[littlefox11]

username; littlefox11
name; Laurel
gender; female
prompt;

Laurel hated hospitals.

She scuffed her paws along the squeaky white floor and stared hard at her tail, trying to shut out the lines of kals passing by her mother's bed. She could feel their judgemental eyes boring into her, knew beyond doubt the hushed whispers echoing back to her as they moved along the ward were centred around her.

I'm sorry, she thought desperately. These were all I had.

The bed opposite her mother's- Laurel could just see it through the curtains- was surrounded by the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen. Roses, tulips, flowers Laurel couldn't even name but wow could she appreciate. They were all the colours of the rainbow, exuding radiance and vitality and health. They were replaced daily by fresh beauties, the kals that brought them full of positivity about their loved one's prognosis.
Laurel looked down again at the scraggly handful of daisies she'd plucked desperately from the ground before entering. They drooped over her paws. These definitely do not symbolise health.

There was a stirring movement in the bed beside her, and Laurel got eagerly up. Her mother smiled at her- a tight, painful smile. "Morning," she mumbled. "Did you bring more flowers?"

A wave of shame hit Laurel square in the chest. She chewed her lip, feeling sick. Nervously she raised her offering to her mother's line of sight, her paw shaking slightly as she did so. "Here," she whispered.

Her mother nodded slowly with resignation, her eyes sliding shut again. "Thank you, sweetie," she mumbled. "Put them with the others, hmm?"

Swallowing hard, Laurel reached up above the bed and placed the limp bundle of flowers alongside those she'd already brought. Some dandelions, more daisies, a few weedy buttercups. Despite her best efforts, Laurel couldn't afford anything better, and it made her feel awful. Her mother had always loved flowers, describing them many times as 'bright windows of nature' and 'beautiful messes of colour'; flowers were the best way, her mother had always said, to express love and positivity and health.

But Laurel, casting a jealous glance at the bed opposite- the visiting kals had just returned, with their daily gift of fresh, flowing flowers- simply couldn't scrape together the money to bring the beauties her mother wanted. And looking around, very few of the beds had plentiful flowers; clearly many of the stressed, tired, worried-looking kals waiting, as she was, around the beds were in the same position as she was. Suppressing a sigh at the unfairness of it all, Laurel pushed herself to her paws, kissed her mother on her powdery forehead and left the ward.

The next day, as Laurel re-entered the section of the hospital where her mother slept, she stopped with a gasp. All around her was the most beautiful floral arrangement she had ever seen. Sunflowers towering overhead, bright yellow and cheerful. Roses of all shades- dusty pink, deep purple, flawless crimson, bobbing gently. There were pink and white orchids, white and orange and pink tulips, flowers Laurel had never seen before and could only goggle at.

They lined the windows, rested on bedside tables, overflowed from desks. Flowers covered every surface in the ward. Laurel could only guess at how much it had all cost.

She stopped a passing nurse and indicated, speechlessly, at the arrangements. "What... who...?"
The nurse laughed, bustling past. "One of our patients recovered enough to go home this morning, and thought the place could do with this donation to cheer the other patients up. I think it's worked, don't you? Everyone seems so much better today!"

For the first time Laurel noticed the bed opposite her mother's was now empty, and a wave of gratitude passed over her. She moved over to her mother and resumed her seat, unable to stop grinning as she basked in the colours surrounding her. Seeing the exclamations of pleasure from other patients and their visitors as they saw the flowers, a small idea began to blossom deep in her brain.

And when, a few weeks later, Laurel won a grant to allow her to start up a charity donating flowers to patients who couldn't afford them otherwise, she never looked back. Seeing the improvements it made to the wellbeing and outlook of the patients she helped, Laurel knew there was nothing she'd rather be doing with her life.

[honeyxbee]

username; ThatGirlLegend
name; Pollen
gender; Female
prompt; When Pollen was little she came across this huge, beautiful field of flowers. She played in the field all day long everyday. And one day she thought 'If flowers can make me so happy, maybe they can make others happy too!' She immediately starts picking flowers and arranging them in beautiful assortments. Once Pollen hand more flowers than she could carry, she went out and started giving them to people. A random stranger here, a closer friend there. To her it didn't matter who she made happy, just as long a someone was happy.

[QueenNyra]

username; QueenNyra
name; Dylan
gender; male
prompt;
Every flower has a different meaning and Dylan knew the meaning of all of them.
The other Kalons in his town told stories about a spirit, that leaves flowers in front of doors to cheer up the kal living inside. These stories were just fairy tales but they made the citizens happy. Knowing about the great impact a flower can have on a persons day, Dylan started to wander around at night to bring the fairy tale to life and was quickly known as the 'flower spirit'.
He kept track on why the Kalon was sad and brought them a flower that would perfectly fit their needs, or just what he knows was their favorite one.
Even though nobody praised him for what he did, he loved every second of it. Seeing the Kalons in town smile was worth the hard work he put into his garden and into his nightly walks around town to fulfill his work.
He traveled far just to bring a smile to someones face and he brought flowers the graves, he knew, nobody remembered.
Dylan never missed a birthday, wedding or funeral even tho he was never invited. He payed his respect to the old by taking care of their gardens, he helped the younger ones by bringing them bouquets that they could give to their loved ones and saved flowers from dying in heat waves or winter.
He loved what he did, how he was able to help and cheer the citizens up and he would keep up his work until time fades.

[La Volpe]

username; la volpe
name; faith
gender; female
prompt;

[fuiuki]

username; fuiuki
name; Hana
gender; Agender
prompt;

A generous soul, Hana wants nothing more than to spread smiles around them. They love to give gifts, big and small. Winter, spring, summer or fall; doesn't matter. Hana is always on the look-out for new ways to gift people, and new things to give as gifts!

On the first year, Hana tried giving out cheap gifts during Summer. Old, discarded toys saved up from fast-food restaurant visits, slightly worn but interesting socks, bundles of grass in the shape of a bird's nest and so much more. Some of these made other people happy. Some of them did not. Hana realised they needed to get better at figuring out what made people happy.

On the second year, Hana tried giving out expensive gifts during Winter. In time for Christmas, Hana spent all their money on gifts for adults and children alike. Wine bottles, remote-controlled cars and planes, high quality chocolate and so much else. All of them made someone happy, but not overly so. Christmas is the time of giving; everyone sort of expected it. Hana couldn't afford keeping this up either. They had to find another way again.

On the third year, Hana tried to buy, but also make, candies of all kinds in Fall. Just in time for Halloween, they tried their best to give out as much candy to as many children as possible. This made most happy! Though the parents of the children remarked that the young ones would get fat, and their teeth would fall out... this was directed at the children themselves, but Hana realised they did have a point. And so, Hana was once again at a loss.

Hana thought and thought, and thought some more. Spring rolled around, and on the fourth year, Hana was struck by inspiration!

As Easter rolled around, Hana was fully prepared: a cart full of festive, home-made easter eggs! They handed out as many eggs as they could, until all the eggs were gone. Some looked at the eggs in suspicion, others did so with joy. But all who got an egg got a gentle smile on their faces once they opened their eggs:

Inside each egg was a bounty of beautiful flowers. Some had started to wilt, but others were still very fresh and spry. Each one was vibrant, with a fragrance that reminded them of each of the year's seasons. Summertime greens, Christmas reds and whites, Halloween greens, purples and oranges, and Easter yellows and pinks. And the cherry on top; a small note in each egg.

"You're the best!"

"I know you try hard, and I promise it'll pay off!"

"You're doing great, don't give up!"

"You are very loved"

Each note held something inspiration or uplifting. Hana had realised that neither money, nor craftmanship, could bring joy or smiles without the most important thing of all: thoughtfullness. A gift with no thought behind it would be forever joyless. So, to bring smiles in a way that everyone could enjoy, Hana had thought of the easter eggs. Beautiful, for those who could only see. Fragrant, for those who could only smell. Gentle rustling, for those who could only hear. Soft petals and silk ribbons, for those who could only feel. Non-toxic flowers, for those who... for some reason... would want to EAT the flowers. And finally, even for those who were tragically allergic, a small note. A note to, perhaps, make someone's day better, or bring a smile. Big or small, everyone needed encouragement sometimes.

[Meow :3]

username; Meow :3
name; Elizabeth
gender; Female
prompt;

She wasn’t worth her name anymore. She wasn’t Elizabeth. She was She, Her, That Kalon Over There.

She could almost hear the world crackle around her when she heard the news.

Her husband had cheated on her, and had a litter with the other Kalon.

His apology was so ignorant.

" Sorry. It happens, I guess. " He shrugged.

She quietly walked downtown, hardly managing to plaster a fake smile on her face.

She walked up to a Kalon she remembered whose sister was battling a deadly virus.

Perfect timing! I just bought these Gladiolus flowers.

" Send my regards to your sister. Oh! And these, too. " She passed the Gladiolus flowers to the Kalon.

" Thank you! I will. I’m terribly sorry about your husband... " The other Kalon trailed off.

The crackling came back. Everything began to spin.

" Oh, it’s alright. He wasn’t the one, I suppose. " She tried to escape the situation, fastly walking away.

She then bumped into someone, unexpectedly.

" Ouch! You really are a klutz. What’s your name? " A strange, but kind voice said. That’s when the crackling suddenly stopped. It was replaced with another feeling.

" Elizabi-Elizabeth. " She stuttered out.

" Elizabi-Elizabeth? " The stranger jokingly asked.

" Just Elizabeth. " She managed to say. She then noticed a stray yellow chrysanthemum poking out of a garden. She plucked it out.

Perfect. They will never know the meaning.

She handed the yellow chrysanthemum to the stranger, who had a warm gaze on her.

On Elizabeth.

[liightning]

username; salty.sweet
name; Cosette Fleur (Fleur meaning 'flower' in French; Cosette Fleur is her two-part first name)
gender; female - asexual
prompt; (the below text is just a title - if this counts as prettying up, I'd be happy to change it to just regular text ^^")


"the glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. to nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul" - Alfred Austin
a short journal/blog by Cosette Fleur

intro // author's note
at the beginning of the world, there was simply nature and man.
man looked to nature not only for comfort, but for guidance.
for healing.

chapter 1 // healing
I understand healing.
It's the essence of our world, of life itself. It goes hand in hand with hope, but is considered greater as it does the work of hope. Hope is what keeps us alive, but healing is what mends our souls after damage and allows hope to exist.

chapter 2 // gardening
Many see gardening as simply a pastime. A hobby. Something that one chooses to participate in and does so simply for enjoyment or entertainment.
Many do not see the potential of gardening.
It's quite simple, really. They do not see the healing power in gentle plants and the rich soil. They do not see the long lasting effects of spending a day in the garden, among the flowers and stems and leaves and bees and butterflies.
To be a part of nature is simply the greatest healing there is.

chapter 3 // crowns
There is so much one can do with flowers, the daintiest of all plants.
One of my favorite options is to decorate the body with them.
We are creatures of flesh and bone, of muscle and nerves. There is no part of us that can ever be as natural and free as nature. To become one with the world around us, we must first understand nature itself, and to do so, we can make ourselves more natural.
In our societies, kings and royals and children playing pretend wear regal adornments of gold (whether cardboard or not). These societies are often centered on monarchy and complete power and, ultimately, simply advancement of us beings of flesh.
In nature, as the ancient Greeks did with laurel wreaths from the bay laurel, we wear crowns of flowers.
Creating them takes quite a bit of practice, skill, and patience, but the end result is rewarding, as with any goal you put effort towards. In the end, you find yourself with a delicate but beautiful circlet of flowers, freshly picked from the garden and appearing to glow in the sun.
This is the true definition of beauty.
When someone is feeling the blues, simply rest a flower crown on their head. Magic seems to spread from the flowers straight to their heart.
Don't believe in magic? That's too bad - nature has plenty of magic for us to find.

chapter 4 // sharing the love
Dear me, no, this is not some cheesy, 'inspirational' tale of romance or helping out others.
Well, maybe the helping out others part is correct.
Healing isn't exactly love. Love can be healing, and healing can include love, but you are incorrect to say that healing is love.
Those are two different terms, two different ideas. A brother and sister who are so alike and yet so different at the same time.
One thing I love to do is to spread the wonder of gardening. The gift of nature.
I've explained this before - gardening is the most natural and greatest form of healing. It soothes and nutures the soul, turning one twisted being into one more... nature. More pure. More content with themselves, their life, and the world.
I've found that simply handing someone a flower isn't always enough.
Yes, simple and effortless and still full of meaning - and yet not meaningful enough.
It's like adding a few drops of water to parched soil.
Helpful, but not necessarily a solution.
Meaningful, but not meaningful enough.
A devoted gardener knows to sprinkle the water around, with pauses inbetween, allowing the water to sink into the crumbling earth. Moisturizing, reviving - meaningful.
And yet - what truly is a meaningful gift?
There is no clear answer, as everyone's opinion varies, but there is one possible remedy.
Isn't it clear enough? We share the love of gardening!
Give someone a pack of seeds. A potted plant. Some seedlings ready to grow and mature.
If necessary, fill their mind with information needed to get into gardening. To care for the plants. To become a part of nature.
After all, you must give a little to get a little.
And what do you get?
The most rewarding things in the world -
hope, love, and healing.

chapter 5 // the gift of nature
Surely, by now, you've come to the understanding that nature - specifically plants and flowers - has magic.
No, no, not the kind you imagine. Nothing about witches and brooms and spells and potions. Nothing of the sort. This one's a rarer kind, one found practically nowhere else except nature itself.
Luckily, it makes up our very world, always there, never to disappear. We tend to ignore it, and yet it stays.
Oh, but - how to find this magic? How to use it?
It's simple, my friend.
The gift of nature is one that is better than any other gift ever in existence.
Something as simple as a potted succulent or a cherry blossom flower from a tree is enough to make something wonderful happen.
Bah, what can a silly little flower do? you may scoff in disbelief.
Oh, but you are mistaken! Go outside and take a look around. You may find yourself dwarfed by looming skyscrapers, on the sidewalk of a quiet suburban neighborhood, or in the middle of rolling fields of grain. Wherever you are, you can find nature. Take a close look. Are those trees stretching branches and leaves towards the sun, yearning for light? Are there little plants pushing their way through cracks in the pavement? Your answer is likely yes, for nature is everywhere, whether you choose to accept it or not.
Nature surrounds us, and it has for years upon years upon years. It sprung from the face of the earth, covering the world with wonder and natural beauty.
Healing is everywhere, and is very easy to find, but only if you know how to find it and pass on the knowledge to others.

chapter 6 // afterword / about the author
Thank you for reading my journal! Without realizing it, it has blossomed into a bit of a blog, but regardless, it was a pleasure to write and I enjoyed every step along the way!
One of my greatest hopes is that you have taken away the general message and have learned something new.
After all, you only learn what you are willing to learn.

Cosette Fleur is a young kalon living in the great outdoors. Despite growing up in a crowded city, she developed a bond with nature at an early age from what little wildlife she could find. With every free moment she had, she was found wandering into the nearest park, watching a few sparrows pecking at crumbs, observing a caterpillar weaving a cocoon, or something else of the sort. It was as if she were in her own world, and at many times, she was - in her garden. Her family had a small garden on the rooftop of the apartment, which was once barren and overgrown with weeds - before young Cosette tended it day and night until it was suitable for plant growth. Her garden grew and grew, soon beginning to hold the most exotic plants from all over the world, until it became something like a sanctuary for her. It was like a second world - one which only Cosette could enter and understand. Tending to her plants helped her cope with sorrows in her life, including a close friend moving away and the tragic death of a sibling. Her understanding of nature's connection with healing was fully grasped when she gave a depressed kalon a potted plant and discovered that she had prevented the heartbroken kalon from giving up all hope and ultimately committing suicide. Immediately, Cosette began spreading the wonders of gardening around through flower crowns, seed packets, potted plants, and other such ways. She has since moved closer to nature and begun an even more wondrous garden right outside her house. As a well-known and well-respected biologist, explorer, botanist, florist, and journalist, her journey in nature only continues to grow.


wow, that went a lot deeper into Cosette's backstory and personality than I had planned! I apologize as it was quite long and you were looking to read shorter stories. I hope that you don't mind too much and enjoyed reading!
you're such an amazing person and artist and I love your designs! thank you for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I wish everyone the best of luck! ❤︎

[Marsh]

username; Marsh
name; Heath
gender; Male
prompt; (super late entry but I knew I would regret not finishing, hope this isn't too late!)

“That’ll be £4.85.”

Heath grinned at the shop attendant and pushed the coins across the counter while trying to balance all his purchases in his arms. Among those items included a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine and several nibbles to eat once he arrived. For the first time in months, Heath was going home to visit his mother. His work had kept him away from home for ages but things were finally settling down and he was determined to change his current schedule of irregular trips back, starting with this surprise visit.

On leaving the shop, he couldn't help but feel much happier than he usually would. Going home again always had that effect on him, most likely because Heath loved his mother and childhood home more than anything in the world. It always seemed to have the lingering smell of cinnamon from his mother's famous cinnamon buns and other pastries, one he didn't realise how familiar he had become with until he left home and now he regularly found himself painfully aware of a lack of this scent.

He started to make his journey home, taking the long way around rather than the shortest route so that he could remind himself of all his favourite hangouts as a kid. It didn't take him long, however, to come across a street vendor with several bunches of flowers in buckets of water and, out of habit, he couldn't help himself. For some reason, he always had a knack to come across that one person in town selling flowers out on the street. Heath chose a bouquet with some lovely pink and blue hydrangeas - including a white accent flower he couldn't quite remember the name of - then paid the person manning the stall and, with an extra spring in his step, continued on his path.

That was the thing about flowers, wherever they were they brought a pop of colour and happiness - the very reason Heath loved them. In his own house, they were everywhere. His walls were littered with brightly coloured prints of flowers. Every tabletop surface had at least one vase on it which he changed the flowers in once a week. Heath didn’t have a garden, so he bought all the plants he could fit inside his own apartment instead. He liked to think his home was a reflection of himself as a person. Flowers, considered by many to be completely worthless and a waste of money since they died so quickly, were so important to Heath. In his opinion, they had a worth way beyond the amount you paid for them and were the one thing he needed to make himself feel at home anywhere.

Just as he was crossing the square with the new flowers, he noticed a girl crying and shivering behind the statue. Heath stood to watch her for a few minutes, deliberating on whether or not to approach her and ask what was wrong but, having come to a decision, he walked over and wordlessly took a seat on the ground next to her.

After a while, her massive shaky breaths had eased into a gentle sobbing. Since he had decided the best way forward was to give her some unjudgemental company, Heath remained silent. If the girl wanted to speak, she would, it wasn't up to Heath to try and press a story out of her. Sometimes all people needed was some company so that they knew they weren't alone.

Heath pulled out a packet of tissues from his pocket and offered them to her. After a few moments, the girl gingerly accepted the tissues with a sniff and a grateful, if not slightly forced, smile. He felt a pang in his chest for this girl whom he knew absolutely nothing about other than the fact she was having a rough day, and his happy mood from earlier was almost completely crushed. What could he do to try and make her see the light at the end of the tunnel?

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he whispered quietly, ignoring the stares from other passers-by. Some were completely ignorant of the situation, carrying on with their lives as if there hadn't been a girl crying behind a statue in a public space a few minutes ago. Others appeared to find some form of entertainment in stopping to stare at the odd pair huddled together. In response, the girl simply shook her head.

"N-no," she whispered back as she squeezed her eyes shut and let a few more tears flow down her cheeks. He reached up to wipe them away but thought better of it, he had no clue what her story was and whether she would flinch at his touch, but there must be something he could do for her.

In that next moment, his eyes landed on the bouquet he had carefully placed on the floor so as not to crush any of the flowers. He had bought them for his mother, but girls liked pretty things, right? Maybe that would cheer her up a little, but his mother would most likely be disappointed at the uncharacteristic lack of flowers.

Looking up again to find her staring at him intently, he made up his mind.

"Take these," he told her handing her the bunch of flowers. She widened her eyes at him and he nodded to tell her he was serious. Delicately, she took hold of them, cradling the bouquet in her arms as if it was a young baby. The girl's face lit up and she turned to smile at him - this time, the smile genuine - and she was speechless.

"I really hope things get better for you!" he started, "but I should get going now."

Slowly, he stood up and left her, walking across the square with all his belongings. Occasionally, he would glance back to check if she was still there and each time she was. The only difference was now, she was staring at the flowers adoringly and watching the kind stranger leave. Once he reached the end of the square, he turned around one last time and waved to the girl he had met that day probably for the first and last time ever.

The rest of his journey home was silent, his thoughts filled with the stranger he had given his flowers to. He couldn't help but hope he had been that fairytale good samaritan that made her day, but it was hard to doubt if you had seen the look on her face. Heath simultaneously felt good that he had been able to help someone improve their day, but also bad with the thoughts of what could have possibly happened to that poor girl to make her end up crying in the square. These thoughts all concluded momentarily when he reached for the door knocker on a familiar dark green door and let it fall, but he knew that he would never forget the girl.

The door opened and out came his mother, both shocked and ecstatic to see her only son waiting there to see her.

“What, no flowers?” she joked, noticing all the gifts he was carrying and pulling him into a long hug

“Actually -“ he started but decided against what he was about to say, “It’s a long story,” he replied, shaking his head and smiling to himself as he placed his arms around his mother and squeezed her tight.

[Only_Sky]

username;
name; Mirgo
gender; Male
prompt; Ah, the act of sharing flowers with perfect strangers.. Mirgo loves to just throw pawfuls of flowers into stranger's faces, leaving them confused and covered in petals as he gallops away, giggling mischievously.

[Chiikapuu]

username; Chiikapuu
name; Flowey
gender; Female
prompt;
How to give flowers to strangers a guide by Flowey
1. Find a peaceful street with a lot of people
2. Smile and offer a flower to the person
3. Rember to tell them to have a good day/night etc
4. Go home and be happy
(: