[Gift] The 11th Hour | Bouquet

Soel stood calmly in the center of the stone street, sunlight warming the vivid red and orange scales along his neck and chest. The bustle of the town carried on around him—distant conversations, creaking wagon wheels, footsteps against cobblestone—but the male dragon barely seemed to notice any of it. His attention rested entirely on the empty patch of ground before him. The thick green grass draped across his back shifted softly as he lowered his head and pressed one claw gently against the stone. For a moment, nothing happened and then tiny cracks spread between the cobblestones. A small green sprout pushed upward through the gap.

Soel smiled… or what might have been a smile?

The sprout quickly unfurled into curling vines that twisted gracefully across the ground. Leaves spread outward in rich shades of green while stems rose higher and higher, weaving around one another like living ribbons. Within seconds, flower buds began forming at the ends. Then came the color. White flowers bloomed first, followed by deep orange blossoms and bright yellow flowers that opened wide toward the sunlight. Smaller blue flowers appeared between them, filling the bouquet with layers of color and texture.

Pedestrians nearby slowed to stare.Soel carefully guided the growing plants with small movements of his claws, shaping the flowers into a neat arrangement as though he were sculpting them from the earth itself. The scent of fresh blossoms soon drifted through the street, soft and sweet against the warm afternoon air. Finally, the bouquet stopped growing. Dozens of flowers swayed gently together between the cobblestones. Soel stepped back proudly, admiring his work with a satisfied flick of his tail.