GB   Hmm hm hm ~

GB   My little ~ blooming friends ~

You make up the words as you go. After all, you're mainly focused on maintenance, right now.

GB   Hmmmm hmmm hm hmm ~

GB   A nice spring breeze, some plants in the dirt ~

GB   Mmm hmm hmmmmm ~

GB   We'll all be okay, and none of it will hurt ~

GB   Hmm hmmmm hmm ~

GB   Hmm?

GB   Goodness, what a strong breeze!

You hold onto your hat, feeling your hair whipping wildly around you. Strange. It hasn't been especially gusty, today.

YN   Gabrielle Eleazar.

GB   Eep!

You nearly fall over. When you turn around, she's standing just a few feet from you. Looking as composed and unflappable as ever.

GB   Y-Yuna! You scared me!

GB   ...

GB   How... does your braid stay together like that?

YN   I double-condition.

She takes some cursory steps around, taking care not to dirty her boots. Of course, you've been crouched down at the plots for a few hours now. You're not surprised she's unwilling to approach you as well as the soil itself.

GB   What, um, are you doing here?

YN   I needed some fresh air.

YN   And you?

GB   Oh. Well, hee hee...

GB   Just doing what I do best, I suppose.

GB   Someone has to take care of them.

YN   I doubt that.

YN   You don't believe there's a groundskeeping department?

YN   There have been people maintaining our facilities. Why would the foliage be any different?

You swallow. You did see some staff giving you strange looks earlier...

GB   Even if, um, that's the case...

GB   It keeps me busy.

GB   Mostly, it keeps my mind off of things.

GB   If I focus on pruning and watering, checking the soil and petals...

GB   It's like the world makes sense again.

YN   Your world sounds utterly primitive.

YN   And incredibly useless for the competition at hand.

GB   That's why it's comforting, I guess.

GB   Hee hee.

GB   It does sound ridiculous when I say it out loud. You're right about that.

GB   ...

GB   They have an incredible variety here.

GB   Some of these flowers are rare - some, very delicate.

GB   I'd like to think my Value will help them, one way or another.

YN   Hmph.

YN   What's the use? They're merely frail decor.

YN   If they wither, let them.

GB   Oh, certainly not!

GB   Plants can actually thrive even in the poorest of environments!

GB   It's usually the flowers that need specialized care.

YN   Specialized.

YN   Like the little performance you were having?

Ooh, you should've expected your singing to carry... well, you'll stew in embarassment another time. You have company, after all.

GB   Singing also passes the time.

YN   I'm sure.

YN   I don't suppose you have little conversations with them, either.

GB   Oh, yes! I do!

YN   You... do?

GB   I find it soothing. It really makes you feel like they're company.

GB   Plants themselves can't respond, of course.

GB   So, it's more of an audience than anything.

YN   As if they could say anything.

GB   Well, there is flower language!

GB   Not them speaking, but us speaking through them.

GB   You can communicate a lot through flora. It's its own little hidden verbiage.

YN   Hidden, you say.

You smile up at her, noting that her expression has grown somewhat curious.

GB   Hee hee, are you coming around?

YN   I'm humoring you. And your peasant duties.

YN   No matter what you say, I don't see the reason to tend to the dirt.

YN   It's the lowest form of servitude.

GB   I suppose...

GB   But I'm not in it for any kind of dignity.

GB   Not when I'm needed.

YN   By the dirt.

GB   That's me, the dirt tender.

GB   And these are my little dirt babies.

You lovingly pet the ground. To your surprise, Yuna bends down and points to one of the plots.

YN   Those are lilies, correct?

GB   Oh!

GB   Technically, they're daylilies.

GB   Have you heard of them before?

YN   Not this exact kind.

GB   Well, you know lilies are associated with femininity, right?

GB   A traditional kind. Elegant and beautiful.

GB   But daylilies are unique.

GB   They represent the relationship we have with maternal figures.

GB   The sacrifices they make for us,

GB   And the devotion we have to them in turn.

GB   I think that's kind of beautiful. Don't you?

Yuna stands back up. Oh no, is she losing interest?

GB   Th-that's not all!

GB   They also bloom during the day and close at night.

GB   Hemerocallis Asphodelaceae - it's greek for 'day beauty'.

GB   They... um,

GB   They remind me of you, a little bit.

Suddenly bashful, you keep your eyes on the flowers. The only sign that Yuna's still here is the sound of her dress softly rustling with the wind.

GB   Daylilies are incredibly resilient, you know.

GB   They can even survive droughts and frosts.

GB   When we think of flowers, we think about how fragile they can be.

GB   And a lot of them are.

GB   To be a flower is to be vulnerable in bloom.

GB   But some flowers are so strong. They persist through strength alone.

GB   I think that's amazing.

GB   And, even if it could probably take care of itself,

GB   I don't think it hurts to treat it with love, all the same.

YN   ...

YN   It's getting late.

GB   But the sun isn't setting yet.

GB   Yuna?

You look back as she walks away.