Apothecary Diaries BatB: Maomao finds and tends to the flower Lishu.
BATB AU belongs to @twinklecupcake
The flower was surrounded by weeds.
That explained why she looked so sickly. Maomao chose to ignore how the weeds looked as if they had smug faces, as if they were happily draining the lily of the valley.
"Alright," she said to the flower. "You need to be moved." Lily of the valleys preferred partial shade. Out here, the sun was too direct. She wanted to blame the serpent, but she had seen how hard he worked. She couldn't blame him for not noticing one flower. Nothing had died yet.
It was easy to find a bucket. She dug up some dirt and set it inside, like a servant preparing a fine bed for her lady. Then she reached out, in a mimicry of the first time she had noticed the flowers.
It was delicate work. She didn't want to hurt the weeds, despite how much their smug faces annoyed her, and she had no idea how severing a root might hurt. It took careful work with more of her fingers rather than the trowel.
She was so focused that she didn't notice the serpent sliding up.
"What are you doing?"
"This flower needs to be moved," she said, not looking over her shoulder. "These weeds are hurting her. The sun is also too direct."
She carefully cupped the lily of the valley, holding the roots gently as she lifted her up and into the bucket, packing the dirt around for the short little trip. When Maomao turned to set the flower in the bucket, she noticed that the serpent was staring at the weeds. Snakes didn't exactly have expressive faces, but she liked to think she could decipher his expressions enough.
He looked angry.
"They always..." He sighed, reaching out his tail. He pushed the dirt into the hole. "I see. Let me help you. You're right. She needs a better place."
Maomao nodded, glancing down.
The lily of the valley, with the face of a sweet sleeping girl, looked a bit more relieved.
