Dear Allariia,
The chamomile you sent me doesn't seem to grow very well, even with stimulants and specialized dirt don't seem to give it any life.
I recall you warning me it was a picky plant but have you any ideas how to grow it yourself? It'll be useless here if I can't get it to flower...
Hope to hear from you soon,
Howl
Dear Howl,
My studies seem to lead nowhere as well, it's not your typical plant as we discussed. Your garden variety of chamomile wouldn't be worth sending all the way to Rome, now would it? I've planted it in sun and shade and neither seems to be doing better,
perhaps a little friendly competition? Unfortunately we've already given each other a few hints so at least we'll be on the same page.
This variety is unknown to me, touched by some kind of magic and altered by time. Again I found it growing in ruins in the forest,
but that'll be you'll only hint. I'll send you a photo of the site to be fair though, I'd hate for you to accuse me of cheating!
I will await your response,
Allariia Willows
Dear Allariia,
While I'm not one for childish game I would enjoy getting to hear your research patterns. Very well, I accept your challenge. Judging by the date on your letter these take only a week to send, I will wait exactly seven days to change up my research of different soil, but I look forward to hearing of your success. Before of after me, maybe even at the same time. The photo is lovely, it looks like quite the place! I'd love to visit it someday if I could stand taking a ship there... Seasickness would likely be the death of me...
When kalons fly,
Howl
And so the race began to figure out what environment the magically enhanced chamomile preferred. Howl noted the looks of the ruins first, it seems to be marshy or wetlands of sorts. He attempted to grow it with more wet moss and frequent watering.
Allariia however already lived in marshy forest lands and was one step ahead of him. She tried growing it on tilted surfaces,
with rocks rather than soil, it seemed to like the lack of soil better but still would not produce more than two flowers. The knew in the back of her mind that Howl had already produced at least a single flower himself and didn't consider it a victory.
Howl created more seeds using his magic bowl, knowing his partner could have access to dozens of these plants if she chose to grab more; or killed the ones she had.
After a solid month of research, testing hypothesis after hypothesis, Howl had the upper hand and grasped the concept. As the letter arrived at Allariia's, she opened it hesitantly, now having successfully planted over five of the chamomile in different locations.
Dear Allariia,
I suppose I should thank you first, if not for the photo of the ruins I probably wouldn't have figured it out. It seemed to grow in a rather wet area as you already knew, I slowly kept introducing it to more and more easily irrigated environments. I hadn't managed to kill any yet when I sort of... As an experiment, dropped the entire plant into my fountain. Sure enough it didn't die,
but I had to remove it since it was spreading so quickly. I've given it it's tank, it sits in the shade most of the day and only get evening sunlight.
I've included a drawing of it, sadly I don't have a camera nor a room to clearly develop film. It's crazy to think how quickly things change in america, I'd love to see it someday! I enjoyed this competition, please share your findings as well? I've managed about seven flowers but I'm sure I could get more...
Best wishes,
Howl
She smiled lightly, sighing in defeat as she returned to her several plants. Sitting down in her garden, she prepared to write her letter as well. They seemed to like different kinds of rocks, but growing in water was something she hadn't fathomed. A loss was a loss, but at least she learned a little something about her pen pal.
