Wild Berry Meadow hey soul sister

He'd only visited this place once, in the dead of winter, to see what petals had survived the first frost. Ever on the lookout for new blooms, Haizel's chambers back in the mesa were filled to bursting with heat-hardened flora ready for transplant. Every color he could find, the dirt-covered man would certainly dig at the roots and grow for his Pharaoh (although he did not necessarily understand the significance of the many words Senmut had spoken that day, it made everyone happy.)

In his opinion, there was nothing greater than seeing the happiness on her face when she saw a new one. The same went for all his friends. He kept Senmut's flower of friendship well-watered and thriving. 

But it had been long since Snake-Lady had slithered into his dreams, so perhaps she had moved on. The doe-wolf had slipped away from the palace today in search of new projects for the summer. After all - when one batch of flowers were 

And woah! This meadow was FULL of flowers. So many! He'd need a party to come and collect as many as possible for the red halls of the palace. 

Haizel's heart was full of happiness, the likes of which painted an open-mouthed smile and a lolling tongue that slid over slight yellowed fangs.

What adventures would the free-spirit enjoy today? Oh, the summer was full of surprises!

A 'surprise' that was likely much less welcome came a moment later as a rabbit sprinted by.

Leto was giving chase, and before she had the chance to process the large wolf in her path she had slammed into his side falling to her back. However she wasn't all to concerned with him: more focused on the rabbit that had made it's escape.

Damn. Pepper was right - she really was no good at hunting rabbits, but she supposed that it couldn't be helped.

All at once, he stumbled, grunting, but fall, he did not. Upon realizing that the thing that had just body-slammed into him was a wolf, his feathery tail was up in a wag and his sunlight eyes shone with the potential of making a new friend. 

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The man, as it happened, was also terrible at hunting rabbits, too. Why would he need to? Tuna and the other delightful coyotes always gave him his dinner. And he always said thank you. Because that was always so very nice of them.

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Hi! I'm Haizel! Who're you? he inquired. 

Leto blinked up at the other, surprised by the friendly greeting but thrilled all the same. "Leto." She responded with a smile, rolling to her feet and standing up. The wolves she had come across up until now were usually much less thrilled to see her, particularly after an accident like this.

The rabbit was now out of sight and out of mind, this new wolf, 'Haizel', captivating her in it's place. She lifted her tail which was quick to begin wagging, looking over the male with a smile on her face. Leto had never seen such a large wolf, and she couldn't help to wonder how he got that way. Was he a warrior? Or a great hunter? So many possibilities!

In truth, he'd never been a good hunter. Unless he was hunting flowers! Chalk it up to genetics, as both of his parents and both of his brothers were as large as he was. Although, the man had been told he was rather dainty for a man of his particular lineage. 

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Which made it even easier to mimic a deer. Though, of course, he had no idea why any of this crossed his mind. Suppose it'd just been weighing on him a little bit. 

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He missed them, but he loved life in the mesa so very much. Now, he looked this new wolf over. Leto his head tilted to a degree that the sun springled gold in his eyes. Her pelt would look rather good with a sunflower, or maybe- oh, yes. She was pale and therefore a lot of flowers would look just lovely tangled in her fur! And this wasn't being a flirt, as Haizel was very oblivious to that sort of thing, but he'd put flowers in everyone's fur who let him.

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Haizel himself was normally decorated with flowers and their petals, but today, they'd fallen off before he'd gotten to the meadow. He'd have to get some more. Do you like flowers? his customary greeting.

Leto was a bit taken aback but the question - but she supposed that it made some sense, they were in a meadow after all, and the summertime flowers looked quite nice.

"..I suppose I do." She responded, tilting her head to the side. Her assumption was that the wolf was simply trying to make conversation - after all the situation was a bit awkward.

Fantastic, he chuckled, a smile so bright it kind of looked like it hurt. I love flowers. 

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He really wanted someone to put flowers on. After all, Akashingo was made of mostly reddish wolves or those that wouldn't dare dream of sitting still and letting him mess with their fur. Or those that for some bizarre reason, didn't like him or flowers.

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Weird, right? Most people didn't mind him at all. As far as he could remember, which albeit wasn't a whole long time back. His memory was as bad as his nose. But when it came to flowers... that was a different thing. 

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They'd look really good in your fur - I - I mean- your fur's really pale and it's easier to match flowers to a pale pelt than it is most of those I work with. So... there's that. Um... where are you from? I've never seen you around. 

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And he was usually very good at recognizing those that, according to him, were friends.

"Go ahead then - I have time." She decided in response to the flowers, sitting down to allow him to do so.

"You likely wouldn't have seen me before, this is my first time passing through." Leto explained, her tail flicking upwards. "It's a lot warmer than I'm used to - but it's sort of nice isn't it?"

In all honesty she preferred the cold weather: her thick, long coat was better suited to it, and she blended into the snow much better than she did the vegetation on it's own. However, the warm weather had it's benefits as well, like having a pretty stranger decorating her fur with flowers apparently.

It's a bit better in the winter, the stranger bent his fluffy head to look around, long snoot delicately pushing dainty flower stems out of the way. His father was a northern warlord, and the thick fur coat was not lost on his youngest. The gentle giant, having found a foothold in the heat of a desert, had yet to properly shed his northern pelt for the smooth variety his friends bore.
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Which didn't necessarily go hand in hand with his line of work. But whatever, dirt was cool and it helped with the heat.
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A tiny, miniscule snap as a flower of purple petal-age was plucked from its place in the ground and delicately tangled behind Leto's fluffy ears. He stepped back a moment. 
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Oh, she'd look pretty with all the colors of the rainbow, wouldn't she? Yes she would, he decided. 
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There's a pond over there, if you'd like to check it out for yourself! the giant hopped up, careful as can be to not step on any more flowers than strictly necessary, and started off so she could admire his work.

The she-wolf smiled, approaching the pond. It did look quite nice, and it matched her eyes as well. "It is quite pretty, isn't it?" She decided, wagging her tail. She wondered how she might look covered in them - it would probably be hard to move though.

"Do you think you could add a few more?" She asked, looking back to Haizel with a wide smile. Leto liked his work, and wanted to make sure that if a few fell out some would still remain - they best way to do that seemed to be to add more.

Of course! the man wuffed happily, bending his head down once more and plucking additional flowers from the ground. It was a mostly quiet affair, or rather, it should have been, but Haizel was not one for silence. Until today, that was. 

He had a willing model for his visions. For his floral fur arrangements. Delicately he wove the stems of the flowers together with patient teeth. His nose nudged into Leto's fur at what must have felt like irregular intervals. White, purple, pink, yellow, some grass and a quick sprint to a nearby bush with the pretty leaves for some variety. Golden petals he found to crown her and a sprig of berry for both a snack for later and the texture.

Toula's gonna love it... he breathed when he was done. It was simple, and if he were back home, he'd have access to the finest of materials for her majesty. But it was pretty for being entirely made up on the spot. 

His tail wagged. 

What'cha think? and a little head tilt. Excitement shone in his eyes.

Leto smiled wide, twisting and turning to get a good look at herself.

"They're lovely! And if I'm careful I'm sure they could last me a while."

The flowers stuck well in her fur, and the bright white contrasted perfectly with the colourful arrangement of flora.

Haizel's big eyes sparkled with delight. It was much easier to design patterns for others than it was for himself. He'd often had to have help attaching them. 

Maybe he should teach a class like Toula said to all that time ago! That way everyone could have florals attached to their fur. Would really liven up the palace, he thought.

Yeah! It should hold with a little roughness, I tied it rather good. he wuffed a chuckle.

She gave a glance to where the sun sat in the sky. She should start on her way back before it fell any further.

"I have to start on my way back to where I've been staying, but I'll come see you again sometime, alright?"

She offered with a smile, bringing herself to a stand.

And you should come visit me! Where the ground turns to red sand. A palace rises with the sun called Akashingo. You can't miss it. Just say you're a friend of mine and mind your teeth, I'm sure they'll let you stay for a while. 

He was flowerweaver. 

flowerpriest. 

he who made the petals bloom. 

he who never knew a stranger.

he who's eyes shone with the light of the sun.

He was the gardener of Akashingo. 

And thus, he turned back to his task, and upon collecting the rooted flowers he'd come there after, trotted back in the way of home.