passed through fire

NAME: Keyleth Ashari

AGE: 24

PRONOUNS: She/her

OCCUPATION: Owner of a flower shop

❀ I’ll follow the canon of the livestream, and I’m following until after she decided to turn into a goldfish, so shortly before they have to go to Marquet for the third time. I’m trying to keep her bio as spoiler free as possible and shortened as much as possible too❀

***

Yennefer’s cold eyes surveyed the small selection of vases and she pointed at a simple one. They were quite lackluster, nothing quite like what she wanted. She knew she would have to replace it before displaying the flowers anywhere, even in her own room. “I will definitely be changing it,” she said. “A shame to display such beautiful flowers in something quite so… plain.”

She chuckled and gave a small nod “yeah they are meant to be placeholders really, we figured many will rather take the plants by themselves to put in one they already have, if we are asked for more elaborate things we do get nicer ones but we need days in advance to get them.”

The instinct to snap that he didn’t have friends poked at Kaz’s stomach like an over-eager child, the need to deny all connection to Inej - to anyone - having become a part of who he was, now. But a small part of him protested - why did a conversation matter? Could he slip this one time and allow himself a moment to talk about her? 

No. She was a person in there town, and there was no such thing as anonymity. Someone could find her, question her on their - whatever they had - and go after Inej.

He could stomach a lot of violence. He couldn’t stomach seeing a single hair on her head put in harm’s way.

“Nothing of importance.” He lied. It didn’t sound convincing, even to his own ears. “Though I hardly think most of my friends would appreciate these.”

“Oh okay” she said nodding although she didn’t quite believe him, she wasn’t going to push him, she didn’t know him and so pressing for more information would be rude, and she wasn’t the most persuasive person either and he also looked like someone who wasn’t easily persuaded anyway. “I get that, i also have some friends that don’t care much for flowers...well you could get them just to liven up your place or something and if any of your friends end up liking then they could just take them”

***

Yennefer knew she could come across as rude to people at times, but she did know how to smile contrary to popular belief. She just didn’t find many reasons for it since finding herself so suddenly in Echo Springs with little memories that she could recall. “Well, meanings aside, I think I will take a vase of these,” she said, gesturing at the array of lilacs with one hand. They smelled delightful, and she even considered that maybe she could find a perfume with a hint of the scent.

“Sounds great! Uhm we don’t have the biggest collection of vases to chose from but you can pick one if you like” she pointed at the ones they had “At least they’ll do until you get home and change it if you prefer” she got the flowers and walked by the cashier “Will that be all then?”

His mother had died when he was too young to recall, but Kaz did remember the times after she died - with Jordie and his da, at her gravesite. He’d been a child, desperate for action, so they’d asked him to collect flowers for his mother. The only one he’d been able to find was buttercups, so he would return with massive clumps of buttercups in tiny fists, so proud of himself for completing the task that he didn’t notice his father’s or brother’s tears. 

Along with so many, that memory had been long buried, but the flower shop brought them flooding back, as well as the schoolboy feelings that he had pushed back. The ones that had been deemed not conducive to his life seemed to push through in the flower shop, and he found himself asking if Inej would like the flowers. How the palest purple ones that the woman was showing him would look against her skin. What if they’d been normal people? Would he have been an awkward schoolboy, asking her to a dance? Getting her a corsage? It was such a ludicrous idea that it was almost funny.

Almost. 

“Yes.” He said, struggling to manage as he tugged off the glove to feel the soft, satiny petals of the flower. “They’re - nice. I don’t know much about flowers.” He tried to put a little more of himself into his voice, for just a moment, but failed miserably, “As you can tell it is not my area of expertise.”

“For most just knowing they are pretty is enough, and I think this are some of the nicest” Though she did loved flowers, and there were some very odd and interesting, but there was just something about this ones. “Would this be for you or maybe a friend? I mean I give mine flowers all the time” She said trying to sound casual because although she wasn’t amazing at reading people she did get the vibe he was having some very intense thoughts at least.

***

Old love and magic. Yennefer’s perfect features twitched into a smirk as she rolled her eyes. “Old wives tales, really,” she said with a scoff. Those were things that foolish children believed in. She wasn’t one to believe in such fairy tales, even ones portrayed by such natural beauty. “Though, I do love the smell of them,” she added. “Do you grow these flowers yourself?” she asked out of curiosity. She wasn’t sure that all of these flowers were native to the area, though she was no expert.

“Yes but they are still nice” She said with a small shrug, she just found the stories about them interesting, how people felt about plants before, though in the end yes they didn’t mean much. “Most of them yes, there is a greenhouse in the back and me and my father grow them though a few we do get from other places and we take care of them.

“well, it is your job, kiki.” he smiled slightly. “i’m sure those flowers are just beautiful even if they only stay alive for a week or so.”  vax pursed his lips for just a moment before the easy smile he usually had plastered on slipped back onto his face. “my secret is safe with you? if it even is a secret, anyway.” vax was pretty sure that everyone in town knew how much he cared about his sister at least. around everyone else he tried to be a little more…guarded. even though he cared about his friends more deeply than he would like to admit. “yeah you can say that again. miserable singles day is the worst day of the year.” he smirked as he pointed at her with a playful glint in his eye. “of course that’s the case, how silly of me. you’ve never done anything wrong in your life ever, kiki. you just happen to be a little aggressive yourself! it’s not a bad thing.”

“Yes, but and flowers can really bring a room together and everything but still they don’t last long, is just a little sad.” But well that was just how things were. “Well maybe not but I am good at keeping secrets, most of the time so the sentiment still stands. “ She said with a small smile, she wasn’t someone that kept secrets much herself sometimes she really wore her heart on her sleeve but if she was asked she could keep secrets. “They love to complain so much about everything around them and so they become the most annoying thing” She shrugged “Good to know that you acknowledge that well not the agressive thing...I can be very diplomatic and I am not the one starting the fight.”

Memories came in flashes sometimes to Kaz, and if he had the time or the inclination, he thought maybe he could parse something out of them - the strange visions of death and gore. The streets of a fog-strewn city, lined with canals. The very image in his mind, now - a shower of petals falling down around Inej. It was the flower he held in his palm now, except the one against the leather of his glove was a vibrant scarlet, and the ones he recalled were palest purple, their petals tangling in her hair and onto the folds of a red cloak. He rubbed the petal of one, but it was muted against the texture of his glove. “Yes.” He said without truly processing the thought of what the hell he’d do with flowers.

Keyleth stared at the man for a moment, he seemed to be deep in thought and then she looked around just so she wouldn’t be starring so much. “Hm? Oh...yeah okay...give me a moment” She said before leaving him to go to the back where they had a small greenhouse where they actually had most of their plants, she smiled when she did found the type he seemed to want and brought them back. “How about this ones, uhm are they what you want?”

“I’ll be honest I haven’t read the whole project text yet I just know I need a plant and can pick whichever” Josie admitted, it was rare she wasn’t on top of her school work but she’d just been so busy with everything else. “Uh, maybe something that’s easy to care for and look after? I’m a student so I can’t deal with anything too high maintenance.”

“That’s fine, there were times when I also didn’t pay much attention to something from school.” She admitted, she had been a good student but sometimes she would just get bored and then she would just start daydreaming about something. “How about a Peace Lily? They are pretty and really easy to take care off. You don’t even need a watering schedule, if the top is dry you water it and its not you don’t ”