gently above his head, crunching softly beneath his boots where he has no choice but to trample them. They twist around the windows, the blooms a bold and vibrant frame against the backdrop of a starry sky, like a brilliant oil canvas brought to life that spills like wine onto the floor below. Some artsy individuals might do this sort of thing intentionally, and if it weren’t for the fact that Lyle is going to be home any minute Querl would actually take some time to study it. He hadn’t been expecting the growth formula to be quite this potent, and he’s curious if the reaction is specific to this breed of rose or if it’s something to do with the serum itself.
But now is not the time for that.
He turns back, somehow finagling the vines back into Lyle’s room with his forcefield before closing it back up and running a flustered hand through his hair.
“This was…unexpected.”