Smelling Orchids || Lilly

[Aiden Grayson]

Anyone who knew Aiden would know how shy and quiet he was. They would know how he likes to be alone because he knows how to argue with himself when the dark thoughts crept into his head. But even someone who knew Aiden that well wouldn't expect him to be walking up and down and around one of Camp Olympus's greenhouses. But that's what he was doing.

Aiden actually adored flowers. He loved their smell, he loved how they looked, he loved them. Sometimes he regretted not being born of Demeter. He would have loved to be able to grow flowers whenever he wanted. But in the end Aiden knew those thoughts were useless and he simply smiled to himself as he continued to peruse the greenhouse.

He'd never seen people in the greenhouse. At least, his visits and other peoples' visits never coincided. And that was completely fine with him because he wanted privacy. But it was still odd. Maybe the children of Demeter did their work from a distance? He could have laughed -that was kind of a dumb thought. They'd have to be in the greenhouses to know that they were doing their jobs right. Aiden laughed at himself and shook his head, stopping at a particularly beautiful display of orchids. He beamed at them and stood there, just watching them. Maybe he'd take up flower arranging.

Aiden reached out and carefully brushed the backs of his fingers along the petals of the orchids, smiling a small smile when they pulled back and rebounded, sitting back up straight. "You're beautiful," he murmured, leaning in to smell the orchids. He jumped back in alarm, though, when he heard the door to the greenhouse creek open. He placed his hand over his heart, frowning when he realized how fast it was beating. Aiden sighed and hoped that whoever walked in wouldn't come talk to him.

[Lillian Scott]

Whenever there was no one in the greenhouse, Lilly would sneak inside and enjoy the flowers. For a girl who could feel when the things around her were dying, Lilly found it soothing to be surrounded by such life- and it was this reprieve from stress that Lilly was hoping to find.

She headed between the series of greenhouses, ducking into her favorite- the one that housed mostly aesthetic plants and flowers. Other than the children of Demeter, Lilly found that most “modern” demigods (and mortals, for that matter,) didn’t appreciate flowers the way they had in her time, when every single one had a meaning and were often given to friends as gifts and messages.

As she pushed the door open, she took notice of a dark haired boy talking to an orchid, and blinked in surprise at his words.

"You're beautiful,"

“You know the language of flowers, too?” She asked, then shook her head. She was being incredibly rude, and she flushed at her own lack of manners. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m Lillian- Lilly- and you caught me by surprise. I wasn’t aware anyone else knew the real meaning of flowers these days.” She moved around the table to stand next to him, surveying the orchids as well. They truly were beautiful, just as their meaning suggested.

Her pale eyes shifted to her companion. She had never met him before, but that didn’t mean much- it was rare for a child of Hades to be out during the day, but Lilly couldn’t sleep. “My favorites are bluebells- constancy.”

[Aiden Grayson]

Aiden's whole body tensed up when the other person in the greenhouse spoke. He could feel his cheeks flushed and his ears starting to heat up as well. She (well, Aiden assumed the voice was female, he hadn't gotten up enough courage to look at her yet) had heard him talking to the orchids. He swallowed tightly and looked over toward the voice. If Aiden's throat wasn't already tight, he probably would have choked. She was a very pretty girl. His eyes were actually mostly drawn to her outfit, something he'd never seen outside of plays and old timey shows.

"You know the language of flowers, too?"

Aiden swallowed and tried to speak, stuttering slightly, "Uh... Uh, I-I sort of do." His blushed deepened. "That is, t-t-to say, I want to le-learn and I know the, the uh, the basics about flowers."

He looked away and focused back on the orchids in front of him. While they weren't his favorite flower, they were a close second. "They're just so... soft. Maybe they're angels?" He laughed nervously and when he next spoke, his voice was less whimsical and more quivery and awkward. "I-I mean um.. Because they-they're delicate..." He sighed heavily and looked over when the girl introduced herself. "I'm Aiden," he whispered, dropping his eyes to the ground. "Not a lot of people uh, appreciate flowers anymore. N-not the way they should."

The brunet tensed but looked up when Lilly moved so she was standing next to him. He followed her gaze back toward the orchids. He imagined that they preened at the attention, but he knew that was dumb. He filed that thought away, though, his mind absently working the possibility of a piece about orchids.

"My favorites are bluebells- constancy."

Aiden had to wonder if there was some ulterior meaning to her liking the flowers of constancy but didn't question it. It wasn't his place to pry and he wasn't sure he could get out the question anyway. He still wondered. Maybe she was feeling out of place, or she missed the constancy of life with her family. Aiden didn't know and he knew he shouldn't have bothered pursuing the train of thought. So, of course, he said,

"Constancy, huh? Th-they're a comforting flower i-in their meaning." He smiled awkwardly, realizing what he'd just said. "Um, my, my favorites are delphiniums. Th-they mean boldness." He picked at the bottom of his jacket as he spoke, his eyes on the orchids.