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Real Flowers?; CI: Ulysses || ISO: Open
Topic Started: Sep 2 2009, 03:58 AM (334 Views)
Ricochet
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The Stalking Cat
[ *  *  * ]
Winter 14th, Year 06
1 PM

Ulysses would have to bring Trey here later on, he knew his nephew would enjoy all the different fauna growing here - even in Winter. It was kind of strange to see all this green and colorful flower petals, when there was snow on the ground not too far a distance away. He wondered if Trey had been here before, though...the child did at times wander about the little village without his Uncle, so, perhaps he had been. Either way, he would still like to take him here, maybe he could on a coming-up weekend. His nephew had been missing his parents more acutely lately, so he thought a moment of distraction like this would be the next best thing to actually taking the tyke back home.

Ulysses wandered forth, still keeping on his dark blue coat and white scarf, though as he was passing a particularly colorful batch of flowers, he knelt and stared for a little closer of a look. Okay, now he was curious...they weren't plastic, were they? He had kind of assumed they were, growing in Winter like this, but they looked so healthy and real that he finally took off a glove and reached out a hand to touch a flower petal.

So it was real. How...strange.
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Azura
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Coming to a small town was a good change of pace for Eva. She sometimes got lonely for the familiarity of her hometown, but all in all, adjusting to life in Obsidian wasn't so bad. She'd met a few people so far, and was finally getting the hang of where everything in town was located. Her cousins back home would probably like this place. The abundance of nature would be great for an artist and an environmental scientist. As for Eva, she was enjoying her job at the mayor's office. It was a good way to meet new people, and her personality suited the kind of office work that she was required to do.

Her assignment today was a little different from the typical file work. After consulting her note pad, Eva decided to go to Unmei Gardens, the first place on her list. She was making a brochure for Obsidian, and wanted to cover the scenic spots first. She thought that some attractive photos would add to the image that Obsidian already had. Magical legends, beautiful nature scenes, a bustling village.. what more could a tourist want, right? Eva walked through the gardens, looking for a nice scene to capture with her camera. She soon came across a man who was stopping to admire the flowers. Well, that's odd, she thought. Flowers don't usually bloom in winter. Actually, scratch that. They never bloom in winter. This would make a great shot for the brochure!

"Ah. Excuse me sir! Would you mind if I took a picture?" She approached the man, and held up her camera to him.
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Ricochet
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His gaze was still focused upon the flowers, looking at them from a few different angles, wondering what their secret was. Maybe there was some sort of heating mechanism in the ground underneath them or something. It was a mystery... A sudden voice startled Ulysses, and he looked up to find a young brown-haired lady holding up her camera, asking if she could take a picture.

"Oh, of course! My apologies," Ulysses said with a smile, as he stood up and put his gloves back on. He took a step or two backwards, thinking that the flowers were pretty, and unique, in Winter especially. The thought had never occurred to him that she might want a person -him- in the photo. He would have to be told such if that were the case, but as it was, since she was a stranger, he was planning on hanging around to introduce himself after she shot the photo. So he was still standing by, waiting patiently.
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Azura
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"Thanks." Smiling, Eva gave a small bow towards the man and hurried forward to take a few snapshots. There had been a slight misunderstanding about her intentions, that she hoped to mend later on. But for the moment, she fixed her attention to the gardens. The flowers were quite pretty to look at, with the colorful blossom poking out from the snow. Eva picked a few angles to work with, and then was silent for the next couple of minutes except for the sounds of her camera. It was the kind that printed out a photo after it was taken. Soon, she had a nice stack of pictures to choose from. But there was one more that she might still be able to take..

Eva flashed a thumbs-up at the man, whose name she still hadn't learned, and walked towards him. A shy smile was on her face, for she had a favor to ask of him. "I'm so sorry for interrupting you again! Um, if it's not too much trouble.. Could I maybe get a shot of you standing over there by the flowers?" She pointed to the spot where he'd been standing just before she arrived.
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Ricochet
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"Certainly, if you wish. It's no trouble, Miss. " Ulysses said with a warm and polite smile, then walked forward and knelt by the flowers once more. They were pretty and in contrast to the Winter landscape around them, but the human aspect might add a little more to it he realized. He would have to tell Trey about this, the youngster would probably get a kick out of it. Too bad he wasn't here, 'cause that would probably make for a better picture, but for now he supposed he would have to do. Looking back at the young lady, he asked, "Any particular position, miss?"

"Ah - I should introduce myself, I apologize. Ulysses Sloane, at your service." Ulysses greeted her, tilting his head and smiling, eyes closed for a moment. He was always mindful of the proprieties in things like this, making introductions so you wouldn't have to be talking with a stranger for very long.
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Azura
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"Any way that you're comfortable posing is just fine," Eva assured the man. It was fun to have a subject in the photograph, and it certainly made the shot more interesting. Counting down with her fingers, she signaled three seconds and took the picture. Snap! The shutter clicked, and a photo printed out. Eva looked it over, and was so happy with the result that she took an extra photo. The other one, she brought over to the man so that he could have it as a souvenir of his 'photoshoot' in the gardens.

"You were a great model!" she said with a smile, and handed him the photo. "Thanks again, Ulysses. Or do you prefer Mr. Sloane instead?" She realized that she hadn't introduced herself yet, and added, "Oh, and I'm Eva. Eva Larkwood. At your service too, of course." Absentmindedly, she began to smooth down her hair, wanting to look presentable in front of her new acquaintance.
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Ricochet
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Ulysses nodded to her, and, not being able to think of anything to do, basically stayed where he was, kneeling by the flowers with a smile on his face as he looked towards the camera. With his eyes open, of course. In the second one, as he had thought her finished, he was looking away, more towards the flowers. The second snap gave the man a slight startle, but he had a smile on his face once more as the young woman walked over to offer him the picture. He took it as he stood, smiling still as he glanced down at it.

"Thank you, but a great model is nothing without a great photographer. You have a good eye for angles, I do believe." Ulysses said with a bit wider of a smile, continuing with, "Either is fine. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Larkwood." Ulysses said, offering out his hand for her to shake.
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Azura
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Eva hadn't expected to stay for more than a few minutes in the gardens, but now she had more of a reason to stick around. Chit-chat in the gardens was a lot better than heading back and taking phone calls, anyway. She thought about the picture in her pocket, the candid one. It had a natural feel that she was going for, Ulysses being unaware that the camera was still on him at the time. Kind of a faraway look, that no amount of posing could imitate.

She smiled and answered, "Nah. It helps to have a good muse, that's all." She shrugged and reflected the compliment back to him, wanting to get in the last word. She was happy to return the handshake. Carefully pocketing the photos, she extended her hand to Ulysses and warmly returned the greeting. "Well! Since we're on a first-name basis, just call me Eva." Her curiosity returned, and she directed it to him. "Did you set up all these flowers yourself?" She had convinced herself that they weren't real. Anything could be dressed up to look lifelike, all it took was special effects and a little imagination.
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Ricochet
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Ulysses smiled at her, wanting to say more but not wanting to get into some sort of argument or something, so he let it drop. Glancing at the smile-photo in his hand, he pocketed it to show to Trey later. Maybe find a frame for it and put it up somewhere...or maybe not, Ulysses wasn't one to like to surround himself with pictures of, well, himself. It might would actually be a better idea to send it to his family back in the states, or perhaps he could ask if she did requests and get one to send with himself and his nephew?

"If you wish, Miss Eva." Ulysses spoke, doing the 'Miss' thing pretty much unconsciously, though he was still smiling. Perhaps he might remember if she emphasized it again? Though, perhaps not... Anyway, she had asked him a question. He blinked and turned slightly to look at the flowers once more, and shook his head.

"No, I cannot say that I did...didn't plant them, either." Ulysses said, with a hint of amazement or even disbelief in his voice. He turned with a wide-eyed blink to look up at Miss Eva again. "Can you believe it, real flowers, still in bloom at this time in the Winter season?" Lowering his gaze as his eyes returned to normal, he blinked and brought up a hand to his chin, as he turned to look at the flowers again. "Or, perhaps they are just a very high-quality imitation, that has me fooled into believing that they are real..."
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The very subtle 'Miss' that Ulysses added in front of her name did not escape Eva's hearing. She smiled, but didn't say anything in protest. If he wanted to be polite and call her miss, why object? It sounded kind of nice, actually. Oh wait, but then.. Did this mean she should call him mister, too? Eva opened up her mouth to say something, but then shut it again when she realized she was probably just over-thinking.

She wanted to take another picture, this time of Ulysses' reaction to her question. Just like a deer in headlights. But something about what he said sounded odd. "Planted them? So.. they are real?" Now it was her turn to be the surprised one. There was no way these could be actual, living blossoms. She crouched down to get a closer look, examining the flowers from as many angles as she could. In the winter air, it was hard to tell if any scent was coming from the flowers, but she tried anyway. She almost fell forward, but caught herself before she could teeter into the flowers or in the snow. That could have been embarrassing. She grinned and made a note to be more careful.

"Yes, you're right.. they have to be fake ones." She was trying to stick to her guns until the end, but even as she said the words, she thought back to her visit to the Forest of Quartz. That time the trees didn't seem to be really glowing. But they turned out to be real. So was it also true, then, for these gardens? Eva wasn't a big believer of magic, but this place was full of curiosities that she couldn't explain, other than that they.. were magical.
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"Yes, at least they certainly felt real. Perhaps you should have a feel for yourself, Miss Eva, to see... Careful, now." He added with a small smile, taking a step closer with a hand wavering just above one of her shoulders, but then as he realized she was no longer in danger of falling forward, he withdrew his hand and simply smiled at her. "Don't want you to be getting hurt, or sick, on my watch."

"Yes, that's what I would've thought." Ulysses spoke again, smile fading as a more serious expression came across his face. "But they really do feel real, but perhaps it is simply a higher quality fake flower...if so, I wonder who put them here." He commented, straightening up to glance about the place.
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"Don't worry, you won't need to rescue me today." Eva smiled at Ulysses, thankful for his attentiveness to her. She made sure she was balanced, then retried her attempt to check out the flowers. Her skeptical mind was churning out all the possibilities of how the garden could be fake, but there was only one way to find out the truth.

She took one glove off and reached over to touch a flower. She expected to feel paper, or some other material to prove that it was all an elaborate trick. Instead, she felt the velvety-soft texture of petals between her fingertips. Eva felt like her senses were all going crazy. Everything around her had the mark of winter upon it, except for these flowers. She looked away with a puzzled expression and got back on her feet.

"Incredible." Eva put her glove back on and asked Ulysses, "Is there such a thing as magic?" She'd always thought it was made up for fairytales to tell to kids.
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"I'm glad for that; I wouldn't want your memory of first meeting me having anything to do with an injury." Ulysses said, with a small laugh. He then turned to also inspect the flower, but, as he had already felt it, he instead was watching Miss Eva as she inspected the flower. Her puzzled expression made his smile deepen, just a little bit.

"Is there such a thing as magic?"

He blinked at her question, then lifted a hand to his chin, his elbow resting on his other arm in the classic 'thinking' pose. "Well now, I had never thought so, but..." He shrugged, lowering his arms. "I'm not quite sure how else to explain something like that." He said, smiling lightly at her once more. But, then, glancing back down at the flowers, he added,

"Other than perhaps some sort of heating system in the soil...but that would most probably be very difficult indeed to pull off. So, I have no idea." He ended finally, shrugging one last time, a soft smile still in place.

((OoC: ;-; I truly have no excuse for keeping you waiting so long! ><; My sincere apologies!! ... Also, since it is Spring now, if you'd rather do a thread here or somewhere else that's in Spring time, please PM me.))
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