[MTT] Roses are Red

The rose had been a little worse for wear, so Grim thought he had been swindled.

The store he bought from was supposedly reputable, but there was always the possibility that he could’ve gotten a bad batch, or something went wrong with transport, or maybe the soil was not to its liking? The bun wouldn’t call himself an expert gardener, but he did like having a backyard to himself, and he had already been able to successfully cultivate a couple of other plants and veggies that he would eat and cook with. While not exactly cheaper with the fertilizer and whatnot he had to buy, maybe later down the line it’ll pay off. The compost bin was still taking its time breaking down whatever was in there for the next round of fertilizing.

Anyway, back to the little rose bush that even if only a few minutes had passed, Grim swore he saw the stems droop ever so slightly. Frowning deeply, he made sure to dig a deep enough hole to place the roots in, and he covered and patted it down! Was it the water? The soil was damp now, and he didn’t want to touch it with his claws. What did Booble say again? Did roses like getting their feet wet or did they hate it? He placed the dark green watering can on the grass and ran back to his house, washing and drying off his claws on a hanging towel before picking up his phone.

They hate it, Booble said plainly on the top search results.

“Fuck.” Grim wanted to slam his forehead on the screen.

His roses! His beautiful red roses! He specifically bought it around this time so that by the time Matentines would roll in, he would be able to harvest them and present them in a bouquet to a fine date, whoever that may be. (Grim was not exactly picky, for the thrill of simply seeing his sparkling roses being presented to a beautiful bun, and that bun admiring his hard work - that would fill him with gleeful pride). Were his hopes and dreams dashed by a rudimentary mistake? He wanted to melt onto the floor. The rose bush was quite expensive, to boot…

Perhaps drying up the soil would fix things? The weather forecast claimed it was to be a cloudy day - the crystals above would not be blinding someone in the eyes today, supposedly. He thought about grabbing the hair dryer in the bathroom, but there was no plug nor outlet close enough to use it. Suddenly he wished he had those flaming ears that he had seen a few other buns possess - would their heat be enough to dry the soil? Would they even be willing to lie their ears on the muddy earth? Probably not.

Grim was woefully heartbroken, alone in Burrowgatory with wilting roses. A little hiss, however, would break him out of his moping. 

“Oh.”

Sometimes he forgot that the Sceil was in his home. It so happened that in one of his outings, he chanced upon a small cardboard box that he swore seemed to move a little from time to time. Lo and behold, opening it revealed a rather shaken up snake-shaped Imp, but the little guy recoiled from his claws when he tried to reach out. A visit to the nearby Imp-specialty store was required, but even after bringing the Sceil into his home (and finding out that a name tag was left in the box), he hadn’t seen it all that often, appearing perhaps at least once a day to investigate. It had been a few weeks since then.

Grim would once again try to reach out for the Sceil, but the Imp would move its head away, choosing to slither underneath a couch. Well, the bun manning the store did say that Sceils were known to be rather aloof and that it would take some time for them to warm up to their owners, if they would ever warm up at all. The thought would settle in Grim’s head - perhaps he simply needed to be patient with the roses like with the Sceil. It was, after all, only the first half hour since he planted them. Perhaps they just needed to settle a bit more in the soil.

Alright, that was enough moping around, then. There were still other chores that he needed to do.

✲

As luck would have it, time and dedication were the answer all along. Grim couldn’t help but grin at the roses perking up and becoming more vibrant with time. He also eventually managed to remember the Sceil’s name (it would respond to Paroli with a head turn, a quizzical look, a moment of attention before either holding it for another moment longer or turning away). 

Once the rose bush had settled better into its new home, it was much hardier than Grim had expected, and it was also growing a nice amount of roses. Before he knew it, the month of Matentines would roll in, and the flowers were ready to be picked and presented to dazzle. He made sure to be careful when cutting the stems so that the roses would be able to last for the trip later to the bar. They must be in their peak form, after all. No less would be accepted.

✲

A seemingly innocent mixer had paired him up with a dazzling gold and red bun, easily commanding the room with her presence; her devil’s tongue the cherry on top of an already delectable cake. He already felt underdressed despite his grand horns - unfortunately, his pride did not shine through when it came to presence. 

The bun could already see that other buns were eyeing his roses more than him, but that put him in a good mood. Yes, see the hard work he had put into these beautiful flowers! How they glisten with the help of a little artificial dew and lots and lots of fertilizer. When the flowery gold and red bun (who he learned her name to be Poppy) approached him, the first thing he did was to present his bouquet, though he did not have much of a smile to match; his expression was serious and proud.

Poppy’s smile, on the other hand, was seemingly effortless. It shone over the red roses, that was until Grim realized that the roses themselves were gone from their stems.

“Thanks for the offering!” and then she left without so much as a goodbye.

Ohhh, his roses…she did not even comment on their beauty. Maybe the flowers were better off in the safety of his garden after all.