[sunlitmargins]

callum's eyes widen a little once she turns to notice him and he's quick to lightly shake his head and take a step back so he isn't fully in her space, having taken a moment to look at the florals himself as the crowds were starting to get to him a little and, the sight in front of them was quite the beauty. "no, no need to apologize to me, my lady, I was just as distracted, believe me." his eyes are soft, earnest, as he bows a little wobbly out of respect once realizing this was a high lady. "you have quite the eye, there, though, I think that one is one of the prettier ones i've seen so far."

at her question the blond's eyes light up once again as a smile spreads across his lips fast, taking a step toward the display but keeping his hands behind his back out of respect. "yes, actually! isn't it wonderful? I believe this one here is only able to thrive in the fresh and dewy atmosphere only found in the dawn court...though I can imagine it might do just fine in spring? i'm still coming to learn all of the herbology in other courts, of course. I bet you have all kinds of gorgeous things native to spring?"

[verdominae]

" i would hope so, i've been around flowers all my life. " she said with a soft laugh. everything about flowers, she adored. tending to the plants was a method of grounding for her, even now that she was high lady and there was someone else to do all the planting and watering and weeding ⸻ she'd sooner do it herself regardless.

aurora was happy to see someone light up at her mention of how native flowers grew in the courts ⸻ she brightly grinned, watching as he stepped closer and examined the very bloom she had been looking at. " see, i wondered the same, after all ⸻ what flower could not bloom in spring? " the high lady inquired, " however, i also wonder if there's something special in the soil here in dawn that keeps the bloom so lovely and native to here. perhaps dawnstone minerals, something i fear we do not have in spring. "

her grin remained as he asked about the plants of spring and eagerly, aurora nodded. " you may consider me bias, but yes, spring is nothing but the most gorgeous plants ⸻ especially roses. why, we have a rose that i swear is the most beautiful shade of pink, like the dawn itself. i bet i could name a spring bloom for each court if i thought about it enough. "

[relinquishedroses]

Rivian hadn't meant to stop. He'd been walking the garden paths with the restless energy of someone who didn't quite know what to do with themselves at a party. Too formal for fighting, too casual for diplomacy, too full of too many people. He'd drifted toward the quieter edges of the garden, where the roses grew in pale shades of lavender and blush. He'd been so focused on the bloom in front of him that he hadn't noticed he was no longer alone. The woman beside him spoke, and he realized with a jolt that he was standing next to a High Ruler.

"Oh, no, that's..." He stepped back, hands lifting in a gesture of apology, wings instinctively tucking tighter against his spine. "I'm the one who should be sorry, my Lady. I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just..." He trailed off, gesturing at the flowers, the gardens, the sky. "Walking." He'd been walking these gardens for an hour, and he still felt like an intruder. Like a shadow that had wandered somewhere it didn't belong. Except she wasn't looking at him like an intruder. Her expression was so openly, genuinely wondrous that it caught him off guard.

"And no, I didn't know flowers could be court-specific. The plants in Velaris thrive in the dark and don't need sunlight to survive." He paused, glancing at the flower she'd been admiring. "And these are... something else entirely. It looks like it would wilt if you breathed on it wrong. It's hard to look away."

[verdominae]

" interrupt? oh, hardly. " aurora reassured with a flippant wave of her hand, noticing how he stiffed and straightened ⸻ the effect of being a high lady, she supposed. she missed when people were carefree around her, the few times she went to the village near her home, not careful. she smiled softly. " as you should be, it's a lovely place for walking, both the gardens and dawn itself. " the spring maiden had not seen much of dawn yet, but already, she knew the court was as lovely as her own in beauty and grace.

as he mentioned the flowers of velaris, thriving in the dark, she looked intrigued. " truly? flowers that grow without sunshine? " such a concept was unheard of to her, someone who thrived under the spring sunlight just as the flowers of her court did. " are they colorful? or rather monotoned? " the high lady couldn't help but ask more questions.

[flrestorms]

she shouldn’t be surprised to see her, since she had heard she’d inherited the role of high lady. and yet, malvina still reels a little bit at seeing aurora out in the gardens when their friendship had always been kept to the privacy of @verdominae’s home, when the shadowsinger had grown so protective of her, originally just based on a vibe. aurora had been a rarity when malvina had been so quick to distrust anyone unrelated to the few friends she’s collected over the years. and the illyrian had always been so overprotective of that chosen family. malvina slips up to aurora, offering a slight curtsy to her, though her grin is wide and she pulls the high lady into a hug. “you look absolutely beautiful,” she says as she pulls back, hands resting on aurora’s shoulders so she can look her over.

[verdominae]

she squeaked as she was pulled into a hug, but aurora returned it all the same ⸻ tightly squeezing the other. " oh, mal, you'd think that if i was wearing nothing but a sack. " she laughed, her hands on her friend's arms as the other examined her. if it had been anyone else, aurora would have felt nervous; did she wear the right thing? was it too much for a garden party? there was so much she didn't understand, that she just simply did not know.

" and what of you? you look absolutely stunning, the flowers themselves don't even compare. "

[opvlites]

her attention is caught by the lady who had stopped and was focused fully on a flower, one zaina had grown to love in her visits to the dawn court through the years — though she rarely found a flower she didn’t find lovely. “apologies, i didn’t mean to startle you.” zaina shakes her head. “they are lovely, aren’t they? i’m rather jealous that they don’t grow the same in my own court.” “yes, we have some different flowers in day. i always thought it was so fascinating to see the differences in the courts.” she muses. she does love the pinkish glows of dawn, even though she does think nothing truly compares to the golden light of day.

[verdominae]

" oh, it's quite alright. i fear i may be startled rather easily. " she assured with other high ruler with a breathy laugh. an isolated life left aurora a bit shellshocked in this new environment ⸻ filled with people and chatter. " they're absolutely beautiful, i wonder what it is about the court that makes them thrive here. " the high lady of spring wondered aloud. " it must be the soil, some sort of special nutrients. "

at the mention of different flowers in day as well, aurora turned to face zaina completely, eager curiosity on her fair features. " truly? what kind of flowers does day have? " this was all so new to her, she couldn't help but find the differences in the courts so appealing. " it is fascinating, that we all exist on the same rock yet are all so vastly different at times. "

[nettlebit]

❥　　　#1.　　　her eyes are alight　----　the scene before her fizzles like the best champagne. and the sweetness thickens with the weight of her high lady's arm, nestled into her side like daisies upon a tree trunk.　cainra's smile is as grand as the garden before them.　"oh, yes!"　cue a conspiratorial sway into her.　"naturally, ours will be even grander. the spring court must shine as brightly as its new high lady."　she can already imagine the flowers now, with aurora crowned amongst them.　the picture rearranges her present with a keener lens, but how can she fault the moment when it pleases her so?　"now the real test of a good party is the food　----　always."　as she steers, she imagines herself a wayward pirate captain, hair wild in the briny breeze of the seas, precious cargo in tow.　she's brazen as she charges their way through.

[verdominae]

still, it was strange to hear. spring court's new high lady ⸻ a role she never wanted for herself, never knew she could possibly have. " i supposed i should be already thinking of ideas, we may very well be next. " aurora murmured with a breathy laugh, though there was a true hint of nervousness in her voice. she had been woefully unprepared for what becoming high lady meant, and the beauty was not certain she'd ever catch up.

" have you tried the dewdrop cakes yet? oh, they were wonderful! " aurora gushed about the sweets as she allowed herself to be steered one way or another by her lady, someone she was slowly considering a friend. " i fear my sweet tooth is overjoyed right now. "

[verdominae]

" absolutely beautiful, " aurora murmured, her focus entirely on a flower in front of her. a rose of pale lavender with the palest of pink on it's ends, the species native to and only to the dawn court itself. when she realized someone was beside her, the blonde jumped a little, " oh! i'm terribly sorry, i did not notice you there. " too in her own little world, like always.

her gaze flickered back to the flower, then to them as she straightened her back to stand properly. " did you know there were flowers that only grew in other courts? " the high lady asked, as if it was a wondrous thing she was only just now learning thanks to the bloom before her.

open starter, at the garden party.

[verdominae]

she was staring for an awfully long time, the high lady knew she was ⸻ yet, she was racking her brain over and over again making sure she was absolutely correct about who she was looking at before she dared to approach. after all, what if she was wrong? what an embarrassment she'd be to spring then, if she were not one already.

finally, aurora decided her suspicions were correct and with her shoulders back and chin high like the high lady of spring should appear, the blonde moved to cross the gardens towards him. " emrys? " she asked, the shake of her voice betraying her confidence guise. " is that you? "

closed for @outflamed, at the garden party.

[verdominae]

" i must admit, this is quite . . . grander then i expected. " aurora murmured as she laced her arm with cainra's, finding comfort in her fellow spring fae's presence. " are we to really throw something so grand, when it is our turn? " she questioned, but not in distain ⸻ but fascination. childlike excitement at the idea of throwing a party, of planning one.

closed for @nettlebit, at the garden party.

[verdominae]

SPRING  will  come,  and  with  it,  happiness  .  .  .

is that HOLLIDAY GRAINGER arriving at the ball? no, cauldron bless, it’s AURORA HAWTHORNE, HIGH LADY from SPRING, born to the realm as a HIGH FAE. they have walked this realm for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS and they can be KIND but also STUBBORN. they carry with them the echo of FLOWER PETALS ON A CRACKED MARBLE FLOOR, WHITE CHIFFON CURTAINS BILLOWING ON A SPRING BREEZE & LIPS PAINTED RED AS A ROSE. i do hope someone asks them to dance before the night is through.

though born high fae, her mother cared very little for the drama that came with court life and she chose to raise the young aurora outside of spring court society ⸻ in the forest, where aurora grew up content and happy. it was shortly after her two-hundredth birthday that her mother tragically passed away, leaving aurora by herself in their cottage home.

the very notion of being high ruler was never on aurora's radar. her mother had never told her of any connection to the high lord of spring and it was not until three hundred years later with his demise that aurora learned of their kinship; when the power of high ruler of spring transferred to her, suddenly flowing through her veins, making her now well and truly connected to spring.

she knows her very existence was a surprise to those in spring, and perhaps she was not what anyone wanted ⸻ but she tries to remind those who doubt that she was just as shocked as they. aurora is determined to do right by spring and take care of the court and it's inhabitants. she has always loved her home immensely and now feels she can finally do something for the good of the spring court, even though she is completely clueless about politics or how life as a high fae in society truly works.

name: aurora hawthorne age: five hundred moral alignment: chaotic good medical history: n/a hair color: golden blonde eye color: emerald green talent(s): singing, dancing, gardening like(s): flowers, nature, the sunshine, berries dislike(s): the color brown, gloomy days without rain, positive traits: kind, golden-hearted, generous negative traits: reckless, stubborn, impulsive